• Thousands of U.S. workers are gearing up to go on strike this fall, only weeks before crucial midterm elections where control of Congress hangs in the balance. While public support for labor is at its highest point since 1965 according to a recent Gallup poll, union organizing drives have targeted and won important victories going up against corporate giants like Starbucks, Amazon, Chipotle and Verizon.
(“New ‘Striketober’ Looms as US Walkouts Increase Amid Surge in Union Activity,” The Guardian, Sept. 26, 2022)
• A new report by the UK-based advocacy group Global Witness reports that over 1,700 environmental defenders have been killed over the last decade, primarily in Brazil’s Amazon River basin, Colombia, the Philippines, Mexico and Honduras. These murders from 2012 to 2021 were perpetrated by hitmen, organized crime groups and pro-government operatives.
(“More Than 1700 Environmental Activists Murdered in the Past Decade,” The Guardian, Sept. 28, 2022)
• A year ago, Europe experienced what’s known as a “wind drought” where wind speeds fell 15 percent below average; a condition that had a dramatic effect on wind power generation. It was one of the least windy periods in the United Kingdom in the past 60 years. Wind farms produced 18 percent of the U.K.’s power in September 2020, but in September 2021, that percentage plummeted to only 2 percent. To make up the energy gap, the U.K. was forced to restart two mothballed coal plants.
(“Global Stilling: Is Climate Change Slowing Down the Wind,” Yale Environment 360, Sept. 13, 2022)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
