“The blunt truth is that many communities across our nation – particularly low-income communities and communities of color – continue to bear the brunt of pollution from industrial development, poor land use decisions, transportation, and trade corridors,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a press release Tuesday.
“Meeting the needs of these communities requires our focused attention. That’s why HHS is establishing the Office of Environmental Justice,” he wrote.
The new office is under the purview of Admiral Rachel Levine, Biden’s controversial assistant secretary for health.
DRBC regulations allow no natural gas development to save this farm, despite it being perfectly legal 10 miles away under the jurisdiction of an agency (the SRBC) governed by the same majority of members as the DRBC. Where is the the environmental justice for this farmer?
“Millions in the U.S. are at risk of poor health because they live, work, play, learn and grow in or near areas of excessive pollution and other environmental hazards. The Office of Environmental Justice is an important avenue through which their well-being and quality of life are receiving our full attention,” Levine said.
The agency will be in charge of “Leading initiatives that integrate environmental justice into the HHS mission to improve health in disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations across the nation.”
As I noted here, “If there were truly any such thing as environmental justice, the uber-rich Haas, Heinz and Rockefeller families wouldn’t be able to tie the DRBC up into knots and prevent the citizens of Delaware County, NY and Wayne County, PA from realizing the same economic benefit from their natural resources as those of Susquehanna County.” The DRBC has attempted to ban natural gas development by outlawing a particular land use under the guise of water quality standards the industry could easily meet as applied to every other industry. But, now to have “Admiral” Levine, who advised Tom Wolf to pull a Cuomo and put COVID patients in nursing homes, thereby indirectly killing hundreds of residents is completely perverse.
Hat Tip: R.N.
Who Knew Spain Was So Politically Stupid!
Spain got into this mess by following the EU prescription for a green transition to enrich the continent’s wealthy oligarchs and this is what they are getting for their efforts; more penalties on the ordinary citizen who pays the bills.
Spain passed a decree this week limiting the use of air conditioning in public buildings as part of a strategy to conserve energy and reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
Spain itself does not depend on gas from Russia, but its government is working to increase energy efficiency as the European Union looks to reduce reliance on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year alone.
“Energy savings are the quickest and cheapest way to address the current energy crisis, and reduce bills,” the European Commission said last week when it unveiled details of its REPowerEU plan “to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition.”
As part of the goal to reduce consumption and bills, Spain is now limiting the use of air conditioning in public buildings. During the summer—when temperatures often rise to over 40 degrees Celsius (104 F)—air conditioning in public buildings should be set at no lower than 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 F), according to the government’s newly-passed decree on energy efficiency.
In the winter, offices and buildings where public workers work will not be heated above 19 degrees Celsius (66 F).
Giant industrial solar facility in Spain (photo courtesy of Betty Sutliff) that cannot adequately heat or cool the nation despite all the hopes the investment and the high electricity prices. So, naturally, it’s solution is to do more the same and faster.
The limits to the use of air conditioning measures are expected to apply “whenever it is technically possible,” according to the Spanish government’s decree.
Turning down the thermostat and using less air-conditioning is one of the nine measures that the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Commission outlined in April, which, they say, would save EU households money, reduce EU reliance on Russian fossil fuels, support Ukraine, and help the fight against climate change. The other measures include driving at lower speeds on highways, working from home, using public transport, and giving preference to trains over short-haul flights.
Spain went whole hog on solar, which is why it’s in such trouble today. It’s solution is to double-down on stupidity to keep rewarding those oligarchs. It would easy to say the country deserves whatever it gets, which is no air conditioning or heat when the people most need it but it is the people who will suffer, not the corporatists who are pushing the transition to enrich themselves and won’t suffer one iota. Maybe it’s time for Spain to go Spexit and get the hell way from the rest of Europe.
Hat Tip: D.S.
Tom Shepstone