‘Among the Most Ruinous Presidential Decisions in Recent History’: Trump Begins WHO Withdrawal
08 July
Health + Wellness
Trump sits during a meeting about safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic on July 7, 2020, in Washington, DC. JIM WATSON / AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration began the formal process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), a White House official said Tuesday, even as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the country.
<p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> first began attacking the WHO's handling of the new coronavirus in April, when he made the decision to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-who-funding-coronavirus-2645722550.html" target="_self">halt funding</a>. But <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> experts and Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle say leaving the organization will make Americans, and people around the world, less safe in the midst of a pandemic that has sickened more than 11 million people and killed more than 544,000, according to Wednesday morning <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">figures from Johns Hopkins University</a>.</p><p>Lawrence Gostin, who directs the WHO's Collaborating Center on National & Global Health Law, said the withdrawal was "among the most ruinous presidential decisions in recent history," according to a statement reported by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/world/coronavirus-updates.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-#link-7536f61f" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>"It will make Americans less safe during an unprecedented global health crisis," Gostin, who cosigned a <a href="https://oneill.law.georgetown.edu/letter-to-congress-on-who-withdrawal-from-public-health-law-and-international-relations-leaders/" target="_blank">letter</a> to Congress from 750 health and legal experts opposing withdrawal, said. "And it will significantly weaken U.S. influence on W.H.O. reform and international health diplomacy."</p>
<div id="9153d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2369a1a33aa73794a885ae5aaa19ad92"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280600975867289601" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Thread explains why US w/drawal from @WHO is unlawful & unethical, among most ruinous presidential decisions in his… https://t.co/BK4SsmPARP</div> — Lawrence Gostin (@Lawrence Gostin)<a href="https://twitter.com/LawrenceGostin/statuses/1280600975867289601">1594154039.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Trump first announced he would pull the U.S. from the organization May 29, arguing that it had responded too slowly to the pandemic and was under the "total control" of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/07/888186158/trump-sets-date-to-end-who-membership-over-its-handling-of-virus" target="_blank">NPR reported</a>. But the organization issued its first warning about the new virus Jan. 4, just five days after the first announcement from local health authorities in Wuhan, China, The New York Times pointed out. It had completed a detailed report by the next day.</p><p>In order to withdraw from the WHO, the U.S. must pay any unpaid dues — which stood at $198 million as of June 30 — and give a year's notice, NPR explained. The UN confirmed to reporters that it had received that notice and was checking with the WHO if all the conditions for withdrawal had been met.</p><p>"On 6 July 2020, the United States of America notified the Secretary-General ... of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, effective on 6 July 2021," UN Secretary-General António Guterres's spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric wrote in an email to reporters.</p>
<p>The yearlong delay means the withdrawal might not go into effect at all if Trump loses to Democratic rival and former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> in November's Presidential election.</p><p>"Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health," Biden tweeted in response to the news. "On my first day as President, I will rejoin the<a href="https://twitter.com/WHO" target="_blank"> @WHO</a> and restore our leadership on the world stage."</p>
<div id="bb485" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eb75831d048b6be5b5be8d58a106cd3e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1280603719831359489" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will re… https://t.co/qNgyOKHOlE</div> — Joe Biden (@Joe Biden)<a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/statuses/1280603719831359489">1594154693.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>But it isn't only Democrats speaking out against Trump's withdrawal.</p><p>"I disagree with the president's decision," Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement reported by <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-administration-gives-formal-notice-withdrawal-who-n1233100" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "Certainly there needs to be a good, hard look at mistakes the World Health Organization might have made in connection with coronavirus, but the time to do that is after the crisis has been dealt with, not in the middle of it. Withdrawing U.S. membership could, among other things, interfere with clinical trials that are essential to the development of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vaccines" target="_self">vaccines</a>, which citizens of the United States as well as others in the world need. And withdrawing could make it harder to work with other countries to stop viruses before they get to the United States."</p><p>Public health experts agreed with Alexander's assessment of the risk. In their letter to Congress, the 750 health and legal experts wrote that, by leaving the organization, the U.S. would lose access to the WHO's system for sharing data and vaccines. The U.S. also contributes more funds than anywhere else to the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, which means withdrawal will cost the whole world funds for contact tracing and vaccine development.</p><p>The U.S. historically has contributed around 15 percent of the WHO's overall budget, or $450 million a year. Beyond COVID-19, that money helps fund programs fighting health concerns like polio, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.</p><p>"Pulling funding could reverse hard-won progress and erode the ability of the U.S. to shape and lead policy," the letter writers said.</p>
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A man walks by a memorial for those who have died from the coronavirus outside Green-Wood Cemetery on May 27, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Green-Wood Cemetery, one of New York's oldest cemeteries, has been the site of hundreds of burials and cremations of Covid-19 victims. Spencer Platt / Getty Images
The U.S. death toll from the new coronavirus surpassed 100,000 Wednesday, even as all 50 states begin to reopen.
<p>The U.S., with less than five percent of the world's population, accounts for nearly a third of its coronavirus deaths, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860508864/we-all-feel-at-risk-100-000-people-dead-from-covid-19-in-the-u-s" target="_blank">according to NPR</a>. It has by far the highest death toll of any country in the world, and the virus that causes COVID-19 has now killed more Americans than every military conflict since the Korean War, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>"Back in March, I did not think this would be possible — I was not expecting 100,000 deaths," Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told NPR. "I really believed we as a nation would have taken the decision to put in place social distancing and accepted the economic hardship that it's creating, and that we would have stuck to it to get transmission down to a very low level."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JUST IN: More than 100,000 people have now died in the US from the coronavirus, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.<br><br>In just four months, the virus has killed almost twice the number of Americans lost during the entire Vietnam War. <a href="https://t.co/RNH5IROg3B">https://t.co/RNH5IROg3B</a> <a href="https://t.co/9baVumuaUc">pic.twitter.com/9baVumuaUc</a></p>— CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1265766289487912962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The first known U.S. coronavirus death occurred in Northern California Feb. 6, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/u-s-coronavirus-deaths-top-100-000-n1214106" target="_blank">NBC News reported</a>. That ballooned to an average of 2,000 deaths a day in April, and has fallen to an average of 1,400 a day in May, <a href="https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN233351" target="_blank">Reuters calculated</a>. The U.S. now has more than 1.7 million confirmed cases. Worldwide, the disease has infected more than 5.6 million and killed more than 350,000.</p><p>The new virus has not been an equal opportunity killer in the U.S., NPR pointed out. According to calculations based on the first nearly 69,000 fatalities, it killed around twice the number of men than women under 75, and 80 percent of the dead were 65 or older. It has disproportionately impacted <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/black--hispanic-americans-coronavirus-2645677258.html" target="_self">African American</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/navajo-nation-covid-19-infection-rate-2646033759.html" target="_self">Native American</a> communities, and has taken a higher toll on low income areas.</p>
<p>"If you look at the locations where people are disproportionately dying, they are in places that are lower income," University of Chicago Population Research Center Director Kathleen Cagney told NPR. "They are places that likely have multiple residents in a single-unit space. They are places where people rely on public transit and rely on services like big-box locations, where by entry alone you're putting yourself at risk."</p><p>The grim 100,000 milestone comes about a week after a Columbia University study found that the death toll could have been significantly lower if the country had entered lockdown just one week earlier, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/21/860077940/u-s-could-have-saved-36-000-lives-if-social-distancing-started-1-week-earlier-st" target="_blank">NPR reported at the time</a>. If social distancing measures had begun March 8 instead of March 15, around 36,000 lives could have been saved.</p>
<p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>, who <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-infections-trump-2645393552.html" target="_self">claimed as late as March</a> that those with mild cases could still go to work, took to Twitter Wednesday to stave off criticism of his handling of the virus.</p><p>"The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19," he wrote, as The New York Times reported. "Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!"</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Radical Left Lamestream Media, together with their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats, are trying to spread a new narrative that President Trump was slow in reacting to Covid 19. Wrong, I was very fast, even doing the Ban on China long before anybody thought necessary!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1265633761024188417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a>, his rival in the upcoming 2020 presidential election, posted a video Wednesday in which he did fault the administration for not acting sooner.</p><p>"This is a fateful milestone we should have never reached," he said, according to The New York Times.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they're forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief. Today is one of those moments. 100,000 lives have now been lost to this virus.<br><br>To those hurting, I'm so sorry for your loss. The nation grieves with you. <a href="https://t.co/SBBRKV4mPZ">pic.twitter.com/SBBRKV4mPZ</a></p>— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1265757168504049664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The concern now is that states will reopen too quickly. While the number of new cases and deaths have fallen nationwide, some locations have seen a surge in cases.</p><p>In New York state, the nation's hardest hit, the daily death toll has declined to numbers not seen since March.</p><p>But a White House coronavirus task force report found that cases were surging by as much as 72 percent in cities around the country, according to NBC. In Mecklenberg County, North Carolina, where Charlotte is located, cases had nearly doubled between May 1 and Saturday. In Montgomery County, Alabama, they had nearly tripled during the same period, and the hospitals have been forced to send people to Birmingham.</p><p>"Right now, in Montgomery, we're at a point where we can see the cliff, and we don't want to get too close to it for fear of falling off," Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Thursday. "We're in a very dangerous predicament."</p>
<p>Public health experts warn the death toll could keep climbing as all 50 states are moving to ease their lockdowns, surging past 140,000 by August.</p><p>"Now we're almost getting the worst of both worlds — we're getting the economic hardship and we're relaxing," Murray told NPR. "And it seems either now or in the fall, we're going to have a big second wave, and we'll be right back to dealing with pressure on the hospital system and dealing with, when is the peak surge coming?"</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks on the coronavirus outbreak on March 12. SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Image
If elected president in November, Joe Biden will ax the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
<p>The long-delayed pipeline, which would carry around 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to the U.S., was <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/breaking-president-obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline-1882117930.html" target="_self">first rejected by the Obama administration</a> when Biden served as vice president. However, President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/state-department-approve-kxl-2326597009.html" target="_self">revived</a> it when he took office, and the Biden campaign had so far been silent on what Biden would do about the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> project if he defeats him. That silence ended Monday.</p><p>"Biden strongly opposed the Keystone pipeline in the last administration, stood alongside President Obama and Secretary Kerry to reject it in 2015, and will proudly stand in the Roosevelt Room again as President and stop it for good by rescinding the Keystone XL pipeline permit," Biden campaign policy director Stef Feldman wrote in a statement to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/18/biden-white-house-keystone-xl-permit-265041" target="_blank">POLITICO</a>.</p>
<p>In a fuller statement reported by CBC News's Katie Simpson, the Biden campaign used the occasion to criticize the Trump administration's attitude towards <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/science" target="_self">science</a>.</p><p>"He reversed our decision to not permit the Keystone pipeline without any further process or review, and contrary to the science and now his Administration and its allies are even using the coronavirus pandemic as cover for a stealth attack on environmental protections that keep us safe," the campaign wrote. "That denial of science ends on day one of a Biden presidency."</p>
<div id="c398c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e64870c562b2ed8c31cbd5f5f513329f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1262428503947034625" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Part of the Biden campaign statement on Trump and Keystone: “He reversed our decision to not permit the Keystone pi… https://t.co/p9k4nPz0aV</div> — Katie Simpson (@Katie Simpson)<a href="https://twitter.com/CBCKatie/statuses/1262428503947034625">1589821384.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>When President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline in 2015, he did so partly because it would contribute to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, making him the first world leader to reject a major fossil fuel project for climate reasons. Biden reportedly opposed the project as early as 2013, saying he was "in the minority" of those in the administration who did, according to <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/18/joe-biden-campaign-said-he-would-rescind-keystone-pipeline-permit/5216015002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY</a>.</p><p>However, as a candidate, Biden did not join other primary contenders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in signing the activist-supported "<a href="http://boldnebraska.org/democratic-presidential-candidates-sign-nokxl-pledge-to-stop-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-on-day-one-if-elected/" target="_blank">NoKXL Pledge</a>" to revoke the pipeline's permit on day one of their presidency.</p><p>His announcement Monday was met with enthusiasm by pipeline opponents.</p><p>"When Biden wins, KXL is finished, dead in the water, stake-in-the-heart dead," chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and longtime anti-pipeline activist Jane Kleeb said in an email to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/biden-kxl-1.5574515" target="_blank">CBC News</a>. "Biden just provided the last nail in the KXL pipeline coffin."</p>
<div id="a66bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5f1a39b9c9c85513eccae9e9bfdf61ad"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1262404201507938304" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Hell ya! Go @JoeBiden, thanks for standing with the people over big oil. “Biden strongly opposed the Keystone pipel… https://t.co/sMhaL0xYtC</div> — Jane Fleming Kleeb (@Jane Fleming Kleeb)<a href="https://twitter.com/janekleeb/statuses/1262404201507938304">1589815590.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Pipeline owner TC Energy did not respond immediately to POLITICO's request for a comment, but Biden's position could be a major hurdle for the project, which just <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-construction-montana-2645658110.html" target="_self">started construction in April</a>. There is no way the project, which is expected to take two years, will be complete before the November presidential election, according to CBC News. The pipeline also hit another legal roadblock this spring when a federal judge in Montana <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-waterways-endangered-species-2645978077.html" target="_self">revoked</a> a key permit it needs to cross streams.</p>
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., along with affordable housing advocates and climate change activists announce the introduction of public housing legislation as part of the Green New Deal outside the Capitol on Nov. 14, 2019. Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
When former Vice President Joe Biden effectively clinched the Democratic nomination in April, one major concern for the climate movement was the fact that his plan for tackling the issue was less ambitious than that of some of his primary rivals.
<p>But Biden signaled a willingness to boost his climate platform. And now, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/green-new-deal" target="_self">Green-New-Deal</a> champion Representative <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/alexandria-ocasio-cortez" target="_self">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> (D-NY) has agreed to serve on a panel helping him shape his plan to address the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>"She made the decision with members of the Climate Justice community — and she will be fully accountable to them and the larger advocacy community during this process," a representative of the Congresswoman told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-biden-climate/democrat-ocasio-cortez-will-serve-on-bidens-climate-change-panel-idUSKBN22P0F8?fbclid=IwAR1sVcrqWBpfV6rxppA6z8u8IA4104nCx1JmVhLogxJduRJsJjDk_R_PdU4&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook" target="_blank">Reuters</a> by email Tuesday. "She believes the movement will only be successful if we continue to apply pressure both inside and outside the system."</p>
<p>Ocasio-Cortez has made a name for herself in Congress as an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/green-new-deal-ocasio-cortez-2628265318.html" target="_self">advocate</a> for a Green New Deal to transition the U.S. away from fossil fuels while providing jobs and supporting greater equality. In the primaries, she endorsed Independent Vermont Senator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bernie-sanders" target="_self">Bernie Sanders</a>, whose climate plan promised $16.3 trillion for a Green New Deal-type mobilization and earned a 94 out of 100 on <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a>'s <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/climate2020/" target="_blank">climate scorecard</a>. Biden's initial plan, meanwhile, promised only $1.7 trillion and earned a 72 from Greenpeace.</p><p>But when Sanders, the last major primary contender to drop out, endorsed Biden, the campaign announced a series of task forces that would work to bring together supporters of the two candidates on issues from health care to criminal justice to the economy, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/12/politics/ocasio-cortez-biden-campaign-task-force-climate-change/index.html" target="_blank">CNN explained</a>. It is the climate-centered of these task forces that Ocasio-Cortez will be serving on, as Biden himself confirmed in an interview with News8 in Las Vegas Tuesday.</p>
<p>"I'm working with Bernie and with his people. And so, and we've made some changes. We've listened to Bernie supporters and, you know, for example, we have Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, she is on one of the panels," Biden said.</p><p>A source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN that Ocasio-Cortez would actually be co-chairing the panel.</p><p>Ocasio-Cortez spokeswoman Lauren Hitt told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/aoc-joins-biden-s-climate-policy-panel-n1205886" target="_blank">NBC News</a> the Congresswoman would be representing Sanders on the panel.</p>
<p>When the panels were first announced, Sanders explained them as a way to unify the Democratic party's progressive and moderate wings.</p><p>"It's no great secret out there, Joe, that you and I have our differences, and we're not going to paper them over. That's real," Sanders said, as CNN reported. "But I hope that these task forces will come together utilizing the best minds and people in your campaign and in my campaign to work out real solutions to these very, very important problems."</p><p>Biden told News8 he was reaching out to Sanders supporters, but said their positions were not as far as voters may have believed.</p>
<p>"My message to all — and what they're finding out now that the nomination process is de facto over, they're finding out the positions I had on an awful lot of things were not accurately characterized and they're feeling more comfortable with it," Biden said, as NBC News reported. "But I'm listening. I'm here, I need them, and I hope they all will join us."</p><p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>, who Biden will be running against in November, has not taken any steps to address the climate crisis and has a Greenpeace score of zero.</p><p>"Trump denies the reality of the climate crisis and is actively promoting fossil fuels while weakening existing climate protections. His Cabinet is filled with former coal and oil lobbyists. Trump gets an 'F' for putting our most vulnerable communities — and our very futures — at risk," Greenpeace wrote.</p>
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Bernie Sanders, Candidate With Most Ambitious Climate Plan, Drops out of 2020 Race
09 April
Politics
Bernie Sanders announces he is suspending his campaign via a livestream Wednesday. berniesanders.com via Getty Images
Bernie Sanders, the Independent Vermont Senator who campaigned for aggressive action on the climate crisis and environmental justice, has dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary race.
<p>His announcement, made Wednesday morning during a conference call with his entire staff, means the more moderate former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> will face off against President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> in November, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/08/bernie-sanders-suspends-his-presidential-campaign-175137" target="_blank">POLITICO reported</a>. In a speech livestreamed to supporters, Sanders said his campaign had won the "ideological battle" on issues ranging from universal health care to climate action, but that he could see no clear way to secure the nomination.</p><p>"Together we have transformed American consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become, and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice," he told his supporters, according to a transcript provided by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/bernie-sanders-concession-speech.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<div id="3a082" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="131662b2ba22cb4092191ade98d0ac98"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1247913426166280192" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today I am suspending my campaign. But while the campaign ends, the struggle for justice continues on. https://t.co/MYc7kt2b16</div> — Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders)<a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/statuses/1247913426166280192">1586360720.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>When Sanders first entered the race in February of 2019, he <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-2020-2629410846.html" target="_self">promised</a> to release his own version of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-2020-2629410846.html" target="_self">Green New Deal</a>, an ambitious plan to transition the U.S. from fossil fuels to renewable energy while providing jobs and addressing inequality.</p><p>When his <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sanders-green-new-deal-2639955047.html" target="_self">plan dropped in August</a>, many said it was the most progressive of the proposals of the Democratic candidates contending for the nomination. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/22/20828794/bernie-sanders-green-new-deal-2020-elections-climate-change" target="_blank">Verge summed it up</a> at the time:</p><blockquote>At $16.3 trillion spent over 15 years, Sanders' climate deal is by far the priciest of all the Democratic candidates left in the primary race. It's also arguably the most progressive — pushing for the US to have a carbon-free economy by 2050. The senator from Vermont also set a 2030 benchmark goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in the country's two most carbon-intensive industries, transportation and the power sector, by investing in solar, wind, and geothermal power. Sanders' plan would also declare climate change a national emergency, bring the US back on board with the Paris climate agreement, and commit $200 billion in funding to help developing nations cut their emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.</blockquote>
<p>His plan earned a 94 out of 100 on <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a>'s <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/climate2020/" target="_blank">climate scorecard</a> and an <a href="https://medium.com/sunrisemvmt/sunrise-movement-endorses-bernie-sanders-for-president-b6bdb68ba408" target="_blank">endorsement</a> from pro-Green New Deal group the <a href="https://www.sunrisemovement.org/" target="_blank">Sunrise Movement</a>.</p><p>But after early primary victories in New Hampshire and Nevada, Sanders began to falter beside the more moderate Biden, who won in South Carolina, and then in 10 out of 14 Super Tuesday states after other more moderate contenders threw their support behind him, POLITICO explained. Biden continued to do well throughout March, and now has 1,127 delegates compared to Sanders' 914, according to the most recent delegate count from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/elections/delegate-count-primary-results.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>Biden's climate policies are more moderate than Sanders' as of now. His plan has a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sanders-biden-climate-coronavirus-2645497732.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4" target="_self">much lower price tag</a> of $1.7 trillion dollars and a score of 72 out of 100 from Greenpeace. The organization applauded his commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, investing in clean energy and restoring international climate leadership, but faulted him for not promising to ban all oil and gas drilling on public lands and to end all federal permits for fossil fuel infrastructure.</p><p>There is a chance Biden will ultimately run on a more ambitious plan, however. Sanders said he would keep his name on the ballot in the remaining primaries to boost his delegate count in order to have more influence over the party platform.</p><p>The Biden campaign is also working to bring in Sanders' supporters by incorporating some of his policies, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/biden-sanders-campaign-policy.html?auth=login-google" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. In a virtual fundraiser Wednesday, Biden hinted he would add some more progressive ideas to his climate plan, and POLITICO reports he is in talks with the Sunrise Movement.</p><p>The Sunrise Movement is also one of a coalition of youth-led groups that sent a letter to Biden urging him to endorse certain policies including a Green New Deal.</p>
<div id="5dfc4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d3a9b1cd7c33c70dcdf68530984b5c77"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1248011402494631936" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@JoeBiden is now the presumptive Democratic nominee.
But he wasn’t able to win over the vast majority of voters u… https://t.co/VXaw3P2lQv</div> — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@Sunrise Movement 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/statuses/1248011402494631936">1586384079.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"If Joe Biden is going to be the nominee on the Democratic side, we are going to champion Joe Biden and put all muscle behind" his election, Sunrise Movement Executive Director Varshini Prakash told The New York Times. But then she addressed Biden directly, suggesting he also had work to do. "You haven't earned our vote yet," she said.</p>
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Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders speak about the coronavirus crisis on a live broadcast, in a nearly empty restaurant/bar in Los Angeles, California during the 11th Democratic Party 2020 presidential debate on March 15, 2020. Mario Tama / Getty Images
With their podiums placed six feet apart as a precaution against the coronavirus, the two leading Democratic presidential primary candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off on public health and the climate crisis at the 11th Democratic debate.
<p>Sunday's debate came two days after President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> declared a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-declaring-national-emergency-concerning-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank">national emergency</a> to combat the new disease known as COVID-19, which has <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd" target="_blank">so far sickened</a> nearly 165,000 people in 146 countries and led to 6,470 deaths. To help stop the spread of the virus, debate organizers CNN, Univision, the Democratic National Committee and the campaigns moved the venue from Phoenix, Arizona to CNN's studio in Washington, DC and broadcast the debate without an audience, as moderator Ilia Calderón of Univision explained in a <a href="https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/march-democratic-debate-transcript-joe-biden-bernie-sanders" target="_blank">debate transcript provided by Rev</a>.</p><p>But the unusual set-up led to one of the most in-depth climate discussions to date, <a href="https://grist.org/politics/whos-your-climate-champion-sanders-and-biden-vied-for-the-title-at-sundays-debate/" target="_blank">as Grist's Shannon Osaka pointed out</a>.</p><p>"It only took 10 debates, a worldwide pandemic, and the winnowing of the Democratic field down to two men in their late 70s — but on Sunday night, for about 12 minutes, the American public finally got to hear a substantive debate about climate change," Osaka wrote.</p>
<p>But first the candidates were asked how they would respond to the new disease. Biden called for more testing and hospital beds to be made ready, and also spoke of the need to assist people impacted by the economic cost of the pandemic, such as providing interest-free loans to small businesses.</p><p>Sanders emphasized the need to ensure that no one would have to pay for treatment if they fell ill, called for more ventilators in hospitals and also spoke of the need for economic relief.</p><p>Sanders also criticized Trump for his <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-infections-trump-2645393552.html" target="_self">misleading statements</a> about the coronavirus, such as stating that Americans with the illness would be well enough to go to work.</p><p>"Well, first thing we have got to do, whether or not I'm president, is to shut this president up right now, because he is undermining the doctors and the scientists who are trying to help the American people," he said.</p>
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<p>The first climate question came nearly 14 minutes into the second half of the debate. CNN's Jake Tapper asked the candidates how their climate plans would address the fact that the climate crisis <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-crisis-public-health-emergency-2638975994.html" target="_self">is also</a> a "health crisis" that could lead to the spread of infectious diseases, as the World Health Organization has warned.</p><p>However, neither candidate directly answered the question. Instead, both spoke in more general terms about the seriousness of the climate crisis and the need to act immediately, though Biden did mention that the crisis already had health costs.</p><p>"[T]here's an awful lot of people today who are in fact getting ill because of the changes in the environment," he said.</p><p>The debate then shifted to whose plan would tackle the crisis most effectively,</p><p>Tapper noticed the price-tag gap between Sanders' $16.3 trillion plan and Biden's $1.7 trillion plan.</p><p>"Is your plan ambitious enough to tackle this crisis?" Tapper asked.</p><p>Biden insisted it was, saying he would reinstate the environmental regulations rolled back under Trump, install 500,000 new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles" target="_self">electric vehicle</a> charging stations, rejoin the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a> and work with other world leaders to provide $20 billion to Brazil to help protect the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/amazon-rainforest" target="_self">Amazon rainforest</a>.</p><p>Sanders countered that Biden's plan was "nowhere near enough." He likened climate change to the threat posed by the coronavirus.</p><p>"[W]e started this debate talking about a warlike situation in terms of the coronavirus and we said, 'We have to act accordingly.' You said it. I think you're right. I said it. We have to act dramatically, boldly, if we're going to save lives in this country and around the world," Sanders said. "I look at climate change in exactly the same way."</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc4a2bc0b8191af08ed9512fd9fae047"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aW7LPlp0-q4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>Sanders emphasized the need to end subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, stop all oil and gas drilling and push for international action that goes beyond the Paris agreement.</p><p>Biden defended himself based on his experience of tackling the climate crisis, pointing to the fact that he wrote the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/2020-joe-biden-climate-2635600061.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">first climate change bill</a> introduced to the Senate in 1986.</p><p>"I've been way ahead of this curve," he said. "This idea that all of a sudden Bernie found this out is amazing to me."</p>Voters in Illinois, Florida, Arizona and Ohio will have a chance to decide which candidate's approach they prefer when they vote in their states' primaries Tuesday. So far, Biden is leading Sanders in the delegate count 880 to 706, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-primary-elections/delegate-count" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. A candidate needs 1,991 of 3,979 total delegates to secure the nomination.
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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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5 People in U.S. Test Positive for Deadly Coronavirus and Trump Admin Could Be Unprepared to Fight It
29 January
Health + Wellness
Visitors to the Hollywood & Highland mall in Hollywood wear face masks on Jan. 27 . Five people in the U.S. have tested positive for the deadly strain of Coronavirus, one each in Washington, Illinois and Arizona, and two in Southern California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ROBYN BECK / AFP / Getty Images
As a new coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, concerns have emerged that Trump administration cuts to science and health agencies have hampered the U.S. ability to respond.
<p>The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a> at the end of last year, has killed 132 people as of Wednesday morning's reporting by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/world/asia/coronavirus-china.html#link-7de9d9f2" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. China has confirmed 5,974 cases and the disease has spread to 16 other countries and Hong Kong. There have been five confirmed cases in the U.S., and people who had not traveled to China have fallen sick in Taiwan, Germany, Japan and Vietnam.</p><p>Yet the outbreak comes after a decade of funding cuts has left the U.S. with 50,000 fewer <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">public health</a> employees than it had in 2008, <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/coronavirus-flu-epidemic-diseases/" target="_blank">The Nation pointed out</a>. And some have argued that President Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified to handle the emerging disease.</p><p>"Trump's demonstrated failures of judgment and his repeated rejection of science make him the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health challenge," former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden wrote in an opinion piece for <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/01/27/coronavirus-donald-trump-made-us-less-prepared-joe-biden-column/4581710002/" target="_blank">USA Today</a>.</p><p>Biden pointed to Trump's proposal to cut funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for International Development. While <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/28/politics/trump-coronavirus-prepared-national-security/index.html" target="_blank">CNN pointed out</a> that the final budget Trump signed in December actually increased NIH funding by billions of dollars, the administration has overseen several cuts to public health funding during its tenure.</p>
<p>It slashed the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF), which funds state and local health agencies, two times, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/21/amid-years-funding-cuts-public-health-first-us-case-chinas-coronavirus-detected" target="_blank">Common Dreams reported</a>. Its 2017 tax cuts deducted $750 million from the fund and the final 2018 budget set in motion plans to reduce the fund by $1 billion over ten years. The administration also diverted millions from the CDC and NIH in 2018.</p><p>However, the attacks on the PPHF began before Trump: President Barack Obama signed a bill in 2012 that siphoned more than $6 billion from its budget to pay Medicare physicians.</p><p>Biden also pointed to the departure of Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer, the top White House official in charge of responding to pandemics, and the dismantling of his team. The 2018 decision left the National Security Council without any one person in charge of global health security, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/10/top-white-house-official-in-charge-of-pandemic-response-exits-abruptly/" target="_blank">The Washington Post reported at the time</a>. His replacement, David Wade, has less authority, and the security council's role in the administration has shifted from leading teams in response to crises to coordinating the response of various agencies, CNN reported.</p><p>That means it is unclear exactly who is coordinating the administration's response to the coronavirus. The White House has not named any one official in charge.</p>
<p>However, the administration maintained it had the outbreak under control.</p><p>"The full weight of the U.S. Government is working on this," a senior administration official said on Tuesday. "As with any interagency effort of this scale, the National Security Council works closely with the whole of government to ensure a coordinated and unified effort."</p><p>The outbreak also comes as funding shortfalls have forced the U.S. to step back from leading the fight against global pandemics. In 2014, Congress passed a funding package to fight the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Ebola" target="_self">Ebola</a> outbreak in West Africa, which included $600 million for the CDC to prevent the spread of infectious diseases worldwide, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/02/01/cdc-to-cut-by-80-percent-efforts-to-prevent-global-disease-outbreak/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>. That money was slated to run out by September 2019, and the administration made no moves to extend it. Because of this, the CDC announced in 2018 that it would roll back its disease prevention efforts by 80 percent and scale back its work in 39 of 49 countries, including China.</p><p>At the time, a group of more than 200 global health organizations sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking the administration to reconsider.</p><p>"Not only will CDC be forced to narrow its countries of operations, but the U.S. also stands to lose vital information about epidemic threats garnered on the ground through trusted relationships, real-time surveillance, and research," the groups wrote at the time, as The Washington Post reported.</p>
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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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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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Democratic Candidates Spent 13 Minutes on Climate Change in Second Presidential Debate
01 August 2019
Politics
NPR / YouTube screenshot
Democratic presidential candidates spent 13 minutes on climate change in the second presidential debate Wednesday evening in Detroit — one more minute than the 12 spent on Tuesday evening, according to a Washington Post tally.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Washington governor Jay Inslee, whose campaign has centered around the issue, kicked off the discussion by centering climate change as "all the issues that we Democrats care about. It is health. It is national security. It is our economy." Sen. Cory Booker (NJ) joined Inslee in targeting former Vice President Joe Biden's plan to continue <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" rel="noopener noreferrer">fossil fuel</a> use and Booker calling out Biden's brag that he will rejoin the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris agreement</a>. "Nobody should get applause for rejoining the Paris climate accords," Booker said. "That is kindergarten." As Robinson Meyer writes in The Atlantic, tech mogul Andrew Yang's argument that a universal basic income is the best way to mitigate climate impacts "is not a good response to losing your house to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" rel="noopener noreferrer">higher sea levels</a>."</p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/pretty-good-democratic-debate-about-climate-change/595276/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Atlantic</a>:</p><blockquote>Climate change is a sprawling, scary, cinematic problem, and its remedies involve the less-than-inspiring technical undergirding of society: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/08/why-cities-flood/538251/" target="_blank">stormwater management</a>, the electrical grid, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/12/ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-winning-climate-strategy/576514/" target="_blank">dirt</a>. And dirt management will never be as engrossing as, say, Medicare for All. The party may also benefit, in a sort of shallow but undeniable way, from its monopoly on climate concern. Since any Democrat would do more to fight climate change than the current president, what's the point of airing dirty laundry about it in public?</blockquote><blockquote>"We have all put out highly similar visions on climate," South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said on Tuesday night. "We will deal with climate if and only if we win the presidency."</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A new poll shows that 96% of Democratic voters want leaders to prioritize climate action and 91% want universal health care like <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MedicareForAll?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MedicareForAll</a>! The people want bold ideas to solve our toughest problems, which is why so many progressives won in 2018! <a href="https://t.co/nLbG4SMgm6">https://t.co/nLbG4SMgm6</a></p>— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) <a href="https://twitter.com/PramilaJayapal/status/1123633574161334272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong><br/></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/01/more-electability-than-foreign-policy-second-debate-topics-by-numbers/?utm_term=.46407b9751a0" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/08/joe-bidens-climate-plan-melted-during-the-debate/" target="_blank">Mother Jones</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/31/20749498/democratic-debate-climate-change-cory-booker-paris" target="_blank">Vox</a>, <a href="https://komonews.com/news/local/inslee-preaches-climate-change-at-latest-democratic-debate-gets-big-reaction" target="_blank">KOMO</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/pretty-good-democratic-debate-about-climate-change/595276/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/here-s-why-democrats-debate-over-issues-mattered-n1038051" target="_blank">NBC</a>, <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/856262/jay-inslee-just-wants-save-world-from-climate-change" target="_blank">The Week</a>. Commentary: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/andrew-yangs-horrific-debate-answer-climate-change/595267/" target="_blank">The Atlantic, Robinson Meyer analysis</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/31/opinions/jay-inslee-2020-witnessed-climate-change-devastation/index.html" target="_blank">CNN, Jay Inslee op-ed</a>)<br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank">Twitter</a> </em><em>and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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