Gaby Sarri-Tobar, Center for Biological Diversity, (202) 594-7271, gsarritobar@biologicaldiversity.org
Brittany Miller, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0746, bmiller@foe.org
Cassidy DiPaola, Fossil Free Media, (401) 441-7196, cassidy@fossilfree.media
Congress Urged to Boost Appropriations for Biden's Clean Energy Orders
Rising Energy Prices, Climate-Fueled Disasters Require Urgent Renewable Energy Investment
Dozens of environmental and labor groups urged House and Senate leaders to increase funding for President Biden's historic executive orders to spur domestic renewable energy production under the Defense Production Act.
The call comes as the country struggles to make progress on climate action. The Supreme Court's recent decision in West Virginia v EPA weakened the EPA's ability to regulate power plants under the Clean Air Act. A slimmed down version of the Build Back Better Act, Biden's landmark climate legislation, is stalled in Congress.
In June Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to manufacture solar panels, insulation and heat pumps. Biden's plan encourages high labor standards tied to increased manufacturing. It also calls for boosting community-based clean energy and distributed generation.
A House Appropriations subcommittee recently appropriated $100 million toward Biden's clean energy orders. While this is a positive first step, estimates show more than $100 billion is needed to meet the administration's climate and clean electricity goals. That funding can catalyze the country's manufacturing base and transform our energy system into one that is renewable and just.
More than 1,000 organizations support the DPA orders, including the People vs. Fossil Fuels Coalition. Earlier this year U.S. Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Jason Crow (D.-Colo.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Energy Security and Independence Act to direct $100 billion toward domestic renewable energy production, prioritizing investment in environmental justice and worker communities. The bill has more than 50 cosponsors and support from more than 80 organizations.
"We're at a crisis point for our climate and our energy future, and we need action now," said Gaby Sarri-Tobar, a campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity's energy justice program. "Biden's clean energy directives add urgency to the climate fight, but Congress must fully fund this to spur the just, renewable future we need. There's no way to ramp up renewable energy production without the money to make it happen."
"President Biden's recent deployment of DPA to create secure, clean energy resources for all communities is sorely needed and we applaud him for these efforts," said Art Terrazas, government affairs advocate for the League of Conservation Voters. "Now it is time for Congress to do its part to meet the moment on climate and provide the funding necessary for clean energy, justice, and jobs through a reconciliation package and strong FY23 appropriations so that we can grow the renewable energy manufacturing industry, deploy these needed resources across the country, and ensure that all communities benefit from lower energy costs today."
"Working in solar in the St. Louis area, we're seeing prices for panels go up every day or suppliers simply out of stock. We need help from Washington to move projects forward right away. There's no time to waste. We need the funding to carry out President Biden's Defense Production Act order to spur renewable energy production," said Brian Tresenriter of SoulShyne Solar, who is a Green Workers Alliance member.
"We are in a climate emergency -- an emergency we can only confront when our government steps up and launches a WWII scale mobilization to justly transition to renewable energy," said Varshini Prakash, executive director of Sunrise Movement. "As climate disasters worsen, oil companies continue to price-gouge consumers, and real investments in renewable energy have stalled, Congress must urgently and robustly fund President Biden's DPA executive order. In a moment when young people are questioning the legitimacy of our institutions, our politicians must act to save our generation and show us what our government can do for us."
"Biden's executive orders on climate can only be meaningful if Congress dedicates the funding to get the job done," said Food & Water Watch Policy Director Jim Walsh. "Using the Defense Production Act to supercharge America's clean energy production is a critical step towards treating the climate crisis like a true emergency."
"Congress must appropriate funds that match the needs laid out in President Biden's forward-looking executive order," said Karen Orenstein, director of the climate and energy justice program at Friends of the Earth U.S. "The cost of inaction is far more expensive and will be measured in lost lives and livelihoods, in the U.S. and worldwide."
"The dual crises of rising energy prices, along with a cascade of climate impacts, demand immediate action for the health and wellbeing of every American. EOPA is inspired by President Biden's leadership in invoking the DPA, however more investment than $100 million is needed in order to set the United States on a path to a 50-52% reduction in carbon pollution by 2030 -- the goal scientists say is necessary to prevent the worst impacts of climate change," said Dominic Frongillo, executive director and cofounder of Elected Officials to Protect America. "President Biden can leverage DPA funds and the federal procurement budget of $650 billion per year to scale up clean energy technologies deployment. We are in a climate emergency, which is a national security risk. At least $100 billion should and could be allocated by the end of this fiscal year to help ensure the security of our nation and the world through building a clean energy economy."
"The DPA is meant for unusual, even extreme, circumstances like war, pandemics and national emergencies. We have never seen a greater threat to our country, indeed to the world, than the one posed by potentially catastrophic climate change," said Todd Paglia, executive director of Stand.earth. "We need to invest as much as we can, as rapidly as we can, into renewable energy if we want to ensure the safety and security of our country and our planet."
"Inflated energy prices coupled with an over-dependence on Russian fossil fuels threaten to derail global efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. Nations around the globe need to implement bold solutions to accelerate the climate crisis for the security of the world and their own energy independence. We can show the way with a significant investment of at least $100 billion for the DPA," said Alex Cornell du Houx, former Maine state representative, Marine combat veteran, president and cofounder of the Elected Officials to Protect America. "Ukraine underscores how dependency on fossil fuels fills the coffers of tyrants and dictators like Putin, and that a rapid transition to clean and renewable energy is not just necessary for our environment, but critical to our economic, national security and true energy independence."
"Deploying DPA is a crucial tool in this crisis moment, as families struggle due to inflation and skyrocketing utility costs that have saddled them with debt. We urge Congress to fully fund DPA," said Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, sustainable communities program director at GreenLatinos. "Latino/x households spend disproportionate amounts of their income on energy and are unrepresented in green jobs; along with other marginalized communities, we stand to benefit greatly from this investment in our shared energy future."
"It's great to see President Biden stepping up to the challenge of climate change by using his powers to advance renewable energy, create good jobs, and center environmental justice. However, the Defense Production Act is only effective if it is funded," said Joe Uehlein, president of the Labor Network for Sustainability. "Congress must meet this moment and give these presidential orders the funding required to deploy this clean energy technology across the country."
"By invoking the Defense Production Act to support domestic clean energy manufacturing, President Biden demonstrated that we must use every tool at our disposal to address the climate emergency and support job growth," said Odette Mucha, federal liaison at Vote Solar. "Congress must now allocate the funding needed to bring clean energy manufacturing back to America."
"Executive powers like the DPA can be incredibly useful, but only when supported with ample appropriations," said Dorothy Slater, senior researcher with the Revolving Door Project. "We're thankful to President Biden for unlocking this no-brainer tool and we urge Congress to provide the sufficient funding that is so desperately needed to speed the necessary transition to clean, renewable energy. We also emphasize the need for strong, long-term oversight of the use of these funds for environmentally just projects."
"President Biden's DPA clean energy orders have been a cause for celebration for our generation. We're elated to see this administration take a critical step toward a more secure and sustainable future for young people. But now, we need Congress to do its part," said Lisa Giordano, executive director of the Association of Young Americans. "Our elected officials must support this historic effort to actively combat the climate crisis by boldly investing in the DPA in the FY2023 appropriations package."
"Clean energy is national security and I'm heartened to see President Biden use the Defense Production Act in this way to make America less dependent on petro-dictators," said RL Miller, political director of Climate Hawks Vote.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252As Prime Day Begins, Sanders Report Finds 'Incredibly Dangerous' Conditions at Amazon
"Amazon continues to treat its workers as disposable and with complete contempt for their safety and wellbeing," Sen. Bernie Sanders said.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday released a report on the high levels of injuries at Amazon warehouses, especially during sales periods, as the tech giant launched its annual Prime Day discount event.
The report shows that during Prime Day in 2019, one of the last years for which data was available, more than 10% of Amazon's U.S. warehouse workers suffered injuries that required federal disclosure, and more than 45% endured injuries recorded internally by the company.
The company takes in billions of dollars in revenues during its two-day Prime Day sale every year.
"The incredibly dangerous working conditions at Amazon revealed in this investigation are a perfect example of the type of corporate greed that the American people are sick and tired of," Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), said in a statement.
"Amazon continues to treat its workers as disposable and with complete contempt for their safety and wellbeing," he added. "That is unacceptable and that has got to change. Amazon must be held accountable for the horrendous working conditions at its warehouses and substantially reduce its injury rates."
Incredibly, during Prime Day week in 2019, nearly 45% of Amazon's warehouse workers were injured. Amazon is a $2 trillion corporation owned by Jeff Bezos worth $215 billion. Corporate greed at Amazon is off the charts. It must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/tP1zVKtaDY
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 16, 2024
As HELP chair, Sanders launched an investigation into Amazon warehouse safety issues in June 2023, and the new report marks its interim findings, based on internal records that the company shared with the committee and interviews with over 100 workers.
Amazon's recordable injury rate, which it reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has gone down in the last few years, but the report's authors question the reliability of that data. They point to a "documented history" of "failing to record injuries and illnesses" and "misclassifying injuries and illnesses," as per federal and state citations that the company has received.
Amazon made $12.7 billion in sales on 375 million products on Prime Day in 2023. The crush of orders during such discount periods, combined with what the report calls "regularly understaffed" warehouses, places huge burdens on employees, one of whom reported working back-to-back 12 hour shifts with only a seven hour break in between.
Another Amazon worker reported having to process twice as many packages as normal at their stations. A third employee said that the Prime Day rush caused management, in its focus on maximizing sales, to install a conveyor belt that didn't automatically stop when there was a jam, which led packages to overload and fall off when jams inevitably occurred. Workers were instructed to keep piling more packages on the belt even as jammed packages, some weighing as much as 50 pounds, piled up around other workers.
A 2021 investigation by The Washington Post found that injury rates at Amazon warehouses were significantly higher than those at other companies and peaked on Prime Day and holidays. Muscle sprains, rotator cuff injuries, and herniated disks are among the types of workplace injuries that warehouse workers face.
Amazon's critics argue that the workplace surveillance measures, which allow the company to control workers' physical movements and limit any "time off task," also contribute to increased injuries.
Sanders is not the only government official looking into Amazon's workplace safety record. OSHA, part of the Labor Department, has repeatedly cited Amazon for putting workers at risk of injuries such as sprains, strains, and carpal tunnel syndrome. In 2022, Washington state fined the company for the rushed pace of work, which it said put employees at risk. Last month, California fined the company $5.9 million for illegal use of productivity quotas in its warehouses.
The fines themselves are inconsequential for Amazon, which made $36 billion in profits last year and is valued at over $2 trillion, but workplace safety advocates hope the attention will lead to meaningful government action.
Several states have regulated the use of productivity quotas in recent years and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in May introduced legislation to do so at the federal level. The Biden administration is also taking on Amazon's monopoly power, with the Federal Trade Commission filing suit against the company last year.
In a statement to The Washington Post, an Amazon spokesperson dismissed the new report, arguing that "it draws sweeping and inaccurate conclusions based on unverified anecdotes, and it misrepresents documents that are several years old and contained factual errors and faulty analysis." The spokesperson also said that the report authors' suggestion that Amazon underreports injury levels was "false."
Puerto Rico Sues Oil Giants Over Decades of Climate Deception
One advocate said the island "has paid a terrible price for Big Oil's climate lies, and now officials are taking necessary action to hold these corporations accountable and make polluters pay for damages they knowingly caused."
Puerto Rico's secretary of justice on Monday filed a climate liability lawsuit against fossil fuel companies including BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil Corporation, Shell, and TotalEnergies in the Court of First Instance of San Juan.
By filing the suit, which seeks at least $1 billion in compensation from the defendants, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, the chief legal officer in the U.S. commonwealth, followed in the footsteps of dozens of U.S. municipal and state leaders.
"These companies have known internally for decades that greenhouse gas pollution from fossil fuel products would have adverse impacts on the global climate and sea level," Emanuelli said in a statement in Spanish. "Armed with that knowledge, they took steps to protect their own assets from climate damage and risks, through immense internal investment in research, infrastructure improvements, and plans to exploit new business opportunities in a warming world."
"However, they did not truthfully warn Puerto Rican consumers about the consequences of using and burning fossil fuels on the island, as well as their impact on the environment," he continued. "It is time for them to mitigate the damage they have caused to Puerto Rico and not let Puerto Ricans foot the bill."
Emanuelli now joins the attorneys general of the District of Columbia, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont, who have all launched similar suits, and Michigan's AG, who is planning one. There are also several cases brought by municipalities, including one previously filed in Puerto Rico.
As E&E Newsreported Tuesday, "More than a dozen municipalities filed suit in 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, asking the industry for compensation related to the 2017 hurricane season that killed thousands of people and left much of the island without power for nearly a year."
Scientists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have said that 2023 was the hottest year in human history and 2024 is on track to continue that trend, with the January through June global surface temperature already ranked warmest in the 175-year record. NOAA has also warned that the current Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be "extraordinary."
Welcoming Emanuelli's new move to protect the Caribbean island, Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, said in a statement Tuesday that "Puerto Rico has paid a terrible price for Big Oil's climate lies, and now officials are taking necessary action to hold these corporations accountable and make polluters pay for damages they knowingly caused."
"As communities suffer from more and more unnatural disasters fueled by Big Oil's climate deception, it's more important than ever for officials to stand up to the fossil fuel industry on behalf of their communities," he added. "The people of Puerto Rico deserve their day in court to hold Big Oil accountable."
Along with civil climate suits filed by attorneys general and local leaders, some campaigners and lawmakers have demanded that the U.S. Department of Justice take legal action against fossil fuel companies—particularly given the recent findings of a three-year congressional probe.
As Common Dreamsreported last month, there is also a nascent movement in the United States urging prosecutors to consider hitting oil majors with criminal charges for deaths related to the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency.
With Media Enamored by US Presidential Race, Israeli Massacres in Gaza Get Even Deadlier
"We must not lose sight of what is happening in Gaza, where an unprecedented humanitarian crisis continues to get even worse," said U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Israeli forces have massacred nearly 60 people in the Gaza Strip over just the past 24 hours, and the past week has been one of the deadliest since the war began more than nine months ago.
But you'd hardly know it by looking at the front pages of major newspapers in the United States, despite U.S. President Joe Biden fueling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's assault with diplomatic support and billions of dollars worth of weaponry.
While outlets such as
Al Jazeera and Reuters have kept Israel's onslaught at or near the top of their pages, coverage of the relentless war on the Palestinian enclave has largely been supplanted in the U.S. by presidential politics, particularly in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday—the same day Israeli forces killed around 100 people in an attack on a southern Gaza town that was previously designated a "safe zone," as Common Dreamsreported.
Fresh Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Tuesday killed dozens of people—including children—but the massacres didn't receive mention on the front pages of the web versions of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, or USA Today, each of which heavily featured coverage of the high-stakes U.S. presidential contest between two candidates who have backed Israel's war on Gaza.
As of Tuesday morning, Gaza was entirely absent from the website landing pages of the Journal and USA Today. The Post's home page buried a story about the potential for an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, while the Times' home page contained a piece about surging settler violence in the West Bank amid Israel's ongoing atrocities in Gaza.
In recent weeks, U.S. corporate media coverage of developments in Gaza has not reflected the extent to which Israel has intensified its aerial and ground attacks, even as recent cease-fire talks have sparked some hope of a pause.
After a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, pictures of the former president's bloodied ear and raised fist were plastered across the front pages of major newspapers in the U.S. and around the world while the far more numerous images of child victims of Israeli bombs—many of them supplied by the United States—faded from view.
Israel does not allow journalists with major U.S.-based media outlets to enter the Gaza Strip unless they are embedded with Israeli forces and agree to let the military vet their coverage.
(Photo: Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images)
Al Jazeera, a Qatari-funded outlet that Israel's far-right government has repeatedly targeted, reported Monday that "Israeli forces have attacked five separate schools in Gaza in just eight days, killing dozens of people sheltering in them."
One attack on Sunday, the outlet noted, "struck the United Nations-run Abu Oreiban school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 17 people and injuring about 80. Most of the victims were women and children, said Palestinian Civil Defense."
Reporting from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said he witnessed children "crying out in pain and agony" at the facility, which—like all of Gaza's remaining hospitals—is under-resourced and only partially functioning.
"This is the result of incinerating bombs," Mahmoud added.
The death toll from Israel's war on Gaza is nearing 40,000—likely a dramatic undercount, given how many bodies are missing under the rubble that now dominates the landscape of the enclave and could take 15 years to clear.
Those who have survived Israel's onslaught are now living amid sewage, decomposing bodies, and the ruins of their homes, shops, schools, and hospitals, with nowhere safe to flee. Famine and disease are spreading rapidly across the territory as the Israeli government continues to restrict the flow of humanitarian aid.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has urged the Biden administration to cut off all offensive weapons assistance to Israel, said in a statement late last week that "while much of the media is focused on the drama of the U.S. presidential election, we must not lose sight of what is happening in Gaza, where an unprecedented humanitarian crisis continues to get even worse."
"We must end our support for Netanyahu's war," said Sanders. "Not another nickel to make this horrific situation even worse. I intend to do everything I can to block further arms transfers to Israel, including through joint resolutions of disapproval of any arms sales. The United States must not help a right-wing extremist and war criminal continue this atrocity."