GreenPolicy360 Archive Highlights 2022

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September 2022
Hurricane Ian Hits Florida
The Climate-Induced, Warm Gulf Water 'Rapid Intensification' of Ian
Hurricane Ian -- Close to Cat 5 -- Jim Cantore reporting 
* https://twitter.com/JimCantore/status/1575076077914972160
Climate-induced, warm water in the Gulf of Mexico is a feeder of intensity
* https://twitter.com/ClimateCentral/status/1575116109744939010
Destructive Surges with Hurricanes, Extreme Weather Events
Florida, we're pointing at Gulf Waters heating up and 'inducing' more powerful storms 
Florida politics 'in a state of climate change denial' even as Floria is increasingly at risk 
Hurricane Ian, September 26, the 'spaghetti plot lines' warn of a historic Gulf Hurricane on the way...
Sea-Level Rise
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California, Decades of State/National/Global Environmental Leadership
Governor Jerry Brown
:Four Terms as California Governor
August 2022
California out in front in a Green future
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/California_out_in_front_in_a_Green_future
California Acts to Ban the Sale of New Gasoline Cars
The decision, to take effect by 2035, will very likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles because many other states follow California’s standards
After the California Air Resources Board approved Thursday regulations that ban the sale of new gas-engine vehicles by 2035, requiring all new cars to run on electricity or hydrogen, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told ABC News he was confident that more states would do the same to help combat climate change.
BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD | AUG. 26, 2022 
* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-26/california-gas-car-ban-zero-emission
It’s hard to overstate the significance of California’s move this week to end the sale of new gas-powered cars.
The California Air Resources Board’s vote Thursday setting a firm 2035 deadline is huge and consequential for climate change, air quality and health. The nation’s most populated and worst-polluted state is the first to adopt rules that will finally stop adding gas-fueled passenger vehicles to its roads.
The end of the internal combustion engine era, and the toll on our lungs and our planet, is finally on the horizon.
This regulation will require automakers to sell increasing percentages of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles starting with 35% of new car sales in 2026, reaching 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles account for 16.5% of California’s new sales today, a rate that leads the nation but lags behind Europe and China. So these rules help reestablish California’s climate leadership, putting it in step with other leading nations and making it one of the first — and the largest — vehicle markets in the world to require 100% of new sales be zero emissions.
It’s a pivotal moment for a state that has been shaped for decades, often negatively, by automobiles and the health-damaging pollution they generate.
More on California's decision to drive forward into a new world of transportation
* https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119360031/california-gas-cars-electric-cars-zero-emission-climate-change
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-automakers.html
* https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/08/california-ban-cars-emissions-climate-change/
~
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/climate/california-gas-cars-emissions.html
* https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/california-new-gas-car-ban-2035/index.html
* https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/24/23320148/california-gas-car-ban-2035-ev-climate-change
* https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/california-hold-final-hearing-banning-sale-new-gas-cars-2035
#PlanetCitizens
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Historic_climate-clean_energy_vote_in_US_Congress_August_12_2022.jpeg
Climate Problems, Climate Solutions
A Green New Deal by Another Name
: Three Legislative Actions Add Up to a New Version of a Green New Deal
:: Infrastructure, CHIPS, IRA... Real Environmental Progress
GreenPoliyc360: Let's look more closely at three historic advances as the US acts to deal with climate...
A Renamed and Restructured Green New Deal 
In an acknowledgement of political exigencies, a deep and broad green politics coalition in the US supports legislation in three parts to move green action forward. The culmination of the Infrastructure and CHIPS legislative packages is the biggest climate-related legislation in US history -- the "Inflation Reduction Act."
The Green New Deal Re-Structured and -Named:
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Green_New_Deal
Steve Schmidt / Founder, GreenPolicy360: It took 45+ yrs to pass real climate action called for in the 1970s w the first National Climate Act. Our #GreenPolicy360 network thanks Rep George E. Brown, a long-time friend, colleague, and a main mover at the beginning and for over 30 years in Congress who'd be smiling now if he were here ... 
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png 
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr
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Five Decades in the Making: Why It Is Taking Congress So Long to Act on Climate
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/climate/senate-climate-law.html
Bookmark Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360 
* http://bit.ly/GreenPolicy360Climate
🌎
Visit Our Climate News Florida Site
* https://www.climatenewsflorida.com
With our GreenPolicy360 home on the West Coast of Florida, a state with political tendencies to overlook and deny climate change even as we're on 'the frontlines' of a #ClimateCrisis, we thought it's time to face the news, face the facts Florida!
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July 4th, 2022
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Richard_Jacobs_and_The_Man_in_the_Arena_-_on_July_4_2022.png
Push Back on the Influence of Big Money's Influence on Politics
In Democracy of Dollars ... 
 
“Democracy doesn’t happen by accident. We have to defend it, fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.” It’s in the renewal, strengthening, and defense of democracy where you and I come in. It’s where achieving a healthy balance between individual liberty and the common good must be achieved, and we must insist on it being accomplished.
-- Dick Jacobs, 
July 4th 2022, 
Tierra Verde, Florida
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: The Russia - Ukraine War Continues Raising New Nuclear Risks
::Visit GreenPolicy360's Colleague 'Strategic Demands' for More...
:* https://strategicdemands.com/nuclear-threats-and-responses/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/nuclear-threats-again-from-the-north/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/quotes-rattling-ratcheting-nukes/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/eyes-on-the-global-security-threat/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/will-russia-lose-the-war/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/sanctions-bite-russias-putin-responds/
As War in Europe Takes Over the Daily Headlines
 "Hand-writing Is On the Wall"
By Lawrence Wilkerson Col, USA (Ret)
Whether it’s sea level rise, unprecedented drought, extreme weather events, devastating and wide-ranging fires, dwindling fresh water supplies, food scarcity, multiple pandemics, or massive human migrations (particularly from the Global South), or any number of these occurring simultaneously or synergistically, the hand-writing is on the wall...
America must get moving now, not dither and doubt. The U.S. military’s risk factor equation is around 60-65 percent. That is, if the chance of disaster is that high, you buy insurance, the best policy you can afford. The risk with the climate crisis is human existence and the risk factor is at least 70-plus percent. Ask yourself what you would do. 
These recommendations in no way constitute an advocacy for more overseas bases for the U.S. military, a supplemental to its already-over-the-top budget, or an increase in its overall numbers. In fact, these recommendations absolutely eschew even more stupid, endless wars that detract from attention to genuine national security challenges such as that presented by the changing climate. 
* https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2022/05/17/us-military-must-renew-its-mission-to-meet-climate-charged-global-crisis/
:
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Strategic_Demands
* https://strategicdemands.com/surviving-victory-from-the-archive/
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Green_Politics
* https://strategicdemands.com/environmental-security/
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"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you." 
: — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Out in Front Green Politics
: #GoingGreen, globally connected, your 360 GreenLinks Action Network
::Green Stories of the Day / Climate News / Planet Citizens / Going Green
Via Strategic Demands, GreenPolicy360's associate:
Biden's (and the World's) Imperiled Climate Agenda
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/climate/biden-climate-change.html
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Oil/Gas Seen at Center of Ukraine War
:Fossil Fuels: A Perspective
::Russia looks to its oil/gas revenue to fund its war 
::* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Daniel_Yergen_talks_oil-gas-fracking-energy-renewables..._war_and_geopolitics.png
Big Oil/Gas Companies: Prices Continue Up, Profits Up, Way Up
Russia-Ukraine War Brings Disruptions and Sanctions: Oil/Gas/Fuel Prices Surge in 2022
(2021 Report) The largest oil and gas companies made a combined $174bn in profits in the first nine months of the year as gasoline prices climbed in the US, according to a new report.
The bumper profit totals, provided exclusively to the Guardian, show that in the third quarter of 2021 alone, 24 top oil and gas companies made more than $74bn in net income. From January to September, the net income of the group, which includes Exxon, Chevron, Shell and BP, was $174bn.
* https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/06/oil-companies-profits-exxon-chevron-shell-exclusive
* https://newrepublic.com/article/165658/windfall-tax-whitehouse-khanna-common-wealth
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United Nations latest global climate assessment delivers dire news
Last line of the latest IPCC policy document: "Scientific evidence is unequivocal: Climate change is a threat to human well-being & planetary health. Any further delay in global action will miss a brief & rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable & sustainable future for all."
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Nuclear Weapons in Europe ... Tactical/Strategic Background
: Security Perspectives, Security Demands: Russia, Ukraine, NATO, US, European nations
If one steps back and takes a broader look at the causes of potential war over the issue of Ukraine, the issue takes on a larger security perspective, i.e., nuclear weapons "modernization" and next generation "smart", "dial-up" tactical nuclear weapons imminently being deployed in Europe and other theaters.
The modernization of nuclear weapons post Cold War nuclear triad strategies, and the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) era of massive nuclear retaliation with 'launch on warning' command and control to assure land-based missile capabilities to respond to perceived preemptive attack has led to a new era, one of so-called small nukes.
They are not small, they are profoundly dangerous to real security and the current European, East-West standoff over Ukraine, demonstrates how these next generation nuclear weapons are bringing on new iterations of nuclear danger.
Given the saber rattling, the threats of war, the failing diplomacy broadcast as near ultimatums and resorts to use of force, and counterforce, let's hope that behind the news that's public there's a quiet negotiation going forward to resolve the primary security concerns of the nations facing off. Foremost are nuclear weapons and delivery systems that are clear and present dangers.
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#ActonClimate Today & Every Day
Glasgow Climate Summit - Pledges, Promises, Declarations - What's Next Up
: 
GreenPolicy360: Climate Pledges Must Be Enforced
How to turn each nation's climate pledges into 'effective climate action'
:Promises of international climate summits in Paris (2015) & Glasgow (2021) now require 'effective climate action follow on'
::Measuring & monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with satellite missions can become -- 'Our climate tool working nation-by-nation'
GreenPolicy360 Siterunner - SJS / December 2021: Looking back to the 1960s and 70s to the beginnings of the Earth Science from Space missions of NASA and affiliated U.S. agencies, in association with higher education and aerospace business, the vision statements of Congressional leaders, recalling Rep. George E. Brown (D-Los Angeles), setting in motion the measuring and monitoring programs that have led to decades of atmospheric and earth systems data. This constellation of new space technology -- digital imaging, Earth 360° remote viewing, scientific observations, changes over time, trend lines, all can come into our hands. 'Drilling down', not for gas and oil, but in the parsing of data, now has the promise to provide essential ways and means to deliver a real- and extended-time knowledge base which can be used, effectively and we propose legally, to deliver on pledges and promises made at international climate change conferences and summits.
Let us do our part in continuing to expand this first-generation earth science vision -- space-based cooperative missions, initiatives and ventures -- that makes it possible to turn database tracking of emissions (externalities) -- CO2, methane, CFCs and other gases -- nation-by-nation into Climate Plan Enforcement (CPEs).
It is time to move from distant pledges to coordinated nation-by-nation climate action. Using best practices, effective nationally determined, and legally enforced operational plans, we can become agents of change making a positive real-world difference. As it is said -- "Earth Is In Our Hands", let us turn science and knowledge into climate action now.
The strategic demands for international cooperation and action is our generations greatest task and our legacy. Let us take up our climate challenge. Our time is today to enforce well intended, but extremely hard to achieve climate pledges. 
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Methods_to_enforce_climate_pledges-NDCs_-_Dec_2021.png/
Devastating News: Climate Change Impacts to Hit Sooner than Predicted
* https://phys.org/news/2021-06-climate-impacts-sooner.html
Climate change will fundamentally reshape life on Earth in the coming decades, even if humans can tame planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to a landmark draft report from the UN's climate science advisors obtained by AFP.
Species extinction, more widespread disease, unliveable heat, ecosystem collapse, cities menaced by rising seas—these and other devastating climate impacts are accelerating and bound to become painfully obvious before a child born today turns 30.
The choices societies make now will determine whether our species thrives or simply survives as the 21st century unfolds, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says in a draft report seen exclusively by AFP.
But dangerous thresholds are closer than once thought, and dire consequences stemming from decades of unbridled carbon pollution are unavoidable in the short term.
Climate News
There are 'no easy fixes' in Florida. But could Hurricane Ian's havoc bring a call for better planning?
Via USA Today
Researchers who study flooding, development and climate change were horrified by the emerging images but not surprised. For years, they have warned that sprawling development in Florida and other coastal states wasn't sustainable, especially with the warming climate supercharging hurricane rainfall.
"This is kind of what we had expected for days in advance, and it's still heartbreaking to see so many people stranded," said Kevin Reed, associate professor in atmospheric science at Stony Brook University...
"None of this is surprising," said Linda Shi, an assistant professor in Cornell University's city and regional planning department. "How much does it take for us to want to make a change? Our policies and our choices have led us to this point."
Reed and colleagues recently published a study looking at all hurricanes during the 2020 season and concluded climate change was adding up to 10% more rain to today's hurricanes. On Thursday, they used the same models to compare Ian's rainfall and concluded it was at least 10% higher than it would have been without the warming climate. 
"This is one of the clearest indicators of how climate change is impacting storms," Reed said. It may not seem like a lot, but 2 inches on top of an already large amount of rainfall makes an enormous impact. 
 
What can Florida learn from Hurricane Ian?
"Mother Nature keeps telling us homes don't belong where we built them, yet we continue to build homes where they don't belong." 
"We can’t stop cyclone events or stop the rain from falling, but we can build communities that are better able to withstand these events,” says John Dickson, president of the national Aon Edge Insurance Company. "We need to think about more resilient structure, and we need to make a plan to handle the water and move it away from our people and our families and our property.
Whether a storm water system is designed for rain that could occur once every 25 years or a rainfall event every 100 years, the system probably would be overwhelmed with rain like Ian's, said Chad Berginnis, executive director for the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
The state may have to accept the fact that developers will have to build at higher elevations.
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Re: Florida's Flood and Property Insurance Crisis
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As hurricane season approaches, it’s not an understatement to say that water is heading to Florida. However, in addition to the rain and storms coming to the Sunshine State, residents are also likely to see higher flood insurance costs in 2022.
Florida has 8,436 miles (13,576 km) of coastline, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the second highest number of shore miles in the U.S. by distance.''
~ The terms “coastline” and “shoreline” are often used interchangeably, but they have different meanings. The coastline of a place is defined as the boundary between the coast and the shore. In other words, a coastline is a big-picture view of the approximate line between the land and the sea. A shoreline is an ever-changing line that marks the specific place where the water and shore meet...
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Halloween isn’t the only scary thing coming up in October for Florida residents. More immediately, the state is going to see rate hikes on flood insurance as the Federal Emergency Management Agency implements a new risk rating system on Oct. 1.
Flood insurance is a yearly cost to homeowners who use it, and it covers homes in danger of water damage, particularly during storms. For Florida, that’s all year but particularly in hurricane season.
Starting on Oct. 1, FEMA is implementing a program update it calls Risk Rating 2.0, which will change the way that flood insurance rates are calculated and charged and could lead to price increases for thousands of homeowners with waterfront properties. The changes coming through the system update are part of FEMA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.''
* https://coast.noaa.gov/states/florida.html 
* https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/88-of-florida-homeowners-to-see-higher-flood-insurance-rates/
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Living_coastline
Ian hits Florida's already unstable insurance market
* https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ian-threatens-floridas-unstable-insurance-market-90658469
Six Florida property insurance companies were declared insolvent this year, and others are canceling or not renewing policies 
* https://www.axios.com/local/miami/2022/10/03/florida-property-insurance-crisis-litigation
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More:
A new federal summary of the globe's climate last year takes bits and pieces of grim news from the past 18 months and rolls it into a sobering report on the world's warming climate. 
Long-term warming trends continue worldwide, even when interrupted by temporary cooler weather phenomena, such as the lingering La Nina in the Pacific, concluded the 2021 "State of the Climate" report released Wednesday (Sept. 28).
"The data presented in this report are clear – we continue to see more compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing,” said Rick Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report is prepared by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, with contributions from scientists around the world.
 
~ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 6th IPCC report is a "dire warning about the consequences of inaction" on climate change.
 
~ It's not just ecosystems and weather being affected by warming: People are suffering and dying, experts say.
 
~ In North America, human life, safety and livelihood will be at risk from sea-level rise, severe storms and hurricanes, especially in coastal areas.
* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/30/hurricane-ian-flooded-florida-climate-change/8125673001/
* https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/09/01/report-weather-extremes-climate-change-no-slowing/7949934001/
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On Florida's 'Space Coast', a Moon Ship is getting ready (and could be rescheduled again)
Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature (wiki) 
* https://www.space.com/artemis-program.html
* https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
* https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
September 21, 2022
Nuclear War Threats, Nuclear Disaster Dangers: Russia Ups the Ante in Ukraine Conflict
Russian President Putin: If the territorial integrity of Russia is threatened, the Kremlin would — “certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people. It is not a bluff.”
* https://strategicdemands.com/ultimatum-time/
The speech today by Russia’s president, it can be said, was not a surprise. Russia’s war against Ukraine was not, by any account, progressing the way the Russians expected and a shift in tactics was expected. What wasn’t expected was the mobilization of 300,000 reserves and a new wave of nuclear weapons threats
What we see is President Putin moving to declare parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine as legally Russian national territory. Then, after annexing these parts of Ukraine, we see a move to give NATO/Europe/US an ultimatum that *attacks in the Donbas region etc will be considered attacking the Russian nation, a nuclear-armed Russia.
Let that sink in….
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September 6
Russia Cuts Off Gas/Oil Exports to Europe
Fossil Fuels Crisis: Winter Approaching
Via Wire Services / Interfax 
Europe has been thrown into its biggest energy crisis in decades with natural gas supplies from Russia becoming volatile and unpredictable even before the invasion of Ukraine began. Now, those supplies have come to a complete halt.
Russia claims punitive economic sanctions imposed on it by the West are responsible for the indefinite halt to gas supplies via Europe’s main pipeline.
“Problems in pumping arose because of the sanctions imposed against our country and against a number of companies by Western states, including Germany and the U.K.,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday, according to Russian state news agency Interfax.
Asked whether pumping gas via Nord Stream 1 was completely dependent on the sanctions and that supplies would resume if these were lifted or relaxed, Peskov replied, “Of course. The very sanctions that prevent the maintenance of units, which prevent them from moving without appropriate legal guarantees, which prevent these legal guarantees from being given, and so on.”
“It is precisely these sanctions that the Western states have introduced that have brought the situation to what we see now,” Peskov added.
Coming directly from the Kremlin, such comments represent the clearest indication yet that Russia is seeking to pressure Europe to lift the economic measures, brought on to punish Russia over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, in order for the taps to be turned back on ahead of winter.
European lawmakers have repeatedly accused Russia, traditionally its largest energy supplier, of weaponizing energy exports in an attempt to drive up commodity prices and sow uncertainty across the 27-nation bloc. Moscow denies using energy as a weapon...
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September 1 
U.S. President Biden warns that Ex-President Trump's extreme MAGA Republicans are a 'danger' to U.S. democracy
* https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/01/biden-warns-trumps-extreme-maga-republicans-are-a-danger-to-us-democracy.html
A speech about Democracy -- and protecting Democracy and the Republic 
At Independence Hall, site of President Biden's speech
President Biden delivered a speech on the “soul of the nation” Thursday evening in Philadelphia, with its famed Independence Hall as the backdrop. It’s far from the first presidential speech at the historic building. Here’s a primer on Independence Hall’s origins, transformations and key moments throughout its 269-year history.
Independence Hall is where the Declaration of Independence was approved in July 1776 and where the Founders debated and wrote the Constitution in the summer of 1787. It’s where the Liberty Bell rang and where George Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army at the start of the Revolutionary War. In 1797, he made his final public appearance as president next door at Congress Hall — which together with Independence Hall is now part of Independence National Historic Park...
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/09/01/independence-hall-biden-history/
Via Tom Nichols
* https://twitter.com/TheAtlantic/status/1565837023688146945
* https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1565828894392991745
* https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/09/the-speech-no-president-should-have-to-give/671338/
CNN's John Harwood covers the speech -- then departs from a newly configured CNN
* https://twitter.com/froomkin/status/1565752641279361025
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August 2022
August 26
California Acts to Ban the Sale of New Gasoline Cars
The decision, to take effect by 2035, will very likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles because many other states follow California’s standards
After the California Air Resources Board approved Thursday regulations that ban the sale of new gas-engine vehicles by 2035, requiring all new cars to run on electricity or hydrogen, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told ABC News he was confident that more states would do the same to help combat climate change.
BY THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD | AUG. 26, 2022 
* https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-08-26/california-gas-car-ban-zero-emission
It’s hard to overstate the significance of California’s move this week to end the sale of new gas-powered cars.
The California Air Resources Board’s vote Thursday setting a firm 2035 deadline is huge and consequential for climate change, air quality and health. The nation’s most populated and worst-polluted state is the first to adopt rules that will finally stop adding gas-fueled passenger vehicles to its roads.
The end of the internal combustion engine era, and the toll on our lungs and our planet, is finally on the horizon.
This regulation will require automakers to sell increasing percentages of zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles starting with 35% of new car sales in 2026, reaching 68% in 2030 and 100% by 2035. Zero-emission vehicles account for 16.5% of California’s new sales today, a rate that leads the nation but lags behind Europe and China. So these rules help reestablish California’s climate leadership, putting it in step with other leading nations and making it one of the first — and the largest — vehicle markets in the world to require 100% of new sales be zero emissions.
It’s a pivotal moment for a state that has been shaped for decades, often negatively, by automobiles and the health-damaging pollution they generate.
More on California's decision to drive forward into a new world of transportation
* https://www.npr.org/2022/08/27/1119360031/california-gas-cars-electric-cars-zero-emission-climate-change
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-automakers.html
* https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/08/california-ban-cars-emissions-climate-change/
:~
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/climate/california-gas-cars-emissions.html
* https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/california-new-gas-car-ban-2035/index.html
* https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/24/23320148/california-gas-car-ban-2035-ev-climate-change
* https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/california-hold-final-hearing-banning-sale-new-gas-cars-2035
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August 19
WASHINGTON / Via the NY Times and Online News Services — Fresh off signing expansive climate legislation, President Biden and his administration are planning a series of executive actions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help keep the planet from warming to dangerous temperatures, senior White House officials said.
Mr. Biden is on track to deploy a series of measures, including new regulations on emissions from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and oil and gas wells, the officials said.
After Signing Climate Bill, Biden Prepares More Actions to Cut Emissions
Regulations from the E.P.A. and elsewhere will help the president meet his aggressive climate goals
The Green Climate Package continues to grow with Executive Orders and Agency Actions
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/us/politics/biden-climate-bill-emissions.html
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf
Speed & Scope Is Up: Green Transition / Climate Action on the Move
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/opinion/environment/inflation-reduction-act-climate-change.html
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U.S. House of Representatives Passes Historic Legislative Package
Inflation, Taxes, Health -- Energy and Climate
After lengthy 'rip-roaring attack speech' by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and speeches by Democratic Leaders Hoyer and Pelosi, the vote is strictly partisan
With a vote of 220 to 207, the House agreed to the single largest federal investment in the fight against climate change and the most substantial changes to national health care policy since passage of the Affordable Care Act. The bill now goes to Mr. Biden for his signature
House approves Biden’s flagship climate and tax package
Final passage of $700bn bill marks significant legislative victory for U.S. president 
The House vote is party-line 220-207 to pass the legislation
Cleaner air, greener cities, shifted politics: 8 visions of the future after the new climate bill
More:
* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/us-house-passes-climate-bill-inflation-reduction-act
* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/us-climate-bill-keeps-hope-alive-for-halting-warming-at-1-5-c
* https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-set-to-pass-democrats-climate-healthcare-and-tax-package-11660296604
* https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/08/12/nation/congress-oks-dems-climate-health-bill-biden-triumph/
* https://grist.org/politics/house-passes-the-inflation-reduction-act-the-most-significant-climate-bill-in-us-history/
🌎
Sweeping climate bill pushes American energy to go green
* https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-congress-climate-and-environment-f084d23d61ebb068068d4aa92c82fdbb
Associated Press / August 12, 2022
By SETH BORENSTEIN, MATTHEW DALY and MICHAEL PHILLIS
WASHINGTON (AP) — After decades of inaction in the face of escalating natural disasters and sustained global warming, Congress hopes to make clean energy so cheap in all aspects of life that it’s nearly irresistible. The House is poised to pass a transformative bill Friday that would provide the most spending to fight climate change by any one nation ever in a single push...
The crux of the long-delayed bill, singularly pushed by Democrats in a closely divided Congress, is to use incentives to spur investors to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the transition away from the oil, coal and gas that largely cause climate change.
The United States has put the most heat-trapping gases into the air, burning more inexpensive dirty fuels than any other country. But the nearly $375 billion in climate incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act are designed to make the already plummeting costs of renewable energy substantially lower at home, on the highways and in the factory. Together these could help shrink U.S. carbon emissions by about two-fifths by 2030 and should chop emissions from electricity by as much as 80%. 
“This legislation is a true game-changer. It will create jobs, lower costs, increase U.S. competitiveness, reduce air pollution,” said former Vice President Al Gore, who held his first global warming hearing 40 years ago. “The momentum that will come out of this legislation, cannot be underestimated.”
The U.S. action could spur other nations to do more — especially China and India, the two largest carbon emitters along with the U.S. That in turn could lower prices for renewable energy globally, experts said.
Because of the specific legislative process in which this compromise was formed, which limits it to budget-related actions, the bill does not regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but deals mainly in spending, most of it through tax credits as well as rebates to industry, consumers and utilities.
Investments work better at fostering clean energy than regulations, said Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The climate bill is likely to spur billions in private investment, she said: “That’s what’s going to be so transformative.”
The bill promotes vital technologies such as battery storage. Clean energy manufacturing gets a big boost. It will be cheaper for consumers to make climate-friendly purchasing decisions. There are tax credits to make electric cars more affordable, help for low-income people making energy-efficiency upgrades and incentives for rooftop solar and heat pumps.
There are also incentives for nuclear power and projects that aim to capture and remove carbon from the atmosphere...
The Rhodium Group research firm estimates the bill would dramatically change the arc of future U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 31% to 44% in 2030, compared to what had been shaping up to be 24% to 35% by 2005 without the bill, said Rhodium partner John Larsen. Clean power on the grid, an upcoming Rhodium report says, would jump from under 40% now to between 60% and 81% by 2030, he said.
“It’s not as big as I want, but it’s also bigger than anything we’ve ever done,″ said Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat who leads the Senate climate caucus. “A 40% emissions reduction is nothing the U.S. has ever come close to before.″
As decisive a change as it is for U.S. policy and emissions, it still does not reach the official U.S. goal of cutting carbon pollution roughly in half by 2030 to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.
Republicans, who unanimously opposed the bill in the Senate, say it would add to consumers’ energy costs, with House GOP Whip Steve Scalise claiming it “wastes billions of dollars in Green New Deal slush funds.”
“It’s a mark of shame that it took this long for our political system to react,” said Bill McKibben, a long-time climate activist, adding that it leaves the fossil fuel industry with too much power. “But this will help catalyze action elsewhere in the world; it’s a declaration that hydrocarbons are finally in decline and clean energy ascendant, and that the climate movement is finally at least something of a match for Big Oil.”
The 730-page bill is here
:: 
* https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-democrats-fend-off-amendments-430-bln-climate-drug-bill-2022-08-07/
August 7, 2022
Steve Schmidt / Founder, GreenPolicy360: It took 45+ yrs to pass real climate action called for in the 1970s w the first National Climate Act. Our #GreenPolicy360 network thanks Rep George E. Brown, a main mover at the beginning, who'd be smiling now if he were here ... 
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/File:US_Public_Law_95-367.png 
* https://greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr
Five Decades in the Making: Why It Took Congress So Long to Act on Climate
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/07/climate/senate-climate-law.html
Bookmark Climate Policy @GreenPolicy360 
* http://bit.ly/GreenPolicy360Climate
○
Surprise Deal Would Be Most Ambitious Climate Action Undertaken by U.S.
The announcement Wednesday (July 27) of an agreement in the Senate almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/climate/climate-change-deal-manchin.html
WASHINGTON — The $369 billion climate and tax package forged in a surprise deal by Senate Democrats on Wednesday would be the most ambitious action ever taken by the United States to try to stop the planet from catastrophically overheating.
The agreement, which Senate Democrats hope to pass as early as next week, shocked even some who had been involved in the sputtering negotiations over climate legislation during the past year. The announcement of a deal, after many activists had given up hope, almost instantly reset the role of the United States in the global effort to fight climate change.
○
(NYT) Until yesterday, the Democratic Party seemed as if it were on the verge of squandering a major opportunity to combat climate change. Democrats control both Congress and the presidency, and yet they had been unable to agree on a package of climate policies to accelerate the use of clean energy and reduce emissions. Senator Joe Manchin had been blocking any deal, and the Senate is so closely divided that the Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote.
Yesterday, however, Manchin appeared to change his mind. He announced that he had agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs in a bill that would also reduce prescription drug prices, raise taxes on the affluent and shrink the federal deficit.
If Manchin and other Democrats remain united, it would be a very big deal. “This has the opportunity to be an enormous breakthrough for climate progress,” Sam Ricketts, co-founder of Evergreen Action, an environmental group, told The Times.
It’s especially significant because congressional Republicans have almost uniformly opposed policies to slow climate change (a contrast with conservatives in many other countries). And it remains unclear whether Democrats will again control both Congress and the White House anytime soon. If Congress fails to pass a climate bill this summer, it may not do so for years — while the ravages of climate change worsen.
○
President Biden needs to put forward a powerful 'executive' climate agenda
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/Sen_Whitehouse_-_president_needs_to_put_forward_powerful_climate_agenda_-_July_15_2022.pdf
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July 4th, 2022
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Richard_Jacobs_and_The_Man_in_the_Arena_-_on_July_4_2022.png
... Our Challenge
In Democracy of Dollars I wrote: “Democracy doesn’t happen by accident. We have to defend it, fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.” ''
It’s in the renewal, strengthening, and defense of democracy where you and I come in. It’s where achieving a healthy balance between individual liberty and the common good must be achieved, and we must insist on it being accomplished.
-- Dick Jacobs, 
July 4th 2022, 
Tierra Verde, Florida
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It's time to #UnfoldTheUniverse
: You have a date with the Webb !
Get your game plan ready for the reveal of Webb's first images on July 12! 🙌 
Find out how you can watch our broadcast, view the spectacular images, and participate in this historic event to #UnfoldTheUniverse 
* https://go.nasa.gov/3NzC9De
"It's an emotional moment when you see nature suddenly releasing some of its secrets," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science missions. "It's not an image. It's a new worldview."
* https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1532018001310097408
On July 12, the first full color images and data from the world's most powerful observatory will be revealed
: * https://go.nasa.gov/3t91EDV
: * https://twitter.com/NASA_es/status/1532022116966666244/photo/1
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June 2022
West Virginia v EPA
: Click Here for a scan of news/commentary and opinion re the June 30, 2022 decision
:* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/mw/images/SCOTUS_News_re_West_Virginia_v_EPA_Decision.pdf
 
June 28
::::
Republican Drive to Tilt Courts Against Climate Action
A Supreme Court environmental case being decided this month is the product of a coordinated, multiyear strategy by Republican attorneys general and conservative allies
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/19/climate/supreme-court-climate-epa.html
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Protect Democracy 
: "Our Democracy Is in Danger" - https://protectdemocracy.org/
“When specific actions threaten democracy, they should be covered as major news stories in themselves, not as part of a political or ideological debate.”
Our U.S. democracy is facing threats we haven’t seen in generations. Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting efforts, at home and abroad, to undermine our right to free, fair, and fully informed self-government. Together, armed with our Constitution and the rule of law, we can renew our democracy and protect it from those who would do it harm.
Electoral Count Act
:* https://protectdemocracy.org/project/electoral-count-act/
Securing Consequences for the January 6th Insurrection
:* https://protectdemocracy.org/project/securing-consequences-for-the-january-6th-insurrection/
The Authoritarian Playbook: A Media Guide
:* https://protectdemocracy.org/project/the-authoritarian-playbook-media/
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See GreenLinks
GreenLinks @GreenPolicy360
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/GreenLinks
See Fact Checking
Fact Checking @GreenPolicy360
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Fact_Checking
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Strategic_Demands
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Disinformation_-_Online_-_Dangerous
Voting Rights / Election Law
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Voting_Rights
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Voting
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Voting_Systems
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Election_Law
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Category:Election_System_Reform
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June 17, 2022
Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American 
: heathercoxrichardson@substack.com]
:* https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-16-2022
On CNN this morning (June 16), Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, said: “New evidence is breaking every single day now. Suddenly, a lot of people want to tell the truth.”
So far, the committee has used testimony and evidence only from those high up in Trump’s own administration. Today was no exception. The committee covered the former president’s pressure campaign against his vice president, Mike Pence, to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Instead of following the law, codified in the 1887 Electoral Count Act, Trump wanted Pence to use his role as the person charged with opening electoral votes to throw out the votes that gave Democrat Joe Biden victory, or at least to recess the joint session of Congress for ten days to send the electoral slates back to the states, where pro-Trump legislatures could throw out the decision of the voters and resubmit slates for Trump. 
In interviews with Pence’s former counsel Greg Jacob, as well as retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig, formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the committee established that this plan, advanced by lawyer John Eastman, was illegal. Indeed, Eastman himself called it illegal, first at length in October 2020, and then in both written and verbal admissions after the election. And the committee established that Eastman, as well as others, told Trump the plan was illegal. 
The hearings today hammered home that the centerpiece of our government is that the people have the right to choose their leaders. That concept is central to the rule of law. And yet, Trump embraced an illegal and unconstitutional theory that, instead, the vice president—one man—could overrule the will of the people and choose the president himself. Such a theory is utterly contrary to everything the Framers of the Constitution stood for and wrote into our fundamental law... 
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:: 
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl ... 
PFAS PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid), PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid) and PFHxA (perfluorohexanoic acid)
PFAS - 'Forever Chemicals'
* https://www.eenews.net/articles/epa-sets-new-advisories-in-forever-chemicals-crackdown/
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June 14, 2022
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Nuclear Threats, Responses & Ripple Effects
: The Russia - Ukraine War Continues Raising New Nuclear Risks
::Visit GreenPolicy360's Colleague 'Strategic Demands' for More...
:* https://strategicdemands.com/nuclear-threats-and-responses/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/nuclear-threats-again-from-the-north/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/quotes-rattling-ratcheting-nukes/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/eyes-on-the-global-security-threat/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/will-russia-lose-the-war/
:* https://strategicdemands.com/sanctions-bite-russias-putin-responds/
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Biden’s Pick for the EPA’s Top Air Pollution Job Finds Himself Caught in the Crossfire
At his confirmation hearing, Joseph Goffman was assailed by coal state Republicans for contemplating too much regulation, while Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse chastised him and his agency colleagues for doing too little
Inside Climate News
May 26, 2022
“I believe that all Americans, no matter where they live or what they do for a living, deserve clean air to breathe, a secure job and healthy, safe communities in which to raise a family.”
West Virginia again
* https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01032022/conservative-justices-supreme-court-epa-greenhouse-gases/
The Biden EPA is confronting obstacles to its climate agenda in both the Supreme Court and in Congress, as the Goffman confirmation hearing made clear.
Although the Obama Clean Power Plan never went into effect—the Supreme Court blocked it without ruling on its legality—Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) argued it had a lasting negative impact on her state. “Its mere proposal sent a shock through the energy sector, and combined with other regulations, it contributed in my state to hopelessness, poverty, drug overdoses and despair,” she said.
The state of West Virginia, in fact, is currently seeking a Supreme Court ruling making clear that the EPA has only limited authority to act on greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
When pressed by Capito over that legal question, Goffman declined to take a position but made clear that the EPA was waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling—expected some time before July—before proposing its own proposal to cut carbon pollution from power plants.
“Do you now have plan B already created in your office, to react to what the potential of a Supreme Court decision might be?” asked Capito.
“We have identified different options for responding,” Goffman responded, “depending on what the Supreme Court tells us the nature and contours of our authority are.”
The fact that Biden has not yet proposed a regulation for the power sector, which accounts for one-quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, drew Senator Whitehouse’s ire. “I don’t subscribe to the formulation that you should not do anything” while waiting for the Supreme Court ruling, he said.
The Biden administration had hoped that it would not have to rely on EPA regulation to tackle power plant pollution. Upon taking office, the administration sent Congress a national Clean Electricity Standard. But that was one of the first things that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) insisted on removing from Biden’s sweeping Build Back Better package.
Even after the White House dramatically scaled back Build Back Better—hoping to rely on a suite of clean-energy tax credits and other incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector—it still has not garnered Manchin’s approval and therefore does not have the votes to pass in the 50-50 Senate...
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NASA Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request
May 2022
GreenPolicy360: We are putting forward a proposal to restore the Earth Science provisions to the Mission Statement of NASA. 
Journalist Andrew Revkin wrote about the removal of this initial provision that was an essential part of the beginning of NASA as a government agency. We believe that, although these provisions were 'silently' removed in 2006, they continue to playing an essential role in the missions of NASA and NASA's work.
Here is what Andrew Revkin wrote some 15 years ago:
>Andrew Revkin/July 22, 2006/ NY Times
>“To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.”
>In February 2006, the phrase "to understand and protect the home planet" was quietly removed from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s official mission statement.
>It is the first time since NASA’s founding in 1958 that the mission statement does not explicitly include mention of the Earth. 
Here is part of NASA Administrator Bill Nelson's testimony before the Senate oversight committee this past week:
INDEED A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK OF NASA AS THE SPACE AGENCY. DON'T FORGET TO THE FIRST A, AERONAUTICS. BUT ALSO, PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IT IS ALSO THE POINT OF THE SPHERE ON CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE BECAUSE ALL THE MEASUREMENTS THAT ARE BEING MADE ARE DONE BY INSTRUMENTS THAT WE DESIGN, BUILD, LAUNCH AND MANY OF THEM WE OPERATE. 
OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT DECADE WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A GREAT OBSERVATORY OF FIVE ADDITIONAL MAJOR SPACECRAFT THAT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS GOING TO BE PUT INTO A 3D COMPOSITE ON PRECISELY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE EARTH'S CLIMATE. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE WATER, TO THE LAND, TO THE ICE, TO THE ATMOSPHERE. WE ARE PUTTING UP AT THE END OF THIS YEAR A MISSION THAT IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE FOR THE FIRST TIME THE ELEVATION OF THE STREAMS AND RIVERS AND LAKES, THE FRESHWATER. WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MEASURE THE ELEVATION OF THE OCEANS, THE SALTWATER. WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND OUT VERY PRECISELY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE ICE. 
ALL OF THIS AND WE HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE WHITE HOUSE ON THIS AND WE HOPE WE WILL HAVE YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE GOING TO CREATE IF YOU CAN ENVISION IN SPACE TERMS A MISSION CONTROL CENTER. IT'S GOING TO BE CALLED THE EARTH INFORMATION CENTER. IT'S GOING TO BRING ALL OF THIS DATA IN AND IT'S GOING TO BE DISPLAYED AND IT'S GOING TO BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY, NOT JUST GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS INCLUDING YOUR LOCAL COUNTY COMMISSION WHEN THEY ARE PLANNING, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE AVAILABLE TO SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS WELL AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AND THE CHANGES THAT ARE HAPPENING TO THE CLAIMANT. 
Readers of GreenPolicy360 can look back at our founder's work with George E. Brown, who was instrumental as a leader in Congress for over 30 years and led Earth Science efforts, including advancing NASA's first generation of earth research from space.
Congressman Brown's point of view for over 30 yrs in Congress was that technology, science, data are guides necessary for smart policy decisions. Check out his record. George set in motion many of the programs and missions to accomplish multi generational envir protection goals that we have taken up and carried on...
The Original Mission Statement of NASA ((1958) provided Congressional intent and guidance to the first generation of space programs. George, if he were here, would've done everything within his power to protect the original mission statement, even as misinformation and denial are rampant these days ...
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/George_E._Brown_Jr
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April 29, 2022
Russian Invasion of Ukraine Expands to Energy Threats to Europe
Germany to build LNG terminals at 'Tesla Speed' to shift away from Russian gas
... Floating Storage Regasification Units (FSRU) can be moored at Germany’s coastal deepwater harbours and will enable the German utilities to begin receiving shipments of LNG from as far away as the US and Qatar.
Much of these developments will take place in Wilhelmshaven, which is due to host two of these floating terminals and have a permanent one constructed on land. Together, those projects will provide Germany with the capability to import around 38 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year, almost matching the Russian gas flows of 40 bcm in 2021.
But the project pipeline does not end there. In Brunsbüttel, a land terminal with a capacity of 8 bcm will be constructed, where the local government is already rushing through legislation that will limit environmental groups’ ability to delay the project through lawsuits.
Altogether, Germany plans to build upwards of 68 bcm in LNG import capacity, more than the amount of Russian gas that needs to be replaced – a move criticised as superfluous and climate-damaging by Environmental Action Germany.
For Habeck, a Green party politician who is both minister of the economy and climate action, pushing for fossil fuel projects seems contradictory.
But “the attack on Ukraine has changed an incredible number of things,” he told German citizens on Tuesday (26 April). “A fundamental part of the change is that Germany must become independent of Russian energy imports.”
* https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/04/28/germany-to-build-lng-terminals-at-tesla-speed-in-shift-away-from-russian-gas/
 
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April 20, 2022
Recollections of the 'Satan Sarmat' (2016)
 
April 17, 2022
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Announcement from GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands
  
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Biden's (and the World's) Imperiled Climate Agenda
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/climate/biden-climate-change.html
On Thursday (March 31st), President Biden said he would release one million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for as long as 180 days to help bring down global oil prices. The scale and duration of such a release would be historic. The United States also plans to increase exports of natural gas to help Europe wean itself from Russian supplies. Environmentalists are concerned that both of those moves will lead to more domestic drilling at a moment when scientists say nations must sharply and quickly cut fossil fuel use.
The president used the announcement about the petroleum reserve to make a plea for his stymied climate legislation, saying that he was boosting gas and oil supplies to deal with an immediate crisis but that the country’s long term energy independence should be rooted in wind, solar and other renewable sources that are insulated from global market fluctuations.
“Ultimately, we and the whole world need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether,” Mr. Biden said. “We need to choose long-term security over energy and climate vulnerability. We need to double down on our commitment to clean energy and tackling the climate crisis with our partners and allies around the world. And we can do that by passing my plan that’s literally before the Senate right now, the United States Congress right now.”
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Progress, a Step at a Time
Get it done, and get it done good
(which brings to mind an old aphorism 'perfect is the enemy of good' )
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Ready for Webb's View of the Universe?
Webb's far better than Hubble -- and Hubble brought unprecedented new visions of the Universe
March 16, 2022
"Absolutely phenomenal"
* https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-reaches-alignment-milestone-optics-working-successfully
* https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-better-than-expected-image
* https://www.inverse.com/science/nasa-webb-telescope-star-images
* https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/exploration/first-photos-james-webb-telescope/
* https://globalnews.ca/news/8690691/james-webb-telescope-first-images/
* https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/james-webb-telescope-captures-stunning-image-of-billion-year-old-galaxies-2828615
* https://www.cnet.com/science/space/stunning-james-webb-star-image-shows-telescope-is-exceeding-expectations
* https://www.livescience.com/james-webb-telescope-image-limits-of-physics
* https://gizmodo.com/latest-image-shows-the-awesome-power-of-the-webb-space-1848662774
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March 8
Russia warns of $300 oil, threatens to cut off European gas if West bans energy imports
* https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/08/russia-warns-of-300-oil-if-ban-goes-ahead-threatens-to-cut-off-european-gas.html
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Tactical, 'small battlefield' nuclear weapons aren't small
'Small' nukes are a misnomer'
::
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Sanctions Bite: War by Other Means
: Democracies, Financial Systems, Governments and Businesses Fight Back Transactionally
:* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/business/economy/russia-sanctions-global-economy.html
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War in Ukraine, War on Ukraine
The Ukraine-Russia Crisis and Threats of Nuclear Weapons Use
February 24, 2022 
(AXIOS)
Rarely in our lifetimes has the world heard more chilling and ominous words: Vladimir Putin said nations "will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history" if they interfere in his invasion of Ukraine.
Why it matters: This is a rare overt threat of nuclear attack...
Putin said in announcing the invasion:
To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside: If you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. All relevant decisions have been taken. I hope you hear me."
(CNN) 
After Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he had ordered military action in Ukraine early Thursday, he threatened "those who may be tempted to intervene" on Ukraine's behalf. 
"Now a few important, very important words for those who may be tempted to intervene in ongoing events from the outside," Putin said. 
"Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history. We are ready for any development of events. All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. I hope that I will be heard."
(NYT) 
In a rambling speech early Thursday, full of festering historical grievances and accusations of a relentless Western plot against his country, Mr. Putin reminded the world that Russia “remains one of the most powerful nuclear states” with “a certain advantage in several cutting edge weapons.”
In effect, Mr. Putin’s speech, intended to justify the invasion, seemed to come close to threatening nuclear war.
In the context of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, Mr. Putin said, “there should be no doubt that any potential aggressor will face defeat and ominous consequences should it directly attack our country.”
(POLITICO)
"Suddenly, the 'unthinkable' is unfolding before our eyes." For context, "new deployments of nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe could station US and Russian nuclear weapons closer than at any time in history... this would not be a second Cuban missile crisis but a far more volatile situation."
(TELEGRAPH UK)
Vladimir Putin appears to threaten nuclear strikes if West launches reprisal attacks
Russian president warns that any attempt to interfere in Ukraine conflict will provoke a response ‘never seen in history’
In a stark reminder of Russia’s nuclear power, he warned that “no one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor”.
The address amounted to a declaration of war on Ukraine, with the aerial bombardment and invasion following shortly afterwards. 
More:
A BBC and NYT fact check: Nukes, Proliferation and the Ukraine crisis --
* https://www.bbc.com/news/60477712
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/us/politics/putin-ukraine-nuclear-weapons.html
Nuclear 'Drills' as Russian Forces Hold 'Firing Exercises'
Diplomatic Solutions to the Ukraine-Russia Security Crisis Are Available
Will Mutual Security Answers Prove Sufficient?
* https://strategicdemands.com/russian-gas-europe-more-than-meets-the-eye/
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EV Charging Stations, US Highways, Biden 2021 Infrastructure and Transportation Plan
February 10, 2022
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Strategic Demands for Mutual Security, Not Yet Evident
Feb. 7
Re: question of diplomatic solutions, in Moscow... France's President Macron meeting with Russia's President Putin: 
“Let us start building a response that is useful for Russia, useful for all of our Europe, a response that helps us avoid war and build all the elements of trust, of stability, of visibility. Together.”
* https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/07/world/russia-ukraine-news
Updated / First week of February 2022
* https://strategicdemands.com/bigger-picture-beyond-the-ukraine-conflict/
* https://strategicdemands.com/a-proposed-ukraine-fix-act-now-to-expand-the-inf-agreement/
* https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/Nuclear_Nonproliferation
Russian President Vladimir Putin: Russia has not seen "adequate consideration of our three key demands regarding NATO expansion, the renunciation of the deployment of strike weapons systems near Russian borders, and the return of the [NATO] bloc's military infrastructure in Europe to the state of 1997, when the Russia-NATO founding act was signed."''
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Via CNBC and Wire Services
January 28, 2022
Talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are expected in the next few days...
The reaction from the Kremlin comes a day after the U.S. delivered its written responses to Russia’s security demands — including that Ukraine never be allowed to join the U.S. and Europe’s military alliance NATO, and that the organization rolls back its deployments in Eastern Europe.
In its response, which was given to the Kremlin by the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, the United States repeated its previous refusal to concede to such demands, sticking instead to its commitment to NATO’s “open-door” policy...
Blinken told reporters in a press briefing that the U.S. response also offered Russia “a serious diplomatic path forward, should Russia choose it.”
“We’re open to dialogue, we prefer diplomacy, and we’re prepared to move forward where there is the possibility of communication and cooperation if Russia de-escalates its aggression toward Ukraine, stops the inflammatory rhetoric, and approaches discussions about the future of security in Europe in a spirit of reciprocity.” 
Russia has repeatedly denied it is planning to invade Ukraine despite having amassed around 100,000 troops and military hardware at various points along its border with Ukraine. Tensions have been high with its neighbor since 2014, when it invaded and annexed Crimea. It has also supported a pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine, provoking low-level fighting between separatists and Ukrainian troops ever since.
Putin has said Russia can place its troops wherever it likes on its territory, and Russia has accused the West of stoking hostilities and hysteria in the region.
The U.S. and NATO are not prepared to take Russia at its word that it will not invade Ukraine. NATO has placed its forces on standby and reinforced its positions in Eastern Europe, with more ships and fighter jets being sent to the region. The U.S., meanwhile, has put thousands of troops on heightened alert, meaning they are ready to be deployed to the region if the crisis escalates. 
Lavrov said Thursday that the U.S. response “allows us to expect the start of a serious conversation but on secondary issues.”
“On the main question, there’s no positive reaction in this document,” he said, according to the Interfax news service.
He reportedly stated that the main issue for Russia is “the inadmissibility of further expansion of NATO to the East and the deployment of strike weapons that could threaten the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Before Russia had received the U.S. response, Lavrov said he had made it clear to Blinken “that any further disregard for the legitimate concerns of the Russian Federation, which are associated primarily with the continued military exploration of Ukraine by the United States and its NATO allies against the background of the largescale deployment of the alliance’s forces and weapons near our borders, would have the most serious consequences.”
  
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New Definitions of National Security Demanded
: GreenPolicy360 & Strategic Demands:
: * https://strategicdemands.com/russia-ukraine-belarus-nato-eu-us/
 
War Between Russia, Ukraine, NATO, US?
: War Between Nuclear Weapons States Carries Extreme Strategic Risks
:: Fact: There is NO winning a Nuclear Exchange, NO Winning with Nuclear Weapons
 
What do we need? A New Vision of Security. When do we need it? Now...
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Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin: Step back from the brink. 
Order the ambassadors to talk security. Nuclear weapons controls. Mutual assurances. Real security. 
Ukraine conflict, regional war, war involving nuclear-armed states, will never bring real security... 
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Doomsday Clock 2022
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Voting and Election Rights Go Down in Disheartening Defeat
Dems' 'nuclear option' push fails, election bills dead, after Sinema and Manchin vote to keep filibuster
* https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-manchin-sinema-biden-senate-filibuster-democrats-voting-rights-elections
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Voting Rights and Democracy Atop President Biden's Political Speech in Atlanta
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White House: President Biden Speaks on 'Protecting the Right to Vote' (Speech Transcript /Atlanta, January 11, 2022)
  
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Recalling a speech about Democracy, Protecting Democracy and the Republic 
At Independence Hall, site of President Biden's speech
President Biden delivered a speech on the “soul of the nation” Thursday evening in Philadelphia, with its famed Independence Hall as the backdrop. It’s far from the first presidential speech at the historic building. Here’s a primer on Independence Hall’s origins, transformations and key moments throughout its 269-year history.
Independence Hall is where the Declaration of Independence was approved in July 1776 and where the Founders debated and wrote the Constitution in the summer of 1787. It’s where the Liberty Bell rang and where George Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental Army at the start of the Revolutionary War. In 1797, he made his final public appearance as president next door at Congress Hall — which together with Independence Hall is now part of Independence National Historic Park...
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:* https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/09/01/independence-hall-biden-history/
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