Environment Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Environment

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"The Leaders of this World Stand by and Look at Us Dying" - Singer Angelique Kidjo Speaks Out on Climate Change

We speak with singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo of the African nation of Benin. Kidjo has been in Copenhagen for the past week in her role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. We interview her moments after she spoke before thousands of demonstrators in front of the Danish Parliament. [includes rush transcript]
Dec 14, 2009 | Story
"We Are Not Begging for Aid" - Chief Bolivian Negotiator Says Developed Countries Owe Climate Debt

One of the countries leading the call for just climate reparations here at the COP15 talks is Bolivia. We speak with Bolivia’s chief climate negotiator, Angelica Navarro. "Twenty percent of the population have actually emitted more than two-thirds of the emissions. And as a result, they have caused more than 90 percent of the increase in temperatures," Navarro says. "We are not begging for aid; we want developed countries...
Dec 09, 2009 | Story
Negotiations over the World's Rainforests Hang in the Balance

We speak with Miguel Lovera, the chief negotiator for Paraguay, who has played a key role in negotiations over the world’s rainforests that many expect will be one of the few deals to be actually finalized at the climate summit here in Copenhagen. It’s called REDD, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, and a final text is expected as early as this weekend. [includes rush transcript]
Dec 09, 2009 | Story
Naomi Klein and Martin Khor on the Growing North-South Divide in Copenhagen over Kyoto, Climate Debt and Emission Targets

The secret draft climate agreement leaked to The Guardian newspaper yesterday sets unequal limits on per capita carbon emissions for developed and developing countries in 2050. This means that people in rich countries would be permitted to emit nearly twice as much as those in poor countries. The document also proposes a $10 billion a year fund to help developing nations cut emissions and tackle the effects of climate change. But the fund is far...
Dec 09, 2009 | Story
Climate Justice Activists Enter Day 34 of Hunger Strike

A group of international climate justice activists have entered Day 34 of a hunger strike. The strike began on November 6, the final day of the Barcelona climate talks. On Tuesday, Democracy Now! producer Mike Burke spoke with Anna Keenan, one of the hunger strikers here at the climate summit in Copenhagen. [includes rush transcript]
Dec 09, 2009 | Story
"Would You Commit Murder?" - 15-Year-Old Maldives Climate Ambassador Asks World Leaders to Take on Climate Change

One the countries on the front lines of climate change is the Maldives. Eighty percent of the land lies three feet or less above the waves. The predicted sea level rise caused by global warming could wipe the country off the map. We speak with fifteen-year-old Maldives climate ambassador, Mohamed Axam Maumoon. On his message to the world, Maumoon says, "On the basis that you know what you are doing is wrong and you can see that the victim...
Dec 08, 2009 | Story
As EPA Rules Greenhouse Gases Endanger Public Health, a Discussion on Obama's Climate Change Policies

The Obama administration has moved a step closer to regulating greenhouse gases. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency said six gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, endanger the environment and public health. The move would allow the EPA to take action against greenhouse gases without needing congressional approval. We host a discussion on US climate change policy with Damon Moglen, global warming campaign director for Greenpeace,...
Dec 08, 2009 | Story
Climate Countdown: Largest Climate Summit in World History Opens in Copenhagen

Democracy Now! broadcasts live from Copenhagen from inside the Bella Center, where thousands of delegates from over 190 countries are gathering for the largest climate summit in history. Over the next two weeks, 100 world leaders are expected to attend the UN conference that has been described by some scientists as the most important the world has ever seen. We play highlights from the opening ceremony with the mayor of Copenhagen, Ritt Bjerregaard;...
Dec 07, 2009 | Story
Climate Change and the Global South: A Roundtable Discussion

We host a roundtable discussion with three guests who have extensively studied how climate change is affecting poor populations around the world: Saleemul Huq, a Bangladeshi-born scientist and lead author on parts of the last two reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Lidy Nacpil of Jubilee South; and Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network. [includes rush transcript]
Dec 07, 2009 | Story
Watchdog: New York State Regulation of Natural Gas Wells Has Been "Woefully Insufficient for Decades."

The New York-based Toxics Targeting went through the Department of Environmental Conservation’s own database of hazardous substances spills over the past thirty years. They found 270 cases documenting fires, explosions, wastewater spills, well contamination and ecological damage related to gas drilling. Many of the cases remain unresolved. The findings are contrary to repeated government assurances that existing natural gas well regulations...
Nov 10, 2009 | Story