Thursday, January 12th, 2017
Stephan: Given Trump's position, the composition of his administration, the make-up of the Congress and very possibly soon the Supreme Court, I think it is reasonable to foresee that there will be a concerted effort to protect the carbon interests, the industries that prospered in the carbon world. This will have the effect of taking us out of world leadership, and slow the withering of industries that should die or be reordered, like buggy builders, harness makers, manure gathering companies, and the dozens of other businesses tied to the world of horse based transportation.
And I think the vector of attack may be through federal preemption, an arcane part of the law, that can be used to attack state programs. This report brings this obscurity into focus.
The only way this can be stopped in through citizen activism. Using the 8 laws, and the Quotidian Choice, I suggest, is a place to start.
If the moves described in this report are successful it is going to delay our transition, and reduce our influence in the world, which will have significant long-term geopolitical implications. The United States is the second greatest tourist draw in the world. Seventy five million people a year come here as tourists. They watch our television, they see the world around them.
We have a geographically beautiful country, and several hot cities, there will always be tourists. But we no longer look, sound, or act like the leading culture in the world. To people used to universal healthcare, for instance, just dealing with that one issue should something arise brings a foreign visitor into the American reality. And it is a jarring experience.
It is so bizarre to watch a country do this to itself.
The 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Facility in Nevada is the first utility-scale concentrating solar plant that can provide electricity whenever it’s needed most, even after dark.
Credit: SolarReserve
The head of the city department that drafts many of San Francisco’s greenest rules and regulations uses one word to explain her greatest fear for the environment during Trump’s presidency: “preemption.”
If some of the deepest concerns of climate-focused bureaucrats from San Francisco to Massachusetts and New York come true, the Trump administration will preemptively prevent them from acting to slow global warming.
With Trump and Republicans in Congress widely expected to unite to undermine federal environmental protections, progressive states and cities are making plans to fight global warming within their borders without being helped or required to do so by the U.S. government.
“Preemption is probably the progressive cities’ worst nightmare,” said Deborah Raphael, director of San Francisco’s environment department, which has helped city lawmakers craft rules mandating everything from greener buildings to composting and recycling by residents. “It’s also the state of California’s worst nightmare.”
The term “preemption” doesn’t describe a single legislative or regulatory tool. The […]
I don’t believe they can. Wall St and wealthy investors are already in deep.