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Congratulations to our presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden!
Elizabeth Warren calls for environmental justice in addressing climate change in new proposal
WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren released a plan Wednesday calling for environmental justice in responding to climate change, proposing steps to reduce what she called the disproportionate effect that pollution has on low-income and minority communities.
Warren, who has made the fight against climate change a key to her Democratic presidential campaign, said that a “just transition” to clean energy as outlined in the Green New Deal has to happen by “prioritizing communities that have experienced historic disinvestment.” She cited studies showing that toxic waste sites, landfills, congested highways and other sources of pollution hit harder in places such as predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods.
Warren would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to extensively map which communities are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change so federal clean air and water rules can be adjusted and promised to hold an environmental justice summit within her first 100 days in office if elected president. She would also direct one-third of a proposed climate investment under the Green New Deal into communities most at-risk of adverse environmental impact, which she said would equal at least $1 trillion dollars over the next decade.
...In an effort to better understand the far-reaching impact of climate injustice, Warren said she recently visited what is considered Michigan’s most polluted zip code with Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Detroit and its suburbs. Warren toured a school located next to several industrial plants and a community center, where she talked to people affected by the high levels of pollution that has caused cancer among their family and friends.
“These big corporations have enough muscle with the government that they squeeze it to get tax breaks,” Warren said to community members outside the community center in a video released by her campaign. “So the cost of running these schools and keeping these roads paved falls disproportionately on you. So you’re not only paying the cost in terms of what you breathe, what your children breathe…you’re also paying the cost out of pocket.”
More at https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/10/09/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-environmental-justice-addressing-climate-change-part-new-campaign-proposal/NEwS5uF7skb2xd3JVJ2P3I/story.html
Warren, who has made the fight against climate change a key to her Democratic presidential campaign, said that a “just transition” to clean energy as outlined in the Green New Deal has to happen by “prioritizing communities that have experienced historic disinvestment.” She cited studies showing that toxic waste sites, landfills, congested highways and other sources of pollution hit harder in places such as predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods.
Warren would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to extensively map which communities are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change so federal clean air and water rules can be adjusted and promised to hold an environmental justice summit within her first 100 days in office if elected president. She would also direct one-third of a proposed climate investment under the Green New Deal into communities most at-risk of adverse environmental impact, which she said would equal at least $1 trillion dollars over the next decade.
...In an effort to better understand the far-reaching impact of climate injustice, Warren said she recently visited what is considered Michigan’s most polluted zip code with Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Detroit and its suburbs. Warren toured a school located next to several industrial plants and a community center, where she talked to people affected by the high levels of pollution that has caused cancer among their family and friends.
“These big corporations have enough muscle with the government that they squeeze it to get tax breaks,” Warren said to community members outside the community center in a video released by her campaign. “So the cost of running these schools and keeping these roads paved falls disproportionately on you. So you’re not only paying the cost in terms of what you breathe, what your children breathe…you’re also paying the cost out of pocket.”
More at https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/10/09/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-environmental-justice-addressing-climate-change-part-new-campaign-proposal/NEwS5uF7skb2xd3JVJ2P3I/story.html
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If I were to vote in a presidentialprimary today, I would vote for: Undecided
