Global water and food shortages to cause new migrant crisis in Europe as more than 1.2 billion people will be displaced

CLIMATE CRISIS 

A Journal of People report

A significant number of climate refugees will seek asylum in Europe, as more than 1.2 billion people will be displaced by climate crisis over the next three decades, warns a report.  

According to the new analysis of global ecological threats, rapid population growth, lack of access to food and water and increased exposure to natural disasters mean displacement of 1.2 billion people by 2050.

Water and food shortages are set to cause mass migration from 31 countries, which are unable to cope with looming environmental crises, warned the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP).

Triple Crisis in the Anthropocene Ocean

METABOLIC RIFTS

Part One: Corrosive Seas

Ian Angus

Climate and Capitalism | September 7, 2020

Introduction. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the ocean to life on Earth. Covering 71% of the planet’s surface, it contains 97% of the world’s surface water and is central to the great biogeochemical cycles that define the biosphere and make life possible. Marine plants generate half of the world’s breathable oxygen.

Millions of species of animals live in the ocean. Seafood is a primary source of protein for three billion people, and hundreds of millions work in the fishing industry.

FACE OF A POLITICS: U.S.: A reported claim and a dispute

FACE OF CAPITALIST/IMPERIALIST POLITICS

A Journal of People report

The U.S. Army chief disputes U.S. President’s claim. The U.S. President claimed that military leaders want to fight wars. The dispute shows parts of politics in the imperialist country.

Army chief disputes President’s claim

Gen. James McConville, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, pushed back September 8, 2020 (Tuesday) on the assertion — most recently voiced by the U.S. President Trump — that the military’s senior leaders are eager to fight wars because doing so benefits defense contractors.

Correa Blocked from Standing in Ecuador Election Following Court Ruling

ECUADOR 

Morning Star | September 09, 2020

Supporters of Ecuador’s former President Rafael Correa show their support for their leader during a demonstration in Quito, Ecuador

FORMER Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has effectively seen his bid to run in next year’s elections annulled after an appeals court ratified his eight-year jail sentence on bribery charges in record time on Monday.

The Ecuadorian National Court of Justice rushed to reach its verdict against Mr Correa and 15 co-defendants at a hearing in Quito on Monday afternoon.

Evo Calls on People Power After He is Blocked from Standing in Next Month’s Bolivian Elections

BOLIVIAN PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE 

Steve Sweeney

Morning Star | September 08, 2020

OUSTED Bolivian president Evo Morales vowed that the power of the people would prevail after the country’s constitutional court blocked his candidacy in next month’s much-delayed election.

He slammed the decision to bar him from standing for election to the Bolivian Senate as “an illegal and unconstitutional political decision” which was made under threats and pressure.

Turn the Tables: Demand Concessions from Your Employer

WORKERS’ RIGHTS 

Richard de Vries

Labor Notes | September 01, 2020

Employers have a wish list. The union should, too. Carmel Angelo was the county CEO when Mendocino County workers went on strike in 2013 against a 10 percent wage cut. Photo: SEIU Local 1021

Employers look at COVID-19 and see an opportunity to demand concessions.

Can concessions save jobs? Almost always they cannot, and certainly not in the big picture. Concessions can’t fix a collapsed market nor the 1%’s relentless assault on workers.

The best rationalization for concessions is a retreat to fight another day. Concessions may save jobs at a particular company in the short term if the union gets specific, concrete guarantees—but not without big risks. The competition will cut wages, too, and make that the new normal.

The Protracted Crisis of Capitalism

CAPITALISM 

Prabhat Patnaik

People’s Democracy | August 30, 2020

There is a commonly-held view that the current crisis in capitalism, which has resulted in a massive output contraction and increase in unemployment, is because of the pandemic; and that once the pandemic gets over, things will go back to “normal”.

This view is entirely erroneous for two reasons. The first which has been often discussed in this column, has to do with the fact that even before the pandemic the world economy was slowing down. In fact ever since the financial crisis of 2008 following the collapse of the housing bubble, the real economy of the world had never fully recovered. Small recoveries were followed quickly by collapses; and the low unemployment rates in the United States that had prompted Donald Trump’s triumphalism, were to a very large extent explicable by the reduced work participation rate after 2008. In fact if we assume the same work participation rate in 2020(just before the pandemic), as had prevailed on the eve of the financial crisis, then the unemployment rate in the US was as high as 8 per cent as compared to the less than 4 per cent mentioned inofficial figures.

COVID and Inflation

COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ECONOMY 

Michael Roberts Blog | August 18, 2020

Is inflation going to rise once the lockdowns from the pandemic have been relaxed?  Mainstream economics has no idea.  For a start, the rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services in the major capitalist economies has been falling as a trend since the 1980s.  And this is despite the attempts of central banks to boost the money supply in order to stimulate demand and reach a certain inflation target.

54 million in U.S. May go Hungry During the Pandemic – Can Urban Farmers Help?

HUNGER IN U.S. 

Melissa Kravitz Hoefner

People’s World | September 08, 2020

An example of urban farming is seen on this Chicago rooftop. Linda / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0

When I call Chef Q. Ibraheem to discuss urban farming in her own cooking career, she’s in the middle of placing an order for microgreens from a small farm in Lake Forest, a ritzy suburb just north of downtown Chicago. Now’s a great time for her to chat, actually, because the Chicago-based chef is immersed in what she loves, sourcing ingredients as locally as possible.

“It’s really important we know where our food is coming from,” she says. “I know my farmers by name. I can go to the farms, see how they are growing everything, see it in the soil. It’s always nice to have something within reach and know your produce.” Chef Q runs supper clubs and chef camps throughout Chicagoland, sustaining the local economy by purchasing ingredients from urban gardens and farms within miles of her pop-up experiences.

US Political Crackdown Spurs Fears of Chinese Brain-drain

U.S 

Andrew Silver

Nature | September 07, 2020

The Trump administration has accused China of stealing US intellectual property.Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty

US scientists are concerned that their government’s crackdown on foreign interference at universities is driving away scientists of Chinese descent. Their exodus would be a loss for US innovation, according to extensive interviews Nature carried out with scientists and research leaders.