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Politics
As expected, President Trump made no mention of climate change in last night’s State of the Union Address despite touting national security as a major priority–even the Pentagon has deemed climate change an immediate risk to national security. The President did take a moment to point out America’s production of oil and gas as a national point […]
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By Daniel C. Esty Two weeks ago, at the memorial service to President George H.W. Bush, his eulogists celebrated the extraordinary things accomplished during his Presidency on a bipartisan basis – including the passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act, a crime bill, the 1991 Civil Rights Act, […]
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The Trump Administration did the expected and yesterday nominated Acting Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt, a former oil industry lobbyist and the top lawyer at Interior under Bush ’43 to take the top slot and officially replace Ryan Zinke. Most industry experts expect that he will continue to push for expanding oil and gas drilling, […]
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Last Friday New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D) announced his campaign for president. Booker, who is one of only 3 sitting African American senators, made his announcement on the first day of Black History Month likely as a symbol of his commitment to racial justice. The senator specifically has been outspoken on the issue of […]
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Yesterday, 30,000 school children again turned out for protests in three cities across Belgium after an open letter to the government from 3,450 Belgian scientists saying “the activists are absolutely right”. Children’s climate rallies and protests are spreading across Europe — taking place in Germany and Switzerland too with the #FridaysForFuture, according to the BBC. There was even a sit-in at the Scottish Parliament.
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Endorsing the Green New Deal is becoming a talisman of politics in the 2020 Presidential race on the Democratic side. The Washington Post’s Power Post pointed out that this is a policy that almost no one had heard of last November but is now one of the key planks that appears to have nearly unilateral support.
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In Oregon, there is a fossil fuel infrastructure project undergoing permitting and approval that is stirring up controversy, putting the newly re-elected Governor of the state, Kate Brown, on the spot over her campaign promise to tackle the issue of climate change. The Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal and its Pacific Connector Gas pipeline would transport fracked natural gas from Colorado all the way to Oregon’s coast, where it would be super-cooled into liquid form and loaded on ships in the terminal bound for international markets. A huge crowd of protesters attended a state hearing on the project expressed grave concerns about the large quantities of soil that would need to be displaced in order to install the proposed three-foot wide pipeline, spanning 229 miles, 78 wetlands, and 485 waterways across the state through four Oregon Counties.
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The government last Friday made public another report warning of the dangers that climate change poses to our nation — this one details the risks to our national security as a result of more than two-thirds of our military installations being at increased risk in the next 20 years of flooding, drought and fire damage related to climate.
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314 Action, a nonprofit political action committee that recruits and supports scientists and candidates with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) backgrounds to run for office has launched a campaign to recruit retired astronaut Mark Kelly to run for the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s 2020 Senate race. As the Arizona Republic reported, Kelly, the husband of former U.S. […]
Continue Reading 320 wordsAndrew Wheeler, the Acting EPA Administrator, appeared before the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee yesterday for his confirmation hearing and was greeted by protesters and angry questioning by the Committee’s Democratic members. The protesters began shouting “Shutdown Wheeler” just as he began to read his opening statement, and were quickly removed, as he raised his eyebrows in disdain (see video above.) Drawing fire from the Democrats on the Committee, Wheeler said that climate change is a “global issue” but “not the greatest crisis,” and did not even mention climate change in his opening statement.
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Our good friends at the Yale Program for Climate Communication along with the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication analyzed in their most recent survey the percentage of people who have changed their opinions about climate change and it turns out about 8% of surveyed Americans indeed had changed their attitude. Overall 84% of respondents said that they were MORE concerned than in the previous two years about global warming.
So what happens once you do accept climate change and begin worrying about the state of our planet? It turns out that, as UnDark reported, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that climate change and its effects are linked to elevated rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, post-traumatic stress, and a host of negative emotions including anger, hopelessness, despair, and a feeling of loss. Researchers have dubbed these feelings “ecological grief.”
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This week, California Congressman Ted Lieu introduced the first major climate bill of the 116th Congress. In a statement, Lieu said that: “There is no threat greater to our nation’s security than climate change. Failing to protect our planet will endanger the lives of millions, hurt our economy and jeopardize our children’s future. The wildfires […]
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