country:us

Global Report on Internal Displacement #2019

KEY FINDINGS

Internal displacement is a global challenge, but it is also heavily concentrated in a few countries and triggered by few events. 28 million new internal displacements associated with conflict and disasters across 148 countries and territories were recorded in 2018, with nine countries each accounting for more than a million.

41.3 million people were estimated to be living in internal displacement as a result of conflict and violence in 55 countries as of the end of the year, the highest figure ever recorded. Three-quarters, or 30.9 million people, were located in only ten countries.

Protracted crises, communal violence and unresolved governance challenges were the main factors behind 10.8 million new displacements associated with conflict and violence. Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Syria accounted for more than half of the global figure.

Newly emerging crises forced millions to flee, from Cameroon’s anglophone conflict to waves of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region and unprecedented conflict in Ethiopia. Displacement also continued despite peace efforts in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Colombia.

Many IDPs remain unaccounted for. Figures for DRC, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen are considered underestimates, and data is scarce for Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela. This prevents an accurate assessment of the true scale of internal displacement in these countries. ||Estimating returns continues to be a major challenge.

Large numbers of people reportedly returned to their areas of origin in Ethiopia, Iraq and Nigeria, to conditions which were not conducive to long-lasting reintegration. ||Urban conflict triggered large waves of displacement and has created obstacles to durable solutions. Airstrikes and shelling forced many thousands to flee in Hodeida in Yemen, Tripoli in Libya and Dara’a in Syria. In Mosul in Iraq and Marawi in the Philippines, widespread destruction and unexploded ordnance continued to prevent people from returning home.

Heightened vulnerability and exposure to sudden-onset hazards, particularly storms, resulted in 17.2 million disaster displacements in 144 countries and territories. The number of people displaced by slow-onset disasters worldwide remains unknown as only drought-related displacement is captured in some countries, and only partially.

The devastating power of extreme events highlighted again the impacts of climate change across the globe. Wildfires were a particularly visible expression of this in 2018, from the US and Australia to Greece and elsewhere in southern Europe, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, causing severe damage and preventing swift returns.

Global risk of being displaced by floods is staggeringly high and concentrated in towns and cities: more than 17 million people are at risk of being displaced by floods each year. Of these, more than 80 per cent live in urban and peri-urban areas.

An overlap of conflict and disasters repeatedly displaced people in a number of countries. Drought and conflict triggered similar numbers of displacements in Afghanistan, and extended rainy seasons displaced millions of people in areas of Nigeria and Somalia already affected by conflict. Most of the people displaced by disasters in Iraq and Syria were IDPs living in camps that were flooded.

Promising policy developments in several regions show increased attention to displacement risk. Niger became the first country to domesticate the Kampala Convention by adopting a law on internal displacement, and Kosovo recognised the importance of supporting returning refugees and IDPs, updating its policy to that end. Vanuatu produced a policy on disaster and climate-related displacement, and Fiji showed foresight in adopting new guidelines on resettlement in the context of climate change impacts.

▻https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-report-internal-displacement-2019-grid-2019-0
#IDPs #déplacés_internes #migrations #asile #statistiques #chiffres

ping @reka @karine4

Blizzard cuts more than 200 US jobs as part of Activision restructure
▻https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-03-08-blizzard-cuts-more-than-200-us-jobs-as-part-of-activision-

IT and marketing sees most layoffs, Overwatch firm’s cuts account for more than a quarter of planned 800 redundancies

’Thus says the Lord’: Religious tune at Jerusalem embassy opening drowns out protests - Israel News - Haaretz.com
▻https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-u-s-opens-jerusalem-embassy-as-gaza-border-clashes-escalate-1.6084

https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.6091463.1526313738!/image/3931366278.jpg_gen/derivatives/headline_1200x630/3931366278.jpg

“Thus says the Lord, ’I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth,’” Netanyahu said in conclusion, quoting a verse from the Book of Zekhariah, which some Christian denominations interpret as a reference to Jesus. Netanyahu spiced up his speech with own Shehecheyanu, a Jewish prayer to celebrate special occasions.

Right after Netanyahu, evangelical pastor John Hagee urged the audience: "Can we all shout Hallelujah?" The songs “God Will Grant Strength to His People,” ("with the help of God," added singer Hagit Yaso) and “Peace Will Come to Us” were the artistic segment that followed.

In complete contrast to those sentiments, demonstrations and arrests outside the compound could be learned of with the help of push notifications on smartphones. At the ceremony, only the speakers, the music, the applause and, on occasion, the chirping of birds was heard.

#sionistes

This American Is A General For A Foreign Army Accused Of War Crimes In Yemen

▻https://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/stephen-toumajan-general-us-uae-yemen-contractor

Stephen Toumajan spent most of his professional life as an officer in the US Army — but these days the country he serves is not the US but the United Arab Emirates. He is a major general for the Emirati military, according to his own statements and a UAE government website.

He commands the UAE’s military helicopter branch at a time when that country’s forces are fighting one of the world’s deadliest conflicts: the brutal war in Yemen, which has left over a million people with cholera, 8 million people at risk of starvation, and 5,000 children dead or wounded. The UAE and its partners in the war have been accused of atrocities. Toumajan says he is not involved in that war.

To be a UAE general is a step up for Toumajan, who left the US Army as a lieutenant colonel and once had a side gig running a women’s bust–enhancement business in Tennessee called Breast Wishes.

More importantly, it represents a marked escalation of the role US private military contractors play in foreign conflicts. While military contractors have become deeply entwined in warfare all over the world, they traditionally have stuck to strict limits: advising, training, and supplying foreign armies — but not actually serving in them. It’s the distinction between being a contractor and a mercenary. Toumajan’s role blurs that distinction.

US fire death toll in 2017 reaches 2,152 - World Socialist Web Site

▻https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/12/23/fire-d23.html

As the holidays approach there has been a heart wrenching increase in fire deaths of children, highlighting the deplorable housing conditions and systemic poverty within the US. The US Fire Administration (USFA) collects information on civilian casualties due to fire and reports that as of this writing, 2152 people have lost their lives in fires. The prior year’s total was 2,290.

The three states most impacted in November were Texas, with 21 lives lost, Illinois with 16, and California losing 14. Texas had the most fatalities for all of 2016 - 132. The state’s toll stands at 126 thus far in 2017.

The house fire crisis disproportionately impacts the working class, which faces substandard housing conditions, as well as declining living standards.

#états-unis #inégalités #incendies #désastres_domestiques

“Hurricane Maria knocked us back into the Stone Age for a few days”
▻http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-10-26-hurricane-maria-knocked-us-back-into-the-stone-age-for-a-f

Two Puerto Rico-based developers talk about coping in the aftermath of the storm; SRG Studios readies Play for Charity campaign to benefit devastated US territory

#Development

Hurricane Relief - Where Are The US Army Watercraft ? – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/hurricane-relief-us-army-watercraft

http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/JLOTS20-Strnrrdf.jpg

Why are Army LCUs & LSVs sitting at the dock at Ft Eustis VA and not underway heading to Puerto Rico?

By Michael Carr, US Army Watercraft Master (Ret) – Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas, then Hurricane Irma collided with Puerto Rico and smashed through Florida, followed by Hurricane Maria devastating Caribbean Islands before decapitating Puerto Rico.

Incomprehensible damage from these horrendous storms, including destroyed infrastructure & lack of transportation capabilities, present conditions for which US Army Watercraft were conceived and designed, i.e. providing logistical support in degraded and unimproved ports, and the ability to land on unimproved beaches.

Only the US Army operates Logistical Support (LSV), Land Craft Utility (LCU), and Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) vessels. Within the Army inventory there are eight LSVs, 35 LCUs, and multitude of LCMs. These vessels are stationed throughout the world, with a good number here in United States, in particular Baltimore MD, Ft Belvoir VA, Ft Eustis VA, Morehead City NC, and Tampa FL.

Why have they not been deployed to help in relief efforts in Texas, Florida Keys, and Puerto Rico? LCUs in particular, are an ideal platform for relief support. LCUs, at 174 ft LOA, can work independently for 18 days, with a range of over 10,000 miles. They are capable of beach landings and retractions, while carrying in excess of 350 tons of cargo, which can include rolling and tracked vehicles, standard and non-standard containers, fuel bladders, etc.

Pendant que Trump accuse les victimes d’ouragan et les autorités de #Porto_Rico de chouiner et d’être incapables de se prendre en charge…

Trump accuses Porto Rico mayor of poor leadership, she thinks trumps has poor comments

Trump attacks Puerto Rico mayor: ’They want everything done for them’ | World news | The Guardian

▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/30/donald-trump-attacks-puerto-rico-mayor-carmen-yulin-cruz

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3cd6d074ea420a9fce483ba5b1a36588f16773c3/0_0_2560_1536/master/2560.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Centropy&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&s=cd5eb40f0e63fbf41f9c0d257917146e

Donald Trump lashed out at the mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital city on Saturday as the row over his administration’s response to a hurricane and humanitarian crisis escalated.

Ahead of his visit to the devastated US territory next week, the president used Twitter to say of Carmen Yulín Cruz: “Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help”.

#trump #capitalisme_sauvage #égoïsme_sauvage

US federal department is censoring use of term ’climate change’, emails reveal | Environment | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/07/usda-climate-change-language-censorship-emails

On vit une époque formidable.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f30e136c49e2a60b39e3306c71a5c9235a8b1b55/0_40_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?w=1200&h=630&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=crop&crop=faces%2Centropy&bm=normal&ba=bottom%2Cleft&blend64=aHR0cHM6Ly91cGxvYWRzLmd1aW0uY28udWsvMjAxNi8wNS8yNS9vdmVybGF5LWxvZ28tMTIwMC05MF9vcHQucG5n&s=8eb7c03898cb847d59375aaaa25dd57c

Staff at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been told to avoid using the term climate change in their work, with the officials instructed to reference “weather extremes” instead.

A series of emails obtained by the Guardian between staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a USDA unit that oversees farmers’ land conservation, show that the incoming Trump administration has had a stark impact on the language used by some federal employees around climate change.

Hurricanes cut swath through US politics
▻http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=6e13c74c17ec527c4be72d64f&id=1af6a72a6b&e=08052803c8

Hurricanes cut swath through US politics

Scientists have shown that hurricanes are hitting the US harder than ever, yet many Republican-voting men remain unswayed by evidence of climate change.

By Tim Radford

LONDON, 5 September, 2016 – Whether US citizens believe that hurricanes are getting more violent and more destructive depends on whether they have been in one lately – and also whether they are female, and vote Democrat.

If you are male, and tend to vote Republican, you may be less likely to accept the reality of climate change, say scientists who have been looking at public attitudes in exactly those coastal places most often hit by shrieking winds, storm surges and pounding seas.

#climat

Mapping Indonesia’s fires and logging rights - Ecoclimax
▻http://www.ecoclimax.com/2016/03/mapping-indonesias-fires-and-logging.html

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4VGNF6X7S4A/VupDe7OfDgI/AAAAAAAAxd4/5JoRyeoFxS4kRn6rVYqncnG2HLIzUXLvw/w1200-h630-p-nu/Kalimantan.gif

Indonesia’s swampy peatlands are an important carbon sink holding an estimated 60 gigatons of CO2 – equivalent to more than six years of global emissions from fossil fuels.

Following the extensive 2015 forest fires – which cost Indonesia an estimated US$16.1 billion – Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced new plans to restore the land and prevent further fires.

In an average year landscape fires cause an estimated 110,000 premature deaths across southeast Asia – and 2015’s fires were much worse than the years used to model those impacts.

The fires were partly fuelled by forest clearance and peatland drainage by palm oil and pulpwood companies.

#déforestation #industrie_palmiste #forêt #Malaisie #Indonésie #cartographie

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0lIB7D9voM4/VupERru3M8I/AAAAAAAAxeA/enNBfy43DHg0b1Od75yy0K64LCGiQ7Kog/s1600/peat-map.png

Woman at the Window: Oratorio remembers the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire - World Socialist Web Site
▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/02/16/orat-f16.html

http://www.wsws.org/asset/db64f1dc-ea63-4e88-88ad-b4ce35df945H/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire_on_March_25_-_1911.jpg?rendition=image240

On February 4 and 5, students at the Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in Los Angeles performed Woman at the Window: The Triangle Factory Fire. The work is an oratorio about the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City in 1911 in which 146 people died. The incident was the deadliest industrial disaster in US history. The new work was written by students who performed it under the guidance of musicians from the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

#sweatshop #états_unis

Fuite de méthane en Californie : stabilisée mais toujours pas stoppée
▻http://www.lemonde.fr/pollution/article/2016/02/02/fuite-de-methane-en-californie-stabilisee-mais-toujours-pas-stoppee_4858234_

http://s1.lemde.fr/image/2016/02/02/644x322/4858232_3_8d40_image-infrarouge-publiee-par-l-ong-americaine-e_b70fe20190dad2ee64e8237506668217.jpg

D’immenses quantités de méthane continuent de s’échapper depuis plusieurs mois dans l’atmosphère, en #Californie, en raison de la fuite d’un puits de forage de gaz naturel, sur le site d’Aliso Canyon. Les conséquences à long terme sont pour l’instant inconnues mais tout indique que la catastrophe industrielle pourrait laisser des traces indélébiles pour l’#environnement.

#pollution

#Réassurance, 2015 « pas trop catastrophique », les prix continuent à baisser pour 2016
▻http://www.guycarp.com/content/dam/guycarp/en/documents/PressRelease/2016/Guy%20Carpenter%20Reports%20Stable%20Capital%20at%20January%201%202016%20Re

Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a leading global risk and #reinsurance specialist and wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, reports that overall capital levels dedicated to reinsurance have stabilized, showing no growth for the first time in several years. In a highly competitive environment, companies assessed broader opportunities and the rate of incoming capital slowed. However, moderate loss experience kept capacity at abundant levels for the January 1, 2016 renewals. The continued scarcity of costly catastrophe losses and more than adequate capacity led to reinsurance pricing reductions, although there are signs the rate of descent is slowing as compared to 2015.
[…]
Global Catastrophe Losses
Globally, significant insured losses from catastrophes reached approximately USD 30.5 billion in 2015, compared to USD 32 billion in 2014. Record-breaking cold weather in the US and Canada, along with winter storms in Europe, were the major natural disasters that occurred during the first quarter of 2015. Tropical cyclone activity in the Pacific also contributed to losses. Heavy rains in the Southern United States and hailstorms in Australia contributed to the bulk of losses in the second quarter, along with an earthquake in Nepal.

Among man-made disasters, the most significant loss event occurred in the third quarter with the explosion at the Port of #Tianjin in China in August. This landmark event caused significant insured losses in the range of USD 1.6 billion to USD 3.3 billion, and is likely to constitute one of the largest insured man-made losses to date in Asia.

The ‘Hezbollah stronghold’ : Dehumanising Dahiyeh
▻http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/hezbollah-stronghold-version-five-million-and-two-132502269

Imagine, for one moment, that on 11 September 2001, you turned on your television set to find the following news headlines: “Headquarters of murderous American war machine hit by attacks”; “Epicentre of US financial exploitation rocked by blasts”; “Many deaths as planes hit belligerent global hegemon".

#déshumanisation

BBC News - The Hurricane Station: WWL, the New Orleans radio station that fought to keep listeners alive during Hurricane Katrina

▻http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-20ed5228-1f23-4906-9057-ffdd9d5272f2

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/news/special/2015/newsspec_12195/media/700newkatrina_path_700-lr_aksrkmv.jpg

On Friday afternoons in the Big Easy, people clock off early.

True to its reputation as America’s most hedonistic city, offices empty as bars and restaurants fill up.

On 26 August 2005, many were scrambling to watch their beloved football team, the Saints, play against the Baltimore Ravens in the New Orleans Superdome.

Built in the 1970s, the Superdome sits next to a spaghetti of concrete flyovers. An imposing steel structure with a white roof, it sits in stark contrast to the Spanish inspired balconies with lace-like finishes in the French quarter, where tourists flock.

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Katrina Washed Away New Orleans’s Black Middle Class | FiveThirtyEight

▻http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/katrina-washed-away-new-orleanss-black-middle-class

▻https://espnfivethirtyeight.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/new_orleans_lede.jpg?quality=100&strip=all

Ten years ago, shortly after the floodwaters subsided, James Gray stood in the ruins of his New Orleans home and tried to salvage what remained of his belongings. They fit inside a handbag.

“I don’t know if my wife will ever get over that,” Gray said recently.

But Gray and his wife have since restored the New Orleans East home where they have lived for more than 20 years. Most of their neighbors have returned, too. And Gray, who now represents the neighborhood on the City Council, points to other evidence of rebirth in a district that has long been home to much of the city’s black middle class: a gleaming new hospital, which opened last year; new schools open or under construction; national chains such as Wal-Mart and CVS that are returning after years of absence.

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A ’new’ New Orleans emerges 10 years after hurricane Katrina - CSMonitor.com

▻http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2015/0825/A-new-New-Orleans-emerges-10-years-after-hurricane-Katrina

http://images.csmonitor.com/csm/2015/08/928598_1_0814-us-society-cneworleans_standard.jpg?alias=standard_900x600

New Orleans — American taxpayers put New Orleans back on its feet after hurricane Katrina. Matt Haines helped take it from there.

The young New Yorker came to New Orleans in 2009 as part of Ameri-
Corps to help resurrect the city after one of the worst natural disasters in US history, and, like more than 30,000 other people, never left. He bought a rickety house in the rough St. Claude neighborhood, fixed it up, then bought another. Today he still lives in that second shotgun house – a classic narrow rectangular box with a brightly painted Gothic facade.

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White people in New Orleans say they’re better off after Katrina. Black people don’t. - The Washington Post

▻http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/08/24/white-people-in-new-orleans-say-theyre-better-off-after-katrina-blac

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2015/08/HURRICANE-KATRINA-EVACUATION_image_982w.jpg

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in New Orleans. By all accounts, the city has made enormous strides since the 2005 calamity.

But how much residents think that’s true depends largely on their race.

A new Louisiana State University survey found that black and white people in New Orleans had starkly different assessments of their community’s strides since the storm.

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Increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30[thinsp]years : Abstract : Nature

▻http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v436/n7051/abs/nature03906.html

https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/92606/width668/image-20150820-7202-1amiep.jpg

Theory1 and modelling2 predict that hurricane intensity should increase with increasing global mean temperatures, but work on the detection of trends in hurricane activity has focused mostly on their frequency3, 4 and shows no trend. Here I define an index of the potential destructiveness of hurricanes based on the total dissipation of power, integrated over the lifetime of the cyclone, and show that this index has increased markedly since the mid-1970s. This trend is due to both longer storm lifetimes and greater storm intensities. I find that the record of net hurricane power dissipation is highly correlated with tropical sea surface temperature, reflecting well-documented climate signals, including multi-decadal oscillations in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and global warming. My results suggest that future warming may lead to an upward trend in tropical cyclone destructive potential, and—taking into account an increasing coastal population—a substantial increase in hurricane-related losses in the twenty-first century.

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Is New Orleans in danger of turning into a modern-day Atlantis? | Cities | The Guardian

▻http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/24/new-orleans-hurricane-katrina-louisiana-wetlands-modern-atlantis

http://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/8/20/1440085863856/175274e8-dccb-4792-b256-7e17b0af6e2d-2060x1236.jpeg?w=1200&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=a6bf61e69afc1ce6a012e1a64d698e19

In the years before Hurricane Katrina, residents of New Orleans sought solace in the belief that the Crescent City could build itself out of all environmental threats. Despite a sinking urban footprint, a shrinking coastal buffer and rising sea levels, they had faith that strong stormwater infrastructure was enough to keep them safe. The huge, federally built levee system encircling the metropolitan area enshrined that belief.

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Hurricane Katrina | US news | The Guardian

▻http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/hurricane-katrina

http://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/8/24/1440423807653/4d78e39b-26de-4dc6-805c-bac41d39477c-2060x1236.jpeg?w=860&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=a3035672813605a91c0ec9efbf870e01

Hurricane Katrina: The latest news and comment on Hurricane Katrina. The Guardian is marking the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with the series Hurricane Katrina: 10 years on.

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10 Years After Katrina, Will California’s Capital Be The Next New Orleans? | ThinkProgress

▻http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/24/3690955/sacramento-katrina-levees

http://cdn.thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/21111836/Sacramento-256x171.jpg

A 2011 New York Times Magazine story sounded the alarm: “Scientists consider Sacramento — which sits at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers and near the Delta — the most flood-prone city in the nation.” The article went on to note that experts fear an earthquake or violent Pacific superstorm could destroy the city’s levees and spur a megaflood that could wreak untold damage on California’s capital region.

#mississippi #katrina #nouvelle_orléans #états_unis #désastre #ouragan #climat

What Facebook, Blue Jeans, and Metal Signs Taught Us About Tornado Science - Facts So Romantic
▻http://nautil.us/blog/what-facebook-blue-jeans-and-metal-signs-taught-us-about-tornado-science

http://static.nautil.us/5997_077fd57e57aab32087b0466fe6ebcca8.png

Screen capture of Patty Bullion’s “Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes” Facebook page. On April 27, 2011 a monstrous EF5 tornado traveled 132 miles across northern Alabama and into southern Tennessee, missing one of the nation’s largest nuclear power plants by less than two miles, and also skirting the grounds of an Alabama state prison and obliterating the Alabama towns of Hackleburg and Phil Campbell. In Hackleburg, the tornado destroyed 75 percent of the structures, killed 18 people and crumpled a Wrangler blue jeans plant. The jeans were syphoned up into the air, and somewhere in the anvil of the thunderstorm that had spawned the twister they joined high school letter jackets, family photographs, homemade quilts, metal signs, and all manner of documents. In (...)

Spy agencies fund climate research in hunt for weather weapon, scientist fears | Environment | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/15/spy-agencies-fund-climate-research-weather-weapon-claim

A senior US scientist has expressed concern that the intelligence services are funding climate change research to learn if new technologies could be used as potential weapons.

Spy agencies could be funding geo-engineering research in pursuit of weaponising the weather, scientists claims - Science - News - The Independent
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/spy-agencies-could-be-funding-geoengineering-research-in-pursuit-of-w

Professor Robock’s concerns come as a major report on geo-engineering is to be published this week by the US National Academy of Sciences. Among the report’s list of sponsors is the “US intelligence community", which includes Nasa, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the US Department of Energy.

The professor alleges that the #CIA told a colleague of his that it wanted to fund the report, but claimed that it did not want this fact to be too obvious – he added that the CIA is “a major funder” of the report which “makes me really worried about who is going to be in control”.

He claimed the US government had a proven history of using the weather in a hostile way, citing the action of seeding clouds during the Vietnam War to muddy the Ho Chi Minh foot-trail and attempt to cut it off, as it was used as a supply route but the north Vietnamese.

He claimed the CIA had also seeded clouds over Cuba “to make it rain and ruin the sugar harvest”.

#géo-ingénierie #agression #Etats-Unis

160 people killed in US home fires during first two weeks of January - World Socialist Web Site

▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/01/19/fire-j19.html

160 people throughout the United States have been killed in home fires during the first two weeks of the year. House and apartment fires increase in the winter time as many people are forced to turn to unsafe electric, wood or fuel space heaters.

People were killed in home fires in 39 of the 50 states. Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio each saw 12 fire-related deaths. Ohio had the single deadliest fire on January 6, which killed five people from three generations while they were sleeping in a trailer home in the village of Sugar Grove.

#états-unis #incendies #biens_publics #pompiers #infrastructures

Urgent Matters Judge Nadim Zwein orders Al-Akhbar to remove ‘AUB Leaks’ story
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/urgent-matters-judge-nadim-zwein-orders-al-akhbar-remove-%E2%80%9

The Judge of Urgent Matters in Beirut, Nadim Zwein, issued an order (from his home) Wednesday, compelling Al-Akhbar to remove a report on the ‘AUB Leaks’ scandal titled, “Will allegations of corruption at AUB go to US courts?” published on November 14, 2014, and all documents linked to in the story from the newspaper’s website.

Judge Zwein’s decision follows a request made by the American University in Beirut (AUB), dated November 17, 2014, through its lawyer Randa Shaker Abu Suleiman from the Abu Suleiman Law Firm. AUB said that Al-Akhbar, in the report in question, had published “confidential internal documents, memos, and correspondence belonging to AUB.”

By doing so, AUB acknowledged the authenticity of the documents, and even acknowledged the presence of 1,000 documents comprising 1,220 pages that have the same classification. AUB requested that these documents remain undisclosed, despite the fact that they contain valuable information on how one of the top universities in Lebanon operates.

Judge Zwein justified his decision to approve AUB’s request by stating, “It does not appear from the case that the flagrant abuse (a term used by the university) is justified by [serving] an exceptional public interest that would vitiate the jurisdiction of the Court for Urgent Matters to intervene to stop the infringement.”

’Dangerously high’ levels of airborne carcinogens found at US fracking sites - Environment - The Independent
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/dangerously-high-levels-of-airborne-carcinogens-found-at-us-fracking-

Dangerously high levels of #cancer causing chemicals have been discovered in the air around “fracking” sites in the United States - highlighting the need for tougher regulations to control oil and gas extraction in Britain, scientists said.

Levels of benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulphide were many times above the US’s #air #pollution limits and were detected within residential areas near to fracking wells drilled across five different states, the researchers said.

Some levels of benzene – a known carcinogen – were more than 30 times the concentrations that would be found in the air at a petrol station when filling a car with fuel, they said.

#fracturation_hydraulique #santé

Greenland ice may melt even faster | Climate News Network

▻http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2014/05/greenland-ice-may-melt-even-faster

By Tim Radford

Research scientists discover that the vulnerability of Greenland’s glaciers to global warming is much greater than feared, increasing the threat of rising sea levels around the globe

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LONDON, 24 May − Just days after US researchers identified geophysical reasons why West Antarctica’s glaciers are increasingly vulnerable to global warming, a partner team has pinpointed a related cause for alarm in Greenland.

Many of the bedrock crevices and canyons down which the island’s glaciers flow have basements that are below sea level. This means that as warm Atlantic waters hit the glacier fronts, the glaciers themselves become more vulnerable to global warming and increasingly likely to melt at a faster rate.

#climat #arctique #groenland

Droughts may slash US maize gains | Climate News Network

▻http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2014/05/droughts-may-slash-us-maize-gains

By Tim Radford

High yields in the Corn Belt states of America’s Midwest could drop by up to 30%, scientists say, as crops become increasingly sensitive to droughts and hot, dry air as the world warms through climate change

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LONDON, 14 May − Maize yields are on the increase in the US − but so is the crop’s sensitivity to drought. Scientists calculate that, as things stand, crops could lose 15% of their yield within 50 years. And if the trend towards drought-sensitivity continues, then as much as 30% of the yield could be lost as the world warms and droughts become more frequent or more severe.

#climat #poduction_alimentaire #alimentation #maïs #agriculture #matières_premières_agricole @odilon

Offshore wind could calm hurricanes | Climate News Network

▻http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2014/02/offshore-wind-could-calm-hurricanes

By Tim Radford

US scientists say that very large wind farms could not only withstand a hurricane: they would also weaken it and so protect coastal communities.

LONDON, 26 February – US engineers have thought of a new way to take the heat out of a hurricane. Fortuitously-placed offshore wind farms could make dramatic reductions in wind speeds and storm surge wave heights.

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Hurricanes are capricious consequences of peculiar sea temperature and wind conditions, while wind farms are the outcome of years of thoughtful design and investment, and not an emergency response to a severe weather warning.

#climat #ouragans #énergie_éolienne #énergie_renouvelable

Find The Courage To Fight Back | The Resistance Report Week In Review 02.08.14
▻http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/find-the-courage-to-fight-back-the-resistance-report-week-in-review-

What Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Death Can Teach Us About Climate Change To suggest that the Keystone XL pipeline will not have a negative impact on the environment is like Walter White telling...