Climate notes on the Democratic platform. Here are my notes. Emily Atkin Jul 23 2020 Issue 910 Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images The Democratic Party’s formal governing body, the Democratic National Committee, released a draft of its 2020 policy platform on Wednesday. The document is intended to represent Democrats’ official policy priorities for the next four years. Clocking in at …
Rich Americans Emit up to 15 Times As Much Carbon As Their Poorer Neighbors
A new study confirms the obvious: big houses have bigger footprints. But wait, there’s more. By Lloyd Alter, Treehugger, July 21, 2020 The conclusion of a new study – The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States – that everyone is focusing on would seem obvious: “Wealthier Americans have per capita footprints ∼25% higher than those of lower-income residents, primarily …
The powerful appeal of populism fills a void, says Fiona Hill. Populism provides a narrative for people who have lost their identities that were tied to meaningful work.
“When people lose that then they’re looking for something. There’s a feeling they’ve been robbed and deprived of a golden age, and they want that back and populist politics feeds upon that, and provides scapegoats for losing it.” –Fiona Hill See interview with Fiona Hill in The Guardian, June 12, 2020… Excerpts below. Liberal democracy hasn’t been delivering, in the …
100 million Americans, including 27 million children lack access to decent nearby green spaces
Low-income households and people of color in cities are least likely to live near decent green spaces . low-income households and people of color least likely to live close to parks with basic amenities like bathrooms, playgrounds and basketball courts. Multiple studies have shown that spending time in green spaces reduces stress and improves physical and psychological wellbeing for adults …
Reconsidering and Reconceiving Corporate Responsibility
The problem with the dominant conception today—shareholder primacy and wealth maximization—is that “directors are encouraged, through legal duty and self-protection, to demonstrate their allegiance to stockholder interests, which (as has been observed) is most effectively accomplished by attention to the bottom line. This behavior leads to an unremitting focus on the short term.”[120] By the turn of the twentieth century, corporations …
U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Pentagon Report Says + Fragility from Food System, Water Shortage
DOD report says a combination of global starvation, war, disease, drought, and a fragile power grid could have cascading, devastating effects. By Nafeez Ahmed, Oct 24 2019 According to a new U.S. Army report, Americans could face a horrifically grim future from climate change involving blackouts, disease, thirst, starvation and war. The study found that the US military itself might also …
City and State Stretch Codes
https://gettingtozeroforum.org/policy-resources/ ZERO ENERGY POLICY An increasing number of cities, counties, and states around the US are committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Here we provide a curated list of leading energy goals, policies, and energy stretch codes from states and local jurisdictions, as well as programs that support jurisdictions. Resources include legislation, strategic plans, energy and climate action plans, …
Approaches Cities Are Taking and Law on Municipal Gas Bans
The bans in California and Massachusetts rely on different sources of authority. Many of the California bans are structured as amendments to the local building codes. In that state, municipalities are permitted to adopt building energy code provisions that are more stringent than the state code with California Energy Commission approval. San Jose, Menlo Park, San Mateo, West Hollywood and …
Supreme Court Could Soon Make Government Regulation — and the Next Election — Moot
Posted to Politics March 13, 2020 by Lee Price Email Print In recent years, the Supreme Court has issued ruling after ruling awarding more power to large corporations. Most notably, the 2010 Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates to an unprecedented deluge of corporate cash in our elections. Now, however, the court’s right-wing majority appears prepared to offer an even bigger boon: A …
Why some cities are targeting gas stoves to fight climate change
Why building electrification, and removing gas from new and retrofitted homes, has become a movement By Patrick Sisson Feb 4, 2020 Ever since the Green New Deal became a key talking point and policy goal of progressive politicians last year, there’s been a renewed push to make American homes and buildings better for the environment. For a growing number of municipalities and local leaders, …