1y ago

Joe Biden Has Another Big F*cking Deal For Climate, Again

www.wonkette.com

You may have noticed that in recent weeks, the Biden administration has been rolling out a hell of a lot of new regulations. Earlier this month it was big student loan reforms and a massive improvement in how public lands are managed, then this week we had better pay and working conditions for working Americans, minimum staffing ratios for nursing homes, and even improved service on airlines.
That’s not only because it’s an election year, though Joe & Kamala certainly do like to point out that where the Other Guy rages (and wants to raise inflation!) they’ve been busy making Americans’ lives better. But the bigger reason is that the administration wants to get new rules finalized prior to May, to keep them from being tossed out in the next Congress via the Congressional Review Act, which Donald Trump and his cronies used to reverse a bunch of Barack Obama’s environmental regulations.
. . . The requirement that coal plants find a way to eliminate 90 percent of their emissions by 2032 effectively accelerates the end of coal for power generation, which was inevitable anyway. Roughly 70 percent of US coal plants have already closed, and last year, coal generated only 16 percent of electric power, a new record low. In addition to the emissions rule, three other final rules also impose strict new limits on mercury, coal ash, and pollution of wastewater, to put an end to the environmental degradation caused by coal.
. . . The other option, obviously, would be for utilities to meet coming demand with renewables, as administration officials pointed out when previewing the new rule. Thanks to the IRA’s hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives, carbon-free power generation, including battery storage, already beats the cost of building new gas plants. Going forward, the administration is confident renewables will be the far more cost-effective and reliable way to meet increasing demand by 2032, when the emissions limits fully kick in.

64 comments

This is so much better than all the posts shaming voters for not wanting to vote for Biden.
Biden is a far cry from the President that I want, but it's ignorant to claim he hasn't been a hell of a lot better than Trump, or even Obama and Clinton. After 50+ years of really shitty Presidents and an even worse Congress, Biden is arguably the best we've had. It's entirely possible to promote Biden with honest accounting without trying to silence the voices saying the Democrats must do better.
That said, of the Democrats try to force Harris on us without an actual primary in 2024, then it's time to repeat the 1968 national convention. Our FPTP system means that primaries are effectively the only real democracy we get, and the way they are run by the DNC (and RNC) is abysmal.
- I mean he has been quite a bit better than any president I have experienced in office but it is sad that the bar is so low.
  
  This is the correct response. He's been world's better than expected on many things. But between those expectations and Republicans that bar was ridiculously low.
  There are many things I wish biden and Democrats would do. But complaint wise Biden's kid gloves and undeservedly diplomatic tone with Israel is the biggest. Though completely expected given the century of propaganda and enabling of such a dangerous regime over there. It doesn't all fall on biden. But he still wrong for his part.
- without trying to silence the voices saying the Democrats must do better
  I genuinely don't understand where this comes from. I haven't seen a single serious person argue that we shouldn't criticize the Biden administration or the Democrats. What does get pushback is the idea that we shouldn't vote for them in November. When someone is suggesting the solution to the very real issues the Democratic Party has is to enable the GOP and give them more power they absolutely should get chastised.
  Agreed on everything else though. If everyone who was upset about Biden actually got involved and voted in the primaries it would be much easier to get representation that actually serves our needs. The DNC only has so much control.
  
  There are several places it comes from.
  First, there has been a meme campaign about Biden being better than Trump that seems to go out of it's way to "call out" those of us who are fed up with the behavior of the Democratic establishment (DE). They imply we are fools who don't comprehend how bad Trump is. The people those memes are directed at don't really exist. They are a myth put out by the DE to sideline progressives. There has also been a recent wave of right wing bots that perpetuate the myth to further drive the wedge between progressives and the DE. Those bots aren't going to be convinced, and progressives don't need to be.
  The second is that it is nearly impossible to criticize the DE without getting lectured about how much worse Trump is. Being a tiny bit better than fascist is apparently enough for Democrats privileged enough to not suffer under even Democratic policies. I think this video shows a great example. I try to always mention that Republicans are worse when criticizing Democrats, but that rarely makes a difference.
  The third place is from old timers like me who have watched Democrats coddle fascism ever since Reagan. What we are living through now didn't start with Trump, and it wasn't just the fault of Republicans. Many of us have been fighting Democratic mediocrity since before most Americans ever heard of Bernie Sanders. The DE is routinely snide and dismissive of the left, even as they fail to grasp the Republican threat. They say the country wants centrists, but run to the left with their rhetoric before every election. In that context, both of the previously mentioned items tend to strike a nerve.
- Genocide Joe is better than Obama or Clinton were? That's a hot take
  
  Obama preferred to bomb civilians directly rather than by proxy (CIA drone assassination program).
  Still, all far better than Trump. Like Trump wouldn't have bent over Israel pressure himself.
While I am glad for actions, any actions, towards reducing fossil fuel emissions in the US, I really which they weren't coupled with record high oil production and export.
The whole robbing Peter to pay Paul situation and all.
This new policy will definitely get overturned by the Supreme Court. As such, it is a stupid election-year gimmick.
Oh great. Another article that throws a bunch of stuff at the wall to make Biden look better than he is. Some of which are straight up lies. Student loan debt relief is not reform. A new college student today is still taking out loans and is still expected to pay them without any possibility of discharging them in a routine process. To say future borrowers must hope a future president gives them a financial pardon is not a fucking reform.
This is not the first time the BLM has done conservancy and restoration. The leases are new but this makes it sound like they dealt in nothing but oil leases before this and that's not true.
Non Competes is a great thing but it needs to be banned by law. We watched Trump tear through policies in novel ways and it's likely there just won't be any enforcement by the next Republican president. We need a law like other labor laws that allows workers to take civil action on their own with stiff penalties. But this is also a mischaracterization. Better pay and working conditions are only indirectly linked to competition. Fast food employees are still facing the same shit management and shit pay no matter which company they work for. It was worded this way to push back on his negative Union actions. But Unions don't forget.
Nursing home staffing ratios is cool but I can't help but wonder if it's a Presidential decision? This sounds like something out of the mid-level of HHS?
Airline ticket price clarity definitely doesn't belong on this list. The last one might have been fluff, this one is definitely fluff.
Stop blowing smoke up my ass. The people who vote blue aren't dumb and articles like this just make it worse.
- So... It sounds like you're in favour of free-education-for-all?
  The sad part is, I can't tell whether you are extreme-right or far-left. That's how weird US politics is today.
  
  They're extreme-right of course. Anyone on the left wouldn't actively try to hinder our best chance at not imploding as a country.
Biden's entire stance on climate change went out the window when his administration started chasing China in a trade war over cheap eco technology like batteries and solar panels because we obviously can't save the planet without making billions for american megacorps first.
China's overproduction of clean energy goods needs to be mitigated, Yellen says
Also trying to do the same national rail program as Obama which went nowhere because surprise surprise the rail industry in the USA is also monopolized and unregulated. Can't utilize that sweet anti trust law when it actually matters.
None of these changes qualify as reforms, they're just half assed pork barrel projects for election year.
- Literally nothing is ever good enough rofl
  Joe Biden could personally cure cancer and you fucks would complain that he hasn't cured influenza too.
  
  If you wanna make that type of comparison, Joe Biden is offering a crappy pain reliever for a million dollars a bottle, giving federal funds to a random healthcare CEO, and banning import medicine that can actually cure cancer. But don't worry because that pain reliever is "progress" and is much better than none at all.
  Why the hell would I be complaining if any of these initiatives actually made significant changes in our system?
  My exact complaint is that it's nothing but election shilling, meaning he hasn't met the minimum standard of good enough.
  Good enough would have been announcing these plans 3 years ago so his administration could actually follow through. Not handing morbillions to the rail industry expecting something to magically happen, especially after killing their union strike.
Joe Biden is going to singlehandedly save billions of lives. Trillions, even. He is literally a savior, a messiah.
- too far. he's still an american president.
  
  Too far? Not far enough. Biden is not only the greatest American president, he's the greatest ruler/leader to ever live. The future is only possible because of him and his wisdom and virtue. By singlehandedly solving the climate crisis, he has saved us and countless future generations. He's basically a god.

64 comments