May, 02 2011, 10:51am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Shonna Carter or David Lerner, Riptide Communications 212-260-5000
Talat Hamdani, Peaceful Tomorrows, 631-655-8781
Â
9/11 Victims' Family Members React to the Killing of Osama Bin Laden
Family Members Available for Comment
NEW YORK
In the wake of the official announcement that Osama Bin Laden, alleged leader of Al Qaeda has been killed, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows released the following statement:
As we consider the killing of Osama Bin Laden, our thoughts turn not only to our family members who were killed on September 11th, but to all of the innocent people around the world who have died, and continue to die, as a result of the events of September 11th, 2001
It is our hope that the rule of law underpinned by our Constitution that was so terribly strained in the name of September 11th will again become the guiding light of our policies at home and abroad. One person may have played a central role in the September 11th attacks, but all of us have a role to play in returning our world to a place of peace, hope and new possibilities. We hope that process will begin today.
Peaceful Tomorrows is an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. Acknowledging our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, we work to create a safer and more peaceful world for everyone.
LATEST NEWS
Biden EPA Accused of Caving to Big Auto, Big Oil by Weakening Historic Car Emissions Rule
The agency "riddled the plan with loopholes big enough to drive a Ford F-150 through," said one critic.
Mar 20, 2024
The Biden administration received a mixture of praise and criticism from green groups on Wednesday after the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new tailpipe pollution standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks.
The finalized rules were simultaneously described as the strongest ever of their kind and a disappointing step backward compared to the EPA's original proposal and what experts say is possible—and necessary—to combat the climate crisis.
The new tailpipe standards would strengthen emissions limits more slowly than the EPA's original proposal, which came under fire from the auto industry and Big Oil. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) falsely claimed the EPA's proposed standards amounted to an effort to "ban new gas, diesel, and flex-fuel vehicles from the U.S. market."
AFPM and the American Petroleum Institute threatened to challenge the finalized standards in court.
As The New York Timesreported Wednesday, the finalized rule "does not mandate the sales of electric vehicles, and gas-powered cars and trucks could still be sold."
"Rather," the Times explained, "it requires carmakers to meet tough new average emissions limits across their entire product line. It's up to the manufacturers to decide how to comply... EPA officials said automakers could comply with the emissions caps by selling a mix of conventional gasoline-burning cars, hybrids, electric vehicles, or other types of vehicles, such as cars powered by hydrogen."
Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said in a statement that "this rule could've been the biggest single step of any nation on climate, but the EPA caved to pressure from Big Auto, Big Oil, and car dealers and riddled the plan with loopholes big enough to drive a Ford F-150 through."
"In exchange for making EVs, the rule allows automakers to produce tens of millions of new gas-guzzlers with few or no carbon cuts," said Becker. "These cars, SUVs, and pickups will dominate sales through much of this decade, guzzling and polluting into the middle of the century."
"It made improvements but is coming up well short, which is deeply disappointing at a time when we need ever-stronger climate leadership."
Public Citizen also accused the Biden EPA of weakening the vehicle emissions standards to appease the auto industry. One industry trade group, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, applauded the administration for "moderating the pace of EV adoption in 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030."
Chelsea Hodgkins, a senior policy advocate for Public Citizen, said that while "more vehicle pollution will be avoided and more lives saved" under the new rules "than would have been under current regulations," the EPA's new standards fall "far short of what is needed to protect public health and our planet."
"We are in a crisis, and clean vehicle technology that will help solve it is here and available now," said Hodgkins. "The Biden administration had the opportunity to shift the automotive industry away from a model that's driving record profits for automakers while literally killing us, toward one that still provides strong profits but keeps the world safer for humans. It made improvements but is coming up well short, which is deeply disappointing at a time when we need ever-stronger climate leadership."
Transportation is the largest single source of air pollution in the U.S., spewing benzene and other toxins into the environment to the detriment of the climate and public health.
The EPA estimates its standards would help the U.S. avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and reap $13 billion worth of public health benefits "due to improved air quality."
Steven Higashide, director of the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, described the EPA's new rules as "the strongest standards ever finalized and vital for meeting U.S. climate goals" and said they would "shift the trajectory of the automobile market and put us on a path to real emissions reductions."
"However, EPA should have gone even further because we have the technology to be more ambitious," said Higashide. "The science is clear on both the urgent need to cut climate-endangering emissions and the fact that we can make the cuts we need. We don't have many opportunities to reduce transportation pollution and it's disappointing that this rule falls short of what's possible. We'll continue to push the administration to create, implement, and enforce the strongest rules possible."
The EPA unveiled its finalized standards weeks after the agency opted in the face of industry pressure to delay a regulatory crackdown on existing gas-fired power plants, exempting them from a separate anti-pollution rule.
The EPA's moves come during a critical election year in which the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, and his allies are threatening to undo any climate progress the Biden administration makes if they regain power.
A recent analysis by Carbon Brief estimated that a second Trump term would likely result in an additional 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions at a time when quickly slashing planet-warming pollution is necessary to avoid the worst of the climate emergency.
Trump has vowed to roll back the EPA's tailpipe emissions standards on day two of a second term and warned during a campaign rally over the weekend that the reelection of President Joe Biden would mean a "bloodbath" for the U.S. auto industry.
The United Auto Workers, which has endorsed Biden and vocally pushed for a just transition to electric vehicles, welcomed the EPA's new pollution standards on Wednesday, saying the agency "has made significant progress on its final greenhouse gas emissions rule for light-duty vehicles."
The UAW criticized the original proposal and urged the EPA to make changes to "ensure the new rules do not disproportionately impact domestic union auto production."
"By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities," the union said in a statement Wednesday, "the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building [internal combustion engine] vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions."
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Dems Urged to Oppose Ex-Manchin Staffer for Top Environmental Post
"David Rosner was a paid cheerleader for the LNG boom before it was fashionable," said Friends of the Earth campaigner Lukas Ross.
Mar 20, 2024
The environmental group Friends of the Earth on Wednesday called on U.S. senators to oppose one of President Joe Biden's regulatory nominees, citing his "disturbing pattern of dirty energy advocacy."
Last month, Biden nominated West Virginia Solicitor-General Lindsay See, energy economics and policy expert Judy Chang, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission analyst David Rosner to serve on FERC's five-member executive body. Chang and Rosner are Democrats. See is a Republican, as there can be no more than three commissioners from the same party.
Friends of the Earth (FOE)—which will publish an online ad urging senators to reject Rosner—noted that the nominee is a former staffer for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), one of the most fossil fuel-friendly members of Congress, and that he previously worked at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), "where he sided with industry over consumers and the climate on multiple energy issues. BPC
funders include BP, Chevron, Conoco, and Shell."
"David Rosner was a paid cheerleader for the LNG boom before it was fashionable," said Lukas Ross, FOE's deputy climate and energy director, referring to the nominee's support for liquefied natural gas exports. "We're calling on Democrats not named Manchin to reject this nomination."
Noting the senator's decision to not seek reelection this year, Ross added that "letting Joe Manchin control FERC from beyond his political grave should be a nonstarter for every other Democrat in the caucus."
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is set to hold a heading for the FERC nominees on Thursday morning. Manchin, who chairs the committee, backs Rosner. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the ranking member on the committee, has voiced support for See, while praising Rosner, who "has worked constructively with my staff."
If See and Rosner are confirmed as commissioners, FERC would have a pro-fossil fuel majority. Democratic Chair Willie Phillips has led a wave of fossil fuel project approvals, while Republican Commissioner Mark Christie is a reliable booster for oil, gas, and coal.
Progressive lawmakers and environmental campaigners have been increasingly critical of FERC, with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) calling it a "completely captured agency."
"The commission is captured by the fossil fuel industry. There is no other explanation for how FERC could approve over 99% of the fossil fuel projects it reviews in the face of climate catastrophe," Merkley said after the body greenlighted TC Energy's proposed expansion of methane gas infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest. "FERC needs fundamental reform."
Roishetta Ozane, founder of Louisiana environmental justice group Vessel Project, wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday by Common Dreams that "as we transition to a future without fossil fuels, it's clear that major change is needed at FERC."
"While the new commissioners at FERC go through the confirmation process, they must show they are dedicated to more than just the basic criteria of the job," Ozane added. "We hope to see the commissioners eager to pave a new path forward by prioritizing justice: environmental justice and climate justice."
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Social Democracies Continue Happy Streak as Neoliberal US Falls Out of Top 20
"It all begins with high levels of trust between citizens and our institutions," said one official in Finland, which was ranked as the happiest country.
Mar 20, 2024
Finland and other social democracies in the Nordic region continued their streak of ranking at the top of the annual World Happiness Report, an accounting of people's attitudes and outlooks in 140 countries that was released Wednesday—but countries including the United States marked striking shifts in the level of happiness among their populations.
The U.S. fell out of the top 20 happiest countries for the first time, driven largely by declining happiness among people under 30.
The report—compiled by Oxford University's Wellbeing Research Center, Gallup, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network—found that people under age 30 in the U.S. rank 52 places behind people aged 60 and up in terms of happiness.
If only the youngest respondents were asked about their happiness levels, the U.S. would rank at number 62 in the annual report, while Americans aged 60 and up ranked at number 10 worldwide.
Researchers told The Guardian that after 12 straight years of young Americans reporting higher levels of happiness than their older counterparts, the trend flipped in 2017.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Center and editor of the study, told the outlet that the drops in happiness among young people in North America and western Europe were "disconcerting."
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who has frequently spoken about the effects of social media on young Americans, spoke to The Guardian and highlighted high levels of social media use as a contributor to unhappiness among young people.
Murthy said it was "insane" that the U.S. has not yet passed laws regulating social media features such as "like" buttons or infinite scrolling to disincentivize frequent use of the platforms, noting that American adolescents spend an average of nearly five hours on social media.
But Jukka Siukosaari, Finland's ambassador to the U.K., attributed the country's high levels of happiness to an "infrastructure of happiness," including relative economic equality and affordable opportunities for Finnish people.
"It all begins with high levels of trust between citizens and our institutions," Siukosaari told The Guardian.
Finland's public healthcare system ranked number 3 worldwide in U.S. News and World Report's survey last year, and a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that in 2019, 64% of the Finnish population reported trusting the government, compared to an OECD average of 45%.
Finland ranked at the top of the list for the seventh year in a row, while other Nordic social democracies in the top five happiest countries included Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden.
A 2023 study published in the journal Telematics and Informatics found that similar concerns about frequent social media use among young people exist in Finland as in the U.S., with about 10% of Finnish teens displaying "problematic" use of platforms, including experiencing withdrawal from social media and continuing use even after experiencing negative consequences like anxiety and depression.
Young adults in Finland spend about 20 hours per week, or nearly three hours per day, on social media, according to the study.
Another survey by YPulsepolled young people in Western Europe about their social media use, finding they spend an average of 3.5 hours per day on social media platforms and that 84% agreed with the statement, "My generations are obsessed with social media."
But many Western European countries ranked far ahead of the U.S. in terms of the happiness of people under age 30, including Iceland (4), Denmark (5), Luxembourg (6), and the Netherlands (9).
"Social media is believed to play a part in driving down self-esteem and robbing young people of their wellbeing. But it is the lack of education, skills training, and affordable housing that underpins the decline in the positive outlook traditionally displayed in surveys by those broadly fitting the Gen Z age group," wrote Phillip Inman, an economics correspondent for The Guardian, about the rankings of the U.S. and its peers, such as the U.K. and Australia, in which happiness has also dropped precipitously for young people.
While social media use is increasingly common among young people in many countries, the decrease in happiness and life satisfaction also comes amid the rising threat of the climate emergency, with scientists reporting last year that devastating climate events like wildfires and deadly heat waves were direct consequences of continued fossil fuel extraction and planetary heating.
Young Americans are also coming of age as the wealthiest people in the country have gotten richer since the coronavirus pandemic, while millions of working families are part of what Oxfam last year called a "permanent underclass... who are denied their economic rights, trapped in poverty, and unable to accumulate wealth no matter how hard they work."
The cost of a college education in the U.S. has risen by about 40% in the last two decades, when adjusted for inflation, and housing affordability is no better—with half of renters telling Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies in January that they are paying more than they can afford to in rent.
"Young adults are being hit from all sides by a toxic combination of government policy, a housing affordability crisis, stagnating wages, and a high cost of living," the Intergenerational Foundation told The Guardian in response to the report.
Inman wrote that the latest World Happiness Report "is a warning sign to governments that have put the welfare of older people above that of younger generations."
"If young people cannot establish themselves in the workplace with a decent home and time and money to visit friends and family," said Inman, "the ramifications will boomerang on the old."
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