[GWSG] Fossil free candidates; Chomsky on insanity; the midterm environment; utilities shifting; UK renewables now over 50%

[Tilley, Al]

1. Over 1,200 US candidates for public office in the past election took a pledge not to accept knowingly any contribution over $200 from fossil fuel providers. The No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge campaign was organized after the Democratic National Committee in August reversed its policy of not accepting fossil fuel money.  https://www.ecowatch.com/candidates-reject-fossil-fuel-cash-2616538962.html?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=0d35999380-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-0d35999380-85965093
1,200+ U.S. Officials and Candidates Have Rejected Fossil Fuel Cash<https://www.ecowatch.com/candidates-reject-fossil-fuel-cash-2616538962.html?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=0d35999380-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-0d35999380-85965093>
www.ecowatch.com
With record-breaking hurricanes, furious wildfires and an ominous report from the United Nations that forecasts catastrophic climate change, it's more important than ever to vote for leaders who are defenders of the environment.


The No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge website lists supporting organizations at the bottom of the page, and signers on a link. The site is funded by Oil Change. http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/politician-signup/
[http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/nofossilfuelmoneypledge-v1.jpg]<http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/politician-signup/>

No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge: Politician Signup - No Fossil ...<http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/politician-signup/>
nofossilfuelmoney.org
Taking the pledge means that you and your campaign will adopt a policy to not knowingly accept any contributions over $200 from the PACs or executives of fossil fuel companies — companies whose primary business is the extraction, processing, distribution, or sale of oil, gas, or coal.



2. Noam Chomsky sees criminal insanity at work in our culture, with Donald Trump as chief lunatic. Climate is the focus of the lunacy. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/noam-chomsky-calls-trump-and-republican-allies-criminally-insane/
[https://static.scientificamerican.com/blogs/cache/file/858EC985-4217-490C-9759D89D54CF045B.jpg]<https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/noam-chomsky-calls-trump-and-republican-allies-criminally-insane/>

Noam Chomsky Calls Trump and Republican Allies "Criminally ...<https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/noam-chomsky-calls-trump-and-republican-allies-criminally-insane/>
blogs.scientificamerican.com
The great linguist and political critic remains hopeful that we can overcome global warming and other threats



3. Climate action got mixed results in the US midterm elections. The WA State initiative for the country’s firs carbon tax failed, as did Floridians backing a Green New Deal, but a new set of climate activists were elected to the US house of representatives. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/green-new-deal-progressive-democrats_us_5be26f5be4b0769d24c6a954
[https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5be26ff226000005038413a9.jpeg?ops=1910_1000]<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/green-new-deal-progressive-democrats_us_5be26f5be4b0769d24c6a954>

Democrats’ Green New Deal Wing Takes Shape Amid Wave Of ...<https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/green-new-deal-progressive-democrats_us_5be26f5be4b0769d24c6a954>
www.huffingtonpost.com
The Democratic Party’s nascent Green New Deal wing took shape Tuesday night as a series of progressive climate hawks notched historic, if expected, victories, tempering a night of stinging state ...


EcoWatch supplies their take on how the midterms went for the environment. https://www.ecowatch.com/midterm-results-environment-climate-change-2618493194.html?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=d8075a2a1c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-d8075a2a1c-85965093
The Best and Worst Midterm Results for the Environment<https://www.ecowatch.com/midterm-results-environment-climate-change-2618493194.html?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=d8075a2a1c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-d8075a2a1c-85965093>
www.ecowatch.com
Results from the U.S. midterm election are mostly in, and, when it comes to what they mean for the environment, they're a real mixed bag.



4. The WA Post reports on the ballot measures which supported—or, mostly failed to support—environmental issues, and surveys existing state policies on the energy trasnition. https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/07/ballot-measures-taking-aim-climate-change-fall-short/?utm_term=.a67d05be0c07
Voters rejected most ballot measures aimed at curbing ...<https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/11/07/ballot-measures-taking-aim-climate-change-fall-short/?utm_term=.a67d05be0c07>
www.washingtonpost.com
Brady Dennis Brady Dennis is a national reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on the environment and public health issues. He previously spent years covering the nation’s economy. Dennis ...



5. Massive spending on propaganda campaigns by fossil fuel corporations worked to defeat severa; green initiatives, including the WA state carbon tax proposal. https://theintercept.com/2018/11/07/midterm-elections-green-ballot-measures-fossil-fuel/
[https://theintercept.imgix.net/wp-uploads/sites/1/2018/11/GettyImages-695283944-1541617323-e1541617388145.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&q=90&fit=crop&w=250&h=140]<https://theintercept.com/2018/11/07/midterm-elections-green-ballot-measures-fossil-fuel/>

Fossil Fuel Industry Spent Millions to Kill Green Ballot ...<https://theintercept.com/2018/11/07/midterm-elections-green-ballot-measures-fossil-fuel/>
theintercept.com
It was a similar story in Washington, where the legislature failed earlier this year to get a somewhat similar carbon tax measure through the legislature, falling short by “one or two votes ...



6. We need to increase the rate at which we are decarbonizing our power supply. Some significant utilities in the US are shifting from seeing renewables as a threat to viewing them as opportunities. https://sepapower.org/knowledge/opportunity-or-what-happens-when-utilities-and-regulators-take-climate-change-seriously/
[https://sepapower.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Julia-speaking.jpg]<https://sepapower.org/knowledge/opportunity-or-what-happens-when-utilities-and-regulators-take-climate-change-seriously/>

Opportunity, or what happens when utilities and regulators ...<https://sepapower.org/knowledge/opportunity-or-what-happens-when-utilities-and-regulators-take-climate-change-seriously/>
sepapower.org
Julia is a visionary non-profit leader at the center of the transformation underway in the electric power sector to a clean and modern energy future .



7. British now has greater production capacity energy through renewables than through fossil fuels. A third of the fossil fuel capacity has been retired in the last five years. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/07/british-renewables-hits-42-gigawatts-surpasses-fossil-fuels/
[https://cleantechnica.com/files/2018/06/Race-Bank-Offshore-Wind-Farm-Siemens-Orsted-3.jpg]<https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/07/british-renewables-hits-42-gigawatts-surpasses-fossil-fuels/>

British Renewables Hits 42 Gigawatts & Surpasses Fossil ...<https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/07/british-renewables-hits-42-gigawatts-surpasses-fossil-fuels/>
cleantechnica.com
Pushed over the line by two coal-to-biomass conversions and continuing growth in offshore wind, the British renewable energy industry finally surpassed the capacity levels of its fossil fuel ...



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