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- Currently in Austin — October 16, 2023: Cool and Sunny
Currently in Austin — October 16, 2023: Cool and Sunny
Plus, a look into the global criminalization of climate protests
A Hebert & Abbie Veitch
October 15, 2023
The weather, currently.
Cool and sunny start to the week
Instead of the autumnal reds and oranges in New England, Austin is dotted with esperanza plants bursting with bright yellow flowers. They’ll pop against a beautiful blue sky on Monday, with a high near 74. Light north winds, gusting up to 20 mph, continue to keep our temperatures pleasant and dry. Monday night will be clear, with a low around 45, the coldest overnight low we’ve seen in quite some time.
Esperanza means “hope” in Spanish, and these hardy souls remind us to continue looking for and appreciating spots of beauty in our complicated world.
-Anne Hebert
What you need to know, currently.
Climate activists are no strangers to facing arrest and criminal charges for climate protests. Just last month, over 100 climate activists were arrested in New York City.
However, a “crackdown” on climate protests in Europe is raising alarm bells for human rights experts. The crackdown extends past Europe, Inside Climate News reports that the criminalization of climate protests is, “an increasingly global trend.”
In an interview with On the Media, climate reporter Amy Westervelt discusses how the Atlas Network, a collective of right-leaning think tanks, has worked to reframe climate protests as extremist and dangerous. This, in part, has led to an uptick in the criminalization of climate protests.
Westervelt covers this topic extensively alongside climate journalist Geoff Dembicki in “The Real Free Speech Threat” an investigative series on her podcast, Drilled.
What you can do, currently.
Currently Sponsorships are short messages we co-write with you to plug your org, event, or climate-friendly business with Currently subscribers. It’s a chance to boost your visibility with Currently — one of the world’s largest daily climate newsletters — and support independent climate journalism, all at the same time. Starting at just $105.
One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks:
