CounterCurrents: Inauguration Day News Letter, U.S. Senators Are Even More Neoconservative Than Are Trump’s Appointees, UK Wind Generated More Electricity Than Coal In 2016

Dear Friend,

It's inauguration day of the commander in chief of THE EMPIRE. And what an emperor we've got! As Richard Heinberg says in his article "  Inauguration Day: A Good Day For A Walk In The Woods" - "In my view, the most revealing personal characteristic of president #45 may be his complete disconnection from the natural world. Here is an individual who grew up in a city, who sees land only in terms of profit potential, who proudly covers the tortured ground with high-rise buildings, who lives in a penthouse, and who walks outdoors only on golf courses. One could make some similar comments about many of his recent predecessors (certainly not Teddy Roosevelt), but in this instance the tendency reaches an extreme." On this inauguration day, we may take a walk in the park like Heinberg suggests, hug a tree or hold some mud in your hand and weep. 

The ever sagacious John Avery warns against despair and reminds us of the responsibility of each one of us in a world where many governments today  may be described unjust, and some that even deserve to be called fascist. Avery delves into the thoughts of Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi and Martin Luther King reminds of our responsibility in the present world drawing inspiration from these trailblazers. Avery also says Nuremberg Principles can also guide us. 

There is some good news in all this gloom and doom. "UK Wind Generated More Electricity Than Coal In 2016"!

Well, it's indeed is a good news, but we must take it with a pinch of salt. Will green energy sustain our current level of consumption? Gunnar Rundgren warns us in his article "Reducing Consumption And Local Exchange Better Than “Sustainable Consumption”".  He writes "While it is clear that global trade play a major role as a driver of destruction of biodiversity there is no way “consumers” in the US or other developed economies can be expected to take responsibility for the effect on biodiversity of their consumption. It is a tall order even for the companies trading or the retailers selling the products. Citizens should rather take responsibility by a general reduction in consumption, by favoring local goods exchange and relationships and by opposing policies that further drive international trade."

Emily Spence throws in another gem from CC archives. "The Economic And Social Losses On The Way" published on 29 April, 2011. Well the role of CC is connecting the dots. People like Emily has helped a lot in our endeavour. As Emily writes in this article, you walk into a super-sized mall and see all the 'stuff' in shiny, happy wrappers. Do you actually realize that you are actually walking into a graveyard! Emily writes so eloquently "They can't look at cotton goods or food and imagine the huge oceanic dead zones and the annihilation of many diverse organisms caused by farm runoff. They can't go to the paper isle and picture that, aside from all of the multitudes of items derived from timber, U.S. toilet paper use alone destroys thirteen million acres of forests per year, along with all life dependent on those forests. " Did anything change since 2011? On this inauguration day it's only going to get worse! 

Perhaps, after all we may  not be 'fake news' peddlers as WashPo and other great truth tellers suggest! I would rather be happy if CC is proved wrong on all counts than see my son and his sons/daughters swept away by the storms of our grandchildren as James Hansen wrote so powerfully in his book. 

And also more stories from around the world. 

If you don't mind, and if you think the content of this news letter is critical for the dignified living and survival of humanity and other species on earth, please forward it to your friends and spread the word. It's time for humanity to come together as one family! You can subscribe to our news letter here http://www.countercurrents.org/news-letter/. 

In Solidarity

Binu Mathew
Editor
www.countercurrents.org





Inauguration Day: A Good Day For A Walk In The Woods
by Richard Heinberg 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/inauguration-day-a-good-day-for-a-walk-in-the-woods/

How can a person so isolated from natural phenomena hope to understand the vulnerability of our planet’s climate, water, air, and innumerable species to the actions of people (one hastens to add—people much like himself)? How can he appreciate that civilization itself is an organism with a constant need for “food” (not just grain and meat, but energy, minerals, and water as well), that is organized by way of hierarchically ordered and interlinked cycles, and that is subject to natural limits and ultimately to death?





Individual Responsibility
by John Scales Avery

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/individual-responsibility/

There are many governments today that can be described unjust, and some that even deserve to be called fascist. What is the duty of the individual citizen, living under such a government? What was the duty of a German, living under Hitler? The thoughts of Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi and Martin Luther King can help us answer this question. The Nuremberg Principles can also help us to answer it.





UK Wind Generated More Electricity Than Coal In 2016
by Simon Evans  

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/uk-wind-generated-more-electricity-than-coal-in-2016/

The milestone is a first for the UK and reflects a collapse in coal generation, which contributed just 9.2% of UK electricity last year, with 11.5% from wind. The coal decline saw its output fall to the lowest level since 1935. It also means CO2 emissions from UK power generation will have fallen by around 20% in 2016, as coal was largely replaced by lower-emissions gas. This reduction will be enough to cut overall UK CO2 emissions by 6% for the year, if other sectors’ emissions are unchanged.





The Economic And Social Losses On The Way
By Emily Spence

http://www.countercurrents.org/spence290411.htm

At present, numerous environmental researchers are warning of future resource shortages. The list of them is large and includes water, oil, a variety of minerals and metals, as well as other materials. Yet, most people carry on as if they do not hear the message at all. They refuse to cut back in their dreams of continuing economic growth. In relation, part of the problem with them is perhaps an inability to make connections. For the most part, they seem to have little or no idea about the collective consequences of their individual behaviors.






Reducing Consumption And Local Exchange Better Than “Sustainable Consumption”
by Gunnar Rundgren 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/reducing-consumption-and-local-exchange-better-than-sustainable-consumption/

While it is clear that global trade play a major role as a driver of destruction of biodiversity there is no way “consumers” in the US or other developed economies can be expected to take responsibility for the effect on biodiversity of their consumption. It is a tall order even for the companies trading or the retailers selling the products. Citizens should rather take responsibility by a general reduction in consumption, by favoring local goods exchange and relationships and by opposing policies that further drive international trade.






A Look At What Works And — And Doesn’t — In The World Of Conservation
by Haley Madderom 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/a-look-at-what-works-and-and-doesnt-in-the-world-of-conservation/

What Works in Conservation 2017, a free online book just published by University of Cambridge conservation specialists, aims to help conservation workers navigate that sea. With the guidance of an international team of experts, the book summarizes, organizes and evaluates the outcomes of specific conservation practices reported in more than 150 scientific journals as well as in unpublished reports and other literature from around the world. By providing detailed information on various practices and outcomes, it attempts to answer the questions: What worked? What looked promising, but didn’t end up making a difference in the long haul? What actually ended up doing more harm than good? And in what context?






U.S. Senators Are Even More Neoconservative Than Are Trump’s Appointees 
by Eric Zuesse 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/u-s-senators-are-even-more-neoconservative-than-are-trumps-appointees/

The confirmation hearings for the members of incoming President Donald Trump’s national-security team showed that neoconservatism dominates the U.S. government today: neoconservatism didn’t end after George W. Bush’s alleged certainty that “Saddam’s WMD” existed in 2002






Three Denials And Discussion Denied
by Richard Oxman 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/three-denials-and-discussion-denied/

The denial of clemency for Leonard Peltier — courtesy of Obama — inspired me to write this piece, along with the denial of Climate Change on the part of the new U.S. Administration.






Myanmar: A scribe’s Murder And Its Aftermath
by Nava Thakuria 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/myanmar-a-scribes-murder-and-its-aftermath/

Ko Soe Moe Tun (35), a Monywa (Sagaing) based Burmese journalist was found dead on 13 December 2016, who was convincingly targeted for his extensive investigation & coverage on the wood smuggling, illegal logging and mining in northwest Myanmar. The reporter, engaged with Daily Eleven newspaper, published by the Yangon based Eleven Media Group, also posted few details in his facebook account about the people involved with the illegal timber trades.





TOI Editorial On Indian Newspaper Industry Smells Like Match-Fixing
by M J Pandey 

http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/01/20/toi-editorial-on-indian-newspaper-industry-smells-like-match-fixing/

With reference to the unsigned editorial ‘Indian Newspaper industry: Red Ink splashed across the bottom line’ (TOI, Jan 19, 2017), a case is being made out for concessions to the newspaper industry on the grounds that it is in the doldrums and is beleaguered by various burdens, including that of wage board wages, GST, DAVP, etc. Without mentioning the recent illegal closure of six editions of The Hindustan Times as the obvious peg for this, the editorial seeks a range of concessions – from a part-discontinuance of the wage board for newspaper employees, to subsidies on advertising and tax.