GOOD NEWS

Published June 24, 2024 by Nan Mykel

TAKE NOTE of 50 things President Biden has done to combat Climate Change as listed by 3chickspolitico and chris evans (@notcapnamerica)

1. Rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement

2. Hosted the Leaders Summit on Climate

3. Committed to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030

4. Pledged to achieve a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions by 2050

5. Established the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy

6. Appointed John Kerry as the first-ever U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate

7. Directed federal agencies to procure carbon-free electricity and zero-emission vehicles

8. Launched the American Jobs Plan with significant investments in clean energy and infrastructure

9. Proposed the Build Back Better plan with substantial climate and environmental provisions

10. Paused new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters

11. Directed federal agencies to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies

12. Restored and strengthened vehicle fuel efficiency standards

13. Set a goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030

14. Committed to conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030

15. Restored protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments

16. Revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline

17. Halted oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

18. Reversed rollbacks to the National Environmental Policy Act

19. Reinstated the ban on logging and road construction in the Tongass National Forest

20. Proposed stronger standards for methane emissions from oil and gas operations

21. Initiated the process to reverse rollbacks of the Clean Water Act

22. Supported the PFAS Action Act to address “forever chemicals”

23. Proposed funding for clean energy research and development

24. Directed agencies to incorporate climate change into national security considerations

25. Reestablished the federal flood risk management standard

26. Reinstated California’s authority to set stricter vehicle emission standards

27. Committed to electrifying the federal vehicle fleet

28. Proposed plans to build a nationwide network of EV charging stations

29. Accelerated the permitting of clean energy projects on federal lands

30. Launched a government-wide environmental justice initiative

31. Established the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council

32. Pledged to deliver 40% of clean energy investment benefits to disadvantaged communities

33. Proposed funding for energy efficiency and clean energy in low-income households

34. Launched the Justice40 initiative

35. Signed an executive order on tackling the climate crisis domestically and abroad

36. Established the Civilian Climate Corps

37. Initiated development of new emissions standards for cars, light trucks, and heavy-duty vehicles

38. Directed U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to prioritize climate in investments

39. Committed to ending international financing of carbon-intensive fossil fuel-based energy

40. Pledged to work with Congress to eliminate fossil fuel tax preferences

41. Directed agencies to identify new opportunities to spur innovation in clean energy technologies

42. Established an Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities

43. Launched the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act to phase down hydrofluorocarbons

44. Reversed Trump-era rollbacks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protections

45. Initiated the process to establish national limits on PFAS in drinking water

46. Proposed the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan

47. Launched a government-wide strategy for advancing nature-based solutions to climate change

48. Committed to creating a new multi-agency scientific integrity task force

49. Started development of new energy efficiency standards for buildings and appliances

50. Established the first-ever White House Office of Climate Policy

Posted in 2024 Elections, Breaking News, Environment, Open Thread, Politics| Tagged2024 Elections, 3Chics Politico,

______________

On his first day in office, Biden also ordered federal agencies to reinstate or strengthen over 100 environmental regulations that Trump rolled back.

______________

The Supreme Court said a Texas man under a domestic violence order may be disarmed, narrowing a key 2022 ruling that vastly expanded gun rights.

______________

Your Weather Today is…

In 2010, the National Science Foundation and George Mason University started a program called Climate Matters. The goal of the effort was to bring data-driven climate news to local audiences, and the appetite for such material has been tremendous.

Climate Matters is now in more than 245 cities and media markets and is working with thousands of reporters and editors around the country.

Bernadette Woods Placky, who runs the program, said that, across the board, more TV meteorologists are talking about global warming in their reporting.

“Our weather has so fundamentally changed because of climate change that it is now part of the story,” she said.

________________

Two beluga whales were rescued from an aquarium under bombardment in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and flown to Spain. (I love whales, but more valuable than people?)

OLD IS NOT THE PROBLEM?

Published March 11, 2024 by Nan Mykel

What’s wrong with women that we’re so easily abused and misused? It may be because we’re physically weaker than men, pushovers, literally. Is our empathy so easy to use against us? I hear “lady like” more often than “gentleman like.” Does the role of nurturer/caretaker overshadow other areas of life? What was behind the difficulty in letting us vote? Why were white women allowed to vote before women of color? What is the source of prejudice? Surely not fear. Allah (swt) says in the Quran, “O believers treat women with kindness even if you dislike them.”!! [That doesn’t exactly put women on a par with men!] In addition/as a result, many women have bought into seeing themselves as less.

According to Wikipedia, Males on average are more assertive and have higher self-esteem. Females were on average higher than males in extroversion, anxiety, trust, and, especially, tender-mindedness (e.g., nurturance).

After reflecting for most of today and reading on this topic (suffrage, Islam’s treatment of women, abortions outlawed in much of U.S., and FGM–female genital mutilation–in other countries–I was interested to see on a post from O.U. what appeared to be a woman’s view of her Muslim life: “Thus, in the Islamic tradition, a woman has an independent identity. She is a responsible being in her own right and carries the burden of her moral and spiritual obligations. Women have as much right to education as men do.” Why do I feel like a well-behaved Muslim woman wrote that, defensively?

I sought an additional version from the International Islamic University Malaysia https://www.iium.edu.my› articles: “What is a woman’s role in Islam? Men are providers for women and in exchange for support, women should be obedient and serve their husbands. They should keep their virginity and after marriage, loyalty, chastity and complete dedication to their husbands are prerequisite for securing maintenance. Women are seen as weak and as easily overpowered by men. (“Women in the Quran and the Sunnah – IIUM”)

During this long afternoon it occurs to me that the unspoken sentiment behind the complaints that “Biden’s too old” really is that no one’s willing to say it out loud without seeming prejudiced: Being too old means that he might die in office, leaving a female of color in his place. Biden can’t say it, nor can Democrats, without being seen as racist and/or misogynist. So everyone is quiet about it–at least in the print I saw (or didn’t see), and the [imagined?] concern is not being addressed. Republicans are also avoiding the “prejudiced” label, at least in their public proclamations. It almost makes me wish she’d bow out, but don’t tell her I said that! [“Any vote not cast for Biden is a vote for Trump.”]

Google describes Kamala Harris, the current U.S. Vice President under Joe Biden, as the first woman, second bi-racial, (Charles Curtis, a member of the Caw Nation served under Hoover), and the first South Asian American vice president. (She was born in the United States!} Her mother was a Tamil Brahmin, part of a “privileged elite” in Hinduism’s ancient caste hierarchy, but moved from India to the United States and received her PhD. at Berkeley in 1964. Now deceased, her mother became a biomedical scientist. Her father is Donald Jasper Harris (born August 23, 1938), a Jamaican-American economist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. Her parents divorced in 1971, after eight years.

How to deal with this problem? P.S. I’m 88+, so Biden’s just a kid to me.

Bombers, Tree Cutters and Biden

Published October 3, 2022 by Nan Mykel

The education center after the attack.

Credit…Ebrahim Noroozi/Associated Press

Kabul, Afghanistan — Murder to punish school girls for getting an education? I can’t imagine it. Whatever is in the heart of a suicide bomber? Will his god actually reward him for killing school girls?

A suicide attack on Friday at an educational center in Kabul killed at least 19 people, mostly young female students, and wounded at least 27 people. At least one attacker shot his way into the center and detonated explosives in the latest string of attacks on schools. For some girls, the move to close schools and the recent string of attacks on education centers have emboldened them to continue their studies however they can — whether applying for visas to study abroad, forming informal study groups among their peers, or taking courses at education centers like Kaaj. Arezu Hassani, 14, was about to begin ninth grade when the Taliban took over last year and girls’ schools were closed indefinitely. Desperate for any way to continue learning, she began taking mathematics and physics courses at a branch of the Kaaj education center. She was not at the center on Friday morning, but the attack rattled her parents, who told her that they would no longer allow her to go to classes, fearing for her safety. “I am so sad,” she said. “I cannot even explain my feelings.”

Many are determined to study no matter what. “They want to prevent us from getting education, but they cannot,” said Ms. Haidari, a student who witnessed the blast. “No one can stop us. We are not going to give up.” {Updated casualties are 33 killed, 80 wounded.)

the main story

____________________________________

I love my county! The worst thing about it is that it’s in Ohio:

Earthlings (that’s us) have removed 33% of our forests. It has been estimated that if everyone on earth planted one acorn, nut, seed or seedling once a year for the rest of their lives it would take 2,341 years to restore Earth’s forests–if no more trees were destroyed. Those who care suggest direct seeding, the collecting of acorns and nuts, sorting, then placing them directly in the ground, where they become less accessible to wildlife, improving their odds of survival. For inquiries regarding the seeding and preparation contact athenscountydirectseed@gmail.com and a hotlink can be provided for more specifics. Thanks to Todd Swearingen for the info on direct seeding provided in his letter to the Athens Messenger September 21.

____________________________________

VICTORY , difficult to come by these days, has been won by the Biden administration over the racial inequality of covid19 distribution and effects. I was going to print the entire N.Y. Times article, but see I paid one dollar a week to access its news and columns, and you didn’t. Pooh, I hate it and you may also.The meat and bones of it appear to be free to share, so I’ll just tell you that the disparity between availability and use of the vaccine between racial minorities versus whites appears to have shrunk down (or up?) to EQUALITY. Republicans’ utilization of the vaccine remains in the end zone (my metaphor).