thenation--2020-04-29--Covid-19 Is Forcing Us to Rethink How We Consume Energy

Energy analysts have long assumed that , given time , growing international concern over climate change would result in a vast restructuring of the global energy enterprise .
The result : a greener , less climate-degrading system .
In this future , fossil fuels would be overtaken by renewables , while oil , gas , and coal would be relegated to an increasingly marginal role in the global energy equation .
In its “ World Energy Outlook 2019 , ” for example , the International Energy Agency ( IEA ) predicted that , by 2040 , renewables would finally supersede @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one source of energy and coal would largely disappear from the fuel mix .
As a result of Covid-19 , however , we may no longer have to wait another 20 years for such a cosmic transition to occur—it ’ s happening right now .
So take a breath and , amid all the bad news pouring in about a deadly global pandemic , consider this : when it comes to energy , what was expected to take at least two decades in the IEA ’ s most optimistic scenario may now occur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turns out that the impact of Covid-19 is reshaping the world energy equation , along with so much else , in unexpected ways .
That energy would be strongly affected by the pandemic should come as no surprise .
After all , fuel use is closely aligned with economic activity and Covid-19 has shut down much of the world economy .
With factories , offices , and other businesses closed or barely functioning , there ’ s naturally less demand for energy of all types .
But the impacts of the pandemic go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coping mechanisms—social distancing and stay-at-home requirements—have particular implications for energy consumption .
Among the first and most dramatic of these has been a shockingly deep decline in flying , automobile commuting , and leisure travel—activities that account for a large share of daily petroleum use .
Airline travel in the United States , for example , is down by 95 percent from a year ago .
At the same time , the personal consumption of electricity for telework , distance learning , group conversations , and entertainment has soared .
In hard-hit Italy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of its cloud services for team meetings—a voracious consumer of electricity—has increased by 775 percent .
These are all meant to be temporary responses to the pandemic .
As government officials and their scientific advisers begin to talk about returning to some semblance of “ normalcy , ” however , it ’ s becoming increasingly clear that many such pandemic-related practices will persist in some fashion for a long time to come and , in some cases , may prove permanent .
Social distancing is likely to remain the norm in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not years , curtailing attendance at theme parks and major sports events that also typically involve lots of driving .
Many of us are also becoming more accustomed to working from home and may be in no rush to resume a harried 30 , 60 , or 90-minute commute to work each day .
Some colleges and universities , already under financial pressure of various sorts , may abandon in-person classes for many subjects and rely far more on distance learning .
No matter how this pandemic finally plays out , the post-Covid-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different look from the pre-pandemic one and energy use is likely to be among the areas most affected by the transformations underway .
It would be distinctly premature to make sweeping predictions about the energy profile of a post-coronavirus planet , but one thing certainly seems possible : The grand transition , crucial for averting the worst outcomes of climate change and originally projected to occur decades from now , could end up happening significantly more swiftly , even if at the price of widespread bankruptcies and prolonged unemployment for millions .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy analysts assumed that petroleum would continue to dominate the global landscape through the 2020s , as it had in recent decades , resulting in ever greater amounts of carbon emissions being sent into the atmosphere .
For example , in its International Energy Outlook 2019 , the Energy Information Administration ( EIA ) of the US Department of Energy projected that global petroleum use in 2020 would amount to 102.2 million barrels per day .
That would be up 1.1 million barrels from 2019 and represent the second year in a row @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the notable threshold of 100 million barrels per day .
Grimly enough , the EIA further projected that world demand would continue to climb , reaching 104 million barrels per day by 2025 and 106 million barrels in 2030 .
In arriving at such projections , energy analysts assumed that the factors responsible for driving petroleum use upward in recent years would persist well into the future : growing automobile ownership in China , India , and other developing nations ; ever-increasing commutes as soaring real-estate prices forced people to live ever farther @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increase in airline travel , especially in Asia .
Such factors , it was widely assumed , would more than compensate for any drop in demand caused by a greater preference for electric cars in Europe and a few other places .
As suggested by oil giant BP in its Energy Outlook for 2019 , “ All of the demand growth comes from developing economies , driven by the burgeoning middle class in developing Asian economies.
” Even in January , as the coronavirus began to spread from China to other countries , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ predictions .
Reporting “ continued strong momentum ” in oil use among the major developing economies , the IEA typically reaffirmed its belief that global consumption would grow by more than one million barrels daily in 2020 .
Only now has that agency begun to change its tune .
In its most recent Oil Market Report , it projected that global petroleum consumption in April would fall by an astonishing 29 million barrels per day compared to the same month the previous year .
That drop , by the way , is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States , Canada , and Mexico .
Still , the IEA analysts assumed that all of this would just be a passing phenomenon .
In that same report , it also predicted that global economic activity would rebound in the second half of this year and , by December , oil usage would already be within a few million barrels of pre-coronavirus consumption levels .
Other indicators , however , suggest that such rosy predictions will prove highly fanciful .
The likelihood that oil consumption will approach 2018 or 2019 levels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in early 2021 now appears remarkably unrealistic .
It is , in fact , doubtful that those earlier projections about sustained future growth in the demand for oil will ever materialize .
As a start , a return to pre-Covid-19 consumption levels assumes a reasonably rapid restoration of the world economy as it was , with Asia taking the lead .
At this moment , however , there ’ s no evidence that such an outcome is likely .
In its April World Economic Outlook report , the International Monetary Fund predicted that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent in 2020 ( which may prove a distinct underestimate ) and that the pandemic ’ s harsh impacts , including widespread unemployment and business failures , will persist well into 2021 or beyond .
All told , it suggested , the cumulative loss to global gross domestic product in 2020 and 2021 , thanks to the pandemic , will amount to some $ 9 trillion , a sum greater than the economies of Japan and Germany combined ( and that assumes the coronavirus will not come back yet more fiercely in late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spanish Flu ” did in 1918 ) .
This and other recent data suggest that any notion China , India , and other developing nations will soon resume their upward oil-consumption trajectory and save the global petroleum industry appears wildly far-fetched .
Indeed , on April 17 , China ’ s National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country ’ s GDP shrank by 6.8 percent in the first three months of 2020 , the first such decline in 40 years and a staggering blow to that country ’ s growth model .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ factories and other key businesses again , most observers believe that spurring significant growth will prove exceedingly difficult given that Chinese consumers , traumatized by the pandemic and accompanying lockdown measures , seem loath to make new purchases or engage in travel , tourism , and the like .
And keep in mind that a slowdown in China will have staggering consequences for the economies of numerous other developing nations that rely on that country ’ s tourism or its imports of their oil , copper , iron ore , and other raw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the leading destination for the exports of many Asian , African , and Latin American countries .
With Chinese factories closed or operating at a reduced tempo , the demand for their products has already plummeted , causing widespread economic hardship for their populations .
Add all this up , along with a rising tide of unemployment in the United States and elsewhere , and it would appear that the possibility of global oil consumption returning to pre-pandemic levels any time soon—or even at all—is modest at best .
Indeed , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conclusion on their own , as demonstrated by the extraordinary April 12th agreement that the Saudis , the Russians , and other major exporting countries reached to cut global production by nearly 10 million barrels per day .
It was a desperate bid to bolster oil prices , which had fallen by more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year .
And keep in mind that even this reduction—unprecedented in scale—is unlikely to prevent a further decline in those prices , as oil purchases continue to fall and fall again .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while the downturn will undoubtedly last longer than the IEA ’ s optimistic forecast , sooner or later petroleum use will return to its earlier patterns , once again cresting at the 100-million-barrels-per-day level .
But this appears highly unlikely , given the way the pandemic is reshaping the global economy and everyday human behavior .
After all , IEA and oil industry forecasts assume a fully interconnected world in which the sort of dynamic growth we ’ ve come to expect from Asia in the 21st century will sooner or later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lines will once again carry raw materials and other inputs to China ’ s factories , while Chinese parts and finished products will be transported to markets on every continent .
But whether or not that country ’ s economy starts to grow again , such a globalized economic model is unlikely to remain the prevailing one in the post-pandemic era .
Many countries and companies are , in fact , beginning to restructure their supply lines to avoid a full-scale reliance on foreign suppliers by seeking alternatives closer to home—a trend likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( especially in a world in which Trumpian-style “ nationalism ” still seems to be on the rise ) .
“ There will be a rethink of how much any country wants to be reliant on any other country , ” suggests the aptly named Elizabeth Economy , a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations .
“ I don ’ t think fundamentally this is the end of globalization .
But this does accelerate the type of thinking that has been going on in the Trump administration , that there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manufacturing capacity that we want here in the U.S. in case of crisis.
” Other countries are bound to begin planning along similar lines , leading to a significant decline in transcontinental commerce .
Local and regional trade will , of course , have to increase to make up for this decline , but the net impact on petroleum demand is likely to be negative as long-distance trade and travel diminishes .
For China and other rising Asian powers , this could also mean a slower growth rate , squeezing those “ burgeoning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn , expected to be the major local drivers ( quite literally , in the case of the car cultures in those countries ) of petroleum consumption .
Another trend the coronavirus is likely to accelerate : greater reliance on telework by corporations , governments , universities , and other institutions .
Even before the pandemic broke out , many companies and organizations were beginning to rely more on teleconferencing and work-from-home operations to reduce travel costs , commuting headaches , and even , in some cases , greenhouse gas emissions .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these techniques is likely to become far more common .
“ The COVID-19 pandemic is , among other things , a massive experiment in telecommuting , ” observed Katherine Guyot and Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution in a recent report .
“ Up to half of American workers are currently working from home , more than double the fraction who worked from home ( at least occasionally ) in 2017-2018.
” Many such workers , they also noted , had been largely unfamiliar with telecommuting technology when this grand experiment began , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Given little choice in the matter , high school and college students are also becoming more adept at telework as their schools shift to remote learning .
Meanwhile , companies and colleges are investing massively in the necessary hardware and software for such communications and teaching .
As a result , Guyot and Sawhill suggest , “ The outbreak is accelerating the trend toward telecommuting , possibly for the long term.
” Any large increase in teleworking is bound to have a dramatic dual impact on energy use : People will drive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while relying more on teleconferencing and cloud computing , and so increasing their use of electricity .
“ The coronavirus reminds us that electricity is more indispensable than ever , ” says Fatih Birol , executive director of the IEA .
“ Millions of people are now confined to their homes , resorting to teleworking to do their jobs.
” Increased reliance on electricity , in turn , will have a significant impact on the very nature of primary fuel consumption , as coal begins to lose its dominant role in the generation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an ever-accelerating pace by renewables .
In 2018 , according to the IEA ’ s “ World Energy Outlook 2019 , ” a distressing 38 percent of world electricity generation was still provided by coal , another 26 percent by oil and natural gas , and only 26 percent by renewables ; the remaining 10 percent came from nuclear and other sources of energy .
This was expected to change dramatically over time as climate-conscious policies began to have a significant impact—but , even in the IEA ’ s most hopeful scenarios , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would reach the 50 percent level in electricity generation .
With Covid-19 , however , that process is now likely to speed up , as power utilities adjust to the global economic slowdown and seek to minimize their costs .
With many businesses shut down , net electricity use in the United States has actually declined somewhat in these months—although not nearly as much as the drop in petroleum use , given the way home electricity consumption has compensated for a plunge in business demand .
As utilities adapt to this challenging environment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solar power are often the least costly sources of primary energy , with natural gas just behind them and coal the most expensive of all .
Insofar as they are investing in the future , then , they appear to be favoring large solar and wind projects , which can , in fact , be brought online relatively quickly , assuring needed revenue .
New natural gas plants take longer to install and coal offers no advantages whatsoever .
In the depths of global disaster , it ’ s way too early to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of future decades .
Nonetheless , it does appear that the present still-raging pandemic is forcing dramatic shifts in the way we consume energy and that many of these changes are likely to persist in some fashion long after the virus has been tamed .
Given the already extreme nature of the heating of this planet , such shifts are likely to prove catastrophic for the oil and coal industries but beneficial for the environment—and so for the rest of us .
Deadly , disruptive , and economically devastating as Covid-19 has proved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn out to have had at least this one silver lining .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy. This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.
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Energy analysts have long assumed that, given time, growing international concern over climate change would result in a vast restructuring of the global energy enterprise. The result: a greener, less climate-degrading system. In this future, fossil fuels would be overtaken by renewables, while oil, gas, and coal would be relegated to an increasingly marginal role in the global energy equation. In its “World Energy Outlook 2019,” for example, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that, by 2040, renewables would finally supersede petroleum as the planet’s number one source of energy and coal would largely disappear from the fuel mix. As a result of Covid-19, however, we may no longer have to wait another 20 years for such a cosmic transition to occur—it’s happening right now.
So take a breath and, amid all the bad news pouring in about a deadly global pandemic, consider this: when it comes to energy, what was expected to take at least two decades in the IEA’s most optimistic scenario may now occur in just a few years. It turns out that the impact of Covid-19 is reshaping the world energy equation, along with so much else, in unexpected ways.
That energy would be strongly affected by the pandemic should come as no surprise. After all, fuel use is closely aligned with economic activity and Covid-19 has shut down much of the world economy. With factories, offices, and other businesses closed or barely functioning, there’s naturally less demand for energy of all types. But the impacts of the pandemic go far beyond that, as our principal coping mechanisms—social distancing and stay-at-home requirements—have particular implications for energy consumption.
Among the first and most dramatic of these has been a shockingly deep decline in flying, automobile commuting, and leisure travel—activities that account for a large share of daily petroleum use. Airline travel in the United States, for example, is down by 95 percent from a year ago. At the same time, the personal consumption of electricity for telework, distance learning, group conversations, and entertainment has soared. In hard-hit Italy, for instance, Microsoft reports that the use of its cloud services for team meetings—a voracious consumer of electricity—has increased by 775 percent.
These are all meant to be temporary responses to the pandemic. As government officials and their scientific advisers begin to talk about returning to some semblance of “normalcy,” however, it’s becoming increasingly clear that many such pandemic-related practices will persist in some fashion for a long time to come and, in some cases, may prove permanent. Social distancing is likely to remain the norm in public spaces for many months, if not years, curtailing attendance at theme parks and major sports events that also typically involve lots of driving. Many of us are also becoming more accustomed to working from home and may be in no rush to resume a harried 30, 60, or 90-minute commute to work each day. Some colleges and universities, already under financial pressure of various sorts, may abandon in-person classes for many subjects and rely far more on distance learning. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
No matter how this pandemic finally plays out, the post-Covid-19 world is bound to have a very different look from the pre-pandemic one and energy use is likely to be among the areas most affected by the transformations underway. It would be distinctly premature to make sweeping predictions about the energy profile of a post-coronavirus planet, but one thing certainly seems possible: The grand transition, crucial for averting the worst outcomes of climate change and originally projected to occur decades from now, could end up happening significantly more swiftly, even if at the price of widespread bankruptcies and prolonged unemployment for millions.
Oil’s Dominance in Jeopardy
As 2019 drew to a close, most energy analysts assumed that petroleum would continue to dominate the global landscape through the 2020s, as it had in recent decades, resulting in ever greater amounts of carbon emissions being sent into the atmosphere. For example, in its International Energy Outlook 2019, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US Department of Energy projected that global petroleum use in 2020 would amount to 102.2 million barrels per day. That would be up 1.1 million barrels from 2019 and represent the second year in a row in which global consumption would have exceeded the notable threshold of 100 million barrels per day. Grimly enough, the EIA further projected that world demand would continue to climb, reaching 104 million barrels per day by 2025 and 106 million barrels in 2030. Current Issue View our current issue
In arriving at such projections, energy analysts assumed that the factors responsible for driving petroleum use upward in recent years would persist well into the future: growing automobile ownership in China, India, and other developing nations; ever-increasing commutes as soaring real-estate prices forced people to live ever farther from city centers; and an exponential increase in airline travel, especially in Asia. Such factors, it was widely assumed, would more than compensate for any drop in demand caused by a greater preference for electric cars in Europe and a few other places. As suggested by oil giant BP in its Energy Outlook for 2019, “All of the demand growth comes from developing economies, driven by the burgeoning middle class in developing Asian economies.”
Even in January, as the coronavirus began to spread from China to other countries, energy analysts imagined little change in such predictions. Reporting “continued strong momentum” in oil use among the major developing economies, the IEA typically reaffirmed its belief that global consumption would grow by more than one million barrels daily in 2020.
Only now has that agency begun to change its tune. In its most recent Oil Market Report, it projected that global petroleum consumption in April would fall by an astonishing 29 million barrels per day compared to the same month the previous year. That drop, by the way, is the equivalent of total 2019 oil usage by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Still, the IEA analysts assumed that all of this would just be a passing phenomenon. In that same report, it also predicted that global economic activity would rebound in the second half of this year and, by December, oil usage would already be within a few million barrels of pre-coronavirus consumption levels.
Other indicators, however, suggest that such rosy predictions will prove highly fanciful. The likelihood that oil consumption will approach 2018 or 2019 levels by year’s end or even in early 2021 now appears remarkably unrealistic. It is, in fact, doubtful that those earlier projections about sustained future growth in the demand for oil will ever materialize.
A Shattered World Economy
As a start, a return to pre-Covid-19 consumption levels assumes a reasonably rapid restoration of the world economy as it was, with Asia taking the lead. At this moment, however, there’s no evidence that such an outcome is likely.
In its April World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund predicted that global economic output would fall by 3 percent in 2020 (which may prove a distinct underestimate) and that the pandemic’s harsh impacts, including widespread unemployment and business failures, will persist well into 2021 or beyond. All told, it suggested, the cumulative loss to global gross domestic product in 2020 and 2021, thanks to the pandemic, will amount to some $9 trillion, a sum greater than the economies of Japan and Germany combined (and that assumes the coronavirus will not come back yet more fiercely in late 2020 or 2021, as the “Spanish Flu” did in 1918).
This and other recent data suggest that any notion China, India, and other developing nations will soon resume their upward oil-consumption trajectory and save the global petroleum industry appears wildly far-fetched. Indeed, on April 17, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country’s GDP shrank by 6.8 percent in the first three months of 2020, the first such decline in 40 years and a staggering blow to that country’s growth model. Even though government officials are slowly opening factories and other key businesses again, most observers believe that spurring significant growth will prove exceedingly difficult given that Chinese consumers, traumatized by the pandemic and accompanying lockdown measures, seem loath to make new purchases or engage in travel, tourism, and the like.
And keep in mind that a slowdown in China will have staggering consequences for the economies of numerous other developing nations that rely on that country’s tourism or its imports of their oil, copper, iron ore, and other raw materials. China, after all, is the leading destination for the exports of many Asian, African, and Latin American countries. With Chinese factories closed or operating at a reduced tempo, the demand for their products has already plummeted, causing widespread economic hardship for their populations.
Add all this up, along with a rising tide of unemployment in the United States and elsewhere, and it would appear that the possibility of global oil consumption returning to pre-pandemic levels any time soon—or even at all—is modest at best. Indeed, the major oil-exporting nations have evidently reached this conclusion on their own, as demonstrated by the extraordinary April 12th agreement that the Saudis, the Russians, and other major exporting countries reached to cut global production by nearly 10 million barrels per day. It was a desperate bid to bolster oil prices, which had fallen by more than 50 percent since the beginning of the year. And keep in mind that even this reduction—unprecedented in scale—is unlikely to prevent a further decline in those prices, as oil purchases continue to fall and fall again.
Doing Things Differently
Energy analysts are likely to argue that, while the downturn will undoubtedly last longer than the IEA’s optimistic forecast, sooner or later petroleum use will return to its earlier patterns, once again cresting at the 100-million-barrels-per-day level. But this appears highly unlikely, given the way the pandemic is reshaping the global economy and everyday human behavior.
After all, IEA and oil industry forecasts assume a fully interconnected world in which the sort of dynamic growth we’ve come to expect from Asia in the 21st century will sooner or later fuel economic vigor globally. Extended supply lines will once again carry raw materials and other inputs to China’s factories, while Chinese parts and finished products will be transported to markets on every continent. But whether or not that country’s economy starts to grow again, such a globalized economic model is unlikely to remain the prevailing one in the post-pandemic era. Many countries and companies are, in fact, beginning to restructure their supply lines to avoid a full-scale reliance on foreign suppliers by seeking alternatives closer to home—a trend likely to persist after pandemic-related restrictions are lifted (especially in a world in which Trumpian-style “nationalism” still seems to be on the rise).
“There will be a rethink of how much any country wants to be reliant on any other country,” suggests the aptly named Elizabeth Economy, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “I don’t think fundamentally this is the end of globalization. But this does accelerate the type of thinking that has been going on in the Trump administration, that there are critical technologies, critical resources, reserve manufacturing capacity that we want here in the U.S. in case of crisis.”
Other countries are bound to begin planning along similar lines, leading to a significant decline in transcontinental commerce. Local and regional trade will, of course, have to increase to make up for this decline, but the net impact on petroleum demand is likely to be negative as long-distance trade and travel diminishes. For China and other rising Asian powers, this could also mean a slower growth rate, squeezing those “burgeoning middle classes” that were, in turn, expected to be the major local drivers (quite literally, in the case of the car cultures in those countries) of petroleum consumption.
A Shift toward Electricity—and a Greater Reliance on Renewables
Another trend the coronavirus is likely to accelerate: greater reliance on telework by corporations, governments, universities, and other institutions. Even before the pandemic broke out, many companies and organizations were beginning to rely more on teleconferencing and work-from-home operations to reduce travel costs, commuting headaches, and even, in some cases, greenhouse gas emissions. In our new world, the use of these techniques is likely to become far more common.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is, among other things, a massive experiment in telecommuting,” observed Katherine Guyot and Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution in a recent report. “Up to half of American workers are currently working from home, more than double the fraction who worked from home (at least occasionally) in 2017-2018.”
Many such workers, they also noted, had been largely unfamiliar with telecommuting technology when this grand experiment began, but have quickly mastered the necessary skills. Given little choice in the matter, high school and college students are also becoming more adept at telework as their schools shift to remote learning. Meanwhile, companies and colleges are investing massively in the necessary hardware and software for such communications and teaching. As a result, Guyot and Sawhill suggest, “The outbreak is accelerating the trend toward telecommuting, possibly for the long term.”
Any large increase in teleworking is bound to have a dramatic dual impact on energy use: People will drive less, reducing their oil consumption, while relying more on teleconferencing and cloud computing, and so increasing their use of electricity. “The coronavirus reminds us that electricity is more indispensable than ever,” says Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA. “Millions of people are now confined to their homes, resorting to teleworking to do their jobs.”
Increased reliance on electricity, in turn, will have a significant impact on the very nature of primary fuel consumption, as coal begins to lose its dominant role in the generation of electrical power and is replaced at an ever-accelerating pace by renewables. In 2018, according to the IEA’s “World Energy Outlook 2019,” a distressing 38 percent of world electricity generation was still provided by coal, another 26 percent by oil and natural gas, and only 26 percent by renewables; the remaining 10 percent came from nuclear and other sources of energy. This was expected to change dramatically over time as climate-conscious policies began to have a significant impact—but, even in the IEA’s most hopeful scenarios, it was only after 2030 that renewables would reach the 50 percent level in electricity generation. With Covid-19, however, that process is now likely to speed up, as power utilities adjust to the global economic slowdown and seek to minimize their costs.
With many businesses shut down, net electricity use in the United States has actually declined somewhat in these months—although not nearly as much as the drop in petroleum use, given the way home electricity consumption has compensated for a plunge in business demand. As utilities adapt to this challenging environment, they are finding that wind and solar power are often the least costly sources of primary energy, with natural gas just behind them and coal the most expensive of all. Insofar as they are investing in the future, then, they appear to be favoring large solar and wind projects, which can, in fact, be brought online relatively quickly, assuring needed revenue. New natural gas plants take longer to install and coal offers no advantages whatsoever.
In the depths of global disaster, it’s way too early to make detailed predictions about the energy landscape of future decades. Nonetheless, it does appear that the present still-raging pandemic is forcing dramatic shifts in the way we consume energy and that many of these changes are likely to persist in some fashion long after the virus has been tamed. Given the already extreme nature of the heating of this planet, such shifts are likely to prove catastrophic for the oil and coal industries but beneficial for the environment—and so for the rest of us. Deadly, disruptive, and economically devastating as Covid-19 has proved to be, in retrospect it may turn out to have had at least this one silver lining.


thenation--2020-04-29--Olympic Workers of the World Unite!

Olympic Workers of the World Unite!

Life is short .
Athletic careers are shorter .
This helps explain why many athletes opt to remain quiet even in the face of injustice .
But today we ’ re witnessing a remarkable upsurge in the athlete ’ s use of their own voice .
The examples of this are legion , and now Olympians are coming together to say that it ’ s time for the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) to open its bulging coffers to share more of the loot with the athlete-workers who make the event what it is .
We already saw a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenged the idea of holding the Tokyo Olympics this summer .
If they hadn ’ t , the Games would almost certainly not have been postponed when they were .
The outrage follows a recent study of Olympic finances that found that compared to big-time sports leagues—the NBA , NFL , NHL , MLB , and English Premier League—the IOC is offering athletes mere crumbs .
While these leagues funnel between 40 percent and 60 percent of their revenue into the pockets of athletes , the IOC only forks over a paltry 4.1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a collaboration between the Global Athlete advocacy group and Ryerson University , concluded that “ collective bargaining remains the only viable solution to improve the livelihoods of athletes.
” Numerous Olympic athletes agree .
Christian Taylor , the two-time reigning Olympic gold-medal winner in the triple jump , said in an interview with the Toronto Star , “ It ’ s outrageous to see how little is actually going back to the athlete .
The Olympics is a business .
It ’ s a thriving business .
And we as athletes are just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This should be a wakeup call for all of us.
” According to the group ’ s own records , IOC members are eligible to receive $ 7,000 in annual administrative support .
The per diem for IOC Executive Board members is a whopping $ 900 .
Other IOC members—including “ honorary members ” like former king Constantine II of Greece , King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands , and Saudi Prince Nawaf bin Faisal—can expect $ 450 per day to cover their expenses .
Meanwhile , many Olympic athletes are barely making ends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canadian athletes “ on average spent approximately $ 15,000 annually in excess of their income , of which over a quarter was from employment income , not their sports pursuits.
” In the United States , more than 100 US athletes started GoFundMe pages to cover costs ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics .
People are certainly getting rich off the Olympics , but they ’ re often not athletes .
The study also found that in recent years , Olympic athletes received around $ 5,000 per year , which amounted to 0.5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expenditures .
The report noted , “ If the IOC simply redistributed its excess revenues to the athletes through reimbursement , scholarships , and training the average annual compensation to athletes would rise to $ 11,000 , more than double its current level.
” Predictably , the IOC pushed back against the study , insisting that the group “ redistributes 90 % of all its income generated from the Olympic Games to assist athletes and develop sport worldwide.
” This claim is highly misleading .
For starters , that money is laundered through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and other bodies—many of these groups not exactly known as paragons of ethics—with each one slicing off a chunk of cheese for themselves before the money ever makes its way to athletes ’ pockets .
Moreover , one analysis of the 2013–16 period by David Owen of Inside the Games even throws into doubt the IOC ’ s much-touted 90 percent redistribution figure .
Owen unearthed some curious categorizations .
Instead of counting money spent on Olympic “ culture and heritage ” as an operating or administrative expense , it went into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” pot , as if it were some sort of benefit to athletes .
Expenditures on the Olympic Channel and cancellation insurance somehow count toward the IOC ’ s redistribution “ to assist athletes and develop sport worldwide.
” Because IOC financial figures lack basic transparency , Owen had to carry out a valiant deep-dive into the footnotes .
He concluded , The great sportswriter William Rhoden got it exactly right when he said recently , “ The IOC is probably one of the most corrupt organizations on the face of the earth.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ form of straight-up bribery .
But it can happen quietly too , a sort of legalized corruption , as when athletes are given a tiny slice of the Olympic pie , time and again , even while they provide the labor that make the Games what they are .
Thankfully , Olympic athletes have elbowed their way into the political conversation .
Once again , athletes are out front .
The important report from Global Athlete and Ryerson University makes it clear that the Olympics play out on a split screen : on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best athletes and , on the other , well-positioned sport barons imposing calculated exploitation .
The fact of the matter is that collective bargaining makes a lot of sense for Olympic athletes .
A strong union of athlete-workers would be a giant step forward toward equality .

Life is short. Athletic careers are shorter. This helps explain why many athletes opt to remain quiet even in the face of injustice. But today we’re witnessing a remarkable upsurge in the athlete’s use of their own voice.
The examples of this are legion, and now Olympians are coming together to say that it’s time for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open its bulging coffers to share more of the loot with the athlete-workers who make the event what it is. We already saw a taste of their potential when athletes openly challenged the idea of holding the Tokyo Olympics this summer. If they hadn’t, the Games would almost certainly not have been postponed when they were.
The outrage follows a recent study of Olympic finances that found that compared to big-time sports leagues—the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, and English Premier League—the IOC is offering athletes mere crumbs. While these leagues funnel between 40 percent and 60 percent of their revenue into the pockets of athletes, the IOC only forks over a paltry 4.1 percentof its income.
The study, a collaboration between the Global Athlete advocacy group and Ryerson University, concluded that “collective bargaining remains the only viable solution to improve the livelihoods of athletes.” Numerous Olympic athletes agree. Christian Taylor, the two-time reigning Olympic gold-medal winner in the triple jump, said in an interview with the Toronto Star, “It’s outrageous to see how little is actually going back to the athlete. The Olympics is a business. It’s a thriving business. And we as athletes are just not seeing the fruits of that. This should be a wakeup call for all of us.”
The 5 largest pro sports leagues in the 🌏 pay 40-60% of their revenues to players. Olympics (annual revenue > $1.4 billion) spends 4.1% on athletes and imposes antiquated restrictions on their independent sponsorships. Respect is an Olympic value… https://t.co/ltBdzcbulV —Callum Skinner (@CallumSkinner) April 23, 2020
Emma Coburn, a two-time Olympic middle-distance runner from the United States, tweeted, Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Fun fact: Athletes competing at the Olympics make $0 in prize money, salary, or bonuses from the International Olympic Committee (even though IOC annual revenue is $1.4 Billion). I repeat… Athletes competing at the Olympics make $0 from the IOC.
According to the group’s own records, IOC members are eligible to receive $7,000 in annual administrative support. The per diem for IOC Executive Board members is a whopping $900. Other IOC members—including “honorary members” like former king Constantine II of Greece, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Saudi Prince Nawaf bin Faisal—can expect $450 per day to cover their expenses.
Meanwhile, many Olympic athletes are barely making ends meet. The study mentioned how recent Canadian athletes “on average spent approximately $15,000 annually in excess of their income, of which over a quarter was from employment income, not their sports pursuits.”
In the United States, more than 100 US athletes started GoFundMe pages to cover costs ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics. People are certainly getting rich off the Olympics, but they’re often not athletes.
The study also found that in recent years, Olympic athletes received around $5,000 per year, which amounted to 0.5 percent of the IOC’s total expenditures. The report noted, “If the IOC simply redistributed its excess revenues to the athletes through reimbursement, scholarships, and training the average annual compensation to athletes would rise to $11,000, more than double its current level.”
Predictably, the IOC pushed back against the study, insisting that the group “redistributes 90% of all its income generated from the Olympic Games to assist athletes and develop sport worldwide.”
This claim is highly misleading. For starters, that money is laundered through international sports federations, national Olympic committees, and other bodies—many of these groups not exactly known as paragons of ethics—with each one slicing off a chunk of cheese for themselves before the money ever makes its way to athletes’ pockets.
Moreover, one analysis of the 2013–16 period by David Owen of Inside the Games even throws into doubt the IOC’s much-touted 90 percent redistribution figure. Owen unearthed some curious categorizations. Instead of counting money spent on Olympic “culture and heritage” as an operating or administrative expense, it went into the “Promotion of the Olympic Movement” pot, as if it were some sort of benefit to athletes. Expenditures on the Olympic Channel and cancellation insurance somehow count toward the IOC’s redistribution “to assist athletes and develop sport worldwide.”
Because IOC financial figures lack basic transparency, Owen had to carry out a valiant deep-dive into the footnotes. He concluded,
Acknowledging that it is in some instances a matter of interpretation, I reckon that a hard-hearted analyst would struggle to justify that 90% redistribution figure—even if he were prepared to include costs linked to OBS [Olympic Broadcasting Services], the Olympic Channel and ‘Culture and Heritage’.
The great sportswriter William Rhoden got it exactly right when he said recently, “The IOC is probably one of the most corrupt organizations on the face of the earth.” Sometimes that corruption arrives in the form of straight-up bribery. But it can happen quietly too, a sort of legalized corruption, as when athletes are given a tiny slice of the Olympic pie, time and again, even while they provide the labor that make the Games what they are.
Thankfully, Olympic athletes have elbowed their way into the political conversation. Once again, athletes are out front. The important report from Global Athlete and Ryerson University makes it clear that the Olympics play out on a split screen: on one side, the world’s best athletes and, on the other, well-positioned sport barons imposing calculated exploitation.
The fact of the matter is that collective bargaining makes a lot of sense for Olympic athletes. A strong union of athlete-workers would be a giant step forward toward equality.


thenation--2020-04-29--In Israel, the Betrayal that Made Netanyahu King

For many Israelis , this is a story of betrayal .
In the elections that took place in early March , the third consecutive round of elections in a single year , three separate blocs ran on platforms of ending Benjamin Netanyahu ’ s rule as prime minister—a position he has held for longer than any of his predecessors .
Benny Gantz ’ s Blue and White alliance , which has been nicknamed the “ Generals ’ Party ” for the cadre of former IDF chiefs of staff who lead it , headed the anti-Netanyahu opposition with an election campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Recep Tayyip Erdogan .
The leader of the Labor Party , Amir Peretz , shaved his iconic mustache on live television so that viewers could “ read his lips ” as he vowed not to enter into a coalition with Netanyahu .
The third was the Joint List , which united the major Arab and Jewish-Arab parties in the Knesset , Israel ’ s parliament .
Not a single Palestinian party has ever been part of a coalition government .
Fast forward eight weeks , and everything has changed .
Both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 32 percent of the vote , announced that they would renege on their campaign promises and enter a coalition with Netanyahu ’ s Likud party , tearing apart their parties in the process .
Gantz , who was widely viewed as the center-left ’ s knight in shining armor , was the first to abdicate and to join an “ emergency national unity government ” with the man he had recently deemed a “ dictator.
” Peretz , still without his mustache , was quick to follow .
Half of the Blue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Joint List , will remain in the opposition .
The new government has yet to be sworn in , but the coalition agreement signed by the various parties last week reveals just how dangerous it is likely to be .
The deal includes a commitment to pass new legislation ensuring that Netanyahu stays in power , despite his facing trial for multiple corruption charges .
It will also allow the criminal defendant significant influence over the appointment of judges and the choice of the general attorney .
As if that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also seeks to change the entire system of government by preventing the Knesset from passing laws unrelated to the Covid-19 crisis for a period of six months , while stymieing legislative oversight of the government by barring the opposition from leading any parliamentary committees save one .
Most dangerous of all , however , is the fact that the agreement includes a clause that gives Netanyahu a green light to move ahead with annexing large swaths of the occupied Palestinian territories .
Notably , annexation is one of the only policies that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agreement does not even mention the measures needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic and the havoc it has been wreaking on the Israeli economy ( the very impetus for the unity government ’ s establishment ) , which has seen unemployment skyrocket from under 4 percent to over 26 percent in a single month .
It is , therefore , no wonder that so many voters for Blue and White and Labor feel betrayed .
They believed that their vote would help put an end to Netanyahu ’ s reign .
Instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his fifth term in office .
To understand this unique turn of events , one ought to consider two additional factors about Gantz .
The first is that , despite being elevated as an alternative to the prime minister , Gantz has never actually said that his political beliefs differ much from those of Netanyahu .
( Even before this most recent election , a senior spokesperson for Blue and White stated that Likud was their most “ natural ” partner ) .
When it came to Israel ’ s five-decade rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , foreign policy , Iran , or anything else for that matter , Gantz ’ s centrism failed to present any real policy-based alternative .
Gantz himself launched his political career by boasting about killing thousands of Palestinians and “ sending parts of Gaza back to the stone age ” when he served as chief of staff of the IDF during the 2014 war .
The former general was also vocal about his support for the recently passed “ Jewish Nation-State Law , ” which constitutionally enshrines Jewish supremacy in Israel , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the right for self-determination in Israel .
Most recently , in January , Gantz traveled to Washington , DC , to meet with Donald Trump and endorse his “ Deal of the Century , ” which Palestinians have roundly rejected and consider a nonstarter for future negotiations , and with good reason .
The truth is that for his voters , the entire appeal of Gantz and his list has always been about their laser-focus messaging against Netanyahu as a person , rather than his politics .
For many , Blue and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which places the long-term good of the state above sectarian divisions and personal interests , was supposed to replace Netanyahu ’ s corruption and attacks on Palestinian citizens , the left , the media , and the justice system .
The second clue for understanding Gantz ’ s about-face is the fact that he had no choice but to backtrack on one of his two central campaign promises .
Not only did Gantz vow not to join a government led by Netanyahu ; he also promised he would not lead a minority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which represents Israel ’ s Palestinian citizens .
The Joint List , whose platform is based on equality for all , social justice , peace , and democracy , has long been a target of attacks by Netanyahu and the right , which routinely accuses members Palestinian leaders of being “ terrorist sympathizers.
” The numbers were never in Gantz ’ s favor .
When Likud chided him during the elections for being unable to form a government without the Joint List , Gantz vowed he would pull it off .
But Likud @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Netanyahu ’ s religious right-wing bloc holding a firm grip of 58 out of 120 Knesset seats , just three seats shy of the necessary majority to form a coalition , Gantz had only one alternative to joining the right : ally himself with the Joint List , the rising political force on the left , which won a record-setting 15 seats in Knesset .
When the elections ended and Covid-19 began its rampage across Israel , the country went into immediate lockdown .
Gantz suddenly found himself with a choice : He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some kind of unity government , or accept the support of the Joint List and become prime minister .
Either way , he was about to break one of his two commitments .
The Joint List , for its part , had twice—despite real reservations about supporting a man who had boasted of killing Palestinians—announced that it would recommend the former IDF chief to form the government and replace Netanyahu .
In the end , Gantz opted against what would have been a historic political partnership with Israel ’ s Palestinian minority , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was set to replace .
The price of this decision will be paid , as always , by Palestinians—in the West Bank , the Gaza Strip , and inside Israel—along with poor and working-class Jewish communities , who are the hardest hit by the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus crisis and are , as usual , being ignored by the government .
The Israeli Elections Are a Referendum on Who Can Treat Palestinians Most Harshly It didn ’ t have to end like this .
Before he made his decision , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Odeh , the head of the Joint List .
Odeh has been working to forge new alliances and lead what he calls the “ Democratic Camp ” in Israel , stating repeatedly that while Palestinian citizens can not replace Netanyahu and promote peace and equality alone , no one can do it without them .
This has led to a dramatic increase in Palestinian citizens ’ voting rates ; won the Joint List new support from Jewish voters ; and led Time magazine to recognize Odeh as one of its “ 100 Next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is reason to believe Gantz truly was considering forming an alliance that would have led to Netanyahu ’ s ouster .
Were it not for the outbreak of the novel coronavirus ( as well as two hawkish Blue and White backbenchers who preferred Netanyahu to Odeh ) , this could have come to pass—and potentially changed the face of Israeli politics ; just years ago , any alliance between Zionist parties and Arab parties was almost unimaginable .
Gantz ’ s betrayal has made it painfully clear to all parties involved that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right , and it requires real partnership between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel , based on principles of equality and democracy .
In the next elections , whenever they may be , we may finally see an opposition to that goes beyond rejecting Netanyahu the person—and instead offers a real alternative to everything he stands for .

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For many Israelis, this is a story of betrayal. In the elections that took place in early March, the third consecutive round of elections in a single year, three separate blocs ran on platforms of ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule as prime minister—a position he has held for longer than any of his predecessors.
Benny Gantz’s Blue and White alliance, which has been nicknamed the “Generals’ Party” for the cadre of former IDF chiefs of staff who lead it, headed the anti-Netanyahu opposition with an election campaign that compared the prime minister to Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The leader of the Labor Party, Amir Peretz, shaved his iconic mustache on live television so that viewers could “read his lips” as he vowed not to enter into a coalition with Netanyahu. The third was the Joint List, which united the major Arab and Jewish-Arab parties in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Not a single Palestinian party has ever been part of a coalition government.
Fast forward eight weeks, and everything has changed. Both Gantz and Peretz, who together won about 32 percent of the vote, announced that they would renege on their campaign promises and enter a coalition with Netanyahu’s Likud party, tearing apart their parties in the process. Gantz, who was widely viewed as the center-left’s knight in shining armor, was the first to abdicate and to join an “emergency national unity government” with the man he had recently deemed a “dictator.” Peretz, still without his mustache, was quick to follow. Half of the Blue and White and Labor lists, along with the Joint List, will remain in the opposition.
The new government has yet to be sworn in, but the coalition agreement signed by the various parties last week reveals just how dangerous it is likely to be. The deal includes a commitment to pass new legislation ensuring that Netanyahu stays in power, despite his facing trial for multiple corruption charges. It will also allow the criminal defendant significant influence over the appointment of judges and the choice of the general attorney.
As if that’s not enough, the coalition agreement also seeks to change the entire system of government by preventing the Knesset from passing laws unrelated to the Covid-19 crisis for a period of six months, while stymieing legislative oversight of the government by barring the opposition from leading any parliamentary committees save one.
Most dangerous of all, however, is the fact that the agreement includes a clause that gives Netanyahu a green light to move ahead with annexing large swaths of the occupied Palestinian territories. Notably, annexation is one of the only policies that the new government has committed to. The agreement does not even mention the measures needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic and the havoc it has been wreaking on the Israeli economy (the very impetus for the unity government’s establishment), which has seen unemployment skyrocket from under 4 percent to over 26 percent in a single month. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
It is, therefore, no wonder that so many voters for Blue and White and Labor feel betrayed. They believed that their vote would help put an end to Netanyahu’s reign. Instead, those votes gifted “King Bibi” with his fifth term in office. Current Issue View our current issue
To understand this unique turn of events, one ought to consider two additional factors about Gantz. The first is that, despite being elevated as an alternative to the prime minister, Gantz has never actually said that his political beliefs differ much from those of Netanyahu. (Even before this most recent election, a senior spokesperson for Blue and White stated that Likud was their most “natural” partner). When it came to Israel’s five-decade rule over Palestinians, annexation, the economy, foreign policy, Iran, or anything else for that matter, Gantz’s centrism failed to present any real policy-based alternative.
Gantz himself launched his political career by boasting about killing thousands of Palestinians and “sending parts of Gaza back to the stone age” when he served as chief of staff of the IDF during the 2014 war. The former general was also vocal about his support for the recently passed “Jewish Nation-State Law,” which constitutionally enshrines Jewish supremacy in Israel, and states that Jews are the only people with the right for self-determination in Israel. Most recently, in January, Gantz traveled to Washington, DC, to meet with Donald Trump and endorse his “Deal of the Century,” which Palestinians have roundly rejected and consider a nonstarter for future negotiations, and with good reason. The truth is that for his voters, the entire appeal of Gantz and his list has always been about their laser-focus messaging against Netanyahu as a person, rather than his politics.
For many, Blue and White’s commitment to civic virtue, which places the long-term good of the state above sectarian divisions and personal interests, was supposed to replace Netanyahu’s corruption and attacks on Palestinian citizens, the left, the media, and the justice system.
The second clue for understanding Gantz’s about-face is the fact that he had no choice but to backtrack on one of his two central campaign promises. Not only did Gantz vow not to join a government led by Netanyahu; he also promised he would not lead a minority government supported by the Joint List, which represents Israel’s Palestinian citizens. The Joint List, whose platform is based on equality for all, social justice, peace, and democracy, has long been a target of attacks by Netanyahu and the right, which routinely accuses members Palestinian leaders of being “terrorist sympathizers.”
The numbers were never in Gantz’s favor. When Likud chided him during the elections for being unable to form a government without the Joint List, Gantz vowed he would pull it off. But Likud was right—and everybody knew it. With Netanyahu’s religious right-wing bloc holding a firm grip of 58 out of 120 Knesset seats, just three seats shy of the necessary majority to form a coalition, Gantz had only one alternative to joining the right: ally himself with the Joint List, the rising political force on the left, which won a record-setting 15 seats in Knesset.
When the elections ended and Covid-19 began its rampage across Israel, the country went into immediate lockdown. Gantz suddenly found himself with a choice: He would either have to join Netanyahu in some kind of unity government, or accept the support of the Joint List and become prime minister. Either way, he was about to break one of his two commitments. The Joint List, for its part, had twice—despite real reservations about supporting a man who had boasted of killing Palestinians—announced that it would recommend the former IDF chief to form the government and replace Netanyahu.
In the end, Gantz opted against what would have been a historic political partnership with Israel’s Palestinian minority, and instead joined forces with the man he was set to replace. The price of this decision will be paid, as always, by Palestinians—in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and inside Israel—along with poor and working-class Jewish communities, who are the hardest hit by the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus crisis and are, as usual, being ignored by the government. Related Article The Israeli Elections Are a Referendum on Who Can Treat Palestinians Most Harshly Diana Buttu
It didn’t have to end like this. Before he made his decision, Gantz was in close contact with Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List. Odeh has been working to forge new alliances and lead what he calls the “Democratic Camp” in Israel, stating repeatedly that while Palestinian citizens cannot replace Netanyahu and promote peace and equality alone, no one can do it without them. This has led to a dramatic increase in Palestinian citizens’ voting rates; won the Joint List new support from Jewish voters; and led Time magazine to recognize Odeh as one of its “100 Next” rising stars in world politics. There is reason to believe Gantz truly was considering forming an alliance that would have led to Netanyahu’s ouster. Were it not for the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (as well as two hawkish Blue and White backbenchers who preferred Netanyahu to Odeh), this could have come to pass—and potentially changed the face of Israeli politics; just years ago, any alliance between Zionist parties and Arab parties was almost unimaginable.
Gantz’s betrayal has made it painfully clear to all parties involved that there is only one path to beating the right, and it requires real partnership between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, based on principles of equality and democracy. In the next elections, whenever they may be, we may finally see an opposition to that goes beyond rejecting Netanyahu the person—and instead offers a real alternative to everything he stands for.


thenation--2020-04-29--Meatpacking Plants Are a Front in the Covid-19 Class War

Iowa is currently experiencing some of the fastest-growing rates of Covid-19 infections in America , with Sioux City and Waterloo being particularly hard hit .
The meatpacking plants in these cities are the major vectors for the disease spreading—not surprising , considering slaughterhouses are notorious sites of poor health and safety practices .
The closing of the Tyson plant in Waterloo on April 22 was forced on the company as employees refused to go to work after colleagues contacted the disease .
In explaining the decision to close the Waterloo plant , Steve Stouffer , group president of Tyson Fresh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 cases and community concerns.
” It ’ s notable that Stouffer did not mention any pressure from either Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds or the Trump administration .
Reynolds has been among the state leaders most reluctant to close down business .
She ’ s intensely eager for a quick return to economic normality .
In a press briefing on Monday , Reynolds said , “ The reality is that we can not stop this virus .
It will remain in our communities until a vaccine is available .
Instead we must learn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it govern our lives.
” In an earlier statement , Reynolds warned that workers who did not return to work would be considered a “ voluntary quit ” and not be eligible for unemployment benefits .
Donald Trump isn ’ t quite as blunt , but he ’ s clearly intent on exactly this approach .
On Tuesday he gave a major signal that returning to work was the desired goal even in dangerous industries like meatpacking .
According to The Washington Post , Trump signed an executive order “ compelling meat processors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the nation ’ s food supply chains , despite mounting reports of plant worker deaths due to covid-19.
” Ominously , Trump invoked the Defense Production Act , which he had previously refused to deploy on behalf of commandeering factories to make hospital equipment .
The exact impact of this executive order is unclear .
In describing the need for the order , Trump said , “ It was a very unique circumstance because of liability.
” Coupled with Reynolds ’ s comments about unemployment benefits , many labor activists feared that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employees would be forced to work even in hazardous conditions , with the threat of destitution held over them .
Kim Cordova , president for workers at a JBS Meatpacking Plant in Greeley , Colorado , told The Washington Post , “ If these meat plants can ’ t be held liable , there is no reason for them to take measures to ensure workers are safe .
If workers stop showing up , what are they going to do ?
Enact a draft ?
This is insane .
If these workers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treating workers like fungible widgets instead of human beings.
” University of Texas Law professor Stephen Vladeck argues that the executive order is more Trumpian bluster than a significant policy intervention .
As so often , Trump wants to make it look like he ’ s doing something big , but the actual results will be minor .
“ Nothing in the text of the Order claims any power to force plants to ‘ stay open , ’ and nothing in the statutory sections on which the Order purports to rely delegates such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even if the executive order is more a matter of optics , it ’ s still significant as part of a larger push to reopen the economy .
Trump , like Reynolds , is trying to intimidate workers who are abandoning jobs that they rightly feel are health hazards .
Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum describes this as a “ let ’ s take the punch ” strategy .
It ’ s a move to prioritize lifting the lockdown , even if the nation lacks an adequate testing and tracing capacity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All evidence suggests that the federal government is leaving the matter of testing and tracing as much as possible in the hands of state governments .
Some states are forging ahead , but there is no clear national policy .
It ’ s almost certain that the lockdown will end prematurely , with a greater likelihood of a powerful second wave of the pandemic .
In Frum ’ s words , Trump wants to “ reopen and see what happens .
Let ’ s accept that there may be hundreds of thousands , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Americans killed .
They ’ re going to be mostly poor and minorities , mostly not going to be Trump voters .
Let ’ s take that punch and push through and try to get to herd immunity as fast as possible.
” As Frum makes clear , the “ let ’ s take the punch ” strategy is palatable to Republicans because they are not for the most part the people who will be suffering .
The punch will land on the working class , with an especially hard blow to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work in meatpacking plants are a classic example .
The push to reopen the economy is really class war by other means .
As The New York Times reports , “ Efforts to quickly restart economic activity risk further dividing Americans into two major groups along socioeconomic lines : one that has the power to control its exposure to the coronavirus outbreak and another that is forced to choose between potential sickness or financial devastation.
” The primarily white middle class hold jobs that allow them to work safely from home .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Those who are lower paid , less educated and employed in jobs where teleworking is not an option would face a bleak choice if states lift restrictive orders and employers order them back to work : expose themselves to the pandemic or lose their jobs.
” The class divide over Covid-19 is becoming starker as the disease ravages American society .
With Bernie Sanders now out of the presidential primaries , there ’ s no national figure that is willing to defend the working class as a group with distinct interests .
All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nancy Pelosi , Chuck Schumer—eschew class politics and are eager to expand the Democratic Party into the affluent suburbs .
This means giving less voice to a politics that could defend workers at a meatpacking plant , even as the likes of Donald Trump and Kim Reynolds wage a class war on behalf of plutocracy .
The surge of wildcat strikes is a product of this intensified class war .
Governed by a callous president , possessing few allies in the political elite , and usually not even having the protection of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forced into militancy to protect their lives .

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Iowa is currently experiencing some of the fastest-growing rates of Covid-19 infections in America, with Sioux City and Waterloo being particularly hard hit. The meatpacking plants in these cities are the major vectors for the disease spreading—not surprising, considering slaughterhouses are notorious sites of poor health and safety practices. The closing of the Tyson plant in Waterloo on April 22 was forced on the company as employees refused to go to work after colleagues contacted the disease. In explaining the decision to close the Waterloo plant, Steve Stouffer, group president of Tyson Fresh Meats, cited “worker absenteeism, Covid-19 cases and community concerns.”
It’s notable that Stouffer did not mention any pressure from either Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds or the Trump administration. Reynolds has been among the state leaders most reluctant to close down business. She’s intensely eager for a quick return to economic normality. In a press briefing on Monday, Reynolds said, “The reality is that we cannot stop this virus. It will remain in our communities until a vaccine is available. Instead we must learn to live with coronavirus activity without letting it govern our lives.” In an earlier statement, Reynolds warned that workers who did not return to work would be considered a “voluntary quit” and not be eligible for unemployment benefits.
Donald Trump isn’t quite as blunt, but he’s clearly intent on exactly this approach. On Tuesday he gave a major signal that returning to work was the desired goal even in dangerous industries like meatpacking. According to The Washington Post, Trump signed an executive order “compelling meat processors to remain open to head off shortages in the nation’s food supply chains, despite mounting reports of plant worker deaths due to covid-19.” Ominously, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act, which he had previously refused to deploy on behalf of commandeering factories to make hospital equipment.
The exact impact of this executive order is unclear. In describing the need for the order, Trump said, “It was a very unique circumstance because of liability.” Coupled with Reynolds’s comments about unemployment benefits, many labor activists feared that Trump was setting up a situation where employees would be forced to work even in hazardous conditions, with the threat of destitution held over them.
Kim Cordova, president for workers at a JBS Meatpacking Plant in Greeley, Colorado, told The Washington Post, “If these meat plants can’t be held liable, there is no reason for them to take measures to ensure workers are safe. If workers stop showing up, what are they going to do? Enact a draft? This is insane. If these workers are essential, protect them. They are treating workers like fungible widgets instead of human beings.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
University of Texas Law professor Stephen Vladeck argues that the executive order is more Trumpian bluster than a significant policy intervention. As so often, Trump wants to make it look like he’s doing something big, but the actual results will be minor. “Nothing in the text of the Order claims any power to force plants to ‘stay open,’ and nothing in the statutory sections on which the Order purports to rely delegates such authority,” Vladek notes.
But even if the executive order is more a matter of optics, it’s still significant as part of a larger push to reopen the economy. Trump, like Reynolds, is trying to intimidate workers who are abandoning jobs that they rightly feel are health hazards. Current Issue View our current issue
Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum describes this as a “let’s take the punch” strategy. It’s a move to prioritize lifting the lockdown, even if the nation lacks an adequate testing and tracing capacity to control the spread of Covid-19. All evidence suggests that the federal government is leaving the matter of testing and tracing as much as possible in the hands of state governments. Some states are forging ahead, but there is no clear national policy. It’s almost certain that the lockdown will end prematurely, with a greater likelihood of a powerful second wave of the pandemic.
In Frum’s words, Trump wants to “reopen and see what happens. Let’s accept that there may be hundreds of thousands, or some double hundreds of thousands, of Americans killed. They’re going to be mostly poor and minorities, mostly not going to be Trump voters. Let’s take that punch and push through and try to get to herd immunity as fast as possible.”
As Frum makes clear, the “let’s take the punch” strategy is palatable to Republicans because they are not for the most part the people who will be suffering. The punch will land on the working class, with an especially hard blow to people of color. The immigrants who work in meatpacking plants are a classic example.
The push to reopen the economy is really class war by other means. As The New York Times reports, “Efforts to quickly restart economic activity risk further dividing Americans into two major groups along socioeconomic lines: one that has the power to control its exposure to the coronavirus outbreak and another that is forced to choose between potential sickness or financial devastation.” The primarily white middle class hold jobs that allow them to work safely from home.
The newspaper goes on to note, “Those who are lower paid, less educated and employed in jobs where teleworking is not an option would face a bleak choice if states lift restrictive orders and employers order them back to work: expose themselves to the pandemic or lose their jobs.”
The class divide over Covid-19 is becoming starker as the disease ravages American society. With Bernie Sanders now out of the presidential primaries, there’s no national figure that is willing to defend the working class as a group with distinct interests. All the existing official Democratic leaders—Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer—eschew class politics and are eager to expand the Democratic Party into the affluent suburbs. This means giving less voice to a politics that could defend workers at a meatpacking plant, even as the likes of Donald Trump and Kim Reynolds wage a class war on behalf of plutocracy.
The surge of wildcat strikes is a product of this intensified class war. Governed by a callous president, possessing few allies in the political elite, and usually not even having the protection of a labor union, American workers are being forced into militancy to protect their lives.


thenation--2020-04-29--CNN’s Exceptional Climate Journalism Achievement

This article is adapted from “ The Climate Beat , ” the weekly newsletter of Covering Climate Now , a global journalism initiative committed to more and better climate coverage .
On April 25 , CNN broadcast one of the very best pieces of climate journalism ever run by a mainstream US news organization .
In The Road to Change : America ’ s Climate Crisis , Bill Weir , the network ’ s chief climate correspondent , leads viewers on a briskly paced , beautifully shot , scientifically robust road trip into the nation ’ s rapidly unfolding climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ television as a whole continues to underplay the climate story , The Road to Change establishes a standard of excellence that newsrooms of all types—TV , radio , digital , or print—can learn from and emulate .
Demolishing the stereotype of climate stories as earnest , predictable turnoffs , The Road to Change spotlights the human side of the climate crisis without preaching or pulling its punches .
In the course of 90 minutes , we meet one compelling character after another : members of America ’ s “ first underwater homeowners association @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comforting one another about dwindling property values ; weather-battered Iowa farmers whose Christian faith compels them to climate activism despite snickers from their conservative neighbors ; a victim of California ’ s record Paradise fire who , surrounded by houses reduced to ashes , says he ’ s “ yet to see any substantial proof ” of a changing climate ; young Sunrise Movement activists forcing the Green New Deal into the national political conversation ; and a smattering of big-name scientists and politicians .
Jovial yet deeply informed , Weir treats his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trust and ours .
By telling the story through the experiences of these flesh-and-blood human beings , the documentary makes the urgency of the climate crisis , as well as its solutions , vivid and immediate to anyone with an open mind .
In a brave departure from most recent climate journalism , The Road to Change does not labor to draw connections to the coronavirus , implicitly insisting that the climate crisis is plenty serious enough to merit attention on its own .
In an interview for this article , Weir made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is just a dress rehearsal for what we ’ re going to go through the next 50 years with climate change.
” Want to Slow the Climate Crisis ?
Don ’ t Use Single-Use Plastics .
More in this series The pandemic may account for the documentary ’ s one shortcoming : CNN aired it at 10 pm ET on a Saturday , a time slot when viewership is usually below average .
The program was watched in real-time by over 1 million viewers in the United States , a CNN spokesperson said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ International ; viewership figures for the global audience were unavailable at press time .
The Road to Change remains available on demand via cable and satellite systems , the CNNgo platform , and CNN mobile apps .
“ When there are huge stories like this pandemic unfolding hour by hour , [ CNN ] errs on the side of the audience wanting to know what ’ s happening right now with [ that huge story ] , ” explained Weir , who nevertheless stressed that CNN ’ s top management championed his project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me and asked me to do it , ” he said of Jeff Zucker , the president of CNN ; Michael Bass , executive vice president of programming ; and Jim Murphy , head of the documentary unit .
Weir had already distinguished himself with shorter climate reports , including a searing examination last May of “ climate justice ” —actually , the lack thereof—in pollution-clogged neighborhoods near oil refineries in Port Arthur , Texas .
Perhaps most instructive is how this documentary handles the science , seamlessly weaving it through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Weir calls science “ my map ” to the climate future , and his command of that map is broad and up to date , yet lightly worn .
When a scientist sharing a skiff with him in Miami Bay says sea levels there could rise three to six feet by 2100 , Weir points out that “ some of your colleagues predict as much as 15 feet…which means Miami ’ s gone.
” The scientist concurs that “ if we remain on this trajectory , there ’ s a real possibility [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and smart graphics are also employed to render complex science accessible .
“ Since 1961 , Earth has lost the equivalent of a block of ice the size of the United States 16 feet thick , ” Weir declares as an imaginary block of ice is superimposed over a map of the United States .
Nor does The Road to Change shrink from acknowledging that the human story of climate change boasts its share of human villains .
Most mainstream news coverage omits one of the most important facts behind our dilemma : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ products have overheated the planet have known for decades they were leading civilization to disaster but chose to lie about that to keep profits booming .
“ Internal Exxon documents show they knew in ’ 82 , but what did they do ?
” Weir asks .
The screen fills with oil derricks furiously pumping up and down as Weir answers his own question : “ Drill , baby , drill .
And spin , baby , spin.
” “ We are all products of the stories we hear , ” Weir says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inhabited a planet as hot as today ’ s , he notes , and the physical momentum of climate change means that our “ journey into change has only just begun.
” To help us understand and navigate that journey as best we can , we need more stories like this one .
With any luck , CNN will show it again—this time in prime time .

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Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
This article is adapted from “The Climate Beat,” the weekly newsletter of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism initiative committed to more and better climate coverage.
On April 25, CNN broadcast one of the very best pieces of climate journalism ever run by a mainstream US news organization. In The Road to Change: America’s Climate Crisis, Bill Weir, the network’s chief climate correspondent, leads viewers on a briskly paced, beautifully shot, scientifically robust road trip into the nation’s rapidly unfolding climate future. At a time when network television as a whole continues to underplay the climate story, The Road to Change establishes a standard of excellence that newsrooms of all types—TV, radio, digital, or print—can learn from and emulate.
Demolishing the stereotype of climate stories as earnest, predictable turnoffs, The Road to Change spotlights the human side of the climate crisis without preaching or pulling its punches. In the course of 90 minutes, we meet one compelling character after another: members of America’s “first underwater homeowners association,” in inexorably submerging Miami, comforting one another about dwindling property values; weather-battered Iowa farmers whose Christian faith compels them to climate activism despite snickers from their conservative neighbors; a victim of California’s record Paradise fire who, surrounded by houses reduced to ashes, says he’s “yet to see any substantial proof” of a changing climate; young Sunrise Movement activists forcing the Green New Deal into the national political conversation; and a smattering of big-name scientists and politicians. Jovial yet deeply informed, Weir treats his subjects with absolute respect, gaining their trust and ours. By telling the story through the experiences of these flesh-and-blood human beings, the documentary makes the urgency of the climate crisis, as well as its solutions, vivid and immediate to anyone with an open mind.
In a brave departure from most recent climate journalism, The Road to Change does not labor to draw connections to the coronavirus, implicitly insisting that the climate crisis is plenty serious enough to merit attention on its own. In an interview for this article, Weir made the point explicitly: “This pandemic is just a dress rehearsal for what we’re going to go through the next 50 years with climate change.” Covering Climate Now How to Stop the Spread of Climate Disinformation Erika Seiber and Michael Khoo A Soundtrack for the Climate Emergency Mark Hertsgaard Can Gen Z Save the Midterms for Democrats? Mark Hertsgaard
The pandemic may account for the documentary’s one shortcoming: CNN aired it at 10 pm ET on a Saturday, a time slot when viewership is usually below average. The program was watched in real-time by over 1 million viewers in the United States, a CNN spokesperson said. It was also simulcast on CNN International; viewership figures for the global audience were unavailable at press time. The Road to Change remains available on demand via cable and satellite systems, the CNNgo platform, and CNN mobile apps. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
“When there are huge stories like this pandemic unfolding hour by hour, [CNN] errs on the side of the audience wanting to know what’s happening right now with [that huge story],” explained Weir, who nevertheless stressed that CNN’s top management championed his project from the start. “They came to me and asked me to do it,” he said of Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN; Michael Bass, executive vice president of programming; and Jim Murphy, head of the documentary unit. Weir had already distinguished himself with shorter climate reports, including a searing examination last May of “climate justice”—actually, the lack thereof—in pollution-clogged neighborhoods near oil refineries in Port Arthur, Texas.
Perhaps most instructive is how this documentary handles the science, seamlessly weaving it through the human stories that drive the narrative. Weir calls science “my map” to the climate future, and his command of that map is broad and up to date, yet lightly worn. When a scientist sharing a skiff with him in Miami Bay says sea levels there could rise three to six feet by 2100, Weir points out that “some of your colleagues predict as much as 15 feet…which means Miami’s gone.” The scientist concurs that “if we remain on this trajectory, there’s a real possibility [of that] happening.” Astute analogies and smart graphics are also employed to render complex science accessible. “Since 1961, Earth has lost the equivalent of a block of ice the size of the United States 16 feet thick,” Weir declares as an imaginary block of ice is superimposed over a map of the United States.
Nor does The Road to Change shrink from acknowledging that the human story of climate change boasts its share of human villains. Most mainstream news coverage omits one of the most important facts behind our dilemma: The giant oil and gas companies whose products have overheated the planet have known for decades they were leading civilization to disaster but chose to lie about that to keep profits booming. “Internal Exxon documents show they knew in ’82, but what did they do?” Weir asks. The screen fills with oil derricks furiously pumping up and down as Weir answers his own question: “Drill, baby, drill. And spin, baby, spin.”
“We are all products of the stories we hear,” Weir says at one point. Humans have never inhabited a planet as hot as today’s, he notes, and the physical momentum of climate change means that our “journey into change has only just begun.” To help us understand and navigate that journey as best we can, we need more stories like this one. With any luck, CNN will show it again—this time in prime time.