Palestinian Activists Launch Freedom Rides in West Bank
Palestinian activists in the West Bank have announced plans to board Jewish-only public buses today to protest segregation under Israeli occupation. Dubbed the “Freedom Rides,” the campaign is inspired by the 1961 Freedom Riders who rode interstate buses to challenge the Jim Crow laws of the Deep South. Six Palestinian activists were arrested in the occupied West Bank.
Australian Law Forces Worst Polluting Companies to Pay Carbon Emissions Tax
The Australian Senate has approved a landmark law to force the country’s 500 worst-polluting companies to pay a tax on their carbon emissions. Australia uses coal as main source to generate electricity. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard supported the measure.
Julia Gillard, Australian prime minister: “Today, Australia has a price on carbon as the law of our land. This comes after a quarter-of-a-century of scientific warnings, 37 parliamentary inquiries, and years of bitter debate and division. Today, our nation has got this done. It has taken the most effective step it can to cut carbon pollution.”
Airborne particulates causes more intense flooding and drought
According to a new study from University of Maryland researchers, higher levels of airborne particulates has been linked to more intense weather manifesting as flooding and drought. The findings are the first of their kind to indicate that air pollution doesn’t merely dirty the sky, it can actually change the climate too. Scientists have suspected that pollution from airborne dust and soot play a role in cloud development, but a recent pairing of observed weather data along with computer modeling confirms it.