AlternativesMagazine

A flurry of climate pledges from financial institutions in recent years has not been followed by meaningful action This story was originally published by  Grist   and is reproduced here as part of the  Climate Desk   collaboration. A flurry of  climate pledges from financial institutions in recent years has not been followed by meaningful action, according to a  report from the corporate accountability nonprofit InfluenceMap  published on Friday.  Of the 30 largest financial institutions in the world, none has instituted fossil fuel finance policies that are in line with science-based guidance for stabilizing the climate at a safe temperature. Meanwhile, all of them retain membership in industry associations that routinely lobby against climate finance policies and regulations. READ >> In 2020 and 2021, banks lent or underwrote $697 billion for oil and gas projects and $42 billion for coal.  

  Medical schools across the country are increasingly reckoning with the need to teach the intersection of climate change and health. This coverage is made possible through a partnership with Grist and WABE , Atlanta’s NPR station It’s the culmination of several years of student-led efforts to ensure Emory’s future doctors learn about the growing health impacts of a warming planet, because climate change doesn’t just bring hotter weather and more extreme storms. It also makes many health issues worse – issues doctors need to recognize and treat. Read full article from GRIST

If manufacturing businesses and the politicians were really serious about reversing the effect of climate change and the environment in general there would be a state-of-the-art recycling center in every supermarket, and retail location that produces mass waste. Better yet if corporations and politicians were really serious about climate change and the environment they would not be spending billions lobbying one another to continue manufacturing unnecessary packaging and trashing the planet with plastic bags, disposable water bottles, and all the other so-called convenience containers.  They would also quit lying to the public about reaching zero-waste --  decades from now. It's called GREENWASHING. And the sooner we learn to separate the bullshit from reality, the better off we will be. But we have a long way to go because about 90% of what we hear, read and see from all media sources is complete bullshit!  They have created a charade that serves their own interests but ...

"The clear meaning of the expression is that it doesn't cost anyone to say something, and the real difficulty is in doing it. It is another way of saying that something is easier said than done and that plenty of people will talk a big game, but few are willing to back it up." And when it comes to the environment or climate change there has been plenty of big talk and very little action. Actually, things have even gotten worse over the past year. In 2021, companies vowing to reduce waste, recycle more, and achieve net-zero emissions (sometime this century), giving us a warm and fuzzy feeling that they're actually going to do something. It's simply GREENWASHING providing a timeline so they can have time to come up with another set of bullshit promises. The worst part is we're buying into it Here's a shortlist of what really happened just last year. Greenhouse gas emissions increased by 6% Single-use plastics increased by over 30% The fossil fuel industry pl...