The Climate is the Clincher for me

[Tom Rinaldo]

At "Code Red" the stakes literally can not be higher, and there is NO time to lose in stabilizing the environment at a level that will not be truly catastrophic. I have no moral right to hold the climate of our planet hostage to further policy demands at this point, no matter how important they may be to myself or any Americans in need. The environment now is larger than any individual's lifetime, and bigger than any one nation in importance.

I am proud of the progressives in Congress for playing hardball right back at the obstructionists in our caucuses. I have no doubt whatsoever that by so doing they salvaged much of great importance in President Biden's agenda that would otherwise have been lost. I'll go further though and say I will support Progressives still withholding their immediate support for the Infrastructure Bill if they have not received sufficient assurances that the Framework President Biden has announced will in fact be enacted. Obviously I am in no way able to pass judgement on the certainty of assurances that I am not privy to.

[lambchopp59]

1. With each year's climate catastrophes

Getting worse, the BS rhetoric of the denialists gets thrown further from reality.
Frustration with inability to make significant personal steps grows: I'm contracted for work no public transit option is available for my current commute, that's most common everywhere except SF Bay area and one other place. I'd rather sit and enjoy a few pages of a book than headaches with traffic any day, especially these days when so many drivers behave so haphazardly in their maniac rush. My dog and I nearly got run over on a walk, in the crosswalk yesterday by some crazed idiot making a left turn. It took several minutes for my pulse to slow and settle down my agitated puppy.
Dammit if much of this goes right back to dipshit oil company puppet Reagan, who wiped out future plans enacted by Jimmy Carter to subsidize, build, clean up, expand and encourage use of public transportation options when it would have been relatively affordable and averted much of the mess we're in now. Now, here we are: precipice of disaster.

[Tom Rinaldo]

2. I'm in my 70's and I live in the Catskills, an area well positioned for dealing with climate change

Compared to most places anyway. I should be able to make it through the remainder of my lifetime in pretty good shape even with uncontrolled climate change. This isn't about me as an individual. Dental benifits for those on Medicaer didn't make it into the framework. THAT would have made a difference for me personally. Maybe next time, but there really is no next time left for mitigating the worst of climate change.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Democrats need to run on mitigating climate warming.

The Republicans don’t even have a platform, much less an actual policy on how to address the warming of the planet—other than denying that it’s an issue. Plus, jobs manufacturing green energy components such as solar panels and batteries can be located almost anywhere, including coal country, whereas people have to move to oil or gas producing areas for fossil fuel jobs. There are also the local jobs of installing solar panels. The point needs to be made that green energy brings jobs to you while fossil fuel jobs make you move to them.

[jalan48]

4. +1

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. The new framework's climate section does not meet Paris climate goals

Because Manchin demanded the CEPP be stripped from the bill, the emissions reduction target for 2030 will not be met.

What remains in the framework is not sufficient to meet those targets.

[DownriverDem]

6. I think the Dems

will come back and try to get what has been taken out. It's called compromise. If progressives withhold their support, it will not be good.

[JoeOtterbein]

7. K n R ! Thanks for posting!

The Progressives have already compromised enough.

[Orrex]

8. Once they get Sinema & Manchin on board, they'll be all set

[Magoo48]

9. Thank you for this post.

I am a environmentalist and a climate activist first. To carve away at what is already a bare minimum approach to Climate Catastrophe is where I draw the line. I too am proud of our progressives for holding the line.

Do we really want the group Biden is leading to COP25.to have nothing to offer the world but the same old hand jive? Our participation in the world community’s efforts to honestly respond to this threat will not rise above dismal by squirming under the thumbs of the paid for Senators of the fossil fuel industry. That’s a bad, weak look.

[hunter]

10. Unfortunately, the only energy source capable of displacing fossil fuels entirely is nuclear power.

Many people calling themselves environmentalists oppose nuclear power and that's just another flavor of climate change denial.

For that we will continue to burn natural gas, which is the most dangerous fuel imaginable. There's enough natural gas in the ground to destroy the natural environment as we know it, even if we only use it as "backup" power for our renewable energy schemes.

Every solar and wind power advocate becomes a silent supporter of the natural gas industry because their renewable energy schemes are not economically viable without it.

[SheltieLover]

11. If Earth is uninhabitable, nothing else will matter