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Blog Post #9 Final Infographic

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Legislative action

Mark Desaulnier is active in opposing the backward-looking policies of the Trump Administration, whose misguided actions fly in the face of peer-reviewed science. Desaulnier also votes for bills that will benefit the environment

Senator Kamala D. Harris introduces bills that help the environment, her most recent bill is the Rivers Protection Act and the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act to restore, enhance, and preserve California’s wilderness and public lands

Senator Feinstein introduced a bill to increase average fuel economy standards for America’s vehicles by at least 10 miles per gallon over 10 years by 2020, she also has voted for and introduced many other bills that benefit the environment

There aren't any bills about greenhouse gases however there are bills that attempt to protect and fund the National Park Service and other federal land management agencies.

House Bill H.R. 266: $35.8 Billion to Fund National Parks, Land Management Agencies, and the EPA

This bill would fund these federal agencies and services for the rest of the year, the impact it will have is a protected natural areas that are crucial to conserve for the wildlife and air quality. I would vote in favor of this bill because it is for a good cause

Chairwoman Nita Lowey introduced the bill in the house, the bill currently is not being passed because of the government shutdown and nothing is getting funded without the wall. I think that the current administration is compromising the country by deregulating previous legislation that was designed to reduce pollution

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Civic Action Assessment of Issue

I believe our role as citizens of this country is to try to prevent greenhouse gases by adapting to a different lifestyle

I learned that civic responsibility is necessary for a country to work

yes i think civic action is necessary to bring awareness to the danger of climate change and ways to help reduce the damages we are already experiencing

I have not been civically engaged but i am willing to participate in discussions about climate change and involve them in developing policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

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State Action

Assembly member Mrs Baker has shown clear commitment to fight to reduce climate change and I agree with her position, she has a list of bills she has voted for and helped introduce

State Senator Glazer also has plans to help the environment because he has voted to help pass laws but his political agenda does not prioritize the environment

Bill number 161 was started in the Assembly, it was introduces January 7th 2019. This bill has not had any major action as it was just recently introduced, why this bill is important because it will require receipts to be sent electronically in order to reduce waste and all the labor required to fabricate them.

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The 3 Ps Assessment: Parties, Political Interest Groups, and PACs

Republicans: We oppose any carbon tax. It would increase energy prices across the board, hitting hardest at the families who are already struggling to pay their bills in the Democrats’ no-growth economy. We urge the private sector to focus its resources on the development of carbon capture and sequestration technology still in its early stages here and overseas.

I do not agree with this position because it would be damaging to the environment

Democrats: Democrats believe that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases should be priced to reflect their negative externalities, and to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and help meet our climate goals. Democrats believe that climate change is too important to wait for climate deniers and defeatists in Congress to start listening to science, and support using every tool available to reduce emissions now. Democrats are committed to defending, implementing, and extending smart pollution and efficiency standards, including the Clean Power Plan, fuel economy standards for automobiles and heavy-duty vehicles, building codes and appliance standards. We are also committed to expanding clean energy research and development.

I agree with the democrats as I think their plan will help the environment and reduce carbon emissions.

Libertarian: Competitive free markets and property rights stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect our environment and ecosystems. Private landowners and conservation groups have a vested interest in maintaining natural resources. Governments are unaccountable for damage done to our environment and have a terrible track record when it comes to environmental protection. Protecting the environment requires a clear definition and enforcement of individual rights and responsibilities regarding resources like land, water, air, and wildlife. Where damages can be proven and quantified in a court of law, restitution to the injured parties must be required.

I agree with this position as they believe the government should be responsible for their environmental footprint.

Green Party: Greens support science-based policies to curb climate change. We have an ambitious plan to make drastic changes quickly to avert global catastrophe. We will expend maximum effort to preserve a planet friendly to life as we know it by curtailing greenhouse gas emissions and actively removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

I agree with the greens on listening to science as a point of reference to save the planet

Peace and Freedom: The same corporate forces and economic system that exploit and brutalize the world's working class people are destroying the world's biosphere. These social policies and ecological destruction often overlap. Socialism is necessary to end the ecological destruction caused by capitalism. Our goal is a society that is in harmony with nature as it is in harmony with its own people.

I don’t entirely agree with their political policies, but I do think think the members who benefit the most from capitalism should recognize their impact on the environment.

National interest group name: Sunrise Movement

This interest group seeks to stop climate change and create jobs in the process. They visit Congressional Representatives' offices and demand Congresspeople that the time for talk is over and its time for action, they are a group of young people who are scared about climate change and want to do something about it

They support legislation that fix the damages done to our environment, they are really pushing politicians to pass a “Green new deal” which would do all they strive for. Members of this interest group are all around the world, but since its mostly younger people meetings can be found at high schools. Volunteers attend meetings and help organize rallies for protest.

State interest group name: Sierra club

The Sierra Club wants to promote the preservation, restoration, and enjoyment of California's environment, they help enable activists to speak as one voice to promote California conservation

Sierra Club California is based in Sacramento. It has a staff of advocates and organizers who defend and advance environmental policies that fight climate disrupting pollution, protect air and water quality, advance clean energy, support parks, and preserve natural resources, wildlife and wildlife habitat. The staff also works to keep members around the state informed about legislative and regulatory activities affecting the environment.

Sierra Club California Praises California’s Adoption of Clean Bus Rule: The ICT rule aims to transition 100 percent of transit buses to zero-emission technologies (battery or fuel cell) by 2040. It will achieve this through a purchase requirement and does not require transit agencies to replace buses before the agency would normally do so.

The Sierra Club is based in Sacramento, but many ways people can get involved is by looking at their events calendar and attending hikes and meetings they offer all over the state, volunteer options are also available to be public speakers or by helping getting officials elected. The Sierra Club is one of the nation's oldest and largest environmental organizations.

Comparing the two interest groups, the Sierra Club seems way more organized and successful, the Sunrise Movement is made by a group of young activists across the country with a bill they made up while the Sierra club is a well established organization 

PAC name: Environmental Chemical Corp

ECC delivers design-build, construction, environmental remediation, disaster recovery, energy, munitions response, and international development solutions to complex challenges facing Government and commercial organizations worldwide.

In 2018 this PAC did’t raise any money, their highest amount raised ever was in 2010 with 36.8K. In 2018 they spent $2K and they are left with $105,655 in their pocket. 

They mostly supported Democrats with 82K compared to only 10K to Republicans

in 2016 the main donor was EBEL, RICHARD GOLDEN and a few others that donated multiple times, in general this PAC is dead

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Executive Action Assessment of Issue

Donald Trumps cares more about the money than the environment, he keeps removing Obama regulations that protected the environment in exchange for more factories and companies to make more profit and grow.

I disagree with the presidents policies because i think that it is more important to try to save the environment before we worry about minimal profit 

The Office of Environmental Management manages my issue, their mission is also to address the nation’s Cold War environmental legacy resulting from five decades of nuclear weapons production.

Mark Gilbertson is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, he served as the Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (APDAS) for EM’s Office of Regulatory and Policy Affairs, he also has more than 35 years of public and private sector experience in environmental engineering and remediation. I believe that he is more than qualified to do this job, but Trumps ideas prevent him from improving the environment

This office focuses more on nuclear waste and infrastructure relating to environmental management, for them to resolve the issue of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere they would have to impose regulations, but that its exactly the opposite of what Trump did.

I think the president and the members of his cabinet are not interested in reducing pollution or trying to avoid global warming. I believe this department is one of the first Trump would cut funding too, i think its the opposite thing he should do if he cared about the world, but he doesn’t. Decrease funding would just allow more pollution to be released.

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Blog post #3

Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conserv. v. EPA

Rehnquist Court

Companies have to meet national clean air standards, the Teck Cominco Alaska is a mining company they requested a permit to build an additional generator at one of their mines. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation allowed it as long as they used one kind of technology on all the generators, however the Environmental Protection Agency says a better technology was available. The ADEC appealed the EPA's decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, they argued that the EPA doesn’t have the authority to overrule a state agency's decision. The Ninth Circuit sided with the EPA.

Can the EPA overrule a state agency’s decision if a company isn’t using the latest technology

There are no amendments or constitutional issues stated in the case

The Court held that the Clean Air Act authorized the EPA to ban the construction of the polluting facility in Alaska, with a 5-4 vote

That the EPA is allowed to overrule decisions if they don’t use the appropriate technology

I agree with the court ruling, its important to reduce pollution

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Using the market to manage climate change

By Fred Krupp

Oct. 15, 2018 7:13 p.m. ET

Anyone who wants to get informed about climate change

The article is significant because it exposes a lot of issues with the pollution of the planet

I agree with the article because I believe its true and action is needed

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Media Assessment of Issue

Science editorThese are articles about the environment from 3 news sources with different biases. 

The first article is from the conservative news outlet Breitbart. What is the subject of the article? To delegitimize science and climate change. Who is the author? Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. What is the context? It was published the 16th of February 2018. Who is the intended audience? To conservatives who believe climate change and science in general is a scam. What is the bias and perspective of the author? The author chooses not to believe any of the proof that science has provided and instead claims that the UN scares people to take their donations and act as prophets. What is the significance of the article? There isn't much proof in the article, just quotes from other sources, most of it is just speculation. https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/16/un-environment-program-climate-change-the-greatest-threat-we-have-ever-faced/

The second article is from a liberal source, MSNBC. What is the subject of the article? The article is about how bad humans are damaging this planet. Who is the author? Toni Dokoupil. What is the context? It was published the 12th of October 2015. Who is the intended audience? People who wish to inform themselves about the subject. What is the bias and perspective of the author? The author provides arguments that defend liberal ideologies. What is the significance of the article? The author provided a lot of evidence and facts that are backed up with science. http://www.msnbc.com/specials/our-old-familiar-globe-gone

The third article is from an impartial source BBC News. What is the subject of the article? Giant plastic catcher heads for Pacific Ocean clean-up. Who is the author? David Shukman, Science editor. What is the context? It was published the 7th of September 2018. Who is the intended audience? People who care about the environment. What is the bias and perspective of the author? No bias, its just informative.  What is the significance of the article? It explains the plans of this project and how it will clean the ocean. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45438736