June, 30 2015, 03:00pm EDT
Indiana Doctors, Public Health Experts Rally For EPA Clean Power Plan
INDIANAPOLIS
Indiana doctors and public health experts stood outside Gov. Mike Pence's office on Tuesday to highlight the public health threats to Hoosiers of climate disruption, and to admonish state officials to start working on a plan to reduce dangerous carbon emissions. The health experts spoke in support of the Clean Power Plan, which would place the first-ever controls on dangerous carbon pollution and reduce other harmful emissions from power plants.
The event comes just one week after Gov. Pence announced in a letter to President Obama that the State of Indiana would not comply with the Clean Power Plan as it is currently written. Medical experts emphasized the health benefits of clean energy and the need to reduce health threats to children, asthma patients and all Hoosiers.
"I was trained to recognize symptoms and consider causes. A complaint of cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath, wheezing, and anxiety, is likely asthma. Air pollution causes asthma and other diseases: cardiovascular and respiratory, cancer, reproductive failure, infant death and impaired lung growth," said Dr. Steve Jay, an Indianapolis physician and Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "Indiana has major problems with air pollution and asthma. Burning fossil fuel, such as coal, puts toxic pollutants into the air. Given the seriousness of the health threats, I believe it would be irresponsible for Governor Pence and Indiana to fail to prepare a plan to reduce carbon pollution."
According to U.S. EPA, weather and climate play a significant role in people's health. Changes in climate affect the average weather conditions that we are accustomed to. Warmer average temperatures will likely lead to hotter days and more frequent and longer heat waves. This could increase the number of heat-related illnesses and deaths, with particular dangers to the elderly and children with asthma. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property. Warmer temperatures could increase the concentrations of unhealthy air and water pollutants. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events could enhance the spread of some diseases. (see: https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/health.html)
We Interrupt This Article with an Urgent Message! Common Dreams is a not-for-profit news service. All of our content is free to you - no subscriptions; no ads. We are funded by donations from our readers. Our critical Mid-Year fundraiser is going very slowly - only 1,397 readers have contributed so far. We must meet our goal before we can end this fundraising campaign and get back to focusing on what we do best. |
In 2014, a national committee of experts in agriculture, climate science, commerce and disaster relief released the National Climate Assessment (NCA) at the White House. The report predicts Indiana can expect even more heat waves, more extreme storms and poorer air and water quality in the decades ahead. The rapidly changing climate poses a threat to Indiana crops, our health, our families and our communities, which face increasing costs of cleaning up climate-related weather disasters.
"Reducing air pollution and mitigating climate change is not just a matter of health. It is a matter of justice. The predicted rise in atmospheric temperature will have numerous effects on health, including sickness and death due to increased frequency of heat waves, and increased air pollution. However, certain segments of our population - namely the elderly, minorities, the poor, and those with disabilities and chronic diseases -- will bear the brunt of these effects," said Frank Rosenthal, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences at Purdue University School of Health Sciences. "By refusing to abide by EPA's plan to reduce carbon emissions, Governor Pence endangers the health of not only Indiana residents, but of all those in the entire region, particularly those most vulnerable to the effects of heat waves and air pollution."
EPA's draft Clean Power Plan rule sets a modest goal for Indiana, asking the state to reduce carbon pollution by only 20 percent by 2030. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, coal plant retirements and energy efficiency have already pushed Indiana 55 percent of the way toward the short-term 2020 Clean Power Plan benchmark. If the Indiana General Assembly had not repealed the state-wide energy efficiency program known as Energizing Indiana last year, Indiana would be on track to surpass the interim 2020 goals outlined in the Clean Power Plan.
"In the mounting scientifically rigorous evidence, Indiana has the opportunity to shine by abiding the EPA's plan to reduce carbon emissions. This is the right thing to do and the responsible course of action for our children. I urge the government of Indiana to be a positive role model for the children of our wonderful state," said Yi Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health at Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.
Seventy-five percent of Hoosiers believe that the government should limit dangerous greenhouse gas emissions created by polluting industries, according to a polling report released in 2013 by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), co-chairs of the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change. The report also showed that at least 79 percent of Hoosiers polled acknowledged the existence of climate disruption, a fact that Indiana can no longer ignore.
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world.
(415) 977-5500LATEST NEWS
ICJ Issues New Order in Genocide Case as Another Gaza Child Starves to Death
The World Court cited "exceptionally grave" developments, especially the "spread of famine and starvation," in once again ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.
Mar 28, 2024
Citing "the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza, in particular the spread of famine and starvation," the International Court of Justice on Thursday ordered Israel to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid into the embattled enclave and reiterated an earlier directive to prevent genocidal acts.
The ICJ's new provisional order—which passed by a vote of 15-1, with Israeli Ad-Hoc Judge Aharon Barak dissenting—states that Israel must take "all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza."
This includes "food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care."
The Hague-based court also ordered Israel to ensure "with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group" under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The court's directive is a response to a March 6 request by South Africa, which filed the genocide case against Israel last December. On January 26, the tribunal issued a provisional ruling that found Israel was plausibly committing genocide in Gaza and ordering the country to prevent genocidal acts.
A final ruling in the case could take years. ICJ rules permit the court to "revoke or modify any decision concerning provisional measures if, in its opinion, some change in the situation justifies such revocation or modification."
Critics accuse Israel of ignoring the January 26 order. South Africa said its March 6 request for modification was prompted by "horrific deaths from starvation of Palestinian children, including babies, brought about by Israel's deliberate acts and omissions" including "concerted attempts" since January 26 to ensure the defunding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) "and Israel's attacks on starving Palestinians seeking to access what extremely limited humanitarian assistance Israel permits into Northern Gaza."
The new ICJ order notes that "Israel rejects 'in the strongest terms' South Africa's claims that incidents of starvation in Gaza are a direct result of its deliberate acts and omissions."
However, the court found that "exceptionally grave" recent developments, including "at least 31 people, including 27 children, having already died of malnutrition and dehydration... constitute a change in the situation."
Underscoring the severity of the crisis, a 5-year-old boy,
identified by Al Jazeera as Mohammed Naeem al-Najar, died of malnutrition Thursday at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.
This, as Israel is blocking UNRWA aid convoys from entering the northern part of the besieged strip.
The U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday published a draft report that found "reasonable grounds to believe" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a move that came on the same day as the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the ongoing war, a move enabled by a U.S. abstention.
More than 30 nations, as well as the the Arab League, African Union, and other international organizations, have joined South Africa's ICJ suit. On Wednesday, Ireland said it would intervene in the case after observing "blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale" by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Palestinian and international officials say that since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel, Israeli bombs and bullets have killed at least 32,552 Palestinians—most of them women and children—while wounding nearly 75,000 others. At least 7,000 more Palestinians are missing and feared dead and buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out buildings. Approximately 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced.
Keep ReadingShow Less
House Dems Tell Biden to 'Enforce US Law' as Israel Obstructs Gaza Aid
"Israel’s restriction of this aid and Prime Minister Netanyahu's refusal to address U.S. concerns on this issue is absolutely unacceptable," wrote six House Democrats.
Mar 28, 2024
While United Nations experts and human rights groups around the world continue to call on U.S. President Biden to end his support for Israel as it bombards Gaza and blocks aid, six House Democrats told the president that his policy in the region is a straightforward violation of U.S. law, and must change immediately.
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) led lawmakers including Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) in calling on Biden to "enforce U.S. law" with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government.
With Israel continuing to block aid to Gaza—even as the International Food Security Phase Classification initiative (IPC) warns that parts of northern Gaza are already facing famine—the lawmakers said Netanyahu is "repeatedly interfering in U.S. humanitarian operations in direct violation of the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act—Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961."
The Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act states that the U.S. cannot provide military aid to any country that is prohibiting or restricting the delivery of U.S. assistance into an area.
Despite State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller's claim this week that Israel is complying with international humanitarian law "when it comes to the conduct of the war or the provision of humanitarian assistance," the International Court of Justice on Thursday ordered Israel to ensure the delivery of urgently needed aid and warned that "famine is setting in" due to Israel's actions.
"The need to deliver humanitarian aid by any means possible has never been more pressing," wrote the lawmakers on Thursday. "This fact was emphasized by your administration's decision to begin airdropping supplies into Gaza in recent weeks, and your announcement of U.S. participation in constructing a temporary port in Gaza to expand the flow of aid."
"Israel's restriction of this aid and Prime Minister Netanyahu's refusal to address U.S. concerns on this issue is absolutely unacceptable," they said.
The letter follows similar calls from U.S. senators and more than two dozen human rights groups who earlier pointed out that Biden need look no further than the Foreign Assistance Act to know that the U.S. can no longer provide Israel with military support.
"This law is very straightforward," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told NPR earlier this month. "It's clearly triggered by the facts on the ground in Gaza, where we now have kids who have literally died of starvation, and hundreds of thousands of people on the verge of starvation, with 4 out of the 5 hungriest people in the world today in Gaza."
McCollum and her colleagues wrote that Biden must also "reassess how our assistance is provided to Israel" if it moves forward with plans to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, "a move that would put the 1.5 million Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza in imminent danger and exacerbate the rate of disease, starvation, and death in the conflict."
"We echo our colleagues in the U.S. Senate in imploring you to enforce U.S. law with the Netanyahu government," wrote McCollum and her colleagues. "Mr. President, the situation in Gaza is dire. Immediate action from the United States is necessary to stop further loss of civilian life, and we urge you to use every tool at your disposal to end the suffering in this crisis and to keep this conflict from expanding."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Progressives Praise New US Guidelines for Government AI Use
"Today, the OMB's guidance takes us one step further down the path of facing a technology-rich future that begins to address its harms," said Maya Wiley.
Mar 28, 2024
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Thursday a Office of Management and Budget guidance regarding how the federal government will utilize new artificial intelligence tools going forward, and it received praise from some progressives.
The guidance focuses on how federal agencies can benefit from utilizing AI tools but also the risks involved in putting them to use.
"The order directed sweeping action to strengthen AI safety and security, protect Americans' privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, promote innovation and competition, advance American leadership around the world, and more," says a White House fact sheet.
At the first-ever Global AI Summit last year, I laid out our vision for a future where AI advances the public interest.
To help build that future, I am announcing our first government-wide policy to promote the safe, secure, and responsible use of AI. https://t.co/6NPXLWn8Oc
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 28, 2024
The guidance says all federal agencies will now have a senior leader in charge of the use of AI tools, agencies will have to publicly report how they're using AI, agencies will be required to create "concrete safeguards" to protect the rights of citizens, and more.
Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, called it "a significant step to implement meaningful safeguards on the government's use of artificial intelligence."
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said it's necessary to make sure technology "serves us," rather than "harms us," and it should "advance our democracy rather than disrupt it."
"Today, the OMB's guidance takes us one step further down the path of facing a technology-rich future that begins to address its harms," Wiley said. "The guidance puts rights-protecting principles of the White House's historic AI Bill of Rights into practice across agencies, and it is an important step in advancing civil rights protections in AI deployment at federal agencies. It extends existing civil rights protections, helping to bring them into the era of AI."
The Biden administration released an AI Bill of Rights blueprint in 2022, which is an outline for how new AI tools should be utilized and developed to protect consumers. It also secured a voluntary AI safeguard agreement with seven major AI developers in July of last year.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular