We Can't Just Blame The Corrupt Politicians We Vote For
AOC, Bernie and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced a bicameral Climate Emergency resolution 2 months ago, demanding that Biden “wield both existing authorities and emergency powers to unleash every resource available to mitigate and prepare for the climate crisis.” The manifestations of the Climate Crisis have gotten significantly worse since they introduced the resolution May 2.
At the time, AOC said that “While the Inflation Reduction Act made record-breaking climate investments, there is still much more to do to reverse the devastating effects of climate change. A climate emergency declaration will allow the federal government to take action to prevent future initiatives detrimental to our climate, such as the Willow project. With a divided Congress, the President’s willingness to use this executive authority is our last best chance to fight the global climate crisis.”
No Republicans bothered signing on as co-sponsors because, basically, the party denies that there is a climate crisis. Their Senate spokesman on nearly everything, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), acknowledged it was hot outside and then said, “It’s summer.” The only Senate co-sponsors are Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
AOC managed to sign up a few dozen cosponsors in the House, including one member of leadership, Ted Lieu (D-CA). The other cosponsors include Becca Balint (D-VT), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Cori Bush (D-MO), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Greg Casar D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Dwight Evans (D-IL), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Chuy Garcia (D-IL), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Jahanna Hayes (D-CT), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hank Johnson (GA), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Katie Porter (D-CA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pat Ryan (D-NY), Andrea Salinas (D-OR), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Mark Takano (D-CA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Velazquez, Bonnie Waston Coleman (D-NJ), Nikema Williams (D-GA) and Frederica Wilson (D-FL). I almost wrote a list of those who didn’t sign on instead since it seems more relevant and crucial to voters. Where the hell is the rest of Democratic leadership— Jake Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar?
The Climate Crisis was the top issue for Nanette Barragán when she first ran for Congress, having successfully taken on Big Oil drilling off Hermosa Beach, where she was mayor. It’s still a top priority. Yesterday she told me that “We are in a climate emergency. This summer, heat records across the planet have fallen and we are on track for July to be the hottest month on record. These climate impacts disproportionately harm Latinos and communities of color, including farmworkers and construction workers who have struggled in temperatures over 110 degrees. I am proud to join this resolution with Representatives Blumenauer and Ocasio-Cortez, to urge President Biden to declare a national climate emergency so the scale of our government’s response matches the urgency of the climate crisis.”
Blumenauer noted that he appreciates “the incredible progress that the Administration and Congress have made on climate to date. Still, Americans need more support to adapt to the effects of climate change that are happening right now and to build resilient communities for the future. The scope and urgency of this crisis demand that we unleash every resource at our disposal and the declaration of a national climate emergency is a critical step.”
Yes, exactly… and Bernie added that “The science is clear: Addressing the existential threat of climate change is no longer an ‘option,’ but an absolute necessity. If we do not boldly transform our energy systems away from fossil fuels and aggressively cut carbon emissions, our planet will face enormous and irreversible damage. We will see more extreme heat, floods, weather disturbances, ocean acidification, drought, famine, disease, and human suffering. Climate change is a national emergency, and I am proud to be introducing this legislation with my House and Senate colleagues.”
Aaron Regunberg isn’t in Congress yet— although his special election is coming right up— but he isn’t leaving Rhode Island voters with any doubt about where he stands. Yesterday he sent residents of his district an e-mail declaring that he is calling on the White House to declare a Climate Emergency.
Regunberg: “Shocking heat, unimaginable fires and smoke, oceans that are literally cooking marine life alive— this is the hottest summer in human history. And millions and millions of Americans are suffering. Fortunately, while Republicans continue to do Big Oil’s bidding, President Biden has the ability to take executive action at the scale required. The federal government possesses unused tools that can protect our communities from fatal climate threats and spur a faster clean energy transition. By declaring a national climate emergency, the president can unlock emergency executive powers to restrict fossil fuel expansion, ramp up green domestic manufacturing, and build resilient clean energy systems in climate-vulnerable communities. That is why I am joining organizers, activists, and legislators— like Congressman Blumenauer, Senator Sanders, and the 67 cosponsors of their Climate Emergency Resolution— in calling for the declaration of a climate emergency so we can begin unleashing every resource at our disposal to combat this existential crisis.”
His campaign explained that “Declaring a national climate emergency would unlock emergency executive powers under the National Emergencies Act, the Defense Production Act, and the Robert Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. These powers include halting crude oil exports, ending oil and gas drilling in the outer continental shelf, restricting private investment in fossil fuels, growing domestic manufacturing for clean energy and transportation, and directing FEMA to construct renewable energy systems in frontline communities.”
So why no Republicans? CNN asked a similar question on Sunday— in the midst of the hottest month on record. Ella Nilsen reported that “after years of skepticism and denial in the GOP ranks, a small number of Republicans are urging their party to get proactive on the climate crisis. But the GOP is stuck in a climate bind— and likely will be for the next four years, in large part because they’re still living in the shadow of former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Even as more Republican politicians are joining the consensus that climate change is real and caused by humans, Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric has driven the party to the right on climate and extreme weather. Trump has called the extremely settled science of climate change a ‘hoax’ and more recently suggested that the impacts of it ‘may affect us in 300 years.’”
While Republicans blast Democrats’ clean energy policies ahead of the 2024 elections, it’s less clear what the GOP itself would prefer to do about the climate crisis.
As [Utah Republican Rep. John] Curtis tells it, there’s a lot that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree on. They both want to further reform the permitting process for major energy projects, and they largely agree on the need for more renewable and nuclear energy.
As the head of the largest GOP climate caucus on the Hill, Curtis’ Utah home is “full solar,” he told CNN, and is heated using geothermal energy.
…[T]he biggest and most enduring difference between the two parties is that Republicans want fossil fuels— which are fueling climate change with their heat-trapping pollution— to be in the energy mix for years to come.
Democrats, meanwhile, have passed legislation to dramatically speed up the clean energy transition and prioritize the development of wind, solar and electrical transmission to get renewables sending electricity into homes faster.
Yesterday, Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley and Ed Markey sent a letter to Attorney General Garland urging the Department of Justice bring lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry for its longstanding campaign to mislead consumers and discredit climate science in pursuit of massive profits. The letter:
