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Should Religious Organizations Continue To Receive Federal Grants For Social Service Programs?
Brief #188 – Civil Rights
By Rodney A. Maggay
On August 31, 2021 H.R. 5129 was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill was the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Modernization Act of 2022. This bill reauthorized a continued funding of the Community Services Block Grant Program which makes grants to States, territories, Indian tribes and other non – governmental entities for government programs to help reduce poverty, empower residents of low – income communities and encourage businesses and other organizations to expand opportunities for all individuals. Included in organizations that are eligible for these grants are faith – based organizations (FBO).
The Center Lane is Wide Open
U.S. Resist News Op Ed
By John Halpin
New polling shows that Americans are unique in viewing their political leaders as ideological extremists.
What to Expect During the First January 6th Committee Open Hearings
Brief #37 – Elections and Politics
By Maureen Darby-Serson
On Thursday June 2nd, the January 6th committee announced when it would hold its first round of public hearings. The first open hearing will be Thursday, June 9th at 8pm. Primetime. No other details were released, but more information would be made available next week. For example, no witness list was published.
Is Your Drinking Water Safe?
Brief #143 – Environment Policy
By Roarke Cullenbine
Water pollution is a serious epidemic in the US, impacting hundreds of thousands. With the US ranking twenty-third in the world for tap water safety, great progress is necessary to keep citizens out of the hospital from consuming either lead, diesel, or pathogens in their water supplies. With few additions to the dated 1972 Clean Water Act, impurity of America’s drinking water is not improving.
Guns Now Leading Cause of Death for Children
Brief #152 – Health & Gender Policy
By Lynn Waldsmith
It’s a shocking statistic that should make every American pause and reflect: guns are now the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
Let that sink in. According to the CDC, firearms became the leading cause of death for kids one and older in 2020, marking the first time that motor vehicle crashes have not been the number one cause of death.
FTC initiates Crackdown on Deceptive Earnings Claims
Brief #137 – Economic Policy
By Stephen Thomas
There is an adage which, simply put, means that if a deal appears too good to be true, then it probably is. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has seen so many consumers misled by so-called deceptive earnings claims that the agency is developing a regulation to crackdown on the practice. The solution is composed of two phases.
A Draft Leaked Opinion Puts the Supreme Court’s Impartiality into Question
Brief #36 – Elections and Politics
By Maureen Darby-Serson
Late on Monday May 2nd, 2022, a draft of an opinion written in February 2022, in the upcoming US Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked to the press. This is one of a handful of leaks, in general, since the US Supreme Court established itself in 1789. The Dobbs case is having the Court revisit the right to an abortion.
Who’s in Charge When it Comes to Making COVID 19 Regulations?
Brief #151 – Health and Gender Policy
By Alexandra Ellis
On April 19, 2022, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, overturned the mask mandate for interstate travel. The CDC’s interstate mask mandate for plane, trains, and buses, was first issued in May 2021, and was extended to May 2022. Before the mask mandate was set to expire this May, a U.S. District Court declared it unconstitutional. The Biden administration has been relatively quiet on COVID concerns since March of 2022, when the Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) released the community guidance standards.
Hate-Motivated Behavior: Impacts, Risk Factors, and Interventions
Brief #35 – Social Justice
By Inijah Quadri
Hate-motivated behavior, or hate crimes, refers to any act of violence or intimidation motivated by prejudice or hatred against any individual or group. This type of behavior can have a serious impact on the victim’s well-being, as well as that of their loved ones.
The Politics of Heating Buildings
The Politics of Heating Buildings
Environmental Policy Brief #132 | By: Todd J. Broadman | December 29, 2021
Header photo taken from: The BBC
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Photo taken from: Yahoo Finance
Policy Summary
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Seventy million American homes and businesses depend on natural gas, oil, or propane on-site for heating, hot water, and cooking. The annual carbon dioxide generated is 560 million tons or 40% of total US emissions when you include the carbon used in building construction. The amount of methane, a far more potent CO2 gas, that routinely leaks as part of the gas distribution process, is equivalent to all US vehicle emissions.
There are a number of new policies to address the use of gas in buildings and the legislative efforts are split along party lines. Noteworthy are California, New York, and Illinois: combined they represent almost 25 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. Local governments are taking action, yet in the larger scope their new rules will not be sufficient to cut US emissions in half by 2030 as the Biden administration has targeted.
On the local front, the city of Berkeley, California is the first municipality to step up; in 2019 they passed a new building code that requires all new buildings to be constructed use only electricity for heating, hot water, and cooking. This example has been followed by nearly 50 cities in California. Ithaca, New York, took it a step further by banning the use of natural gas in all buildings — not just new ones. The New York City Council voted in favor of similar legislation prohibiting the use of gas-powered stoves, space heaters and water boilers in new buildings. The law will take effect in December 2023 for buildings less than seven stories and in 2027 for taller buildings. The rule does not apply to hospitals, commercial kitchens and laundromats, and residents who currently utilize natural gas in their homes will not be impacted. Salt Lake City and Denver have also made plans to move toward electrification.
Anticipating these local actions, the gas industry has focused their lobbying efforts at the state level – in Republican states: at least a dozen states have now passed laws prohibiting cities from restricting gas hookups in new construction. As EVP of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Garrick Taylor’s comments are fairly typical of such efforts: “We wanted to get ahead of what we viewed as an economically damaging trend, and stop it before it could gain a foothold here.”
Even with rules in place at the local level though, for CO2 reductions to take hold the electric grid itself must truly be carbon-free. For example, 85 percent of New York City’s electricity is generated from carbon. There is a plan in place to take that down to 30 percent by 2030.
Policy Analysis
Following an aggressive trend, 20 states have already passed “preemption” bills – preventing municipalities from taking action, the result of lobbying efforts that follow a playbook written by the American Gas Association. The industry appeals to economic and “consumer choice” advocates. The carbon industry is “under siege from environmental regulation.” The industry’s Chair stated that municipalities who want to ban natural gas are, in effect, “removing energy choice for communities and limiting or prohibiting customer access to natural gas.” In addition to the states that have passed bills, currently there are bills pending in three other states: Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan.
The state-by-state preemption playbook was written by the tobacco industry; their aim was to limit smoking regulations in the 1990s and 2000s. The same strategy was picked up by the National Rifle Association to restrict gun regulations in cities. Over the years, conservatives have used state preemption to target local bans on plastic bags, plastic straws, and fracking, as well as local efforts to increase the minimum wage.
Bruce Nilles, the executive director of the Climate Imperative project at Energy Innovation, says the natural gas industry “is now facing an existential threat. As coal disappears, they know they are next.” University of Virginia law expert Richard Schragger went as far as to claim that the industry’s strategy is an “attack on American cities.”
Photo taken from: Vox
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The industry rationale is weak according to David Pomerantz, Director of the environmental group at Energy and Policy Institute. “A building’s energy source is not usually an individual’s decision to start with, because the infrastructure that’s available depends on policies in their zip code.” In spite of gas industry lobbying efforts, New York may become the first state to ban natural gas in new buildings at a state-wide level.
Even if the net CO2 reductions from local restrictions may not amount to a significant overall cut, the shift in mindsets within communities can be seen as positive as it leads to a wide range of sustainability programs at the local level. Just as the gas industry posits individual choice is a value worth fighting for, communities are in their own way applying that argument in proposing and implementing sustainable non-carbon energy choices.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
https://energyinnovation.org/ is a non-partisan energy and climate policy think tank.
https://www.energyandpolicy.org/ is a watchdog organization that exposes attacks on renewable energy.
https://reason.com/ independent journalism on civil liberties, politics, technology, culture, policy, and commerce.
How YouTube Stokes Political Division
How YouTube Stokes Political Division
Technology Policy Brief #67 | By: Erik Pillar | December 29, 2021
Header photo taken from: NBC News
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Photo taken from: Mozilla Foundations
Policy Summary
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Social media algorithms, political echo chambers, and more are feeding into an ever-increasing disparity between rightwing-leftwing political perspectives.
According to the Pew Research Center, in a 2020 survey, the disparity between party-based opinions on topics such as the handling of Covid-19, voting rights, and even how the future may appear were Trump or Biden to be named president was more at odds than any other similarly compared nation. More recent Pew studies show that trend continuing with an increased percentage gap in issues such as abortion, economic issues, racial disparity, and more.
Part of the problem may be in how we interact with social media, and how social media interacts with us. The internet web-browser Mozilla conducted a 10-month long survey, released in 2021, of YouTube users on their video watching habits and the type of content they see show up in their recommended feeds.
The study, called YouTube Regret, regret for when a user regrets watching the content they were recommended by YouTube, found that 71% of all regretted content reported came from recommended video links embedded in the content they were watching.
“YouTube needs to admit their algorithm is designed in a way that harms and misinforms people,” says Brandi Geurkink, a Mozilla Senior Manager of Advocacy, in relation to the study findings, “Research confirms that YouTube not only hosts, but actively recommends videos that violate its own policies.”
YouTube’s community guidelines and policies on harmful content can be found here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801964?hl=en
Several examples from the study highlight the issue of unwanted and potentially harmful recommended content. One user reporting watching a video about the U.S military, where he was recommended to watch a video titled “Man humiliates feminist in viral video.” Another watched several Art Garfunkel music videos and was exposed to a recommended video called “Trump Debate Moderator EXPOSED as having Deep Democrat Ties, Media Bias Reaches BREAKING point.”
According to an article from The Atlantic, in a cited Pew survey, 64% of all channel and video recommendations were to videos with more than a million views. Only about 5% of recommendations were to videos with fewer than 50,000 views. In addition, YouTube favors fresh content heavily over older videos. YouTube is also likely to favor channels or videos from creators previously watched that fall within the above parameters.
For example, were a more democrat leaning user to search for information on traditionally left-leaning topics, they would most likely be directed to the channel or videos on the subject with the largest numbers watched that update the most often.
One such a channel might be the left-leaning YouTube news network The Young Turks. Their network is one of the most watched in their category for left-wing topics and stances, and they follow the daily release format YouTube favors. Once a user watches one of their videos, YouTube seeks to keep a user engaged with the website. Their next recommendation is likely to be another Young Turks video, and if not that specifically, a similar network with similar views.
Thus, while a user may start out with a deliberate search for information and is given information that lets him see different perspectives; he then becomes inundated with recommendations for sites that skew towards his or her political bias and no longer has access to opposing points of view.
The same can be said for a user, like those in YouTube Regret, who did not seek out or search for the content to start with. Since YouTube promotes highly watched content, regardless of the relation to what a user may be seeking, a user can end up in a place they did not seek.
Policy Analysis
While the reasoning behind the YouTube recommendation algorithm is understandable, in that it is designed to keep a user engaged for the maximum amount of time -increasing ad revenue- it makes for a problematic discourse on public policy issues.
Very rarely is one side of an argument all right or all wrong. When the public gets their news from one source however, quickly you end up with a population that sees and identifies with only that one source. The Pew surveys show a country more at odds with itself than nearly any other short of outright war.
Adding to the issue is the nature of the sources sites like YouTube funnel users to. Creators on YouTube are businesses, especially when they are seeking to provide a service, such as news or political commentary. These businesses seek to maximize revenue just as YouTube does in their recommendations.
A quick search on YouTube for left and right commentators pulls up many varied creators, but some tend to stand out. One is the previously discussed Young Turks, another is The Daily Wire. The opinions voiced by creators working under these networks could not be more different, however the method for engaging users is very similar.
Both channels adhere to the YouTube system of daily releases, both see large number pulls, and both have a multitude of smaller creators and channels under them to flow user traffic to once an initial video is watched, which YouTube is more than happy to do as it keeps the user engaged.
Photo taken from: audiencegain.net
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In addition, both channels monetize their services through subscriptions, creating a link to the channel and the user directly though monetary involvement, and go further to sell merchandise and goods attacking opponents or supporting those they agree with.
While the issue is in part the way in which these networks seek to keep and monetize users, that the platform itself, YouTube, directs and then keeps users seeing such content is the problem.
A user may become hooked by an unwanted recommendation, having watched said recommendation be given more, and over a very short time see mostly only that content. This is a problem, but one not easily solved.
Freedom of speech laws make any form of censorship short of calls to action or hate speech legal and not easily prevented. In addition, where does one draw the line at what should or should not be allowed? It is the goal of a business to make money. When a business legally earns money through legal methods, even if it comes at a cost to public discourse, should they be prevented from doing so?
The answer is one not yet known as politicians and policy setters continually battle over what it means to be a publisher or platform, what is or is not allowed.
One fact is clear, the political divisions in the US are becoming deeper, exacerbated by the business models used by social media providers such as YouTube.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
2020 Pew Research article: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/13/america-is-exceptional-in-the-nature-of-its-political-divide/
Mozilla Article Cited https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/mozilla-investigation-youtube-algorithm-recommends-videos-that-violate-the-platforms-very-own-policies/
YouTube Regret: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/youtube/findings/
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/11/how-youtubes-algorithm-really-works/575212/
Pandemic Related Mental Health Crisis Hits U.S. Schools
Pandemic Related Mental Health Crisis Hits U.S. Schools
Education Policy Brief #62 | By: Lynn Waldsmith | December 21, 2021
Header photo taken from: WTTW News
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Photo taken from: The Pew Charitable Trusts
Policy Summary
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Therapy dogs. Sensory rooms with comfy furniture, tents and weighted blankets. Playing with sand or building with Legos. These are the kinds of things that many schools throughout the country are making available to students when they need a break or when it just becomes too hard to cope in the classroom. But it’s not about fun and games.
Recently, three major pediatric groups — the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association – announced that the state of mental health of children and adolescents in this country should be considered a national emergency.
Mental health problems among kids have doubled during the pandemic, according to Karestan Koenen, a Harvard professor of psychiatric epidemiology. About one in four children is experiencing depression, and one in five is experiencing anxiety. Teachers are reporting increased behavior problems among younger children and substance use is rising among teens.
Most experts agree that the impact of pandemic-fueled social isolation and family instability is largely to blame, and some children are suffering from COVID-19-related grief. The National Institutes of Health says that more than 140,000 children in the United States lost a primary or secondary caregiver, with children of color being impacted disproportionately.
Some students feel hopeless. The CDC reports emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts among adolescents jumped 31 percent in 2020 compared with 2019. In February and March of this year, emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts were 51 percent higher among girls aged 12-17 than during the same period in 2019.
Policy Analysis
While therapy dogs are nice, actual therapists would be even better. Yet schools across the nation are not only coping with teacher shortages but with shortages of social workers, counselors and psychologists.
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommends one professional for every 500 students, yet Maine is the only state that meets that standard. The average among all states is actually one school psychologist for every 1,211 students. When the NASP surveyed members this fall, more than half of the respondents said their districts intended to hire mental health specialists. However, the shortage of available professionals has prompted some districts to hire outside vendors for mental health positions, while others are training existing staff.
In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Koenen said schools need to screen for anxiety and depression in students, provide resources, and somehow get more counselors. She also recommends that teachers be trained to recognize possible mental health problems in their students, so they can refer them for help.
“You don’t want it to fall on teachers to treat them,” she cautioned. “That is not the teacher’s job.”
Despite the sobering picture of children’s mental health, there are some good things to come out of the pandemic. First, with so much focus being directed at the problem, the stigma surrounding mental health is fading. Schools are openly talking about the importance of mental health with students and staff, a talking point that was essentially only whispered in the halls not too long ago. Many districts, reeling from the exhaustion of road-mapping “the new normal” of in-person learning, have provided students and staff “mental health” days off or extended holiday breaks.
Indeed, mental well-being needs to be the foundation for the recovery from the pandemic, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has said. Toward that end, another piece of good news is that the pandemic has prompted the federal government to provide historic levels of relief funding for education.
Photo taken from: Future-Ed
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Pandemic funding to schools totals $190 billion, more than four times the amount the Education Dept. typically spends on K-12 schools annually. The American Rescue Plan Act and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, combined with other 2020 pandemic relief funds for schools, provides education and health grants over the next few years, some of which can be spent on mental health. Local school districts can choose how to spend mental health investments, with most opting for staff training, wellness screenings and curriculum dedicated to social-emotional learning (SEL).
Social-emotional-learning is a teaching philosophy that is designed to help students manage their feelings and show empathy for others. Yet some parent groups oppose SEL and suicide prevention programs, claiming SEL is being used to indoctrinate students and that suicide shouldn’t be “advertised”. In addition, some schools are monitoring student computers while they are at school for distress signals or administering mental health screenings to all students, which has raised some privacy concerns.
The mental health crisis is pervasive on college campuses as well. A March report from the CDC found that 57 percent of adults ages 18 to 29 had recently experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression. Rep. David Trone (D-Maryland) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania), have introduced a bill to establish a national commission to study mental health concerns at institutions of higher learning.
The Departments of Education and Justice recently released a fact sheet that calls for colleges and universities to develop trauma-informed crisis management procedures, provide access to mental health services, offer policy modifications for individual students when appropriate and train employees to respond to signs of distress. It also reminds institutions that students with mental health disabilities are protected by federal civil rights laws, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.
As children, adolescents and young adults soon embark on their third year of learning during the pandemic, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said that it would take an “all-of-society” effort to address mental health, and urged action.
“It would be a tragedy if we beat back one public health crisis only to allow another to grow in its place,” Murthy said earlier this month.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health:
Shortage of School Psychologists:
Higher Education Mental Health Act of 2021:
http://trone.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/One-Pager-Higher-Ed-Mental-Health-Act.pdf
CDC Report — Symptoms of Anxiety or Depressive Disorder and Use of Mental Health Care Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, August 2020–February 2021:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7013e2.htm
Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States — Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:
Dept. of Education report — Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Needs:
Fact Sheet — Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Students at Risk of Self-Harm in the Era of COVID-19:
EPA Strengthens Policy Against Lead in Drinking Water, But Is It Enough?
EPA Strengthens Policy Against Lead in Drinking Water, But Is It Enough?
Environment Policy Brief #131 | By: Katelyn Lewis | December 21, 2021
Header photo taken from: NewsBreak
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Photo taken from: The New York Times
Policy Summary
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Federal officials announced Thursday their plan to tighten restrictions on the amount of lead allowed in drinking water in an effort to reduce the health hazards such exposure has caused in poor, often minority communities across the U.S.
“The challenge that we face is, without any question, great,” Vice President Kamala Harris said during the administration’s announcement of its whole-of-government Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington. “Lead is built into our cities. It is laid under our roads and it is installed in our homes.”
The plan will distribute $2.9 billion to states, tribes, and territories to remove lead service lines in an effort to jumpstart the Biden administration’s goal of eliminating every lead service line across the U.S. It’s the first chunk of $15 billion Congress approved toward lead service line replacement in the federal infrastructure bill passed in November, PBS NewsHour reports.
Lead enters drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead – such as water main lines, lead pipes, and faucets – corrode, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Lead is also found in paint, dust, soil, air, and food, and it’s especially toxic for young children, infants, and fetuses, with lower exposure levels being linked to “damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells,” according to the agency.
“The science on lead is settled – there is no safe level of exposure and it is time to remove this risk to support thriving people and vibrant communities,” EPA administrator Michael Regan said in a statement released Thursday.
Lead service lines are usually the most significant source of lead in water, and they’re more often found in older cities and homes built before 1986. As many as 10 million lead service lines continue to deliver water to homes, schools, businesses, and daycares across the U.S., the New York Times reports.
The announcement comes amid rising lead-contaminated water issues in communities across the U.S. and seven years after the crisis in Flint, Michigan, became one of the most serious environmental health blunders related to lead-contaminated water in 2014.
Policy Analysis
The EPA held a series of 10 virtual events across the country this year to discuss updating the federal Lead and Copper Rule for drinking water, The Allegheny Front reports.
Thursday’s announcement was the result of those discussions, with the agency planning to issue guidance – such as best practices, case studies, and templates for lead service line inventories – to assist its partners in implementation of the revised rule and a newly proposed rule to strengthen the regulatory framework.
Two big elephants remain in the room, though.
First, while finally putting weight behind eradicating lead contamination, the allocated $15 billion was a significant reduction from the administration’s proposed $45 billion needed to eliminate all of the lead pipelines in the U.S. Some estimates put the required cost to replace all pipes across the country at $60 billion (see image reference).
In addition, administration officials did not set a specific timeline on completion, only stating they wanted to address it as soon as is “feasible,” the New York Times reports.
Photo taken from: Getty Images
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Second, the agency did not indicate when it would update the lead contamination levels for drinking water, with a senior administration official only indicating to reporters the goal to finalize it by 2024. There has been no indication yet of what the new standard will be.
“The top priority must be to require removal of all lead pipes within the decade and to set a strict at-the-tap standard, which is the only way to prevent another generation of kids from drinking water through what is essentially a lead straw,” Erik Olson, senior strategic director of health at the Natural Resources Defense Council told PBS NewsHour.
“Good intentions won’t be enough to get the job done,” he added.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
ABC News / Associated Press – New lead testing method could reveal higher levels in water (Nov. 30, 2021) – https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/lead-testing-method-reveal-higher-levels-water-81465676
The Allegheny Front – EPA listens to Pittsburgh leaders at roundtable on lead in drinking water (June 9, 2021) – https://www.alleghenyfront.org/epa-comes-to-pittsburgh-for-roundtable-on-lead-in-drinking-water/
Environmental Protection Agency – Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water (n.d.) – https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water#getinto
The Hill – The infrastructure bill won’t eliminate lead pipes – which aren’t the biggest problem (Aug. 18, 2021) – https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/568303-the-infrastructure-bill-wont-eliminate-lead-pipes-which-arent-the-biggest
Natural Resources Defense Council – EPA Orders Benton Harbor, Michigan to Protect Residents from Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water (Nov. 2, 2021) – https://www.nrdc.org/media/2021/211102-0
Natural Resources Defense Council – Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know (Dec. 8, 2018) – https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know
New York Times – Biden Administration Promises Stricter Regulation of Lead in Drinking Water (Dec. 16, 2021) – https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/climate/biden-lead-drinking-water.html
PBS NewsHour – EPA details push to tighten rules for lead in drinking water (Dec. 16, 2021) – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/epa-details-push-to-tighten-rules-for-lead-in-drinking-water
What is the Significance of the First Union Store at Starbucks?
What is the Significance of the First Union Store at Starbucks?
Economic Policy Brief #132 | By: Rosalind Gottfried | December 21, 2021
Header photo taken from: ABC News
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Photo taken from: TradeMap
Policy Summary
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The recent union vote, at a Buffalo, NY Starbucks, represents the first success in the company’s 8000 corporate retail outlets. Workers United is the entity representing the workers and is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union. Another area store failed to vote in a union while a third one had a successful outcome which has been contested by both sides. At issue are wages, benefits, and other working conditions such as staffing and scheduling. Speculation surrounds the efforts as to whether this is a harbinger of a coming trend or an anomaly.
Unionization has been markedly down in the past several decades. Although there was a slight gain in membership in 2020, unionization hovers around 11% and, if the public unions are not in the count, the figure is cut in half. Restaurants are the least unionized industry in the U.S. The pandemic seemingly has contributed a boost to unionization and 68% of Americans now support unions; the highest figure since 1965. This surge counters a fifty-year trend of government regulations favoring employers.
Suggestions that the pandemic is promoting a pro union drive are spreading with workers giving more consideration to the conditions of work, especially in the low wage labor force. Almost 9 million workers quit jobs in September and October and there is persistent evidence that workers are not rushing back to work and are holding out for better pay and conditions.
Accusations of unfair labor practices by Starbucks pervade the efforts in the Buffalo areas. Starbucks has allegedly forced workers to attend anti-union meetings; flown in managers and executives from around the country to observe and intimidate workers; threatened losses of benefits; and manipulated the scheduling and hours of the union activities. Starbucks has even temporarily closed area stores. All of these practices, the corporation leadership suggests, are common practices though this assertion is adamantly contested. Hours before the Buffalo vote, Starbucks raised the minimum wage of its workers to $15 an hour and boosted wages for workers with two and five years of experience; the latter maneuver in response to employee criticism that veteran workers were making little more than new employees.
Three more Buffalo outlets, two outlets in Boston, and one in Mesa, Arizona have filed petitions to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Starbucks fought off union efforts in NYC and Philadelphia. In 2019, The NLRB made a judgement against Starbucks for firing two employees who has been active in a union campaign. Starbucks is appealing that decision. In Canada, there was one successful union vote in a corporate retail outlet.
In November of this year the Labor Board ordered a re-vote of a union effort in an Alabama Amazon warehouse, stating that the corporation had engaged in unfair practices including pressuring warehouse employees to vote against the union, which they had 2:1. Amazon has filed an appeal of the decision. President Biden supported the union effort engineered by the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union. Amazon is the country’s second largest private employer with 950,000 employees. The Bessemer, Alabama union drive was the first Amazon union effort since 2014; so far none have been successful in the U.S. though the European Amazon workers are characteristically unionized. The teamsters have made the domestic union effort a top priority.
Policy Analysis
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 13 strikes this year but they count only organizations with more than 1000 employs so they excluded, for example, the 700 nurses who went on strike in Massachusetts. A research project at Cornell University estimates that there have been 243 strikes this year.
A successful teacher strike in West Virginia, in 2018, led to teacher strikes in multiple states indicating a trend of activism spreading across the country and extending to private companies such as John Deere and Kellogg’s.
In March 2021 the U.S. House passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO act) which would strengthen the ability of private sector workers to unionize for collective bargaining; allow gig and contract workers to be represented by unions; maintain tighter restrictions on corporate practices regarding unionization; and levy stronger sanctions for violations of labor practices.
Photo taken from: The Guardian – Biden gives tentative support to Amazon workers in union push
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The bill has yet to pass in the Senate. Clearly, the agency of workers has been altered by the present conditions and it remains to be seen how this will play out.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on resource URL to visit links where available
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/union-objects-to-results-of-two-starbucks-unionization-votes
https://www.vox.com/recode/22825850/starbucks-union-first-organizing-vote-nlrb
https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062150045/starbucks-first-union-buffalo-new-york
Dams Versus Salmon on the Snake River
Dams Versus Salmon on the Snake River
Environment Policy Brief #130 | By: Timothy T. Loftus, Ph.D. | December 20, 2021
Header photo taken from: KMVT
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Policy Summary
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This past October, the Northwest News Network reported that a coalition of conservation groups, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the State of Oregon reached an agreement with the Biden Administration and federal agencies to pause, until next summer, long-running litigation over the operations of Snake River dams within the Columbia River Basin. With a growing chorus of elected officials willing to either support or consider dam removal, and new leadership in our nation’s capital, a fresh round of negotiations over the ongoing impact of dam operations on salmon populations are now getting underway. The expectation is for a new plan to be crafted that will help prevent salmon from disappearing in a river basin where they’ve existed for millennia.
The dams at issue, four of them, are situated on the lower Snake River in the state of Washington: Lower Granite Dam, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, and Ice Harbor. The multi-purpose dams are located just above the Snake’s confluence with the upper Columbia River and are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The hydropower generated is managed by the Bonneville Power Administration. The Snake River is the largest tributary to the Columbia River and the former’s watershed includes Nex Perce tribal lands.
Like many dams, these four enable several benefits to be had by people in the region: water supply for agricultural irrigation, transportation for agricultural (mainly) commodities, and hydropower generation that has made for affordable electricity. The emissions-free power generated is now especially beneficial given national and international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Decades of dams situated throughout the Columbia and Snake River Basins, however, have had a severe impact on salmon and steelhead trout to the point that these anadromous fishes are relatively scarce where once they were very abundant.
The National Wildlife Federation and other conservation groups are fighting for the fish to simply survive as an integral part of an aquatic ecosystem where salmon, steelhead, and other impacted species play a significant role. The Nez Perce Tribe aims to maintain healthy populations and an abundance of salmon and steelhead as a longstanding element of their culture and means of subsistence living. The Tribe also possesses a treaty right, an agreement with the federal government, that guarantees access to salmon. That treaty right has been compromised since dam operations commenced in the mid-20th Century and the collection of dams have proven to be largely responsible for decimating seasonal salmon runs and population numbers.
Critically, many key elected officials are now onboard with taking a fresh approach to saving the salmon from extinction. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), for example, is now on record stating, “My staff and I approached this challenge with the idea that there must be a way to restore Idaho salmon and keep the four lower Snake River dams. But after exhausting dozens of possible solutions, we weren’t able to find one that could control poor ocean conditions, warming rivers, and the four lower Snake dams. In the end, we realized there is no viable path that can allow us to keep the dams in place.”
On October 22, 2021, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Washington state Governor Jay Inslee issued a joint statement in support of a federal-state process for exploring the means to replace the benefits provided by the lower Snake River dams, sufficient to support dam removal (i.e., breach) as part of salmon recovery. The process will yield recommendations by July 31, 2022. Their joint statement was immediately followed by another statement of support for the joint process on Snake River salmon recovery by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
Policy Analysis
It’s well documented that dams fragment river systems, interfere with fish migrations, and have other consequences for nature. This is especially true in the Pacific Northwest and California where historic salmonid abundance and diversity has been in consistent decline for decades.
To be sure, there are other factors that contribute to diminished salmon populations including historic logging practices, agricultural activities, and urban development to name a few, but dams present formidable obstacles for fish to overcome despite efforts to accommodate them with fish ladders and other strategies. Climate change is an additional stressor for salmon when taking their anadromous life cycle into account.
For this current round of negotiations to succeed in producing a new solution, one that might involve dam breaching or removal, plans for replacing the primary benefits of dams with other means must be proffered. For example, can the electrical power generation be replaced without causing undue hardship on ratepayers?
The not-for-profit organization, Dam Sense, reports that power production on the lower Snake River dams is a fraction of total capacity and is particularly limited during peak summer and wintertime demand periods.
It’s contribution to the regional power grid, therefore, can theoretically at least be replaced. With other forms of renewable energy production increasingly coming online, it’s possible that the power generated by these dams will be the benefit that is most tractable to replace.
River navigation, made possible or at least enhanced by dams, has historically been an economical form of transport for bulk commodities and containerized cargo. The Port of Lewiston (POL) Idaho, located on the lower Snake River, is the most inland port on the west coast.
The POL is a multimodal port with good access to the primary railway in the region and nearby highways. Shipping report data from the POL indicate a downward trend (1991-2018) in wheat shipment tonnage, a total loss/suspension of container shipments during the same period, and a dramatic increase since 2016 in break bulk cargo. Grain shipments are the number one export leaving the Lower Granite Pool with ten percent of all US wheat exports going by barge through the Snake River dams according to the POL.
Photo taken from: Oregon Business / Data from U.S. Forest Service (click or tap to enlargen)
Ice Harbor Lock and Dam, completed in 1962, holds back Lake Sacajawea that is the source of irrigation water for approximately 47,000 acres of farmland as tabulated by the US Bureau of Reclamation. Diversion quantities associated with these private irrigation projects are not publicly available but can potentially be replaced with a combination of intakes on the river itself, alternate sources of water such as reclaimed wastewater, and modifications to cropping patterns and practices.
Lake-based recreation enabled by dams in the Columbia River Basin will also be impacted, but this activity was not the primary reason for which Congress authorized the construction of these dams. Local recreation-based economies are important, nonetheless, and would have to evolve to become river-based if possible and/or relocate to other lakes in the region. The report due next July might reveal how the recreation benefit of artificial lakes compares to other benefits studied in terms of both economic value and potential for replacement if recreational activities are deemed to warrant this level of consideration.
Another key component of this issue is the matter of treaty rights that the US Government signed with the indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest nearly 170 years ago. In exchange for the land that was amassed for newly arriving settlers, the US Government gave tribes the right to natural resources including fresh water and salmon. The Nez Perce Tribe is among the plaintiffs in the current agreement for short-term operations of the Columbia River System and related stay of the litigation.
While dam removal, should that recommendation be made and implemented, doesn’t guarantee that salmon and other fish populations will rebound and thrive (see, for example the Washington Policy Center’s take on the matter), leaving the four dams in place will almost certainly guarantee a continuation of both litigation and a depleted state of Snake River salmon runs.
The situation demands fresh thinking and a new approach. Dam removal elsewhere (e.g., Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams on the Olympic Peninsula, two dams on the Penobscot River in Maine) has proven to be beneficial for both fisheries and riparian ecosystems and provides proponents of dam removal with ample reason for hope should the lower Snake River dams be scheduled for removal.
Lastly, any cost/benefit analysis of dam removal will be incomplete without accounting for the ongoing social costs associated with diminished biodiversity related to lower Snake River dam operations.
Determining the value of ecosystem services that salmon generate and determining the full cost associated with their diminishment are essential components for a comprehensive accounting of the matter at hand. Ecosystem-service valuation for a full-cost accounting of the loss of those services will help inform decision makers in this case and is part of the toolbox for stemming the tide of the extinction crisis that is underway globally.
Engagement Resources
Washington Water Trust. Washington Water Trust (accessed December 14, 2021)
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ – United Nations Sustainable Development (accessed December 14, 2021)
Nez Perce Tribe. Cultural Resource Program. Nez Perce Tribe Cultural Resource Program (nezpercecultural.org) (accessed December 14, 2021)
US Army Corps of Engineers. Lower Snake River Dams. Walla Walla District > Missions > Lower Snake River Dams (army.mil) (accessed December 14, 2021)
“Totem Salmon: Life Lessons From Another Species.” 1999 by Freeman House. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
China: Genocide and the Olympics
China: Genocide and the Olympics
Foreign Policy Brief #137 | By: Reilly Fitzgerald | December 16, 2021
Header photo taken from: The Economist
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Photo taken from: MPR News
Policy Summary
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China has had a long history of human rights abuses ranging from the time of Mao’s Cultural Revolution to today’s modern issue regarding the Uyghurs in western China. The Uyghurs are a Turkic people living in the western Xinjiang region of China. They are a Muslim, and an ethnic minority in China. The Chinese government has long refused to treat these people on equal terms as other Chinese citizens. The goal of the Chinese governmen is to reduce the number of minority status groups in China. The majority group in China is Han Chinese, which is estimated at over 90% of the population of the country; making it the majority population by far.
The Chinese government has detained over one million Uyghurs in internment camps. The government has officially denied the presence of internment camps in China, and prefers to refer to them as either “vocational centers” or “re-education” centers. According to The Uyghur Tribunal, which is a group of academics and lawyers from outside of China, the Chinese government has conducted genocide against the Uyghurs through methods of forced sterilization and forced birth control/contraceptives. The Uyghur Tribunal’s Sir Geoffrey Nice said that the Chinese have a “deliberate systematic and continued policy … to bring about the long term reduction of other ethnic minority populations”. He also stated that there was “no evidence of mass killings”; however, forced sterilization could be looked at as potentially killing off the future of an entire ethnic group. The evidence is piling up against the Chinese government.
The detention (or internment) camps that are housing the Uyghurs (and several other ethnic minority groups) are essentially prisons. According to NBC News, they reported that a high-level Communist Party official in Xinjiang described, in leaked documents, the security measures of the camps and they more closely align with a prison than a “vocational center”. The leaked documents mention video surveillance in/around classrooms, dormitories, and even watch towers. The Chinese government has cited worries about extremism and even terrorism from within the Uyghur population as a main driver of these policies.
As stated above, China has officially denied any wrongdoing regarding their treatment of the Uyghur people. In the eyes of the government, there is no genocide going on in Xinjiang. The Chinese government has been a key spreader of misinformation regarding the Uyghur situation and more recently in an appeal to Westerners they have used social media to spread their message. According to the New York Times, the Chinese government is paying Westerners to spread misinformation about China and their policies on the social media accounts of non-Chinese people. One example of this from the New York Times, showed a YouTube clip created by a non-Chinese citizen saying “all the West are hoping to do is destabilize the area of Xinjian to stop the rise of China”. The Chinese government has found a way to utilize Western social media content for the benefit of their misinformation campaigns.
Policy Analysis
The United States’ position on the situation regarding the Uyghurs is that it is genocide. The United States has officially put in place a diplomatic boycott against the 2022 Winter Olympics that are set to take place in Beijing in February. Jen Psake, the White House Press Secretary, stated “genocide and crimes against humanity” against the Uyghurs as the main reason for the boycott. The United States has, as recently as this week, introduced new sanctions against China as well as North Korea.
The sanctions imposed on China target companies like SenseTime, which, according to Al Jazeera, created facial recognition software that is being used against ethnic minorities in China, including the Uyghurs. The sanctions are also targeting individuals and other groups and organizations that are both directly and indirectly responsible for the policies of human rights abuses in China, and other countries like Myanmar and North Korea.
Photo taken from: China Daily
The Olympics as an organization claim to share three Olympic values – excellence, friendship, and respect. China’s treatment of the Uyghurs has been anything but those three words. So far, there are not any athletes who are planning to boycott the games; though some athletes have spoken out against China and their genocidal policies. According to an NPR article from Dec. 6, 2021, the Chinese government has spoken against the diplomatic boycott and stated that the United States should “refrain from politicizing sports”.
It is unlikely that the United States will be able to affect a real policy change in China with the soft-power tactics of economic sanctions and diplomatic boycotts. However, it is encouraging that the United States is bringing greater attention to the genocide in Xinjiang. It will be interesting to see if other countries follow suit.
Engagement Resources
Uyghur Human Rights Project ( https://uhrp.org/ )
Minority Rights Group International ( https://minorityrights.org/minorities/uyghurs/ )
World Uyghur Congress ( https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/ )
The U.S. House Select Committee Investigation of the January 6 Attack on the Capitol: Part 6
The U.S. House Select Committee Investigation of the January 6 Attack on the Capitol: Part 6
Social Justice Policy Brief #30 | By: Erika Shannon | December 17, 2021
Header photo taken from: The Washington Post
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Photo taken from: Newsweek
The investigation into the January 6 attack on our nation’s capitol is currently well underway; there have been numerous subpoenas issued, thousands of tips collected, and many depositions and interviews conducted. However, in their efforts to get to the bottom of what exactly happened leading up to and on January 6, 2021, the House Select Committee has been facing a few hurdles. From Trump’s former staffers attempting to stonewall the investigation to throngs of information to sort through, the Committee is working hard to map out the day’s events and ensure that something like this does not happen again. Any threat to our democratic processes is a threat to our freedom, and the Committee is trying to preserve American democracy through their investigation.
In recent House Select Committee news, a new batch of subpoenas was issued to individuals who are thought to be involved in the organization and planning of rallies on January 5 and 6 of this year. This includes individuals who may have worked directly with the former President to plan the Ellipse rally that directly preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The six newest individuals to be subpoenaed are Robert Peede Jr, Max Miller, Brian Jack, Bryan Lewis, Ed Martin, and Kimberly Fletcher. The Committee believes these individuals may be able to better help piece together the events leading up to the Capitol breech. There is hope they will cooperate since hundreds of others have already come forth with information and testimony.
However time is running out for former Trump aide Mark Meadows. The House Select Committee subpoenaed Meadows to sit for a deposition and turn over a slew of relevant records. However, Meadows has repeatedly refused to comply and is now facing contempt of Congress charges just like Steve Bannon. When faced with the idea of possible criminal charges, Meadows actually attempted to sue House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and all nine members of the House Select Committee. Meadows lawsuit was an attempt to invalidate two subpoenas that the Committee had issued to him and to Verizon. The House Select Committee recently released text messages sent to Meadows in the days leading up to the insurrection; these texts were read on the House floor during a debate of whether or not a criminal contempt of Congress charge should be brought up against Meadows.
It is important to note, Meadows will be the third Trump ally to face contempt proceedings; just a couple of weeks ago, former US Attorney General Jeffrey Clark was also voted in contempt. However, the panel was allowing him another chance to testify before moving forth with proceedings.
Subpoenas and lack of cooperation are not the only big news related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. It has recently been revealed that the 72-year-old daughter of the founder of Publix grocery stores was the largest publicly known donor to the rally preceding the riot at the US Capitol. Julie Fancelli donated $300,000 to Women for America First, a nonprofit group that helped organize the January 6 rally.
Fancelli also donated $150,000 to the nonprofit arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association; that money paid for a robocall touting a march to “call on Congress to stop the steal.” Fancelli then donated $200,000 to State Tea Party Express, a conservative group that allegedly used the money for radio ads and social media ads urging supporters of Trump to attend the rally and the subsequent march on the Capitol.
Photo taken from: Palm Beach Post
With the Committee trying to follow the money, they finally believe they have found the biggest financier of the attack on the US Capitol. Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Committee, believes Fancelli played a strong role in helping finance the rally leading up to the Capitol riots. It is thought that the Committee will reach out to her at some point in the future.
Although it seems there will always be hurdles to overcome in an investigation of this magnitude, there are also some positives to focus on. Kash Patel, former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, met with the House Select Committee and with a team of lawyers to give his deposition. The leader of the group “Stop the Steal,” Ali Alexander, also recently appeared before the House Select Committee to cooperate with the investigation.
As more information and facts are revealed, it is thought that the House Select Committee will continue to issue subpoenas in an attempt to get the whole picture of January 6, 2021 and the days leading up to it. It is clear that some of Trump’s closest ally’s intend on doing whatever they can to keep their lips sealed, but it is unclear how long it will last.
This brief is part of an ongoing series in the Select Committee’s investigation; further updates will be provided as the investigation continues.
Engagement Resources
- To read the committee’s latest subpoenas and press releases, visit the January 6th Committee webpage.
Inflationary Trends Cut Into Rise in Wages
Inflationary Trends Cut Into Rise in Wages
Economic Policy Brief #131 | By: Rosalind Gottfried | December 15, 2021
Header photo taken from: Center for American Progress
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Photo taken from: Bridge Michigan
Policy Summary
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Wages are increasing significantly in all sectors. As workers have gradually rejoined the labor force, taking their time even as federal subsidies to unemployment benefits ended, starting wages and service work especially have seen large increases. Wages increased 4.9% between October 2020 and October 2021. Increases in restaurant and bar wages reached 12% and transportation and warehousing wages rose by 8%. Private companies have increased their wages and project payroll increases of 3.9% in 2022.
Raises in the private sector extend to managers, hourly workers, and regular employees. Average wages in private companies climbed to $30.85 an hour in September. The biggest wage jumps have been among newer workers under the age of 25 and among job switchers. Job changers average an increase of 5.1% while stable employees saw only 3.7% gains. Nonunion jobs increased at a faster rate than union jobs. Even with these increases, the worker shortage is expected to continue through 2022.
Good news? Not as good as it sounds since inflation has cut into the impact of the raises so that they actually amount to only about .5-1%. Inflation is at its highest since 1982 and the consumer price index, the measure indicating the cost of goods and services, has increased by 7.8% between February and October. Wages will need to continue to increase if people are to sustain their usual food and heating budgets. Inflation is not predicted to subside in the near future.
Policy Analysis
Photo taken from: CNBC
The current wage situation points to some interesting trends. Manufacturers have significantly increased wages, as have other low wage hourly industries, such as food service and warehousing but these relatively low paid sectors have workers who tend to be most vulnerable to the consequences of inflation. Some observers have suggested that the country might see a return to wages being tied to the cost of living, as they were in the 1970s and 1980s.
The sluggish response of unions may also have an impact on the future success of unionization efforts. Finally, the prediction of sustained inflation might make for an anxious stock market, though that remains to be seen since so far it has held pretty steady, with some temporary fluctuations in response to pandemic news and inflation reports.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on image to visit resource website.
In 2022, companies plan to give biggest raises in more than a decade
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/12/08/wages-2022-raises-inflation/
US wages are going up, and those who don’t adapt to the new reality will fail
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/10/us-small-businesses-wages-gene-marks
Good news in the latest jobs report: Wages are up, especially in low-paying sectors
DOI Will Not Stop the Drilling in the Face of Climate Commitments
DOI Will Not Stop the Drilling in the Face of Climate Commitments
Environmental Policy Brief #129 | By: Todd J. Broadman | December 10, 2021
Header photo taken from: USC
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Photo taken from: The Pulse
Policy Summary
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With President Biden’s COP26 climate pledge as backdrop, his administration has been issuing oil leases at a record pace. Biden said that climate change is “the challenge of our collective lifetimes, an existential threat to human existence as we know it. And every day we delay the cost of inaction increases.” His pledge is to cut U.S. emissions by up to 51% over the next nine years. At the end of October, the administration had approved 3,091 new drilling permits on public lands at a rate of 332 per month, outpacing the Trump administration’s 300 permits per month in fiscal years 2018-2020.
Just last month, the Department of the Interior (DOI) resumed offshore oil leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, putting up for auction 80 million acres. The plan for 2022 begins with more than 700,000 acres of public land up for drilling lease. The mixed messages have drawn sharp criticisms from both sides of the aisle; while Democrats prefer stronger action to limit oil and gas production, the Republicans insist that limiting domestic production would only increase global emissions from overseas suppliers.
A recently issued DOI report on oil leases crossed Biden’s desk; he had requested that agencies review all rules and policies that impact climate change. The DOI has the authority to make most changes through regulation. Some of the report’s recommended changes include an increase in oil lease royalty rates paid by the companies to the DOI. Royalty rates generally range from 16.67% to up to 25%. An exception is the North Slope of Alaska with a 12.5% rate. If royalty rates do increase, there will likely be smaller and fewer lease bids.
Higher rates are being positioned as a benefit for taxpayers and as a way of discouraging speculation in leasing federal acreage. Another report recommendation is to implement stricter controls on oil drilling site remediation. Currently in place is a $2-per-acre minimum bid for most federal leases, a minimum established in 1987. Per the report, “such low prices for leases, coupled with generous 10-year lease initial terms that are frequently extended, encourage speculators to purchase leases with the intent of waiting for increases in resource prices, adding assets to their balance sheets, or even reselling leases at a profit rather than attempting to produce oil or gas.”
The administration has received hundreds of requests from environmental groups and Native tribes in support of a blanket ban on new fossil fuel leasing and permitting. Citing the National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Lands Policy Management Act, Endangered Species Act and other laws, these groups claim that the continued issuance of oil leases breach legislated environmental protections. “I cannot help but feel misled, disheartened and disappointed when I witness actions such as the Department of Interior taking steps to lease more public lands to oil and gas,” said Jade Begay, the climate justice campaign director with the Native American advocacy group NDN Collective.
Policy Analysis
The DOI report and its recommendations do little to change the rate of carbon exploration and drilling on federal public lands. While Anne Hedges, director of policy for the Montana Environmental Information Center, went as far to say, “It’s a betrayal to his commitment to the world to decrease methane emissions and then immediately ignore these emissions for oil and gas development on public lands,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, walked a finer line in defending the lackluster report: “The DOI has an obligation to responsibly manage our public lands and waters — providing a fair return to the taxpayer and mitigating worsening climate impacts — while staying steadfast in the pursuit of environmental justice.”
There was widespread criticism that the conclusions lacked “meaningful analysis” and amounted to “misrepresenting” how oil development actually works. The intended impact on tax rolls will be minimal, as will be its effect on overall petroleum stocks. Vague references to climate commitments such as making an effort “to monetarily account for the costs of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide,” left many disappointed.
Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland – Photo taken from: Native News Online
If nothing else, the DOI report provides clarity on economic policy: the necessity of short-term economic gains outweighs the longer-term environmental impacts of seeking out and using new sources of carbon energy. This should come as no surprise given that there is no clear plan to coordinate with oil conglomerates a move to renewables.
Engagement Resources
Click or tap on image to visit resource website.
https://earthjustice.org/ the premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization.
https://www.politico.com/ dedicated to providing accurate, nonpartisan impactful information to the right people at the right time.
https://www.federalregister.gov/ daily journal of the U.S. government.
https://biologicaldiversity.org/ works to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.