Protesters are seen during a demonstration in front of the White House in Washington, DC on June 1, 2017. Paul J. Richards / AFP / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
While some mainstream environmental organizations welcomed Tuesday's introduction of the CLEAN Future Act in the House of Representatives, progressive green groups warned that the bill falls far short of what's needed to meaningfully tackle the climate crisis—an existential threat they say calls for bolder action like the Green New Deal.
<p>The latest version of the CLEAN Future Act—which aims to achieve U.S. carbon neutrality by the year 2050 —was introduced by Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone (N.J.), Bobby Rush (Ill.), and Paul Tonko (N.Y.). The bill sets an interim target of reducing pollution by 50% from 2005 levels no later than 2030.</p><p>In a <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ec-leaders-introduce-the-clean-future-act-comprehensive-legislation-to" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>, Pallone, who is chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that "the climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime, but it also presents one of the greatest opportunities to empower American workers with new, good paying jobs and return our economy to a position of strength after a long, dark year of historic job losses and pain." </p><p>"Today's introduction of the CLEAN Future Act promises that we will not stand idly by as the rest of the world transitions to clean economies and our workers get left behind," added Pallone, "and that we will not watch from the sidelines as the climate crisis wreaks havoc on Americans' health and homes." </p><p>But while numerous people hailed the bill—with Earthjustice offering "applause" and NRDC calling it "urgently needed"—more critical voices from groups like Friends of the Earth and Food & Water Watch said the legislation is fundamentally and dangerously lacking.</p>
<div id="25965" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6116a1c2b1b913ad51c3ea576f2e196c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366827205427425289" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Rep @FrankPallone just released his CLEAN Future Act — which he claims to be an ambitious bill to combat… https://t.co/M7nR0es196</div> — Friends of the Earth (Action) (@Friends of the Earth (Action))<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1366827205427425289">1614711974.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Lukas Ross, program manager at Friends of the Earth, called the bill's introduction "a monumental failure of climate leadership."</p><p>"Chairman Pallone had over a year to remove fossil fuels from the CLEAN Future Act and didn't bother to reconsider," Ross said in a <a href="https://foe.org/news/pallones-clean-future-still-a-fracking-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a>, referring to the bill's <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ec-leaders-release-draft-clean-future-act-legislative-text-to-achieve-a-100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous iteration</a>. "A clean energy standard that qualifies fracked gas is a joke. We need real solutions like solar and storage, not a dirty lifeline for gas, nukes, and biomass."</p><p>Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/541228-house-democrats-reintroduce-roadmap-to-carbon-neutrality-by-2050" target="_blank">told</a> <em>The Hill</em> that while the new bill "improves on last year's abysmal proposal," the nation must "slash emissions 70% in 10 years, and we need firm cuts in greenhouse gases right now, not just gimmicky incentives, or future generations will suffer from our inaction today."</p>
<div id="189f0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aa31bacec80d88b49730e8591de5d26d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366863402912657416" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The CLEAN Future Act "fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and… https://t.co/yREn6Qx9tn</div> — Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch)<a href="https://twitter.com/foodandwater/statuses/1366863402912657416">1614720605.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Mitch Jones, policy director at Food & Water Watch, said in a <a href="https://foodandwaterwatch.org/news/dems-climate-bill-falls-short" target="_blank">statement</a> that "Democrats should be making a big, bold push on climate—and the CLEAN Future Act is simply not strong enough." Jones continued:</p><blockquote>The bill's clean energy standard includes provisions that essentially greenwash dirty energy sources—including rebranding fracked gas as 'clean' by pairing it with unproven, non-existent carbon capture methods. It also relies on a dubious emissions trading scheme to achieve its goals, which serves fossil fuel industry interests while pretending to curb climate pollution. The bill also promotes factory farm biogas as a clean energy source.<br></blockquote><p>"While this bill has been marginally improved, it fails to grasp the fundamental truth of fighting climate change: We must stop extracting and burning fossil fuels as soon as possible," stressed Jones. "We should not waste time creating credit schemes and offsets markets, or prop up fossil fuels with carbon capture fantasies."</p><p>"A bold climate plan must call for a ban on fracking and all new fossil fuel infrastructure," he added, "and a swift and just transition to 100% clean, renewable energy across all sectors of the economy. The CLEAN Future Act may have been revised since last year, but it's still a Green New Dud."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/02/green-new-dud-progressives-warn-house-climate-bill-fails-grasp-fundamental-truth" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Ahead of UN COP26, Survey Finds International Support for Greater Environmental Protection
23h
Politics
Young protesters participate in the Global Strike For Future march to raise climate change awareness in September 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. Thierry Monasse / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
An international survey conducted by the University of Cambridge and YouGov ahead of this November's COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and published on Monday, found overwhelming support around the world for governments taking more robust action to protect the environment amid the worsening climate crisis.
<p>The pollsters surveyed 14,627 adults in seven countries—Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. According to Cambridge University:</p><blockquote>Participants were randomly assigned to read either one of four 'treatment' texts about climate change—drafted to reflect current U.N. messaging, public health, social norms, and patriotism—or a neutral text, unrelated to climate and used to test "baseline" support. The participants were then asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement that "all national governments should do more to protect the environment."<br></blockquote><p>In all of the countries except the U.S., at least 90% of baseline respondents agreed with the statement. In the U.S., the figure was 79%.</p>
<div id="26ea0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7aa0d6136bd98584572b3d9cc3ccc8fc"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366418460289470467" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Nine out of ten people in the UK, Brazil, India, China, Indonesia and Poland want governments to “do more” to prote… https://t.co/URLdsms6LB</div> — Cambridge University (@Cambridge University)<a href="https://twitter.com/Cambridge_Uni/statuses/1366418460289470467">1614614522.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"Compared to the baseline, exposure to one of the climate change texts led to a small but significant rise of about one or two percentage points on average," wrote University of Cambridge political psychologist Lee de-Wit. "The figures ranged in the U.K. from 89-93%; as against 96-98% in Brazil, 91-95% in China, 92-97% in India, 99-100% in Indonesia, 91-94% in Poland, and 76-79% in the USA."</p><p>In the U.S., the survey found tremendous differences between people who voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election—only 55% of whom said governments should do more to protect the environment—and those who elected President Joe Biden, 95% of whom agreed that governments should make more of an effort to safeguard the environment.</p><p>When asked to choose from a list of specific actions governments can take to better protect the environment, the most popular choice among survey respondents was "to protect and preserve" wildlife, marine life, and plants; followed by a policy "to plant more trees to absorb the gases that cause climate change"; spending more on developing clean technologies; and finally reducing "the production over 30 years of the gases that cause climate change."</p><p>On average, 58% of survey respondents also agreed that businesses should be forced "to pay for the damage they do when their activities contribute to climate change."</p>
<p>De-Wit wrote that "we live in a time of polarization, and environmental issues have long embodied the political divisions in society."</p><p>"However, this may be changing," he wrote. "We can see an overwhelming consensus emerging for greater government-led action to protect the environment in major nations."</p><p>"As we approach COP26, politicians the world over should take confidence from these findings," added de-Wit. "Voters across party lines want to see more government action. The time is now."</p><p>"We face huge challenges protecting the environment, but global public opinion may no longer be chief among them," concluded de-Wit.</p><p>The COP26 conference—which was delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic—will take place in Glasgow, Scotland November 1-12.</p><p>A U.N. report released last week <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/26/red-alert-our-planet-new-un-report-shows-radically-bolder-action-needed-hit-15degc" target="_blank">revealed</a> the world is far from meeting the emission-reduction goals of the Paris climate agreement, with scientists warning that accomplishing the accord's target of a maximum global temperature rise of 1.5°C requires cutting planet-heating emissions 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/01/time-now-survey-finds-overwhelming-international-support-greater-environmental" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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An oil pumpjack is seen in a Texas cotton field against a backdrop of wind energy. ChrisBoswell / Getty Images
Many congressional districts with the most clean energy potential are current fossil fuel hubs, potentially reducing political barriers to a just transition away from the energy sources that cause climate change, a Brookings report says.
<p>Of the 155 congressional districts with high renewable energy potential, 91 are currently represented by a Republican.</p><p>Although fossil fuel companies have laid off well over 100,000 workers in the last year alone, in some cases while their executives raked in <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/MVY1h1-_RTJN7mQ5ZLkJ0w4W3fCDQw4nwFmrMQqrWk3p_9LV1-WJV7CgLcCV2Df3L1V8BtsW2_x6NM3601T9W5c5Qtv1W8mMBW74KJT267rhm4W17YTpJ8p5pTPW6kyj365Dcpr0W84Kmdm5JDgWFN8w9R8dmmRHNW3QMyqv4jhm4BN3W2BvyqbzFjW4CCrmM8WKztLW8YKVFK6vCrRLW3nCpt375_vHRW2sDJXQ1R8Kc4W8lQ9pd8M5g2HW2f1fnZ5F_X1PW6F98Pr8kHHRSW3b9jnl6hY8MvW1RmG5X8ysxJ0W2cRmR06xHGjfW6FqMSC6pd4yNW8Gn8zS5rfsl9W3XfPnx4zdZgVVjgcXV4b1fyyW4llG__99Vgp2W48Ds8c5QqTfYW3CwWFf5tS3Q2W96QcZ99487Rr31Ng1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bonuses funded by government bailouts</a>, the Brookings researchers describe a fear of transitioning to renewable energy in geographically concentrated regions and communities historically dominated by the fossil fuel industry. </p><p>The Brookings report did not address the billions of dollars spent by fossil fuel companies over decades to deny the science of climate change and fund politicians who support their industries. </p><p>While many workers in the fossil fuel industry are finding <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/MVY1h1-_RTJN7mQ5ZLkJ0w4W3fCDQw4nwFmrMQqrTy5nxG7V3Zsc37CgL8bW40b_lj927k13W7BcJZT8BqWSMW3tbhQG4bHXgFW639_Rf3s01YkW1bcZZ55dDP_PW5sqqPG6HcmKgN3ZmLcg9KXlDW9fDBRM4d8ls6W6c6tr62qqs6LW50t0NS2WVbq3N7XF1wXYV06kW7_Fh133KRKM8W5Z2j8k3PNYKmW3j7RDX1SBHYBW5D7SM44RNQL4W71Pf2Z7bWdt6V1SGF85j4knsW5ZdjY673mNQGW6vP-_G4dRgFsVjntSb6LHB7pW5gxjl28rpMVtW6xjfx21t26zKW6VNVL68Mng3TN64Mq75nctXmW2xS4BD7N0tXkW49tMfh5fQGRkW4NQskf7BkRkHW5x5BdW7CzVKNW7-HWBP5HnvCTW3vb3D55RC2_3W3tyYzP78jh4wW8vNy9y6k4D863nqX1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their skills transfer easily</a> to renewable energy, oil and gas workers could also be employed plugging orphaned wells, which leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and other pollutants.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p>Brookings: <a href="https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2021/02/25/stories/1063725859?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-839hnX7b4zvCuqLUebVBKHK2HmH_2m8irPUGeEuycSZygZjz_VnUscwzq9nRj6WUpT1dNLTFsa-40M5MyUjMRwCs0j3w3Rs855EyCa7x_gAR9tTT0&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">E&E</a>, <a href="https://www.axios.com/clean-energy-jobs-transition-biden-c656cb47-fe7e-4a8c-9737-981e006aff6f.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-820Rqwn19yHmMV1VXr5zuWUaA-6TDDux8h9pANCdwtRhxc1z_MdVhdY31lRccPdnX-I5iaExEyGuZyPUBiHzAnGEPeejcUei8O-dxiI8GSKaM4iNU&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Axios</a>; Bonuses: <a href="https://bailoutwatch.org/analysis/bailed-out-oil-firms-lay-off-workers?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9u3p0E67jWSCvYD7I-2YFDhEp58vEJzLASuQGVA_qPbufk2qtOPkaRawD25U7NHyobohaYbVYDBBfVGhmzqNRKbEDNNbRvanzDupjNjauDi0ddZWM&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">BailoutWatch</a>; Orphaned Wells: <a href="https://www.kxan.com/weather/weather-blog/curbing-climate-change-while-also-putting-unemployed-oil-gas-workers-back-to-work/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-89DPzr9Bwxk-sF9J39afc8oKu10cH4J_RQhKymU3VaHOTdmij2mnhRByaaz24lZD0thps-E4K4IDbaBotigWb2c4l9MRB_1lVfJVGNDTzr2br-O4A&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">KXAN</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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Congresswoman Deb Haaland, seen here on December 19, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware, is poised to become the next U.S. Secretary of Interior pending Senate confirmation hearings. Alex Edelman / AFP / Getty Images
After a second day of Senate hearings, Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) is poised to become the first Native to serve as Secretary of the Interior (or any such high-ranking cabinet position.)
<p>It was clear the GOP appeared to hold her to a standard far different from the unqualified or corrupt Trump nominees it approved, with incendiary language and attacks "<a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VW61Bk3sp0N8W5mpsPb5Y5z_6W6klx534ntv9hN24tzww3p_9rV1-WJV7CgXbMW3vYcZf2yvM5_VJdRXZ7TTT6sVdgt2m5mzDv6W5X8hFn50c6RRW947RK12Yzjt2W98hSVl6SC_c6W5S8ZBR5bbvfYW7C2BVT3RVTsYW2TbKH080q4Z1W3SdsNS7WX_nmN7by4YjRZ_-ZN5q3JnkyDq_bW6PK8761rdFZ0N4YLf4hJ9nSBW8y8zXX88gWPrW4ZlRQ-60wqgHW2yBZY149214mW5L4Ygy6cPr7YW5D3Vcw3zkRt6W389ZnG5pbckrV5NsFT4GXc0pW34PVn81JBGc5W6L4Cnq87zG8yV74vcj3rldLBW6zcG648VnflXW49Tyl44TD_Q_38Q21" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">premised on settler colonialism.</a>" </p><p>While Indigenous groups and others, like Senator Elizabeth Warren sang her praises, it was moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin who stood as the potentially undecided vote. Coming from fossil-fuel-friendly West Virginia, Manchin's initial reluctance suggested Haaland's nomination might be in trouble. </p><p>But after her second day of hearings, in which she repeatedly stated she would push the Biden administration's agenda, Manchin released a statement signaling his support for her nomination, virtually ensuring Haaland will have the votes to make history.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/debforinterior-we-are-ready-to-make-history-qhx9jdf-okyGe41Zio2FyQ?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_p9VoM0wqt1DX7ynnFm3lFGEVwT3Uo4ZopeeU1n1erC1WG47D1PIlbLY9c3UYh63oFD3nIdHA3HhgFA2F5oykv346_xAFfk1o4GFjOYk9UrOezDHU&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Indian Country Today,</a> <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/a-historic-run-support-for-auntie-deb-szgCQ7fr10a-1ZiZLgCurA?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8cTxNUneN75zchInT0k1O9kP-Krkvw3ke-KzYIpeycal92S2xWKZkiYu5TcnmVqVUIfCa9RcspF0eeyM-oSsjIsQh8fGoSTVtp4IhlmjNxCKpc0Ug&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Indian Country Today</a>, <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/indian-country-defends-deb-haaland-nZBNTaP750e-AobbIobSaw?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--a1lW1MmTlCg7VxpAEkRRhNqiFbYGkgMIQVWyC6YzE37NPITy9B1aRTz4yloNJS3sjXqmlqcRFgexEMtLqjKAygn6G6X7ulC0aT2xvgZitFD4tQxU&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Indian Country Today</a>, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2021/02/24/stories/1063725905?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--NkklQ79bZQw_O5kfv-B_tc5HDMPrCOzCHtFcUl9VoKrJfsJWNsS9nYLP0KiODMtU3TVGhRR62RH9DYiHXoGS0Ri4TEashyr4QK2_NiXzbn_zIMOE&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">E&E,</a> <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/540305-haaland-on-drilling-lease-moratorium-its-not-going-to-be-a?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9-VPuOR-l01pWuj07I3X-SS1RnRxXiIS_U6ph9VlY0ZV9IajktL0PJH8wEFQSQxVOHtCcBjfpEqiLa3_CTWFF9SBXiLLDNLx64bIMOpKTjJtO1neM&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, <a href="https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2021/02/24/stories/1063725917?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--ZWgjS2zArv5d1CKPSZZPPMwAsx3kv09pkcwklZ6OKVUdImC-yhJnXm-qX_c8F-Rb2pDfMLQzYqFOktAOn--m-TfHnF2_xPu6FGMKKXIo8Z9E-bDM&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">E&E</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/climate/deb-haaland-interior-secretary.html?searchResultPosition=2&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_lIccuHeSWCi0XXA1VeqHm2k7vkabdei6KROmXgzS7KTzMj_KWfUakElz96Yl5Ehzo0z2vucw6hqkXxdh03LFeeC_kVBzkNVoMTnhZqw5suj5fax4&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/24/us/deb-haaland-senate.html?searchResultPosition=3&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_UCsi8hnEJhWYfM6L_RP5hQfUOlLFOJaAxvC5TS-IPddFCVy5i7fZJYxr0BpOMB8Yqcf8lUZmXufHydJuRUqP926k7jMB6wxofUb54F47QH2o9eDM&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/deb-haaland-native-americans-reaction-72ae93d659935b9b5e1117166eda8a37?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9G_nlUZ-yVVN9uS0vZkck8yAzSsKpP74f1l3xhhrTa3tiowwoNB4mqHLhQSU_zb8PK7MHw0ghNLdny2QPcV2uII7tCNocNsws_BT7zpg8ajV6sXns&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">AP,</a> <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/24/manchin-haaland-interior-confirmation-471408?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--QZh556xS-Ww72k395b3lAIzTqgy0J0yXWRzQgvS5DVWRk6deNjpJbzgxSBrcCJ4RxOLBgp3lD9pQKsXV5lD44naHLAt6PfrQx-5LxQbgO45Wyt30&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Politico</a>, <a href="https://login.politicopro.com/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fsubscriber.politicopro.com%2Farticle%2F2021%2F02%2Fhaaland-backs-bidens-move-to-block-keystone-xl-pipeline-project-3987202%3Futm_campaign%3DHot%2520News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Wi8j19V1F9rPalfTw7EZx2iWLqoJ9f9aTDjB5Si71DQkbsPOEwj7pT9OexevjbnvGgFfkZzfsJWt71iUyja6sc56a9B8nQOZf9Z5BZEfGS91s64w&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Politico Pro</a>,<a href="https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2021/02/24/stories/1063725919?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_H1jBZbAg5AMzefRfNvgoEscDoQ35ptHC6adNwWRMXPsl6JzQhffSgGBQRqLTHoh12Z1eiV0r5qYNShO5yDOQAgMFsdaU6KjJX2sIbPKJ1-J8dDc8&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank"> E&E,</a><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/540356-manchin-to-vote-to-support-haalands-confirmation?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9fH_SeHHs2qSDo8yZEzdyc11QQ6bBfZi6yVLwpUFx1C5lw0yjfQch8JF-Jq5tWBPCwIczht0CQYcTgr5XmLT_CCAkxgPKxN9c-qOKMls9h7G6J_1s&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22297585/deb-haaland-confirmation-hearing-interior-department?_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_hDLfxlEtqrTkslQ4z23sXdpA84ILi_duZL4NV_z7wrNa9awHLP_3H_7SYgvTKuPvS-d1dQaEEBTY6L5olxu4_-0uOuztst1bMvCyrl5xLGrrbeGE" target="_blank">Vox</a>,<a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-oil-and-gas-money-behind-the-republicans-who-will-h-1846345607?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_zDIZkS2xldA53EGCuXQ3ftoAMqr-2mNKgkZYeKbEsrJafK6Mlt8lCAqxlxeyeiffFGKHc5hntaUvr36SeSJePM8fvTSlan7bggj5GBtp7Rjo4IjU&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank"> Earther</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/politics/what-matters-february-23/index.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=112905932&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9ZI77owlgK_RYlmfgfrmDzoq6OBvBE-bQgU-bkq6Kkxg-9HyhSCPRy4jS-woT7wTcH4rtdKpMOU0EiE9RDLlRb0HtvML4gjYpR2WJ7eC1C9cnUlf4&utm_content=112905932&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">CNN</a></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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>. </em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Joe Biden Appoints Climate Crisis Team - EcoWatch ›
- Democrats Unveil Bill Addressing Cultural Genocide Against Native ... ›
- Biden Taps Rep. Deb Haaland to Lead Interior in Historic Move ... ›
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Tom Vilsack speaks on December 11, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware after being nominated to be Agriculture Secretary by U.S. President Joe Biden. Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday was the lone progressive to vote against Tom Vilsack reprising his role as secretary of agriculture, citing concerns that progressive advocacy groups have been raising since even before President Joe Biden officially nominated the former Obama administration appointee.
<p>The Senate <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=117&session=1&vote=00063" target="_blank">voted</a> 92-7 to confirm Vilsack, with Sanders (I-Vt.) and six Republicans opposing his appointment. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) was the only member who did not vote.</p><p>In a statement on his decision, Sanders first said that "I have known Tom Vilsack for many years and look forward to working with him as our new secretary of agriculture."</p><p>"I opposed his confirmation today because at a time when corporate consolidation of agriculture is rampant and family farms are being decimated, we need a secretary who is prepared to vigorously take on corporate power in the industry," Sanders explained. "I heard from many family farmers in Vermont and around the country who feel that is not what Tom did when he last served in this job."</p><p><em>The Hill</em> <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/540137-sanders-votes-against-biden-usda-nominee-vilsack" target="_blank">reports</a> Sanders made similar remarks about Vilsack to journalists after the vote, saying that "I think he'll be fine, but not as strong as I would like."</p><p>The progressive group RootsAction praised Sanders on Twitter for taking a stand against Biden's pick to run the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).</p>
<div id="a420d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5369c498a5855fe2143b86fa07e23dff"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1364300806988652548" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">🚨🚨🚨 Bernie Sanders voted against Tom Vilsack's nomination. It's great to see the Senator stick to his principles a… https://t.co/u4XNU4viNC</div> — RootsAction (@RootsAction)<a href="https://twitter.com/Roots_Action/statuses/1364300806988652548">1614109634.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout also welcomed Sanders' move.</p><p>"This is the correct vote. Vilsack failed farmers, farmworkers, the land, and the public, and Shirley Sherrod," Teachout <a href="https://twitter.com/ZephyrTeachout/status/1364313747284705284" target="_blank">tweeted</a>, referencing the former Georgia state director of rural development at USDA who was ousted under Vilsack.</p><p>Sherrod, who is Black, recently <a href="https://19thnews.org/2020/12/shirley-sherrod-holds-no-ill-will-against-usda-nominee-who-ousted-her/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told</a> <em>The 19th</em> that "I have no ill will towards him, none at all," but added that if Vilsack returned as USDA chief, "he should be ready to get on the ground to make real change this time around. And we need to hold him to it. Black people need to see some real change."</p><p>As <em>Common Dreams</em> previously <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/08/sustainable-farming-advocates-warn-biden-vilsack-very-bad-pick-ag-secretary" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>, Vilsack has faced criticism for the USDA's treatment of Black farmers when he headed the department during the Obama administration—among other critiques.</p>
<p>Center for Food Safety policy director Jaydee Hanson <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/08/sustainable-farming-advocates-warn-biden-vilsack-very-bad-pick-ag-secretary" target="_blank">said</a> in December that Biden's potential selection of Vilsack was "a huge step backwards in our urgent need to support agricultural systems that protect public health, the environment, and mitigate the ongoing climate crisis."</p><p>Early Tuesday, in anticipation of Vilsack's bipartisan confirmation, Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter—whose group <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/08/sustainable-farming-advocates-warn-biden-vilsack-very-bad-pick-ag-secretary" target="_blank">has been raising alarm</a> about him for months now—<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/02/23/vilsacks-confirmation-usda-warning-sign-family-farmers-and-food-worker-safety" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> a warning about what to expect going forward.</p><p>"We can confidently predict what Tom Vilsack's leadership of the Agriculture Department will look like, because he's led it before. And the prediction is grim," she said. "In his previous stint at USDA, Vilsack backed mass corporate consolidation of our food system at the expense of struggling family farmers. Similarly, he readily advanced industry-driven initiatives allowing companies to inspect their own poultry processing plants, dismantling federal oversight of food and worker safety."</p><p>"This administration needs to drastically shift course from the Trump era by supporting sustainable, independent farming, halting the toxic expansion of polluting factory farms, and ultimately, prioritizing consumer health and worker safety," Hauter added. "We have little hope that Tom Vilsack cares to undertake this effort, so we will be pressuring him doggedly to see the light."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/23/citing-concerns-about-corporate-power-bernie-sanders-votes-against-bidens-choice" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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FWS biologist Susan Wynn releases an endangered butterfly in San Diego County in 2016. Joanna Gilkeson / USFWS
By Taryn MacKinney
First, the bad news: An analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists reveals that federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have lost hundreds of scientists since 2017. The good news: With the Biden administration already acting on its pledge to lead with science, a new day has dawned, and it's time to get to work.
Science Under Attack
<p>Since the birth of the National Academies of Sciences <a href="http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/history/archives/founding-and-early-work.html" target="_blank">more than 150 years ago</a>, US federal science has fueled many of the nation's and the world's great achievements. Federally funded scientists have mapped the <a href="https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-project" target="_blank">human genome,</a> <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/yes-government-researchers-really-did-invent-the-internet/" target="_blank">created the World Wide Web</a>, protected <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/History/index.html" target="_blank">species from extinction</a>, and saved countless lives through revolutionary vaccine campaigns—against <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/polio/what-is-polio/polio-us.html" target="_blank">polio</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html" target="_blank">smallpox</a> in years past, and today, against COVID-19.</p><p>At the heart of these triumphs stand the government scientists. Whether chemist or physician, economist or engineer, each has dedicated their career to the American public and its interests: clean air and water, safe homes, a healthy future for all.</p><p>But cracks have formed in the foundations of government science. Especially since 2017, political officials have stunted or stalled <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/taryn-mackinney/the-white-house-scrapped-the-science-on-tricholorethylene-so-were-urging-the-epa-to-investigate" target="_blank">scientific research</a>, retaliated against <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/07/25/has-trump-sidelined-restricted-government-scientists-yes/4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scientists</a>, weakened <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/epa-alters-protocol-scientific-advisory-committees-selection?_ga=2.125629898.1514278020.1611251739-397048884.1590005808" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">science advisory committees</a>, left <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/embattled-landscape-series-part-2b-the-declining-capacity-of-federal-environmental-science/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scientific positions vacant</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/science-ranks-grow-thin-in-trump-administration/2020/01/23/5d22b522-3172-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">undermined career staff</a>. Some federal offices, battered by political attacks, have hemorrhaged scientific experts.</p><p>Now that the sun has set on the Trump administration, questions remain. How have federal scientists fared in the last four years? How many work in government today? And how can the Biden administration repair what was broken?</p>The Hunt for Numbers
<p>To answer these questions, we needed government information and lots of it. Last autumn, we requested, via the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/genna-reed/a-thank-you-to-foia-officers-purveyors-of-sunshine" target="_blank">Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)</a>, two decades of staffing records from nearly 30 federal science agencies, from the FWS to the Census Bureau.</p><p>We're still waiting on a lot of data, but the results we <em>have</em> gotten are revealing. In the last four years, five of the seven agencies we analyzed collectively lost more than 1,000 scientists.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU1NDgzNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDgwODYzMX0.eEivA26E39j-6MEFBHhJubjh__wPQ2vOd1AyTech7aQ/img.png?width=980" id="04e29" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="414dc186e56b94978d00e6f7b920aada" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="1001" /><p>This figure shows the percent change in the number of scientists from 2016 to 2020 across seven federal agencies. Percent change is useful, but it can also mask the human scale of loss. Here's an example: By 2019, the EPA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) had both lost 6% of their scientists compared to 2016. But the EPA is far larger than BOEM. A 6% loss is 28 scientists at BOEM — and <em>nearly 750 scientists</em> at the EPA. And while BOEM regained many scientists between 2019 and 2020, the EPA did not.</p>
A Blow to Science at the EPA
<p>The losses at the EPA weren't random. Between 2016 and 2020, the EPA lost 550 environmental protection specialists — 1 in 4. These specialists implement air and water quality programs and track environmental law violations, tasks that the last administration spurned.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU1NDgzOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzA2NjQzOH0.mYVMlYd8PsEvsMHghdq5YrpckOAwD55C4AU6a4f7TDE/img.png?width=980" id="d47c9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d8fdc88b17cf26e0bff149eec1351a18" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="798" data-height="1024" /><p>The EPA lost hundreds of highly specialized scientists, too. For example, environmental engineers work to prevent pollution, recover natural resources, and protect public health; the EPA lost 126 of them. 12 hydrologists, 22 geologists, and 18 statisticians were also lost — about a third of jobs in each category—as were 44 chemists (1 in 10), 27 ecologists (1 in 5), and 18 microbiologists (nearly 1 in 4).</p><p>Scientists nationwide felt the crunch. Many staffers in the EPA's 10 regional offices work on the ground in communities and states to implement Agency programs. These offices are scattered across the country, and every single one lost scientific staff between 2016 and 2020, especially offices in the West, Southwest, Great Plains, and Midwest.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU1NDgzOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDk3NzA2NX0.ihu2PcoJ53onRAOpxgJn5j9kS_QNMmLVDhPlXeJyI5Y/img.png?width=980" id="512f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="896a78df21951743420348354275fbdb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="741" /><p>Staff also disappeared from programmatic offices. The Office of Research and Development (ORD), the EPA's research powerhouse, lost 12% of its scientific staff — more than 180 people.</p><p><em>But wait, </em>you ask — <em>could these just be retirements?</em> Good point. But if 20 people retire, we'd expect most of them to be replaced, their roles filled via a robust pipeline of early-career scientists. The result: a net loss of zero, or close to it. Instead, we're seeing a net loss of <em>hundreds </em>of scientific staff, indicating that many lost employees weren't replaced. We know from <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/08/science-under-trump-report.pdf/" target="_blank">surveys</a> that losses like these hinder vital scientific work.</p>
Losses Beyond the EPA
<p>Other agencies also lost experts between 2016 and 2020. The FWS lost 231 scientific staff, a nearly 4% decline. This includes a net loss of 68 wildlife biologists (about 1 in 8) and 48 staff in wildlife refuge management (about 1 in 12). The US Geological Survey, meanwhile, lost 118 hydrologists (1 in 10), 55 geologists (1 in 10), 45 wildlife biologists (1 in 4), and myriad others.</p><p>The Department of Education's research branch, the Institute of Education Services, lost 33 scientific staff—a staggering 19 percent decline. More than half were education researchers.</p><p>BOEM — a young agency with fewer than 600 employees — steadily gained scientists through the last quarter of the Obama administration, when it reached a high of 450 scientific staff. But then this number began declining, falling to 403 in Q2 2019. As with the EPA, many of BOEM's losses were highly specialized scientific staff, including 10 geologists (-10%) and 7 oceanographers (-29%).</p><p>On the flip side, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has <em>gained</em> scientific staff since 2016, continuing a trend that dates to at least 2010. NASA gained 91 scientific experts — a modest 0.7% increase. We're heartened to see this, but don't be fooled: all is not well in government science.</p>The Humans Behind the Data
<p>These numbers validate what many civil servants have long witnessed: the decline of federal science. We've tracked <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science" target="_blank">nearly 190 attacks</a> on science since 2017, and stories abound of scientists being <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/climate-change-resilience-study-halted" target="_blank">ignored</a>, <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/cdc-defunded-politically-motivated-ad-campaign" target="_blank">defunded</a>, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/25/trump-administration-climate-crisis-denying-scientist" target="_blank">pushed out</a>. In <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2018/08/science-under-trump-report.pdf/" target="_blank">our 2018 survey</a>, majorities of scientists across agencies reported seeing workforce reductions.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTU1NDg0Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDYyMTA2Mn0.h1TCYBRcFUmYf_MN59uufwDrUUgmV6Z9hoVFmc1hJ_A/img.jpg?width=980" id="50bdd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="841b8163d7395bb66c332932b9336576" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1457" data-height="870" /><p>Dr. Joel Clement, a <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/joel-clement/doi-caught-lying-about-a-staff-purge-congress-has-questions" target="_blank">Senior Fellow</a> at UCS and former Department of Interior (DOI) scientist, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/im-a-scientist-the-trump-administration-reassigned-me-for-speaking-up-about-climate-change/2017/07/19/389b8dce-6b12-11e7-9c15-177740635e83_story.html" target="_blank">witnessed these attacks</a> firsthand. At the DOI in 2017, he was reassigned from a senior scientific role to an unrelated role in an accounting office. "I believe I was retaliated against for speaking out publicly about the dangers that climate change poses to Alaska Native communities," he said.</p><p>Dr. Clement is one of many to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/climate/trump-administration-war-on-science.html" target="_blank">face these assaults</a>. When the Department of Agriculture announced it would move its research arm from Washington, DC to Kansas City, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/science-ranks-grow-thin-in-trump-administration/2020/01/23/5d22b522-3172-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">two-thirds</a> of Economic Research Service staff jumped ship — as did 8 in 10 staff in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Even when scientists stayed, they faced <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/white-house-directs-scientists-downplay-chemicals-link-heart-defects" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">censorship</a>, <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/node/12738" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">funding cuts</a>, and the dissolution of <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/navy-quietly-shut-down-climate-task-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">crucial offices and projects</a>. "It feels like a wholesale attack," <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/climate/trump-administration-war-on-science.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said Dr. Betsy Smith</a>, a 20-year veteran of the EPA whose research on climate change was abruptly canceled in 2017.</p>
The Path Forward
<p>Still, have hope. Already, President Biden has given the microphone back to federal scientists like <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/21/959378061/after-sparring-with-trump-dr-fauci-says-biden-administration-feels-liberating" target="_blank">Dr. Anthony Fauci</a>, assembled a team of qualified <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-francis-collins-022fc771e262e6f1c7e33ffe80e1d37b" target="_blank">science advisors</a>, and, in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html" target="_blank">rejoining the Paris climate agreement</a>, did what his predecessor never could: recognized the truth of climate change and vowed to work with the world to solve it.</p><p>But rebuilding is not enough. Federal science must be fortified. In the coming months, the Biden administration must do all it can to invite more early-career scientists into government—for example, by bolstering <a href="https://www.epa.gov/careers/research-fellowships-and-scholarships" target="_blank">fellowship programs</a> and expanding recruitment to underrepresented communities. The administration must also work to <em>keep </em>these vital staff, by strengthening mentorship of early-career scientists and, of course, funding them (a robust White House science and technology budget is a great start).</p><p>President Biden must also support policies that promote and protect scientists and their work. We at UCS have a <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/si-report-roadmap-for-science.pdf?_ga=2.102051905.1514278020.1611251739-397048884.1590005808" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>lot </em>of recommendations</a>, and we're thrilled to see many of them already in the administration's <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/new-biden-scientific-integrity-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">latest memorandum</a> on scientific integrity.</p><p>The United States is a divided country, cleaved by <a href="https://time.com/5898231/republicans-democrats-coronavirus-news/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rival realities</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/10/10/partisan-antipathy-more-intense-more-personal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bitter partisanship</a>. But as our leaders brace themselves for the rocky seas ahead, science must be their lighthouse. We implore the Biden administration, and all those elected by the people, to "<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-francis-collins-022fc771e262e6f1c7e33ffe80e1d37b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lead with science and truth</a>." The nation depends on it.</p><p><em>Taryn MacKinney is an investigative researcher for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/taryn-mackinney/federal-agencies-have-lost-hundreds-of-scientists-since-2017-what-comes-next" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.</em></p>
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Outgoing Administration Gave Thumbs Up to Migratory Bird Massacre. It’s Time to Reverse the Damage.
28 January
Insights + Opinion
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated in 2002 that up to two million birds were killed in oil pits every year. Pedro Ramirez, Jr / USFWS
By Jacob Carter
Since 1918 the federal government has implemented its authority under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to hold industries accountable for the death of birds due to their operations. Such operations include the spraying of insecticides that poison birds, maintaining oil pits that can lead to drowning, or contact with infrastructure such as wind turbines that can cause death on impact.
<p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) estimated in 2002 that <a href="https://www.fws.gov/mainefieldoffice/PDFs/mortality-fact-sheet%5b1%5d.pdf" target="_blank">up to two million birds were killed in oil pits every year</a>. This number dropped in 2012 with a best estimate of <a href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/bird-enthusiasts/threats-to-birds/entrapment-entanglement-drowning.php#:~:text=An%20estimated%20500%2C000%20to%201,trays%2C%20and%201%25%20spills." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">500,000 to 1 million birds killed in oil pits every year</a>. The FWS attributes the decrease in bird deaths to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az0Uwrq6s2g" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">oil operators taking prevention measures</a> that reduce migratory bird mortality because of the industry's operations. The MBTA provides an incentive for oil operators and other industries to take such prevention measures.</p><p>But on January 7, the outgoing administration changed <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/trump-birds-drop-dead" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the legal interpretation of the MBTA </a>such that the FWS will no longer be able to hold industries accountable for the "incidental" killing of migratory bird species. This means that if an oil operator, for example, did not place mesh lining over an oil pit to prevent migratory birds from dying in that oil pit – the oil operator would not be at fault nor held accountable for the deaths of migratory birds.</p>
The Logic is Ludicrous
<p>I think that the logic used in the revised MBTA is ridiculous for one very important reason: we know that migratory bird species die because of bad industry practice and that such deaths are preventable.</p><p>There is a clear need to hold industries accountable for migratory bird death, especially since we know it happens and that <em>it is preventable</em>. And if we know a bad thing is <em>preventable</em>, we should create mechanisms (like the MBTA) to encourage folks to take <em>prevention</em> measures to help ensure that a bad thing does not happen.</p><p>Imagine that you have a toddler that continues to explore that "dangerous chemicals cabinet" (you know the one) in your household. What do you do? Well, you probably "toddler-proof" that cabinet to <em>prevent</em> said toddler from ingesting harmful chemicals — or you potentially face punitive measures for child neglect.</p><p>My point is that it makes absolutely no sense to discourage the use of measures to prevent a bad thing we know will happen — in this case it is the death of migratory bird species.</p>Bird Death Affects Us All
<p>The number of birds in the U.S. is falling. The number of birds in North America <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6461/120" target="_blank">has fallen by 29 percent since 1970</a> according to one study in <em>Science. </em>There are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/science/bird-populations-america-canada.html#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20birds%20in,half%2Dcentury%2C%20scientists%20find.&text=The%20skies%20are%20emptying%20out,1970%2C%20scientists%20reported%20on%20Thursday." target="_blank">2.9 billion fewer birds than there were 50 years ago</a>.</p><p>These losses do not only mean that we have fewer gorgeous birds for birders to enjoy. Bird species are incredibly vital to ecosystem health that your health, my health, my grandmother's health, are all dependent on. Bird species control unwanted pests, they pollinate plant species, they are seed dispersers, and they bring in loads of cash to our economies every year. The FWS estimates that <a href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/bird-enthusiasts/bird-watching/valuing-birds.php#:~:text=Economic%20Impact,-Birds%2C%20Bird%20watching&text=Local%20community%20economies%20benefit%20from,on%20food%2C%20lodging%20and%20transportation." target="_blank">bird watchers alone bring in nearly $15 billion to local economies</a> and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.</p><p>If we lose our native bird species then our ecosystems will be not be the same, our local economies will not be the same, our health will not be the same. This is the future-to-come if the Biden administration allows the new interpretation of the MBTA to go into effect on February 8 of this year. We should be working to strengthen protections for bird species, not fighting to kill them.</p><p>President Biden's nominee to lead the Department of the Interior (DOI), Deb Haaland, should prioritize and work quickly to interpret the MBTA to its original intent to protect declining bird populations. In fact, we have provided a number of recommendations for President Biden and Representative Haaland <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2020-08/doi-fact-sheet-roadmap-for-science.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to restore science back to the DOI</a>. President Biden has stated that he plans to bring science back to decision-making — and we will be holding him accountable to his word.</p><p> <em><a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/author/jacob-carter" target="_blank">Jacob Carter</a> is a research scientist for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from the <em><a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/jacob-carter/outgoing-administration-gave-thumbs-up-to-migratory-bird-massacre-its-time-to-reverse-the-damage" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.</em></em></p>
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Marsh Creek in north-central California is the site of restoration project that will increase residents' access to their river. Amy Merrill
By Katy Neusteter
The Biden-Harris transition team identified COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity and climate change as its top priorities. Rivers are the through-line linking all of them. The fact is, healthy rivers can no longer be separated into the "nice-to-have" column of environmental progress. Rivers and streams provide more than 60 percent of our drinking water — and a clear path toward public health, a strong economy, a more just society and greater resilience to the impacts of the climate crisis.
Public Health
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUyNDY3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDkxMTkwNn0.pyP14Bg1WvcUvF_xUGgYVu8PS7Lu49Huzc3PXGvATi4/img.jpg?width=980" id="8e577" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1efb3445f5c445e47d5937a72343c012" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="3000" data-height="2302" />Wild and Scenic Merced River, California. Bob Wick / BLM
<p>Let's begin with COVID-19. More than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html?name=styln-coronavirus&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=LegacyCollection&impression_id=2f508610-2a87-11eb-8622-4f6c038cbd1d&variant=1_Show" target="_blank">16 million Americans</a> have contracted the coronavirus and, tragically,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html?name=styln-coronavirus&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=LegacyCollection&impression_id=2f508610-2a87-11eb-8622-4f6c038cbd1d&variant=1_Show" target="_blank"> more than</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html?name=styln-coronavirus&region=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=LegacyCollection&impression_id=2f508610-2a87-11eb-8622-4f6c038cbd1d&variant=1_Show" target="_blank">300,000 have died</a> due to the pandemic. While health officials encourage hand-washing to contain the pandemic, at least <a href="https://closethewatergap.org/" target="_blank">2 million Americans</a> are currently living without running water, indoor plumbing or wastewater treatment. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/23/millions-of-americans-cant-afford-water-bills-rise" target="_blank">aging water infrastructure is growing increasingly costly for utilities to maintain</a>. That cost is passed along to consumers. The upshot? <a href="https://research.msu.edu/affordable-water-in-us-reaching-a-crisis/" target="_blank">More than 13 million</a> U.S. households regularly face unaffordable water bills — and, thus, the threat of water shutoffs. Without basic access to clean water, families and entire communities are at a higher risk of <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2020/08/05/488705/bridging-water-access-gap-covid-19-relief/" target="_blank">contracting</a> and spreading COVID-19.</p><p>We have a moral duty to ensure that everyone has access to clean water to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Last spring, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/coronavirus-stimulus-bill-explained-bailouts-unemployment-benefits.html" target="_blank">Congress appropriated more than $4 trillion</a> to jumpstart the economy and bring millions of unemployed Americans back to work. Additional federal assistance — desperately needed — will present a historic opportunity to improve our crumbling infrastructure, which has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/23/millions-of-americans-cant-afford-water-bills-rise" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grossly underfunded for decades</a>.</p><p>A report by my organization, American Rivers, suggests that <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/american-rivers-website/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/09223525/ECONOMIC-ENGINES-Report-2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Congress must invest at least $50 billion</a> "to address the urgent water infrastructure needs associated with COVID-19," including the rising cost of water. This initial boost would allow for the replacement and maintenance of sewers, stormwater infrastructure and water supply facilities.</p>Economic Recovery
<p>Investing in water infrastructure and healthy rivers also creates jobs. Consider, for example, that <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y9p6sgnk" target="_blank">every $1 million spent on water infrastructure in the United States generates more than 15 jobs</a> throughout the economy, according to a report by the Value of Water Campaign. Similarly, <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yyvd2ksp" target="_blank">every "$1 million invested in forest and watershed restoration contracting will generate between 15.7 and 23.8 jobs,</a> depending on the work type," states a working paper released by the Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon. Healthy rivers also spur tourism and recreation, which many communities rely on for their livelihoods. According to the findings by the Outdoor Industry Association, which have been shared in our report, "Americans participating in watersports and fishing spend over <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/american-rivers-website/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/30222425/Exec-summary-ECONOMIC-ENGINES-Report-June-30-2020.pdf" target="_blank">$174 billion</a> on gear and trip related expenses. And, the outdoor watersports and fishing economy supports over <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/american-rivers-website/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/30222425/Exec-summary-ECONOMIC-ENGINES-Report-June-30-2020.pdf" target="_blank">1.5 million jobs nationwide</a>."</p><p>After the 2008 financial crisis, Congress invested in infrastructure to put Americans back to work. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/25941-clean-water-green-infrastructure-get-major-boost" target="_blank">of 2009 (ARRA) allocated $6 billion</a> for clean water and drinking water infrastructure to decrease unemployment and boost the economy. More specifically, <a href="https://www.conservationnw.org/news-updates/us-reps-push-for-millions-of-restoration-and-resilience-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an analysis of ARRA</a> "showed conservation investments generated 15 to 33 jobs per million dollars," and more than doubled the rate of return, according to a letter written in May 2020 by 79 members of Congress, seeking greater funding for restoration and resilience jobs.</p><p>Today, when considering how to create work for the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">10.7 million</a> people who are currently unemployed, Congress should review previous stimulus investments and build on their successes by embracing major investments in water infrastructure and watershed restoration.</p>Racial Justice
<p>American Rivers also recommends that Congress dedicate <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/american-rivers-website/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/09223525/ECONOMIC-ENGINES-Report-2020.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$500 billion for rivers and clean water over the next 10 years</a> — not just for the benefit of our environment and economy, but also to begin to address the United States' history of deeply entrenched racial injustice.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/npdes/sanitary-sewer-overflows-ssos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">23,000-75,000 sewer overflows</a> that occur each year release up to <a href="https://www.americanrivers.org/2020/05/fighting-for-rivers-means-fighting-for-justice/#:~:text=There%20are%20also%2023%2C000%20to%2075%2C000%20sanitary%20sewer,to%20do%20with%20the%20mission%20of%20American%20Rivers." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">10 billion gallons of toxic sewage</a> <em>every day</em> into rivers and streams. This disproportionately impacts communities of color, because, for generations, Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color have been <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/flooding-disproportionately-harms-black-neighborhoods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">relegated</a> to live in flood-prone areas and in neighborhoods that have been intentionally burdened with a lack of development that degrades people's health and quality of life. In some communities of color, incessant flooding due to stormwater surges or <a href="https://www.ajc.com/opinion/opinion-partnering-to-better-manage-our-water/7WQ6SEAQP5E4LGQCEYY5DO334Y/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">combined sewer overflows</a> has gone unmitigated for decades.</p><p>We have historically treated people as separate from rivers and water. We can't do that anymore. Every voice — particularly those of people most directly impacted — must have a loudspeaker and be included in decision-making at the highest levels.</p><p>Accordingly, the new administration must diligently invest in projects at the community level that will improve lives in our country's most marginalized communities. We also must go further to ensure that local leaders have a seat at the decision-making table. To this end, the Biden-Harris administration should restore <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cwa-401#:~:text=Section%20401%20Certification%20The%20Clean%20Water%20Act%20%28CWA%29,the%20United%20States.%20Learn%20more%20about%20401%20certification." target="_blank">Section 401 of the Clean Water Act</a>, which was undermined by the <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2020/tribes-and-environmental-groups-sue-trump-administration-to-preserve-clean-water-protections#:~:text=Under%20Section%20401%20of%20the%20Clean%20Water%20Act%2C,seeks%20to%20undermine%20that%20authority%20in%20several%20ways%3A" target="_blank">Trump administration's 2020 regulatory changes</a>. This provision gives states and tribes the authority to decide whether major development projects, such as hydropower and oil and gas projects, move forward.</p>Climate Resilience
<p>Of course, the menacing shadow looming over it all? Climate change. <a href="https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IFRC_wdr2020/IFRC_WDR_ExecutiveSummary_EN_Web.pdf" target="_blank">More than 100 climate-related catastrophes</a> have pummeled the Earth since the pandemic was declared last spring, including the blitzkrieg of megafires, superstorms and heat waves witnessed during the summer of 2020, directly impacting the lives of more than <a href="https://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IFRC_wdr2020/IFRC_WDR_ExecutiveSummary_EN_Web.pdf" target="_blank">50 million people globally</a>.</p><p>Water and climate scientist Brad Udall often says, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQhpj5G0dME" target="_blank">Climate change is water change</a>." In other words, the most obvious and dire impacts of climate change are evidenced in profound changes to our rivers and water resources. You've likely seen it where you live: Floods are more damaging and frequent. Droughts are deeper and longer. Uncertainty is destabilizing industry and lives.</p><p>By galvanizing action for healthy rivers and managing our water resources more effectively, we can insure future generations against the consequences of climate change. First, we must safeguard rivers that are still healthy and free-flowing. Second, we must protect land and property against the ravages of flooding. And finally, we must promote policies and practical solutions that take the science of climate disruption into account when planning for increased flooding, water shortage and habitat disruption.</p><p>Imagine all that rivers do for us. Most of our towns and cities have a river running through them or flowing nearby. Rivers provide clean drinking water, irrigate crops that provide our food, power our homes and businesses, provide wildlife habitat, and are the lifeblood of the places where we enjoy and explore nature, and where we play and nourish our spirits. Healthy watersheds help <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/03/1059952" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mitigate</a> climate change, absorbing and reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Healthy rivers and floodplains help communities adapt and build resilience in the face of climate change by improving flood protection and providing water supply and quality benefits. Rivers are the cornerstones of healthy, strong communities.</p><p>The more than <a href="https://archive.epa.gov/water/archive/web/html/index-17.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3 million miles</a> of rivers and streams running across our country are a source of great strength and opportunity. When we invest in healthy rivers and clean water, we can improve our lives. When we invest in rivers, we create jobs and strengthen our economy. When we invest in rivers, we invest in our shared future.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Democratic Senate candidates Jon Ossoff (L) and Rev. Raphael Warnock bump elbows at a rally on October 24, 2020 in Duluth, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage / AFP / Getty Images
Democrats have won control of the Senate and with it, a fighting shot at passing meaningful climate legislation.
<p>The Associated Press called the two Georgia runoff Senate races for Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock at <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1346714442915000320" target="_blank">2:05 a.m. EST Wednesday morning</a> and for Democrat Jon Ossoff at <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/1346929188838793216" target="_blank">4:16 p.m. EST Wednesday afternoon</a>. Their win means the Senate is now split 50-50 with Vice President-elect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/kamala-harris" target="_self">Kamala Harris</a> acting as a tie-breaker, giving the Democrats a majority in the chamber for the first time since 2015, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/06/jon-ossoff-wins-georgia-runoff-election-democrats-senate" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>"The Decade of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/green-new-deal" target="_self">Green New Deal</a> has just begun," youth-led climate group <a href="https://www.sunrisemovement.org/?ms=SunriseMovement" target="_blank">Sunrise Movement</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/status/1346684161680154624" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a> once a Democratic victory appeared likely.</p><p>But what does this victory actually mean in practical terms? First, it means that President-elect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> will have an easier time confirming his cabinet nominees, <a href="https://grist.org/politics/democrats-flip-the-senate-illuminating-a-path-forward-on-climate/?fbclid=IwAR05feq61UiwDtb9oRDrxoF5cjdgkpd5FMfPw-4TjTAQU3XpYbWpwF2_cag" target="_blank">Grist explained</a>.</p><p>The Biden administration has announced a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/biden-climate-crisis-nominees-2649519000.html" target="_self">slate of climate-focused nominees</a>, including the historic choice of environmental justice advocate and Representative <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/deb-haaland-biden-secretary-interior-2649541483.html" target="_self">Deb Haaland</a> (D-NM) to serve as the first <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">Indigenous</a> Secretary of the Interior, and the first Indigenous cabinet secretary.</p>
<p>Second, control of the Senate will enable the Democrats to more easily reverse some of President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>'s last-minute environmental deregulations, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/climate/georgia-senate-climate.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. The Congressional Review Act gives Congress the power to reverse rules recently made by federal agencies with a simple majority vote. Congress can now use that power to undo the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-secret-science-rule-2649748696.html" target="_self">"Secret Science" rule</a> finalized by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="_self">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) this week, which restricts the kinds of studies the EPA can use when crafting policy. Congress can also reverse the recent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-rollback-migratory-bird-act-2649766045.html" target="_self">rollback</a> of a law protecting migratory birds.</p><p>Finally, Congress now has a shot at passing some of Biden's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/biden-climate-plan-green-new-deal-2648128471.html" target="_self">$2 trillion climate plan</a> as part of an economic stimulus or infrastructure bill. However, the Democrats' razor-thin majority in the Senate means they will still have to compromise with moderates and Republicans to pass any major legislative packages, both Grist and The New York Times reported.</p><p>Robert Stavins, Harvard Kennedy School director of environmental economics, told The New York Times that a Democratic double-victory in Georgia was "important across the board, but it doesn't bring them the ultimate freedom they would have if they had a supermajority."</p><p>Still, that slim majority was important enough that progressive climate groups worked to get out the vote in Georgia, despite the fact that Ossoff does not back the Green New Deal, as <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/160760/pragmatism-radical-climate-left" target="_blank">Kate Aronoff noted for The Republic</a>. (However, he does support a green infrastructure plan similar to Biden's, and Warnock has also spoken in favor of environmental action, Grist reported. Both candidates want to rejoin the Paris agreement and reverse Trump's deregulations.)</p>
<p>The Sunrise Movement persuaded more than 3,000 people to text three friends reminding them to vote on election day. In the weeks leading up to the election, the Sunrise Movement called more than 1.2 million people, sent one million texts and registered more than 3,000 young voters, the group <a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/status/1346829280714641408" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p><p>Young Georgia voters were an important part of the coalition that helped Biden win Georgia in November and helped Ossoff and Warnock win in Tuesday's runoff, along with voters who were Black, suburban, women, low-income and new arrivals to the state, The Guardian reported.</p>"I think it's the most important vote in our generation for young people," Sunrise Movement Electoral Politics Director Shante Wolfe <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNConnect/status/1346134932209491968" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told CNN</a>.
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Two tigers rescued from one of the animal parks operated by Joe Exotic, the focus of Netflix's Tiger King. Marc Piscotty / Getty Images
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to ban the keeping of big cats as pets, after the Netflix documentary series Tiger King drew renewed attention to the issue this spring.
<p><a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1380/text" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">H.R. 1380</a>, or the Big Cat Public Safety Act, passed the House 272 to 114, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiger-king-big-cat-public-safety-act-passed-by-house/" target="_blank">CBS News reported</a>. Specifically, it limits who is permitted to breed, sell, buy, transport or own large felines like lions, tigers and leopards.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">Animals</a> like tigers, lions, leopards, and pumas should not be exposed to miserable conditions so many of them in our country currently face," Democratic Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley, who introduced the bill, said in a <a href="https://quigley.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quigley-s-big-cat-public-safety-act-end-private-ownership-dangerous-big" target="_blank">statement</a>. "By passing the <em>Big Cat Public Safety Act</em> we are one step closer to ensuring these animals are treated humanely and to keeping the public safe from dangerous big cats. It is my hope that the Senate will quickly bring this bill to the floor so we can get it signed into law before the year ends."</p>
<div id="9f062" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="962daf3f12002b60549da964c3172f04"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1334695865194344448" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The House just passed the #BigCatPublicSafetyAct! Thank you to everyone who spoke up over recent months in support… https://t.co/p2phoFpgic</div> — Mike Quigley (@Mike Quigley)<a href="https://twitter.com/RepMikeQuigley/statuses/1334695865194344448">1607051266.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>If the bill passes the Senate, most individuals will be prohibited from owning large cats, and direct public contact with the animals will be banned, CBS News explained. There will be exceptions for universities, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> sanctuaries, licensed veterinarians and people with a license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Those who already own big cats may keep them if they register their animals and refrain from breeding them or sharing them with the public. Anyone caught violating the law would face a fine of up to $20,000 and a prison sentence of up to five years.</p><p>The House passage comes about nine months after the nation was captivated by the Netflix series Tiger King during the initial days of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> lockdown. The series followed the career of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, or "Joe Exotic," who kept big cats in Oklahoma, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/tiger-king-house-bill-big-cat-ownership/index.html" target="_blank">CNN explained</a>. Maldonado-Passage is now serving a prison sentence for killing five tigers and plotting to pay for the assassination of his critic Carole Baskin, who was also featured in the series.</p><p>Baskin, who runs Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, is one of several wildlife advocates who has been pushing Congress to pass the bill for years, CBS News explained.</p><p>"We are thrilled that the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed the House with bipartisan support to protect the big cats from abuse, the public and first responders from injuries and death, and the tiger in the wild from extinction," she wrote on Facebook. "None of these important goals are partisan in any way and we hope the Senate will follow suit quickly to make it into law."</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7c7d9e0c2db58f6022ae979c1c5ebdf"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158217716826919&set=a.433371386918&type=3"></div></div>
<p>While 48 Republicans joined with Democrats to pass the bill in the House, it is unsure how it will fare in the Republican-controlled Senate, according to CNN. The Senate bill has not yet made it out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which held its final markup of the current legislative session Wednesday. Further, while the Senate bill has some Republican cosponsors, Senate leadership criticized House Democrats for passing the bill instead of focusing on coronavirus relief.</p><p>However, Quigley emphasized in his statement that over-worked first responders are the ones who have to respond if unsafely-kept animals attack their owners or others.</p><p>"Big cats are wild animals that simply do not belong in private homes, backyards, or shoddy roadside zoos," he said in a statement. "Too often, law enforcement and first responders are the ones who end up in danger from these animals and, in a time when our first responders are already facing increased risk from the pandemic, we owe it to them to limit the additional dangers they face on the job."</p>
<p>In addition to being endorsed by a wide variety of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-welfare" target="_self">animal welfare</a> groups, the bill also has the approval of some law enforcement organizations like the Fraternal Order of Police, CNN pointed out. All told, more than 60 law enforcement and animal rights groups supported the bill, according to Quigley's statement.</p><p>"Long before 'Tiger King,' Joe Exotic and dozens of others like him were under our scrutiny due to their abuse of tigers – both adults and cubs," <a href="https://www.humanesociety.org/" target="_blank">Humane Society of the United States</a> CEO and President Kitty Block said in a statement. "While the world of private tiger ownership thrives in the shadows with little mandatory documentation, we estimate that hundreds of tigers across the country are kept as pets and money-making props by roadside zoos, pseudo-sanctuaries and cub-petting operations. They are often torn from their mother moments after birth, hit, dragged, and forced into photo ops, and live in squalid conditions. This is a public safety disaster. Congress must pass <em>The Big Cat Public Safety Act</em> to put an end to this cycle of misery, abuse, and danger once and for all."</p>
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Scaling up offshore renewable energy is one of the ways that governments can improve ocean sustainability efforts. BerndBrueggemann / Getty Images
On Wednesday, governments responsible for 40 percent of the world's coastlines and 20 percent of global fisheries announced a series of new commitments that comprise the world's biggest ocean sustainability initiative.
<p>The <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VW_ypy3S_jgNN9byR2ys4BzfW824bMN4k7sNjN1YBnv93p_8SV1-WJV7CgNTvW9lfXJd8Fkx0GW5DDTkJ49SyXxW1dVD6l3GPhxqW3pj49q59Yv1YN7nnMSZvnSpjW7HfmFt5wwRTrW6mC5VB1wCPgyW6qF3Pg2sCSF-W8z9Mzy5hzzCDVJHN8W53qh_6VdPWX39c5V7wW5tGWbp13HrrCW9kjgt71hRg7MW1blDfF4_LL4bW2Jh8Pw2Jhmx0W1yBYXL3yTLnMV6KD3l8Kq5FrW8_TXGL79rTMpN2K08B9YP9qDW20s99V5wybyfW349WdH7brMdpW8p2dkf4zJQJl35S_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fourteen countries</a>, which combined control an ocean area the size of Africa, committed to sustainably manage their national waters by 2025 and encouraged all other nations to join them by 2030. </p><p>In practice, this means that these governments will pursue a range of strategies, including reducing shipping emissions, reducing marine pollution, scaling up offshore renewable energy, and taking a precautionary approach to deep sea mining. </p><p>"You can't just prosper, prosper, prosper—fish more, drill more," Jane Lubchenco, an environmental scientist, former NOAA administrator, and one of the panel's expert co-chairs, told Fast Company.</p>
<p>"You have to do it in a way that minimizes the impacts on the ecosystem and maximizes the equitable benefit." </p><p>The new sustainable ocean agenda, if achieved worldwide, would dramatically increase food and renewable energy production, and contribute a fifth of the greenhouse gas pollution reductions required to stay within 1.5°C of global warming.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/02/global-sustainable-fishing-initiative-agreed-by-14-countries?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_UWMXguHF4B8mDRgLMPfsNbTEZWLXr2iO9m1C_OOJ5RXJqUEZCuHm1ZpfkTqtz_kbAuLwIQ2qcG8bXRzcCvZLRun3B0wqw6Hd67TBFFD-5WjQihwk&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90581007/14-countries-launch-a-new-plan-to-achieve-a-sustainable-ocean-economy?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8eHPkod09Lrg8Olfh8Rc8t1dqwdt7DkRJG7ZSBgLdxj50vaR-bmOaOyn7aogHUlftEA3W064mZFANV2PKwax17ZFL0VJx7s51jFvDRHE90ulz_Hfk&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Fast Company</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/immersive/d42859-020-00084-7/index.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8aHFAlO_LqaMAAZlXr_dLoOJIoDZOdIrB_yIyCdJUXBS5vynN4PGaVhtwUokL1XYzT7o6MN57Re1x1hQfO6Aq9KzPyiSXNyDRmPsPiKk5ij5morsg&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Nature,</a> <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oceans-key-to-solving-climate-crisis-say-world-leaders/a-55789573?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ascIVyKdy3ucnvJQIbAyxCLhXw2y5t8dkt02FOqfFYZiMl_aOCDpD86z33ei5xjwhXkL-c-DV2vJTWBkZkcFfeieRg77HaIPcPaY77lqwv-1hbc4&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/oceanpanel/bbc-world-service-with-pm-solberg-of-norway?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_WkSVHR0EtEthuS5HEYKxTL0MThvp12bEdGOc3BBtkP4BBK_SHhza8_CkpYOg3FRTp1zHD1GAwkxCcuUdu_RvrDWgB7uhS3cJT4pZLGO3hC4zKy0k&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">BBC Radio</a>, <a href="https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2020/12/02/14-nations-commit-to-manage-sustainably-their-waters-by-2025/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_JundZm7dqs79UkBXFXwOYFOHNuKpGM7ttOVH7QyH3zCxjiibJhyhhi_imQLbWeuRks4_zUEswZjN20kdG03AP6wxEXEqY4HW8jHOFWnNHSZXLdLg&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Undercurrent News</a>, <a href="https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/world-s-biggest-ocean-sustainability-initiative-signed-by-14-countries?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9lnymFpaQ5SYT7ihvf-KB6OHlRD1h2YmBE2vUI0KGEZjL5JNKaM-trcJpO03T7NxoRmu2KnKeR4PP6N2sjhiDc8GIW_KLgayzH9yciuIYmSPpu214&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Seafood Source</a>, <a href="https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2020/12/02/key-fishing-nations-endorse-the-protection-of-30-of-the-ocean/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--koAEW4Ll_dwV60oqQazyGoxxnw-t1kwDqzskZXHjGG_aJGf9XnyTBlwgRAGfPlEFzRb8bl6A37uGxREfm6sQJEMVamLsel0o2C76_YbURgvBRPuo&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>; Commentary: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03303-3?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--STJt6CIUuKWYBNapAcJj35oaKn8XqMcBhePyf8rXh3bENLGMVinUwsVuJxIqw2EVfiSAp9kUd6ZcVbgkOJkg1Bya52Iy3sgeep0dfL1WyB6Y6Sp4&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Nature, Jane Lubchenco, Peter Haugan, Mari Elka Pangestu comment</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03302-4?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=101740057&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8T5OTZHQQTzZYnSOW3cS-bSiqCGwcH2PBruHmvxGwH16S4Ku_1BPQekFufmWHoYo7vtcC97aA-VPxrCompd7j-gtGrSfP8GM3_mAiHboxPY1q7ABw&utm_content=101740057&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Nature, Erna Solberg op-ed</a></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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" 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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Sheep like these will no longer be exported from England and Wales for slaughter under a proposed ban. Chris Jackson / Getty Images
The UK has taken steps toward becoming the first European country to ban the export of live animals for slaughter.
<p>Environment Secretary George Eustice announced the new plans Thursday, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/03/uk-to-become-first-country-in-europe-to-ban-live-animal-exports" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. The ban would fulfill a campaign promise from the ruling Conservative Party, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55167473" target="_blank">BBC News explained</a>.</p><p>"We are committed to improving the welfare of animals at all stages of life," Eustice told <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/live-animal-export-ban-uk-defra-b1765196.html" target="_blank">The Independent</a>. "Today marks a major step forward in delivering on our manifesto commitment to end live exports for slaughter."</p><p>The ban would apply to live animals exported for slaughter from England and Wales, BBC News reported. The plan will first undergo an eight-week consultation period that will cover how to improve animal welfare during transport within the UK. The results will be presented to Parliament in the summer of 2021 and should go into effect by the end of 2021.</p>
<p>The plan already includes a few exceptions. Animals will still be exported from Northern Ireland, and the export of poultry or animals intended for breeding will not be covered by the ban, according to The Guardian. The results of the eight-week consultation will be used to discuss a joint ban with Scotland.</p><p>The announcement won wide praise from UK <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-welfare" target="_self">animal welfare</a> groups. Both the <a href="https://www.rspca.org.uk/" target="_blank">RSPCA</a> and <a href="https://www.ciwf.org.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Compassion in World Farming</a> told The Independent that they had campaigned against the practice for more than 50 years.</p><p>"There is absolutely no reasonable justification to subject an animal to an unnecessarily stressful journey abroad simply for them to be fattened for slaughter," RSPCA chief executive Chris Sherwood told The Independent. "Ending live exports for slaughter and further fattening would be a landmark achievement for animal welfare."</p>
<p>The government stressed that the proposed ban was made possible by Brexit.</p><p>"Now that we have left the EU, we have an opportunity to end this unnecessary practice. We want to ensure that animals are spared stress prior to slaughter," Eustice told The Independent.</p><p>In 2012, for example, a local government in Kent tried to ban the practice after a truck full of lame sheep was discovered at a port and had to be put to sleep, BBC News reported. However, the High Court ruled that the ban violated EU free trade laws.</p><p>"The government has long maintained that exporting live animals was a practice which could be ended as a result of Brexit — a good example of where leaving the EU would bring benefits," BBC political correspondent Helen Catt wrote. "No surprise then that it is keen to deliver on it fully."</p>
<p>The government has also promised a number of other post-Brexit animal protection measures.</p><p>"This announcement marks the start of renewed efforts from government to raise standards on animal welfare even further now we are outside the EU, including taking steps to ban primates as pets and crack down on the illegal smuggling of dogs and puppies, with further proposals to improve standards and eradicate cruel practices expected to be set out in the coming months," the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement, The Independent reported.</p><p>However, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/brexit-environment-risk-2559682645.html?share_id=3522712" target="_self">2018 analysis</a> from <a href="https://friendsoftheearth.uk/" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth</a> found that Brexit was likely to weaken environmental regulations overall in both the UK and the EU.</p>
<p>Yet there are also moves within the EU to restrict the practice of animal export, according to The Guardian. In September the Dutch suggested that animal transport should be limited, and a European parliamentary committee on the protection of animals during transport has been holding hearings since October.</p><p>Animal welfare groups in the EU also responded favorably to the news of the proposed UK ban.</p><p>"This is great news, it is far too stressful to export live animals for slaughter," Iris Baumgaertner from Germany's Animal Welfare Foundation told The Guardian.</p>
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