Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) take part in the first night of the Democratic presidential debate on June 26, 2019 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The dangers of working shoulder-to-shoulder in a meat processing plant have come to the forefront as the novel coronavirus has exposed the fragility of the meat industry's supply chain. Factory farming is also resource intensive, leading to deforestation and fueling the climate crisis. It also accounts for 99 percent of the meat that Americans consume.
<p>Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to co-sponsor a bill to put an end to factory farming, as <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/496661-booker-renews-push-to-phase-out-factory-farming-by-2040-after-pandemic-hits" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/factory-farming-cory-booker-2641652004.html" target="_self">Farm System Reform Act</a> was first proposed by Booker in December. It aims to put a stop to any new factory farms and the monopolistic practices in the industry. It would hold concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) responsible for their environmental impact. Warren agreed to co-sponsor the bill after several incidents of unsafe working conditions and outbreaks of COVID-19 in the meatpacking industry, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/elizabeth-warren-cory-booker-join-forces-bill-ban-most-factory-farming-2040-1502699" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is also co-sponsoring the effort and has introduced companion legislation to the House.</p>
<p>"For years, regulators looked the other way while giant multinational corporations crushed competition in the agriculture sector and seized control over key markets," Warren said in a statement, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/elizabeth-warren-cory-booker-join-forces-bill-ban-most-factory-farming-2040-1502699" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported. "The COVID-19 crisis will make it easier for Big Ag to get even bigger, gobble up smaller farms, and lead to fewer choices for consumers."</p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the tight control that a handful of companies have on the entire meat supply chain. As Booker's office noted in a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/as-pandemic-exposes-major-weaknesses-in-meatpacking-industry-sen-warren-rep-khanna-cosponsor-sen-bookers-farm-system-reform-act-to-fix-broken-system" target="_blank">statement</a>, "four companies control nearly 85 percent of the US beef market. Pork and chicken supply are similarly consolidated. Such concentration makes the food chain extremely fragile."</p>
<p>As <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/496661-booker-renews-push-to-phase-out-factory-farming-by-2040-after-pandemic-hits" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported, the legislation directly targets multinational meat producing giants, like Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods and JBS, all of which had severe coronavirus outbreaks among workers in the last month. Those outbreaks have led to fears of a meat shortage in the U.S., as Costco and Kroger have limited how much beef customers can buy, and some Wendy's chains ran out of hamburger patties.</p><p>In response to the shuttered meat processing facilities, President Trump used the Defense Production Act to keep plants with outbreaks open despite the risks for employees, who often work side-by-side.</p>
<p>However, Booker noted that the problems in the meat industry existed well before the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>"Our food system was not broken by the pandemic and it was not broken by independent family farmers. It was broken by large, multinational corporations like Tyson, Smithfield, and JBS that, because of their buying power and size, have undue influence over the marketplace and over public policy," Booker said in a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/as-pandemic-exposes-major-weaknesses-in-meatpacking-industry-sen-warren-rep-khanna-cosponsor-sen-bookers-farm-system-reform-act-to-fix-broken-system" target="_blank">statement</a>. "That undue influence was on full display with President Trump's recent executive order prioritizing meatpacker profits over the health and safety of workers."</p><p>Under the Farm System Reform Act, the largest CAFOs would be phased out entirely by 2040. Medium and small-sized operations would not be prohibited, although voluntary buyouts would be offered for farmers who want to cease factory farming, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/elizabeth-warren-cory-booker-join-forces-bill-ban-most-factory-farming-2040-1502699" target="_blank">Newsweek</a> reported. The bill would also invest $100 billion over ten years to help CAFO owners transition to more sustainable forms of agriculture.</p><p>"Giant meatpackers cannot be permitted to continue to profit off of the labor of family farmers, consolidating the food industry to the point that our supply chain is threatened," said Khanna, as <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/496661-booker-renews-push-to-phase-out-factory-farming-by-2040-after-pandemic-hits" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported. "Congress must step in to ensure an honest market, or risk losing another historic industry to the hands of big corporations."</p>
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World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquarters on Feb. 28 in Geneva. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
The World Health Organization on Friday raised the global risk of the new coronavirus to its highest level and reiterated the necessity of worldwide containment efforts as U.S. President Donald Trump continued to face widespread criticism over how his administration has handled the public health crisis so far.
<p>Since the coronavirus disease (<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>) outbreak began in Wuhan, China late last year, it has infected more than 83,000 people globally, killing over 2,800, <a href="https://apnews.com/992b7aabcda042ecf7c9f0e42aaf7200" target="_blank">according to</a> the Associated Press. A large majority of the cases have been in mainland China; however, the virus has reached more than 50 countries, with hundreds of confirmed cases in South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran.</p>
<p>"Our epidemiologists have been monitoring these developments continuously, and we have now increased our assessment of the risk of spread and the risk of impact of COVID-19 to very high at a global level," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus <a href="https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-diretor-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---28-february-2020" target="_blank">explained</a> Friday during a press conference in Geneva with other officials from the United Nations agency.</p><p>"What we see at the moment are linked epidemics of COVID-19 in several countries, but most cases can still be traced to known contacts or clusters of cases. We do not see evidence as yet that the virus is spreading freely in communities," Tedros said. "As long as that's the case, we still have a chance of containing this virus, if robust action is taken to detect cases early, isolate and care for patients and trace contacts."</p>
<div id="3d3a0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5NX6DJ1582978216"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1233418103406628865" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@DrTedros @WHOWPRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOAFRO @WHOEMRO @WHOSEARO "🔟 it’s normal & understandable to feel anxious… https://t.co/6mOTB32F4L</div> — World Health Organization (WHO) (@World Health Organization (WHO))<a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/statuses/1233418103406628865">1582904766.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200228-who-upgrades-global-risk-of-coronavirus-spread-to-maximum-level" target="_blank">told</a> reporters Friday that "this is a reality check for every government on the planet: Wake up. Get ready. This virus may be on its way and you need to be ready. You have a duty to your citizens, you have a duty to the world to be ready."</p><p>Ryan <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200228-who-upgrades-global-risk-of-coronavirus-spread-to-maximum-level" target="_blank">added</a> that it "unhelpful" to ask whether the outbreak is now considered a pandemic, because doing so would mean "we're essentially accepting that every human on the planet will be exposed to that virus. The data does not show that." However, he warned, "if we don't take action ... that may be a future that we have to experience."</p><p>As Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/25/cdc-says-americans-should-brace-significant-disruptions-amid-warnings-coronavirus" target="_blank">reported</a> Tuesday, Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch has predicted that the virus could ultimately infect between 40 and 70% of the global population, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging U.S. residents to prepare for "significant disruption in their daily lives."</p><p>The CDC is tracking COVID-19 <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html" target="_blank">cases</a> in the U.S. on its website. The federal agency has also published <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html" target="_blank">information</a> about the virus and the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html" target="_blank">national containment response</a>, which includes deploying CDC staffers to dozens of sites across the country.</p><p>Despite the agency's efforts, Trump has come under fire for his administration's response to the outbreak. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1233405438718291974" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Friday that "we're looking at a serious <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-stock-market-coronavirus-correction-20200228-mojlyp5s2nc3bpsnlqnr7zhaqa-story.html" target="_blank">economic downturn</a> because of coronavirus — and the Trump administration is bungling every aspect of this crisis."</p><p>Trump announced Wednesday night that he was appointing Vice President Mike Pence to lead the administration's coronavirus task force — a move that was <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/27/ocasio-cortez-says-putting-pence-charge-coronavirus-effort-irresponsible-because-he" target="_blank">pilloried</a> as "utterly irresponsible" by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1232841137930559490" target="_blank">congresswoman</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/1232832117006098432" target="_blank">other critics</a> highlighted Pence's <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/28/21156158/mike-pence-coronavirus-trump-administration-hiv-science" target="_blank">problematic track record</a> on handling public health issues, including while he was the governor of Indiana.</p>
<div id="91138" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="JXCDUQ1582978216"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1232825677960925185" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump's plan for the coronavirus so far:
-Cut winter heating assistance for the poor
-Have VP Pence, who wanted to… https://t.co/pNUJzEBmRr</div> — Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders)<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/statuses/1232825677960925185">1582763521.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Pence announced early Thursday that he was appointing a global health official, Ambassador Debbie Birx, as the "White House <span style="background-color: initial;">Coronavirus</span> Response Coordinator," a decision which Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/white-house-coronavirus-response-debbie-birx-117893" target="_blank">described</a> as "installing a czar-like figure under him to guide the administration's response to the outbreak after a protracted public dance around how to display the power of the federal bureaucracy to the American people."</p><p>The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/us/politics/us-coronavirus-pence.html" target="_blank">reported</a> late Thursday that the White House moved to "tighten control of coronavirus messaging by government health officials and scientists, directing them to coordinate all statements and public appearances" with Pence's office, citing multiple unnamed sources. According to the Times, "Officials insist Mr. Pence's goal is not to control what experts and other officials say, but to make sure their efforts are coordinated, after days of confusion with various administration officials making contradictory statements on television."</p><p>However, the news generated concerns among individuals and watchdogs groups — and came amid <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/whistleblower-accuses-trump-corrupt-effort-cover-possible-exposure-federal-workers" target="_blank">reporting</a> that a whistleblower from the Department of Health and Human Services has accused the Trump administration of attempting to cover up possibly exposing federal workers to coronavirus by sending them to process Americans evacuated from Wuhan without providing essential training or equipment.</p>
<div id="e83cc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="JVYGEQ1582978216"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1233123159362211847" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">1. Trump is now requiring PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS and SCIENTISTS to clear their statements about the Coronavirus wit… https://t.co/NCFmdirAFW</div> — Judd Legum (@Judd Legum)<a href="https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/statuses/1233123159362211847">1582834446.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"There's nothing wrong with a coordinated process inside the federal government to make sure it is sending out clear, fact-based information about the widening coronavirus epidemic," said Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. "But there's every reason to suspect something else is happening — that public health experts are being instructed to stay silent because they are sharing truthful information that the Trump administration finds inconvenient or that contradicts the random musings of the president."</p><p>"As we have seen in China's response to the outbreak, muzzling public health experts at a time of a potentially emergent public health crisis is reckless and endangers the public," Carmone added in his statement Thursday. "It should be obvious to the Trump administration, though perhaps it is not, that silencing truthful information about the coronavirus is likely to speed — not stop — its spread."</p><p>Trump and his allies, meanwhile, continue to tout the administration's efforts and dismiss critiques as politically motivated attacks. Trump's acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney on Friday characterized news coverage of coronavirus as "an attempt to bring down the president" and downplayed its threat level. As Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/mick-mulvaney-suggests-media-attention-coronavirus-merely-ploy-tank-trump" target="_blank">reported</a>, some critics responded by charging that Mulvaney was the one politicizing the crisis at the expense of American families.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/warren-accuses-trump-bungling-every-aspect-crisis-who-elevates-coronavirus-threat" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Sanders Introduces Bills to Ban Fracking, Require National Cleanup Effort of Drinking Water
31 January
Politics
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to guests during a campaign stop at Berg Middle School on Jan. 11 Newton, Iowa. Scott Olson / Getty Images
While Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been in Washington this week for the impeachment trial, he has put forth two bills to help the environment.
<p>On Tuesday, he pushed forward a bill to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480777-sanders-introduces-bill-to-ban-hydraulic-fracking" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>. The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3247/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Sanders%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=2" target="_blank">bill</a>, titled "A bill to ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes," will go to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for review. </p>
<p>While the text of the bill is not yet available, Sen. Jeff Merkley from Oregon is a co-sponsor of the bill. On Thursday, Sanders <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1222960113910210561" target="_blank">tweeted</a> that he also worked on the bill with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Darren Soto (D-Fla.), as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480777-sanders-introduces-bill-to-ban-hydraulic-fracking" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>.</p><p>"I don't mind if <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkRuffalo" target="_blank">@MarkRuffalo</a> spoils his own movies. But please, don't ruin the surprise of our new legislation with Rep. <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC" target="_blank">@AOC</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley" target="_blank">@SenJeffMerkley</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDarrenSoto" target="_blank">@RepDarrenSoto</a>. I don't want the dirty fracking industry CEOs to know what hit them," wrote Sanders in his <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1222960113910210561" target="_blank">tweet</a>, which embedded a video of the actor and activist, Mark Ruffalo, touting a potential federal ban on fracking.</p>
<div id="083c1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RYWLQK1580502995"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1222960113910210561" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I don't mind if @MarkRuffalo spoils his own movies. But please, don't ruin the surprise of our new legislation with… https://t.co/NY5iOCdOzL</div> — Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders)<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/statuses/1222960113910210561">1580411387.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The bill drew support from several environmental activist organizations.<br></p><p>"Senator Sanders' bill names the problem and provides the only solution," Natalie Mebane, Associate Director of Policy at <a href="http://link.cvip.io/f/a/lI7Ag8jf6aY5chtEI04rzg~~/AAJ4uAA~/RgRgFVhxP0RPaHR0cHM6Ly9jcm0uMzUwLm9yZy9zaXRlcy9hbGwvbW9kdWxlcy9jaXZpY3JtL2V4dGVybi91cmwucGhwP3U9MTE4NTgmcWlkPTgxMjU0NlcDc3BjQgoAAPEkNF5Ln7SPUhRqb25AY29tbW9uZHJlYW1zLm9yZ1gEAAAAAw~~" target="_blank">350.org</a>, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/31/350-action-applauds-sanders-fracking-ban-bill?cd-origin=rss">said in a statement</a><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/31/350-action-applauds-sanders-fracking-ban-bill?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank"></a>. "In order to avoid the worst of the climate crisis, we must rapidly transition off of fossil fuels, and end fracking and the dangerous pipelines that come with it."</p>
<p>The ban on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking" rel="noopener noreferrer">fracking</a> that Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren advocate has democrats concerned that such a policy could push Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, to President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" rel="noopener noreferrer">Donald Trump</a> in November. </p>
<p>"In Pennsylvania, you're talking hundreds of thousands of related jobs that would be — they would be unemployed overnight," said John Fetterman, Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/us/politics/pennsylvania-democrats-fracking.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>. "Pennsylvania is a margin play. And an outright ban on fracking isn't a margin play." </p>
<p>Sanders not only introduced a ban on fracking. On Wednesday, he, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Ma), <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/pfas-summary?id=B3C238FF-B9D4-4557-9DE9-D15CFEEFBA8D&download=1&inline=file" target="_blank">introduced The Preventing Future American Sickness (PFAS) Act</a>, which takes aim at 'forever chemicals' polluting waterways, as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480571-sanders-introduces-bill-to-clean-up-of-toxic-forever-chemicals" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/forever-chemicals-drinking-water-2644897405.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_self">EcoWatch reported</a>, a recent study from the Environmental Working Group found that toxic forever chemicals, or PFAS, are far more prevalent in drinking water than previously thought.</p>
<div id="efd2e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UM2I2X1580502995"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1221522447901560833" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"Our children are unwittingly poisoned" Environmental Working Group study: US #water samples have 'forever chemical… https://t.co/oePPZBRGyV</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1221522447901560833">1580068621.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"As hundreds of communities across the country are dealing with toxic PFAS contamination in their drinking water," Sanders says in a statement put out by <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/sanders-unveils-bill-combat-corporate-polluters-and-protect-drinking-water" target="_blank">Food and Water Watch</a>, "it is unconscionable that huge corporations like DuPont have, for decades, concealed evidence of how dangerous these compounds are in order to keep profiting at the expense of human health. Congress must pass this legislation to put an end to corporate stonewalling and criminal behavior and tackle this public health crisis. It is not a radical idea to demand that when people in the world's richest country turn on their taps, the water they drink is free of toxic chemicals."</p><p>The legislation would ban the chemicals from food packaging and ban the incineration of PFAS firefighting foam. It would also direct the Environmental Protection Agency to designate PFAS as hazardous under both the Clean Air and and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act — commonly called CERCLA or Superfund, as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/29/sanders-takes-aim-corporate-polluters-bill-clean-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking" target="_blank">Common Dreams reported</a>.</p>
<p>Labeling the chemicals as hazardous substances would force manufacturers to foot the bill for cleaning them up, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480571-sanders-introduces-bill-to-clean-up-of-toxic-forever-chemicals" target="_blank">according to The Hill</a>.</p><p>"Every American—regardless of the color of their skin, their zip code, or their income—has the right to be free from exposure to a slew of carcinogens and hazardous chemicals," said Merkley, as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/29/sanders-takes-aim-corporate-polluters-bill-clean-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking" target="_blank">Common Dreams reported</a>. "But millions of people are ingesting dangerous PFAS chemicals against their will through the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat. Congress needs to come together to put the health of our communities above the wish lists of American's biggest polluters, and that means establishing and enforcing chemical standards that protect Americans from PFAS substances."</p><p>Both bills face an uncertain future in a Republican-controlled senate. Even if they did get through the Senate, Trump has said he would veto them, as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/29/sanders-takes-aim-corporate-polluters-bill-clean-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking" target="_blank">Common Dreams reported</a>.</p>
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Biden Gets Physical With Voter Concerned About Pipelines, Tells Him to Vote for Someone Else
29 January
Politics
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign town hall meeting at Vista Grande Jan. 28 in Clinton, Iowa. The Iowa caucuses are February 3. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Joe Biden put his hand on the chest of an Iowa voter and told the man to vote for someone else when the voter asked the former vice president about his plans to replace gas pipelines, The Independent reported.
<p>In the exchange, which was <a href="https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1222258335342366721" target="_blank">captured on video</a>, a former Iowa state representative, Ed Fallon, tells Biden he will support him in the general election if he wins the nomination and asks the candidate about the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate crisis</a>. </p><p>"I like you, and I'm going to support you if win the nomination because we have to get rid of [Donald Trump]," Fallon said, "But what are we going to do about climate change? ... We have to stop building and replacing pipelines."</p>
<div id="e85f7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9WJTX91580325344"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1222258335342366721" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">A man in Iowa asks Joe Biden to stop supporting the building of new pipelines. Joe Biden tells him to go vote for s… https://t.co/xRw3Z5rZ3j</div> — Zaid Jilani (@Zaid Jilani)<a href="https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/statuses/1222258335342366721">1580244070.0</a></blockquote></div><p>At one point in the exchange, Biden grabs Fallon's lapels and asks him if he really thinks Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bernie-sanders">Bernie Sanders</a> can stop <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" rel="noopener noreferrer">oil and gas</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" rel="noopener noreferrer">pipelines</a> by 2030. </p><p>When Fallon replies that he's actually supporting presidential candidate <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Tom-Steyer">Tom Steyer</a>, Biden responded, as <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/biden-tells-iowa-man-vote-someone-else-accuses-him-supporting-sandersman-says-hes-actually-1484511" target="_blank">reported on Newsweek</a>:</p><blockquote>"Tom Steyer? Well, that's good, he's the guy that..." what Biden then says is partially inaudible due to aides loudly urging Fallon to move the line along, but Biden seems to be making reference to Tom Steyer's alleged <a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1197351923730530304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">investment</a> in coal mining, which Biden has mentioned before on Twitter.</blockquote><p>On <a href="http://boldiowa.com/biden-didnt-need-to-do-this-to-me/" target="_blank">Bold Iowa</a>, Fallon wrote an open letter, saying why he supports Steyer. "My reasoning is simple. The climate crisis is an existential threat that trumps all issues. Steyer is the strongest on climate. Sanders is second," Fallon wrote.<br></p><p>Fallon goes on in his <a href="http://boldiowa.com/biden-didnt-need-to-do-this-to-me/" target="_blank">letter</a> to describe his exchange as "disturbing on a number of levels. Biden doesn't even attempt to address my concern. All he says is that serious climate action by 2030 isn't realistic."</p>
<p>"And despite his repeated calls for unity, Biden rejects my offer to support him in the general election. That really shocked me. What was even more shocking was how Biden pushed and poked me, and then took hold of my jacket with both hands as he lectured me."</p>
<p>Steyer quickly rebuked Biden on <a href="https://twitter.com/TomSteyer/status/1222271988535705601" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for his treatment of a Democrat.</p>
<p>"This is no way to treat an Iowan. He said he'd vote for the Dem in the general b/c he knows how important it is to beat Trump. We need immediate action on climate. If you don't agree, happy to talk @ debate. But don't take it out on voters we need to win in Nov," Steyer wrote, also posting a link to the video. </p>
<p>Despite, Fallon's insistence, The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund does not agree that Steyer has the most comprehensive plan to address the climate crisis.</p>
<p>Yesterday, the organization released <a href="https://centeractionfund.org/environmental-report-card/" target="_blank">its report card</a> for the top seven Democratic candidates polling above one percent. </p>
<p>They gave Sanders the top grade, with an A. Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elizabeth-warren" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elizabeth Warren</a> was just behind him with an A-. Steyer was third with a B. Biden came in fourth with a C+. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Andrew-Yang" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andrew Yang</a> was fifth, earning a C. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Pete-Buttigieg" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pete Buttigieg</a> came in sixth with a C-, while Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Amy-Klobuchar" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amy Klobuchar</a> ranked last with a D. </p>
<p>"The Democratic nominee for president needs to be a bold, visionary champion of the environment, with a track record of rising to the challenge of saving our planet," said Kierán Suckling, president of the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, in a <a href="https://centeractionfund.org/sanders-warren-get-top-marks-in-environmental-voter-guide/" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Democrats have taken environmental voters for granted for far too long. It's heartening to see Sanders and Warren leading the charge on these issues. The rest of the party needs to follow suit."</p>
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"It would be great to see all the candidates join Elizabeth Warren in taking the No Big Ag Money Pledge," said Citizens Regeneration Lobby's Alexis Baden-Mayer. Peter Blanchard / Flickr / ric (CC BY 2.0)
Food system justice and environmental advocates on Wednesday urged all Democratic presidential hopefuls to follow in the footsteps of Sen. Elizabeth Warren in signing a pledge rejecting campaign cash from food and agribusiness corporations.
<p>The Massachusetts senator, said advocacy group Friends of the Earth, is "leading the way."<em></em></p>
<div id="783fc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="NR54YP1579724062"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1220003866185490432" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Elizabeth Warren has signed our #NoBigAgMoney pledge!
77% of Iowa Democratic caucus goers want candidate… https://t.co/A0VudN01tO</div> — Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth)<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1220003866185490432">1579706562.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"We applaud Sen. Warren for listening to voters that overwhelmingly support candidates rejecting Big Ag's money and influence," <a href="https://foeaction.org/news/elizabeth-warren-signs-no-big-ag-money-pledge/" target="_blank">said</a> Lisa Archer, food and agriculture director for Friends of the Earth Action. "We urge all presidential candidates to take the No Big Ag Money pledge and prioritize our families, farmers, food chain workers, our planet, and our democracy over Big Ag's profits."</p><p>The "No Big Ag Money Pledge" was launched last week. It <a href="https://foeaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-No-Big-Ag-Money-Pledge.pdf" target="_blank">states</a> (pdf):</p><blockquote>I pledge not to take contributions over $200 from large food and agribusiness corporation executives, lobbyists, and PACs and instead prioritize the health of our families, farmers, food chain workers, our planet, and our democracy.<br></blockquote><p>The document lists dozens of companies that fall under that category, including giants <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bayer">Bayer</a>, Caterpillar, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Tyson" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tyson</a>, General Mils, and Sodexo. Rejecting cash from those entities, says the coalition behind the pledge, would show that presidential candidates won't favor the interests of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/factory-farming" rel="noopener noreferrer">factory farms</a> over those of family farms.</p>
<p>If the opinion of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa serve as a guide, candidates would be wise to sign on to the plege.</p><p>According to a <a href="https://foeaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/LRP-Friends-of-the-Earth-Action-Iowa-Poll-Memo.F.2020.01.09.pdf" target="_blank">poll</a> (pdf) out earlier this month — commissioned to the Friends of the Earth Action and conducted by Lake Research Partners — 77 percent of these likely caucus-goers agree that presidential candidates should reject campaign contributions from Big Ag. Sixty-four percent also said they support breaking up the biggest food and agriculture corporations — a proposal backed by <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/27/elizabeth-warrens-plan-lift-family-farmers-includes-barring-big-ag-mega-mergers" target="_blank">Warren</a> and Democratic primary rival Sen. Bernie <a href="https://berniesanders.com/en/issues/revitalizing-rural-america/" target="_blank">Sanders</a>.</p><p>Make no mistake, Big Ag wields significant power. As Friends of the Earth outlined in a <a href="https://foeaction.org/news/coalition-launches-no-big-ag-money-pledge-targeting-presidential-candidates/" target="_blank">statement</a> last week,</p><blockquote>Currently in the United States, four corporations (many of them foreign owned) control 84 percent of the market for beef, 70 percent of the market for soy, 66 percent of the market for hogs, 80 percent of the market for corn, 59 percent of the market for poultry, 84 percent of the market for pesticides, and 60 percent of the market for seeds.<br></blockquote><p>The food and family farms groups say that campaigns not accepting contributions from these interests would be a step towards neutering their political influence. </p><p>"It would be great to see all the candidates join Elizabeth Warren in taking the No Big Ag Money Pledge," said Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director of Citizens Regeneration Lobby. "It's time to stop agribusiness monopolies from using campaign cash and lobbying dollars to put a stranglehold on federal food and farm policy."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/22/2020-dems-called-follow-warren-supporting-no-big-ag-money-pledge" rel="noopener noreferrer">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Democratic Candidates Face off on Climate in the Last Debate Before Primary Voting Begins
15 January
Politics
Tom Steyer (L-R), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) listen as former Vice President Joe Biden (3rd L) speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on Jan. 14 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott Olson / Getty Images
Six Democratic presidential candidates squared off Tuesday night in Des Moines, Iowa for the seventh primary debate of the season and the last before voting begins with the Iowa caucuses Feb. 3. The climate crisis tied with health care for the No. 1 issue important to Iowa voters when choosing a candidate, according to the latest Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll. So how much attention did it get during the debate?
<p>A fair amount, <a href="https://grist.org/politics/at-the-7th-democratic-debate-candidates-took-every-opportunity-to-talk-climate/" target="_blank">Grist reported</a>. While CNN and Des Moines Register moderators didn't bring it up until the last half hour, the candidates themselves incorporated it into their answers early and often.</p><p>"Debate moderators may take ages to get around to climate change in these debates," Zoya Teirstein wrote for Grist, "but the candidates have gotten increasingly adept at weaving the issue into their answers to other questions. This time around, Wolf Blitzer, Abby Phillip, and the Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel could barely keep a lid on the climate action in the first half of the debate."</p>
<div id="9978e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="J08DNB1579096231"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1217291431544360960" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">10:39pm on the east coast, people are tuning out, parents are tucking their kids into bed...
@CNN: "Alright, let's… https://t.co/nSVYhqb4Tv</div> — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@Sunrise Movement 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/statuses/1217291431544360960">1579059868.0</a></blockquote></div><p>So how did the candidates stand on various climate-related issues?</p>
National Security
<p>The first climate mentions came in response to the first question, about which candidate was best prepared to be commander-in-chief.</p><p>Both former South Bend, Indiana Mayor <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Pete-Buttigieg" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pete Buttigieg</a> and Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elizabeth-warren" target="_self">Elizabeth Warren</a> (D-Mass.) listed the climate crisis among new national security issues they would tackle as president, according to a transcript provided by the <a href="https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2020/01/14/democratic-debate-transcript-what-the-candidates-said-quotes/4460789002/" target="_blank">Des Moines Register</a>.</p><p>Philanthropist Tom Steyer brought up the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/australia-wildfire-deaths-2644394434.html" target="_self">wildfires in Australia</a> when asked how he would use military force as a president, suggesting that the climate crisis might require large international mobilizations.</p><p>"[T]here's a gigantic climate issue in Australia, which also requires the same kind of value-driven coalition-building that we actually should be using in the Middle East," he said.</p>Trade
<p>The next time the candidates brought up climate was during the discussion of a new trade deal struck by President Donald Trump with Mexico and Canada. Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bernie-sanders" target="_self">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-Vt.) came out strongly against it, largely because it does not mention climate change.<br></p><p>"[E]very major environmental organization has said no to this new trade agreement because it does not even have the phrase 'climate change' in it. And given the fact that climate change is right now the greatest threat facing this planet, I will not vote for a trade agreement that does not incorporate very, very strong principles to significantly lower fossil fuel emissions in the world," he said.</p><p>Democratic lawmakers had pushed for a commitment to the Paris agreement to be included in the deal, but that did not make it into the final draft, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/us/politics/fact-check-january-debate.html" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a>.</p><p>Sanders also fought back when Pfannenstiel tried to shift his answer from climate to trade more narrowly.</p><p>"Well, they are the same in this issue," he said, according to the transcript.</p><p>Steyer joined Sanders in saying that he would not sign the deal because it failed to mention climate.</p><div id="9a8a3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8OU2EK1579096232"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1217275336251015175" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We can do much better than a Trump-led trade deal that does not even have the phrase “climate change” in it.… https://t.co/t3iNjmP5WP</div> — Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders)<a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/statuses/1217275336251015175">1579056030.0</a></blockquote></div>
'Managed Retreat'
<p>The first question directly raised by the moderators about the climate crisis brought up last spring's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/flooding-nebraska-bomb-cyclone-2631998694.html" target="_self">disastrous flooding</a> in the Midwest and focused on what candidates would do about farms and factories that could not be relocated.</p><p>The question first went to Buttigieg, who spoke generally about the need to act on climate until the moderators repeated the question.</p><p>"We are going to have to use federal funds to make sure that we are supporting those whose lives will inevitably be impacted further by the increased severity and the increased frequency," he said.</p><p>The question then went to Steyer.</p><p>"Look, what you're talking about is what's called managed retreat," Steyer answered. "It's basically saying we're going to have to move things because this crisis is out of control. And it's unbelievably expensive. And of course we'll come to the rescue of Americans who are in trouble."</p>Fracking
<p>Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) received some pushback from climate activists when she defended her decision not to call for an all-out ban on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/" target="_self">fracking</a>.</p><p>"When it comes to the issue of fracking, I actually see natural gas as a transition fuel. It's a transition fuel to where we get to carbon neutral," Klobuchar said.</p><p>Her remarks come less than a week after a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/us-oil-gas-emissions-2644654513.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" target="_self">study</a> found that new oil and gas emissions projected for the next five years could nearly cancel out the decline in coal emissions, partly enabled by the fracking boom and the falling price of natural gas.</p><p>"I cannot believe I am listening to<a href="https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar" target="_blank"> @amyklobuchar</a> talking about fracked gas as a bridge fuel in 2020," Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash tweeted in response.</p><div id="dce9f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BYCNS21579096232"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1217291975226986497" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I cannot believe I am listening to @amyklobuchar talking about fracked gas as a bridge fuel in 2020.
#DemDebate</div> — Varshini Prakash 🌅 (@Varshini Prakash 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/VarshPrakash/statuses/1217291975226986497">1579059997.0</a></blockquote></div>
Climate Credentials
<p>Over the course of the debate, the candidates attempted to position themselves as the best person to take on the climate crisis in office.</p><p>Steyer emphasized that climate was his top priority.</p><p>"And I'm still shocked that I'm the only person on this stage who will say this. I would declare a state of emergency on day one on climate," he said.</p><p>Warren, meanwhile, painted herself as the best person to get to the root cause of decades of climate inaction.</p><p>"Mr. Steyer talks about it being problem number one," she said. "Understand this, we have known about this climate crisis for decades. Back in the 1990s we were calling it global warming, but we knew what it was. Democrats and Republicans back then were working together because no one wanted a problem. But you know what happened? The industry came in and said, we can make big money if we keep them divided and make no change. Priority number one has to be taking back our government from the corruption. That is the only way we will make progress on climate, on gun safety, on health care, on all of the issues that matter to us."</p><p>Sanders, for his part, pointed to his plan for a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/green-new-deal" target="_self">Green New Deal</a> to transition to 100 percent renewable energy in 10 years.</p><p>"If we as a nation do not transform our energy system away from fossil fuel, not by 2050, not by 2040, but unless we lead the world right now — not easy stuff— the planet we are leaving our kids will be uninhabitable and unhealthy," he said.</p><p>Former Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, pointed to his legacy.</p><p>"[B]ack in 1986, I introduced the first climate change bill — and check PolitiFacts (sic); they said it was a game-changer. I've been fighting this for a long time. I headed up the Recovery Act, which put more money into moving away from fossil fuels to — to solar and wind energy than ever has occurred in the history of America," he said.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) gestures as democratic presidential candidates (L-R) South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Tom Steyer await the start of the Democratic presidential primary debate at Loyola Marymount University on Dec. 19 in Los Angeles. Mario Tama / Getty Images
The climate crisis had its strongest showing to date in the sixth Democratic primary debate hosted by Politico and PBS in Los Angeles Thursday.
<p>For the first time, a climate question was asked during the first 30 minutes of the debate, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bernie-sanders-climate-presidential-debate-los-angeles_n_5dfc3790e4b0b2520d083e14?ri18n=true&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaHVmZnBvc3QuY29tL2ltcGFjdC9ncmVlbj9ndWNjb3VudGVyPTEmZ3VjZV9yZWZlcnJlcj1hSFIwY0hNNkx5OTNkM2N1WjI5dloyeGxMbU52YlM4Jmd1Y2VfcmVmZXJyZXJfc2lnPUFRQUFBRHBPU0hRMnYtWEFSc2k1bGxkNkx0Ym10NHY2SjRTVUNkU19wVHJfLThfR2M3WUplSlEwYl9NOHdKWS02cldMV3pFZGlYRDdvYmZoRVpqekhhTUhjWk16RU93Ym1HanUzT3lsUVQ2dDFnU1B3VXluMGZ3VHBZdVZHeXB2TUlYZjAwMEhUcXlfTkFtZmxMam5jUzIzR0ZCTmFvMk5IbzFMLWxPa0dUOWk5TUph&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMZeBT4l7hHDWXA75erGFEOoM8NvCCpmsgjGU9cmWnBmMWCUZ3GMpKWcjkncPJb0_LhaA38c8C-1ERZokSI0GDptvQvwuU8MVLfMH-uO39FR9cylnPpb1tdv08eMdNmDhgvxExsSiT6Pr17NKcMJ6DQGAfisSFeQym0RLQL9lJSE" target="_blank">HuffPost reported</a>. The issue got 13 minutes total of discussion time, according to <a href="https://grist.org/politics/climate-gets-a-prime-spot-in-the-sixth-democratic-debate/" target="_blank">Grist</a>, and those 13 minutes "contained one of the strongest climate discussions in the primary so far," the climate-focused news site argued.</p>
First Mentions
<p><br>As <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/democratic-debate-climate-questions-2641418575.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5" target="_self">in November</a>, Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bernie-sanders" target="_self">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-Vt.) was the first candidate to mention the climate crisis before it officially came up in the debate. That mention came when he was asked if he would vote in favor of a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada and Mexico that recently passed the House of Representatives.</p><p>Sanders said he would not support the new agreement, partly because it does not address environmental issues.</p><p>"And, by the way, the word 'climate change,' to the best of my knowledge, is not discussed in this new NAFTA agreement at all, which is an outrage," Sanders said, according to a debate transcript published by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/20/transcript-december-democratic-debate/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>.</p><p>Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elizabeth-warren" target="_self">Elizabeth Warren</a> (D-Mass.) was the next candidate to raise the issue independently when answering a question about what she would say to voters who think the economy has been strong under President Donald Trump. Warren echoed other candidates' arguments that many Americans were still struggling and said this was because the government tended to work better for the wealthy than for everyone else. The climate crisis, she argued, was a case in point.</p><p>"Works great for giant oil companies that want to drill everywhere, but not for the rest of us who see climate change bearing down upon us," she said.</p><p>After these early references, the candidates were then fielded three climate-related questions that led to a robust back-and-forth.</p>The Question of Sacrifice
<p>The first two climate questions revolved around issues of sacrifice. The first, directed at Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked if she would subsidize the relocation of families and businesses away from places vulnerable to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">wildfires</a> or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a>. The second, directed at former Vice President Joe Biden, asked if it was worth it to sacrifice immediate growth in the oil and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas">natural gas</a> industries for the sake of transitioning to a greener economy.</p><p>The candidates mostly side-stepped the first question and focused on their climate policies. Klobuchar said she would rejoin the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a> and reinstate Obama-era policies like the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-power-plan" target="_self">Clean Power Plan</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/vehicle-efficiency-emissions-2481798622.html" target="_self">higher auto-efficiency standards</a>.</p><p>Billionaire Tom Steyer said he would declare a state of emergency on day one of his administration, and challenged South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg to make the climate crisis a higher priority.</p><p>Buttigieg, for his part, promoted his plan to institute a carbon tax and use the dividends to fund <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> research.</p><p>But the candidates also pushed back on the idea that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-action" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate action</a> necessarily meant sacrifice.</p><p>"Not only can we clear up the air and water in the black and brown communities where our pollution is concentrated, this is also the opportunity to create literally millions of middle-class union jobs, well-paid, across the United States of America," Steyer said, according to the transcript. "Our biggest crisis is our biggest opportunity."</p><p>Biden also argued that he would sacrifice <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> growth — what sacrifice moderator Tim Alberta of Politico said could cost thousands to hundreds of thousands of blue collar jobs — because "the opportunity for those workers to transition to high-paying jobs, as Tom said, is real."</p><p>Sanders came out most forcefully against the notion of sacrifice, challenging the framing of the question itself, according to HuffPost.</p><p>"It's not an issue of relocating people and towns," Sanders said, to thunderous applause. "The issue now is whether we save the planet for our children and grandchildren."</p>The Question of Nuclear
<p>Alberta then focused the climate conversation on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear" target="_self">nuclear</a> energy with a question first directed at Warren.</p><p>"Many of our Western allies rely heavily on nuclear energy because it's efficient, affordable, and virtually carbon-free. And many climate experts believe that it's impossible to realize your goal of net zero emissions by the year 2050 without utilizing nuclear energy. So can you have it both ways on this issue?" Alberta asked, according to the transcript.</p><p>Warren reiterated her commitment to keeping existing nuclear plants running while transitioning away from fossil fuels, but said she would not build any more reactors.</p><p>"We've got to get the carbon out of the air and out of the water. And that means that we need to keep some of our nuclear in place," she said.</p><p>On this issue, she differs from Sanders, who has promised to shutter existing nuclear reactors, according to HuffPost.</p><p>Businessman Andrew Yang, meanwhile, came out strongly in support of reactors that use thorium, which produces less waste than uranium.</p><p>Steyer, however, argued that nuclear was not competitive price-wise in the U.S. and raised the problems of disasters and waste storage.</p><p>"We actually have the technology that we need. It's called wind and solar and batteries. So, in fact, what we need to do, we can do," Steyer argued.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Elizabeth Warren's Blue New Deal aims to expand offshore renewable energy projects, like the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. Luke H. Gordon / Flickr
By Julia Conley
Sen. Elizabeth Warren expanded her vision for combating the climate crisis on Tuesday with the release of her Blue New Deal — a new component of the Green New Deal focusing on protecting and restoring the world's oceans after decades of pollution and industry-caused warming.
<p>The plan includes proposals for an array of ocean-related issues — including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> emissions, ocean acidification, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> and the destruction of coastal communities. The Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 primary contender <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/we-need-a-blue-new-deal-for-our-oceans-4efd971e0992" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a Medium post that "a Blue New Deal must be an essential part of any Green New Deal."</p><p>"As we pursue climate justice, we must not lose sight of the 71% of our planet covered by the ocean," Warren wrote. "While the ocean is severely threatened, it can also be a major part of the climate solution — from providing new sources of clean energy to supporting a new future of ocean farming."</p>
<p>In keeping with the Green New Deal's focus on a "just transition" for fossil fuel sector workers, the plan aims to expand offshore <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> exploration as Warren follows through with an <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/elizabeth-warren-id-end-offshore-drilling-on-day-one-of-my-presidency" target="_blank">earlier promise</a> to impose a moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling.</p><p>Along with reversing President Donald <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a>'s inaction on offshore renewables, Warren wrote that she will "work to streamline and fast-track permitting for offshore renewable energy, including making sure projects are sited with care based on environmental impact assessments."</p><p>Coastal communities hosting the projects will be consulted regarding transparency, environmental and labor standards, and community agreements will ensure that those living in these areas see a share of the benefits. With Warren's planned investment in the industry, she wrote, the U.S. could come closer to filling 36,000 well-paying offshore renewable energy jobs.</p><p>The progressive think tank Data for Progress <a href="https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2019/12/10/elizabeth-warrens-blue-new-deal" target="_blank">praised </a>the senator for giving consideration to an "essential" component of combating the climate emergency.</p><p>"Tackling climate change must include a comprehensive plan to address the emergency gripping our oceans, where the harms of warming are becoming alarmingly apparent to researchers, fishermen, and communities alike," wrote Johnny Bowman, Julian Brave NoiseCat and Sean McElwee. "This is an essential (and admittedly less sexy) part of the agenda for equitable decarbonization. Senator Warren has distinguished herself by studying the details."</p><p>Other areas in which Warren plans to introduce measures to boost the U.S. economy while protecting the environment include fishing and ocean farming.</p>
<p>Whereas one-in-four fish eaten in the U.S. are now shipped to Asia for processing before being re-imported into American markets, Warren would invest $5 billion over ten years to expand the USDA's Local Agriculture Market Program. The investment would help employ people at U.S.-based food hubs and distribution centers while reducing the massive carbon footprint caused by the current system.</p><p>The Blue New Deal was released as University of Delaware researchers published a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/new-england-fishing-communities-being-destroyed-climate-shocks-study" target="_blank">new study</a> in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that the climate crisis has led to a 16% decline in jobs in New England's fishing industry, stemming from variations in water temperatures.</p><p>The senator would also direct the USDA to research and develop policies for ocean-based farming, paying farmers for their contributions to the climate change fight and including the industry in disaster assistance programs.</p><p>"Land-based farmers have long been supported by the USDA, but in a world of rising seas, increasing ocean temperatures, and ocean acidification, we must expand that support to include ocean farming as well," Warren wrote. "Algae and seaweed are the trees of our oceans, absorbing carbon and helping to reduce ocean acidification and pollution locally, and are valuable sources of nutrition ... These resources even have the potential to become a key ingredient in renewable fuels."</p><p>Warren added that under her administration, agribusiness companies would be held accountable for the water pollution they've caused for decades. Loopholes they've used to get away with exacerbating toxic algal blooms, harming <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a> and contaminating drinking water would be closed, and enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts would be strengthened.</p><p>In addition to investing in coastal communities through offshore renewable energy projects, Warren promised to quintuple investment in FEMA's pre-disaster mitigation grant program, which Trump has proposed slashing.</p><p>"As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and I want to ensure we protect the 40% of Americans who live in coastal counties," Warren wrote.</p><p>"Studies have shown that every dollar invested in disaster mitigation saves $6 overall."</p><p>The League of Conservation Voters and Fridays for Future organizer Alexandria Villaseñor were among those who praised the senator on social media.</p><p>Greenpeace climate campaigner Jack Shapiro said it is "vital that our next president realize we're already in hot water" and recognize that "the climate crisis is an oceans crisis."</p><p>"Instead of opening virtually all U.S. waters to dangerous oil and gas drilling — as Trump has so far unsuccessfully tried to do — we should be shifting investment to clean, community-powered renewable energy and giving our oceans a chance to recover from decades of industrial exploitation," said Shapiro. "We're glad to see Senator Warren putting ocean protection on the national stage with this plan."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/warren-says-blue-new-deal-crucial-because-future-people-and-planet-depends-healthy" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Elizabeth Warren's Climate Risk Disclosure Act Tries to Do What the SEC Didn't
24 September 2019
Politics
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a town hall event Sept. 19 in Iowa City. Joshua Lott / Getty Images
The Green New Deal has been the focal point of the climate debate among the Democratic presidential candidates. Less publicized is the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, a proposal from Senator and presidential contender Elizabeth Warren, that seeks to frame climate change as a threat to the public markets.
<p>The idea: force companies to publicly disclose how their valuation would fare should climate change continue versus how they would do should temperature rise be capped at 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, the benchmark outlined in the <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/methodology/paris-temperature-goal/" target="_blank">Paris agreement</a>.</p>
<p>"The Climate Risk Disclosure Act empowers investors to make smart decisions about where to invest their money by requiring that public companies be straight about how climate change and related policies will affect their bottom lines," said Sen. Warren in an exclusive statement sent to Cheddar. "Shareholders weighing this new information will compel big companies to speed up the transition to a clean energy economy, reducing the odds of an environmental and financial disaster without spending a dime of taxpayer money."</p><p>First proposed in 2018, and reintroduced with changes earlier this summer, Warren's bill would use the Securities and Exchange Commission to force publicly-traded companies to confront their own position within the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> — and share that information with investors. The law, the Senator's office <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/The%20Climate%20Risk%20Disclosure%20Act%20of%202019%20-%20One%20Pager.pdf" target="_blank">explains</a>, would also have companies reveal their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, share the total fossil fuel assets they own or manage, and outline their climate change risk management strategies.</p><p>It's certainly not the only climate proposal from the Massachusetts senator, but the Climate Risk Disclosure Act does appear fundamentally Warren-esque in its hope to use regulatory agencies — in this case, the SEC — to push the free market toward a less environmentally-destructive future.</p><p>Notably, the legislation was co-sponsored by several <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2075/cosponsors" target="_blank">other presidential hopefuls</a>, including Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. It has also won the endorsement of sustainability advocacy organizations, including the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (Ceres) and the U.S. Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (US SIF).</p><p>Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) introduced the bill in the House, where it just <a href="https://casten.house.gov/media/press-releases/casten-warren-climate-risk-disclosure-act-passes-house-financial-services" target="_blank">passed</a> the House Financial Services Committee.</p><p>"Public corporations must take responsibility for the large financial risks posed by the impacts of climate change, while embracing the economic opportunity of being global leaders in developing a clean energy economy," said Casten in a statement to Cheddar. "Our bill utilizes market mechanisms to incentivize climate action by ensuring that corporations disclose the risks posed by climate action to the benefit of their shareholders and the public."</p>
<p>This is not the first time an idea like this has come up. As early as 2007, state officials, investor advocates, and climate groups — including Ceres, Friends of the Earth, and Environmental Defense — had begun pushing the SEC to issue guidance as to how companies should disclose risks related to climate change.</p><p>"Companies' financial condition increasingly depends upon their ability to avoid climate risk and to capitalize on new business opportunities by responding to the changing physical and regulatory environment," they <a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/petitions/2007/petn4-547.pdf" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a letter to the agency. For instance, the organizations argued the physical impact of climate change could impact a company's ability to operate or expose it to new legal proceedings.</p><p>Three years later, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/business/28sec.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">agency commissioners</a> — in [a party-line vote] — finally issued <a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/2010/33-9106.pdf" target="_blank">guidance</a> suggesting how companies might go about disclosing the risks related to the impact of climate change. The guidance noted that climate change could impact how a business described itself, its legal proceedings, managements' discussion and analysis of operations, and risk factors facing the company.</p><p>"It did not change any of its rules. It just said our current rules mandate addressing the risks of climate change," explains Alan Palmiter, a business law professor at Wake Forest University.</p><p>Palmiter has <a href="https://www.ssrn.com/abstract=2639181" target="_blank">written</a> that, at first, the SEC's guidance drew a good amount of attention. He found that a "flurry" of law firms sent letters to their clients notifying them of the new guidance, with many noting that the SEC could take further action on the subject.</p><p>However, Palmiter found that some law firms were unsure how to follow the guidance. Some also questioned the capacity of companies to determine how climate change might affect them, and some doubted the existence of climate change altogether, he found.</p><p>But despite some initial fanfare, the guidance didn't seem to have much impact on how many — or how much — companies disclosed about their climate risks. Palmiter notes that "during the first years after the SEC guidance, fewer than three-fifths of companies in the S&P 500 mentioned climate change in their 10-K annual reports" and that most of these were simply "a short one-paragraph risk factor."</p>
<p>In 2014, Ceres argued the SEC had not prioritized "the financial risks and opportunities of climate change as an important disclosure issue." The non-profit noted that the agency comment letters related to the adequacy of climate change-related disclosures had dwindled from 38 in 2010 to none in 2013. Many companies had said nothing about climate change in their annual SEC filings, the organization found, and disclosures were highly variable, often revealing little detailed information.</p><p>Two years later, the SEC requested comment on a wide range of issues, including climate change, but there doesn't appear to have been any subsequent action under the Trump administration. Last year, the SEC also received a request for <a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/petitions/2018/petn4-730.pdf" target="_blank">a petition</a> for broader rulemaking governing "environmental, social, and governmental" disclosures.</p><p>When asked about its guidance for companies in regard to climate change, the SEC directed Cheddar to the 2010 guidance. The agency did not respond to follow-up questions as to whether further guidance had been issued since then and why enforcement appears to have slowed.</p><p>The Government Accountability Office's February 2018 <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/690197.pdf" target="_blank">review</a> of the guidance found that the SEC was limited because it "primarily relies on information that companies provide," couldn't subpoena more information, and the information it did have wasn't standardized across companies. It also reported that industry associations said "they consider the current climate-related disclosure requirements adequate and no additional climate-related disclosures are needed," but that "some investor groups and asset management firms have highlighted the need for companies to disclose more climate-related information." Echoing the GAO, Jim Hempstead, a managing director at Moody's <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/17/democrats-energy-industry-climate-risk-1483586" target="_blank">told Politico</a> this June, "Climate disclosures that are coming out right now are all over the map," and implying that disclosures "comparable across companies" would be more helpful.</p><p>Warren re-introduced the legislation this summer, saying it would "give investors, and the American public, the power to hold corporations accountable for their role in the climate crisis."</p><p>The failure of the 2010 guidance has been at the foundation to push this bill ahead, with the leaders of both Ceres and US SIF, citing the SEC's "lax" enforcement in their support for Warren's 2019 Climate Risk Disclosure Act.</p><p>Whether the bill will be passed or not, like so much of a growing slate of bills meant to combat the climate crisis, may rest on the ability of Democrats to win back the Senate and the White House in the upcoming election.</p><p>And while it's not likely to be signed into law yet, Bryan McGannon, director of government relations at US SIF, notes: "It builds a track record."<em></em></p><p><em>This story originally appeared in <a href="https://cheddar.com/media/elizabeth-warrens-climate-risk-disclosure-act-tries-to-do-what-the-sec-didnt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cheddar</a>. </em><em>It is republished here as part of</em> <em>EcoWatch's partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.</em></p>
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Hundreds of activists gathered outside the CNN studios at 30 Hudson Yards where a Town Hall on Climate Policy was held on Sept. 4. Erik McGregor / LightRocket / Getty Images
For the first time, Democratic contenders for President participated in a town hall solely focused on the climate crisis. For more than seven hours last night, 10 candidates fielded questions from an audience of Democratic voters and from CNN's moderators.
<p>After a summer of record <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/heat-waves">heat waves</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires</a> and ice melt, and on the heels of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricane-dorian" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hurricane Dorian</a> stalling over the Bahamas and dropping record rainfall, there were no longer softball questions about whether or not human-induced climate change is real. Instead, questions touched on many aspects of environmental damage, not just from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coal</a> and cars, but also from farming, industry, human migration, adaptation, deforestation, trade, the food system and the racial and economic divide in the face of a changing climate, amongst several other topics.</p>
<p>Throughout the night, the candidates faced some straight forward questions from the moderators about light bulbs and plastic straws; the tough questions came from young people in the audience, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2019/democrats-climate-town-hall" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> pointed out. In fact, <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1169402501470121989" target="_blank">one of the questions</a> seemed to rattle former Vice President Joe Biden. </p>
<p>"How can we trust you to hold these corporations and executives accountable for their crimes against humanity when we know that tomorrow you are holding a high-dollar fund-raiser hosted by Andrew Goldman, a fossil fuel executive?" asked Isaac Larsen, a 27-year-old Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern. </p>
<p>Biden then used an outsized portion of his 40-minutes to explain away his connections to Andrew Goldman, a co-founder of a liquid natural gas company. Biden was also <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/climate-crisis-town-hall-august-2019/h_34cc6c1ce9c1ca32ec6227e75f3e6931" target="_blank">asked by a 19-year-old</a> how her generation can trust him to prioritize their future over <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/big-business" rel="noopener noreferrer">big business</a>. </p><p>A high school student <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/09/04/julian-castro-fracking-cnn-climate-crisis-town-hall-2020-vpx-sot.cnn" target="_blank">asked Julian Castro</a> why he should be trusted when he supported fracking as mayor of San Antonio. Similarly, a college student asked Amy Klobuchar if she could actually stand up to the beef and dairy industry when they have so much influence in government and, in particular, Minnesota, which she represents in the Senate.</p>
<div id="449e4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="41J58Q1578578342"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1169403430160482306" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">https://t.co/xCe6YrKpiZ</div> — darien DignityRespectKindness (DRK) (@darien DignityRespectKindness (DRK))<a href="https://twitter.com/EQVILIBRIS/statuses/1169403430160482306">1567642478.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Several of the candidates took exception to the questions that the moderators asked as too simplistic and too much an echo of conservative talking points. For example, being asked if the US should rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, Sen. Cory Booker bristled, ""I'm sorry. That is, like, a cost of entry even to run for president or talk about the presidency."<br></p><p>Elizabeth Warren was exasperated by Chris Cuomo's question about whether the government should regulate light bulb uses. She pointed out that it is a conservative talking point to the put the onus on the consumer rather than polluting industries, as <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/09/give-me-a-break-elizabeth-warren-just-cut-through-the-dumbest-climate-argument/" target="_blank">Mother Jones</a> reported. </p><p> "Oh come on, give me a break," <a href="https://youtu.be/MdbLtrnLkO8" target="_blank">Warren said to Cuomo</a>. "This is exactly what the fossil fuel industry wants us to be talking about. That's what they want us to talk about: This is your problem." </p><p>And, when Sen. Bernie Sanders was asked by Anderson Cooper if he would reinstate the light bulb requirement, he simply answered, "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/09/05/bernie-sanders-duh-trump-policy-lightbulbs-climate-town-hall-sot-vpx.cnn" target="_blank">Duh</a>!"</p>
<p>Some other notable moments came from Andrew Yang who offered creative solutions and knew how much of a carbon-tax he would like to levy. He also championed changing the calculation of gross domestic product <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/climate-crisis-town-hall-august-2019/h_4d415f1885140796a7419890dc57348f" target="_blank">to include environmental factors</a>. "Let's upgrade it with a new score card that includes our environmental sustainability and our goals," he said.</p><p>Sen. Kamala Harris said she would direct the Department of Justice to investigate oil and gas companies whose practices "are causing harm and death in communities. And there has been no accountability," she <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/climate-crisis-town-hall-august-2019/h_d40eef6688c0b2751777f6a0d259c095" target="_blank">said</a>.</p><p>Sanders boasted about his $16 trillion spending plan as the most serious approach to a mounting crisis. "We are fighting for the survival of the planet Earth, our only planet. How is this not a major priority?" Sanders asked during the town hall.</p><p>Sanders also unequivocally opposed nuclear power plants. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to add more dangerous waste to this country and the world when we don't know how to get rid of what we have now," he said, as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2019/democrats-climate-town-hall" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>That differed from several other candidates. Both Andrew Yang and Sen. Booker championed nuclear power as a necessary ingredient for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 plan. Harris worried about waste, but said she would leave it up to the states to decide, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2019/democrats-climate-town-hall" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
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Elizabeth Warren Adopts $3 Trillion Climate Crisis Plan, Challenges All 2020 Candidates to Do Same
04 September 2019
Politics
U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at a house party in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire on Sep. 2. Nic Antaya / The Boston Globe / Getty Images
Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced that she would adopt Gov. Jay Inslee's climate crisis plan and add in an $1 trillion in investments to help protect workers and to fund a dramatic shift in infrastructure away from fossil fuels if she is elected president, as CNN reported.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c0eea1e75e7188c732dcae21ad92854a"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethWarren/videos/515205322651800/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>Warren said her plan includes a "federal investment of $3 trillion" and "will leverage additional trillions in private investment and create millions of jobs," as <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/elizabeth-warren-3-trillion-taxes-clean-energy-environment-plan" target="_blank">reported</a> by Fox Business.</p><p>"One of the most important of these ideas is the urgent need to decarbonize key sectors of our economy," Warren wrote on <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/100-clean-energy-for-america-de75ee39887d" target="_blank">Medium</a> yesterday. "Today, I'm embracing that goal by committing to adopt and build on Inslee's ten-year <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/jay-inslee-climate-plan-2638977218.html" target="_self">action plan</a> to achieve 100% clean energy for America by decarbonizing our electricity, our vehicles, and our buildings. And I'm challenging every other candidate for President to do the same." </p><p>Earlier this summer, Warren announced she would invest $2 trillion in her <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/warren-green-manufacturing-plan-2638696109.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_self">Green Manufacturing plan</a>. That plan, which she also posted to <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/my-green-manufacturing-plan-for-america-fc0ad53ab614" target="_blank">Medium</a>, seeks to pivot the American <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/energy-news/" target="_self">energy</a> and manufacturing sector toward the $23 trillion market for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a>.</p>
<div id="0a054" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GXYREM1576661516"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1169266430694559744" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“Today I’m embracing that goal by committing to adopt and build on Governor Inslee’s 10-year action plan to achieve… https://t.co/tHPeJk5gaa</div> — Carolyn Berninger (@Carolyn Berninger)<a href="https://twitter.com/carolyn_bern/statuses/1169266430694559744">1567609815.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Last week, Warren met with Inslee, who campaigned for president on the climate crisis issue but recently suspended his campaign after failing to gain traction in polls, as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-climate-change-plan.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>"Jay didn't merely sound the alarm or make vague promises. He provided bold, thoughtful and detailed ideas for how to get us where we need to go, both by raising standards to address pollution and investing in the future of the American economy," Warren wrote on <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/100-clean-energy-for-america-de75ee39887d" target="_blank">Medium</a> yesterday. "While his presidential campaign may be over, his ideas should remain at the center of the agenda."</p><p>Her new plan was released a day before CNN hosts 10 of the Democratic candidates, including Warren, in a town hall dedicated to the climate crisis.</p><p>In her latest proposal, which builds on her <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/warren-green-manufacturing-plan-2638696109.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_self">Green Manufacturing plan</a>, the Massachusetts senator incorporates Inslee's plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, vehicles and buildings over 10 years. She argues that the spending would easily be paid for by cancelling the Trump tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-climate-change-plan.html" target="_blank">the New York Times</a>.</p><p>Warren's plan, like Inslee's, would look to close down coal-fired electricity plants within a decade, but also funds health care and pensions for coal miners. Her plan and Inslee's share a new federal regulation on cars with the aim of zero-emissions for most cars, pickup trucks and busses by 2030, as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/us/politics/elizabeth-warren-climate-change-plan.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<div id="a092b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="EY1OGT1576661516"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1169023238539792386" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New: Elizabeth Warren is endorsing Jay Inslee’s climate change plan. The two met in Seattle last weekend, and in th… https://t.co/G7tGDFWepa</div> — MJ Lee (@MJ Lee)<a href="https://twitter.com/mj_lee/statuses/1169023238539792386">1567551834.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>While Inslee's candidacy is over, his influence is clear as candidates scramble to release plans to address the climate crisis ahead of the climate change town hall, which Inslee lobbied for. In her maneuver to adopt Inslee's plan, she has won over some close to the Washington governor.</p>
<p>"Gov. Inslee has made his Climate Mission plan an open source document, and he's pleased to see Sen. Warren taking up major elements of his plan," said Jamal Raad, a spokesman for Inslee, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/03/politics/elizabeth-warren-jay-inslee-clean-energy-plan-green-new-deal/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. "He is particularly impressed that Senator Warren is adopting his aggressive targets to reach 100% clean energy in electricity, cars and buildings, ending coal power, and making a commitment to investing in good, union jobs and a just transition for front-line communities."</p>
<p>In addition to Warren, several candidates are releasing their climate crisis plan. California Sen. Kamala Harris unveiled her $10 trillion plans on Wednesday. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Obama cabinet member Julián Castro presented theirs on Tuesday. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar released hers over the weekend. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders released his plan last week, which is the boldest and most expensive of all at $16.5 trillion. Entrepreneur <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/yang-gang-climate-plan-2640057117.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andrew Yang</a> also released his $4 trillion plan last week. While South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg unveiled a $1.1 trillion plan earlier today. </p>
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'This Is an Emergency. We Need the Democrats to Act Like It': Outrage as DNC Says It Won't Host a 2020 Debate on Climate Crisis
06 June 2019
Politics
The youth-led Sunrise Movement staged a series of protests to demand lawmakers take urgent action on the climate crisis and back the Green New Deal. Photo: Sunrise Movement / Twitter
By Jake Johnson
Sparking a torrent of backlash from Democratic White House contenders, environmental organizations, and youth climate leaders, the Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that it will not host a climate-specific presidential primary debate and will punish candidates who attend a debate hosted by any other organization.
<p>News of the DNC's decision was made public by 2020 presidential candidate and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who was the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/17/petition-demanding-2020-democrats-hold-climate-debate-reaches-30000-signatures-just" target="_blank">first Democratic contender</a> to call for a debate focused solely on the climate crisis.</p><p>"Today, my team received a call from the Democratic National Committee letting us know that they will not host a climate debate," Inslee said in a statement. "Further, they explained that if we participated in anyone else's climate debate, we will not be invited to future debates. This is deeply disappointing."</p><p>Inslee said he will pressure the DNC leadership to change its mind, arguing that the climate emergency "merits a full discussion of our plans" rather than the "short exchange of talking points" typical of past presidential debates.</p><p>"The DNC is silencing the voices of Democratic activists, many of our progressive partner organizations, and nearly half of the Democratic presidential field, who want to debate the existential crisis of our time," Inslee said. "The next president must make defeating this crisis the top priority of the nation. And I will continue to do everything I humanly can to ensure the climate crisis is at the top of the national agenda."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Democratic voters say that climate change is their top issue; the Democratic National Committee must listen to the grassroots of the party.</p>— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayInslee/status/1136384082714120192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Environmental groups that have led the grassroots push for a climate-focused debate echoed Inslee's outrage, which helped make the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23climatedebate&src=typeahead_click" target="_blank">#ClimateDebate</a> a <a href="https://twitter.com/usclimatestrike/status/1125530147694706693" target="_blank">trending topic</a> in the U.S.</p><p>U.S. Youth Climate Strike, whose <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/17/petition-demanding-2020-democrats-hold-climate-debate-reaches-30000-signatures-just" target="_blank">petition calling on the DNC</a> to host a climate debate has garnered over 53,000 signatures, vowed to "fight back" against the committee's refusal to give the planetary crisis the national spotlight it deserves.</p><p>"Disappointed to learn DNC will not honor the rallying cries of their own base, and will not only not host a climate debate, but will also ban any candidate who participates in one from participating in DNC debates," the group <a href="https://twitter.com/usclimatestrike/status/1136390572229500937" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. "Again and again, the establishment and adults have failed us. We need policy now."</p><p>Brandy Doyle, campaign manager for Credo Action, said in a statement Wednesday that the decision shows that DNC chairman "Tom Perez doesn't seem to care much about the climate crisis."</p><p>"[B]ut many of the Democratic candidates and a vast majority of Democratic primary voters do," Doyle said. "This move is a slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands of activists and all of the candidates calling on the DNC to hold a dedicated climate debate."</p><p>"It isn't too late for Tom Perez and other leaders at the DNC to come to their senses," Doyle added. "They'll find out soon enough that it is going to take a lot more than a quiet phone call to one campaign to silence the growing demands for a climate debate."</p><p>In what appeared to be an attempt to quell the backlash coming his way, Perez <a href="https://twitter.com/TomPerez/status/1136483452415565824" target="_blank">posted a series of tweets</a> just after midnight assuring enraged presidential candidates and climate campaigners that he has "personally told media partners seeking to host a 2020 primary debate how important it is for climate change to be debated during each and every debate."</p><p>"The DNC will not be holding entire debates on a single issue area — we want to make sure voters have the ability to hear from candidates on all the issues," said Perez. "You have my word that I will do everything I can to make sure our candidates are able to debate all of the critical issues during this primary."</p><p>Grassroots activists who have been working tirelessly to push serious climate discussion into the national political conversation have good reason to be skeptical of Perez's insistence that the DNC's corporate media partners will give the climate crisis the necessary amount of focus.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/29/call-it-crisis-new-report-details-failure-cable-and-network-outlets-accurately" target="_blank">report</a> published in April, Public Citizen found that corporate media networks have systematically failed to devote sufficient time to the climate crisis, which activists argue should — given the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/ominous-un-report-warns-human-activity-has-pushed-one-million-plant-and-animal" target="_blank">existential threat</a> it poses — dominate the headlines on a daily basis.</p><p>The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which is <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/05/13/sunrise-movement-calls-for-mass-climate-demonstration-outside-democratic-debate-in-detroit/" target="_blank">planning a massive action</a> outside of the second DNC debate in Detroit next month, urged all 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to "speak out against" the DNC's "disastrous decision" and pressure the committee to reverse course.</p><p>"This is an outrage. Almost every major candidate has supported the call for a climate debate, but the DNC won't even let the American people hear their plans for one of the greatest challenges of our time," Sunrise tweeted. "This is an emergency. We need the Democrats to act like it."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We hope that all candidates, especially those who joined us in calling for a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateDebate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimateDebate</a>, will speak out against this disastrous decision and demand <a href="https://twitter.com/DNC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNC</a> reconsider.<br><br>Cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/CoryBooker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoryBooker</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ewarren</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BernieSanders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JulianCastro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JulianCastro</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenGillibrand</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteButtigieg</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amyklobuchar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a> <a href="https://t.co/3gJkL31NIc">https://t.co/3gJkL31NIc</a></p>— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/status/1136422209268965377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) quickly heeded Sunrise's call, <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1136464330319376392" target="_blank">tweeting</a> late Wednesday that "Gov. Inslee is exactly right."</p><p>"Climate change is the biggest challenge we face," Warren wrote. "Every candidate running for president should have a serious set of policies to address it, and should be eager to defend those proposals in a debate."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">4 Reasons Why We Need a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Climate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Climate</a> Debate <a href="https://t.co/K4DsJX2JmY">https://t.co/K4DsJX2JmY</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DeSmogBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeSmogBlog</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/greenpeaceusa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@greenpeaceusa</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1124056048057356289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/06/emergency-we-need-democrats-act-it-outrage-dnc-announces-it-will-not-host-2020?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Warren's New $2 Trillion Green Manufacturing Plan Welcomed as 'Win-Win' for Climate and Workers
05 June 2019
Politics
Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren speaks during a campaign stop at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia on May 16. MANDEL NGAN / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
As new polling showed Tuesday that public support for Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign has continued to rise as she's introduced a series of ambitious policy proposals, the Democratic candidate unveiled a $2 trillion renewable energy and green manufacturing plan welcomed by climate campaigners as a boon for both the planet and U.S. workers.
<p>"With this plan, Elizabeth Warren is seizing the enormous opportunity that transitioning to 100 percent clean energy represents for people across the country," Greenpeace USA senior climate campaigner Jack Shapiro said in a statement. "The renewable energy economy is a win-win for our climate and communities, and should be at the core of any plan to create jobs and spur innovation."</p>
<p>In a Medium post published Tuesday, Warren detailed her <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/my-green-manufacturing-plan-for-america-fc0ad53ab614" target="_blank">green manufacturing plan</a>, which she described as "part of how I'll implement my commitment to a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/green-new-deal" target="_blank">Green New Deal</a>" and just the first of several proposals under her new <a href="https://medium.com/@teamwarren/a-plan-for-economic-patriotism-13b879f4cfc7" target="_blank">economic patriotism</a> agenda.</p>
<div id="3a806" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="97PKQE1576661678"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1135902020219674625" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">With bold investments, we can fight climate change, achieve the ambitious targets of the Green New Deal, and create… https://t.co/bkED3mjzn2</div> — Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren)<a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/statuses/1135902020219674625">1559655120.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Noting that "over the next decade, the expected market for clean energy technology in emerging economies alone is <a href="https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/51183b2d-c82e-443e-bb9b-68d9572dd48d/3503-IFC-Climate_Investment_Opportunity-Report-Dec-FINAL.pdf?MOD=AJPERES" target="_blank">$23 trillion</a>," Warren wrote that she hopes to enable the United States to dominate that market by developing, manufacturing, and exporting "the technology the world needs to confront the existential threat of climate change."</p><p>To achieve market dominance, she explained, the U.S. government would use revenue from her proposed <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/11/warrens-bold-new-tax-plan-would-raise-over-1-trillion-richest-biggest-us" target="_blank">Real Corporate Profits Tax</a> to "invest $2 trillion over the next 10 years in green research, manufacturing, and exporting — linking American innovation directly to American jobs, and helping achieve the ambitious targets of the Green New Deal."</p>
<div id="85dd3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="KPCRQT1576661679"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1135902024485277697" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">My green manufacturing plan rewards American companies who invest at home. It's funded by my Real Corporate Profits… https://t.co/mtqXHaqs6i</div> — Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren)<a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/statuses/1135902024485277697">1559655121.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Warren's green manufacturing plan has three parts:</p><ul> <li>The Green Apollo Program would commit "$400 billion in funding over the next 10 years for clean energy research and development — more than 10 times what we invested in the last 10 years."</li></ul><ul> <li>The Green Industrial Mobilization would involve "a $1.5 trillion federal procurement commitment over the next 10 years to purchase American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy products for federal, state, and local use, and for export."</li></ul><ul><li>The Green Marshall Plan would include the creation of "a new federal office dedicated to selling American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy technology abroad and a $100 billion commitment to assisting countries to purchase and deploy this technology."</li></ul><p>"The climate crisis demands immediate and bold action," Warren wrote, reiterating her support for a fair and just transition that's called for in the Green New Deal resolution <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/04/Warren's%20New%20$2%20Trillion%20Green%20Manufacturing%20Plan%20Welcomed%20as%20'Win-Win'%20for%20Climate%20and%20Workers" target="_blank">introduced</a> in Congress earlier this year.</p><p>Referencing the World War II era, she added, "Like we have before, we should bank on American ingenuity and American workers to lead the global effort to face down this threat — and create more than a million good jobs here at home."</p><p>The youth-led Sunrise Movement, in a series of tweets, <a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/status/1135937852347506689" target="_blank">said</a> Warren's plan "shows clearly that she understands the frame of the #GreenNewDeal, the lessons from our history it draws upon, and that she is committed to mobilizing the federal government towards the scale of its ambition if elected."</p>
<div id="a65e8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="J3049I1576661679"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1135937846588694529" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">One area where the Green Manufacturing Plan could be stronger is the scale of the Green Marshall Plan. While $100 b… https://t.co/hCZXxcilBb</div> — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@Sunrise Movement 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/statuses/1135937846588694529">1559663661.0</a></blockquote></div><p>In a statement, Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, the North America director for 350 Action, praised "the international focus of her plan, the acknowledgement of the United States's disproportionate pollution, and the commitment to aiding underinvested countries that are already suffering from the climate crisis as a critical part of America's responsibility to the world."</p><p>The green manufacturing plan, according to Warren, is the first of many plans she intends to unveil in the coming weeks that fall under her broader "agenda of economic patriotism," which she described as "using new and existing tools to defend and create quality American jobs and promote American industry."</p><p>One of the other ways Warren would pursue this agenda is by creating a new federal agency, the Department of Economic Development, which would "replace the Commerce Department, subsume other agencies like the Small Business Administration and the Patent and Trademark Office, and include research and development programs, worker training programs, and export and trade authorities like the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative."</p><p>Warren outlined her vision of economic patriotism in a video posted on social media Tuesday:</p>
<div id="33b82" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6OXYHW1576661679"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1135908539287900160" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Some big, “American” companies will ship jobs overseas and hollow out our cities if it'll save them a nickel. And m… https://t.co/E6yksQkzlY</div> — Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren)<a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren/statuses/1135908539287900160">1559656674.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Zach Carter, in a <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elizabeth-warrens-trade-plan-is-the-real-deal_n_5cf5fc3fe4b0e346ce83b31a" target="_blank">piece</a> for HuffPost Tuesday, pointed out that Warren's broad economic platform follows a series of "ambitious, meticulously detailed" plans on everything from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/08/elizabeth-warren-praised-plan-break-tech-giants" target="_blank">breaking up big tech giants</a> like Amazon and Google to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/22/really-exciting-proposal-elizabeth-warrens-education-overhaul-would-wipe-out-student" target="_blank">forgiving student debt</a> and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/19/warren-proposal-would-use-tax-ultra-rich-help-fund-universal-childcare-plan" target="_blank">establishing universal childcare</a>. However, he argued, the economic platform that she discussed in Detroit Tuesday "is a little different."</p><p>The Massachusetts Democrat's economic agenda for the nation "retains Warren's wonk-flair," Carter wrote, "but the heart of her proposal is ideological rather than technical. Warren is making a crystal-clear statement of principles, and an equally plain break with the past 30 years of American trade policy ― up to and including the presidency of <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a>."</p><p>The presidential hopeful's "astonishing plan for economic patriotism" was <a href="https://prospect.org/article/warrens-astonishing-plan-economic-patriotism" target="_blank">celebrated</a> by Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, as "in a class by itself, even for Warren."</p><p>"Warren's proposal does nothing less than turn inside out the globalist assumptions pursued by the past several administrations, Democrat and Republican alike," Kuttner wrote Tuesday. "With this plan, Warren has begun an overdue debate that she deserves to win, both intellectually and politically. And she has demonstrated once again her potential as a powerful force against Donald Trump."</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/06/04/warrens-new-2-trillion-green-manufacturing-plan-welcomed-win-win-climate-and-workers?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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