07/20/12 07/20/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> when she saw he was holding a shotgun, her and her boyfriend dropped to the floor and started to crawl to see if they could get away. they got up and started to run through the emergency exit. she said when she turned around, all she saw was the guy slowly making his way up the stairs and just firing at people, just picking random people. >> the shooting went on for some time but as of right now, we

have approximately 50 who were hit, 14 dead. >> at least 14 people have been killed, more than 50 wounded at a movie theater in are, colorado, just 25 miles from the side of the , massacre. the theater was packed for the found "the dark knight rises." "arctic voices: resistance at the tipping point." >> shall be the first big oil company this summer to start drilling for oil in the arctic. it is a unique and beautiful area of the planet. to drill for oil there would endanger the wildlife, the polar bears, other creatures as well as the 4 million people who live there. >> as the oil giant shell prepares to begin exploratory drilling in the arctic, activists across the world have begun holding protests. we will beat with subhankar banerjee -- speak with subhankar

banerjee, then mark hertsgaard. >> what is it going demint of the temperatures go up for 50 years? what kind of reaction will that be? >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. at least 14 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in a mass shooting at a movie theater outside denver. a gunman wearing a gas mask and bulletproof vest set off what appeared to be a smoke bomb before opening fire at random. police say the suspect is in custody and that he's believed to have acted alone. the attack came at a screening of the new batman film in the denver suburb of aurora. 10 people reportedly died at the scene and four later succumbed to their injuries and the

hospital. a number of the wounded are in critical condition. it was the worst mass shooting in the u.s. since the killings of 32 people at virginia tech five years ago. we'll have more on the store after the headlines. syrian rebels continue to make gains on the regime of bashar al-assad, seizing a number of border crossings with neighboring iraq and turkey. opposition fighters overrun government forces at two major crossings, including one controlling the vital trade route on the damascus to baghdad highway. meanwhile, the syrian government says the country's intelligence chief, hisham ikhtiyar, has died from injuries sustained in wednesday's bombing of a high- level meeting in damascus, making him the fourth assad regime insider to die in the attack. and it's the violence, the united nations is warning 1 million syrians are now believed to be internally displaced, double the previous estimate. the fighting continues in syria one day after russia and china vetoed a security council

resolution threatening new sanctions on the syrian regime. russia and china say they took action over demands for the inclusion of penalties under chapter seven of the u.n. charter, which would leave open the possibility of military intervention. the measure would have extended the u.n. observer mission in syria for 45 days. it surely to the veto, a spokesperson said u.n.-arab league envoy kofi annan is disappointed the measure fell to pass but >> they're disappointed, to say the least, that the security council could not you ninth and take the strong and concerted action that he had urged for and hoped for. as you know, the voice of the security council is much more powerful when its members act as one. >> thursday's action marked its russia and chinae have vetoed a resolution on

syria in the past nine months. >> the security council has failed utterly in its most important task on its agenda this year. this is another dark day in turtle bay. one can only hope that one day, before too many thousands more died, that russia and china will stop protecting al-assad and allow this council to play its proper role of the center of the international response to the crisis in syria. >> russia has said the use the veto in a bid to prevent any future pretext for military force. speaking at the u.n., the russian ambassador claimed the u.s. and its allies are seeking to target the assad regime as part of a bid to weaken iran. tens of thousands of people marched in cities across spain on thursday largest protest to date against massive spending cuts and tax increases pushed

through to obtain a bailout for the country's banks. demonstrators to to the streets as spanish lawmakers approved a new round of austerity measures in parliament, including a higher sales tax and cuts to the wages of public workers. a spanish union leader said the new austerity measures threaten spain's future. >> this is a true aggression against the workers out of work, against the workers from the public sector, against the self- employed, against the professionals, against the middle class of this society who will go straight to poverty as a result of this plan. this is a plan of budget cuts that goes against spain's economy. in economic terms, it is suicidal. >> in madrid, thursday's protests ended in unrest when police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators. a military judge has rejected the bid by attorneys of the alleged u.s. army whistleblower bradley manning to cite evidence showing the leak for which he's accused caused no damage to the

u.s. manning's attorneys had sought to present damage assessment reports that evaluated the impact of the publication of government diplomatic cables that manning allegedly provided to wikileaks. internal government reviews have found the leak caused minimal damage, contradicting prosecutors' contention manning hard -- harmed national security and aided u.s. foes. but on thursday, the judge overseeing manning's military trial rejected the effort. the judge also rejected a defense request to present testimony from united nations repertoire one mendez, who said the u.s. government's treatment of manning may amount to torture. leon panetta has ordered top pentagon officials to monitor major u.s. news organizations for signs of leaked classified material. the order comes after recent media reports about u.s. cyber operations against iran and the open administration's policies

for targeted drone attacks overseas. -- and the obama administration's policies for targeted drone attacks overseas. on the campaign trail, republican candidate mitt romney is preparing to head overseas for a trip that will take into britain, israel, and poland. speaking in florida on thursday, president obama said u.s. support for the israeli government transcends the partisan divide. >> under my administration, we have not just preserve the unbreakable bond with israel, we have strengthened it. [applause] we have stood by israel's side in the face of criticism, our military and intelligence cooperation has never been closer. i want you to know that is something that should transcend parties. that is not a republican or democratic issue. that is an issue of how we work with one of our closest allies in the world that shares our values and beliefs in democracy.

>> new figures show the number of claims for unemployment benefits rose by 34,000 last week, the biggest jump in over a year. the official unemployment rate remains at 8.2% with 75,000 jobs being created on average per month, down from 226,000 during the year's first quarter. a class-action lawsuit alleging widespread discrimination against latinos by the notorious maricopa county sheriff joe r. cairo opened thursday in arizona. the plaintiffs represented by civil rights groups are accusing arpaio of violating the rights of latinos by systematically targeting them for traffic stops and detention. among the evidence cited in court papers are arpaio's own statements about his "pure program" intended to "go after illegals, not the crime first." one plant is a mexican tourist who was a passenger in a car pulled over by deputies, ostensibly for speeding. though the white driver was neither arrested nor cited, the mexican passenger was arrested

despite having a valid visa and identification. the suit also says arpaio punished prisoners for speaking spanish and neglected to investigate a massive number of sex crimes. the proceeds another suit brought by the justice department alleging rampant civil rights violations by our pile's office. the pentagon will allow u.s. service members to wear their uniforms at a gay pride march for the first time. permission was credit for saturday's pride parade in san diego, california. the pentagon says it does not mark a permanent shift in policy and will only apply in this one case. a new report is found police in major u.s. cities are confiscating condoms from sex workers, putting them at risk of contracting hiv/aids. human-rights watch says police are harassing, threatening, even arresting sex workers and transgender women solely for carrying condoms. and at least three cities, prosecutors introduced condoms as evidence at trial. some sex workers who were afraid

to carry condoms reported having unprotected sex or using plastic bags as substitutes. the report also notes widespread profiling and other abuses by police, including reports police in los angeles and the york demanded sex in exchange for dropping charges and coerced women into sex while they were detained. in related news, u.s. restrictions are preventing many people most affected by hiv/aids from attending the international aids convert scheduled to begin in washington, d.c. on sunday. the u.s. categorically bans sex workers and drug users from entering the country, unless they can obtain a special waiver. sex workers and their allies are protesting their exclusion by holding a separate conference call the sex worker freedom festival in india later this month. speaking ahead of the indian conference, andrew hunter of the global network of sex work projects said the u.s. is discriminating against sex workers. >> they are the largest funder for hiv services and providing

anti-retro viral medications for people with hiv. they're completely hypocritical when it comes to the involvement of sex workers not only in the international aids conference, but the role of sex workers in controlling the hiv epidemic globally. so we're not allowed to go to their conference, but we're also not allowed to get their money but hiv prevention programming. >> those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today's show in colorado. at least 40 people have been killed and more than 50 wounded in a mass shooting at a movie theater outside denver. a gunman wearing a gas mask and bulletproof vest set off what appeared to be a smoke bomb before opening fire at random. police said the suspect is in custody and believed to have acted alone. the attack came at a screening of the new batman film in the denver suburb of aurora.

10 people reportedly died at the scene, four others at the hospital. the number of the wounded are in critical condition. it is the worst mass shooting in u.s. since the virginia tech shooting five years ago. police said they seized a handgun and rifle from the gunman who reportedly surrendered without resistance. he is believed to be in his early 20s, but has not been identified. the shootings have call to mind the killings of columbine high school 25 miles away. 12 students and a teacher were killed in a mass shooting spree by two students in 1999. >> president obama has issued a statement pledging support for the victims of the aurora shootings and saying he and michelle obama are shocked and saddened by the shooting. for more on the breaking story, we go to denver, colorado. we're joined by a registered nurse, a gun-control advocate, a founding member of nurses advocating gun safety. she has lost three members of

her family to gun violence, two were suicide. welcome to "democracy now!" we know this is breaking news, happening hours ago, a midnight premiere of the batman movie. people are just trying to deal with this catastrophe in aurora. can you respond? i know we will keep up with the news. >> thank you very much. yes, i apologize because i will probably get emotional. i am shaking. i just cannot believe this is happening. i think this is an example -- this affects the entire community. as i am watching the reports and seeing all the hospitals in the entire area accepting victims, this is an example where gun violence just sweeps across

society. i first got involved in this when i was an emergency room nurse 30 years ago. so this is not just a major thing for me. i am just thinking, if i am shaking and i'm here safely in my home, i can only imagine everyone that is being impacted by this now. it is just so devastating for the victims and families. >> you have family in aurora? >> i do, i do. they have been to the theater many times. it is probably only 3 miles from my home in denver. >> you have been fighting for gun control for quite some time. talk about your own family and what you think needs to happen read again, we have very little information except the gunman is

believed to be white, about 24 years old. this is just the news reports. he is in custody. >> yes. as i mentioned, i got involved long before i experienced gun violence in my own family. as an emergency room nurse, i saw victims of this and it is such a senseless thing, especially assault weapons. to think one individual could go into a movie theater and killed 14 people and injured 50, including three-month old children, i mean, i just cannot express words. it is devastating. in my case, as i said, i was already involved in gun safety issues before this happened, but my aunt who was killed in a

murder/suicide by her husband, her last words to my sister was she said, "he would never hurt me." this is one of those things where guns can be so instantaneous and so lethal. there is no turning back. it was a split decision on the part of her husband to shoot and kill. that is why he took his own life, he had remorse afterwards. i have cousins without their mother and father because of one split-second decision, senseless decision, on his part. >> i want to ask you, this issue of these mass attacks by and men were almost endemic -- gunmen

are almost endemic and unique to the united states. back in 1984, i recall one of my first national stories was a man walking into mcdonald's in california, i think killing 21 people and wounding another 40. we have had so many of these. the virginia tech shooting. colorado experienced columbine. did the state do anything after the columbine shootings to have any kind of controls on guns within the state? >> we actually did. i was involved in that. in 2000, we passed a background check, which they're trying to challenge now, but in the case of columbine, those gunmen got their purchases of illegally through somebody else. we made efforts to have

background checks done. it is helping. i mean, it is hard to keep statistics on how many people we kept from being killed. it is difficult to do that, but any effort to try to keep these assault weapons off the streets is an important one because you are right, there is just way too many mass killings in this country. >> the police chief spoke a short time ago. this is part of what he said. >> witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. there was a hissing sound and gas emerged. we know the gunman open fire. as of right now, we only know of one gunman. we have no evidence of any additional shooters. police officers responded and

found the gunman in the back of the theater, outside in the parking lot, very calm, and possession of a gas mask and a least a rifle and handgun. there was a least one additional weapon found inside. the shooting apparently went on for some time but right now, we have approximately 50 who were hit, and 14 dead. >> that was the aurora police chief dan oates. "the denver post," saying 12 dead, down from 14. am also looking at a gun show website made famous around the country by michael moore's film "columbine." the gun show will be opening in

a couple of weeks in denver. what is the significance of the gun show? >> that is a great example -- with regulations, you can only go so far and oftentimes they pride themselves on doing everything on the level, when in reality, i think even michael moore documented where they could oftentimes some of the sales occur out in the parking lot. i for one do not even go near it. i have been in some confrontations as some of our peaceful things when we have done like the silent march on our state capital where we bring shoes of victims and we have these gun rights people

that are shouting obscenities at as an offering to rape us. i just have no comment, i guess, on the gun shows. they have been freed but that is all i can say pri >> thank you very much for being with us, mary cursed a registered nurse, gun control advocate, a founding member of nurses advocating gun safety. she has lost three family members to guns, two or suicide. we will continue to update you through this hour as the news just comes out in the last hours after midnight, a gunman believed to be white, 24 years old, police now say they believe he is working alone, went into the premier of a batman film in aurora, colorado, and killed -- we think the figure is 12 people, injuring 50. a number are critically wounded. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we will be back in a moment.

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>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. the latest is one of colorado, the massacre at the aurora theater, the latest news is the shooting suspect has been identified as james holmes. the death toll has been revised to 12. we're told the 24-year-old male shooter was driving a car with tennessee plates, but have been living locally in an apartment in aurora. >> oil giant royal dutch shell's plans to drill in the alaskan arctic drew more protests this week when one of its ships almost ran aground there saturday. the noble discover is one of two vessels that will drill exploratory oil wells in the chukchi and beaufort seas this

summer. it activists with greenpeace forced dozens of shell sites to temporarily shut down this week as part of a global protest to stop the drilling. at a gas station in london, they managed to place an animatronic polar bear on the station's roof. >> shell will be the first big oil company this summer to start drilling for oil in the arctic. the arctic is a unique and beautiful area of the planet. to drill for oil there will endanger the wildlife, the habitat of polar bears, and other creatures as well as the 4 million people who live there. people all over the world are taking action like this, hoping shell will listen and will make a decision not to go and drill for oil in the arctic. >> shell says it has invested more than $4 billion in its arctic drilling venture. next month, the obama administration is set to decide whether to grant the final drilling permits.

>> over the last decade, arctic alaska has become the most contested land in recent u.s. history. but in addition to oil, natural gas and coal, the arctic is rich in biodiversity. it's long been home to generations of indigenous people for thousands of years. amid a record heatwave there is growing concern about the role fossil fuels play in climate change. for more we're joined by subhankar banerjee who spent the past decade working to conserve the arctic, and raise awareness about human rights and climate change. his editor of the newly published book, "arctic voices: resistance at the tipping point." he just won the 2012 lannan foundation cultural freedom award. talk about the significance of the area and shell moving into do exploratory drilling. >> the thing is, the most dangerous form of drilling is

moving forward with shell house and pending drilling. it is in the american arctic, alaska. to achieve in the beaufort seas. these two are the arctic ocean. we have no understanding [unintelligible] there is up and in environmental and bac statement. drilling is moving forward despite tremendous outcries. to summarize where we are today, i've been struggling over this for 12 years. to give the and the analogy of what this means, shell is like a little kid wants to eat his candy, has not done his homework. if you give the kid can and do not pressure teeth, it results

in cavities. if you do not go to the doctor and fix your cavities. when we look at shell's arctic drilling, we need to look at the history of drilling in the immediate past. i'll give you examples of how horrendous it is. it is like when we try to rent an apartment, where asked for past records. last year the nine nations released on extensive report -- united nations released a extensive report that said shell and other oil companies has systematically destroyed the livelihoods of many people in the niger delta and will take 30 years to repair it. you look at siberia, despite the protests from the people, shell dumped more than a million

pounds of waste, destroying the fisheries and build an oil platform, despite tremendous protests, [unintelligible] it is where endangered whales feed. shell is making enormous profit at the expense. we have to look at that. it is full of holes. like a said, it is like cavities in your teeth. >> you make the point if there is a spill in the arctic, it could be far more dangerous ecologically then, for instance, even what happened with bp in the gulf. >> absolutely. the arctic is -- i have spent time there and all citizens,

including winter. -- and all citizens, including winter. in all seasons, including winter. shell plans to do even exploratory drilling the end of september and october in the chukchi seas and overseas. but the first week of october [unintelligible] shell has acknowledged they would have to leave the oil in place until the next summer driving season, which is nine months away. this is unacceptable. >> i want to play a clip from a recent interview with bill loveless by shell oil co. president marvin odum. >> we should be honest about the fact is real. >> the oil industry often,

generally speaking, and if the administration of roping off all access to oil and gas offshore oilwaters, and your company has been able to get this rather large project from the demonstration proved >> i think it is the recognition of how strategically important alaska is to the u.s. and u.s. energy security. if you go to the government estimates, we're talking about 25 billion barrels plus, potentially in this part of the arctic. that could be oil for the u.s., energy security for the u.s., as well as the jobs and economic benefits that go along with it. i think what we see in the administration is the recognition this is a strategic resource. and if we can do the right way, is to be developed. >> that was the shell oil president marvin odum rita >> precisely the point, if we can

do it the right way. i will tell you where we are. drilling is moving forward. the first thing it requires is whenever there is any significant doubts about what drilling could do, you have to have an environmental impact statement read they have not done so. instead, they issued would is a finding of no significance. bey're saying there will almost no oil spill. which is what bp said in the gulf of mexico. it is not who knows what will ght now we must this year. as you mentioned, just this past week, a ship adrift in the seat, but nearly grounded.

that is dutch harbor. the arctic ocean as 100 times harsher. that is the point. the plan is full of holes. in the exxon valdez spill, we have about 8% recover. in the gulf of mexico, less than 2% recovered. -- less than 10% recover. attention to what everyone is saying [unintelligible] >> one person who does not seem to be paying attention as president obama. i want to play a comment from a 20 tammany announced the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration. >> under the leadership of

secretary salazar, we will employ new technology to reduce the impact of oil exploration. we will protect the area's vital to tourism, and garment, and national-security. we will be guided not by political ideology, the scientific evidence. that is why my administration will consider potential areas for development in the mid and south atlantic and the gulf of mexico was studying protecting sensitive areas in the arctic. that is why we will continue to support development of these areas of the north slope of alaska while protecting alaskas crystal bay. >> that was president of the misspeaking in 2010. he made these comments speaking in front of a fighter jet at andrews air force base. >> images are very powerful. visual imagery. i remember the image of president obama standing in front of the fighter jet at

andrews air force base -- >> the leadership of secretary salazar. >> before the bp spill. it is like the little girl ripping off her clothes and running from the napalm bombing that changed our consciousness of the horrors of war. this image reminds me of that. what has happened is during the bush administration, there was much talk about reducing our the pit is on foreign oil. -- reducing our dependence on foreign oil. to take america towards clean energy. so far, the big oil and coal is winning. president of in his decision takes that pact. that is what is so disturbing.

it is, where are we heading? >> i want to ask you, the sole emphasis on alaska as part of the strategic future of the u.s. and energy, it is not just oil, but also coal as well. >> yes, yes. and american knows nothing about it. in the western arctic alaska, there's a place and said the national petroleum, public land, the largest public land in the u.s., we have an estimated four trillion tons. we consume about 1 billion tons of coal each year in the u.s., so we're talking about 4000 years of u.s. coal sitting in that place. right where it is is exactly where the largest -- gives

birth. it is about three and 77,000 strong. it was about 500,000 strong a few years ago. the point i have been making the last few years is with the whatic oil and coal, with hi is going on with the tar sands, with the shell oil and gas in the western united states, we're talking hundreds of years of fossil fuel driven in the u.s.. practicalmoral and question. >> subhankar banerjee, yet in ae thiyear have been at this fr long time reader talk about your personal story of what happened to at the exhibit at the smithsonian featuring your work. >> during president bush's a

ministration, his top energy board was to open a refugee to well drilling. at that time, it was the largest public plant and u.s. history. it is a combination of human rights issues of the alaskan people, that any member used boat with [unintelligible] and activist in copenhagen. my first book came out in 2003. barbara boxer used my photographs at the smithsonian. my exhibit was immediately censored.

all the photographs were taken now. >> why was it censored? >> the word oil was not even mention, but just the fear because senator barbara boxer used my image during a senate debate and won. that made it very political. >> for our listeners, you can go to our website to see these images. but your image of a polar bear eating a will? >> no, this is the one she used. >> describe it for us. >> this is in the beaufort sea. this was taken in early june. the bear is eating a well left behind -- whale bone up behind re. she used that to argue that

national wildlife needs to be preserved. senator during defended my work in a hearing. later on, senator stevens -- >> from alaska, now deceased, was convicted. >> right. he said president jimmy carter and i'm reading this information to the american public on the 2003.senate floor in may 2 i was scared because i was not a citizen. looking back, it seems amusing, but it was very scary. barbara boxer led me to become an activist, to really fight for climate change and human-rights. >> from india to the u.s. to the

arctic is quite a long journey. >> yes,, a zigzag path. >> i want to ask about a comment by ken salazar on the window of opportunity for shell's offshore oil drilling. he said -- he also said to make a final decision on whether to issue permits by august 14. your response? >> this is great news. until that point, it was basically given the media would make you believe that [unintelligible] this is the first time from the

administration the have not given all the permits. that is the point. based on what is going on, scholl's chips drifted and grounded, shell is asking that they cannot beat the air quality rules for the discover. this is the time. stop scholl's drilling now. there'sit's the permit, only four weeks of drilling season. the month of september, the viewers should understand, that is when the indigenous -- endangered whales migrate through. >> so decision coming august 15, and the middle of a presidential campaign. sort of an open invitation to

put the pressure on the obama administration. >> absolutely. it has been pointed out again and again, unless we speak out and pressure the demonstration, he will not act. this is the time to pressure the administration. i think the committee is to new great job with greenpeace published community is doing a great job with greenpeace. i think this is a very good time. >> what about the latest is the iceberg twice the size of manhattan broke off from one of greenland's two main glaciers, the peterman glacier, the second time in two years. it is the second time it has broken off. the significance of this? >> absolutely. the significance is this. not only the damage we're causing to the arctic, but

nature will fight back. the meaning, such a large iceberg during the falling off, all these scientists have been selling them out of the arctic sea ice as well as the ice cap of greenland is going to cause enormous [unintelligible] the new york coastline is completely threatened, as are all of the cosines of the northern hemisphere cities. these discussions have to be on the table. here is an example right in front of us, something like four times the size of manhattan. >> subhankar banerjee, thank you for being with us, and if folks want to see some of your photographs, they can go to democracynow.org. he spent the last decade working for conservation of the arctic.

his latest book is called, "arctic voices: resistance at the tipping point." this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. on our website, we have highlighted one of the chapters. when we come back, we stay with the issue of climate change to talk with mark hertsgaard who started climate parents proud of what our parents doing for their children about the world changing, heating up? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> we continue to look at climate change as the u.s. suffers to its worst drought since the 1950's. a new report from the u.s. drought monitor shows to release 60% of the country is now affected. about 1300 counties have been designated drought disaster areas. the combination of heat and dryness has taken a major toll on corn and sign -- corn and soybean crops. this is farmer bob bowman, who says his corn fields in and around welton, iowa look green, but his plants are less than half the height they should be. >> this should be as high as my head right now. it is just to my waist. it has been stunted because of the dry weather. it is early morning here, and the corn is relaxed. it looks pretty nice.

by 5:00, if i was standing in the same spot, the corn would have a little bit of a grey cast to it, and it would be rolled up tight. >> our next guest, mark hertsgaard, looks at these conditions and a new article for the daily beast called, "parents need to act against climate change for their kids' sake." he is author of, "hot: living through the next fifty years on earth." he is co-founder of the new group, climate parents. he is joining us from san francisco. thank you for joining us here on "democracy now!" talk about the climate we are experiencing, just in the united states alone and what you are doing. >> that shot from iowa, i was just out during the reporting and minnesota and talking to the farmers, and that reminds me, a quote from a plant biologist

from the university of illinois who looked at the drought and heat hitting the farm belt of the country and said, "this is like farming in hell." we will see an enormous impact already on the agricultural output in this country. we forget sometimes, the u.s. is the world's leading agricultural superpower. but this summer, we're already seeing corn and soybean prices are shooting up because of what is going to happen to the harvest. let's remember what happened the last time food prices went up around the world in 2008. we saw food riots in 12 countries that almost toppled governments. these are some of the impacts that climate change can lead to. and we're just at the start of this. which is why we started climate parents. thank you for mentioning that. our kids are the ones who will

have to deal with this. the climate future we are handing off to them is frankly, quite terrifying. to me, one of the things i asked in the article was, why is it that parents are not more involved in this? why are we up in arms about it? we're starting this group climateperidot work in an effort to help parents find their voice. i must say the initial response to the article is very gratifying. i have heard literally from scores of parents all across the country who are saying, yes, i have felt scared about what my kids are facing because of climate change, but also felt powerless and paralyzed. we're going to try and change that. at the moment, we think parents are probably the single most under organized constituency on climate change, which is pretty

bizarre. we're going to find a way change that. >> mark, you make the point that it is not a question of individual actions like recycling or your own individual efforts to beat back, a change, but the necessity of getting involved in organized consumer actions. >> i'm glad you mentioned that. i think most people's response, especially listening to the mainstream media, if they care about this, ok, maybe i can bicycle to work or take the kids on mass transit instead don't get me wrong, those are good for steps, if only because they make you think about how your own individual actions affect the collective future. but those things alone will never suffice. you have to go after what are

the main drivers of climate change, and those are government policies and corporate practices. we just spent the earlier part of the program looking at what shell wants to do in the arctic. i was a little surprised he did not mention what interest secretary salazar has said about that when asked about the possibility of an oil spill is as, i don't think there will be an oil spill. somehow that is not very reassuring to me. we have to change those practices. right now, there is no price on carbon pollution in this country. you are allowed to pollute, pure waste into the atmosphere for nothing. we actually subsidize shell and exxon mobil and all of these big fossil fuel companies. we subsidize them to wreck the plan for our kids make a explain what you mean by that. >> we spend billions and billions of dollars every year, including subsidizing these

kinds of exploratory drilling. we subsidize the production of coal, all of the highways used to consume that will bang. if you look at the amount of subsidies it is up in the millions of dollars. this is for the richest industry in history, the fossil fuel industry. why are we doing that? their 16 members who sign -- there are 60 members to sign on to legislation your calling for an end to those subsidies. if you cannot get that through congress, i think it is just a sign of what a corporate control is in washington. i will say a lot of the environmental group's this fall will be pushing to ask your member of congress where they stand on this. that is one of the fights we

hope climate parents will be involved with as well. >> all across the u.s. in the past month, there were extreme weather events, the worst forest fires in colorado history, a deadly atlanta storm that left 23 dead and 4 million without power, record shattering heat wave across the east coast and midwest. but amidst the news coverage of these extraordinary events, we did not hear much in the media about global warming. this is just a sampling of some of the news reports at the time. >> it has made the rockies and great plains, now spreading east. there are 130 million americans now in the excessive heat advisory zone, more than one- third of the entire u.s. population. >> the high temperature today, a sizzling 103 degrees in indianapolis. that broke a 78-year-old record. >> nashville broke the all-time record, hitting 109 degrees. authorities are urging people to stay indoors and canceled outdoor events this weekend.

>> it is smoking out here pretty >> from atlanta to chicago. >> i will bring a bucket of ice and try to keep cool. >> the national guard is helping in colorado is most destructive wildfire in state history. >> the fires in colorado have destroyed hundreds of homes and threatening thousands more. the fires have grown so large, you can see it from space. take a look at this video from the international space station showing the area scorched by flames and the western states so far. >> it is quite dangerous for southern people that are very old and very young, especially. an official way of telling you what we have been telling you, the rest of this week, lots and lots of excessive heat. >> mark, you made the point in your writings about previous dead heat waves across europe and the united states, and somehow these signs keep being

ignored in this country. >> in this country only. we have had to, maybe three landmark heat waves in the history of man-made global warming. the first was 1988, which put global warming on the map when a nasa scientist went to congress and said, global warming has begun. the sec it was 2003 in europe where we lost 71,000 people in the space of six weeks from that he wait. but it also pushed the discussion in europe forward and government leaders began to recognize a call for tougher policies. we will see if 2012 is going to be the third landmark heat wave, because it doesn't just require -- it is not just about the meteorological, but social. the, signature on this heat wave of 2012 has been ignored. we have our own federal

government scientists saying this is what global warming looks like. we need to start taking this seriously. above all, we need our politicians to begin to talk about this. i want to shout out in particular to president obama and governor romney. you are both parents. start acting like it on the climate issue. we need to to show the kind of leadership, and all politicians, to show the leadership. it should not be political. it is about protecting our children. >> mark hertsgaard, thank you for being with us. is the article is in the daily beast called, "parents need to act against climate change for their kids' sake." te will have a link to that ac 07/20/12 07/20/12 his also author of "hot: living through the next fifty years on earth." . just to recap breaking news, tragic news out of colorado this morning with 12 people killed, dozens hurt when a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in colorado.

the 24-year-old in custody has been identified as james holmes. he dropped what is believed to be a tear gas canister and the theater, then sprayed bullets over the theater. a witness told "the denver post," the shooter was dressed in black, a white man wearing a gas mask and black jacket police said the confiscated two guns from homes, surrendered without resistance. his license plate reportedly is from tennessee, though he lives in aurora, colorado. it is believed he has an apartment there. there are 50 people were still in the hospital and a number of them are critically wounded. we leave you with a quote sent to us by filmmaker michael moore who won the academy award for his film "bowling for columbine" about tabout the columbine massacre.

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