I talk with the congressman about why Trump is meeting so little resistance, what can be salvaged of energy policy in the next four years, and where to look for hope.
Sean Casten is an unapologetic supporter of Palestinian genocide. His district contains the largest number of Palestinians out of any district but he refuses to meet with them and instead takes millions from outside his district to support his re-election efforts. He is a despicable and corrupt man and has no business being on any left of center media.
I liked the responses to the question about: "What can we do locally?" #1 - "Go Do It!" And #2 - "Mandate It!" If carrots don't work, bring out the sticks. Maybe Democrats would get more credit from voters if they demonstrated the spine to mandate some stuff.
In France, they've required all existing parking lots with more than 50 spaces to install solar parking lot canopies within 5 years. Just add some stationary storage batteries & Vehicle-2-Grid Chargers and you've got widely distributed community micro-grids everywhere.
Maybe "what got the Dems in trouble" was an inability to sell "mandates," and "bans," another supposedly unpopular word. I say point out how well they have worked in the broad "environmental" policy area over the last 50 years:
Ban DDT -> raptor populations boom (OK we stopped blasting at them too.)
Ban lead gas and paint -> 90% drop in child blood lead levels
Mandate pollution controls on vehicles -> huge decreases in air CO, HC, VOCs, NOx
Mandate a declining cap on SO2 -> Somehow we don't worry about acid rain anymore (yeah, maybe we shoulda worked harder at cleaning up some blast furnaces instead of letting them run to China)
Mandate low-sulfur diesel and particulate filters -> halving of urban PMx, still less acid rain
Similar for a variety of water pollution issues, unsafe and unhealthful workplace practices ...
Unfortunately, a subset of climate/enviro "justice" activists constantly points out where these policies have not fully purified some localities, which is certainly true, but it gives the impression that these policies have not worked well overall. (Even, and in some cases, particularly, the EJ 'hoods are much less polluted than 50 years ago. )
Someone needs to say "There is no right to pollute." Maybe say "Pollution is not Patriotic," but it seems hard for some young leftie activists to consider themselves "patriotic."
Oh? Or was it Republican lies and fear mongering about extremely minor changes. Meanwhile, Republicans institute mandates to every walk of life and Trump's approval rating barely moves.
Spending lots of public money and guaranteeing cost overruns isn't socialism and none of the three countries mentioned are socialist. China has the most billionaires in the World. The Green New Deal would have been the largest capitalist bonanza in the history of the world.
Important as Elon's austerity push further embeds the deficit mythology. Would like to see prominent Dems fight back against these myths.
I've been waiting for this type of program from you, David. Think you need to do more, bc the administration is clear cutting anything that would actually benefit this country.
Great episode. I don't know if I'd call it hopeful, but did take a little of the edge off the anxiety. If you can find anyone else out there with comparable knowledge and perspective, have them on. Thanks.
Sean Casten is an unapologetic supporter of Palestinian genocide. His district contains the largest number of Palestinians out of any district but he refuses to meet with them and instead takes millions from outside his district to support his re-election efforts. He is a despicable and corrupt man and has no business being on any left of center media.
I liked the responses to the question about: "What can we do locally?" #1 - "Go Do It!" And #2 - "Mandate It!" If carrots don't work, bring out the sticks. Maybe Democrats would get more credit from voters if they demonstrated the spine to mandate some stuff.
In France, they've required all existing parking lots with more than 50 spaces to install solar parking lot canopies within 5 years. Just add some stationary storage batteries & Vehicle-2-Grid Chargers and you've got widely distributed community micro-grids everywhere.
Mandates are what got the Dems in trouble .....
Maybe "what got the Dems in trouble" was an inability to sell "mandates," and "bans," another supposedly unpopular word. I say point out how well they have worked in the broad "environmental" policy area over the last 50 years:
Ban DDT -> raptor populations boom (OK we stopped blasting at them too.)
Ban lead gas and paint -> 90% drop in child blood lead levels
Mandate pollution controls on vehicles -> huge decreases in air CO, HC, VOCs, NOx
Mandate a declining cap on SO2 -> Somehow we don't worry about acid rain anymore (yeah, maybe we shoulda worked harder at cleaning up some blast furnaces instead of letting them run to China)
Mandate low-sulfur diesel and particulate filters -> halving of urban PMx, still less acid rain
Similar for a variety of water pollution issues, unsafe and unhealthful workplace practices ...
Unfortunately, a subset of climate/enviro "justice" activists constantly points out where these policies have not fully purified some localities, which is certainly true, but it gives the impression that these policies have not worked well overall. (Even, and in some cases, particularly, the EJ 'hoods are much less polluted than 50 years ago. )
Someone needs to say "There is no right to pollute." Maybe say "Pollution is not Patriotic," but it seems hard for some young leftie activists to consider themselves "patriotic."
Oh? Or was it Republican lies and fear mongering about extremely minor changes. Meanwhile, Republicans institute mandates to every walk of life and Trump's approval rating barely moves.
Nice, he actually said the names that Kamala was told not to say, "wind and solar."
Whatever anyone thinks of nuclear power, there should be no need for it from the Midwest to the Pacific. Maybe in Connecticut.
Spending lots of public money and guaranteeing cost overruns isn't socialism and none of the three countries mentioned are socialist. China has the most billionaires in the World. The Green New Deal would have been the largest capitalist bonanza in the history of the world.
Important as Elon's austerity push further embeds the deficit mythology. Would like to see prominent Dems fight back against these myths.
Really helpful discussion. I just signed up again! $$$😊
I've been waiting for this type of program from you, David. Think you need to do more, bc the administration is clear cutting anything that would actually benefit this country.
Great episode. I don't know if I'd call it hopeful, but did take a little of the edge off the anxiety. If you can find anyone else out there with comparable knowledge and perspective, have them on. Thanks.
Maybe Sean Kasten can suggest a republican from the bipartisan climate caucus. That might make an interesting guest for Volts.
Problem is, they can't appear in a forum like this without losing their next primary. Maybe after they retire, they can do it.