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Congress Passes Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 To Deter Future Election Manipulation Schemes
Brief #199 – Civil Rights
By Rodney A. Maggay
On January 6, 2021 rioters supporting then – President Donald J. Trump broke through the barricades and stormed the U.S. Capitol building.
During the breach of the Capitol building Congress had been in session opening official electoral ballots submitted by each state for the 2020 presidential election and certifying the totals.
The True Color of Efforts to Strike Down Affirmative Action
Brief #59 – Education
By Steve Piazza
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments relating to the use of Affirmative Action, or policies designed to reduce discrimination during the college admission process. The focus was on two cases: Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, No. 20-1199, and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, No. 21-707.
Netanyahu’s New Coalition Government is Jeopardizing Israeli Democracy
Foreign Policy Brief #163 – Foreign Policy
By Ian Milden
After nearly two months of negotiating with the far-right religious parties, Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement with them to become Prime Minister again.
The Latest Spill Finds Politicians Ankle Deep in Tar Sands Oil
Brief #151 – Environment Policy
By Todd J. Broadman
Since the beginning of its operations in 2010, the Keystone pipeline has experienced 22 oil spills totaling 26,000 barrels of tar sands oil leaked into the surrounding land and water. The pipeline traverses approximately 2,700 miles, starting from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada and terminating at refinery locations in the Midwest and Oklahoma. The pipeline’s owner and operator is TC Energy.
Excerpts from Ukrainian President’s Emotional Speech Before US Congress
Brief #162 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
Last week the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, addressed the US Congress in a persuasive, emotional speech highlighting Americans’ support in protecting Ukraine and world democracy. Here are some memorable excerpts from his speech.
January 6th Committee Criminal Referrals
Brief #49 – Elections & Politics
By Maureen Darby-Serson
On Monday, December 19th, 2022, the January 6th Committee announced that it would be sending several criminal referrals, including referrals for former President Donald Trump, to the Department of Justice. Donald Trump was referred for at least four criminal charges: obstructing an official proceeding, defrauding the United States, making false statements, and assisting or aiding an insurrection.
A Primer on US Immigration Policy
Brief #143 – Social Justice
By Inijah Quadri
Immigration policy and border control in the United States have long been contentious and divisive issues in American politics and society. The United States has a long history of immigration, with millions of people from around the world coming to the country seeking a better life, freedom, and opportunity.
Brittney Griner: A Lesson for Activists on Intersectionality
Brief #151 – Health and Gender
By Geoffrey Small
On February 17, 2022, WNBA All Star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia on smuggling charges for containing less than a gram of hash oil, which was prescribed to her medically in the state of Arizona. The Biden Administration stated that Griner was “wrongfully detained” for political leverage in response to sanctions imposed on Russia for the Ukraine invasion. She was eventually sentenced to nine years in one of Russia’s penal colonies, which are notorious for human rights abuses.
Should Machine-Made Art Be Subject to Copywrite Protection?
Brief #77 – Technology Policy
By Steve Piazza
Last February, the U.S. Copyright Office upheld a rule that artwork created by machines or animals cannot be protected under copyright law. Referring to the Copyright Act of 1976, the U.S. Copyright Review Board reasserted that only works by humans can be protected.
Situation Update #13: The Ukraine Crisis
Situation Update #13: The Ukraine Crisis
Foreign Policy Brief #147 | By: Abran C | September 8, 2022
Header photo taken from: Heidi Levine / The Washington Post
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Here is a review of the major events in the Russia/Ukraine conflict during tke last two weeks.
Photo taken from: Reuters / Alexander Ermochenko
Energy
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for the establishment of a security zone around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to protect it from intense fighting. The occupation of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has sparked fears of a nuclear disaster as both sides trade blame for shelling the site. In 2021 more than half of Ukraine’s electricity was produced with nuclear power and it is likely that millions will now be without power during the coming winter.
Russia additionally has halted gas exports to Europe via its Nord Stream 1 pipeline. It cites punitive economic sanctions imposed by the West as responsible for the indefinite halt to gas supplies to Europe. Europe now faces its biggest energy crisis in decades as natural gas supplies from Russia have come to a complete halt. European gas prices spiked as much as 30% on Monday stoking renewed fears about shortages and gas rationing in the EU this winter.
Looking Eastward to Alleviate Economic Troubles
Photo taken from: Stanislav Kasilnikov / AP
Speaking at the eastern economic forum on Tuesday in Russia’s far eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin said Russia saw more opportunities in entering markets in the Middle East and Asia rather than in the West. Of course, this is following the imposition of the most severe sanctions in modern history in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Putin said the sanctions are akin to a declaration of economic war. The Russian economy shrank by 4% from April to June compared to a year earlier and the economy is projected to experience a 12-15% inflation rate and have a deeper contraction next year.
Space
Photo taken from: Zhao Juecheng / GT
Since the “Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes,” signed in Moscow on May 1972, Russia and the US have traditionally worked together on space exploration and science even when relations back on earth were fraught. With the end of the space shuttle program, Russian rockets over the previous decade were key in carrying American astronauts to the ISS.
However, recently with companies such as SpaceX having filled that void, there is no need for the US to rely on Russia to carry its astronauts, and tensions here on earth have made their way into space causing extraterrestrial cooperation to come to an end. Earlier this year Russia announced it would be pulling its participation with international partners from the ISS. It also announced that it plans to co-construct an international lunar research station with China.
This comes as the US and its partners announce a Lunar space station of their own. Both the US and China are spending billions of dollars to put humans back on the moon to gain access to resources on the lunar surface and possibly send spacecraft to Mars. Terrestrial rivalries are now making their way into space, creating factions where there was once cooperation with each country vying to become the dominant space power.
Demographic Cost of War
Photo taken from: Al Jazeera, The World Bank
Both Russia and Ukraine have not shared numbers of the number of soldiers killed and wounded. US intelligence agencies estimate that there are 80,000 Russian casualties, with about 15,000 Russian soldiers having died on the battlefield.
The Ukrainian side is estimated to have lost 10,000 soldiers, nearly 6,000 civilians, and millions who have fled the country. The number of lost lives presents a large problem for both countries, Russia and Ukraine have had declining populations since the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Russia’s population fell by 311,000 in the first four months of 2022.
The outflows of working-age people as well as a low birth rate for those who remained behind have taken a toll on the demographics of both countries. Life expectancy in both Russia and Ukraine is about 66 years for men and 76 for women, one of the lowest in the developed world.
The birth rate in Ukraine stands at about 1.23 children per woman, and 1.5 in Russia which has in recent years pushed hard to increase the country’s birth rate. A low life expectancy, declining birth rate, and large emigration outflows have put the two countries in a tough spot for the future of their workforces, economies, and armies.
Recently in a show of the looming demographic crisis, the Russian government announced it was reviving the Soviet-era honorary title “Mother Heroine” for women who have 10 or more children. Any woman with 10 or more children would be awarded a lump sum of 1 million rubles ($16,645). The Ukrainian population is projected to shrink by about half over the course of the next generation or two, and Russia’s will likely shrink by 25%, assuming there is no migration to either country.
An important part of the reconstruction effort after the war will be for Ukraine to encourage refugees to return home and ensure a future for their country.
Environmental Provisions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act
Environmental Provisions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act
Environment Policy Brief #148 | By: Jacob Morton | September 5, 2022
Header photo taken from: NBC
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Photo taken from: Jason Houston / World Wildlife Fund
Policy Summary
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On August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), H.R. 5376. The new law is essentially a scaled-back version of the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Act, intended to reduce the national deficit and lower inflation while investing in domestic energy production, creating jobs, and lowering healthcare drug costs.
The law will extend the Affordable Care Act program for three years, through 2025, and allows Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, which will ensure affordable medications for those most in need. As for its environmental implications, the law calls for significant investments designed to lower energy costs, increase cleaner energy production, and reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. Spending designated for energy security and climate change represent the largest investment made by the Inflation Reduction Act, totaling $369 billion, making this law “the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history.”
To make these investments possible while simultaneously reducing the deficit and lowering inflation, the law generates revenue by imposing a 15% corporate minimum tax on companies making more than a billion dollars per year, but without imposing any new taxes on families that make $400,000 or less or on certain small businesses. According to Democrats in Congress, the law will invest a total of $437 billion for its programs, but is expected to raise $737 billion, resulting in a deficit reduction of more than $300 billion. Since the law raises more revenue than it spends, the remaining difference becomes available for deficit reduction.
The $369 billion of spending designated for energy security and climate change programs consists of various incentives and tax credits for businesses and consumers, regulations on the use of public lands, drought resiliency aid for farmers and foresters in the West, and other miscellaneous provisions:
- Business Incentives and Tax Credits
- The federal government is offering incentives and tax credits to businesses for utilizing lower-carbon and carbon-free energy sources, for investing in and production of clean energy sources and carbon capture technology, as well as investments in battery storage and biogas. Bonuses will also be given to companies based on how much they pay their employees and for the domestic manufacturing of steel, iron, and other components in the U.S.
- Business and Consumer Incentives
- The new law offers homeowners tax credits towards the costs of installing residential clean energy technology, including rooftop solar, heat pumps, and small wind energy systems, as well as tax credits for business owners for energy efficiency improvements in commercial buildings. Tax credits will also be made available of up to $7,500 for the purchase of new electric vehicles (EVs) and $4,000 for used EVs.
Grants and loans will be offered to help companies reduce methane emissions from the burning of oil and gas, and fees will be levied on producers who emit excess levels of methane gas. Additionally, $27 billion will be invested in providing further incentives for the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, and to provide incentives for companies and consumers to make “cleaner energy choices.”
- Use of Public Lands
- The Inflation Reduction Act establishes stricter requirements for the federal government to be able to sell leases for new oil and gas production on public lands, however, the new law also seeks to stimulate more domestic fossil fuel production by requiring the Interior Department to hold at least three more offshore oil and gas lease sales by next October, and in a controversial move, calls for the reinstatement of a recent offshore oil and gas lease sale that was struck down on environmental grounds.
Photo taken from: Reuters / Adriano Machado
The law also intends to better capitalize on domestic fossil fuel production by increasing the minimum royalties for companies that extract oil and gas on public lands and waters, as well as establishing an additional royalty on public lands and waters for the extraction of gas that is later burned off or released as “waste” instead of being sold as fuel. This “waste” methane will now come with a fee if the amount released exceeds the facility’s assigned maximum threshold.
Additionally, the IRA adds seven new sections to the Clean Air Act, all of which appropriate funding to the EPA for new grant programs, and GHGs are explicitly stated, for the first time legislatively, as being considered air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. However, this new designation of GHGs only impacts the new sections of the Clean Air Act and will not impact West Virginia’s major coal burning facilities. Regarding President Biden’s Environmental Justice agenda, the IRA will support environmental justice initiatives by providing funding for several new grant programs that address air pollution and GHGs.
According to a press release by Democratic senators, the $3 billion Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants included in the IRA support “neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation access” by providing competitive grants to “reconnect communities divided by existing infrastructure barriers, mitigate negative impacts of transportation facilities or construction projects on disadvantaged or underserved communities, and support equitable transportation planning and community engagement activities.”
The new law also seeks to help underserved communities through the previously mentioned tax credits for used electric vehicles, grant programs for energy and water efficiency installations, and more than $200 million in funding for Air Pollution Monitoring that will benefit communities exposed to areas with persistent air pollution.
The new law also appropriates $5 billion for conservation efforts, specifically sustainable forestry. Forests play a huge role in regulating our climate; they can sequester carbon, cool surrounding areas, and provide essential habitat for wildlife. However, proper management is the key difference between a forest that remains resilient in the face of wildfire, disease, and climate extremes and one that weakens or gets destroyed completely.
The new law will not initiate new projects, instead, most funding will be used to bolster the budgets of existing programs or extend their operational lifespans. Most of the money for forestry in the IRA is destined for management projects, including the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, federal wildfire mitigation and prevention, an initiative to catalog and protect old growth forests, and grants to support non-federal forest management.
Policy Analysis
Susan Prichard, a research scientist at the University of Washington, says she is “really supportive of more funding going to more proactive management” of our forests.” She says, “I hope [the IRA] allows the Forest Service and public agencies to staff up—it takes so much planning, and then there’s a dearth of professionals that can get on the ground right now.”
Nadine Block, a vice president at the nonprofit Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which develops certifications and advocates for sustainable forestry, agrees with Prichard. Block says, “This bill creates tremendous opportunity… It’s really heartening to be getting some funding and getting projects moving to address the backlog of needs.”
While the Inflation Reduction Act falls far short of the original Build Back Better bill, most environmentalists agree that it is an important first step.
Even by the most optimistic projections, the law will not reach Biden’s goal of cutting the nation’s GHG emissions by 50% by 2030. However, climate policy think tank Energy Innovation and two other expert modeling groups predicted the IRA will reduce U.S. GHG emissions by about 40% by 2030, putting the U.S. within reach of that original target. Plus, the law gives the U.S. EPA new tools to drive emissions down even lower.
According to Don Fullerton, the Gutgsell Professor of Finance at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a senior scholar at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and an expert in energy and environmental policy, the new law has its shortcomings, but is a necessary step in the right direction.
Fullerton says, “The government estimates it will create millions of green jobs in the clean energy sector. That estimate, of course, doesn’t count the jobs that might be lost over the long run in the fossil fuel sector, so the net change in jobs is probably small.
Chart taken from: Nasdaq
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But the law does extend and encourage a major transformation of energy in the U.S. that is already underway… It encourages progress on the all-important batteries necessary to store the power generated during sunny days and windy periods,… and by spending $369 billion on greenhouse gas-reduction investments, the Inflation Reduction Act can help the U.S. set an example for the rest of the world, especially when so many other countries look to the U.S. for the leadership necessary to get 200 nations on board to reduce this global climate crisis.”
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has strong ties to the coal industry and is the Democrats’ own greatest critic of the Build Back Better agenda, said of the new law, “I support a plan that will advance a realistic energy and climate policy that lowers prices today and strategically invests in the long game.
This legislation ensures that the market will take the lead, rather than aspirational political agendas or unrealistic goals, in the energy transition that has been ongoing in our country.”
Even Bill Gates agrees, writing in the New York Times: “Through new and expanded tax credits and a long-term approach, this bill would ensure that critical climate solutions have sustained support to developing new industries.”
As EPA Administrator Michael Regan writes of the new law, “It’s been a long time coming.” Regan says, “It’s taken the heart and soul, sweat and tears of so many people to get us to this point. But President Biden pledged to deliver a clean, secure, and equitable future for our children. He worked with stakeholders across labor, climate, business, and environmental justice — and he delivered.”
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative (forests.org): At the Sustainable Forestry Initiative®, we believe that sustainable forests are critical to our collective future. SFI® is a sustainability leader through our work in standards, conservation, community, and education. As an independent, non-profit organization, we collaborate with our diverse network to provide solutions to local and global sustainability challenges. SFI works with the forest sector, brand owners, conservation groups, resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, governments, and universities.
- Clean Air Task Force (catf.us): Pushing for the change in technologies and policies needed to get to a zero-emissions, high-energy planet at an affordable cost. The CATF imagines a world where the energy needs of all people are met efficiently without damaging the atmosphere.
- Incentives for you! (cnbc.com): Check out this article by CNBC on how you can take advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act and save big on climate smart investments.
Writer’s Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
Ciciora, P. (2022, September 1). How will the Inflation Reduction Act affect US environmental policy? Phys.org. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://phys.org/news/2022-09-inflation-reduction-affect-environmental-policy.html
McGinn, M. (2022, August 19). 4 ways the Inflation Reduction Act invests in healthier forests and Greener Cities. Popular Science. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.popsci.com/environment/inflation-reduction-act-forests/
Newburger, E. (2022, August 22). Schumer-Manchin Reconciliation Bill has $369 billion to fight climate change – here are the details. CNBC. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/27/inflation-reduction-act-climate-change-provisions.html
Noyes, G., Bozzello, C., & Gunasekara, M. (2022, August 23). Inflation reduction act hits the mark on Energy and Environment. InsideSources. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://insidesources.com/inflation-reduction-act-hits-the-mark-on-energy-and-environment/
Oge, M. (2022, August 31). Inflation reduction act doesn’t meet Biden’s climate goals: How to close the gaps on transportation. The Hill. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/3622646-inflation-reduction-act-doesnt-meet-bidens-climate-goals-how-to-close-the-gaps-on-transportation/
Otum, P., Pujari, D., Gold, D., Reinheimer, C. A., Morrissey, S., Kelsh, C., & Opalach, T. (2022, September 1). Inflation reduction act: Environmental provisions. WilmerHale. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20220901-inflation-reduction-act_environmental-provisions
Perls, H. (2022, August 31). Breaking down the environmental justice provisions in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Harvard Law School. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2022/08/ira-ej-provisions/
Perls, H. (2022, August 31). The inflation reduction act’s implications for Biden’s climate and environmental justice priorities. Harvard Law School. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2022/08/ira-implications-for-climate-ej-priorities/
Regan, M. (2022, August 26). The Inflation Reduction Act: A Big Deal for People and the Planet. EPA. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/perspectives/inflation-reduction-act-big-deal-people-and-planet
The United States Government. (2022, August 17). Fact sheet: Inflation reduction act advances environmental justice. The White House. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/17/fact-sheet-inflation-reduction-act-advances-environmental-justice/
Uber and Lyft Flex Their Lobbying Muscle
Uber and Lyft Flex Their Lobbying Muscle
Technology Policy Brief #66 | By: Mindy Spatt | September 1, 2022
Header photo taken from: Richard Vogel / AP
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Photo taken from: Daniel Kim / The Sacramento Bee
Policy Summary
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Who’s Afraid of a President, or a Presidential Front Runner? Uber and Lyft are lobbying to kill legislation supported by President Biden, and Lyft is pushing a California ballot initiative that likely presidential candidate Governor Gavin Newsom is staunchly opposed to.
Uber and Lyft proved their political muscle in California with their deceptive campaign for Proposition 22 in 2020, enlisting respected nonprofits, spending record millions and tricking voters into overriding legislatively approved worker protections. They took that playbook all across the country, forming and funding PACs to fight for “Independent Work” in states including Washington, New York and Illinois, and Colorado, and now have a national arm as well.
As the national campaign heats up, Lyft is taking on popular Governor Gavin Newsom with another self-serving ballot initiative. Some environmental organizations have already signed on to Proposition 30, Lyft’s plan to tax the wealthy to fund electric vehicles, although the initiative is not a grassroots effort. It comes straight out of Lyft’s corporate offices. Governor Newsom is pinning his opposition on just that problem.
Lyft also is putting significant support into the passage of California Proposition 30. Prop 30 places a 1.75% tax on the income of wealthy Californians (those earning abofe 2 million), and uses the revenue to help people (including Lyft drivers) purchase electric vehicles.
Policy Analysis
Lyft has spent $15 million on Prop 30 so far. The Prop 22 campaign cost the companies $200 million, presumably a small price to pay to overturn legislation that would have classified some gig workers as employees, granting them access to basic benefits such as health care and sick leave.
The pricey campaign was widely criticized as deceptive and confusing, and for buying community support. For example, former NAACP California President Alice Huffman’s public relations firm received $95,000 from the campaign before she published opinion pieces in black community newspapers urging passage of Prop 22.
The ads for Prop 22 often featured earnest people of color who stated mournfully they would not be able to attend college or take care of their children without the “flexibility” gig work offered. The ads appeared to be coming from workers and implied a trade-off that didn’t exist; providing benefits or a minimum wage would in no way impact driver’s flexibility.
Similar tactics will likely be employed in Lyft’s campaign for Prop 30. Lyft is already trying to sell Prop 30 as advantageous for low income people and bringing huge environmental benefits to California. But rideshare companies are basically super-polluters and thus far have been unwilling to put any of their own money into a meaningful EV transition. An article in WIRED a few months ago listed a litany of problems with the companies’ paltry efforts to move toward EVs including a $1. per ride incentive for EV drivers and a plan for drivers to rent ultra-expensive Teslas.
Photo taken from: Getty Images
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In the nation’s capital, Uber and Lyft have joined with Doordash, Instacart and others to ramp up their lobbying efforts with a recently formed organization, Flex.
The goal of Flex is to make sure the PRO Act, which would classify some gig workers as employees and allow them to form unions, never becomes law.
The Act has already passed the House of Representatives, and President Biden has indicated he would sign it, but it was stopped by Republicans in the Senate. Flex is worried enough to have come out of the gate with a $1 million ad buy. Another coalition, the “App-Based Work Alliance,” has already spent millions on the same goal.
So far Uber and Lyft have been able to crush their political opposition, but both Biden and Newsom have crushed plenty of opposition themselves. And maybe California will be a bit more skeptical this time around. The normally tech friendly San Jose Mercury News blasted Lyft’s initiative in an editorial, saying “Prop. 30 is yet another measure that would disproportionately benefit a special interest. In this case, that’s Lyft.”
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
Union of Concerned Scientists: Steering a Growing Industry Toward a Clean Transportation Future, by Don Anair, Jeremy Martin, Maria Cecilia Pinto de Moura, Joshua Goldman, Feb 25, 2020. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/ride-hailing-climate-risks
The Gig Workers Rising campaign launched in 2018 to support app-based workers who are organizing for better wages, working conditions and respect on the job. https://gigworkersrising.org.
Uber and Lyft Donated to Community Groups Who Then Pushed the Companies’ Agenda, by Dara Kerr and Maddy Varner, June 17, 2021. https://themarkup.org/news/2021/06/17/uber-and-lyft-donated-to-community-groups-who-then-pushed-the-companies-agenda
A Path to Reducing Reducing Wildfires
A Path to Reducing Reducing Wildfires
Environmental Policy Brief #147 | By: Haley Moore | August 30, 2022
Header photo taken from: Center for Disaster Philanthropy
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Photo taken from: Bill Clark / Getty Images
Policy Summary
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A new law ensures a future for forests with the environment in mind.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed into law on August 16, 2022. $375B will go to aid the climate crisis over the course of the next decade.
$4.8B will be allocated directly to forest conservation and restoration. Through years of research and devastating wildfires, scientists have learned how stand density and vegetation management both play a crucial role in wildfires.
Policy Analysis
Early forest scientists were focused on planting and manufacturing a high level of forest products. Over stocked forests increased stand density — a mathematical equation that forest specialists use to describe how many trees are planted per acre — of certain regions, primarily California and the Pacific Northwest.
These scientists did not adequately factor in the risks of developing these products like protecting homes and ecological values.
In addition, early forest planting created problems for the climate in those areas by releasing too much carbon in the air. Cool moist winters and hot dry summers, that are only getting warmer, create a near-perfect ecosystem for wildfires.
Professor Emeritus J. Kieth Gilless, from University of California Berkley, in an interview with U.S. RESIST NEWS, said that IRA funding toward wildfire prevention will primarily go to vegetation management. But, it won’t eliminate wildfires.
“It may create more opportunities for establishing a control point on them before they get larger.” said Gilless, “And perhaps more importantly, they may reduce the intensity of the fire on the ground.”
Gilless says folks in the west have learned to co-evolve with forest fires.
“We all remember waking up to an orange sky in San Francisco,” said Gilless.
Diving deeper into the sticky weave of climate policy, part of the new federal funding will go to climate smart forestry and boosting carbon sequestration.
Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) is a collection of strategies and management actions that increase the carbon storage benefits from forests and the forest sector, in a way that also supports ecosystem services and cultural values. It 1) reduces carbon emissions, 2) increases forest resilience to climate change, and 3) supports forest economies by increasing forest productivity and incomes.
Chart taken from: Springer Link
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Gilless said the issues for something like climate smart forestry gets tricky because there is a lack of market for low value wood which makes thinning operations very difficult. Thinning reduces stand density and thus, can reduce how fast a wildfire spreads.
“We have to think about how we set in motion a stand after a fire or a harvest to achieve forest products and achieve landscape, but in a fire resilience way,” said Gilless.
Gilless says boosting carbon sequestration is important in forest management because you want to capture as much carbon as possible without catastrophically releasing too much. Thankfully, forest and wildfire researchers are already working to solve these complex issues.
“I think there is an increasing realization there that we need to get a handle not just on the visible impact of the fire on infrastructures and ecosystems — but also on the public health impact of imposing that long lasting air pollution,” said Gilless.
For folks who live in areas where wildfires are prevalent, Gilless said following local wildfire regulations is crucial to reducing hazards. In addition, he advises against wood roofs and recommends investing in a fire-resistance one.
“Change the vents in your attic to make sure embers can’t go in there. A lot of houses burn from wildfires because embers blow through vents and ignite the house from the inside,” said Gilless.
No amount of funding will ever eliminate wildfires, but there are several ways legislation and the public can work together to prevent them.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-policy/inflation-reduction-act-passes-ag-climate-investments
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/18090-historic-climate-funding-package-clears-senate
The Field Report: What the Historic Climate Bill Means for Farmers and the Food System
https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ag_reconciliation_one-pager.pdf
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1356?s=1&r=45
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376/text
https://www.eiu.edu/energy/center_for_american_rural_energy.php
https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/inflation_reduction_act_of_2022.pdf
Executive Order 14067: Considerations for Leveling the Digital Assets Playing Field
Executive Order 14067: Considerations for Leveling the Digital Assets Playing Field
Technology Policy Brief #65 | By: Steve Piazza | August 29, 2022
Header photo taken from: Alston & Bird
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Photo taken from: The Regulatory Review
Policy Summary
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On March 9 of this year, President Biden issued Executive Order 14067 “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” Its impetus is a directive for governmental departments and agencies to examine the government’s role regarding the centralization of digital assets, specifically those pertaining to financial transactions.
Digital assets refer to anything representing value that is exchanged as payment, investment, or any other type of digital transaction using distributed ledger technology (DLT), or decentralized database of transactions. This includes cryptocurrencies, securities, and other financial instruments. Non fungible assets (NFTs), like digital recordings and images, will require additional attention at another time.
The directive calls for analyses that involve safeguarding digital assets, establishing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and assuring that the United States remains a leader in the global financial system.
The comprehensive Executive Order requires coordinated research to be performed and communicated by year’s end. Specified entities are to report on the impact of CBDCs and other digital assets on financial and technological infrastructures, end users, law enforcement, and climate.
Policy Analysis
The need for and value of government involvement regarding digital assets is made clear enough in the language of the Executive Order. For that, it has been generally well received, from the financial world to the crypto community.
Those who are concerned specifically about all end users should also be somewhat encouraged.
Though the Executive Order offers no clarity beyond the terms “consumers, investors, and businesses,” it does make reference to promoting “the ability to exercise human rights; financial inclusion and equity,” and considers that “the rise in use of digital assets, and differences across communities, may also present disparate financial risk to less informed market participants or exacerbate inequities.”
To be fair, the advantages of investing and trading in digital assets are already well known and do apply to all users regardless of socioeconomic status. Anyone with a device such as a smart phone or computer is eligible for an account. And by design, the accounts are already extremely secure for all users because the unique network spreads out encrypted user information from one device or computer to the next forming the blockchain (a DLT utilizing a permanent cryptographic signature known as a hash).
In fact, the developing world has started reaping the benefits of digital assets. These include the speed at which critical financial aid can go right into a digital wallet additionally secured by ID biometrics, as well as the ease of migrant workers sharing money with family back in home countries. Little or no transaction fees allow for more capital access which is beneficial especially in countries where capital flow is limited.
Photo taken from: World Bank Group
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The disadvantages, it must be said, are also common knowledge, and they are significant enough to cause usage barriers. Some exchanges charge fees and even have different rules, and tax implications can be confusing. Sometimes blockchain and cryptocurrency platforms are difficult for some to manage, as some people just have difficulty moving from paper to digital. In remote areas in the U.S., and especially in developing countries, access to broadband might be limited.
Those less optimistic about any lack of end user specificity in the Executive Order will have to rely on the promise of its intent and settle for now on use of words like “inclusion,” “inequity,” and “disparate.” Certainly, any administration, and some more than others, would not want to assume it is their place to tell industry the exact processes they need to employ to deal with their customers. But all administrations cannot ignore the concept of regulation and must find the most appropriate means to do so one way or another. The Biden Administration has chosen theirs.
Time will tell what impact the Executive Order and the resulting reporting might have. Since it’s been released, some reporting has been completed and even several legislative measures have been introduced in the House and Senate.
At most, the Executive Order signals in broad strokes the Biden Administration’s stance on the future of digital assets. It might not state particulars enough for some critics, but it does recognize that since the technology is still rapidly evolving and the platforms can be quite volatile, the government needs to play a role.
An action merely calling for ideas might not seem like action, but it’s a start.
Engagement Resources
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To read the text of the Executive Order, click here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/09/executive-order-on-ensuring-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/
Learn more about The Harvard Business Review’s support for universal access to CBDC networks and governmental support for regulatory standards by clicking here: https://hbr.org/2020/08/could-digital-currencies-make-being-poor-less-costly
Cryptonews recognizes the value of government involvement:
https://cryptonews.com/exclusives/this-is-why-the-government-is-not-going-to-ban-digital-assets.htm
Here is an example of one of the governmental agency reports, this one submitted by Attorney General Merrick Garland on internationally coordinated efforts of law enforcement regarding digital assets: https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1510931/download
This is one of the proposed bipartisan bills to, amongst other things, protect the interests of consumers:
The Art of Brainwashing: Russia’s Mass Media’s Successful Project
The Art of Brainwashing: Russia’s Mass Media’s Successful Project
Foreign Policy Brief #146 | By: Yelena Korshunov | August 30, 2022
Header photo taken from: Radio Free Europe
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Photos taken from: Pikabu.ru
Policy Summary
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“But all are afraid of us!”
Since the day when Russia started a so-called “special operation in Ukraine”, the iconic phrase of the average Russian has become “But all are afraid of us!” When a Siberian grandma tells you that she doesn’t have heating, water, and electricity in her old house in February when the outside temperature falls to -13F and the air in her unheated bedroom is freezy, and her family still uses a wobbly wooden toilet in the backyard, she will proudly add “But all are afraid of us!” This mantra means that the Western World, especially America, is trembling at the thought of Russia’s military power.
“How can the entire nation be so zombified?” you will wonder. The answer is easy peasy. Russia’s mass media succeeded in brainwashing millions of minds who sacredly believe that all Ukrainians are “nazi” that need to die, and that calling the war a war is a mortal sin. And also that they must line up in the shape of a letter “Z” to demonstrate who is the mightiest nation in the world. And that Russia is a great empire that has to expand its borders, and that Putin is a mighty Lord, and whatever he says is set in stone. And that the entire world that does not support Putin is their enemy.
Policy Analysis
“Ukraine is just an intermediate stage”
Russia’s mass media is extremely convincing. They convinced people that the reason for their poverty is the hostile Western forces. “If you think that we will stop in Ukraine,” says Russian media star Vladimir Solovyov,” think 300 times. Let me remind you that Ukraine is just an intermediate stage in ensuring the strategic security of the Russian Federation.”
Photo taken from: rosbalt.ru
“Opposing the West, Russia is fighting against the unipolar world with the US dictatorship and the spread of Nazism. Anti-Russian sanctions failed to affect the daily life of Russians,” echoed by the passionate speakers of the Russian special issue TV series “Za Mir” (For Peace).
“Russian society is uniting around support for the special operation, the President, the mission of Russia and the new opportunities that are opening up today. Citizens of Russia are increasingly united by the belief that their country will cope with any problems and will inevitably occupy one of the central places in the world.”
Photo taken from: The Atlantic Council
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“Strengthen the economy”
And that is what is told about economics to a wide Russian-speaking audience: “Russia creates and strengthens economic ties with the most dynamically developing part of the international economic community. The basis for the future economic development of Russia is the support of entrepreneurial initiative.
The President once again stressed that the government-supported initiatives of active and conscientious people will be the key to the growth of the domestic economy. The plan of the President of the Russian Federation is to use the maximum opportunities provided by the current situation and the accumulated internal reserves to significantly strengthen the economy, form technological sovereignty and improve the living standards of people.”
That is what the Russian nation digests instead of nutritious meals, and actually that is what has motivated the Russian mentality throughout the centuries of serfdom, despotic rule, famine, and Stalin’s personality cult.
Yes, we are hungry and cold, but the tzar says that everything is fine, so the bright happy future is around the corner. We will fight our enemies, demonstrate our power to the whole world, and prosperity will come to us.
Screenshot taken from: https://iryston.tv/teleproject_release/o-splochyonnosti-rossiyan-na-fone-spetsialnoj-voennoj-operatsii/
“Resisting evil”
This propaganda is literally proclaimed on Russia’s TV channels today, inspiring the zombified audience listening to their eloquent idols: “National cohesion is especially important in resisting evil. Russia demonstrates multinational unity and respect as opposed to world Nazism, a readiness to defend together its history, values and aspirations.
The record number of participants in the Immortal Regiment processions in 2022 – about 12 million people – is clear evidence of the unity of Russian society. The “Donbass Consensus” is an effect of rallying Russian society, uniting citizens of different views, supporters of various political forces in Russia around the figure of the president and his decisions to protect Russia, its people, as well as those who feel themselves involved in Russian culture. Eight years after the “Crimean Consensus” – unification against the backdrop of the return of Crimea – a new impetus for unification arose” – confidently asserts another speaker in a popular political TV show.
Back to Dark Ages
This style of contemporary Russian mass media propaganda exactly copies TV speeches of the darkest years in the USSR, pronounced on the same pitch from the stands of the Communist Party Congress. The torrential word-flow from people who are rich, who are close to Putin’s royal court, favors and generosity, brainwash millions of Russia’s residents and those Russian emigrants who are still glued to Russia’s TV channels. There are no longer the few opposition mass media sources that were allowed to exist previously, before February 24, 2022. They are now declared the enemies of the nation and banned.
The smaller part of Russia’s residents who see through the government lies and propaganda mostly keep silent to save their and their families’ lives. Many oppositionists, along with Alexei Navalny, are thrown in prison. Some objectionable oppositionists like Boris Nemtsov were murdered throughout years, one by one, or were forced into hiding abroad. The Cold War dark ages have now finally come back to Russia, and Orwell’s “1984” is their new reality. The Iron Curtain of lies and isolation is down again.
Abortion: The Legal Challenges Continue Post Roe V. Wade
Abortion: The Legal Challenges Continue Post Roe V. Wade
Health & Gender Policy Brief #142 | By: Geoffrey Small | August 30, 2022
Header photo taken from: Voice of America
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Photo taken from: Yahoo
Policy Summary
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The abortion battle in the U.S. justice system continues months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. Major federal, state, and city lawsuits are unfolding across the country, potentially setting legal precedents that will determine the future of reproductive rights. Missouri, Idaho, and Louisiana are some of the states that have significant lawsuits and appeals taking place. Missouri is suing its own city, as the state’s Attorney General is attempting to block access to federal abortion relief funds in St. Louis. The United States DOJ (Department of Justice) is suing Idaho.
The DOJ stated that Idaho’s abortion law of arresting, indicting, and prosecuting a physician for providing an abortion directly conflicts with a federal law that allows patients to receive lifesaving emergency medical treatment. One of the most major setbacks for pro-choice advocates happened in Louisiana. The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected an appeal, made on behalf of it’s three remaining abortion clinics, for an injunction that would allow procedures to continue as plaintiffs argue against the state-wide bans.
Policy Analysis
Missouri
On July 21st 2022, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against St. Louis requesting a preliminary injunction after the city passed a law authorizing the use of federal funds from the U.S. American Rescue Plan Act. St. Louis’ Board Bill 61, which was recently signed into law, utilized this federal funding to create a “Reproductive Equity Fund” and provide “logistical support” for marginalized women who are having trouble accessing abortions.
Schmitt stated that that bill directly conflicts with Missouri’s state law, which strictly prohibits anyone from accessing public funds for this purpose.
In response to this issue, Planned Parenthood created the Brand Against Bans campaign encouraging local St. Louis businesses to join the cause by donating, sponsoring a pro-choice event, or providing information on accessible reproductive services.
Chart taken from: Planned Parenthood, Impact Research
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Idaho
The United States DOJ is also filing a suit against Idaho related to the use of federal funding. Idaho recently passed a law that authorizes the prosecution of a physician who performs an abortion that isn’t defined as a life saving procedure for the patient.
However, the DOJ argues that Idaho’s new reproductive ban “provides no defense for an abortion necessary to protect the health of the pregnant patient.” It directly conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which allows physicians to provide abortions in order to stabilize a patient.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra stated “Women should not have to be near death to get care.” Attorney General Merrick Garland also stated “We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that pregnant women get the emergency medical treatment to which they are entitled under federal law.”
Photo taken from: Stephen Smith / AP
Louisiana
As lawsuits are ramping up in Missouri and Idaho, the Louisiana Supreme Court recently rejected an appeal requesting an injunction to continue which protected the three remaining abortions clinics operating in the state.
The injunction in question allowed the clinics to continue reproductive procedures as a lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s abortion ban argues that the state’s new laws are void due to the overall vagueness in the language. The plaintiffs, filing on behalf of the clinics, stated that the ban “[fails] to provide constitutionally guaranteed notice of exactly what conduct is prohibited, if any, and when.” There are already reports that indicate the remaining abortion clinics are leaving the state.
Despite this major setback in Louisiana, lawsuits continue to set precedents determining the future of U.S. abortions. Organizations like Planned Parenthood are mobilizing campaigns across the country. Also, the ACLU is legally challenging anti-abortion laws in several states. Donating to these organizations can help continue the fight against states taking away reproductive rights.
Engagement Resources
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Preview of US Senate Races in Arizona and Wisconsin
Preview of US Senate Races in Arizona and Wisconsin
Elections & Politics Policy Brief #33 | By: Ian Milden | August 27, 2022
Header photo taken from: Cyprusandtaxi
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Photo taken from: Reuters / Joshua Lot
Policy Summary
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Control of the U.S. Senate will be up for grabs in the 2022 mid-term elections. Competitive races in key states will determine the balance of power. In this brief, I will preview the US Senate races in Arizona and Wisconsin.
Policy Analysis
In Arizona, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is running for a full term after winning a special election in 2020 to fill the remainder of the late Senator John McCain’s term. Before his election to the Senate, Kelly served in the navy and was an astronaut for NASA. Senator Kelly has been an advocate for reducing gun violence. He founded a political advocacy organization focused on reducing gun violence with his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
The Republicans nominated Blake Masters, who won the primary after receiving Trump’s endorsement and substantial financial support from Peter Thiel, a billionaire who made his fortune in the tech industry and holds conservative and libertarian political views. Thiel also provided substantial financial support to the Republican nominee in Ohio’s Senate race, J.D. Vance. Masters has never run for office before and has spent most of his career working for Peter Thiel.
Thiel has argued that democracy and liberty are incompatible. Blake Masters has expressed support for eliminating several norms, processes, and agencies in our system of government. For example, Masters wants to eliminate the civil service system and have government jobs filled by people who share his ideological beliefs.
Masters also supports privatizing Social Security. During the primary, the rhetoric on his website also leaned heavily into “culture war” themes, particularly on issues such as abortion, education, immigration, and guns. Many beliefs that Masters espouses seem designed to appeal to the most ideological and partisan Republican voters. Masters’ website was edited after the primary to scrub some of his more controversial positions.
There are also important questions regarding the development and evolution of Blake Masters’ political views. His positions on some issues, such as immigration, have shifted dramatically from online postings in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Masters also approvingly quoted Hermann Goering, a prominent Nazi official, in those posts. When asked about it on the campaign trail, Masters did not apologize or walk back the statement he made in the posting. Masters has also voiced support for conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Photo taken from: CNN
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Fox News recently released a poll showing Mark Kelly ahead by 8 percentage points. The crosstabs of the poll provide clear reasons for Kelly being ahead. Kelly gets about 8% support from self-identified Republicans, while Masters has very negligible support from self-identified Democrats. Additionally, Masters fares relatively poorly among moderate voters and unaffiliated voters.
Kelly also holds a double-digit lead over Masters among seniors, which is important because Arizona has a relatively large population of senior citizens. Masters may have trouble addressing his limited support among seniors due to his policy positions on issues like Social Security.
While the polling data provides some positive signs for Kelly’s reelection campaign, Arizona is still a competitive state and Democrats would be wise to continue to treat it as a competitive state if they want to continue winning elections in Arizona. Even if Senator Kelly wins reelection by a large margin, investing in the race as if it is a competitive race can help Democratic candidates running for other statewide offices.
Photo taken from: J Scott Applewhite / AP
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In Wisconsin, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is running for a third term after previously promising to retire. Before his election to the US Senate in 2010, Johnson was in the private sector and had not previously run for public office.
Senator Johnson is currently on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and he is the top Republican on the Homeland Security subcommittee for investigations. He would likely become the chairman of the Homeland Security investigations subcommittee if Republicans took control of the Senate.
There are reasons to question Johnson’s fitness for his position on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. There are important questions about Ron Johnson’s role on January 6th. Congressional Investigators with the Committee investigating the events on January 6th, 2021 found text messages between members of Johnson’s staff and Mike Pence’s staff trying to get Pence to take a set of electors for Wisconsin that would vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 Electoral College vote. Johnson has also spread conspiracy theories about Covid-19.
Johnson has said that he supports converting funding for programs like Social Security and Medicare, which are funded automatically by law, to discretionary spending, which would require Congress to allocate and approve funding annually. If this proposal is approved, it could lead to cuts to both programs.
Democrats have nominated Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes to run against Senator Johnson. Barnes served as a state representative for four years before he was elected to be the Lieutenant Governor. Barnes also chairs the Governor’s task force on climate change, which works with communities across the state to develop strategies to help people in Wisconsin deal with the effects of climate change.
A poll conducted by Marquette University Law School shortly after the primary found Barnes ahead by seven points. The poll also finds that 41% of respondents don’t know enough about Barnes to form an opinion of him, which suggests that his support among voters could change as voters get to know him.
Of the respondents who have an opinion, a majority of them had a positive opinion of Barnes. More respondents had an opinion on Ron Johnson with 38% having a positive opinion of Johnson and 47% of respondents having a negative opinion of Johnson. It would have been helpful to have this data broken down by party ID, but this data was not provided to the public.
While the Marquette University Law School poll has a very good reputation, I would still expect a close race in November. Wisconsin is a very polarized state and many of the major statewide elections in the past six years have been decided by close margins.
If Barnes can maintain the lead that he has in the Marquette University Law School Poll as voters get to know him and if voter turnout for the general election reflects the demographics of the survey respondents, then Democrats should feel good about their chances of taking this seat.
Engagement Resources
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Senator Mark Kelly’s campaign website
Mandela Barnes’ campaign website
DSCC – Official Campaign Arm of Senate Democrats
Situation Update #12: The Ukraine Crisis
Situation Update #12: The Ukraine Crisis
Foreign Policy Brief #145 | By: Abran C | August 27, 2022
Header photo taken from: Financial Times
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Photo taken from: AP
[SSB theme=”Official” align=”center” counter=”true” ]
Here are the most recent events related to Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
This week marked an important date for Ukraine, August 24, 2022, which marks six months since the Russian invasion and the 31st anniversary of the countrys independence from the Soviet Union. The same day also saw a missile strike on an eastern Ukrainian train station that killed 22 people. People across the country paid tribute to fallen soldiers and civilians.
Ukrainian President Zelensky addressed the nation and declared that Ukraine would achieve victory over the invaders. He also warned that in the wake of independence day Russia might increase its attacks. He later met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who announced a $66 million aid package for Ukraine. President Biden on the same day reaffirmed the US’ commitment with a new $2.98 billion investment in security assistance for the war-torn country.
Photo taken from: Claire Harbage / NPR
Half a Year of War
Six months on and 13 million Ukrainians have been displaced, with nearly 6.7 million spread across Europe and 6.6 million internally displaced. Most people who have fled are women and children as men aged 18-60 have been barred from leaving the country in order to help in the war effort. Russia now controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, a threefold increase since its invasion began in February. Commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed forces, General Zaluzhny said this week that Ukraine has lost nearly 9,000 military personnel.
The UN human rights office has documented 5,600 civilians deaths. Both death tolls are likely to be much higher as fighting continues to prevent accurate counts of the killed and wounded. Russia in March reported that 1,351 of their own soldiers died in the first weeks of the war, but have not released updated numbers since. In a sign of increased struggle in the Russian war effort, President Putin on this week signed a decree to increase the size of Russia’s armed forces from about 1.9 million to 2.04 million.
Likely to replace the high number of losses Russian troops are believed to have lost, as well as provide respite for Russian troops disillusioned with six months of non-stop war.
Photo taken from: Andrey Borodulin, AFP, Getty Images
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Russian forces captured and are currently in control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s biggest nuclear plant. The plant was disconnected from the Ukranian power grid for the first time in its history on August 25, 2022. US State Department officials warned that Russia’s actions at the nuclear power plant have greatly increased risks of possible nuclear radiation release. Additionally, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said he would soon visit the power plant to check on the situation.
Photo taken from: Tsargrad.tv / Handout / Reuters
Killing of Daria Dugina
On August 21, 2022 a car bombing killed Daria Dugina, a Russian far-right political commentator and daughter of Alexander Dugin. Dugin is a far-right political figure who has and continues to advocate for the invasion of Ukraine. He has previously said that Ukraine doesn’t actually exist as a state, and is actually a creation of the West as a kind of anti-Russian strategy and must be retaken for the Russian empire.
Dugin’s ideology is extreme but not widespread in Russia, though he does have a cult following among Russian ultranationalists. Though he has become a big name in contemporary far-right thinking globally and has resonated with far-right groups in both the US and Europe. It’s suspected that the bombing targeted Dugin instead of his daughter, who was killed in his place. Russia on Monday blamed Ukraine for the attack, claiming it was planned by “special services”. Ukraine has denied any involvement, but it is likely that the death of Dugina will intensify the war even further.
The Colorado River is Teaching a Lesson the Archeologists Know All Too Well
The Colorado River is Teaching a Lesson the Archeologists Know All Too Well
Environment Policy Brief #146 | By: Todd J. Broadman | August 25, 2022
Header photo taken from: Civil Eats
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Photo taken from: NASA Earth Observatory
Policy Summary
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The Colorado River, a water source that irrigates 5 million acres of farm land and supplies 40 million people with drinking water, has long been severely overallocated. For decades, so much water has been diverted to supply farms and cities that the river’s delta in Mexico has dried up. Those that depend on its bounty are now in crisis as the western U.S. has undergone a 23-year megadrought and the nation’s largest reservoirs have subsequently dropped their water levels by three-quarters.
The 1,450-mile river is fed by high mountain snowpack that has been steadily diminishing. This, along with increasingly dry soils which absorb more runoff and added evaporation from atmospheric heat, have significantly reduced the river’s capacity.
On August 9, the Biden administration stated that water shortages along the Colorado River had passed a threshold for the first time and that unprecedented water cuts will be required. The river’s users: seven western states, Native Tribes, and Mexico, must come to agreement as to what sacrifices will be made with the dwindling water supply. A deadline for a voluntary agreement, August 15, has come and gone without a resolution, and the Bureau of Reclamation has done little in response to the stalemate.
Reclamation is the federal water management agency governing water and dams for 17 western states and falls under the U.S. Department of the Interior. Given the looming crisis, they instructed stakeholders to reduce usage by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet – a “Tier 2” shortage; that equates to a third of the river’s annual average flow.
There is not yet federally mandated action and the river continues to be governed by a complex set of policies — collectively known as the Law of the River dating back over a hundred years — that dictate how much water each state or tribe receives, and which entity will lose water first when the government imposes restrictions. The allocation consists of two geographical groups: the upper basin -Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and the lower basin: Arizona, California and Nevada.
When Mexico and Native Tribe allocations are included, the total annual amount of water is 17.5 million acre-feet. (Each acre foot equates to about 326,000 gallons). But that paper calculation falls short of the actual amount of water available. The average annual flow between 2011 and 2020 was 9.6 million acre-feet. Lake Mead, the largest U.S. reservoir is down 152 vertical feet. Lake Powell is approaching just 32 feet above an electricity-generating threshold known as the “minimum power pool.”
The bureau does though, have in place a Drought Contingency Plan that specifies water cuts if the river continues to decline. It is unclear when and if these mandatory cuts will be implemented. Under the Plan, the lower basin states will have less water: Arizona a 21% cut, Nevada 8%, and Mexico 7%. California would not experience cuts under the Plan – they hold “senior rights.”
The Plan may be forced upon the states as inaction and finger-pointing intensifies. The upper basin states did offer a five-point conservation plan minus any specific reductions and included compensation to farmers that decide to not grow on a portion of their land. “We have always said, really, success is dependent on what happens in the lower basin,” said Becky Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Furthering the impasse, Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District, stated that “It’s absurd to think we’re going to get our farmers and ranchers and cities to take economic hits if all it means is it continues to fill swimming pools in Phoenix.”
Water scarcity has already made some farmers decide not to plant. This year about 690,000 acres will be left fallow in California, to impact the supply of tomatoes, melons, rice and alfalfa. Up to 100,000 acres in Pinal County, Arizona will go unplanted. Stephen Roe Lewis, who heads the Gila River system in Arizona, places his heels in dry soil and finds others to blame, “we cannot continue to put the interests of all others above our own when no other parties seem committed to the common goal of a cooperative basin-wide agreement.”
The bureau risks lawsuits when and if they do step in and force water cuts. They don’t want to take that risk in the current political atmosphere. There is no assurance the agency would be on “solid legal footing” according to Rhett Larson, a water law professor at Arizona State University. The states are incented to negotiate before Lake Mead ceases to function or before the Contingency Plan expires in 2026. No deal will lead to a “Thunderdome” situation according to Mr. Larson, in which the states “sue each other into oblivion.”
Policy Analysis
As the data shows, even if precipitation picks up in the near future, there needs to be “significantly higher-than-normal precipitation and snowpack” just to achieve average flows due to the dry soils and increased evaporation. And demand keeps increasing. Most states, particularly the lower basin states, used more water than their allotted quotas and have been doing so for decades.
The U.S. primary source of vegetables comes from the Imperial District in California, an area that gets less than 4 inches of rain annually. Its productivity is solely due to the 5 feet of irrigation water per acre that is receives from the Colorado River. Their agreed upon share is the largest of all users at 2.6 million acre feet, an allotment almost equal to all of Arizona. When there are cuts, the Imperial Valley farms will be the last users to be left dry.
There will be some mitigation to lowered vegetable production from California and Arizona, as other regions of the country compensate with increased planting of those crops. Drought though, is impacting the Midwest and other areas that consumers depend upon. Shifting production will not be a sure thing.
When the bureau’s commissioner, Camille Calimlim Touton, recently made the announcement of the first ever Tier 2 water shortage, few understood what “dead pool” status means. When Lake Mead reaches “dead pool” no water can pass through the Hoover Dam. No electricity. No irrigation. No drinking water. At that point, the finger-pointing and academic calculations will amount to a tragedy, as will the lack of cooperation.
Data charts taken from: American Farm Bureau Federation
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In terms of legislation aimed at this crisis, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in which there is $20 billion for farmland conservation and $4 billion for drought relief in the West. The funding’s intent is to compensate farmers who will lose money from not planting crops due to the shortage of irrigation water.
The money will be paid out by the Bureau of Reclamation over 4 years. In addition, a wildfire and drought response bill authorizes $500 million so that states and other entities, can apply for grants “compensating users who volunteer to cut back their water use, drilling wells, lining canals to prevent water from seeping into the ground and increasing efficiency for hydropower production.”
Given the scale of the water shortage, its environmental causes, and an apparent disregard for ever-increasing water consumption, the prospect of serious remedies for the river itself and all life that depends upon it are quickly evaporating.
Political interests, particularly that of farmers who require irrigation water for their livelihoods are not about to change the system or their occupations. Some of the nation’s fastest growing metro areas are located in the desert and depend on the Colorado River water. The wisdom of that kind of “progress” will spell the end of those population centers or so the archeologists tell us.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
https://www.vox.com/ “explains the news.”
https://www.edf.org/ helps to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends.
https://insideclimatenews.org/ provides essential reporting and analysis on climate change, energy and the environment, for the public and for decision makers.