Sanders Releases ‘People before Polluters’ Climate Plan

[RiverLover]

Sanders Releases ‘People before Polluters’ Climate Plan
December 7, 2015


BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday detailed a plan to combat climate change, which environmentalists praised as the boldest put forward by a candidate running for president in 2016.

“It is beyond my comprehension that we can have a Republican Party and Republican candidates who are more concerned about getting huge campaign contributions from the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil and the coal industry than they are about accepting what the overwhelming majority of scientists are saying,” Sanders said on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday. “Climate change is real, caused by human activity and already causing major and devastating problems in our country and around the world.”

Sanders’ plan will cut U.S. carbon pollution by 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels by putting a tax on carbon pollution and doubling the number of Americans working in clean energy jobs.

“The climate plan released by Senator Bernie Sanders today shows that he has broken free of the corporate and 1 percent money that has held back climate policy for far too long,” Greenpeace U.S. executive director Annie Leonard said. “Sanders has issued a powerful call for climate justice and decisive action to keep fossil fuels in the ground and support the communities who are suffering from climate and environmental impacts. Greenpeace applauds this ambitious platform and challenges other candidates who are serious about climate change to reject polluter money and raise the level of ambition in their own plans to meet the greatest challenge of our time.”

“Bernie’s vision of a transformed America is powerful, because it recognizes both the ecological need and the human priority,” environmentalist and co-founder of 350.org Bill McKibben said. “There’s good useful work that we need millions of Americans to do – and he’ll make sure it’s done by the people left out of our economic booms of the past. Even more important than the plan is the credibility of the planner. Bernie has shown with years of committed action that he will not just talk about this stuff on the campaign trail, he will do it in the Oval Office.”

“For too long frontline communities of color have been an afterthought in our nation’s environmental policies,” Environmental Action policy director Anthony Rogers-Wright said. “This platform is an excellent step toward reversing that trend and making progress to save our planet, climate and communities. Senator Sanders once again demonstrates his understanding of how to work alongside communities of color and low-wealth communities fighting disproportionate pollution by companies like Exxon Mobil. The plan is not only rooted in common sense, but also in justice. For these reasons and more, Environmental Action enthusiastically endorses Bernie Sanders’ climate change platform.”

https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-releases-people-before-polluters-climate-plan/

Read Bernie's Plan
Excerpt~

As president, Bernie will:

*Ban fossil fuels lobbyists from working in the White House. Massive lobbying and unlimited super PAC donations by the fossil fuel industry gives these profitable companies disproportionate influence on our elected leaders. This practice is business as usual in Washington and it is not acceptable. Heavy-handed lobbying causes climate change skepticism. It has no place in the executive office.

*End the huge subsidies that benefit fossil fuel companies. When fossil-fuel companies are racking up record profits, it is absurd to provide massive taxpayer subsidies to pad their already enormous earnings. After all, it is immoral that some in Congress advocate harsh cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security while those same people vote to preserve billions in tax breaks for the most profitable corporations in America.

*Create a national environmental and climate justice plan that recognizes the heightened public health risks faced by low-income and minority communities. Low-income and minority neighborhoods will continue to be the hardest hit if we don’t act to stop climate change now. Ten years ago, Hurricane Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast, flooding 80 percent of the city of New Orleans. Some areas of the city were submerged in as much as 10 feet of water, and 28 percent of residents had no way to leave the city. Almost 100,000 African American residents who left New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina never returned. The reality of the impacts of the storm on the African American community in New Orleans exposed the broader trend that low-income and minority communities face the brunt of climate change impacts first and worst.

*Bring climate deniers to justice so we can aggressively tackle climate change. It is an embarrassment that Republican politicians, with few exceptions, refuse to even recognize the reality of climate change, let alone are prepared to do anything about it. The reality is that the fossil fuel industry is to blame for much of the climate change skepticism in America. Bernie recently called for the Department of Justice to investigate Exxon Mobil, which may have not only known about the dangers of climate change, but has spent millions of dollars to spread doubt about the causes and impacts of burning fossil fuels.

*Fight to overturn Citizens United. In a 5-4 decision in 2010 in the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for corporations and the super wealthy to spend unlimited and undisclosed money to buy our elected officials. The Supreme Court essentially declared that corporations, including fossil fuel corporations, have the same rights as natural-born human beings. This decision has enabled billionaires and special interests to increasingly control the political campaign finance system, and amounts to legalized bribery.

Bernie’s Record:

Bernie introduced a constitutional amendment that prohibits for-profit corporations from making contributions or expenditures into political campaigns. In other words, Bernie’s amendment reaffirms what’s already in the Constitution: the right to vote belongs to people, and not corporate entities whose money is drowning out the rest of us.

Back legislation to publicly finance elections. Bernie wants to move toward public funding of elections to promote a more even playing field where anyone can run for office without having to beg for money from the wealthy and the powerful. Public funding of elections increases voter participation, helps lower the influence of outside money and lowers the amount of time politicians spend fundraising, allowing them to implement solutions, as they were elected to do. He envisions a future of inclusivity that would restore our American democracy by ensuring each citizen has equal power in determining the future leaders of our nation.

Accelerate a Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels

Scientists warn us if we continue burning fossil fuels, we will experience cataclysmic change, in terms of more disease, more hunger, more drought, more famine, rising sea levels, more floods, more ocean acidification, more extreme weather disturbances and more human suffering. That means we must leave the vast majority of global reserves of coal, natural gas and oil in the ground.

Xposted in Environment & Energy Group

[Buzz Clik]

1. If anyone is struggling to understand this or needs some specific examples, I'm willing.

[Buzz Clik]

6. For those of you who need to know the specifics of HRC's position on climate change:

Lots and lots of specifics:

file:///C:/Users/arthur.schwab/Downloads/Hillary_Clinton_Climate_Change_Fact_Sheet.pdf

[in_cog_ni_to]

2. K&R! n/t

[Live and Learn]

3. K&R nt

[frazzled]

4. People are polluters too

We are all complicit to one degree or another the causes of climate change. We're contributing to pollution right now as we type on our computers. You contribute to pollution each time you get in your car (if you have one, or have one that uses fossil fuels).

While industry has the largest role to play, especially with coming up with new technologies, we all must work to reduce our carbon footprints. We are a wasteful, energy hungry bunch. I include myself in this category, even though we have only one car—a hybrid Prius that we've had for nearly 10 years and generally take out only two times a week—and even though we recycle religiously and avoid wasteful packaging and bring our own bags to the grocery, etc. But we still consume too much heat and light.

The dichotomy suggested between people and polluters is a false one (and a dangerous one, I'd say) that is mere populist pap. If "people" don't want to invest in the ways to lower their carbon footprints, industry will not respond. The people are not excused from our complicity in the climate change problem.

[RiverLover]

5. Yep, I agree.

This year, we're not doing Christmas lights. Small, painful way to make a sacrifice for planet earth & all of her creatures. This is more symbolic of course, but it IS a sacrifice. Christmas lights are one of my favorite thing about the season.

So if we were able to get our energy from a renewable source, like wind or solar, then we'd light up again. Sans guilt.

But the "polluters", the energy companies we know Bernie is referencing, don't offer those alternatives in our neck of the woods.

And speaking of woods, we'd have to move into the woods & live illegally off the land to truly not be a "polluter" ourselves. Since this isn't a realistic option, how about we try Bernie's plan & create thousands of jobs & bring cleaner energy to everyone?

End the lobbyists entering the White House?

End subsidies to billionaire oil companies & help taxpayers rather than US helping them get richer while they destroy the planet?

I love this plan. I don't care what his team chooses to call it.


....& BTW, here's some more "populist pap" I think is pretty damn good & would benefit US tremendously~

Populism 2015 Platform: Building A Movement for People and the Planet

Rebuild America for the 21st Century and Create Jobs for All.

America’s public infrastructure – from roads to rail to water and energy systems – is increasingly dangerous to our health and a drag on our economy. National investment in rebuilding America will create millions of high-quality jobs, bid wages up, help close the racial jobs gap, and make America a better place to live and work.

Raise Wages, Empower Workers and Reverse Inequality.

Inequality has reached new extremes, as more and more jobs become contingent and part-time, with low pay and few benefits. We should lift the floor under every worker by guaranteeing a living wage, paid sick and vacation days, and affordable health care. We should empower workers to form unions and bargain collectively. We must curb perverse CEO compensation policies that give executives personal incentives to plunder their own companies.

Invest in a Green Economy.

Catastrophic climate change is a clear and present danger. The United States should lead the global green revolution that builds strong and resilient communities. Public investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency can create jobs and opportunity, particularly in communities of color that have borne the worst consequences of toxic corporate practices.

Eliminate Institutionalized Racism to Open Opportunity to All.

In a society of increasing diversity, ending systemic racial disparities is vital to building economic prosperity. This begins with comprehensive immigration reform, expanded voting rights and an end to mass incarceration and the systematic criminalization of people of color.

Guarantee Women’s Economic Equality.

We will ensure that women are guaranteed the same pay, protections and opportunities as men in the workplace and in society. Families must have access to high-quality child care and paid leave from the workplace for childbirth, illness and vacation. Women must also be guaranteed affordable health care and a secure retirement – with Social Security credit for work in the household.

Provide a High-Quality Education to Every Child

Every child must have the right to high-quality, free public education from preschool to college. This requires providing the basics – preschool, smaller classes, summer and after-school programs, and skilled teachers. Free four-year, post-high school education should be available for all who seek it. We must also provide relief to the generation now burdened with a student debt that they may never pay off.

Expand Shared Security for the 21st Century.

No child should go hungry in America. Health care should be a right, not a privilege. Every worker deserves a secure retirement. A job should be available to everyone willing and able to work. We will strengthen and expand America’s shared security programs – Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, food support and housing assistance. Greater shared security makes the economy more robust by enabling entrepreneurs and workers to take risks, knowing that they can survive failure.

Enforce Fair Taxes on Corporations and the Wealthy.

Our tax code rigs the rules to favor the few. Multinationals pay lower tax rates than small domestic businesses. Billionaire investors pay lower rates than their secretaries. Top income tax rates have been lowered even as working people face ever-higher sales taxes and fees. It is time for the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes so that we can invest in an economy that will work for all.

Forge a Global Strategy that Works for Working People.

Our global trade and tax policies are rigged by multinational companies to drive down pay and worker protections while harming the environment. We need more but balanced trade, global standards that protect the rights of workers, consumers and the environment. That requires a crackdown on tax havens, currency manipulation, and deals that allow corporation to trample basic labor rights here and abroad.

Make Wall Street Serve the Real Economy.

Financial deregulation has devastated our economy and protected banks that are too big to fail, too big to manage and too big to jail. The financial casino fosters ever more dangerous speculation, while investment in the real economy lags. The resulting booms and busts devastate families and small businesses. We need to break up the big banks, levy a speculation tax, and provide low-income families with safe and affordable banking services. We should crack down on payday lenders and other schemes that exploit vulnerable working families.

Change Priorities to Address Real Security Needs.

Our current national security policies commit us to policing the world. The result costs lives and drains public resources. We need a real security policy that makes military intervention a last resort, and focuses on global threats like climate change, poverty and inequality. We should reduce military budgets and properly support humanitarian programs.

Fight for Democracy and Curb the Power of Big Money.

From big-money politics to the assault on the right to vote and a corrupted lobby culture in Washington, our democracy is under assault. It is no accident that the assault has escalated as a new majority of people of color, young people and working women has begun to emerge. We need to close the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington, and expose the entrenched interests that buy our legislators. We need public financing of elections that bans corporate and big money. We must guarantee the right to vote, with easy access to registration and the polls.

https://populism2015.org/the-new-populist-agenda/