Extra

4,000 World Scientists Say: "Whoa!"

One of the biggest headlines of the year was buried on the bottom of page B9 in the Sunday Chronicle. Steve Newman's Earthwieek: Diary of a Changing World began with a report that an unprecedented global assembly of 14,000 scientists had signed an international appeal (published in the journal BioScience) shaming world leaders for failing to address "climate change and the deepening climate emergency."

The scientists called for the immediate elimination of all fossil fuels, massive reductions in chemical pollution, restoration of ecosystems, a transition to "plant-based diets," and reduction of swelling human populations. Noting that climate change is accelerating faster than the worst predictions, the scientists insisted that schools must begin teaching children about how human society must evolve to survive ongoing planetary extinctions.

As Greenland Melts, Florida Floods 

In late January, with record floods, hurricanes, and wildfires ravaging the planet's northern continents, Chinese scientists issued a prediction that Shanghai could be rendered uninhabitable by rising waters before the end of the century and a total of 630 million people could be driven from their homes worldwide. Even with lowered carbon emissions, scientists warned, rising waters would displace190 million people by 2022. 

A headline in Climate News drove home the danger: "Extreme Ice Melt in Greenland in One Day Was Enough to Cover Florida in Two Inches of Water." In 2019, the article reported, Greenland "shed roughly 532 billion tons of ice into the sea" causing the world's ocean's to rise "permanently by 1.5 millimeters." 

Can't Say We Weren't Warned 

While cataloging my collection of hundreds of copies of the Berkeley Barb, I came across a front-page story from May 14, 1976 with the headline: "How Changing Weather Can Destroy Us…." The article cited a CIA report warning that global climate changes were expected to trigger famines and starvation worldwide, triggering a political and economic crisis "almost beyond comprehension." The CIA report relied largely on the work of Dr. Reid A. Bryson, a climatologist who had issued similar warnings in a Saturday Review article that appeared in 1967 — 54 years ago. 

Leaked UN Report Warns "The Worst Is Yet to Come" 

Hot Ammo! Can Climate Change Put an End to War? 

While wars are heating up in various US-declared "trouble-spots" around the world, rising temperatures are leading to rising concerns that tons of US ammunition — bombs, bullets, grenades, etc., stored in more than 800 US military bases inside more than 70 foreign countries — could start exploding from the heat. In 2019, Scientific American warned that "intense heat can weaken a munition's structural integrity, cause the thermal expansion of explosive chemicals and damage protective shields." As a result, "heat-related detonations are 60% more likely in ammunition depots between late April and mid-September." The stakes are highest in literal "hot spots" like the triple-digits Middle East, where "nitroglycerin becomes so sensitive when it absorbs moisture that even a slight shake can set it off." 

This is not a theoretical discussion. In June 2018, Scientific American reports, a heat-event caused an arms depot in Iraq to explode. In 2019, two arms depot detonations killed or wounded dozens. In 2020 (as temps topped 113° Fahrenheit), at least six munitions sites went up in flames in Iraq, alone. 

Earth Island V. Coke in Epic Bottle Battle 

I was pleased to read that my compatriots at Berkeley's own Earth Island Institute have hit the Coca-Cola megacorps with a lawsuit over Coke's false claims that it is addressing its massive role in pumping tons of unrecycled plastic waste into landfills or pollutant-spewing incinerators. 

Once upon a time (before Coke became available in easily recylcable aluminum cans), all Coke bottles were made from rugged glass that could be endlessly recycled, washed and refilled. It used to be you could look at the bottom of an empty Coke bottle and read where it had originated—from any one of 1,450 US cities to exotic foreign locations. The bottles were like coins that had been in global circulation—with "mint marks" showing bottles that had originated in Mexico, Israel, China, France, Great Britain, Spain, etc. 

Today, most plastic Coke bottles are not recycled and many wind up in the 20-million-metric-ton morass of plastic waste that accumulates in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—which covers a span of ocean four times the size of California. 

Coca-Cola's official response to the lawsuit was not inspiring. A spokesperson lamely claimed the company has "promised" to collect "a bottle or can for every one we produce in recycle"—by 2030." 

Trump Is Still Gouging US Taxpayers 

According to recently released Secret Service statements, the US Treasury has been charged—and has paid—$14,658 in fees to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago retreat for 37 days of room rental for the Secret Service agents assigned to protect The Biggest Loser. It's a perfect scam for the Grifter-in-Chief: Trump profits by requiring taxpayers to pay for the privilege of protecting him. As of June, the Secret Service has paid out $86,000 in Mar-a-Lago lodging expenses. 

Here's a future scenario: Trump buys a prison, puts his name on it, upgrades it with golden toilets, and bills the tax-payers for the cost of serving his term in the slammer. 

The Top 25 Corporate Trumpophiles 

It's not just a majority of Republicans who favor Trump's bluster and flustered sense of electoral reality. Public Citizen has produced a list that reveals which US companies have put up money to support voter suppression legislation at the state level. Some of the familiar names on the list (in top-down levels of donation from 2015-2020) are: AT&T, Altria/Philip Morris, Comcast, Walmart, State Farm, Pfizer, Anheuser-Busch, Verison, and General Motors. Here's a link to the complete list. The top state receiving this corporate loot? Georgia, which was flooded with $10,807,095 that went to 81 local politicians who devoted their time to drafting no fewer than 26 "voter suppression bills." 

GM Is No Gem When It Comes to Defending Democracy 

MoveOn notes that "in the aftermath of the white supremacist attack on the US Capitol, General Motors was part of a wave of companies that suspended donations to 'election objectors,' pledging to pause their political contributions and reevaluate their standards." MoveOn also goes on to note that, despite its public pledges, "GM has donated tens of thousands of dollars to re-elect lawmakers who voted to overturn the election, making them one of the top corporate donors to insurrectionists." Among the Always-Trumpers on the GM dole: Senator Ron Johnson who has staunchly insisted that the January 6 mayhem was “by and large a peaceful protest.” Johnson, of course, also voted to void the 2020 election results, absolve Trump for his key role in fueling the insurrection, and tried to block a bipartisan investigation of the attack. 

Want to tell GM to GFd? Sign here: General Motors must stop funding insurrectionists. We cannot reward those who attack democracy and free elections. 

Dirty Dollars Is Back Online 

Not to be outdone, the Sierra Club has also been monitoring the cash/politics interface and has released a Dirty Dollars database—the first-time-ever compilation of fossil fuel donations accepted by every member of the California legislature as well as the governor and both major political parties. While corporate gifting is not expected to pick up until the approach of the next election, the Club was miffed to discover that Gov. Gav has pocketed $32,400 from the California Building Industry Association, a pro-carbon group that opposes plans to replace home gas appliances with clean, electric alternatives. 

Publishers Clearing House Strikes Again 

Those fat, provocative envelopes from PCH continue to arrive in my mailbox—and the hype continues to hop from come-on to bonus. The latest announcement promises a "Triple Upgrade to $15,000 a Week for Life." And the ever-changing "prize award date" has now been moved up to August 31^st. 

The moving prize date is one of the reasons I've been suspicious about the PCH's seemingly endless campaign to keep customers addicted to constantly expanding promises of great, unearned wealth. So I was surprised when some Google-sleuthing turned up evidence that real people have reportedly won real cash awards from PCH. 

Case in point: In February of this year, a PCH Surprise Squad showed up in Burbank to offer resident Tyson Martin his choice of a Ford Bronco Sport Outer Banks van or a check for $43,393. Closer to home, a list of a half-dozen names purportedly representing Bay Area winners, actually showed a photo of two Berkeley residents who received a $10,000 PCH prize—back in August of 2018. 

According to PCH itself: "We give away prizes every day with prize amounts ranging from $1.00 Amazon gift cards up to $20,000.00 cash. Major prizes of at least $10,000.00 are awarded nearly every month. PCH SuperPrizes ranging from $1 million to $10 million are awarded at least three times per year." 

PCH and the US Deputy Sheriff's Association 

One of the recent deluge of Publishers Clearing House solicitations was thinner-than-usual and contained little more than a response form and a mail-back envelope. But this wasn't the usual return envelope and the response form was not from PCH. Instead, the envelope contained a solicitation from the US Deputy Sheriff's Association, a private law enforcement lobbying organization headquartered in Merrifield, Virginia. According to the mailer, the USDSA exists to "support lifesaving equipment and officer training in survival and combat tactics." 

It seems fair to assume that the USDSA was granted access to PCH's extensive mailing list in exchange for some form of payment. A ready-to-sign supporters' postcard included the complaint that law enforcement personnel "are constantly under siege. Not just from criminals, but also from the news media and others who seem to criticize everything you do." An enclosed flier referenced "anti-police riots [that] have resulted in fatal shootings of our police at staggering rates!" 

(Note: Despite the USDSA's characterization of a nation-wide "War on Police," there appear to be little-to-no instances of police being gunned down in urban shoot-outs with armed "anti-police protesters." The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reports 264 police officers killed "in the line of duty" in 2020—while that's a troubling 96% increase over 2019, it isn't attributable to "anti-police protesters." Over the last decade, the NLEOMF database attributes just one officer's death to a "terrorist attack.") 

A few days later, a separate envelope arrived in the mail, sent directly from the USDSA. In a fund-raising cover letter, USDSA Executive Director David Hinners bemoans "budget cuts [that] have been forcing thousands of police officers to face riots, hardened criminals—and ANTIFA terrorists—without the proper equipment to protect themselves." 

The packet contained seven enclosures including a postcard, a poll, a fund-raising pitch, and a petition to California Governor Newsom. The petition to Newsom contained a "Whereas" that read: "with so much of law enforcement training being watered-down largely due to the 'politically-correct' movement… many in law enforcement are not getting the cutting edge active shooter response training they need." 

Citing "the Radical Anti-cop and Defund the Police Movement Sweeping the Country," the rise of cop-killer "Ambushes," and "Politicians Releasing Thousands of Criminals During the COVID Pandemic," the mailer called for donations to purchase "basic essential equipment"—i.e., body armor, ballistic helmets, and $850 bullet-proof vests—for cash-strapped officers in Texas and Mississippi. 

When Movie Reviews Refuse to Play Nice 

Aside from being a Supreme Court Judge, few appointed positions promise as much clout and independence as that of the film critic. Herewith, a few snippets from some recent reviews. 

Mick LaSalle, Chronicle, on "Swan Song": 

"Swan Song" is the movie equivalent of a bad hair day…. The film is kindly and well-intended, but it's also sentimental and lifeless. "Swan Song: is a rare movie without a single good scene. 

Kelly Vance, East Bay Express, on "Annette": 

Assuming an "avant-garde" stance presumes the artists possess the talent and inspiration to present the material "straight" in the first place. Such is not the case here…. To sum up Annette: Long and drawn out. Skimpy plot. Irritatingly pretentious. Poverty of language. Completely humorless. Opaque, dismal melodies. 

Yasser Medina, Cinemaficionados, "Jungle Cruise": 

Despite the obvious chemistry between Johnson and Blunt, along the way its jungle adventure becomes dull and gets lost like a canoe on the river as it follows the map of Disney's well-known formulas to the letter. 

Bill Watters, Nerdbot, "F9: The Fast Saga": 

It's one thing to create a film that is mindless fun, but it's another to have your lead actor emoting like it's an earthy drama while the dumbest action sequences to be seen since Travolta landed a helicopter on a plane's wing in Face/Off. 

Blake Howard, Dark Horizons, "Space Jam": 

"Space Jam: A New Legacy" is a deplorable act of IP coercion and grave robbery that is as boring as it is vindictive.