Catholic Bishops Call for End to Fossil Fuels
A group of Catholic bishops attending the UN climate talks in Lima, Peru, have called for abandoning fossil fuels and a renewed focus in producing a global treaty to reduce carbon emissions. Monsignor Salvador Piñeiro García-Calderón, Archbishop of Ayacucho, and president of the Peruvian Bishops’ Conference, said: ‘We can see it’s the poorest people who are impacted the most, despite the fact they’ve contributed the least to causing it.’ In their statement the bishops call for 100 percent reliance on renewable energy and universal access to sustainable energy.
Treasury Nominee Withdraws After Warren-Led Opposition over Wall Street Ties
A Wall Street banker tapped by President Obama for a top post at the Treasury Department has removed himself from the running following opposition from progressives led by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren had criticized the nomination of Antonio Weiss, who has spent 20 years at the financial firm Lazard, where he worked on so-called tax inversions, whereby companies like Burger King have moved overseas to dodge U.S. taxes. More than 160,000 people had signed a petition calling for the Senate to reject Weiss’ nomination to the third highest post at Treasury. After withdrawing from consideration for that post, he has taken a job as counselor to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
Pipeline Leaks 3 Million Gallons of Brine from Oil Drilling
In North Dakota, nearly three million gallons of saltwater created as a byproduct of oil drilling have leaked from a pipeline. According to the Associated Press, the spill is the largest since the state’s oil boom began and nearly three times worse than the previous record. This comes after up to 50,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana, where residents of Glendive and the surrounding area have been told not to drink their water.
Greek Government Rehires 600 Cleaning Staff Laid Off Due to Austerity
In a symbolic move, the new Greek government has hired almost 600 laid-off government cleaners, mostly women, who had been protesting outside the finance and economy ministries. They were laid off in 2013 as part of an austerity measure to meet demands by international lenders for the Greek bailout. Greece’s new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, announced the decision.
16 Million Children in the U.S. Now Live in Families on Food Stamps
A new report has found more 16 million children in the United States live in families that receive food stamps. The figure has almost doubled since 2007 before the economic crisis began. According to the Southern Education Foundation, more than half the children attending public school now qualify for federal programs for free or reduced-price lunches — it is the highest percentage in at least 50 years.
Russian pipeline disaster spills oil into the Black Sea
a pipeline outside the Russian town of Tuapse burst, sending a flood of oil into the Black Sea. Cleanup efforts have been slow due to severe storms and unsafe water conditions, and the local government has declared a state of emergency. According to ChernomorTransneft, a subsidiary of Russia’s main oil transport company Transneft, approximately 8.4 cubic meters of oil leaked into the body of water, but critics are skeptical about that figure. The damaged section of the pipeline was reportedly under construction by a subsidiary of oil giant Rosneft and was not yet being used by Transneft. Oil company officials are blaming a landslide for damaging the pipeline.