OMNI Blog
Heads Up: SWEPCO has proposed a 20–27%
Residential Rate Increase Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has filed a request with the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) to raise residential electric rates by 20.2% or up to 27.3% when including surcharges. This increase would put a heavy burden on Arkansas families, especially those already facing high poverty and food insecurity. Part of the proposed increase would go toward keeping the 46-year-old Flint Creek coal plant operating for another decade or more, instead of investing in cleaner, healthier renewable energy sources. Coal plants contribute to air pollution that worsens asthma, heart disease, and other health problems, and continued fossil fuel investment drives the […]
WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS #243, AUGUST 20, 2025
Compiled by Dick Bennett Scott Ritter. Leaving Soviet/Russophobia Behind. David Swanson. Leaving WWII Behind. PEACEMAKER Scott Ritter’s book tour to Russia in 2023 to promote amity between the US and Russia, arms control, and nuclear disarmament. For several years, Scott Ritter has been trying to inspire peace between the US and Russia. In May 2023, he began a book tour of Kazan, Irkutsk, and Yekaterinburg for his most recent book, Disarmament in the time of the Perestroika, which examines nuclear weapons agreements between Russia and the United States. His essay at the time explains his hopes. –D “What Would Daniel […]
OMNI CLIMATE MEMO MONDAYS #244, AUGUST 18, 2025
Compiled by Dick Bennett. https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2025/08/omni-climate-memo-mondays-244-august-18.html Rebekah Jones. “The State of the Climate Report.” Yale Climate Communication Yale Climate Connections AMS Global Climate Report: “The Planet Throws a Tantrum.” Aug 14, 2025. Mesoscale News with Rebekah Jones rebekahjones@substack.com The State of the Climate report released earlier today, delivers a stunning verdict: greenhouse gases—CO₂, methane, and the like—climbed to unprecedented heights, painting a picture of a world ever more trapped in its fever. Carbon dioxide alone tipped the scales at around 422.8 ppm, a weight 52% heavier than pre-industrial skies. The growth rate today creeps ahead at more than 2.4 ppm per year, compared to […]
WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS #242, AUGUST 13, 2025
Compiled by Dick Bennett. END CORPORATISM: Move to Amend Citizens United for a Government that Serves the Public Interest.. END EMPIRE: Our Journey from Afghanistan. STOP Project 2025! END US CORPORATISM: MOVE TO AMEND CITIZENS UNITED. It’s the System: Stop the Arsonists. Right now, people are rallying to save PBS.With the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s federal grants canceled, donations are pouring in from those who value quality, commercial-free news, educational programming, and cultural content. This outpouring is a powerful testament to the role of a free press in an informed society. But the real crisis isn’t just the loss of […]
Climate Moment
The world is now investing twice as much in clean energy as in fossil fuels According to the International Energy Agency, the world now invests almost twice as much in clean energy as it does in fossil fuels. Investment in solar PV now surpasses all other generation technologies combined. However, there are major imbalances in investment, and “Emerging Market and Developing Economies” (EMDE) outside China account for only around 15% of global clean energy spending. Meeting the COP28 goals will require a doubling of clean energy investment by 2030 worldwide, and a quadrupling in EMDE outside China. They conclude that […]
Fayetteville recycling debacle
by Susanna Brinnon Sat, Aug 9 at 2:06 PM On Tuesday August 5, 2025, Fayetteville’s City Council voted 5 to 1 to quietly push through a new citywide recycling program. There were no public meetings, discussions, or even announcements, except for two Council sessions in June and July. The change was backed by the Mayor and the Environmental Director, and might not be a bad idea — except that the current system had been hailed nationwide as a model for others to follow, and the new system leads to more contamination: the items we thought we had recycled may instead […]