They Wanna Put US in Chains⛓

At this moment I find myself searching for words. I am frustrated, I am in a state of numbness, I am borderline rebellious. I remember the stories from my grandma, and em. They’d constantly speak of the two sided tracks. I remember it like it was yesterday, their teaching of the hypocrisy, the double standard, the two faced, self righteous soul of America 🇺🇸. That commentary was always met with jeers. It was thrown to the backs of our minds with the rest of the thoughts we deemed effects of tired old black people who just couldn’t get over the past. But now looking back the question running through my mind is, was it that grandma and em couldn’t get over the past, or was it that the past was still breathing in the now? I think 🤔 its safe to say this question has basically answered itself, which returns me to my initial state of shock.

Never in my life, would I have thought this could happen. Never would have thought just staying in my community, surrounded by my own people would be the safest, most productive thing to do, but here we are. Hunkered down in our segregated corners, looking at the opposing side wondering who is who, and if we really knew those we called friends? This is bad. This nation we know as these States United is emotionally splitting at the seems, but still some who have been tasked to conduct our business see the world differently. It is as if these heinous acts, which they know happened, were somehow justified.

I would have no problem with the attack on the capital, if the playing field were the same for all, but again we reiterate, if the riots, these self proclaimed patriots, who came to seize their democracy were not white, how would this have ended? I have trepidation as we speak writing ✍🏾 and posting this for fear of being censored, yet a sitting member of congress can openly support the assassination of a former president, now Vice President, Secretary of State, and a sitting speaker of the house? And to this day nothing has been done. This is America, land for some to be free, and home for terrorist to be brave.

Yes the World is getting crazier by the minute. But we cannot die, we cannot quit, somehow we have to find away to keep moving the needle forward, somehow we have to find away to keep pushing the agenda of equality onward, somehow, we have to find away to once and for all in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, reach that blessed promise land.

Returning to the present, we focus on the progress made as of January 27, 2021. Today in the Biden Administration, the conversation was all about that funky word most don’t like...... SCIENCE...... Yep, time to get learned.

“Today is “Climate Day” at the White House and — which means that today is “Jobs Day” at the White House.  We’re talking about American innovation, American products, American labor.  And we’re talking about the health of our families and cleaner water, cleaner air, and cleaner communities.  We’re talking about national security and America leading the world in a clean energy future.” - President Joe Biden

Just for clarity, the two leading this effort is Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy. Secretary John Kerry spoke today from the Briefing room, making the case for why we as Americans should consider, and care about the climate from a global perspective.

The stakes on climate change just simply couldn’t be any higher than they are right now.  It is existential.  We use that word too easily, and we throw it away.  But we have a big agenda in front of us on a global basis, and President Biden is deeply committed — totally seized by this issue, as you can tell by this executive order and by the other — the initiative for getting back into Paris immediately.  That’s why he rejoined the Paris agreement so quickly, because he knows it is urgent. 

He also knows that Paris alone is not enough — not when almost 90 percent of all of the planet’s emissions — global emissions — come from outside of U.S. borders.  We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn’t solved.

So that’s why today, one week into the job, President Biden will sign this additional executive set of orders to help move us down the road, ensuring that ambitious climate action is global in scope and scale, as well as national, here at home.

Today, in the order that he will sign — that Gina has described to you — he makes climate central to foreign policy planning, to diplomacy, and to national security preparedness.  It creates new platforms to coordinate climate action across the federal agencies and departments sorely needed.  And most importantly, it commissions a National Intelligence Estimate on the security implications of climate change to give all of us an even deeper understanding of the challenges.

This is the first time a president has ever done that.  And our 17 intelligence agencies are going to come together and assess exactly what the danger and damage and potential risks are.

The order directs the State Department to prepare a transmittal package, seeking Senate advice and consent on the Kigali Amendment, to the Montreal Protocol — an amendment that by itself, if ratified and fully enforced globally, could hold the Earth’s temperature by 0.5 of an entire degree — not insignificant.

And it sets forth a process for us to develop an ambitious new Paris target, as well as a U.S. climate finance plan, both of which are essential to our being able to bring countries of the world together to raise ambition and meet this moment when we go to Glasgow for the follow-on agreement to Paris. So that’s the only way for the world to succeed together, my friends.  And so, again, this is an issue where failure literally is not an option.

As he committed to doing on the campaign trail, the President is announcing that he will host a Leaders Summit on Climate Change less than three months from now, on April 22nd, Earth Day, which will include a leader-level reconvening of the Major Economies Forum.  We’ll have specifics to lay out over time. 

But the convening of this — of this summit is essential to ensuring that 2021 is going to be the year that really makes up for the lost time of the last four years and that the U.N. Climate Conference — COP26, as it’s called, which the UK is hosting in November — to make sure that it is an unqualified success. The Road to Glasgow will be marked not just by promises, but by progress, at a pace that we can all be proud of.  And Gina is going to be putting her efforts into making certain that that is true.  The world will measure us by what we can do here at home. So with these executive actions today, we believe we’re steps further down that journey.

But thinking about the climate through the lens of everyone else’s house is pointless, what about our own home? This led to Gina McCarthy speaking of this need for a domestic climate change agenda. Which her commentary is stated below.

Today, President Biden will build on the actions he took on day one, and he’ll take more steps to fulfill commitments he made to tackle the climate crisis, while creating good-paying union jobs and achieving environmental justice. In his campaign, he and Vice President Harris put forward the most ambitious climate vision that any presidential ticket had ever embraced, and he spent more time campaigning on climate than we have ever seen. 

The President also has consistently identified the climate crisis as one of four interrelated existential crises that are gripping our nation all at once, and he’s demanding answers that can address all four.  And he’s not waiting to take action, getting us started on his first day in office, because science is telling us that we don’t have a moment to lose to fight against all four of these crises in a way that recognizes their intersectionality.  He’s always committed the U.S. to reenter — I’m sorry, he’s already committed the U.S. to reenter the Paris Climate Agreement.  And he committed us, as well, to start undoing the assault on our environment that has occurred over the past four years.  And he is now taking additional action to really target the challenge of climate change. 

So today, for me, is a very good day.  Just one week into his administration, President Biden is continuing to move us forward at the breadth and the pace that climate science demands. Today’s executive order starts by saying, “It is the policy of this administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security.”  That’s where the big guy comes in.  

It gives my colleague, John Kerry — the first-ever international climate envoy — the authority to really drive forward a process that will restore American leadership on climate throughout the world.  And you will see and hear more about that from Secretary Kerry. But, here at home, we have to do our part or we will not be able to make the kind of worldwide change that climate change demands. 

So this executive order establishes a White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, and it directs everyone who works for the President to use every tool available at our disposal to solve the climate crisis, because we’re going to take a whole-of-government approach.  We’re going to power our economy with clean energy.  We’re going to do that in a way that will produce millions of American jobs that are going to be good-paying, that are going to be jobs that have the opportunity for workers to join a union.  Because, as President Biden has often told us, when he thinks of climate change, his first thought is about jobs.  And it should be, because people in this country need a job, and this is about making that happen in the most creative and significant way that the federal government can move forward.  And we’re going to make sure that nobody is left behind, and I’m not just talking about communities, in terms of environmental justice, but workers as well. 

This order takes historic strides to address environmental injustice.  It creates both a White House interagency task force to address environmental justice, as well as an advisory council.  It directs the Department of Health and Human Services to create an Office of Climate Change and Health Equity because, after all, climate change is the most significant public health challenge of our time. And it tasks the Department of Justice with establishing an Office of Climate Justice because we know the communities who are being hurt, and we know we have to start enforcing the standards today and ensuring that they are part of the solution and in places that we can invest. 

In fact, it commits 40 percent of our investment in clean energy towards disadvantaged communities so they can benefit from the new jobs that are available and see that better future. 

President Biden’s order establishes a Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities because we have to make sure that, in this transition, every agency in government is using every tool at their disposal to drive resources to those communities.  And it fulfills longstanding commitments to leverage our vast natural resources to contribute to our clean energy future. It places a pause and review on new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and waters, consistent with a promise President Biden has repeatedly made and has been very clear in the face of efforts to distort his promise.  And it sets a goal of doubling offshore wind production by 2030. In addition, he plans to sign a presidential memorandum that aims to restore scientific integrity across the federal government and earn back the public’s trust, making a commitment to base solutions on the best available science and data. So today is a very big day for science and for our efforts to power our economy with good-paying union jobs. 

With that I get to the Moral of the Day. Yes the world is full of shitty people, but that doesn’t mean they isn’t good people trying to do great things both for our nation, and for our world. We must stay committed to those who actually give a damn about bettering both themselves, and supporting the betterment of the world around them. And together we can make certain none of us, will ever get put in chains.

Until the next time we can chat, from Me and Mine, Unto You And Yours

LATTERZ ❤️➖EDB