 People
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Special Supreme Court Interview: Senator Ed Markey (D-MA)
Senator Markey was elected to the Senate in 2013 after serving for 37 years in the House of Representatives. He co-authored the climate legislation that passed the House in 2009 and has long championed clean energy and accountability for oil and gas multinational corporations, most notably after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
ODP: You were one of 10 Senators to call for public release of Judge Kavanaugh’s environmental documents. Why are these documents so important? What, if anything, do you think the Trump Administration is hiding?
SEM: We should all be very scared that Brett Kavanaugh could become the key deciding vote on the Supreme Court on the most important issues facing our country — health care, LGBTQ rights, affirmative action, gun safety, and, of course, climate change and the environment. The Archives has said there are seven million pages related to Brett Kavanaugh’s record. But Congress has only gotten seven percent of that. And only half of that seven percent is available to the public. And at seven percent, Senate Republicans and the Trump administration have failed the grade miserably on transparency. The Trump White House must release all of Brett Kavanaugh’s records so the American people can judge Brett Kavanaugh for who he really is. We do, however, know enough about Judge Kavanaugh’s judicial track record on the environment. And it is a climate catastrophe.
ODP: What have you seen in Judge Kavanaugh’s opinions on environmental cases or his comments in the hearings that give you such grave concerns about him as a Justice on the Supreme Court?
SEM: All Americans should be very worried about what Justice Brett Kavanaugh would mean for our air, our water, our land, our health, and our climate. Judge Kavanaugh has narrowly construed the Clean Air Act — the landmark law safeguarding Americans from “any air pollutant” — writing that it covers only some hazardous air pollutants and not greenhouse gases. That’s a nonsensical interpretation that would endanger the Clean Power Plan. Judge Kavanaugh wrote that the EPA’s emissions transport rule, which would have protected states from harmful sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide coming from their neighbors, exceeded the agency’s authority. Judge Kavanaugh tried to overturn EPA emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants from power plants because the EPA had not properly considered the costs to polluters. Yes, polluters. Judge Kavanaugh has supported Big Oil’s interests in delaying rules that would limit dangerous methane emissions from drilling. And Judge Kavanaugh sided with chemical manufacturers who wanted to keep using dangerous heat-trapping hydro-fluorocarbons that contribute to global warming.
ODP: Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy was no liberal — why will confirming Judge Kavanaugh to replace Kennedy make any difference on the Supreme Court — won’t he just vote the same way Justice Kennedy did on environmental cases?
SEM: During his thirty years on the Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy was often the swing vote in decisions decided five-to-four on a divided bench. These include some of the most historic cases in our nation’s history — on a woman’s right to choose, environmental protections, and same-sex marriage. The justice who succeeds Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to leave a deep and lasting mark on issues of the highest constitutional magnitude. Big polluters are cheering the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh because they know he will have their backs. In Massachusetts v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government must act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Having Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court would put this bedrock law in question, and that could endanger the most important progress we can make addressing climate change and protecting our environment and the public’s health.
ODP: Judge Kavanaugh went to Yale Law School and served for more than a decade as a federal judge. Do you think he is qualified to serve as a Supreme Court Justice? Is that enough?
SEM: No. This is no time for the ascension of judges who take a narrow view of standing on the environment. This is no time for judges who think the EPA is too aggressive in fulfilling its mission to protect the environment needs to be reined in. That is like saying air or water are getting too clean. The past work of a vigilant Environmental Protection Agency is why we have clean water, clean air and why the environment is getting healthier and safer. But there is nothing Big Oil, King Coal, and corporate polluters want more than to turn the Supreme Court’s motto from “Equal Justice Under the Law” to “Justices Under Corporate Influence”. That’s why we have to stand up and say no to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
ODP: How will Judge Kavanaugh change the way our nation deals with the climate change and the other environmental challenges we face if he is confirmed for the Supreme Court?
SEM: We should be very concerned that as a Supreme Court Justice, Kavanaugh could seek to curb the EPA’s ability to regulate on water, on air, on the environment, by ruling that Congress does not have the right to regulate environmental issues across state lines. We should also be concerned that as a Supreme Court Justice, Kavanaugh will look for ways to dismiss cases brought by states, organizations, and individuals seeking to compel the government and industry to act to protect citizens and the environment. His narrow view of the doctrine of standing — the question of who can bring a lawsuit — could be devastating for protecting the environment. Who gets to sue to ensure that laws, rules, and regulations on climate change stay in place and are enforced? The Supreme Court is no place for someone like Judge Brett Kavanaugh who wants to move us backward on key health care, consumer protection, and climate and environmental protections.
Thank you, Senator, for fighting for conservation and the environment, and especially now for your efforts to get all the Kavanaugh environmental documents released. The public deserves to know Judge Kavanaugh’s views on these and other important issues.
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 Land
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Hikers of Color on the Rise
There is a growing number of affinity groups that are changing the face of park visitors. The Washington Post reports that according to the Outdoor Industry Association, the numbers of Asians and Latinos that are hiking, fishing, mountain climbing, and camping have increased over the last five years. For example, groups like Black People Hike, which is based in Seattle, have quadrupled in size during that time — it now has nearly 2000 members. People join groups such as Hikers of Color because hiking with others who are like them helps them to feel more accepted and safer — not worried about dangerous encounters on the trail.
Beginning with the centennial of the national park system in 2016, the National Park Service and the National Forest Service began to create partnerships with inner-city schools and youth groups with the goal of inspiring long ignored and underserved communities to get out onto public lands. And outdoor groups like The Mountaineers of Seattle have been working to attract more diverse members. Their CEO, Tom Vogl, said that his group, “started to hold [themselves] accountable for making sure that the imagery [they] were conveying was that all people are welcome in the outdoors, that whether you were black or Latina you could see yourself in [their] communications.”
Why This Matters: The parks have only now begun to keep track of the demographics of park visitors. That is a good start — at least they will be able to measure progress in increasing the diversity of visitors. There is also a park program started during the Obama Administration to commemorate the centennial of the park system that entitles all fourth graders around the country — as well as their families — free admission to all national parks for the entire year. Secretary Zinke renewed this program just last week — it’s one good thing this Administration is willing to continue.
To Go Deeper: Read this account of being a young Latina who discovered her love of hiking. Or this one that “busts the stereotype” that black people don’t hike.
Every Kid In A Park: If you have a fourth grader in your family and want to get your free pass to the National Parks, you can learn more here.
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 Climate Change
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Photo: Justin Brice Guariglia
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Artists Take On Climate Change
Generally, when we think about messengers of climate change we think of scientists or politicians. However, artists have been using their craft and creativity to connect the dangers posed by climate change to their audiences. Recently in New York City, a series of flashing highway signs have been installed to spell out the dangers of climate change to New Yorkers. As the Guardian reported, the 10 large solar-powered signs have been placed in locations in each of New York’s five boroughs, including areas deemed particularly vulnerable to the sea level rise and powerful storms associated with climate change. The traffic signs displayed messages like “Climate change at work” and “Climate denial kills” in a variety of languages. The installation called Climate Signals is part of a project by the Climate Museum and a host of partners, including the New York City’s mayor’s office.
Artist Justin Brice Guariglia created Climate Signals which keeps in line with climate themes regularly featured in his work. Previously Guariglia created a mobile app called After Ice, which allows users to take a selfie that is overlaid with a watery filter indicating the sea level projected in their geo-tagged location in the 2080s.
Why This Matters: From climate justice to the showing tangible lines of sea level rise, art can elicit a feeling from people that words and figures can’t. Through their art, artists can help make climate change part of the cultural norm and depoliticize it more so that traditional messengers.
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Government
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EPA’s Mass Exodus in the Trump Era
During Donald Trump’s presidential campaign he vowed to “Drain the Swamp” and rid Washington DC of long-serving civil servants. Since President Trump was elected thousands of government employees have left their posts at federal agencies. As the Washington Post reported over the weekend, during the first 18 months of the Trump administration, records show, nearly 1,600 workers left the EPA, while fewer than 400 were hired. The exodus has shrunk the agency’s workforce by 8 percent, to levels not seen since the Reagan administration. The trend has continued even after a major round of buyouts last year and despite the fact that the EPA’s budget has remained stable. The EPA hasn’t been the only federal agency to see its staff numbers drastically reduced as nearly all agencies have seen workers leave en masse under the Trump administration. Trump’s 3-month federal hiring freeze only made matters worse and the president’s administration has pushed to nix raises for federal employees.
Employees feel that the EPA’s mission has been compromised and that working conditions and morale are at an all-time low. Hundreds of employees have accepted early buyouts and nearly a quarter of the agency’s remaining 13,758 employees are now eligible to retire. Betsy Smith, who retired from the EPA’s Office of Research and Development in June after 20 years said that “It’s really awful to feel like you don’t have any role to play, that there’s not any interest in the work you’re doing. My feeling was I could do better work to protect the environment outside the EPA”
Why This Matters: Losing institutional knowledge via the exodus of employees ensures that the EPA isn’t able to perform its duties and work for Americans as efficiently as possible. Given the fact that this administration hasn’t been able to replace federal workers who have left, the ones that remain are who we rely on to keep our air and water clean and ensure that kids aren’t drinking contaminated water at school. John de Figueiredo, a professor of law, strategy, and economics at Duke University said it best, “The government is a bundle of expertise, when you lose these people who are very senior, we think that could potentially have a detrimental effect on governmental performance.”
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 Food
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Rosh Hashanah for Vegans – Apples with Date Honey
Today is the day when Jews across the world mark their religious new year — and the most common tradition of the celebration is eating apple slices dipped in honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year. But for vegan Jews, this sweet tradition is quite problematic — honey is an animal product and thus not “kosher” for vegans. As reported in Forward Magazine, Jeffrey Cohan, the executive director of Jewish Veg, honey production is problematic because many honey producers manipulate the bees’ natural living patterns, including clipping the queen’s wings to prevent her from flying away — they regard the whole process as cruel. Cohan explains, “Tza’ar ba’alei chayim’” (the Hebrew term for the prohibition against causing unnecessary harm to animals) is a core mandate, so “to start the new year right away by violating tza’ar ba’alei chayim does not get the year off to the best start.”
The most common substitute is honey made from dates — it’s not only vegetarian but also has its roots in the Bible. Dates are one of the seven species of the land of Israel mentioned in the Bible. Scholars say that the description of “a land flowing with milk and honey” actually refers to date honey, not bee honey. It has less sugar too so there are even health benefits to date honey over bee honey.
Why This Matters: Shana Tova! We wish all our readers who are celebrating today a sweet new year!
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 Hurricane
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One Scary Thing: Hurricane Florence to Make Landfall
Yesterday morning, Tropical Storm Florence was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane by the National Hurricane Center and is expected to make landfall later this week as she upgrades to a Category 4 storm (you can see the model simulations above). So far, all along the Eastern shore of the United States, there has been an increase in storm surge, riptide, and heavy rain. Additionally, there is also a worry of significant flooding occurring is Florence hovers over land before she dissipates (similar to what Hurricane Harvey did last year). We urge all our readers who live in the Eastern States to listen to warnings from officials and evacuate when told to, and most of all to please stay safe!
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