San Diego Free Press

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Memo to Mayor Faulconer: This Is No Time for Fickle Leadership on Climate Change

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Mayor FaulconerBy Doug Porter

You wouldn’t know from reading San Diego Mayor Faulconer’s monthly press releases touting his commitment to the environment that he’s opted to remain silent on President Trump’s executive order demolishing his predecessor’s attempts to slow the pace of climate change.

Seventy-five other big city mayors (including Chula Vista), representing 42 million Americans have taken a stand, saying they want no part of what Andrew Steer, the president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, is calling “taking a sledgehammer to U.S. climate action.”

Moreover, unlike the hyperbola about sanctuary cities coming from some quarters, these Mayors are taking action to back up their rhetoric. A group of these mayors have already announced plans for $10 billion worth of electric vehicles in response to Trump’s announcement he was changing vehicle fuel-efficiency standards,

Last week Mayor Faulconer went to Kearny High School for a photo op touting increases in the city’s solar energy capacity. And it’s true. San Diego is ranked first in the nation.

However, the future for solar isn’t so bright under the Trump administration, which has proposed gutting the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), credited with helping to drive the rapid expansion of rooftop solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, LED lighting and more.

And the 30% federal investment tax credit for commercial and residential solar panels is likely doomed, given the President’s position that investments in renewable energy like wind and solar power are “a big mistake.”

The Mayors National Climate Action Agenda (MNCAA) has issued a strongly worded letter condemning administration plans to roll back critically important U.S. climate policies.

An excerpt:

Climate change is both the greatest single threat we face, and our greatest economic opportunity for our nation. That is why we affirm our cities’ commitments to taking every action possible to achieve the principles and goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and to engage states, businesses and other sectors to join us.

As Mayors, we work with our constituents face-to-face, every day, and they demand that we act on climate to improve quality of life and create economic growth. As public servants and stewards of public funds and infrastructure, we also cannot ignore the costs of inaction. That is why we are also standing up for our constituents and all Americans harmed by climate change, including those most vulnerable among us: coastal residents confronting erosion and sea level rise; young and old alike suffering from worsening air pollution and at risk during heatwaves; mountain residents engulfed by wildfires; farmers struggling at harvest time due to drought; and communities across our nation challenged by extreme weather.

Additionally, each of these cities has outlined specific ways they will continue their collective work to halt climate change.

Progressive San Diego and Indivisible chapters have launched a petition drive, urging Mayor Faulconer to join with these other cities in pushing back against the administration’s efforts.

The final paragraph of the petition states:

This is not a time for fickle leadership.  Other Mayors around the country are proudly demonstrating their commitment to protect our planet.  Where is his leadership and commitment to take meaningful steps to advance our Climate Action Plan?  Sign the petition to demand Mayor Faulconer step up and lead on climate change.

I’m not big on petition drives. Mostly I feel they are used to harvest email addresses for fundraising campaigns. But I’ll make an exception when it comes to local issues and I know there’s a chance the elected official at the other end will get the word.

Sign here.

Also, from today’s Washington Post:

A draft budget proposal obtained by The Washington Post details how the Trump administration seeks to cut more than 31 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget. The spending plan emphasizes a focus on the EPA’s “core legal requirements,” withdrawing from state and local projects and avoiding any efforts the administration considers to be extraneous within the EPA or other agencies.

Among the cuts, the budget shutters 56 programs and trims staffing by nearly 4,000 jobs.

You Gotta Love Those Deregulated Airlines

I am referring to United Airlines, who called in authorities to removed a 69-year-old physician from an airplane after he refused to given up his (paid for) seat so some employees could be transported.

Thanks to social media, the whole world (200 million mentions in China alone) knows about this screwup.

From USA Today:

Shocking images of a bloodied passenger being forcibly removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight in Chicago are sparking outrage overseas.

Video of the Sunday incident, in which some witnesses said they thought the man was targeted because he was Asian, was posted on China’s microblogging site Weibo. It soon went viral with a reported 210 million views.

The man, who said he was a physician, was yanked from his seat on United Express Flight 3411 headed to Louisville and dragged toward the front of the plane by security officials amid shouts and pleas from fellow passengers.

The corporate response to this incident has been nothing less than horrific. So far I’ve seen the CEO making it seem as though the only proper thing to do is back up his employee’s poor decision making.

Some asshole editor in Kentucky has now dredged up a ten-year-old story about the victim getting into legal trouble over drugs.

More social media responses:

Looking for some action? Check out the Weekly Progressive Calendar, published every Friday in this space, featuring Demonstrations, Rallies, Teach-ins, Meet Ups and other opportunities to get your activism on.

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Doug Porter

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.

Comments

  1. Everyone, click on the mention of “announced plans (to buy $10 billion worth of electric vehicles” by cities not controlled by Republican troglodytes. You’ll see that highlighted phrase it in the third paragraph of Porter’s piece, above. This is not an anti-Trump story; it’s a story about the growing marketability and efficiency of solar and windpower and electric cars. Faulconer (and Trump) might owe fossil fuel some favors but that’s a debt that’s running up against truly popular sentiment in favor of sustainable energy.

  2. Everyone, go to the third paragraph in Porter’s piece, above, and click on “$10 billion worth of electric vehicles” many big-city mayors have pledged to buy for their fleets. This is not an anti-Trump story by Bloomberg News,
    but instead should encourage all of us to be glad there are some governments doing the right thing. Unfortunately, our own Smilin’ Kevin Falconer is not one of them, but maybe the efficiecny and savings on gasoline will bring him around. Maybe not.

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