Alternative News
Articles from non-mainstream as opposed to corporate for profit sources.
Solar Is Cheaper Than Electricity From the Grid in 42 of 50 Largest U.S. Cities
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- Published on Tuesday, 20 January 2015 10:00
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As technologies mature, prices drop. And we’ve been hearing a lot about the drop in the price of generating and transmitting renewable energy as those technologies have grown from pie-in-the-sky dreams to everyday realities. Yet many people still think of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems as unaffordable luxuries.
Now a new report called Going Solar in America, prepared by the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, shows how the plummeting costs of going solar could already make it the more economical choice for energy consumers in 42 of the U.S.’s 50 largest cities. It found that in those cities, a fully financed solar system would cost average residential consumers less than they would pay for electricity from their current local utility.
New York and Boston topped the list, in large part because the cost of electricity from the grid is very expensive there. The top ten is rounded out by Albuquerque, San Jose, Las Vegas, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco. High local energy costs also account for California cities filling half the top ten slots.
“Most Americans are unaware of the true financial value of solar today,” said study authors Jim Kennerly and Autumn Proudlove. “Seen by many as a technological luxury, solar energy is not seriously considered as an option by most homeowners in the U.S. However, our analysis shows that, in 46 of America’s 50 largest cities, a fully-financed, typically-sized solar PV system is a better investment than the stock market, and in 42 of these cities, the same system already costs less than energy from a residential customer’s local utility.”
Read more: Solar Is Cheaper Than Electricity From the Grid in 42 of 50 Largest U.S. Cities
Breaking: we're taking on solitary confinement
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- Published on Monday, 19 January 2015 11:00
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The United States of America in the AfPak Region and Beyond
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- Published on Sunday, 18 January 2015 23:44
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1069 .... January 19, 2015
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The United States of America in the AfPak Region and Beyond:
War on Terror or Alliance with Islamic Terrorism?
Hassan N. Gardezi
It may sound rather odd in the face of the open war on terror that has been raging in Afghanistan and the Middle East to speak of United States' alliance with Islamic terrorists, but that is the messy reality of our times. The United States, it seems, has decided to live with the contradiction of courting Islamic terrorists at the same time as it is waging a war on Terror.
The seeds of the present day Islamic terrorism were in fact planted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), by launching the code named "Operation Cyclone" in Afghanistan. The immediate aim...
Read more: The United States of America in the AfPak Region and Beyond
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate
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- Published on Saturday, 17 January 2015 23:22
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LeftStreamed — Recorded in Toronto, 11 January 2015
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate
The Lima Conference should have been a milestone that marked out how governments will take urgent action to tackle climate change and to support vulnerable people across the world to adapt to its locked in impacts. But it was a failure and ran up against a political-economic system that puts the pursuit of profit above the needs of people and the limits of nature.
This is the importance of Naomi Klein's new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, where she argues that the main culprit of runaway climate change is the system itself: capitalism. She explains that a system that requires endless growth is incompatible with sustainability and meaningful climate action. Klein insists and shows that market solutions...
Read more: This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate
Monsanto's worst nightmare
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- Published on Saturday, 17 January 2015 08:22
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January 16th: Weekly Indigenous news on rabble.ca
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- Published on Friday, 16 January 2015 14:22
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s17 r18.
rabble.ca weekly e-news for January 16th, 2015
This is your daily dose of our Editor top picks! For more new rabble content, visit www.rabble.ca Indigenous This week's top news and analysis about the struggles of indigenous peoples for rights and sovereignty. For more on indigenous issues visit our topic page: http://rabble.ca/indigenousInternational report recommends action on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women January 14, 2015 | By Francella Fiallos The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released a report about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Canada. Their recommendation? The government should take action. Yes, Mr. Harper, #MMIW is a sociological phenomenon January 13, 2015 | By Gwen Brodsky, | By Sharon McIvor, | By Shelagh Day The Inter‑American Commission on Human Rights issues a breakthrough report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Harper exploiting Paris shootings to deepen surveillance state and justify war January 12, 2015 | By Stefan Christoff Harper stated that the government is "looking at additional powers to make sure security agencies have the range of tools available." But will these powers actually do? Pine Ridge: Operation Warm Winter January 11, 2015 | By Krystalline Kraus South Dakota winters can be brutal, with wind chills dipping down to minus 60 to 70 Fahrenheit.
Read more: January 16th: Weekly Indigenous news on rabble.ca
Papuans flee brutal military crackdown - News from Survival
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- Published on Monday, 16 March 2015 13:46
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Read more: Papuans flee brutal military crackdown - News from Survival
[E-News] Beyond fear and violence
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- Published on Monday, 16 March 2015 13:46
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World's two largest cement makers merge - workers demand respect for their rights
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- Published on Thursday, 15 January 2015 10:44
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The world's two largest cement makers are merging. Workers are concerned.
The world’s two largest cement makers, Lafarge and Holcim, recently announced they would merge.
Read more: World's two largest cement makers merge - workers demand respect for their rights
They have made it clear that the merger will benefit shareholders, however
they have refused to make any commitments to the workers, many of whom will be spun off into another company or made redundant.
They have also refused to allow workers and unions to be heard in the merger process.
Stephen Harper is failing endangered species.
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- Published on Thursday, 15 January 2015 09:22
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Urgent Action: Stop evictions from tiger reserves
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- Published on Monday, 16 March 2015 13:46
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Survival Tribes News Act Now Donate
Urgent Action: Stop evictions from tiger reserves
“We were forced to leave. They made us leave our village. Before the evictions there was a lot of trouble, the forest department harrassed us a lot.”Baiga man evicted from Kanha Tiger Reserve
Across India thousands of people are being illegally evicted from their ancestral homelands inside tiger reserves in the name of conservation.
Last year, Baiga and Gond families were evicted from Kanha Tiger Reserve, home of Kipling's The Jungle Book. In 2013, Khadia hunter-gatherers were evicted from Similipal Tiger Reserve. They ended up living in dire conditions under plastic sheets.
These evictions are illegal under...
Read more: Urgent Action: Stop evictions from tiger reserves
'Freakshow TV' rebuked over racist portrayal of Amazon Indians - News from Survival
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- Published on Monday, 16 March 2015 13:46
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Read more: 'Freakshow TV' rebuked over racist portrayal of Amazon Indians - News from Survival
Nous Sommes Tous Charlie... de Gaulle!
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- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 20:44
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1068 .... January 15, 2014
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Nous Sommes Tous Charlie... de Gaulle!
Sungur Savran
In politics there is a golden rule: beware agreements that cut across all political currents! The tragedy of Charlie Hebdo has been turned into a farce by the mammoth march in Paris, along with similar ones in cities across France, large and small. It is an insult on human intelligence to tie, in whatever combination, the names of Wolinski, Charb, Cabu and company with people of the ilk of the Camerons, Merkels, Rajoys, Renzis and Junckers of the world!
Here is a march that is dedicated to the freedom of expression. And on the first row of the heads of state and government is, lo and behold, Ahmet Davutoglu, successor in the office of prime minister...
Its 2015. And fossil fuels are history.
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- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 13:44
- Written by editor
Hi friends,
Let’s make 2015 the year the world vows to leave fossil fuels in the ground for good.
Institutions and individuals have already divested $50 billion from the fossil fuel industry. This week in the Philippines, Pope Francis is facing intense pressure to divest the Vatican from fossil fuels too, and in the U.S., President Obama is poised to make a final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline amid nationwide protests. Meanwhile, the conversation around the future of fossil fuels is changing dramatically -- just last week, a new study confirmed that around 80% of fossil fuels do indeed need to stay underground.
It’s clear that fossil fuels are history, and for the first time in years global climate action feels within reach. Will you help us make 2015 a real turning point?
Be part of Global Divestment Day on February 13th-14th. Click here to find an event near you...
Little things matter. Learn why!
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- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 11:44
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Record number of trains carrying oil passed through B.C. in 2014
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- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 10:00
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In July 2013, an explosion involving 74 oil-laden railcars destroyed the centre of Lac-Mégantic, killing 47 residents.TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD OF CANADALAST YEAR, MORE trains carrying oil passed through B.C. than ever before, continuing asharp increase that began five years ago.
In 2009, six railcars carrying 251 tonnes of crude petroleum rolled through the province. According to new numbers supplied by Transport Canada, in 2014, more than 4,100 cars carrying roughly 333,500 tonnes of crude oil moved through B.C. (Figures for 2014 are Straight projections based on detailed statistics covering the first nine months of the year.)
The rate at which this rise is occurring was down from previous years. From 2009 to 2010, the number of cars carrying crude destined for B.C. increased from six to eight. The following year, it climbed by 33 cars, then by 1,142 in 2012, and then by 2,198 cars the next year. From 2013 to 2014, it is projected that the increase was 796 cars.
According to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report, the number of rail accidents across the country that resulted in the release of dangerous goods rose from two in 2012 to seven in 2013. Five of those involved oil. “This increase is concurrent with an increase in shipments of crude oil by rail from 500 car loads in 2009 to 160,000 car loads in 2013,” it states.
Read more: Record number of trains carrying oil passed through B.C. in 2014
Weekly Indigenous news on rabble.ca
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- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 09:22
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rabble.ca weekly e-news for January 9th, 2015
Indigenous This week's top news and analysis about the struggles of indigenous peoples for rights and sovereignty. For more on indigenous issues visit our topic page: http://rabble.ca/indigenousCanada's history might not be all that 'strong, proud, free' January 9, 2015 | By Matt Henderson It's been 200 years since John A. Macdonald was born and we're heading toward the 150th anniversary of Confederation. The federal government's recent ad campaign distorts the history we left behind. The plan to shut down Canada? January 8, 2015 | By Krystalline Kraus The premise of the demonstrations seems pretty simple: to prevent "business as usual" politics across Canada on February 13, 2014. This year, I resolve to work for change. Will you join me? January 7, 2015 | By Doreen Nicoll Resolution time: Let those with power know that we believe in, and support, a Canada that takes care of all of its citizens. Why Harper and Wynne's meeting could undermine the right to water in Ontario January 7, 2015 | By Brent Patterson Did Stephen Harper and Kathleen Wynne discuss access to water for First Nations only in the context of advancing a water-destructive mining agenda? GroundWire | January 5, 2015: The hottest stories of 2014 January 5, 2015 | By GroundWire Radio News A special year-end review of the biggest stories of 2014, including Bill C-36, pipelines, and missing and murdered Indigenous women. There's no silver bullet to 'solve' poverty January 5, 2015 | By Molly McCracken Complex problems, like the kind of poverty that exists and persists here in Winnipeg, require multi-faceted responses. We need to build on what's working in Manitoba if we are to solve these problems.
This week @ rabble.ca: Freedom of expression after Charlie Hebdo
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- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 09:22
- Written by editor
09 Jan 2015
Hi rabble readers,
The shocking murder of 12 people at French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo has provoked reaction around the world, and sparked discussion about freedom of expression. After the deadly attack, many depicted the event as a confrontation between an armed jihadist and a pen -- a symbol that's powerful and misleading, explains Monia Mazigh in a thought-provoking column. Blogger Michael Stewart suggests the attacks should not be read as an attack on free speech -- not until provocative utterances from marginalized people are defended as strenuously. Read more analysis from rabble contributors, including Rick Salutin and Pierre Beaudet, here.
At rabble.ca, we're doing everything we can to be ready for the next election and to tell Canadians exactly what's at stake. We're engaged in conversations with our readers, sharing our experiences and ideas, and building a powerful new election strategy that will show Harper the door. We need to raise $30,000 over the next several weeks. Please pitch in to support our work.
New details in the Dalhouse dentistry crisis came to light this week, with the suspension of 13 dental students from clinical activities. But is this action from the university adequate? As Lucia Lorenzi powerfully writes, when sexual harassment or violence occurs in campus communities, it's not only the victims' personal safety that is violated: it's their trust in the whole system. You can follow our coverage here.
We're hiring! If you are passionate about progressive politics, social change and independent media, you may be our next Associate Publisher or Activist Toolkit Coordinator! Learn more about these positions here. Deadline to apply is January 27, 2015.
This week's top news
How to 'take back the country' from Stephen Harper
It's a federal election year and after ten years under Harper government rule, Canada has become a shell of itself. It's time to bid Harper adieu.
By John Cartwright
Read more: This week @ rabble.ca: Freedom of expression after Charlie Hebdo
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