January 30, 2019
Page 13
O PINION
MCS Still in
Business
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$50.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or more
$30.00 each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$50.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
and Hallway
Democrats Fail First Big Test on Climate
Kicking the can
down the road
b asav s en
The
sci-
ence on cli-
mate change
is clear: All
countries des-
perately need
to restructure
fossil fuels out of their economies.
Naturally, the Trump adminis-
tration has recklessly ignored this
evidence. In every way it’s tried to
make it easier to extract and burn
fossil fuels — and harder to hold
polluters of all stripes account-
able.
But what about the other side in
Washington? Unfortunately, Dem-
ocratic leaders are also acting like
they don’t understand the urgency
of the problem.
After the election, youth activ-
ists occupied the offices of Demo-
cratic leaders to demand a special
congressional committee to plan
for a Green New Deal.
A Green New Deal means ad-
dressing climate change through
a mobilization on the scale of
the original New Deal, which
helped end the Great Depression.
It means tackling climate change
by
alongside other social and eco-
nomic inequalities — in part by
creating jobs in solar and wind
energy, efficient buildings, public
transportation, clean water, and
public health.
Climate change exacerbates
our society’s inequalities. For in-
stance, black Americans are 52
percent likelier than white Amer-
icans to be exposed to deadly heat
waves caused by climate change.
When the oceans rise from melt-
ing polar ice, everyone is eventu-
ally affected — but Native Alas-
kan communities are losing their
homelands today.
Hurricanes
intensified
by
warming oceans hurt everyone
in their path, but are particularly
devastating in places like Puerto
Rico, with its 44 percent poverty
rate.
A Green New Deal strategy
tackles these inequalities directly,
instead of treating climate as an
isolated problem.
It’s also smart politics, because
bringing down utility bills — and
creating lots of good jobs — wid-
ens support for bold climate ac-
tion. Energy efficiency and clean
energy jobs already outnumber
fossil fuel jobs by a wide margin.
Imagine what could happen with a
real movement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelo-
si promised to address these de-
mands. But she hasn’t kept her
promise. Instead of a real Green
New Deal committee, she formed
a toothless advisory body with no
real power.
First,
Pelosi’s
committee
doesn’t have a mandate to come
up with a plan that matches the re-
quired scale and speed. That’s like
easing off the gas but not hitting
the brakes on a car speeding off a
cliff.
Second, it doesn’t have lan-
guage on race, income, gender,
or other inequalities. When even
wonky scientists address the un-
equal impacts of climate change,
it’s galling that our elected repre-
sentatives don’t see fit to acknowl-
edge this reality.
Third, the committee doesn’t
have the power to issue subpoe-
nas. It can merely “recommend
subpoenas and depositions” to
other committees.
This is a serious omission.
Powerful fossil fuel corporations
have stymied climate action for
decades by lobbying to weaken
commonsense measures, funding
disinformation campaigns, and
bribing politicians to the tune of
$78 million in spending on the last
election alone — in spite of know-
ing the dangers of their own busi-
ness model for decades.
It’s about time Congress con-
ducted an investigation of this
predatory industry, and how better
to do it than through a committee
dedicated to the climate crisis?
Finally, there’s no requirement
that members of the committee
don’t take fossil fuel money. So
some of the recipients of that $78
million can sit on the committee
and undermine it from within.
What a great way to sabotage the
committee before it even gets go-
ing!
This is a spectacular failure on
the part of Pelosi and the Demo-
cratic leadership. Knowing what
we know now about the urgency
of climate action — the world’s
top scientists tell us there’s only
11 years left to take preventative
action — their proposal is nothing
short of criminal negligence.
Kicking the can down the road
appears to be a bipartisan sport in
Washington. That’s why we need
a powerful grassroots movement
to compel our political leadership
to address climate change with ur-
gency, speed, and justice.
Basav Sen directs the Climate
Policy Project at the Institute for
Policy Studies. Distributed by
OtherWords.org.
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $30.00
Heavily Soiled Area:
$10.00 each area
(Requiring Pre-Spray)
Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning
Regular Area Rugs
$25.00 Minimum
Wool Oriental Rugs
$40.00 Minimum
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $70.00
Loveseat: $50.00
Sectional: $110 - $140
Chair or Recliner:
$25.00 - $50.00
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949