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Politics
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 shutdown has been an ordeal but also instructive. It was devastating to government workers, contractors and grantees, who were directly harmed by the failures of our leaders to reach a funding agreement and pay them. But taking a step back, and trying to find any silver lining in this 36-day nightmare, we can see three.
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