Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
In the near term, any legislative action by Congress and President Biden in support of clean energy—possibly the broader environment—will likely be brokered by Joe Manchin and be all about the politics.
But the willingness of a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to overthrow established precedence in one fell-swoop may mean that Massachusetts v EPA — the bedrock on which federal regulation of carbon and other harmful greenhouse gases is based — is in judicial jeopardy.
The Mountain State’s senior senator, Joe Manchin (D), has single-handedly stopped President Biden’s proposed climate action plan in its tracks—along with voting rights, Medicare reform, and securing a safety net under the least fortunate of us.
As I’ll explain, Manchin’s torpedoing the Senate debate and vote on the House-passed version of the bill is contrary to the interests of the people of West Virginia—especially those who can no longer rely on the coal industry for their livelihood.
Well, it finally happened. An infrastructure bill has found its way onto a president’s desk for signing. Affectionately called the BIF in the halls of Congress and along the K Street corridor where the cognoscenti congregate, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework was truly that—bipartisan.
It may take a bit to integrate better all the moving parts—or, as a friend and colleague says the community needs to slow down to go faster. Will a better alignment and integration be worth it?
Think of it this way. To change the power, you must be the power.
The magnitude and complexity of climate change mean it has to be addressed steadily over time. It’s too big a problem to solve with one bite of the apple.
In the final analysis, if national policies and programs capable of combating climate change in a meaningful manner are to be enacted, then the Democrats must find a way to reconcile their differences in ways consistent with words like harmony and congruous.
Biden and the Democratic progressives have put together the semblance of an integrated energy and environment policy framework for the first time in US history. It can only be whittled on so much before it’s just another bunch of disjointed pieces.
The closing 100 days of 2021 will be looked back on as among the most critical in the environmental history of the United States—rivaled only by those in the 1970s when the cornerstones of today’s environmental protections were laid.
It’s critically important for climate activists to understand what policies and programs are possible under reconciliation. According to the House Budget Committee, only policies that change spending or revenues can be included.
In the end, I commend my mother’s words to President Biden–words I myself should have paid more attention to—there are things in this world better left unsaid—at least for the moment.
