The Environment
Caribbean islands devastated by storm surge, winds, rain
By our reporter, 11 September 2017
The worst impact of Hurricane Irma was in Lesser Antilles and the US and British Virgin Islands.
Why was American capitalism unable to prepare for Hurricane Irma?
By Niles Niemuth, 11 September 2017
As Hurricane Irma wreaks havoc on Florida, the failure to adequately prepare for the storm and protect those in its path has exposed the irrationality of American capitalism.
Hurricane Irma heads towards Florida after tearing through the Caribbean
By Matthew Taylor, 8 September 2017
Florida residents are bracing for Hurricane Irma, which has already killed at least 14 people and left a trail of destruction in the Caribbean.
Hurricane Irma slams into Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands
By Jerry White, 7 September 2017
Like Houston, the human cost of Irma will be far greater because of the lack of any serious government preparation and the long neglect of physical and social infrastructure.
Hurricane Harvey to be costliest US natural disaster
By Patrick Martin, 4 September 2017
With published estimates approaching $200 billion, Hurricane Harvey may have caused damage greater than Katrina and Sandy combined.
“The working class has organized to save the working class”
A Hurricane Harvey diary: Part 2
By Charles Abelard, 4 September 2017
A reader who has lived in Houston for four decades describes the impact of the storm, the rescue efforts organized by workers and runaway real estate development that has left the city vulnerable to flooding.
Death toll expected to rise as chemical explosions add to devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey
By Niles Niemuth, 1 September 2017
Officials at every level of government continue to congratulate themselves on their response to the storm, while the endless media commentary avoids any discussion of those responsible for the disaster.
008 Harvey sidebar
1 September 2017
“I grew to call the oil industry the rape, pillage and plunder industry”
Former Shell Oil civil engineer and Berkeley Professor Emeritus Robert Bea speaks on Hurricane Harvey
By Barry Grey, 1 September 2017
Robert Bea, a retired civil engineer, has had a long career in the fields of flood control and risk assessment and management.
Flooding continues to inundate Gulf Coast as Harvey makes landfall in Louisiana
By Niles Niemuth, 31 August 2017
Hurricane Harvey is expected to far surpass any previous storm as the costliest in American history, with at least $190 billion in damage, equivalent to one percent of the national GDP.
Deportation fears prevent many Houston immigrants from seeking emergency shelter
By Eric London, 31 August 2017
Immigrants are risking rising flood waters because of anti-immigrant maneuvers and false reports of deportations at evacuation sites.
The working class responds to Hurricane Harvey
By Joseph Kishore, 31 August 2017
The self-sacrifice and organizational initiative of the working class in response to the hurricane make a powerful case for independent workers’ organizations and workers’ control over economic and social life.
As Trump gloats over “success” of government response to Hurricane Harvey
Reservoir breaches in Houston threaten more death and destruction
By Kate Randall, 30 August 2017
While floodwaters continued to rise in Houston, Governor Abbott and President Trump praised one another and hailed the government response to the disaster.
The Houston flood, the anarchy of the capitalist market and the case for socialist planning
By Niles Niemuth, 30 August 2017
Twelve years after Katrina, nothing has been done to strengthen flood control systems and build up the social infrastructure to limit the impact of major storms.
Government negligence exacerbates Hurricane Harvey damage in Houston, Texas
By Charles Abelard in Houston and Jerry White, 29 August 2017
Emergency shelters, hastily established by authorities in Houston, are overflowing with at least 30,000 residents, while at least nine deaths are blamed on the storm.
The Houston flood disaster: A social crime of the American oligarchy
By Barry Grey, 29 August 2017
Catastrophes such as Hurricane Harvey are the product of a half-century of neglect of America’s social infrastructure, accompanied by a fantastic accumulation of private wealth at the very apex of society.
Houston residents speak out on historic flooding from Hurricane Harvey
By Trévon Austin, 29 August 2017
Stories of devastation along the Gulf Coast continue to emerge three days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport, Texas.
Tanker makes solo voyage through melting Arctic Sea
By Daniel de Vries, 29 August 2017
The natural gas tanker’s passage marks a new milestone in the decay of the Arctic Ocean ice cap.
Capitalism and the Houston flood catastrophe
By Tom Hall, 28 August 2017
Twelve years after Hurricane Katrina, a major hurricane has once against exposed the brutal reality of class relations in the United States.
080 Italy earthquke
28 August 2017
Trump signs order cutting environmental regulation of infrastructure projects
By E.P. Milligan, 19 August 2017
Energy development projects such as oil and gas pipelines will receive heavy federal subsidies while being fast-tracked through the already lax process of environmental review.
Australia: Anger grows over fire at Melbourne recycling plant
By Will Morrrow, 22 July 2017
Firefighting services have been called to the plant nine times in the last five years—four times this year, three times in 2015 and once in both 2012 and 2013.
Court rejects Trump’s delay of methane rules
By Daniel de Vries, 8 July 2017
The decision is a minor setback for an administration charging ahead with environmental deregulation
Trump, the coal miners and the environment
By Jerry White, 6 June 2017
Stripped of the demagogy and lies, the line of the Trump administration amounts to the proposition that miners must place their full trust and confidence in the benevolence of the coal bosses.
Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement: The socialist solution to climate change
By Bryan Dyne, 3 June 2017
A serious response to the dangers posed by climate change is not possible within the framework of the capitalism and the nation-state system.
France, Germany seize upon US withdrawal from climate pact to push geopolitical interests
By Peter Schwarz, 3 June 2017
Merkel and Macron are seeking to build up the EU to make it a global power capable of competing with the US for markets, investment opportunities and strategic influence.
225 Sri Lanka statement on floods
3 June 2017
Trump administration announces US withdrawal from Paris climate agreement
By Daniel de Vries, 2 June 2017
The move, which repudiates even the most modest targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, takes place amidst growing conflicts between the major powers and a raging political crisis within the US.
Trump prepares to gut Federal land protections
By Daniel de Vries, 28 April 2017
The executive order signed Wednesday orders a review of national monuments on behalf of energy and mining interests.
White House divided on future of Paris climate agreement
By Daniel de Vries, 19 April 2017
Debate is raging within the Trump administration over whether to carry through on the president’s campaign promise to withdraw from the 2015 climate change accord.
Trump launches pollution deregulation offensive
By Daniel de Vries, 29 March 2017
The order nullifies several Obama-era climate directives and instructs the EPA to begin the process of undoing the Clean Power Plan.
038 EPA and Pruitt's statements on CO2
15 March 2017
Tens of thousands evacuated from floods in Northern California
By Ben McGrath, 25 February 2017
While the Oroville Dam crisis highlighted the crumbling nature of US dams, levees around the country are also in deteriorating conditions.
Violent arrests as police begin evacuating Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp
By Zaida Green, 23 February 2017
The eviction orders from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the North Dakota governor come as developers rush to complete the pipeline.
Southern California hit by massive rainfall
By Glenn Mulwray, 22 February 2017
Rainstorms wreaked havoc over Southern California last weekend, causing mass power outages and flooding.
US Senate confirms industry stooge to head Environmental Protection Agency
By Daniel de Vries, 18 February 2017
Former Oklahoma attorney general and anti-regulation zealot Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday.
Federal employees resist administration attempts to impose media gags
By Bryan Dyne, 3 February 2017
Scientists at various government agencies are concerned that any mention of climate science will be silenced.
Petroleum pipeline ruptures in northern Iowa
By Gary Joad, 30 January 2017
Wednesday’s northern Iowa diesel pipeline spill is reportedly the largest diesel spill in the United States since January 2010.
Eighteen killed in Mississippi, Georgia as tornadoes descend on southeastern US
By Shelley Connor, 23 January 2017
A system of storms that developed on the Gulf Coast on Saturday has claimed 18 lives, and continued to threaten through Monday morning.
Global temperatures set new highs for third consecutive year
By Bryan Dyne, 20 January 2017
After eight years in which the Obama administration did nothing to address climate change, the incoming Trump government is set to fully deregulate greenhouse gas emissions.
130 Wisconsin DNR and Climate Change
4 January 2017
Great Barrier Reef suffering worst-ever coral bleaching
By Bryan Dyne, 30 December 2016
Global warming has caused the worst destruction of corals ever recorded on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Planet Earth II: David Attenborough narrates the dramas of life a second time
By Bryan Dyne, 16 December 2016
The BBC documentary explores how life has evolved and adapted across islands, mountains, jungles, deserts, grasslands and cities.
Canada’s Resources Minister threatens to use army against pipeline protests
By our reporter, 3 December 2016
The Liberal government has declared it is prepared to use force against those protesting expansion of Canada’s oil pipelines.
Fires, tornadoes claim lives throughout southeastern US
By Shelley Connor, 2 December 2016
Tornadoes descended upon the Southeast on Wednesday, killing six people and complicating wildfire rescue efforts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Police attack on Dakota Access Pipeline protest results in 300 injuries
By Genevieve Leigh, 25 November 2016
Sophia Wilansky, 21, was severely injured by a police concussion grenade, and may require an arm amputation.
Police use water cannons on Dakota Access Pipeline protesters
By Kevin Martinez, 22 November 2016
Violence broke out on Sunday night when protesters tried to remove a blockade but were stopped by police using water cannon, tear gas and concussion grenades.
Record-low sea ice as Arctic temperatures soar
By Daniel de Vries, 22 November 2016
Never since satellite monitoring began in the late 1970s has such little ice covered the polar seas this time of year.
100 North pole
21 November 2016
Popular support grows for anti-oil pipeline protesters in North Dakota
By Kevin Martinez, 2 November 2016
The mainly Native American protesters have received over $1 million in crowdsource funding, but only silence from Hillary Clinton and attacks from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
Another major earthquake strikes central Italy
By Marc Wells, 31 October 2016
At 7:41 a.m. on Sunday, Italians in the central area of Marche and Umbria were woken by a violent earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale.
Violent police attack on anti-oil pipeline protest in North Dakota
By Zaida Green, 29 October 2016
Police officers in riot gear from five states were supported by National Guard troops and armored vehicles, arresting 141 protesters.
Report documents hunger across the Pacific
By John Braddock, 20 October 2016
The report points to the dire social consequences of extreme weather events and vast climatic changes across the Pacific.
Haiti’s hurricane devastation: A tragedy rooted in capitalist oppression
By Bill Van Auken, 13 October 2016
Nearly seven years after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, Hurricane Matthew has again exposed the historic oppression of the Haitian masses.
US death toll rises in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew
By Nick Barrickman, 13 October 2016
As many as 38 people have died in the US and tens of thousands continue to be impacted in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, which came ashore late last week.
Toxic smog over South East Asia killed over 100,000 in 2015
By John Harris, 10 October 2016
The estimate, which is yet to be verified by an analysis of official mortality data, far exceeds the Indonesian government’s death toll.
Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti and heads north
By John Marion, 5 October 2016
The storm made landfall Tuesday morning in a country that has been devastated by the 2010 earthquake and still lacks basic infrastructure.
More than 1,000 to be displaced by demolition of low-income housing development in Indiana
By Catherine Long, 3 September 2016
Extremely high levels of lead and arsenic are present in the soil due to the historic absence of environmental controls on the metal smelting industry in East Chicago.
Warming of Earth proceeding at unprecedented pace
By Bryan Dyne, 3 September 2016
Temperature records from ice cores and sediments show that the current rate of global warming is faster than at any point in the past millennium.
Blue Cut fire quickly engulfs tens of thousands of acres in Southern California
By Dan Conway, 18 August 2016
An incredibly strong brush fire has rapidly swept through more than 30,000 acres near the Southern California city of San Bernardino.
US price of EpiPen for allergic reactions skyrockets
By Brad Dixon, 12 August 2016
The price of the EpiPen, relied on by millions to treat severe allergic reactions, has increased by 450 percent in the United States since 2004.
State of emergency declared in Maryland suburb after record-breaking flooding kills two
By Nick Barrickman, 3 August 2016
The storm is being called a “1-in-a-1,000-year rain event” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Anger mounts over government handling of floods in China
By John Braddock, 30 July 2016
With widespread media and internet reports accusing officials of negligence, Beijing is increasingly nervous about deepening social opposition.
Severe heat wave spread across much of US
By Evan Blake, 25 July 2016
The heat wave crisis stems from global warming, which scientists have repeatedly warned will cause an ever-increasing frequency of extreme weather events.
US Interior Department issues first oil drilling rules in US Arctic Seas
By Gary Joad, 16 July 2016
The White House timed the announcement so that it would have minimal impact on petroleum company plans for US Arctic Ocean exploration.
In wake of Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in 2010
Obama administration issued over 1,000 offshore fracking permits in Gulf of Mexico
By Gary Joad, 8 July 2016
The United States has surpassed Saudi Arabia in daily oil production, primarily due to an increase in fracking.
West Virginia flood highlights impact of budget cuts, decayed infrastructure
By Naomi Spencer, 5 July 2016
Federal and state agencies ignored warnings about inadequate flood protections, home-building standards and the impact of logging and mining.
The West Virginia floods and America's class divide
By Jerry White, 29 June 2016
While the immediate trigger for the floods was record-setting rainfall, like all natural disasters, the extent of the damage and its human impact were determined by conditions that are man-made.
030 Santa Barbara wildfires
20 June 2016
Sri Lanka: JVP calls for state of emergency in response to flood disaster
By Vilani Peiris, 17 June 2016
The JVP’s proposal shows its readiness to strengthen the capitalist state apparatus against rising social unrest.
Australia’s east coast hit by devastating storms
By Eric Ludlow, 13 June 2016
Under-resourced emergency response units were spread thin across the storm- and flood-damaged areas.
El Niño and the acceleration of global warming
By Matthew MacEgan, 1 June 2016
The abnormally warm ocean waters caused by El Niño induce much more extreme weather patterns than normal, including droughts, cyclones, and floods.
Sri Lankan flood and landslide deaths continue to climb
By Pani Wijesiriwardena, 25 May 2016
Apart from perfunctory warnings for the public to be “vigilant,” the Sri Lankan government took no serious measures to lessen the cyclone’s impact.
Colombo flood victims speak to the WSWS
By our correspondents, 25 May 2016
Thousands of working class and poor families are currently living in makeshift accommodation and other shelters on higher ground.
Growing bankruptcy crisis in global oil and gas industry
By Gabriel Black, 12 May 2016
A third of all US oil and gas companies could go bankrupt.
Hundreds die in Indian heat wave
By Kanda Gabriel, 11 May 2016
The wave of heat-stroke deaths is a product of the lack of basic services and infrastructure that hundreds of millions of Indians confront daily.
Canadian capitalism and the Fort McMurray wildfire
By Roger Jordan, 10 May 2016
The Fort McMurray wildfire is not a natural, but a man-made disaster for which the capitalist profit system bears responsibility.
Fort McMurray teacher describes chaotic evacuation
By Roger Jordan, 6 May 2016
The World Socialist Web Site spoke to a teacher and her partner who were among the approximately 80,000 people evacuated from Fort McMurray, Alberta on Tuesday. Both had lived in the city for around two years.
Factory farms cause thousands in rural Wisconsin to go without clean water
By Catherine Long, 25 April 2016
Pollution from large-scale farms and deregulation of groundwater systems have created unsafe drinking water for thousands in the state.
Study warns of potentially catastrophic impacts from Antarctic ice melt
By Daniel de Vries, 5 April 2016
New research estimates that unabated warming may double the rate of expected sea level rise to nearly 2 meters by century’s end.
Hundreds of Australian climate-change science jobs to be axed
By Perla Astudillo and Richard Philips, 25 February 2016
The CSIRO cuts are a major setback for scientific investigation into ocean temperatures, greenhouse gas levels and other climate-change issues.
California Coastal Commission head ousted
By David Levine, 23 February 2016
The second head of the California Coastal Commission was fired last week as the result of a political campaign backed by Democrats tied to developers.
At least 29 dead, thousands displaced after Cyclone Winston hits Fiji
By Oscar Grenfell, 23 February 2016
The most powerful storm ever recorded in the region has produced a mounting humanitarian crisis.
In wake of VW scandal European Parliament relaxes emissions regulations
By Jan Peters and Dietmar Henning, 16 February 2016
Last autumn, it was revealed that Volkswagen manipulated the emissions readings in 11 million diesel vehicles and hundreds of thousands of petrol models.
Supreme Court blocks Obama plan on climate change
By John Burton, 12 February 2016
The Supreme Court has issued a summary order that effectively invalidates the Obama administration’s new regulations to lower carbon emissions from power plants.
Detroit-area residents protest Marathon Oil request to increase air pollution
By our reporters, 15 January 2016
Following the completion of $2.2 billion upgrade which began in 2012, Marathon is requesting a permit from the state of Michigan to emit an additional 22 tons of sulfur dioxide per year.
House Republican committee chairman attacks climate change scientists
By Matthew MacEgan, 12 January 2016
Lamar Smith has issued a subpoena to a group of climate change scientists who have shown that a global warming slowdown has not occurred over the past 15 years.
Australia: Over 100 houses destroyed in Victorian bushfires
By Margaret Rees, 4 January 2016
Victoria has been hit by more than 2,500 bushfires since October but the hottest months, when the most dangerous fires usually occur, are still to come.
Winter storms kill dozens across US South and Midwest
By Shannon Jones, 29 December 2015
As usual in such disasters, hardest hit were working class communities where less well constructed homes as well as trailers were flattened by unusual December tornadoes.
Chinese industrial zone engulfed by waste landslide
By Peter Symonds, 22 December 2015
Rescuers are struggling to find those missing after a tidal wave of mud and waste toppled buildings and inundated an area of Shenzhen.
The climate crisis and imperialism
By Andre Damon, 16 December 2015
Far from fostering the international collaboration that would be required to reverse climate change, capitalist society is increasingly characterized by xenophobia, international conflict and war.
India: Government negligence responsible for flood disaster
By Sasi Kumar and Moses Rajkumar, 15 December 2015
Tens of thousands of people in the capital Chennai and across the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu are yet to be rescued and properly assisted.
Sri Lankan corporate giant sues environmental activist
By Vilani Peiris, 14 December 2015
The damages action is part of the record of big business and government suppression of opposition to industrial pollution.
UK and Ireland devastated by floods
By Joan Smith and Robert Stevens, 12 December 2015
The human cost of the severe flooding in large parts of northern England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland over the last week is emerging.
Global warming compounds Atlantic cod fishing industry problems
By John Marion, 8 December 2015
Recent scientific studies point to the effects of global warming on Atlantic cod populations already reduced to historically low sizes by decades of overfishing.
Pacific Island nations “bearing the brunt” of climate change
By John Braddock, 7 December 2015
Rising sea levels and extreme weather events are beginning to destroy Pacific Islands and threaten their existence.
COP21 ecological summit opens amid war tensions, with Paris in lockdown
By Stéphane Hugues, 1 December 2015
As the major powers are on the verge of war in Syria, they failed, unsurprisingly, to come together to address complex ecological problems related to global warming.
Tens of thousands attend climate change rallies in Australia
By Oscar Grenfell, 1 December 2015
While the protests expressed growing concern over the environmental crisis, organisers sought to channel them into bankrupt appeals to the Turnbull government.
Manhattan Project fallout: Nuclear waste health catastrophe in St. Louis, Missouri
By Gary Joad, 27 November 2015
Nuclear waste dumps from the Manhattan Project have resulted in clustering of unusually high cancer rates in younger people and children.
Ten years since Hurricane Katrina: Part two
Destruction of public housing and forced exodus of workers
By E.P. Bannon, 23 October 2015
New Orleans had a pre-hurricane population of 484,700. Today, it is 384,300, a 21 percent decline.
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