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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Stephan: Every day since the election I have noticed one act after another of Trump sabotaging the social wellbeing of America. It is deliberate, conscious, and intentional. This is an angry nasty little man trying to punish the people of America because they did not re-elect him and, instead, made him once again the loser he fundamentally is.
Just weeks away from relinquishing power to incoming President-elect Joe Biden, the Trump administration is quietly launching a last-minute assault on Social Security by rushing ahead with a rule that, if implemented, could deny critical benefits to hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) late last week submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule aiming to further tighten eligibility requirements for Social Security disability benefits, which around ten million Americans currently rely on for a modest monthly income.
While it is unclear whether the rule can be finalized before Biden takes office next month, Social Security defenders reacted with outrage to the proposal and called on the president-elect to make clear that he will immediately roll back the change.
“It is outrageous,” Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said in a statement Monday. “The Trump administration could pull the rug out from millions of Americans, especially older Americans, in the waning days of its administration. Since the day he […]
Stephan: And here is yet another Trumpian act to degrade American lives.
Thirty years ago, President George H.W. Bush signed so-called Bhopal provision amendments to the Clean Air Act. Named after history’s worst toxic chemical accident that killed or injured more than 500,000 people in India the provision was meant to ensure such a tragedy would never happen here.
The Trump EPA cherry-picked data and ignored accidents, explosions and fires to justify rolling back Obama administration regulations that toughened the original rules.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler echoedchemical industry criticism of the Obama rule, writing in December that the Trump rule reduced “unnecessary regulations and regulatory costs.” Weakening the Obama rule benefits billionaire Len Blavatnik whose umbrella company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration.
Stephan: And yet another one. This one is like a time bomb just waiting for your next visit to a grocery
Credit; Getty
President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Friday that it is going to continue to allow a pesticide called chlorpyrifos that interferes with mammalian brain development to continue to be used in the United States. Many states have already decided to phase out or ban the widely-used agricultural product. The public will have 60 days to offer comments on the EPA’s decision.
In its announcement, the EPA included a number of proposals to improve the safety of how chlorpyrifos is used, including requiring more personal protective equipment (PPE) of individuals handling the chemical and adding new regulations to limit the risk of the chemical contaminating drinking water. At the same time, the agency is allowing it to continue to be registered in the United States, even though there are a number of alleged health risks associated with the insecticide.
Indeed, the insecticide has been banned in the European Union since early 2020; the European Food Safety Authority, which regulates pesticides, said that “no safe exposure level – or toxicological reference value – […]
Stephan: And here's another, and that's just a portion of what I have seen this week. It is going to take the Biden administration weeks if not months to unravel all this, and most Americans don't even know it is going on.
A plane sprays pesticide over the Wynwood neighborhood in the hope of controlling and reducing the number of mosquitos, some of which may be capable of spreading the Zika virus on August 6, 2016 in Miami, Florida. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty
A national nonprofit revealed Tuesday that testing commissioned by the group as well as separate analysis conducted by Massachusetts officials show samples of an aerially sprayed pesticide used by the commonwealth and at least 25 other states to control mosquito-borne illnesses contain toxic substances that critics call “forever chemicals.”
“Communities are struggling to remove PFAS from their drinking water supplies, while at the same time, we may be showering them with PFAS from the skies and roads.” —Kyla Bennett, PEER
Officially known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), this group of man-made chemicals—including PFOA, PFOS, and GenX—earned the nickname because they do not break down in the environment and build up in the body. PFAS has been linked to suppressed immune function, cancers, and other health issues.
Lawmakers and regulators at various levels of government have worked to clean […]
Stephan: For the last 40 years, the Republican Party has been doing everything in its power to favor corporations over individuals and to encourage the formation of monopolies. The result is the worst financial inequality of any nation, as well as the corruption of the Congress and the Judiciary; America now ranks 19th in the world in terms of judicial fairness.
I don't think most people really understand how pervasive this bias on the part of Republicans actually is, or now much it affects your life day-to-day. This report addresses this.
Credit: Tim Robinson
In the morning, I shower right after I wake up. I choose from a number of products to clean myself, yet they are made by just two companies: Unilever and Johnson & Johnson. I brush my teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste made by Procter & Gamble but sold under the separate brands Oral-B and Crest. Before I eat breakfast, because I have Type 1 diabetes, I take insulin, a drug that, because of pharmaceutical consolidation and anticompetitive patent hoarding allowed to run amok, cost about $20 for a vial in 1996 but now costs $275. Lunch isn’t any better. The peanut butter for my sandwich almost certainly comes from one of three companies; same with the jelly. We all have “choices,” but do we really get to choose?
Once you put on your “monopoly decoder ring,” David Dayen writes in his new book Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, you start to see how this power influences every part of our lives. There’s a baby formula monopoly: Three companies—Abbott Laboratories (which […]
Stephan: Here is a report concerning the first solar roadway in the U.S., and I take it as good news of an emerging trend.
Peachtree Corners’ solar installation will produce more than 1,300 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, according to the city. That electricity will be used for a Level 2 electric-car charging station at city hall, which EV drivers will be able to use for free. An energy-storage system will allow for nighttime use.he city of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, has unveiled what it calls the first solar roadway within a city in the United States.
Located in the Atlanta metropolitan area, Peachtree Corners installed solar panels in a section of its Technology Parkway, which also functions as an autonomous-vehicle testing lane, according to a press release from the city.
The installation uses Wattway solar panels, manufactured by French road-building company Colas Group. The company previously said these panels can be applied directly to an existing road surface, and provide comparable levels of grip to conventional paving materials.
Colas Wattway road-mounted solar panels
The solar-roadway project was undertaken in partnership with The Ray, an organization that uses an 18-mile stretch of Georgia highway as a proving ground technologies related to safety and emissions reductions. The Ray has already tested the materials to be installed on a portion of its […]
Stephan: And here is some more good news. Trump and the Republicans may not get it but the rest of the world is becoming clear that carbon energy is a dying technology.
The work of scrapping and recycling of the Tyra Field oil and gas platforms is underway at the port of Frederikshavn in Denmark, on September 15, 2020 Credit: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty
Denmark has just taken a significant step to lead the world on addressing climate change. The country announced that it will phase out all oil and gas exploration contracts in the North Sea by 2050. It’s the first major oil-producing country to take such a big step.
Following a December 3 vote, the Danish parliament has issued a near-total ban on companies receiving new licenses to hunt for and extract oil. The agreement will also cancel an eighth round of licensing that was set to occur. Licenses that were issued before the vote will be honored until 2050.
“We’re the European Union’s biggest oil producer and this decision will therefore resonate around the world,” Danish climate minister Dan Jorgensen said on Thursday.
The move to end oil and gas contracts by 2050 is not going to be cheap as it’s estimated to cost Denmark $2.1 billion, but the country appears ready […]
Sierra Carter, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University. - Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan: Here is an aspect of American racism I have never seen reported. I will be so glad when we can finally grow out of this curse, and I see signs that this is happening with the next generation, even as the Trumpers scream their racism to the skies.
‘In 2019, the American Academy of Pediatrics identified racism as having a profound impact on the health of children, adolescents, emerging adults and their families.’ Credit: Maranie R Staab/AFP/Getty
Our research is not the first to show Black Americans live sicker lives and die younger than other racial or ethnic groups. The experience of constant and accumulating stress due to racism throughout an individual’s lifetime can wear and tear down the body – literally “getting under the skin” to affect health.
These findings highlight how stress from racism, particularly experienced early in life, can affect […]
