we will go to houston to speak with houston chronicle reporter matt dempsey, who question the arkema ceo about what is in his facility that has caused a mile and a half evacuation. we will also touch reporter david sirota. his article is headlined "texas republicans helped chemical plant that exploded lobby against safety rules." we end today's show looking at the corporate crackdown on environmental activists challenging the fossil fuel industry and human driven climate change. the company that owns the dakota access pipeline, energy transfer partners, has sued greenpeace international and other groups, accusing them of inciting eco-terrorism. we will speak with greenpeace usa annie leonard and tara houska, national campaigns director for honor the earth. she is the ojibwe the coaching first nation. >> they are calling us the terrorists. they are the ones who are armed. these are unarmed men, women, and children who want nothing more than two protect their own water and protected for all future generations. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome toto democracy now!, democracynow

when i wrote it then, it was black houston. we're talking about a very diverse houston today. the latino population is a must 50%. when you talk about the invisibility and who the population l lives, you're talkg about not only in terms s of flooding, bubut a disasterer in terms s of the envirironment, te pollutio t the health threreats, the popotential for thkinds of pacts thatat we will see y years to come.e. the most vulnerable in our society showed i it. we have to protect our children, our goalal vulnerarae popopulat. trump is a proud climate change denier. and does that mean to you how does that fit into this whole issue of climate justice in this country and around the world? and your governor as well, governor greg abbott? >> we are in a state of denial called texas. denybecause individuals the fact that climate change is real, that is almost like saying "i don't believe in gravity." but the fact is, the fact is. we are experiencing some very -- these storms are getting -- the fact -- amy: intense. >> houston has flooded in 10 years -- >> and frequent. >> will be talke

when i wrote it then, it was black houston. we're talking about a very diverse houston today. the latino population is a must 50%. when you talk about the invisibility and who the population lives, you're talking about not only in terms of flooding, but a disaster in terms of the environment, the pollution, the health threats, the potential for the kinds of impacts that we will see years to come. the most vulnerable in our society showed it. we have to protect our children, our goal vulnerable population. trump is a proud climate change denier. and does that mean to you how does that fit into this whole issue of climate justice in this country and around the world? and your governor as well, governor greg abbott? >> we are in a state of denial called texas. denybecause individuals the fact that climate change is real, that is almost like saying "i don't believe in gravity." but the fact is, the fact is. we are experiencing some very -- these storms are getting -- the fact -- amy: intense. >> houston has flooded in 10 years -- >> and frequent. >> will be talked about what is go

we will go to houston to speak with houston chronicle reporter matt dempsey, who question the arkema ceo about what is in his facility that has caused a mile and a half evacuation. we will also touch reporter david sirota. his article is headlined "texas republicans helped chemical plant that exploded lobby against safety rules." we end today's show looking at the corporate crackdown on environmental activists challenging the fossil fuel industry and human driven climate change. the company that owns the dakota access pipeline, energy transfer partners, has sued greenpeace international and other groups, accusing them of inciting eco-terrorism. we will speak with greenpeace usa annie leonard and tara houska, national campaigns director for honor the earth. she is the ojibwe the coaching first nation. >> they are calling us the terrorists. they are the ones who are armed. these are unarmed men, women, and children who want nothing more than two protect their own water and protected for all future generations. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.o

we will go to houston to speak with houston chronicle reporter matt dempsey, who question the arkema ceo about what is in his facility that has caused a mile and a half evacuation. we will also touch reporter david sirota. his article is headlined "texas republicans helped chemical plant that exploded lobby against safety rules." we end today's show looking at the corporate crackdown on environmental activists challenging the fossil fuel industry and human driven climate change. the company that owns the dakota access pipeline, energy transfer partners, has sued greenpeace international and other groups, accusing them of inciting eco-terrorism. we will speak with greenpeace usa annie leonard and tara houska, national campaigns director for honor the earth. she is the ojibwe the coaching first nation. >> they are calling us the terrorists. they are the ones who are armed. these are unarmed men, women, and children who want nothing more than two protect their own water and protected for all future generations. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome e to democracy now!, democracynow

can you talk about the effect this will have on houston? how many daca recipient are in houston alone, something like 80,000? -- 80,000out 80 dozen dreamers who are recipients of daca. a significant number compared to the national numbers. these young people were looking forward to helping their families rebuild while maintaining their jobs. it is making it very difficult for them to do hurricane recovery after the massive storm we just underwent. theave been going out into communities, talking to a lot of folks. the message we are telling them is the following -- our parents build our lives from nothing when they came to this country, so obviously, they can rebuild and continue to rebuild from nothing as they are left without nothing. we always remind them that they defined their status, their status this not to find them. it is important for folks to know this so they can be encouraged, continue to fight not only to build, but to rebuild after this physical storm we went through. amy: how old are you? >> 31 years old. amy: how long have y

can you talk about the effect this will have on houston? how many daca recipient are in houston alone, something like 80,000? -- 80,00000t 80 dozen dreamers who are recipients of daca. a significant number compared to the national numbers. these young people were looking forward to helping their families rebebuild while maintaining their jobs. it is mamaking it very difficult for thehem to do hurricane recovery after the massive storm we jusust underwent. theav beegoing out into communities, talalking to a lotf folks. the message we are telelling thm is the following -- our parents build our lives from nothing when they came to this country, so obviously, they can rebubuild and continue to rebuild from nothing as they are left without nothing. we always remind them that they defined their status, ththeir status this not to find them. it is important for folks to know this so they can be encouraged, continue to fight not only to build, but t to rebuild after this physical storm we went through. amy: how old arere you? >> 31 years old. amy: h

those were cnn, "new york ands", "washington post" "houston chronicle." if you live in a certain media bubble and that is what you watch and read, you might have thought the climate connection with harvey was done well. it turns out outside that bubble, it was pretty awful. amy: let's s play a sampling of some of the news reports as harvey made landfall in texas. threatetening millions of texans w with cataststrophic flooding.g. >> t the monumental flflooding d humanitatarian disasterr contin. >> tonight, houstonians are still under siege in the city still underwater. amy: david arkush what is going on here? where not just talking about fox. there are occasional mentions of , extremelynge occasional, on msnbc, cnn, but given the wall-to-wall coverage, there is almost no mention of climate change. it reflects the broader problem. this is why we are sort of policing this and watching what the media's doing, and are going to be pushing them to do better. there is a general problem in this country of people not talking about climate change. it is the biggest

correspondent on the ground in houston this week. can you talk about what you been able to document on the ground about prison conditions? thank you for having me back on. there is a lot of talk about who was evacuated during the storm and who wasn't in the conditions. we knew it was important to look also at the conditions behind bars. it is a little hard to document what is happening. "the houston chronicle" has try to visit some of the facilities in beaumont where the city did lose water, and the prisoners were not evacuated in the texas or federal facilities. "the chronicle" was not allowed to receive a tour as requested. there may be a lot going on there, and it was unable to be accommodated. but at the same time, journalists have not been able to go in and see with their own eyes what is happening at the facilities. that said, it is interesting there is an effort by the national lawyers guild -- or they have an effort called prisoner legal advocacy network. today, they're going to be filing a notice with the bureau of prisons a

those were cnn, "new york ands", "washington post" "houston chronicle." if you live in a certain media bubble and that is what you watch and read, you might have thought the climate connection with harvey was done well. it turns out outside that bubble, it was pretty awful. amy: let's play a sampling of some of the news reports as harvey made landfall in texas. threatening millions of texans with catastrophic flooding. >> the monumental flooding and humanitarian disaster continues. >> tonight, houstonians are still under siege in the city still underwater. amy: david arkush what is going on here? where not just talking about fox. there are occasional mentions of , extremelynge occasional, on msnbc, cnn, but given the wall-to-wall coverage, there is almost no mention of climate change. it reflects the broader problem. this is why we are sort of policing this and watching what the media's doing, and are going to be pushing them to do better. there is a general problem in this country of people not talking about climate change. it is the biggest looming thre

and houston ship channel. and this is as hurricane irma was gaining steam and just about to pummel the caribbean before heading to florida. donald trump used hurricane irma as an excuse to push for tax cuts to the rich. this is donald trump speaking last week in the midst of these hurricanes. pres. trump: to create prosperity, we will be discussing our plan for dramatic tax cuts and tax reform. i think now with what has happened with the hurricane, i'm going to ask for a speed up list .f amy: a speed up on tax cuts amy: he is reiterated this since then. what is remarkable about that notnt was that irma had even made landfall yet. i have, over the years, documented some pretty e egregis cases of political leaders responding in the immediate aftermath of some kind of catastrophe, some kind of major shock, and pushing through a program agenda that actually makes the problem worse that caused the crisis. the classic example is katrina, where in the immediate aftermath of this catastrophe created by the collision o

and houston ship channel. and this is as hurricane irma was gaining steam and just about to pummel the caribbean before heading to florida. donald trump used hurricane irma as an excuse to push for tax cuts to the rich. this is donald trump speaking last week in the midst of these hurricanes. pres. trump: to create prosperity, we will be discussing our plan for dramatic tax cuts and tax reform. i think now with what has happened with the hurricane, i'm going to ask for a speed up list .f amy: a speed up on tax cuts amy: he is reiterated this since then. what is remarkable about that notnt was that irma had even made landfall yet. i have, over the years, documented some pretty egregious cases of political leaders responding in the immediate aftermath of some kind of catastrophe, some kind of major shock, and pushing through a program agenda that actually makes the problem worse that caused the crisis. the classic example is katrina, where in the immediate aftermath of this catastrophe created by the collision o

bill mckibben, houston, the ofro metro, home to so many u.s. oil refineries, some of the largest in the country like the baytown,l facility in the second-largest refinery in the country. the fx of the pollution there now, the epa providing waivers during hurricane for these refineries as they close down to emit even more toxins than they are ready do and the people living on the fence line of these refineries so often pork poorties of color -- communities of color. everyone talks about these hurricanes affecting everyone equally, rich and poor. in fact, it is not the case ultimately, who was most affected. and with the $8 million now that congress has just approved to start to help to deal with the recovery in houston, the question is, where will that money go? who will be held in rebuilding -- helped in rebuilding? what does the whole fossil fuel industry have to do with the kind of severe weather we are experiencing now around the world? usual, the all, as poorest people and most vulnerable get hit first. frontline communities in texas are th

bill mckibben, houston, the ofro metro, home to so many u.s. oil refineries, some of the largest in the country like the baytown,l facility in the second-largest refinery in the country. the fx of the pollution there now, the epa providing waivers during hurricane for these refineries as they clclose downo emit even more toxins than they are ready do and the people living on the fence line of these refineries so often pork poorties of color -- communities of color. everyone talks about these hurricanes affecting everyone equally, rich and poor. in fact, it is not the case ultimately, who was most affected. and with the $8 million now that congress has just approved to start to help to deal with the recovery in houston, the question is, where will that money go? who will be held in rebuilding -- helped in rebuilding? what does the whole fossil fuel industry have to do with the kind of severe weather w we are experiencing now around the world? usual, the all, as poorest people and most vulnerable get hit first. frontline communities in texas are

that is houston. in china, authorities are set to evacuate a half million people as a pair of typhoons bear down on china's heavily populated east coast. taiwan canceled flights wednesday and issued a warning to ships as typhoon talim threatened the island ahead of an expected landfall late thursday on china's northern coast as a strong typhoon. to the south, typhoon doksuri threatens china's southeast and vietnam, as it strengthens over the south china sea. earlier this week, the storm brought flooding to the philippines capital manilla and surrounding provinces. in washington, d.c., the trump administration insisted it is taking the issue of climate change seriously, even though it won't ascribe extreme weather events to human activity. this is white house homeland security adviser tom bossert speaking monday. are these storms giving this administration some pause when it comes to the issue of climate change and homeland security? >> i was here in the 2004 cycle of hurricanes that hit florida. i thi

was in houston after the hurricane at a superfund site. explain what they are and what -- ofa and the epa course, puerto rico is part of the u.s., puerto ricans are american citizens -- doing right now with this storm? we saw both of these storms coming. so much devastation on the island. >> the epa, from what i is not yet in puerto rico. i got a notice yesterday they were waiting for conditions to stall, to not be so bad before they sent people there to assess these superfund sites. superfund sites are the nation's most industrially polluted sites . if a site gets the designation of superfund company it means it is not safe for you to walk there without protective gear. it is not safe to touch the soil or water around there. it is usually where sort of during the industrial revolution when we did not have environment regulations, paper and all scum oil refineries, form suitable companies, pesticide companies sort of freely released their waste into e either grgroundwat, soil, it's, in a situation that is just gross, to be honest. we see t

was in houston after the hurricane at a superfund site. explain what they are and what -- ofa and the epa course, puerto rico is part of the u.s., puerto ricans are american citizens -- doing right now with this storm? we saw both of these storms coming. so much devastation on the island. >> the epa, from what i is not yet in puerto rico. i got a notice yesterday they were waiting for conditions to stall, to not be so bad before they sent people there to assess these superfund sites. superfund sites are the nation's most industrially polluted sites . if a site gets the designation of superfund company it means it is not safe for you to walk there without protective gear. it is not safe to touch the soil or water around there. it is usually where sort of during the industrial revolution when we did not have environment regulations, paper and all scum oil refineries, form suitable companies, pesticide companies sort of freely released their waste into either groundwater, soil, it's, in a situation that is just gross, to be honest. we see the

that is houston. in china, authorities are set to evacuate a half million people as a pair of typhoons bear down on china's heavily populatedd east coast. taiwan canceled flights wednesday and issued a warning to ships a as typhoon talim threatened the island ahead of an expected landfall late thursdsday on china's northern coast as a strong typhoon. to the south, typhoon doksuri threatens china's southeast and vietetnam, as it strtrengthensnr the e south china sea. earlier r this week, the storm brought flooding to the philippines capital mamanilla ad susurrounding provinces. in washington, d.c., the trump administstration insisted itit s tataking the issueue of climatae change seriously, even though it won't ascribe extreme weather events to human activity. this is white house homeland security adviser tom bossert speaking monday. are these storms giving this administration some pause when it comes to the issue of climate change and homeland security? >> i was here in the 2004 cycle of hurricanes th

in: reading from your piece "the new yorker," you write -- not "as rainfall totals in houston were topping 40 inches, secretary of state rex tillerson told congress he was planning to eliminate his department's special envoy for climate change. lamar smith, republican who represents parts of san antonio, chairs the house committee on science, space, technology, said the better part of his career harassing climate scientists. in a recent op-ed, "at site sponsored by the heritage foundation, he celebrated the effects of global warming arguing there were producing beneficial changes to the earth's geography." you talk about a town hall meeting in april, joe barton, chair of the energy commerce committee, repeated the old denier "clouds are the cause of climate change." in june, house republicans introduced a bill to prevent federal agencies such as the department of energy from considering the sosocial cause f carbon pollution when fashioning regulation. elizabeth kolbert, talking about using moments where people are distracted, deeply concerned about, for example, well, last week it was texa

in: reading from your piece "the new yorker," you write -- not "as rainfall totals in houston were topping 40 inches, secretary of state rex tillerson told congress he was planning to eliminate his department's special envoy for climate change. lamar smith, republican who represents parts of san antonio, chairs the house committee on science, space, technology, said the better part of his career harassing climate scientists. in a recent op-ed, "at site sponsored by the heritage foundation, he celebrated the effects of global warming arguing there were producing beneficial changes to the earth's geography." you talk about a town hall meeting in april, joe barton, chair of the energy commerce committee, repeated the old denier "clouds are the cause of climate change." in june, house republicans introduced a bill to prevent federal agencies such as the department of energy from consering the social cause of carbon pollution when fashioning regulation. elizabeth kolbert, talking about using moments where people are distracted, deeply concerned about, for example, well, last week it was texas.

that is houston. in china, authorities are set to evacuate a half million people as a pair of typhoons bear down on china's heavily populateted east coast. taiwan canceled flights wednesday and issued a warning to shipsps as typhoon talim threatened the island ahead of an expected landfall late thurursday on china's northern coast as a strong typhoon. to the south, typhoon doksuri threatens china's southeast and vivietnam, as it s strengthehenr ththe south china sea. earlieier this week, the storm brought flooding to the philippines capital l manilla ad surrounding provinces. in washington, d.c., the trump admininistration insisted d it s taking the issssue of climimate change seriously, even though it won't ascribe extreme weather events to human activity. this is white house homeland security adviser tom bossert speaking monday. are these storms giving this administration some pause when it comes to the issue of climate change and homeland security? >> i was here in the 2004 cycle of hurricanes that

when we come back, we move from puerto rico to port arthur just outside houston, texas, to talk about the devastation and what recovery looks like. this is democracy now! back in a minute. amy: singing "strange fruit" of the global citizen concert in central park. "strange fruit" written for billie holiday. against lynching. billie holiday said every time she sang that song, she would go in the bathroom and throw up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as many parts of the continental united states and the u.s. territory of puerto rico recover from a devastating series of hurricanes, we end today's show with an update from the hard-hit texas gulf coast. port arthur, texas, a fenceline community with several massive oil refineries that flooded during hurricane harvey. just last week, a fire at the valero oil refinery in port arthur released nearly 1 million pounds of emissions into the air, prompting residents to stay in their homes for hours. meanwhile, the 3600-acre motiva oil refinery in port arthur says it plans to continue a multi-b

last week in houston was under water, he was in north dakota in front of a refinery celebrating the fact he pulled the country out of the paris climate accord. >> that pulling out of the paris climate accord is certainly bad news for our region. like i said, it it is already impacted by climate change. i feel very much we have a global responsibility to put in place to prepare for climate change and actions to actually slow it down. so what we do need is the world coming together and paris was doing that for us. people in the mountains were very much behind the paris accord. if there's any message, please, let's get back in the game. amy: the u.s., historically the greatest greenhouse gas emititters, ththe responsibibilu fefeel to where you are e in ne? >>es. ththe peop w whore emitttting greenhouse g gasses for imimpacg the weweather s system in nepal. so there is a shared responsibility to do something about that. amy: david molden, we will talk again director general of the , international centre for integrated mountain development in kathmandu, nepal. juan gonzalez is speaking in aus

killing over 2000 houston needs and wounding tens of thousands more. you are wanting majority of these casualties were civilians. -- the overwhelming majority of these casualties were civilians. >> is relaunched at leastst 160 strikes s on theazaa strip.. >> one less s hospital in gaza now. israrael today flattened a hospital. sparkedheer scale condemnation around the world. >> shocked many people around the world. mass demonstrations have been held and many of the world's major cities. but in the united states, the story was different. polls show the american people holding firm in their support for israel. >> this is the latest poll, americans show 57% show israel's actions in gaza justified. 34% say unjustified. were striking,s but not new. over the course of the conflict in which palestinian conflicts have far outnumbered israeli casualties, the american people have consistently shown far more for the israelis and palestinians. >> is very dififficult to divore public opinion from the media coverage that people rely on to form opinions. the most pre

when w we come back, w we move m puerto rico to port arthur just outside houston, texas, to talk about the devastation and what recovery looks like. this is democracy now! back in a minute. amy: singing "strange fruit" of the global citizen concert in central park. "strange fruit" written for billie holiday. against lynching. billie holiday said every time she sang that song, she would go in the bathroom and throw up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as many parts of the continental united states and the u.s. territory of puerto rico recover from a devastating series of hurricanes, we end today's show with an update from the hard-hit texas gulf coast. port arthur, texas, a fenceline community with several massive oil refineries that flooded during hurricane harvey. just lasast week, a fifire at te valero oil refinery in port arthur released nearly 1 million pounds of emissions into the air, prompting residents to stay in their homes for hours. meanwhile, the 3600-acre motivia oil refinery in port arthur says it plans to continue a mul

killing over 2000 houston needs and wounding tens of thousands more. you are wanting majority of these casualties were civilians. -- the overwhelming majority of these casualties were civilians. >> is relaunched at least 160 strikes on the gaza strip. >> one less hospital in gaza now. israel today flattened a hospital. sparkedheer scale condemnation around the world. >> shocked many people around the world. mass demonstrations have been held and many of the world's major cities. but in the united states, the story was different. polls show the american people holding firm in their support for israel. >> this is the latest poll, americans show 57% show israel's actions in gaza justified. 34% say unjustified. were striking,s but not new. over the course of the conflict in which palestinian conflicts have far outnumbered israeli casualties, the american people have consistently shown far more for the israelis and palestinians. >> is very difficult to divorce public opinion from the media coverage that people rely on to form opinions. the most prevalent le

last week in houston was under water, he was in north dakota in front of a refinery celebrating the fact he pulled the country out of the paris climate accord. >> that pulling out of the paris climate accord is certainly bad news for our region. like i said, it it is already impacted by climate change. i feel very much we have a global responsibility to put in place to prepare for climate change and actions to actually slow it down. so what we do need is the world coming together and paris was doing that for us. people in the mountains were very much behind the paris accord. if there's any message, please, let's get back in the game. amy: the u.s., historically the greatest greenhouse gas emitters, the responsibility you feel to where you are in nepal? >> yes. the people who are emitting greenhouse gasses for impacting the weather system in nepal. so there is a shared responsibility to do something about that. amy: david molden, we will talk again director general of the , international centre for integrated mountain development in kathmandu, nepal. juan gonzalez is speaking in austin to