Oily Politicians Push For Sanctuary
May 10, 2021
The Good News
- Mother reunites with children separated at border (NBC)
- Big cat comeback? Florida strikes bipartisan deal to help endangered panthers (Guardian)
“The Earth is what we all have in common” — Wendell Berry
“One of the secrets to staying young is to always do things you don’t know how to do, to keep learning.” — Ruth Reichl
Oily Politicians Push For Sanctuary
(Chris Graythen via Getty Images)
Countless regions across the US have been designated “sanctuaries” for all sorts of things, from historical preservation to wildlife protection. Some sanctuaries, like those for refugee safety, are designed to thwart the intent of a higher government. A bill currently on the docket in the Louisiana Capitol proposes a similar kind of resistance, just one of a more… corporate nature. The bill would establish Louisiana as a “fossil fuel sanctuary state” and ban local and state employees from enforcing federal laws and regulations that negatively impact petrochemical companies.
The idea for the bill, which was proposed by representative Danny McCormick, stemmed from President Biden’s recent decision to pause new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. “Look at what they did to the coal industry,” McCormick said at a Louisiana House committee hearing. “They already picked off coal. Now they’re going after oil and gas.”
While this particular bill is unlikely to pass because of legality concerns in its current state, its introduction highlights a broader trend in oil country. Seeing the Biden Administration’s recent moves to curb emissions from petrochemical companies as part of a broader federal climate plan, states like Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas are all setting up protections for their fossil fuel companies.
In Louisiana, for example, another proposed bill would prevent state police from fining pipeline companies for failing to immediately report gas leaks. The Texas House recently approved two protections, one that would require all state entities — from state pension funds to grade school endowments — to divest from companies that cut ties with or “boycott” fossil fuel companies, and another that would prevent municipalities from “discriminating” against natural gas companies when providing utilities.
Oil and gas corporations are a significant part of the economy in many southern states. As state Representative Phil King of Texas said Monday, “Oil and gas is the lifeblood of the Texas economy.” For that reason, lawmakers say that federal regulations would hurt the tax revenues they get from oil and gas companies and create further job losses in their states.
At the same time, the existence of so many oil refineries creates a clear and present danger for many citizens in states where the economy runs on fossil fuels. Partially because of its fossil fuel addiction, places like the aptly-named Oil City in Louisiana have been consistently cited for high levels of toxic emissions by the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory. A region of the Louisiana-Texas border has been dubbed “Cancer Alley” because it consistently falls in the 90th to 95th percentile for cancer risk from breathing in air toxins, according to the EPA. Needless to say, many local politicians don’t like the term and have bristled at Democrats’ campaigns to revoke permits for yet another plastics plant in the corridor. (Guardian, Texas Tribune)
Boris Keeps Booming
(Oli Scarff via Getty Images)
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party was given a boost following local and regional elections in Scotland. Voters went to the polls for the first time since 2019 on “Super Thursday” to decide the fate of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, as well as the mayors of England’s largest cities, including London and Manchester. Voters also chose local councils, police commissioners, and other local authorities.
- “I think what this election shows is that people want a party and a government that is focused on them, focused on delivering change,” Johnson said. “What’s happened now is they can see we did get Brexit done… And I think what people want us to do now is to get on with delivering on everything else.”
- There may be a rocky road ahead for the relationship between Britain and Scotland, though, as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party said she would push for another referendum on Scotland’s independence following the pandemic. (NPR)
Displacement Protests Rock Israel
- Jerusalem saw its worst unrest in years when hundreds were injured in confrontations with the police following the announcement of a highly contentious decision to evict Palestinians to make way for Jewish settlers. Israel’s Supreme Court, who initially announced they would make a decision on the case on Monday, has delayed their decision following the incident.
- Israel has faced mounting international criticism of its heavy police response and the planned evictions despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defiance that his country would continue to build in the city.
- “This an attempt by the settlers, supported by the government, to seize our homes with force,” al-Kurd, a 77-year old whose family faces eviction, told the Guardian. “Enough is enough.” (Guardian)
Additional World News
- Doctors investigate mystery brain disease in Canada (BBC)
- Italian public broadcaster asked to stop promoting ‘intolerable’ content (Guardian)
- What we got wrong: the Guardian’s worst errors of judgment over 200 years (Guardian)
- India Sees Deadliest Day Of Pandemic With COVID-19 Deaths Topping 4,000 (NPR)
- Village Caught in Czech-Russia Spy Case Just Wants Things to Stop Blowing Up (NYT, $)
- Is giving out free money the best way to help homeless people? (Vox)
- Beirut bakery grows own wheat to combat rising food insecurity (Al Jazeera)
- Clashes Between Palestinians, Israeli Police In Jerusalem Leave Many Injured (NPR)
- Where Ukrainians Are Preparing for All-Out War With Russia (NYT, $)
Students Not Clicking With In-Person Learning
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With vaccines rolling out rapidly across the country, many school districts are thinking about how, or if, to reinstate in-person learning. Very few schools remain closed, but many students have opted to continue fully remote learning, with children of color highly represented in that number. Superintendents and officials have to determine how to reckon with the disparity.
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Lots of children were thrilled with the opportunity to go back to school, regaining some semblance of normalcy. But many others made lifestyle adjustments over the past year that will make full-time learning inconvenient or impossible. Some high schoolers picked up jobs to help offset unemployment for their parents, and parents have established new routines that would be hard to upset. Another issue is that, due to language barriers, some families don’t even know that schools have reopened.
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Most believe that the classroom is the best place for students to learn, but remain hesitant about pressuring families that aren’t ready or able to send their children back to school. In addition, fewer students being physically in classrooms is actually safer in terms of the virus, making it harder to sell teachers on the idea of full classrooms again.
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The disproportionate number of students of color taking classes from home creates a sense of inequity that is hard to overlook. Most liberal-leaning cities were the first to close the schools for children’s safety, and because of their caution are struggling to market the schools as safe again. A number of parents expect remote learning to continue to be offered to their students, and school districts will have to navigate this change for years to come. (NYT, $)
For A Vaccinated Time, Call…
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Many Americans spent hours furiously hunched over their keyboards in an attempt to secure a vaccine appointment when they first became available. But for many others, Internet access was a huge barrier to securing a vaccine. Now, President Biden has launched a vaccination assistance hotline, where Americans can call in and get information over the telephone.
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Vaccinations have slowed significantly in the country, and the administration is concerned about reaching their goal of inoculating 70% of Americans by July. People who either don’t have internet access or are uncomfortable navigating the many websites for booking appointments can now call 1-800-232-0233 and speak to a representative who will provide information and locations of available doses. The service is available in multiple languages and in TTY.
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The hotline has been operational for about a week but has not yet been widely publicized. The administration has been circulating the number among Congressional caucuses, as well as sharing the number with Made to Save, a group working to increase vaccine trust among communities of color. (NPR)
Additional USA News
- Ransomware Attack Shuts Down Colonial Pipeline (NPR)
- Gov. Hogan pardoning 34 victims of racial lynching in Maryland (Politico)
- How the A.T.F., Key to Biden’s Gun Plan, Became an N.R.A. ‘Whipping Boy’ (NYT, $)
- Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats from Amazon, Instacart, and Target (Recode)
- Biden’s historic 30 by 30 conservation plan, explained (Vox)
- Recovery Hinges On Women Returning To Work, Labor Secretary Says (NPR)
- ‘It’s derogatory’: one man’s four-decade fight against his town’s Native ‘mascot’ (Guardian)
- Arizona State Senate Responds To DOJ About Election Audit (NPR)
Debris Did Not De-Bring Any Harm
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On Saturday night, remnants of a Chinese rocket made an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere and crashed into the Indian Ocean north of Maldives. The incident drew criticism from NASA, which stated that China had failed to meet responsible standards for the re-entry of space debris.
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“Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Saturday night. “It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”
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China has faced similar challenges with atmospheric re-entry in the past. Tiangong 1, China’s defunct space station, “Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement Saturday night. “It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”made an uncontrolled re-entry and landed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean in 2018, and another Long March 5B rocket fell into the atmosphere in May of last year. (CBS)
Additional Reads
- How China turned a prize-winning iPhone hack against the Uyghurs (Technology Review)
- Why Not Turn Airports Into Giant Solar Farms? (Wired)
- ‘Street Gang’ Pulls The Curtain Back On 50 Years Of ‘Sesame Street’ (NPR)
- Remains of nine Neanderthals found in cave south of Rome (Guardian)
- ‘It’s like the embers in a barbecue pit.’ Nuclear reactions are smoldering again at Chernobyl (Science Mag)
- First genetically modified mosquitoes released in US (LiveScience)