The End is Nigh for Trump and the GOP

With less than five months until election day President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers appear to be on the wrong side of many of the major issues of the day. According to a recent New York Times and Siena College poll Democratic challenger Joe Biden leads the incumbent by 14 points. Only a bit more than a third of Americans say they will vote for Trump. Biden's commanding lead is not just in coastal cities, it extends to 6 key battleground states. While white voters are evenly split, African American and Latino voters overwhelmingly support Biden and female voters have all but abandoned Trump.

Trump has at times been described as a populist, the truth is he has never been popular. In fact he may be the most unpopular president in American history. In 2016 he may have won the electoral college but he lost the popular vote by 3 million. His approval ratings have never surpassed 50 percent and they are trending downward. As of June 25th just over 40 percent of Americans approve of his performance. Voters overwhelmingly disapprove of his handling of some of the major issues confronting the nation including the COVID-19 pandemic and race relations.

Racist commander-and-chief

Trump calls Americans who are coming together to demonstrate against racism and police brutality "thugs". Trump has drawn criticism for refusing to ban law enforcement's use of choke-holds like the one that killed George Floyd and he defends police immunity. The president appears to be at odds with Americans who overwhelmingly support the protestors. A Monmoth Poll revealed that 76 percent of Americans think the anger about black deaths at the hands of police officers is justified. A Washington Post-Schar School poll indicates that 74 percent of Americans support the George Floyd protests while 64 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue.

Even before the George Floyd protests polls indicated that the majority of Americans think their president is racist. A 2019 Quinnipiac University poll indicated that 51 percent of Americans think Trump is racist. This is at least in part due to the incident in Charlottesville where he called white supremacists "good people". Suffice to say that the mood in America supports those who are concerned about systemic racism and environmental injustice is thriving in Trump's America. Trump has exacerbated the racism, but Republicans were fanning the fires of hate for political gain long before this president.

Failure to manage COVID-19

Trump's presidency has been compounded by his mismanagement of a pandemic that continues to worsen in many parts of the United States. Trump initially called COVID-19 a "Democratic hoax" and tried to ignore the virus the same way he ignores the science of climate change. According to a Columbia University study Trump's failure to address the pandemic has caused tens of thousands of additional deaths. In addition to failing to respond to the crisis Trump has made the COVID-19 pandemic worse by decimating environmental protection.

Only 37 percent of Americans currently approve of Trump's handling of the coronavirus. The U.S. leads the world with almost 2.5 million Americans known to be infected with the virus so far and almost 125,000 deaths. Worse still the country is headed in the wrong direction with the number of new cases hitting 45,000 on June 25th, the highest single day total ever. Only the northeast is showing a consistently declining trend line. We are seeing clear evidence of a worrisome trend in states that reopened without appropriate precautions. States that followed Trump's call to reopen are seeing unprecedented spikes in new cases and hospitalizations.

Broken economics

Trump is also compounding the problems associated with the most severe economic recession since the Great Depression. Under Trump's watch unemployment reached an all time high of 14.70 percent in April 2020. In May the unemployment rate was 13.3 percent as companies began to reopen. However, as reviewed above, the failure to adhere to science based reopening strategies is leading to more cases of COVID-19 and the surge in infections are expected to exacerbate the economic toll.

On June 25th one and half million Americans filed for unemployment representing the 14th consecutive week with more than a million jobless claim. Trump and Republican lawmakers have failed to do the math, they ignore the costs of climate change and economic assessments that overwhelmingly support climate action.

Climate action (renewable energy)

Trump will go down in history as the president that withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate agreement. He ignores the growing number of Americans that support climate action and increasing support for a green new deal. However, the environmental disinformation efforts that have stymied climate action appears to be faltering. Even in 2018 it was apparent that Republican voters do not share Trump's climate denial however, his supporters remain uninformed about the veracity of the climate crisis.

The Trump administration may also be on the wrong side of the energy equation.The polls indicate that renewable energy is popular with Americans across the political spectrum. Even though many pundits predict that renewables will grow while fossil fuels will decline Trump and Republican lawmakers continue to support oil, gas and coal over clean energy.

The end of the GOP as we know it

Republicans have been resisting climate action for many years. That is because Trump and Republican lawmakers are beholden to the fossil fuel industry. This has led many to brand the GOP as a corrupt party that blindly supports a corrupt president.

Like Trump, Republicans are on the wrong side of most major issues. They began losing ground immediately after their election upset in 2016. This was evident in a string of electoral loses in 2017 and the 2018 midterms.

The fate of Republican lawmakers is tied to this president and as explored in a Washington Post opinion piece by Greg Sargent, "Trump is losing our biggest and deepest arguments". This sets the stage for a definitive day of reckoning for both Trump and the GOP.

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The Power of Protest: A Summary of Achievements of the BLM Demonstrations

In recent weeks we have seen how mass protest produces results. In response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police we have seen wave after wave of protest.  This mostly peaceful assembly has prompted concrete actions aimed at arresting police violence and racial injustice. Floyd's murder by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was the catalyst. His murder was the most recent in a seemingly endless succession of African Americans killed by police. Chauvin murdered Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes. "I can't breathe" said Floyd, crying out for his mother before he died. Floyd's experience is not unique, others face the same kinds of deadly abuse by police and not just in America. "Je ne peux pas respirer" ("I can't breathe") were also the last words of Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who was killed four years ago by French police in Paris.

Floyd's murder has galvanized widespread support for the plight of African Americans and propelled the Black Lives Matter movement into the mainstream. A broad swath of Americans and people all around the world are calling for an end to racism. There have been rallies and memorials in France, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.

We have already seen significant changes in policing policy all across the country. State's like New Jersey have said they will update their use of force guidelines for the first time in two decades. In Maryland, a bipartisan work group of state lawmakers announced a police reform work group. However, many want to see national standards in policy, law and training for all of the 18,000 police agencies in the U.S. For the first time in American history these demands seem to have found a political foothold. An unprecedented number of state and local officials support reform including universal standards for reporting police misconduct and abuse. 

Banning choke-holds

Within ten days of Floyd's murder Minneapolis banned the use of choke-holds. More than 20 US cities and municipalities are starting to ban or have banned the use of choke-holds. Those cities include Philadelphia, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Miami, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, New York City, Denver, Houston and Iowa City. States from Florida to California, have also banned choke-holds and neck restraints. A House Democrat police reform bill seeks to ban choke-holds nationally.  However, it has met with resistance from Republicans, police unions and some local officials.

Ending qualified immunity

The NYPD banned the use of choke-holds in1993. Nonetheless, New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed the most progressive police reform legislative package in the country ending a state statute that hid the disciplinary records of police officers who have histories of abusive behavior. This could have protected Floyd from Chauvin who had 18 prior internal affairs complaints filed against him. The Democrats' bill would create a National Police Misconduct Registry as part of an attempt to dismantle the 40 year old legal doctrine known as "qualified immunity," which shields law enforcement from lawsuits.

Police accountability

Charges against Officer Chauvin were upgraded and his accomplices have been arrested and charged. Seven Los Angeles officers were removed for using excessive force during the protest. Two Buffalo police officers were charged with assault after they fractured the skull of a 75 year old at a demonstration.  Incidents of police brutality have led to the suspensions and firing of officers in cities across the U.S. Most recently NYPD suspended an officer after he was captured on video applying a choke-hold to a black man on a Queens boardwalk.

Reallocating funds (defunding police)

There have also been calls to defund the police, which is a bit of a misnomer because these calls are about replacing police forces or reallocating funds to social programs that deal with problems like mental illness, homelessness and domestic violence. The Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution to replace the police department with a community-led public safety system. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he would reallocate police department funding to youth and social services. Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti indicated he was going to cut between $100 million and $150 million in proposed LAPD funding. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, is proposing city police officers stop responding to issues like disputes between neighbors, reports about homeless people and school discipline interventions.

Making intervention a duty

The city of Dallas and others have adopted a "duty to intervene" rule that requires officers to stop other cops who are engaging in inappropriate applications of force. The Democrats bill mandates teaching officers about their duty to intervene. It also requires uniformed police officers to wear body cameras and participate in racial bias training.

Social and cultural shifts

As evidenced by both the numbers and the diversity of people that are protesting we may be witnessing a transformational moment. These protests have provoked difficult but important public and private conversations about race and privilege. They have also encouraged people to reflect and this reflection is auguring change as unprecedented numbers of white people are joining people of color and demanding an end to both institutional racism and police brutality. Elected leaders, corporations, sports clubs and other organizations can no longer ignore the issue of racism.

Trump fails to control the narrative

Trump is infamous for ignoring both climate change and Covid-19, but he could not ignore weeks of sustained protests. After initially resisting calls for police reform Trump caved to widespread pressure and announced an executive order (E.O.). However, the reforms offered in Trump's E.O. have been criticized for failing to end qualified immunity and falling short of an outright ban on the use of choke-holds.

Trump is also being criticized for his meddling in the Justice Department. The DOJ has all but abandoned investigations into unconstitutional policing practices. CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Tobin said Trump's recent firing of  U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman, "reeks of corruption".

However, no event has attracted more criticism than his forceful removal of peaceful protestors in Lafayette square. Both the military and the clergy distanced themselves from the president and publicly decried being used as props in Trump's bid to get a photo-op. This president came to power by pandering to disenfranchised whites, but as another election draws near people of all races are coming together to call out the systemic racism in Trump's America. 

The polls suggest that Trump may be on the wrong side of this issue and it is appearing increasingly likely that we will see a new president in the U.S. this fall. Even if Trump can't read the writing on the wall, the message is clear and can be seen and heard on the street in front of the White House. "Black Lives Matter" not just to Americans but to people all around the world. People are coming together to demand an end to police brutality and combat the scourge of racism.

The protests continue in front of the White House, across America and around the world. There is a seismic shift underway and Trump's attempt to proclaim himself to be the law and order president has failed to hijack the narrative. Trump owns the losing narrative. He is hoping that people will fear the protestors, but most of these people say they are not trying to start a race war they are peacefully protesting to try to end it.

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Livestream - USMCA and the Environment / Clean Technologies for Resilient Communities

Their will be a live streaming of a virtual meeting between the environment ministers of Canada, Mexico and the United States on June 26, 2020. This live event will also include leading environmental experts to discuss the future of regional environmental collaboration and the important role of clean technology in making our communities more resilient. This event is organized by The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and it is open to the public.

Given the exceptional circumstances presented by COVID-19, this year’s sessions will take place as livestreamed virtual events that are open to the public. This new and innovative format will engage audiences across North America in live discussions and Q&As.

LIVESTREAM: The USMCA and the Environment: A Renewed Commitment for North America

10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST

How will the new trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States address issues linked to increased commerce such as marine litter, sustainable trade in species, air pollution and more? How will the new Environmental Cooperation Agreement enhance environmental cooperation between the three countries? Join the CEC’s Joint Public Advisory Committee to learn more about the implications of these new international frameworks for environmental protection across the region.

SPEAKERS:

• Jean-Frédéric Morin, Chairholder, Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy and Full Professor at the Political Science Department of Université Laval 
• Robert Moyer, Director, Submission on Enforcement Matters, Commission for Environmental Cooperation

LIVESTREAM: Clean Technologies for Resilient Communities

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

How can clean technology help communities in North America better prepare for and adapt to more extreme weather events including flooding, wildfires, and rising sea levels? In the face of a global pandemic, how can we accelerate the shift to green technology in order to help make our energy supply more resilient?

Join Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change as he hosts Mexico’s Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Víctor Manuel Toledo and United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler for a dialogue with the public on how clean technology is supporting community resilience across the region.

The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Carol Ann Brown, Vice President, Innovation and CleanTech for the Dephi Group.

SPEAKERS:

• Deborah Harford, Adaptation to climate change team, Simon Fraser University Winners of the 2020 Youth Innovation Challenge Council Session Q&A wll be moderated by 
• Dr. Carol-Ann Brown, Vice President, Innovation and Cleantech, GLOBE Series and The Delphi Group

Click here to register.
For more information contact:

Nathalie Daoust
Senior Liaison Officer, Council Organizational Performance Manager
(514) 350-4310

Marcela Orozco Senior Liaison Officer, Advisory Bodies and Public Engagement
(514) 350-4305

CEC Secretariat
700 de la Gauchetière St. West, Suite 1620 Montreal (Quebec), H3B 5M2 Phone: (514) 350-4300 Fax: (514) 350-4314

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COVID-19 Inspires Renewed Interest in Facts and Science

In the era of COVID-19 people want facts and this is driving a shift towards a renewed interest in science and away from partisan sources of information. For a time disinformation succeeded in hijacking the popular narrative. Led by organizations like Fox, some media outlets declared war on reality.The use of targeted disinformation on social media succeeded in gaming the system.

This allowed anti-science attitudes to proliferate and creep into the political discourse. In countries like the United States and Brazil, opposition to science played a central role in the electoral successes of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsanaro. However, Trump's response to the coronavirus has made the importance of science abundantly clear. Trump seems to think that if he ignores COVID-19 it will "magically go away". More recently he has said that it will "fade away" even thought the rate of infection is increasing in almost half of U.S. states. Nonetheless, the facts are hard to dispute. This includes the fact that his slow response is being blamed for tens of thousands of cornavirus deaths and his ongoing failure to manage the crises is expected to kill many more.

The Trump administration is also contributing to the death toll from this pandemic in other ways. Their roll-back 100 environmental protections makes Americans more vulnerable to the virus. The systemic racism and environmental injustice in Trump's America has proven to be especially devastating for people of color. As evidenced by the widespread support for the Black Lives Matter movement, people appear to be moving away from the administration's narrative towards a fact based apprehension of the world.

When faced with a life threatening virus and an economic collapse Americans are turning to established media brands for credible information. This is the conclusion of a New York Times analysis which drew upon SimilarWeb's assessment of internet usage in the United States. The readerships of CNBC, The New York Times and the Washington Post have all increased while interest in more partisan sites are flat or waning. This includes opinionated publications like The Daily Caller, on the right, and Truthdig on the left. Even Fox News appears to be losing market share. People are also looking for hard science as evidenced by the increased popularity of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Trump has been consistent with his resistance to science. His disdain for science and desire to co-opt the facts was evident in 2018 when he tried to hide a report by his own government scientists and again in 2019 when he made a series of inaccurate statements about Hurricane Dorian. His administration has become notorious for purging scientists and blocking scientific dissent. Trump's budgets in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, have repeatedly called for reductions in support for science at almost every level.

By now it is becoming apparent that Trump's presidency will be defined by the mendacity of the commander and chief. It is clear that facts don't matter to this president as indicated by the more than 20,000 lies he has told since 2017. The subterfuge of this administration is not restricted to the White House. Trump's Department of the Interior is at war with science, so is his EPA.

Trump did manage to undermine the credibility of popular media for a time as journalists struggled to find a strategy to fight his lies. However, in the era of COVID-19 the need to discern facts from spin is taking people out of Trump's orbit. The coronavirus has highlighted the deadly implications of a commander and chief that flouts science. People want the facts as evidenced by new research which reveals that PBS is the most trusted and unbiased source of news in the nation.

We need to put Trump's dishonesty in an historical context.  Republicans were disseminating disinformation long before Trump and they take their cues from the fossil fuel industry, the most destructive and deceitful industry on Earth. The API's long history of disinformation and the dishonesty of the entire fossil fuel industry is now a matter of public record. However, in 2019 polls started to show that these disinformation efforts were faltering.

Lies, denial and deception do not make for a good long term political strategy. One day in the near future Republicans will have to embrace the facts as a matter of political survival. Despite our foray into a maelstrom of political spin we are returning to a place where reason prevails as we acknowledge that science is the best method we have of apprehending reality. This pandemic does not acknowledge politics and the evidence shows that leaderships that eschew the facts make the situation worse. The coronavirus appears to be helping us to realize that rather than being a point of division science can be a bridge that unites us.

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Celebrating the Achievements of Wind Power on Global Wind Day

June 15th is Global Wind Day, an opportunity to explore the power of wind energy to help reshape our energy systems, decarbonise our economies and boost jobs and growth. Wind is key to our energy mix because it reduces fossil fuel use which combats climate change and contributes to cleaner air.

There is now more than 591GW of wind power capacity installed globally in 91 countries, with continued growth predicted.

According to a report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) the U.S. added 7,588 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity in 2018 which is 21 percent of all new U.S. generation capacity. Wind energy contributed 6.5 percent of the nation’s electricity supply, more than 10 percent of total electricity generation in 14 states, and more than 30 percent in three of those states (Kansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma). Advances in wind energy has made turbines bigger and more efficient. In the U.S. bigger turbines have increased the performance of wind power by 239 percent since 1998-1999.

A 2019 report by Power-technology.com, indicates the the U.S. is second only to China in wind power production. In 2018 the U.S. generated 96.4 GW of installed capacity. The country has six of the 10 largest onshore wind farms. Most of U.S. wind production comes from Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma followed by Kansas, Minnesota and North Dakota.

However, China is the undisputed global wind leader generating 221 GW which is over one third of global capacity. China is home to the world’s largest onshore wind farm with a capacity of 7,965 megawatt (MW). Germany is ranked third with 59.3 GW followed by India with a total capacity of 35 GW. Spain is fourth with 23 GW wind energy capacity, then the UK with a total capacity of just over 20.7 GW including six of the 10 highest-capacity offshore wind projects in the world. France is Number 7 with an installed capacity of 15.3 GW, Brazil is eighth with 14.5 GW, Canada is in 9th with 12.8 GW, with 566 MW of new installed capacity added in 2018 and Italy takes the tenth spot with just over 10 GW in wind energy capacity in 2018.

Wind energy prices are at historical lows making them one of the most competitive energy sources in markets across the world. Onshore wind is now the cheapest form of energy generation in much of Europe and offshore wind is not far behind with costs having fallen over 60 percent in 3 years. Wind is also getting much cheaper in the U.S. As reported by Bloomberg, in 2019 States in the central U.S. generated so much electricity from wind turbines that wholesale power prices fell below zero. Early last fall power prices fell below negative $10 a megawatt-hour for much of the region. Negative electricity prices are becoming commonplace in parts of the U.S. with California and Texas regularly see negative electricity prices.

The Berkeley Lab report indicates that low wind turbine pricing is pushing down installed project costs. Turbine equipment prices having fallen dramatically driving down the average installed cost of wind projects in 2018 by 40 percent compared to the peak in 2009 and 2010.

Lower installed project costs, along with improvements in capacity factors, are enabling aggressive wind power pricing. After topping out at 7 cents per kWh in 2009, the average levelized long-term price from wind power sales agreements has dropped to below 2 cents per kWh. 

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Webinar: The Coronavirus and the Future of Air Travel

A webinar titled The Future of Air Travel will take place on June 23, 2020, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Panelists will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the airline industry and if it is possible to view this as an opportunity for reinventing air travel.
Could the pandemic present an opportunity to think innovatively to address the immediate crisis facing the industry and accelerate the switch to newer and greener technology? Following the outbreak of the coronavirus, airlines have been forced to cut jobs in the face of a steep decline in passenger demand and companies have had to halt the production and delivery of orders.

Prior to the crisis the industry was forecasting continued growth in global air traffic and looking to innovate air travel to simultaneously meet the demand for travel while reducing carbon emissions.

The webinar will investigate five key questions related to the coronavirus and air travel. This questions run the gamut from containment and prevention to green technology and support for carbon neutral air travel.

The five questions are as follows:

1. How have border policies put in place to contain the pandemic impacted air travel and the wider industry?
2. What can companies do to address the concerns of passengers underpinning the declining demand?
3. Does the crisis present an opportunity to look at longer-term plans and investment strategies in green technology?
4. What are some options being considered and which are the most viable?
5. And what are the respective roles of organizations, governments and the international community in moving towards carbon-neutral air travel?

Participants

• Jean-Brice Dumon, Executive Vice President, Engineering, Airbus
• Michael Gill, Director, Aviation Environment, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
• Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council
• John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Officer, Heathrow Airport
• Chair: Ana Yang, Acting Executive Director, Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy, Chatham House

This event is part of a fortnightly series of 'Business in Focus' webinars reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 on areas of particular professional interest for our corporate members and giving circles. To find out more about being a corporate member click here.

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Electric Planes are the Future of Aviation

Six years ago a sun-powered emissions free aircraft called Solar Impulse, captivated our imagination by crossing the Pacific Ocean. That same year Airbus Group and its partners, unveiled the electric E-Fan training aircraft. However, it would take another five years for a test flight of an electric commercial carrier. In 2019, Canadian company Harbour Air and electric motor startup Magnix made history with their all electric converted 6 passenger de Havilland DHC-2 beaver seaplane. Recently MagniX conducted a successful test flight of a larger plane in Washington state.

The modified Cessna Grand Caravan 208B which has been dubbed "eCaravan" was powered by a 750hp electric motor and has a range of 100 miles. It flew for 30 minutes at a cruising speed of 114 mph (183 km/h). However, it is far from ready to go into service. The cabin was filled 2 tons of lithium-ion batteries as well as cooling equipment which leaves no room for passengers. Although much work still needs to be done, MagniX is hopeful its engines will enter commercial service as early as 2022.

There is a powerful business logic driving the development of zero emissions electric planes. In addition to being emissions free, they require less maintenance and are cheaper to operate. As reporting by the Guardian, the CEO of MagniX Roei Ganzarski, said electric planes are 40-70 percent cheaper per hour of flight operations.

The pursuit of electric aviation is advancing as companies race to find alternatives to reduce the footprint of traditional air travel. Harbour Air and Norwegian aviation company OSM Aviation Academy are both committed to fully electrifying their fleets of planes.

In June, Pipestrel's battery-powered Velis Electro aircraft has become the world's first electric airplane to be awarded type certification by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Certification is an important first step in the march towards commercial aviation. However, the two-seat plane is limited to 50 minutes of flying time with a top speed of 100 mph (181 km/h).

Larger and faster electric airplanes are also being developed. U.S. based Zunum Aero is building a 27-seat electric plane with a 680-mile (1094 kms) range and a maximum cruise speed of 340 mph.
UK based Rolls-Royce is working on the fastest all-electric plane and German company Lilium is working on a five-seat jet-powered electric air taxi.

Although there is growing interest in hybrid electric/fossil fuel powered aircraft there have been some major setbacks in 2020 that have undermined the prospects for this approach. Despite the successful test flight of Ampaire, a high profile hybrid electric plane joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Airbus was cancelled this year. Other power sources currently being tested include hydrogen fuel cells and biofuels.

Airships Offer Both Climate Mitigation and Adaptation and may be ideal for transport but they are far too slow to be a viable means of passenger transport. It is important to understand that electric flight is no easy feat. Before we can have long distance electric air travel we will need to see major breakthroughs in propulsion and in battery energy density. Batteries will specifically need to get smaller and lighter. However, there are promising signs that suggest advances in battery technology will make commercial electric aviation a reality.

As part of its megawatt engine program, US firm Wright Electric is developing a 1.5MW electric motor and a 3kV inverter intended to provide propulsion for a 186-seat 300nm electric airliner. Along with its partner UK budget carrier EasyJet they plan to conduct ground tests in 2021, and flight tests in 2023. With entry into service scheduled for 2030.

Despite technological hurdles that remain to be overcome, electric airlines are the future. MagniX believes that all flights of less than 1,000 miles (1610 kms) will be completely electric in 15 years.

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Will We Learn from COVID-19 or Will We Go Back to Business-as-Usual?

It does appear as though we have learned a few things from this modern day plague. Although it is not yet known whether this deadly virus will be the catalyst that helps us to alter our perilous trajectory, there is reason to believe that we will see lasting change. This virus has killed more than 400,000 people, but it has also augured a range of positive environmental benefits.

Many are cautiously optimistic that at least some of the benefits will outlast the pandemic. As explained in a Yale360 article, those changes that are likely to stick are those that were already underway before the outbreak. This is the view of Amy Myers Jaffe, director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Telecommuting is one of the trends that was beginning to gain momentum prior to COVID-19. As many as two thirds of Americans worked from home during the pandemic. We are almost certain to see at least some of these workers keep working from home as employees want it and companies see it as a way of reducing costs and increasing productivity.

Decarbonization through electrification was another trend that was already well underway before the outbreak. Many reports suggest that the oil crash of 2020 will be a decisive factor contributing to the demise of the fossil fuel industry. One report describes this as a "terminal decline" and predicts the ultimate collapse of fossil fuel profits. Although energy jobs have taken a major hit the prognosis for some sectors is better than others as we transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables.

The pandemic is wreaking havoc on the economy, and while this comes with a wide range of hardships, it also forces us to take notice.American political scientist Ian Bremmer described it this way, "I am considerably more pessimistic about the economic future of the country and the world than where the markets are right now. But I also think there is a real chance this could be a Goldilocks crisis. A crisis that is finally big enough to get us to reform some of the institutions we have that are broken."

This crisis is exposing the fractures in our economic system and shining a light on a wide range of social injustices. From health care to wealth inequality COVID-19 has brought to light the weaknesses of capitalism. Although growth is the bedrock of capitalism, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this growth is both unsustainable and dysfunctional. The only way that growth in tenable in the long term is if it is decoupled from both greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and resource extraction. The fact that Wall Street has become so fundamentally disconnected from Main Street is yet another symptom of a broken economy.

The pandemic has helped to galvanize a diverse movement of Americans and others around the world who are calling for social and environmental justice including an end to systemic racism. There is growing awareness that this systemic racism is amplified by the eradication of environmental protections which disproportionately impacts people of color.

The pandemic has drawn attention to weaknesses in the food chain while making the case for supply chain resilience. On June 9th, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, sounded the alarm about food shortages due to COVID-19.

When asked about the pandemic by The Guardian, Dr Jane Goodall explained that she though we had brought this on ourselves, "because of our absolute disrespect for animals and the environment". If we connect the dots it becomes apparent that our preoccupation with endless growth is decimating the natural world upon which we all depend. This pandemic has forced us to acknowledge our abusive relationship with nature and the brokenness of our economic system.

This virus has done more than just increase our awareness, it has caused us to do things differently. It has changed the way we work, transformed our relationship to energy and buoyed support for social and environmental justice.

Elizabeth Sawin, co-director of the think tank Climate Interactive, said one of the most important things that the pandemic has taught us is about the urgency of swift action. The virus has already resulted in a significant reduction in GHGs. Shorter supply chains is one way that we have reduced oil demand and emissions. Working from home is another example of behavior changes that are cutting CO2 (less commuting, air travel and office space).

Perhaps most importantly, by illustrating that emissions reduction is possible, it has energized the climate movement. People are less dismissive of the facts this includes climate economics. They are also more receptive to reports that show the benefits of action It is not unreasonable to assume that we may be on the cusp of a tipping point that augurs a paradigm change.

We are faced with a stark choice, we can either return to the road we were on before the outbreak or we can avert a looming disaster and change course. While some think that growing support for green stimulus spending will accelerate change, others predict that we will learn nothing from the shutdown and return to business as usual. Although there is evidence to suggest that this is precisely what is happening in China, there are many who still hold out hope that this viral warning will help us to create better world.

If we miss this golden opportunity for reform then all the suffering and death will have been in vain. As Dr. Goodall said, "If we do not do things differently, we are finished"

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Largest Ever Arctic Oil Spill and Climate Feedback Loops

The largest ever Arctic oil spill has drawn attention to warming related feedback loops. The recent Siberian oil spill was caused by thawing permafrost which caused ground subsidence under a storage tank.  This is a pervasive problem in Russia as 65 percent of the country is covered by permafrost. Fires and melting sea ice are two additional feedback loops that exacerbate Arctic warming.

The May, 29, 2020 spill near the Siberian city of Norilsk in the Arctic Circle leaked 21,000 tonnes of diesel oil into the Ambarnaya river and turned the water blood red. Within days the leaked oil drifted more 12km (7.5 miles) from the site contaminating a 350 sq km (135 sq mile) area including another connected river. The spill has reached lake Pyasino Arctic glacial lake. Lake Pyasino is a major body of water and the source of the Pyasina River that is vitally important to the entire Taimyr peninsula. The Pyasina River flows into the Kara Sea, which is part of the Arctic Ocean. Greenpeace has compared the spill to the Exxon Valdez disaster.

As the leading source of climate changing greenhouse gas emissions fossil fuels are problematic but they are far more problematic in the Arctic. Spills in the Arctic are difficult to cleanup and they have a devastating impact on the fragile Arctic ecosystem. According to Russian authorities even with clean-up efforts that will last for years the river will never fully recover. As explained by Dmitry Klokov the head of Russia's fishing agency, this is an an "ecological catastrophe". Klokov said, "it will take decades for the restoration of the ecological balance of the affected Norilo-Pyasinsky water system" but the river will never be the same.

Arctic warming

Greenpeace to declare that the Arctic is in a death spiral and this has serious implications for the region and the globe. Arctic warming is a global concern that adversely impacts global weather patterns and may push us past tipping points from which we will not be able to recover.

The unprecedented Arctic heatwaves that we saw in 2019 are part of a warming trend that is disproportionately affecting the far north. The Arctic has warmed much more than the global average which is around 1° C (1.8° F). Some parts of the Arctic have recorded temperature increases of 3 to 4 °C (5.40 to 7.20 °F). Alaska is warming faster than the rest of the continental U.S. and Canada, home to 40 percent of the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world. The world's oceans are also heating up but nowhere is the warming more pronounced than in the Arctic. A WMO report indicates that in recent years parts of Arctic Russia, temperatures were 6°C to 7°C above the long-term average..

Melting permafrost

Warming Arctic temperatures are releasing carbon and methane, the two most serious GHGs. Melting permafrost on land and the sea floor has been described as a ticking time bomb prompting scientists to declare a state of emergency. For years scientists have observed massive quantities of methane emanating from melting ice on the sea floor in the Arctic.

Melting permafrost on land is another major concern. This permafrost covers around 8 percent of the Arctic land surface (approximately 1.9 million square kilometres) and contains 1,500 billion tons of carbon. This is half the global total of ground carbon and around twice the amount of CO2 currently in the atmosphere. According to a NASA study the rate at which carbon is released from the permafrost into the atmosphere is accelerating.The study concluded that Arctic carbon spends less time locked in frozen soil that it did four decades ago.

More fires

Arctic warming is fueling a feedback loop that increasing fires and exacerbating warming. Arctic fires are particularly harmful to the climate because the burning of peat on the Arctic tundra releases vast amounts of trapped carbon.

This problem appears to be getting worse. In 2019 we saw a dramatic increase in Arctic fires. Last June Arctic wildfires emitted 50 megatons of carbon dioxide. As of July there were more than 100 wildfires burning across the Arctic Circle. Some of these fires spanned almost a quarter of a million acres. In Alaska alone almost 400 wildfires ravaged 600,000 acres. Fires in Russia, including hundreds of fires in Siberia released 300,000 megatons of carbon dioxide in July. The GHG emissions from the 2019 Arctic fires eclipsed the cumulative total of all GHG emissions from Arctic fires in the previous decade.

These fires also produce black carbon which settles on the Arctic ice. This causes sunlight to be absorbed rather than reflected back in space through a process known as the albeido effect. The absorption of sunlight further increases warming.

Melting sea ice

Global warming is decreasing sea ice and this increases both the absorption of sunlight and temperatures. Sea ice extent for May 2020 averaged 12.36 million square kilometers (4.77 million square miles), placing it in the fourth lowest extent in the satellite record for the month. This was 930,000 square kilometers (359,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 May average.

Ice is disappearing in the Arctic and we will soon see summers completely devoid of sea ice. As explained scientist Walt Meierhere there is not much doubt about why this is happening, "climate change is the overriding thing" Meierhere said.

Related
Four Oil and Gas Spills that are Worse than we Thought
KXL Pipeline Leak Highlights Serious Dangers and Questionable Economic Value
Partial Summary of Oil Spills in 2016
Repeated Spills Show the Soulless Self-Interest of Fossil Fuel Companies

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Webinar - Impact of COVID-19 on the Renewable Energy Sector (IRENA Youth Talk)

This webinar will take place on June 8, 2020 from 11.00 AM to 1:30 PM EST.  Following the first IRENA Youth Forum held on 10 January 2020 at the margins of the Agency’s tenth Assembly, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is launching IRENA Youth Talk — a series of webinars aimed at strengthening the Agency’s engagement with the youth, amplifying their voice and actions in supporting renewables, achieving climate stability, and advancing the sustainable development agenda. Through this webinar series, young people from around the world will have the opportunity to exchange ideas amongst themselves and other stakeholders.

The first IRENA Youth Talk, organized in collaboration with the SDG 7 Youth Constituency of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth, is structured under the theme ‘Impact of COVID-19 on the renewable energy sector: a youth perspective’. Youth representatives will discuss the impact and consequences of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the renewable energy sector with IRENA’s Director-General Francesco La Camera. Young people will also present successful examples of their contribution to the deployment of renewable energy in their communities.

Young people are key agents for social change, economic growth, environmental protection and technological innovation. As countries across the world continue to take bold steps towards decarbonising their energy systems, the need to include youth in the energy transformation is becoming increasingly clear. Today's youth will lead the sustainable development agenda of tomorrow. It will be incumbent upon them to inject renewed momentum into the global energy and development discourse, and it is therefore only fit that they have a seat at the table.

In view of this, IRENA has actively pursued youth engagement initiatives including the IRENA Youth Forum, the Agency’s major event for and by the youth that emphasizes the vital role that young people play in achieving climate and sustainable development goals and the energy transformation; GROWTH@IRENA summer trainee programme, which gives undergraduate students the opportunity to gain practical experience by working with the Agency; the IRENA Student Trainee Programme to support Governing Body Meetings, in which high school students assist the Secretariat during the IRENA Council Meetings and Assembly Sessions; and the Youth Circle at the World Future Energy Summit, wherein students engage in dialogue with representatives and experts in the renewable energy sector.

IRENA’s aim to spread awareness on the multiple benefits of renewable energy is not limited to information dissemination alone – the Agency strives to ensure that various stakeholders including the youth are given a platform to voice their input, and that their voice propels the renewable energy discourse to greater heights.

People of all ages are invited to attend by registering here.

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World Environment Day Activities and Events

Happy World Environment Day! Today is the big day and there is a packed agenda spread across multiple time zones and languages. Today we will be celebrating with more than 150 virtual events including live concerts, speakers like Jane Goodall, film screenings, virtual journeys, expert panels. and so much more. Some additional highlights include the Global Landscape Forum (GLF) Bonn Digital Conference (see details below) and Unlocking Human Potential for Biodiversity Online Event.

The host country for this year's World Environment Day is Columbia Events featuring experts on biodiversity issues from across the globe. Here is a quick look at the agenda (all times local to Bogota¡ which is GMT-5) To convert to your local time click here. 09:00 AM - 4:00 PM Content focusing on conservation of the Amazon, sustainable use of biodiversity, green business and the COVID-19 pandemic, the close relation between cities and environment, climate change, the circular economy and more.

Click here to access the host country programme. 
Click here to access the full schedule of events.
To catch all the World Environment Day action as it happens click here to go to the 360 live blog.

Videos for Nature



Click here to watch videos from  people like Jane Goodall, Karry Wang, Massimo Bottura, and Roberta Annan
Click here to see how people from all corners of the world are raising their voice #ForNature

Movies For Nature 

Cinemambiente, Environmental Film Festival and the National Museum of Cinema present Movies for Nature, a 24-hour free online streaming marathon including films dedicated to biodiversity. Feature films, medium length and short films will offer a journey to discover the beauty of Nature and the increasingly fragile balance between its animal and plant life, now heavily threatened by the devastating effects of anthropization. The scheduled films include:

Blue by Karina Holden (Australia 2017, 76')
Dusk Chorus - Based on Fragments of Extinction by Alessandro d'Emilia and Nika Saravanja (Italy 2016, 60')
Gringo Trails by Pegi Vail (USA 2014, 52')
Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (France 2009, 90')
Intraterrestrial. A Fleeting Contact by Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky (Spain 2017, 55')
Kamchatka Bears. Life begins by Irina Žuravleva and Vladislav Grišin (Russia 2017, 60')
On the Cover by Yegane Moghaddam (Iran 2018, 4')
Ranger and Leopard by Fathollah Amiri (Iran 2017, 53')
The Messenger by Su Rynard (Canada/France 2015, 90')
Tungrus by Rishi Chandna (India 2018, 12')
Welcome to the Sixtinction by Chiara Cant (Italy 2018, 3')

GLF Bonn Digital Conference

One of the not to be missed events is the GLF Bonn Digital Conference. Human health and livelihoods depend on planetary health. So, how can we feed a growing global population without eating the planet? The 2020 theme of GLF is “Food and Livelihoods.” Today, food systems are one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, a main driver of deforestation and the greatest threat to biodiversity. We need to transform the way we produce food and, as the COVID-19 pandemic is showing, we need to start now. Below you can find GLF Bonn Digital Conference agenda.

• 10:30-12:00: Digitizing the agricultural value chainHost: Grassroots Relief and Development Agency (GREDA)
• 12:00-12:30: Youth Daily Show! NO food waste
• 13:00-17:00: Forest solutions to the food and climate crisisHost: UN-REDD
• 14:00-15:30: Incentives for a green economy – new means to promote sustainable production methodsHost: KfW Development Bank on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
• 14:30-15:30: Greening food systems: accelerating the transition to environmental sustainabilityHost: World Bank
• 18:00-18:30: Plenary: The way forward

Click here to access this digital conference.

Social media links

https://www.instagram.com/unep/
https://www.facebook.com/unep
https://twitter.com/UNEP
https://www.linkedin.com/company/unep/
https://www.youtube.com/unenvironmentprogramme
https://www.weibo.com/unepandyou?is_hot=1

Click here to access the full schedule of events.

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Decarbonization Through Electrification Creates Jobs

There is a positive vision emerging of decarbonization through electrification. This would not only substantially reduce climate change causing greenhouse gas emissions, it would buoy the economy and provide jobs.

This pandemic can be a turning point. The coronavirus has already augured a 4-7 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions along with other environmental benefits. Although COVID-19 has decimated the energy sector it will disproportionately enfeeble the fossil fuel industry and embolden renewable energy. The pandemic has already changed the way we work and green stimulus spending could revolutionize our economies.

On the afternoon of Thursday May 28, 2020 experts (Matt Wayland, Sarah Petrevan, and Bruce Lourie) came together to discuss electrification. The online event was titled "Electrifying the Economy: Reducing Carbon While Creating Jobs", it offered insightful commentary against the backdrop of the coronavirus and economic recovery.

Why is decarbonization important?

Decarbonization is the process of reducing the amount of climate change causing greenhouse gas emissions (like CO2) that we generate and release into the atmosphere. We can achieve decarbonization by electrifying the energy, transportation, manufacturing and industry. This implies transitioning away from the old energy infrastructure and increasing our reliance on clean sources of power including renewables.

A consensus is building that sees decarbonization through electrification as crucial to the future of our economies. All around the world countries are electrifying to reduce their emissions.

Once in a lifetime opportunity

We are faced with a once in a lifetime opportunity to rethink the way we do things. This is the view of Matt Wayland, the Co-Chair for the Ministerial Advisory Committee on a National Campaign to Promote the Skilled Trades. He has worked with the Canadian office of the IBEW, and the Task Force on a Just Transition. However, Matt also expressed concern that we will miss the opportunity.

Sarah Petrevan is a policy advocate and commentator who currently works at Clean Energy Canada. Sarah is also concerned that we will not capitalize on this opportunity. She pointed out that the current reality has "given us all a bit of a jolt" and she added that this is a chance we will never have again. She said the current situation as an opportunity to put in place the policies and programs that will lay the foundation for a resilient economy.

Bruce Lourie, is president of the Ivey Foundation and an adjunct professor who serves on the boards of several organizations. Bruce said that this is a real opportunity that is particularly poignant as we restart the economy after the COVID-19 shutdown.

Jobs and the economy

Electrification offers economic incentives and employment opportunities. Matthew said that electrification is synonymous with job creation. Electrifying our economy will create good paying career jobs across the country and the continent. This includes jobs in the building, maintaining, and refurbishing of clean energy systems.

Good jobs contribute to the health of the local economies they come from. Sarah explained that clean energy is already cost competitive and these costs will continue to go down as the demand and the supply increase. Bruce made the point that clean energy and electrification are the only way the economy will survive. He encouraged the hiring of people who are underrepresented, this includes women, people from first nations, and new Canadians.

For more information read these two reports on electrification and job creation

• Final Report by the Task Force on Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities
• Jobs for tomorrow: Canada's Building Trades and Net Zero Emissions

 

Transportation hydrogen and nuclear

Sarah explained that electrifying the transportation sector will curtail Canada's second largest source of emissions, eliminating one quarter of our emissions while saving money and creating jobs. Canada is also a leader in electric buses. This is a field that is dominated by China which has 82 percent of the global market share. To electrify the transportation sector Canada will need to pay special attention to building out a charging infrastructure.

Hydrogen is another transportation solution that is ideal for things like freight transport and trains. Bruce explained that the European Green New Deal includes hydrogen and 82 countries have hydrogen strategies. Although Canada is a hydrogen producer it does not have a hydrogen strategy.

While transportation is important, energy generation is the largest source of emissions. If we are to replace fossil fuels and meet our growing energy needs, an all of the above approach is required. In addition to well known renewable energy options (solar, wind, geothermal etc) we cannot afford to exclude nuclear. Matt argued that nuclear has a place in the energy mix and he says that nuclear is clean and can be cost competitive. He pointed to the fact that Ontario currently derives 60 percent of its energy from nuclear. He also said that nuclear provides jobs and as a uranium mining nation nuclear makes sense in Canada.

Politics and government

Implementing broad spectrum electrification starts with government because without the public sector the private sector will not get onboard. Despite ideological resistance from some quarters, government investment in electrification makes sense from a climate, economic and jobs perspective.

Although many malign conservatives for their resistance to clean energy and electrification Bruce pointed out that we need to differentiate between conservative politicians and conservatives. According to Bruce people understand the need for electrification. The problem is not the people, the problem is conservative politicians. Sarah urged people send an email to their elected officials telling them to cut pollution, create jobs and build resiliency.

Canada is well positioned

As Canada continues to grow the country's energy needs will also grow. We will need to build out a clean energy infrastructure that is 2 to 3 times the current size of our electricity capacity. This will require a smart grid that will enable us to create a more efficient and effective way of delivering energy. To get there Bruce explained that Canadians will need to start thinking of their country as an energy superpower beyond fossil fuels.

Canada is a world leader in reliable, low cost, clean electricity generation. The country also leads in battery and energy storage. Such technologies are are a critical part of addressing the issue of intermittency (how to provide power when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing). Canada's hydroelectric prowess positions the nation as an energy storage technology leader. Canada is also uniquely rich in battery manufacturing as its natural resources include all the required raw materials (lithium, graphite cobalt, aluminum etc). However, as Sarah explained Canada has not yet figured out how to integrate battery technology.

Canada also possesses impressive world leading technical expertise as well as excellent training, apprenticeship and ongoing learning programs. Matt pointed out that whether we are talking about renewables or energy storage, Canada has a highly trained and skilled workforce.

Final points and recommendations

Bruce argued for the merits of energy efficiency and energy conservation. He advocated prioritizing investments in building retrofits and he urged Canadians to review what their governments are doing and read their reports. Matt said we need to continue to expand on R&D and we specifically need to review how different energy sources fit together.

It is clear that we need to rethink how we do things because the way we do things now is not getting us where we need to go. There is a need for rural electrification. Canadians will have to deploy distributed energy on a vast scale as local energy production is a quality of life issue for many thousands of people who use generators (eg those in remote northern communities).

We need a public utility model, a shared benefit model and big system thinking. Although this is easy to imagine it will be difficult to implement. Energy is provincially regulated in Canada and this impedes the implementation of a strong national policy. As in many other countries around the world Canada will need to find a way of circumventing resistance from those who support the old energy economy.

Related
Decarbonization through Electrification in the Transportation Sector
The Booming Green Economy: The Number of Renewable Energy Jobs Crush Fossil Fuels
Renewable Energy is Driving the Green Jobs Boom
Green Jobs and Sustainability Focused Employment Opportunities
Net Economic Gains from Climate Action
Energy Job Losses in the US Due to COVID-19

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Systemic Racism and Environmental Injustice in Trump's America

People in cities across the U.S. are taking to the streets to decry systemic injustice. Racial inequality is one of the most pernicious and enduring forms of injustice in the United States and the callous insensitivity of the GOP and the ruling administration leads many to believe that protest is the only way to make their voices heard. The evidence indicates that overt racism has worsened under this president as have other less obvious forms of racial injustice.

Racist-and-chief

Data from a wide range of sources clearly indicate that racism has been exacerbated by U.S. President Donald Trump. In the same way that Trump denied climate change and the coronavirus, he also denies the existence of systemic racism. However, the facts contradict his denial. The evidence shows that he has both normalized racism and emboldened racists.

Race relations have deteriorated substantially during the Trump presidency. A 2009 CBS News/New York Times poll found that under the presidency of Barack Obama two thirds of Americans thought that race relations were generally good. Ten years later a 2019 CBS poll shows that in Trump's America, the majority of U.S. citizens think race relations are bad. A Pew Research Center poll indicates that the majority of Americans think this president is to blame for making race relations worse.

In 2019, a Vox article reviewed numerous examples of Trump's racism. One of the most controversial episodes involves his remarks in support of white supremacists at a rally in Charlottesville. Most recently Trump posted a racist tweet in response to those protesting the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police. Floyd is the latest in a seemingly unending stream of unarmed black men killed by law enforcement. This murder comes after another black man by the name of Ahmaud Arbery was killed by a father and son while jogging through a white neighborhood in Georgia.

We are seeing levels of racism not seen in America for decades. As explained in a Brookings Institute post, the data shows that Trump’s supporters are motivated by racism, sexism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, The evidence unambiguously indicates that Trump has emboldened racist violence. Data collected by the Anti-Defamation League, shows that counties that hosted Trump campaign rallies saw hate crime rates more than double compared to similar counties that did not host rallies. Data collected by the FBI indicates that since Trump’s election in 2016 there has been an anomalous spike in hate crimes concentrated in counties where Trump won by larger margins. Second only to the spike in hate crimes after 9/11 this was the largest increase in the quarter century in which such crimes have been tracked. Research demonstrates how exposure to Trump's views increases racist sentiments. Another Pew poll found that almost half (45%) of Americans think that Trump has made racist language acceptable. As explained by the Brookings post, "When the data show that President Trump’s support stems from racist and sexist beliefs, and that his election emboldened Americans to engage in racist behavior, it is the responsibility of social scientists and other political observers to say so".

Although Trump and others point to the destruction and looting and try to characterize protestors as "thugs" and "domestic terrorists", the vast majority are lawful and non-violent. Many of the protestors castigate the criminal element that have infiltrated the protests. Here are the comments of one such protestor:

"This is what I have got to say to the people who are destroying things...something is wrong with you...cause what we are trying to do is stand up for the basic rights of humanity...and we are trying to in a peaceful way. We do not want to go through this anymore. I want to be able to go into a white neighborhood and feel safe, when a cop is driving behind me I don't have to clench and be tense ok, I just want to be free and not have to think about every step I take cause at the end of the day being black is a crime, at the end of the day being borne black is a crime to them and I don't understand why cause we are all human..."

In a tweet posted on May 20, 2020 Trump wrote, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts". These are the same words used by a segregationist Miami police chief in 1968. Trump's comments drew comparisons to former Alabama Gov. and well known racist George Wallace who more than a half century ago said about African American protestors, "Shoot 'em dead on the spot". Twitter flagged and blocked Trump's tweets for glorifying violence. This came just days after Twitter flagged as inaccurate Trump's tweets about fraud in mail-in ballots that amount to voter suppression.

Environmental injustice

Trump has systematically dismantled the crowning achievements of America's first and only African American president. This includes measures designed to protect both the environment and human health. Although denying African Americans the basic right to clean air and drinkable water may not seem overtly violent it can be just as deadly. Black Americans have far less access to clean air and clean water than white Americans and this has been made far worse by the Trump administration's rollbacks of environmental protections. Trump's mishandling of the cornavirus and elimination of environmental protections disproportionately effect African American communities.

Pollution makes people more susceptible to COVID-19 which may be one of the reasons why people of color are far more likely to contract the coronavirus. They are also far more likely to die from it than white people. As reported by NPR African Americas are two to three times more likely to die from the virus.

Independent of the coronavirus, a Quartz article reporting on environmental racism in the U.S. says that Black Americans are three times more likely to die from environmental pollution than white Americans. This administration's erosion of environmental protections has directly contributed to the deaths of black people and men like Scott Pruitt (Trump's pick to head the EPA) will live in infamy for his murderous legacy.

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, the chief executive officer of Green For All has repeatedly called environmental issues civil rights issues. As reviewed in the Guardian, she explained that people of color are far more likely to suffer from affects of pollution. Ellis-Lamkins said that 68 percent of African-Americans live within 30 miles of a toxic coal plant and one out of six black kids suffers from asthma, compared to one in 10 nationwide. As explained in a CityLab article, black people are also far more likely to lack access to clean water than white people.

Climate inaction

African Americans are also more vulnerable to climate change, yet the Trump administration has systematically dismantled the climate action of his predecessor. "Climate change isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s about keeping our communities safe. It’s a matter of justice. Because when it comes to disasters — from extreme temperatures to storms like Katrina — people of color are consistently hit first and worst," Ellis-Lamkins said adding "African-Americans living in L.A. are more than twice as likely to die in a heat wave as other residents in the city."

She also said that efforts to combat climate change are part of Martin Luther King's famous 1963, I have a dream speech. "This is Dr. King’s dream reborn. And fighting climate change helps get us there" she said. "We need to respond to climate change today to ensure safe, healthy, prosperous lives for our kids tomorrow."

"The solutions to climate change won’t just make us safer and healthier — they are one of the best chances we’ve had in a long time to cultivate economic justice in our communities. Clean energy, green infrastructure, and sustainable industries are already creating jobs and opportunity," Ellis-Lamkins said. As we look towards recovery from the economic collapse many are coming to the realization that we need systemic change that includes climate action as both a human rights and a civil rights issue.

Time for change

Americans are being joined by people all around the world who are protesting because they are grieving and enraged by systemic racism and a commander-and-chief whose presidency is rooted in hate. Protestors want the law to be applied equitably yet they know that this will never happen under the current administration. This is a president who has designated anti-fascist groups as terrorist organizations while coddling white supremacist groups who advocate and perpetrate hate. This is a president that incites violence on social media then retreats to his bunker as the protestors approach the White House.

Racism is cruel and callous but it is particularly heinous when it is perpetuated by those in positions of power. Protests can be powerful and many have concluded that they are a necessary and appropriate response to Trump and his administration. One of the most effective ways that Americans can express their outrage is to vote Trump and Republican legislators out of office. When those who are meant to protect the innocent become instruments of abuse it demands action, when those who occupy the highest office in the land fan the flames of injustice it demands change.

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