This Week In Climate (In)Action

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE (IN)ACTION

May 19, 2017

THIS WEEK IN CLIMATE (IN)ACTION

Your weekly resource to learn what the environmental movement is saying about the news of the day and the political fight of our generation. Be sure to follow LCV on Facebook and Twitter.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

 “While each missed point on the Scorecard might seem trivial, we know that in the real world, and especially for vulnerable communities, each missed point means much more. It means more kids suffering from asthma. It means less access to new job markets. It means less access to the green spaces. It means more families living with unsafe drinking water like we see in Flint. With an eye on the 2018 midterms, you can bet that many members not doing well on this score card are going to be facing their constituents on these issues.”

– Reverend Lennox Yearwood, president of Hip Hop Caucus and LCV board member, speaking on LCV’s 2016 National Environmental Scorecard Report on Congressional Caucuses of Color released this week

“These dangerous bills pose a grave threat to our health, safety, communities, and environment and would dramatically weaken our ability to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink. They are a giveaway to corporate polluters and play right into Trump’s reckless anti-environment agenda…”

LCV President Gene Karpinski on the Regulatory Accountability Act and other anti-regulatory bills under consideration.

“…If President Trump was actually committed to creating jobs, he would invest more in clean energy rather than gut these successful programs.”

– LCV Legislative Representative Sara Jordan on the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to the Energy Department

 

LCV IN THE NEWS:

McClatchy: Big Oil’s Favorite Democrat? Texas Lawmaker’s Votes Reflect Industry Interests

ColorLines Magazine: Environmental Group Gives Michigan Governor Failing Grade for How He Handled Flint Water Crisis

Legal NewsLine: Conservation Groups Accuse Trump Administration of Violating Federal Law

The Hill: Virginia governor calls for state carbon regulations

Reuters: Virginia governor orders cap-and-trade regulation for power plants

 

THIS WEEK:

OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY

LCV’s state leagues are protecting the environment and fighting climate change in the states. Here’s what people are reading across the country:

CONGRESSIONAL CAUCUSES OF COLOR REPORT: Earlier this week, LCV released a National Environmental Scorecard Report on Congressional Caucuses of Color. Senator Mazie Hirono joined a press conference call to unveil the first-ever analysis of environmental voting records and leadership of congressional caucuses of color. View the report here.

BUDGET WATCH: TRUMP CUTS CLEAN ENERGY FUNDING: Donald Trump’s budget plan is starting to leak out of the White House, and this week it was reported that the administration plans to implement massive cuts to the Department of Energy’s renewable and energy efficiency program. Trump is once again putting the interests of dirty energy and corporate polluters ahead of people rather than investing in clean energy and creating jobs.

LICENSE TO KILL BILL VOL 1: Earlier this week the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted on the Regulatory Accountability Act and other anti-regulatory bills. LCV’s Gene Karpinski said, “These dangerous bills pose a grave threat to our health, safety, communities, and environment and would dramatically weaken our ability to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink. They are a giveaway to corporate polluters and play right into Trump’s reckless anti-environment agenda. LCV applauds the senators who opposed the extreme anti-regulatory bills that were considered today, and we urge all senators to oppose any legislation that remotely resembles any of these bills.”

WALKING, TALKING CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Donald Trump’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt, went through a Senate hearing this week. In the days leading up to his hearing, Bernhardt took heat for his conflicts of interest that stem from his years of lobbying work after leaving the Bush administration. Read more here, here and here.

ADMINISTRATION TAKES A GIANT ERASER TO CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH: The Guardian reported on Sunday that the administration has “taken a hatchet” to climate change language and research on government websites. The piece notes that, over the first hundred days or so of Trump’s presidency, mentions of climate change have been cut out or buried from federal government websites.

LCV DEFENDS CLEAN WATER RULE AT OMB: On May 17, LCV Legislative Representative Madeleine Foote testified at OMB in strong opposition to repeal of the Clean Water Rule, a widely supported protection that was implemented by the Obama administration to help protect the drinking water of 1 in 3 people in this country.   Check out Madeleine’s testimony here.

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTMENT OF FAKE NEWS: The White House is taking heat this week after it was leaked that the deputy national security advisor K.T. McFarland gave Donald Trump two Time magazine covers about climate change. One, supposedly from the 1970s, warned about an upcoming ice age. The problem? That “cover” is one of the most often debunked hoaxes still circulating the internet. Apparently, the White House is relying on age-old fake news to find reason to believe that climate change isn’t real.

COMING UP:

BUDGET WATCH: Donald Trump is expected to release his budget next week, and we’ll be watching and holding the administration accountable for any proposed cuts to environmental departments, agencies, and programs.