Unless you’re off the grid, you know that Congress passed — and Biden signed on Tuesday — the largest package of climate change legislation the United States (and the world) has ever seen.
At Environmental Health Sciences, we put news and science in context. What we see now is optimism:
Those in the trenches working on climate mitigation, climate solutions, clean energy and climate justice say goals what felt impossible yesterday feels achievable today.
There are caveats of course – and we’ll get to that in a minute. But today is not the day to let the bad news overshadow the good.
There’s so much going on, so fast, you need a way to keep up. Our team works around the clock in 11 time zones to find the most important news about our health and environment.
Here’s a quick roundup of some of the reporting you may have missed amid the torrent of coverage.
Inflation Reduction Act, explained
Start with the basics.
One of the best views came from vlogger Hank Green, who in 23 minutes dissected the bill, its flaws, the history of climate blocking and how it was overcome by the Inflation Reduction Act. There’s even, as one friend put it, “a little bit of anger” at the end as a bonus.
Green captured the optimism of the season: “Nothing can be done if you don’t believe it can be done. And I, for the first time in decades, am starting to believe it can be done.”
It’s long, but the graphics, factoids and an interview with EPA administrator Michael Regan make it worth your time.
How the Inflation Reduction Act can help you
The Inflation Reduction Act contains several provisions for home efficiency credits
Credit: Bluewater Sweden/Unsplash
How does the bill help you?
“One of the most damaging legacies of the intersection between racism and fossil fuels is the way highways were built to cut off Latino and Black communities…. The Inflation Reduction Act included a federal injection of money for community projects aimed at addressing certain harmful effects. these projects.”
“This measure will help young Americans buy their first car and skip the gas pump forever.“
Helping Nature … and the GOP
A hiker crosses an alpine meadow in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in Montana
Source: Douglas Fischer/EHS
Major news outlets flooded the coverage zone, and Politics and the Washington Post no exceptions. They have two good sidebars worth paying attention to:
the Posts Brady Dennis looks at high-tech solutions to point out how the bill could help … Mother Nature.
“The Inflation Reduction Act includes a recognition that land is a profound ally in the fight against climate change,” he wrote.
And Politico’s Catherine Morehouse has a delightful little nudge on GOP governors who oppose the Democrat-driven climate bill — and how to win in their states.
- A key statistic: “Republican-led states are some of the largest wind and solar producers in the US and have benefited greatly from the past decade’s expansion of green energy not only through job growth, but through lower ratepayer price.”
The ‘Battery Belt’
North America’s new ‘battery belt’ largely overlaps its old ‘rust belt.’
Credit: Axios
Axios has a sharp piece looking at how investment in battery technology promises to revive the heart of America.
- Why this is important: “The package is a major economic jolt for a large swath of the country – called the new Battery Belt – where manufacturers are building many electric-vehicle-related factories.”
Reality check: Dark clouds
Not everything is roses.
It’s a compromise bill, and while it pours $360 million into climate change efforts, people in neighborhoods already dealing with heavy pollution fear they’ll face even more damage, not little, warns NPR’s Rebecca Hersher in a piece worth reading.
- “There are several parts [of the law] That’s good, and there are some parts that are really bad,” Mijin Cha, a professor at Occidental College, told NPR. “And the parts that are really bad are important.”
EHS founder Pete Myers particularly alarmed at funding for the much-discredited carbon capture and sequestration technologies
- “Many of our allies in the environmental justice community feel betrayed, especially since the huge amount of money going to CCS will allow heavy polluters in their neighborhoods to get excuses and political cover. because this wrong solution is claiming billions of dollars and allowing pollution. continue.”
Charles Harvey and Kurt House, who launched a carbon capture venture 14 years ago, said as much in a NYT op-ed: Every Dollar Spent on This Climate Technology Is Waste
Juice Media, an Australian political satire group, focused on the concept in a fun 2021 video:
Honest Government Ad | Carbon Capture and Storage
The Australian Government has produced an ad about Carbon Capture and Storage, and it is surprisingly honest and informative.
The bigger picture comes from Congress
A tweet thread from Senator Brian SchatzD-Hawaii, puts the Inflation Reduction Act into greater perspective.
The measure of legislative productivity from Congress, Schatz said, is difficult to describe accurately “without sounding dispassionate.”
The climate bill is the latest in a series of laws that include an infrastructure package, postal reform, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, support for veterans.
“When you add it all up, it’s not just a lot of bills. Each of them is thorny, complex, difficult, and ambitious,” he tweeted.
The power of our gathering
We work hard to get you the latest news when you need it. Environmental Health Sciences publishes two websites:
For the most comprehensive news on climate change, visit DailyClimate.org. The “politics” tab gives you a bunch of political coverage.
EHN.org focuses more broadly on our environmental health. But climate stories are also kept somewhere.
And EHS delivers top stories to your inbox every day, free of charge:
Disagree with our optimism? Or have a story to recommend?
Is our optimism excessive or clearly biased? Did we miss a story that you found meaningful?
We love hearing from you! Send your thoughts on the climate bill – or forward a story URL or informative tweet thread: feedback@ehsciences.org
This story is developing. We will update this page and share relevant suggestions.
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Across the Web
