•Beside the closely watched Virginia state elections, in particular the gubernatorial contest between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, we’re keeping an eye on the New Jersey gubernatorial race, Pennsylvania Supreme Court and mayoral elections in New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle and Buffalo, New York.
UN COP26 Climate Change Progress? – Nations participating in the United Nations COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland, have agreed to “end deforestation” by 2030, including in Brazil, China, Colombia, the Congo, Indonesia and the U.S., with more than $19 billion in public and private funds pledged for the plan, the Associated Press reports. It should be noted, AP says, that similar promises have been broken in the past.
Speaking at COP26 today, President Biden unveiled a plan to reduce methane emissions globally 30% by 2030. His plan targets existing oil and gas wells in the U.S. rather than concentrate on new ones.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson called global warming “a doomsday device” strapped to humanity.
India Prime Minister Narenda Modi on Monday set his country’s zero carbon emissions target date at 2070, which is 20 years later than the target set by most other countries. But Modi asserted that India is the only nation delivering on the “letter and spirit” of the UN summit tackling climate change, Business Standard, an English language Indian newspaper reports.
Note: As world leaders – notably with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin having been absent – fly home from Glasgow Tuesday, climate change activists have criticized COP26 as yet another set of promises to be unkept, as global warming has gone from “it’s almost here, we must do something,” to “it is here, let’s do something.”
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Details: EPA’s Proposed Methane Cuts — The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its proposal for new restrictions on the reduction of methane emissions, in connection with President Biden’s speech at the COP26 UN climate change summit. These emissions are largely related to leaks in the oil and natural gas industry. Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator, said of the plan which would be a rule within the Clean Air Act, “With this historic action, EPA is addressing existing sources from the oil and natural gas industry nationwide, in addition to updating rules for new sources, to ensure robust and lasting cuts in pollution across the country.”
Note: While Regan’s pronouncement sounds bold and such a reduction in methane emissions is beneficial, there are a few things to keep in mind, not the least of which is that this is a proposal, not a done deal.
Second, according to the EPA, “The proposed rule would reduce 41 million tons of methane emissions from 2023 to 2035, the equivalent of 920 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s more than the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from all U.S. passenger cars and commercial aircraft in 2019.” In other words, the reduction over a 12-year period would be approximately equal to the amount of carbon dioxide (the gas associated with the “zero carbon” claims you often hear from companies and countries) produced in a year.
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Census May Have Missed 1.5 Million, Study Finds – The 2020 U.S. Census may have missed more than 1.5 million citizens, the Urban Institute estimates in a new study, enough to cost New York State a congressional seat that went to Minnesota (per Roll Call). The report by the non-partisan research organization says the U.S. Census Bureau double-counted some white people and missed people of color, renters and young children. It was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and the Trump administration, whose decisions include shutting off the count early, without follow-up.
The resulting Census count lost seats in the House of Representatives in California, the Northeast and the Midwest. Roll Callnotes that Texas may have lost $247 million and Florida $88 million in 2021 Medicaid funds.
Note: This report opens at least two questions. 1.) How much of this was intentional from the Trump administration’s Census count restrictions? 2.) Can anything be done, short of waiting for 2030? Expect lawsuits from states.
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Manchin Balks on Social Infrastructure Again; Progs Hopeful – If anyone believed Joe Manchin III would hand President Biden a much-needed victory on climate change while in Glasgow yesterday and today, the West Virginia senator brought everyone back to Earth with his vow to not vote on the $1.75-trillion Build Back Better social infrastructure reconciliation bill he helped craft until progressives pass the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Manchin said Monday he would not bow to his party’s pressure to support the social spending bill and its “shell games” and “budget gimmicks,” and criticized the House of Representatives’ delay on the bipartisan infrastructure bill; “it’s time to vote.” (Politico)
Other Democrats put happy faces on Manchin’s latest evocation of his demands. “We intend to pass both bills,” Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal said Monday night. (RealClear Politics).
Note: It has been long too late for Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe to build enthusiasm from the Democrats’ budget bill, as he has lost a lot of momentum to his Republican opponent and Trump-endorsed candidate Glenn Youngkin. But Jayapal is trying to call Manchin’s latest bluff. Is she ready to foster both bills through the House without commitment for social infrastructure from the Senate? Uh, nah.
--Edited by Todd Lassa, Gary S. Vasilash and Charles Dervarics