The Environment
Lack of action on climate change leads to warmest decade ever recorded
By James Cogan, 20 January 2020
For all the proclamations by corporations and governments that they accept the need to reduce fossil fuel use, carbon emissions rose to the highest ever level in 2019.
Australian Labor Party closes ranks with Morrison government in bushfire crisis
By Oscar Grenfell, 18 January 2020
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has largely refrained from criticising the inadequate government response on the grounds of ensuring “national unity.”
Smoke haze from Australian bushfires pose serious public health threat
By John Mackay, 18 January 2020
The fine particulates in smoke from fires has been known to contain a toxic mix of chemicals that are a concern to public health.
Trump seeks to roll back environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects
By Daniel de Vries, 17 January 2020
The administration announced a proposal to upend longstanding environmental law requiring the government to document environmental impacts.
Australia: Balmoral firefighters say they were “abandoned” and demand better resources
By our reporters, 17 January 2020
“Governments are definitely not looking after us—there’s too many hidden agendas—and things are not being done to make sure we’ve got adequate power or water.”
The Australian fire crisis and the necessity for socialism
By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 11 January 2020
That the Australian prime minister denied any link between the fires and global warming epitomises the organic incapacity of the ruling classes internationally to address, let alone resolve, the climate crisis.
Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans still without electricty, water, days after earthquake
By Matthew Taylor, 10 January 2020
The 6.4 magnitude earthquake devastated the US territory which has yet to recover from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Maria in 2017, leaving two thirds of the population without electricity and a quarter million without water.
“Everyone is saying this government has to go”
Australia: Victim of East Gippsland bushfire voices anger over government negligence
By Margaret Rees, 10 January 2020
“The amount of money they spend on submarines and fighter planes. It should be spent on internal water bombers and resources.”
Ruling class bereft of answers while catastrophic fires escalate across Australia
By James Cogan, 4 January 2020
The criminal indifference of the Australian ruling elite to the threat of climate change has its parallels around the world.
Australia: Climate change and the bushfire crisis
By Frank Gaglioti, 4 January 2020
“Long-term climate change in Australia is an undeniable reality.”
Fires create hellish conditions across Australia
By Mike Head, 31 December 2019
An unprecedented mass evacuation order for an area half the size of Belgium gave tens of thousands of residents and holidaymakers just hours to pack up and leave.
Hexavalent chromium contamination likely leaking onto Detroit-area freeway since 2016
By Kevin Reed, 31 December 2019
As more details emerge about the oozing of the known carcinogen from the basement of a small metal plating company over the Christmas holiday, it is becoming clear that government environmental agencies are also directly responsible.
Worsening Australian fires pose the need for urgent action on climate change
By James Cogan, 30 December 2019
No region or nation-state on the planet is immune to the impact of climate change.
Killing of two Indonesian journalists points to criminality in palm oil industry
By Owen Howell, 27 December 2019
According to police, the two men were allegedly murdered by hired killers paid by a plantation owner.
Australian fires bring growing global climate crisis into stark relief
By James Cogan, 23 December 2019
The catastrophic fires in Australia follow blazes that have engulfed large areas of California, Siberia, Borneo and the Amazon.
Bush fires claim lives and property as Australia endures hottest days in recorded history
By James Cogan, 20 December 2019
The development of catastrophic conditions has been predicted and warned about for years.
Australia: New South Wales residents speak out on bushfire crisis
By our reporters, 19 December 2019
“I’m more than certain that the Australian government has money to purchase planes to fight the fires, instead of wasting money on military jets and military equipment.”
With support from Governor Newsom, California utility PG&E finalizes settlement with fire victims
By Anthony del Olmo, 19 December 2019
The revised settlement retains the incredibly inadequate $13.5 billion payout, a pittance compared to the immense destruction wrought by the company’s criminally negligent practices.
California governor rejects PG&E’s bankruptcy settlement, demands token reforms
By Anthony del Olmo, 16 December 2019
If PG&E accedes to Newsom’s demands, the company’s board will simply be changed from Wall Street vultures to financial parasites from California.
New Zealand: Warnings about danger of White Island eruption were ignored
By Tom Peters, 13 December 2019
There is growing anger among relatives of those killed and injured that warnings of a volcanic eruption were ignored by tourism companies and government regulators.
Australia: Thousands attend climate change rally in Sydney
By Martin Scott, 13 December 2019
While bushfires ravaged the state, workers and students gathered to protest government inaction on climate change.
Uranium contaminated site collapsed into the Detroit River during the Thanksgiving holiday
By Kevin Reed, 7 December 2019
The public was not alerted to the existence of the toxic spill potentially affecting Detroit’s drinking water until a report was published this week by a local paper across the river in Windsor, Ontario.
Australian cities bathed in smoke from hundreds of bushfires
By Martin Scott, 7 December 2019
Fires in four states have destroyed homes and caused hazardous air pollution.
Rising seas threaten US Pacific nuclear dump
By John Braddock, 23 November 2019
A concrete dome, a relic of the US nuclear testing program, is breaking up and beginning to spill deadly nuclear waste into the Pacific Ocean.
Venice sees second worst flooding in recorded history
By Allison Smith, 19 November 2019
Massive flooding last week brought Venice, Italy to its knees, with local authorities estimating that more than 85 percent of the city is under water.
Australia: Bushfires continue to ravage New South Wales and Queensland
By Martin Scott, 14 November 2019
Four people are dead and more than 300 homes have been lost in catastrophic fires.
US: Murray Energy files for bankruptcy, miners’ pensions in peril
By Samuel Davidson, 1 November 2019
The bankruptcy the coal giant threatens 7,000 jobs and the bankruptcy of health and pension funds for 82,000 current and former miners and their families.
Hundreds of thousands evacuated, more than two million without power as fires continue in California
By Gabriel Black and Dan Conway, 29 October 2019
In the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country in the world, millions are forced to spend days without power or flee for their lives as wildfires continue to rage.
Over two million to be without power over weekend as wildfires sweep through California
By Dan Conway, 26 October 2019
Millions of Californians are told to prepare for further power outages as wildfires wreak havoc across the length of the country’s most populous state.
California utility PG&E imposes mass blackouts for second time this month
By Jonathan Burleigh, 25 October 2019
Despite California Governor Gavin Newsom’s posturing as an opponent of the utility’s profiteering, PG&E knows full well that it will not be held responsible for the social cost of its power shutoffs.
The irrationality of capitalism: Millions cut off from electricity, lives endangered by California utility PG&E
By Evan Blake, 11 October 2019
The forced blackouts affecting over two million people and businesses across 34 counties in Northern California serve as a stark example of the irrationality of the capitalist system.
Officials cover up lead in water crisis in Newark, New Jersey
By Shuvu Batta, 27 September 2019
Residents of Newark, New Jersey, continue to be exposed to lead in their tap water as their city and state officials attempt to lie their way out of the crisis.
Millions march against climate change, capitalism and war
By Bryan Dyne and Will Morrow, 21 September 2019
“Any talk about climate change must include socialism and the economic system.”
Bushfires in Australia: Another symptom of climate change
By Frank Gaglioti, 21 September 2019
Early spring fires are an “omen” of an unprecedented and disastrous season ahead due to hot, windy and dry conditions.
The only solution to climate change is world socialism
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 19 September 2019
The millions marching against global warming must turn to the international working class to solve the unfolding environmental catastrophe.
Fires consume more than 4.2 million acres of Bolivia’s forests
By Cesar Uco, 10 September 2019
A decree to expand deforestation for livestock and the agribusiness sector was a betrayal of the campaign promises made by President Evo Morales and his MAS ruling party.
The issues raised by climate change in the wake of Hurricane Dorian
By Bryan Dyne, 9 September 2019
The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian further supports the prediction that global warming will cause more destructive tropical storms.
Death toll mounts in Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian lingers off Carolina coast
By a reporter, 6 September 2019
The scenes of devastation on Grand Bahama and Abaco islands have astonished observers and drawn comparison to areas levelled by saturation bombing in wartime.
Trump administration to reverse methane rules for energy industry
By Daniel de Vries, 2 September 2019
EPA’s climate sabotage continues with plans to drop methane leakage rules.
Amazon wildfires expose fallacy of “green” capitalist politics
By Miguel Andrade, 28 August 2019
While Bolsonaro invokes rabid dictatorship-era chauvinism, world powers are using the fires to further their own strategic aims.
Michigan: Two million gallons of untreated sewage spill into Flint River
By Mitch Marcus, 24 August 2019
Exposure to or ingestion of raw or partially treated sewage, as the city maintains is the case here, can cause immediate harmful effects.
Wildfires rage throughout the Amazon rainforest
By Bryan Dyne, 23 August 2019
The Amazon rainforest supplies one-fifth of the world’s oxygen and plays a key role in the planet’s climate.
Tensions over climate change dominate Pacific Islands summit
By John Braddock, 20 August 2019
Australia, with New Zealand’s support, has again quashed efforts by small Pacific Island states to push for measures to address climate change.
ArcelorMittal and state officials hid news of Indiana chemical spill
By Jessica Goldstein, 19 August 2019
Despite the posturing of local politicians, ArcelorMittal will likely receive no more than a slap on the wrist for its reckless polluting of the environment.
Trump administration sabotages Endangered Species Act
By Kevin Martinez, 15 August 2019
The White House is seeking to reduce environmental regulations aimed at preserving plants and animals from extinction.
Hottest July on record signals accelerated climate change
By Philip Guelpa, 12 August 2019
Global warming is rapidly approaching the point of causing irreversible climate disruption, threatening human existence.
UN: Global food and water crisis threatens 3 billion people
By Bryan Dyne, 9 August 2019
A new report by the United Nations warns that anthropogenic climate change, if left unchecked, will render a steadily increasing portion of Earth essentially uninhabitable.
Second heatwave of 2019 shatters temperature records in western Europe
By Will Morrow, 27 July 2019
A significant element of the heatwave commented on by climate scientists was that heat records were not only beaten but shattered by between two and four degrees.
Clairton, Pennsylvania residents denounce US Steel pollution
By Evan Winters, 27 July 2019
After a fire last year disabled pollution controls, US Steel continued operating its Clairton Coke Plant, exposing the population to pollution levels exceeding those in Beijing, China.
Millions without electrical power in Michigan and northeast US
By Bryan Dyne, 23 July 2019
The blackouts induced by summer storms and the ongoing heatwave expose the fragility of infrastructure in the United States.
Plastic waste from foreign nations dumped in East Java village
By Owen Howell, 20 July 2019
With China blocking imports of recyclable waste, developed countries have now resorted to illegally smuggling plastic into Indonesia and other parts of South East Asia.
Thousands protest in central China against proposed waste incinerator
By Robert Campion, 19 July 2019
The Wuhan protests are an expression of the growing social discontent throughout China, occurring at the same time as the mass demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Hurricane Barry makes landfall in Louisiana as New Orleans avoids danger
By Tom Hall, 15 July 2019
The storm demonstrated the grossly inadequate level of disaster preparedness and infrastructure in what is supposedly the richest country on earth.
Major flooding inundates New Orleans as Tropical Storm Barry heads towards landfall
By Aaron Murch, 12 July 2019
Nearly 14 years after Hurricane Katrina, the city remains vulnerable to catastrophic flooding.
Chicago water meter program halted after testing reveals lead contamination
By Benjamin Mateus, 10 July 2019
Officials have known for many years that the city has a serious issue related to lead in its drinking water.
Two major earthquakes strike in two days: Why aren’t California’s cities ready for the “big one”?
By Dan Conway, 8 July 2019
Although there was no significant injury or loss of life, the quakes caused significant damage to homes and small businesses in in the city of Ridgecrest, 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
France records hottest temperature ever in European heat wave
By Will Morrow, 1 July 2019
At least nine people have already died due to the heat, but that number is expected to rise in coming weeks.
Fridays for Future: Tens of thousands demonstrate on climate change in Aachen, Germany
By our reporters, 26 June 2019
Under the slogan, “Climate Justice Without Borders—United for a Future,” about 40,000 young people in Aachen demanded a rapid shutdown of coal-fired power plants and other measures.
Canada: Alberta wildfires force evacuations, threaten air quality
By Janet Browning, 6 June 2019
Even as Alberta’s premier dismissed any link between climate change and the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, smoke forced him to cancel an outdoor Calgary event.
Widespread damage in Dayton, Ohio area after series of tornadoes
By Shannon Jones, 29 May 2019
The devastating tornadoes that hit the area this week are compounding the city's social crisis.
Police intimidation and violence used against UK fracking protestors
By Dennis Moore, 29 May 2019
A police monitoring report highlights how large numbers of officers have been using aggressive and confrontational tactics, most notably in Lancashire and North Yorkshire.
Germany: Tens of thousands demonstrate against climate change
By Iason Stolpe, 2 April 2019
On March 29 around 25,000 demonstrated in Berlin alone. The main speaker in Berlin was the initiator of the protests, Greta Thunberg from Sweden.
Record flooding continues to inundate US Midwest
By Jonas Boquist, 25 March 2019
Record flood levels have been registered at 42 locations across six states and the effects are still being felt across the central US.
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi face a humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of Cyclone Idai
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 20 March 2019
Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, reported that more than 1,000 people had been killed by high winds and widespread flooding.
Ocean degradation accelerated by global warming
By Henry Allan, 19 March 2019
The decline in oceanic oxygen caused by climate change is at least as dangerous to marine life as ocean acidification.
The Youth Climate Strike and the fight against global warming
By Bryan Dyne, 14 March 2019
That the demonstration planned for Friday has evoked a broad response is an indication of both the serious nature of the ecological crisis and the radicalization of youth all over the world.
Alarming levels of toxins leaking into US groundwater from coal ash ponds
By Jessica Goldstein, 6 March 2019
Coal ash contains dangerous toxins which are known to cause serious health problems, including cancer and kidney and liver damage.
The fallacies and evasions of the Green New Deal
By Bryan Dyne and Barry Grey, 5 March 2019
Democratic no less than Republican administrations have imposed austerity policies and prosecuted the decades-long social counterrevolution that continues today.
UK school pupils and students protest climate change
By our reporters, 18 February 2019
Up to 15,000 young people demonstrated throughout the UK on Friday, protesting in every main town and city.
Veteran Trotskyist Barbara Slaughter addresses Leeds climate change demo
By our reporters, 18 February 2019
Slaughter, of the Socialist Equality Party, was warmly welcomed, especially when she described the global character of the crisis and the necessity for global action to address it.
Heavy snow storm exposes depth of social crisis in US Pacific Northwest
By Kayla Costa, 14 February 2019
Winter Storm Nadia brought record snowfall and low temperatures to Washington and Oregon, imposing harsh burdens on the homeless, poor and working class.
Six dead as record-breaking Arctic air mass hits US Midwest
By Niles Niemuth, 31 January 2019
The onset of exceptionally frigid temperatures has once again exposed the failure of American capitalism, which is unable to maintain the infrastructure required to withstand extreme weather events.
Fish kills highlight mismanagement of Australian waterways
By Martin Scott, 25 January 2019
Drought alone cannot be blamed for the environmental crisis in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Extreme heatwave hits Australia
By Frank Gaglioti, 18 January 2019
The extended period of high temperatures is having serious impacts on people’s health, as well as agriculture and wildlife.
The working class and the environmental crisis
By Patrick Martin, 19 December 2018
It is not “humanity” that is guilty of contributing to climate change or the destruction of the ecosystem. It is the capitalist class.
Greenland ice sheet melting at an accelerating rate due to global warming
By Philip Guelpa, 14 December 2018
Data obtained from ice cores taken from the Greenland ice sheet reveal that the past decade has seen the fastest melt rate in 350 years.
World leaders converge on Poland for climate summit
By Daniel de Vries, 12 December 2018
The Katowice conference takes place amid dire warnings that the world remains on track for climate catastrophe.
Australia: Thousands protest climate change and new Adani coal mine
By our reporters, 10 December 2018
The environmental groups that organised the rally are seeking to subordinate an emerging movement of young people to the very parties responsible for environmental destruction.
Illinois EPA conceals environmental health hazards from thousands
By George Gallanis, 24 November 2018
Chicago’s poor and working class West and South sides are exposed to the greatest levels of toxic air pollution.
Australia: Youth speak out against environmental destruction, poverty and war
By our reporters, 24 November 2018
Geelong high school students joined one of many planned “walk-outs for climate action.”
The fire in Paradise, California: From natural disaster to social catastrophe
By David Brown, 21 November 2018
While wildfires, like hurricanes, are rooted in natural causes, the horrific consequences are the product of corporate malfeasance and government neglect.
Photo Essay: The social cost of the Camp Fire
By Toby Reese and Douglas Alan, 19 November 2018
World Socialist Web Site reporters visited a tent camp set up outside of a Walmart near Chico, California, as well as parts of Paradise, California, which was destroyed by the Camp Fire.
Death toll rises to 71, more than 1,000 missing from devastating California wildfires
By Evan Blake, 17 November 2018
Most of those listed as missing are elderly, with 91 percent over the age of 50, and therefore more likely to have perished given the rapidity of the wildfire’s spread and the lack of a citywide warning system.
World Socialist Web Site speaks with California wildfire evacuees
By our reporters, 16 November 2018
The death toll in Northern California’s Camp Fire jumped to 63 on Thursday with the number of missing increasing to 631.
Investigations point to energy corporation’s negligence in California wildfire
By E.P. Milligan, 15 November 2018
The PG&E utility company admitted Tuesday that it had submitted an “electric incident report” moments before the outbreak of the Camp Fire, the deadliest fire in California history.
As death toll rises to 48
Evacuees in California wildfire share their stories
By Evan Blake and Ben McGrath, 14 November 2018
There is a growing mood of anger among survivors over the indifference of the state and federal governments.
California wildfire deadliest and most destructive in state history
By David Brown, 12 November 2018
Social infrastructure, including fire departments, have been starved of funds for decades as trillions of dollars have been funneled into the bank accounts of the rich.
California wildfires kill nine, drive 150,000 from their homes
By David Brown, 10 November 2018
Driven by heavy winds, three major fires broke out Thursday across California, one of which destroyed the northern town of Paradise.
World vertebrate populations have fallen 60 percent since 1970
By Bryan Dyne, 1 November 2018
The latest Living Planet Report demonstrates the far-reaching implications of human activity on both the climate and the degradation of the natural environment.
Dozens missing in Hurricane Michael as death toll rises
By Patrick Martin, 16 October 2018
President Trump’s visit to the devastated area Monday was a cynical and empty display, under conditions where there will be little federal aid to rebuild the region.
Hurricane Michael brings death, devastation to US Southeast
By Kate Randall, 13 October 2018
Mexico Beach, Florida, known for its pristine beaches, fishing and boating, now resembles a war zone, with 95 percent of its structures uninhabitable.
Hurricane Michael leaves trail of death and destruction in southeastern US
By Daniel de Vries, 12 October 2018
The death toll, which currently stands at six, will almost certainly rise as emergency personnel gain access to more communities laid to waste by the storm.
UN report warns of catastrophic consequences of climate change within 20 years
By Bryan Dyne, 10 October 2018
The increasingly dire warnings from scientists about the impact of human-caused global warming stand in stark contrast with the tepid and complacent response of world governments.
Indonesian tsunami relief grossly inadequate as death toll tops 1,200
By Tom Peters, 2 October 2018
Among survivors, there is growing outrage over the lack of assistance and the absence of a functioning tsunami warning system.
As new flooding forces evacuations in South Carolina
Hurricane Florence unleashes coal ash, hog waste pollution
By Ed Hightower, 26 September 2018
The areas around Conway and Georgetown in coastal South Carolina continue to see massive flooding as rivers surge from last week’s record rains.
Tropical Storm Florence inundates toxic manure ponds, coal ash dumps in the Carolinas
By Ed Hightower, 19 September 2018
The storm’s devastating impact demonstrates the immense costs of deregulation on the one hand and the need for socialist planning and public ownership of industry on the other.
Thirty-one dead as Hurricane Florence continues to ravage the Carolinas
By Matthew Taylor, 18 September 2018
Cities cut off from aid, police guarding storefronts against desperate displaced residents, widespread power outages—this scene is now routine during America's Hurricane season.
Typhoon Mangkhut kills dozens in the Philippines, leaves trail of destruction in China and Hong Kong
By Oscar Grenfell, 18 September 2018
As in previous natural disasters, the poor and workers in low-paid precarious industries have been the hardest hit.
Hurricane Florence kills five in North Carolina, leaves nearly one million without power
By Matthew Taylor, 15 September 2018
Once again, a natural disaster has exposed the totally inadequate state of public infrastructure in the United States.
Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina
By Patrick Martin, 14 September 2018
A storm surge of as much as 11 feet of water was accompanied by winds approaching 120 miles per hour.
Follow the WSWS