September, 22 2020, 12:00am EDT
Climate Affects Every Topic for First Presidential Debate. It Cannot Be Ignored on Tuesday.
Climate is inextricably linked to each of the debate’s stated topics and its exclusion as a priority is unjustifiable.
WASHINGTON
Today, Chris Wallace released the topics for the first presidential debate, ignoring the most pressing issue impacting the long term health, safety, and prosperity of the country: climate change.
With fires continuing to rage in the West and extreme storms devastating the Gulf Coast, the midwest, and the northeast, it's impossible to ignore the importance of the climate crisis on people's lives. Climate has an outsized effect on every topic important to voters.
"Voters across the country are already living with the realities of the climate crisis - supercharged hurricanes, climate fires, Derechos, and other extreme weather events," said Climate Power 2020 Executive Director Lori Lodes. "Chris Wallace and the other debate moderators ignored the climate crisis completely in 2016 -- it's unacceptable for that to happen again. Too much is at stake to overlook the consequences of the climate crisis any longer. Whether it's the contrast between the candidates' records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, racial justice, or the economy --all of the topics relate to the climate crisis and the need for bold action to address it."
Climate remains a top priority for the majority of battleground state voters and must be included as a key focus in all of the debates. The climate crisis is linked to each of the topics for the first debate --giving Wallace ample opportunities to pose questions on the most pressing crisis of our lifetimes:
- Trump and Biden Records: There is perhaps no difference starker in the candidates' records than how each approaches science and the need to address the climate crisis. Donald Trump recently questioned the science behind climate change and has no plan to mitigate the crisis' impacts. Joe Biden has a long record of taking climate action and has put forward a bold plan to transition our country to a clean energy economy that creates good-paying, union jobs and addresses environmental justice.
- The Supreme Court: The right to clean air and water will be in peril if President Trump is allowed to install another pro-polluter, anti-science judge to the Supreme Court -- underscoring how critical the politics of climate are in the final weeks of the 2020 election.
- COVID-19: More than 200,000 people in the U.S. are dead, and Donald Trump still doesn't have a plan to address the pandemic -- which is made worse by pollution and environmental injustices. Just as he has repeatedly denied the science of climate change, Donald Trump has called the coronavirus a "hoax.".
- The Economy: While we are still dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it's important to understand how each candidate plans to rebuild our economy and what, if any role, clean energy will play in that recovery. Investing in clean energy is supported by the vast majority of Americans, regardless of party, and is viewed as helping to address climate change while also creating millions of jobs.
- "Race and Violence in Our Cities": Climate justice is racial justice. The Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities targeted by police brutality are too often the same communities suffering from decades of legacy pollution, as well as the ones most vulnerable to extreme weather. We cannot solve one of these crises without solving the other.
- The Integrity of the Election: Americans have the right to have their voices heard at the ballot box -- and the majority of Americans support candidates who believe in science and want to take bold climate action. The ongoing efforts by President Trump and Republicans to suppress the votes of Black, Brown, and Indigenous Americans are intersectional to the climate crisis as it is these communities who pay the steepest price because of climate change and environmental injustices.
Climate Power 2020 is putting the Trump administration on defense every single day for ignoring experts, refusing to believe in science, surrendering our government to big oil executives, and gutting public health protections, all at the expense of future generations. The 2020 presidential election is the defining moment for how our nation addresses the climate crisis--our leaders must be emboldened to take immediate action on climate change and to build a just and equitable economy. The time to act is now. Learn more: climatepower2020.org
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A trio of U.S. senators on Friday introduced what's being billed as first-of-its-kind legislation sponsors say will "take on the greed of the food and beverage industry and address the growing diabetes and obesity epidemics" with a federal ban on junk food ads targeting children.
The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act—introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.)—would also require warning labels "on sugar-sweetened foods and beverages; foods and beverages containing non-sugar sweeteners; ultra-processed foods; and foods high in nutrients of concern, such as added sugar, saturated fat, or sodium."
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Booker said that "the future of our nation depends on a continued investment in the health and wellbeing of our children," adding that "more and more of our children are developing diabetes and obesity primarily because a handful of corporate food giants push addictive, ultra-processed foods to drive up their profits."
"By banning junk food advertising to children, implementing front-of-package warning labels, and funding research on the dangers of ultra-processed foods, we can rein in the predatory behavior of big food companies and ensure a healthier future for generations to come," he added.
As the senators noted:
Today, more than 35 million Americans are struggling with type 2 diabetes—90% of whom are overweight or obese. These crises go hand-in-hand and children are severely impacted. Today, 1 out of 5 five kids are living with obesity. A serious illness unto itself, diabetes is also a contributing factor to heart disease, stroke, amputations, blindness, and kidney failure. Unless the U.S. dramatically changes course, these numbers will continue to grow exponentially.
The impact on the economy is enormous: Last year, the total cost of diabetes exceeded $400 billion, approximately 10% of overall U.S. healthcare expenditures.
Meanwhile, the U.S. food and beverage industry spends about $14 billion annually on marketing unhealthy products, with $2 billion of that spent on advertising these products to children.
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"This is the reality that extreme Republicans call 'pro-life.'"
"One year after submitting the request, the federal government agreed to release only some complaints and investigative documents filed across just 19 states," the AP's Amanda Seitz reported. "The names of patients, doctors, and medical staff were redacted from the documents."
"One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her," the journalist detailed. "Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn't offer an ultrasound. The baby later died."
According to Seitz:
Emergency rooms are subject to hefty fines when they turn away patients, fail to stabilize them, or transfer them to another hospital for treatment. Violations can also put hospitals' Medicare funding at risk.
But it's unclear what fines might be imposed on more than a dozen hospitals that the Biden administration says failed to properly treat pregnant patients in 2022.
It can take years for fines to be levied in these cases. The Health and Human Services agency, which enforces the law, declined to share if the hospitals have been referred to the agency's Office of Inspector General for penalties.
Responding to the reporting on social media, journalist Jane Mayer declared, "This is barbaric."
Texas Poor People's Campaign said that women in the state "are being left to die in ER waiting rooms. We cannot let this policy violence against women continue. Please join us as we mobilize voters for the '24 election."
Going into November, abortion has been a key issue at the state and federal level. Supporters of reproductive freedom are working to advance various ballot measures while Democratic President Joe Biden's campaign has highlighted his support for abortion rights and the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, has bragged about his role in reversing Roe—he appointed three of the six justices behind the majority opinion.
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Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said that "this is the reality that extreme Republicans call 'pro-life'—pregnant women being turned away at hospitals and emergency centers. Absolutely disgraceful. No woman should ever be denied emergency care."
Slate's Mark Joseph Stern, who covers U.S. legal battles, noted that this "devastating and timely story" from Seitz comes "just days before the Supreme Court considers whether emergency rooms can legally force patients to the brink of death before terminating a failing pregnancy."
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Bush (D-Mo.) joined progressives including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in opposing the legislation, with centrist Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina also voting with the left-wing faction.
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