Scientific experts from throughout the world arrived in the heart of Poland's coal country for the Conference of Parties (COP 24) held in Katowice and were stunned when they were welcomed to the industrial city by the Polish Coal Miners Band along with displays of soap and jewelry made from coal.
Climatologists were scratching their heads wondering how a climate change summit, funded 80% by the coal industry with the blessing of the Polish President Andrzej Duda, was even possible leaving attendees with "a sour taste in the mouths of those who are committed to climate action."
Poland is not alone in making a mockery of critical climate action, the United States is there to troll the conference as well.
xGuests arriving at the #COP24 UN climate change conference in Poland today were greeted in the lobby by a coal-miners band pic.twitter.com/XAPEjiZee8
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱💯 (@notesfrompoland) December 3, 2018In this country, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency has created a propaganda campaign for the use of coal that will specifically target people of color and poor communities under the guise of energy affordability. Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the repeal of President Obama’s regulations that reduce carbon dioxide generated by burning filthy fossil fuels. These fuels are by far the largest source of catastrophic climate change which we will have no choice but to face. We do not have much time to rein in the emissions before it is too late.
In the generations following the American Civil War, many African-Americans escaped the South to find work in West Virginia’s coal mines. Following long exposure to coal dust, black lung is caused after inhaled coal dust progressively builds up in the lungs and cannot be removed by the body. Appalachian MagazineYessinia Funez calls out the environmental racism of the illegitimate Trump regime on why coal is not and never will be a panacea for poor and minority citizens. She writes in Earther.
[...] the Trump administration is proposing to allow new larger coal plants to use “best operating practices” that would emit up to 500 more pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour of electricity than former President Barack Obama’s 2015 rule. This announcement comes in the middle of international climate negotiations taking place in Poland and immediately following news that global carbon emissions are on the rise. The U.S. doesn’t seem to care (or believe) that doom is upon us if we don’t get our collective shit together on greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on our climate.
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Energy poverty is a very real thing, especially in low-income, black, and Latinx communities. Families that make $25,000 a year will spend more than 7 percent of their annual earnings on electricity bills, according to a 2016 report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. A household earning $90,000 a year, on the other hand, will spend just 2 percent on energy. Latinx and black homes especially feel this burden, per the report.
However, more coal won’t fix this, especially in a world of cheap natural gas. If the U.S. government really wanted to save people money, it would develop policies that offer bill assistance and encourage retrofitting housing stock to make buildings more energy efficient. Old, dilapidated apartment units with poor insulation are the problem, per that report. So are inefficient household appliances, like fridges and dishwashers. People who rent don’t always decide what fridge comes with their apartment.
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Wheeler’s proposal, meanwhile, could cause the air quality in and around many of impoverished communities to take a hit. Coal power plants release fine particulate matter and toxic metals like lead and mercury alongside its carbon dioxide. While carbon dioxide is bad for our atmosphere, these pollutants are bad for our lungs and heart. Communities of color are all too often the ones closest to these facilities, exacerbating their already-high asthma rates.
Luckily, new coal plants are unlikely to actually open if this proposal becomes rule. As much as the administration would like to bring back coal, the industry is dying as a result of the market, not regulations. These are Trump’s Department of Energy’s own words.
Instead of attempting to fool everybody that we need coal for affordable energy, Democrats should follow Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s new green deal that will help the American people to save themselves from a horrifying new world.
Thank you for reading and caring.
January can’t come soon enough. Meteor Blades reminds us frequently that Democrats need to be a climate hawk. No exceptions.