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Climate Strike -- The Price Is Right (week 51) [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-08-12  

You can make a difference to the hurt being caused by climate chaos and the great extinction event, in your town or your city! How? Reuse, repurpose, and recycle this information.

This is the letter for week 51 of a weekly climate strike that went on for 4 years in front of San Francisco City Hall, beginning early March 2019. For more context, see this story. For an annotated table of contents to see topics for all the strike letters, see this story. Meanwhile…

STRIKE FOR THE PLANET

Climate chaos is expensive. A Green New Deal is cheap.

This week’s reminder: THE TIME IS NOW AND THE PRICE IS RIGHT.

Let’s do a simple compare and contrast.

Some Likely Green New Deal programs for San Francisco

PROGRAM COST JOBS ENVIRON BENEFITS electrifying all buildings Cheaper than natural gas for both new construction and retrofit work (1, 2, 3) Massive, long-term, skilled, new union jobs creation (4) no gas leaks, no gas explosions, substantial reduction in GHG production all electric vehicles Cheaper to run than diesel buses (5, 6) Negligible unless we increase transit (which we should) No particulate pollution, reduced air pollution, reduced noise pollution black water recycling See the Week 28: Water Recycling letter. It’s cheap. Also (7) Some opportunities in construction and management (7) Huge water savings, huge reduction in toxic chemicals needed for treatment, huge reduction in toxic waste production massive planting Urban forests provide a 3-to-1 benefits to costs ratio. (8) Need for proportionate number of urban foresters to help plant and maintain, and to oversee the urban forest Trees reduce ambient temperatures, reduce air pollution, and increase ecosystem strength (9) urban farming Negligible. Provide land, require buildings to provide land, provide organizational assistance and resource information. Huge long-term job opportunities (10) Reduce hunger (11) by producing substantial amounts of food (12) as well as health, nutrition, and training; provides sustainable ecosystems all renewable energy It is cheaper, though how much in current conditions hasn’t yet been studied (13, 14) Directly creates more jobs than fossil fuels, and indirectly has massive ripple effect on job creation (15) significant reduction in GHG (16, 17) cradle to cradle manufacturing Initial input is more than made up for by benefits (18) Job type and increase is dependent on technology used Huge and varied environmental benefits (18, 19)

Some of The Privateers’ Agenda

ACTION COST JOBS “EXTERNALITIES” eliminate Endangered Species Act Loss of $1 trillion/year (20), savings of a few billion (21) Massive job losses linked to damaged and destroyed ecosystems Loss of nature, loss of ecosystems, loss of benefits derived from intact ecosystems (22) reduce Clean Water Act Loss of some direct economic benefits (23) Massive job losses linked to damaged and destroyed ecosystem, especially in river and lake recreation, and fishing Michigan (24), the Cuyahoga River (25) reduce Clean Air Act Loss of 16-to-1 benefit-cost ratio (26) and 30-to-1 benefit-cost ratio (27) Unclear. Increases the need for doctors and respiratory therapists, and possibly window washers and house painters. Substantial increases in illness and death destroy National Park Service Direct loss of billions annually to local economies (28), loss of ecosystem benefits (22) Massive job losses in and around park locations, some short-term job gains by extractive industries until the resources are gone Huge loss of natural ecosystem services, increased extinction, loss of biodiversity and nucleic acid information available to the biosphere (29) eliminate Energy STAR Direct loss to consumers of roughly $30 billion per year (30) Job losses related to Energy Star Probable huge increases in GHGs, energy use, particulate production, and air pollution (31) attack women’s health Loss of massive benefits across the board gained by educating and including women in the economy (32, 33) Loss of women in the workforce (in formal, informal, and unrecognized labor) Increases in health problems and deaths, decreases in education and economic development (34), decreases in human rights, increases in birth rate and decreases in life expectancy, increases in environmental destruction (35) eliminate Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis Program Loss of flood insurance, inaccurate rates, inaccurate estimates of heights and frequencies (36), huge economic losses (37) Increase in post-flooding clean-up and construction jobs, destruction of jobs in flood-hit communities Increases in toxic pollution, deaths and health consequences, and housing insecurity

Nature provides services that are roughly double the total global GNP (38). The privateers are looting nature and stealing from all of us.

We need to stop the pirates now!

So where is our:

SF native tree urban forest,

countywide black water recycling,

all electric and clean energy transportation,

no-plastics county,

all local carbon-neutral or carbon-negative energy, and

resilience and self-sufficiency?

Waiting until there’s a disaster is what Trump does. Planning and acting to prevent disasters from happening or from becoming worst-case scenarios is what we do.

This is the 51st week I’ve been striking. There are only 37 weeks left (39, 40). Act for SF. Now.

FOOTNOTES

(1) Sherri Billimoria, Leia Guccione, Mike Henchen, and Leah Louis-Prescott. “The Economics of Electrifying Buildings”. Rocky Mountain Institute. 2018. https://rmi.org/insight/the-economics-of-electrifying-buildings/ .

(2) Jeff Deason, Max Wei, Greg Leventis, Sarah Smith, and Lisa Schwartz. “Electrification of buildings and industry in the United States”. Berkeley Lab. March 2018. http://ipu.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/LBNL-Electrification-of-Buildings-2018.pdf .

(3) “Residential Building Electrification in California”. Energy and Environmental Economics. April 2019. https://www.ethree.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/E3_Residential_Building_Electrification_in_California_April_2019.pdf .

(4) Rachel Golden and Betony Jones. “New Study: Job Impacts of Electrifying California’s Buildings”. Sierra Club. 14 November 2019. https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2019/11/new-study-job-impacts-electrifying-california-s-buildings .

(5) Richard Nunno. “Fact Sheet: Battery Electric Buses: Benefits Outweigh Costs”. EESI. 26 October 2018. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-electric-buses-benefits-outweigh-costs .

(6) Kyle Field. “No Need To Wait: Electric Buses Are Cost-Competitive Transit Buses Today”. CleanTechnica. 29 April 2018. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/29/no-need-to-wait-electric-buses-are-cost-competitive-transit-buses-today/ .

(7) Jennie Morton. “On-Site Wastewater Treatment : Turn Blackwater into a Green Opportunity”. Buildings: Smarter Facility management. 24 January 2014. https://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/16852/title/on-site-wastewater-treatment-turn-blackwater-into-a-green-opportunity/viewall/true .

(8) “Cost/Benefit Analysis”. Urban Forestry Network. Accessed 15 April 2020. http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/costs/cost%20benefit.htm .

(9) “The Barriers and Drivers to Planting and Retaining Urban Trees Working Draft for Discussion”. Community Forest. 2012. http://www.communityforest.org.uk/resources/barriers_and_drivers.pdf

(10) Luc J.A. Mougeot. “Growing better Cities”. IDRC. 2006. https://www.idrc.ca/sites/default/files/openebooks/226-0/index.html .

(11) “Three million people going hungry, just three weeks into Covid-19”. Sustain. 11 April 2020. https://www.sustainweb.org/news/apr20_food_foundation_briefing_on_covid19_vulnerability/ .

(12) Elizabeth Royte. “”Urban Farming Is Booming, But What Does It Really Yield?” Ensia. 27 April 2015. https://ensia.com/features/urban-agriculture-is-booming-but-what-does-it-really-yield/ .

(13) Dominic Dudley. “Renewable Energy Will Be Consistently Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels by 2020, Report Claims”. Forbes. 13 January 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/01/13/renewable-energy-cost-effective-fossil-fuels-2020/#4f208fde4ff2 .

(14) Michael Slezak and Nick Evershed> “Modelling shows move to 100% renewable energy would save Australia money”. The Guardian. 18 April 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/19/modelling-shows-move-to-100-renewable-energy-would-save-australia-money .

(15) “Benefits of Renewable Energy Use”. Union of Concerned Scientists. Updated 20 December 2017. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/benefits-renewable-energy-use .

(16) Amanda Myers. “As Cities Begin Banning Natural Gas, States Must Embrace Building electrification Via Smart Policy”. Forbes. 22 July 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2019/07/22/as-cities-begin-banning-natural-gas-states-must-embrace-building-electrification-with-smart-policy/#76ba61d36ce6 .

(17) Sherri Billimoria and Mike Henchen. “Yes, clean, electric buildings can reduce emissions and save money in new construction”. Green Biz. 27 June 2019. https://www.greenbiz.com/article/yes-clean-electric-buildings-can-reduce-emissions-and-save-money-new-construction .

(18) Bridgett Luther. “Study looks at business benefits from cradle to cradle certification”. The Guardian. 24 June 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/cradle-to-cradle-certification-benefit-business-study .

(19) Florence Lumsden. “Cradle to Cradle: 4 success stories, from countertops to fabrics”. GreenBiz. 20 March 2014. https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/03/20/4-cradle-cradle-certified-product-breakthroughs .

(20) Justin Worland. “The Endangered Species Act Is Criticized for Its Costs. But It Generates More than $1 Trillion a Year”. Time. 25 July 2018. https://time.com/5347260/endangered-species-act-reform/ .

(21) John R. Platt. “How Much Did the U.S. Spend on the Endangered Species Act in 2012?” Scientific American. 1 November 2013. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/how-much-did-the-us-spend-on-the-endangered-species-act-in-2012/ .

(22) Tony Juniper. “Why the economy needs nature”. The Guardian. 9 January 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2013/jan/09/economy-nature .

(23) David Keiser and Joseph S. Shapiro. “How the Clean Water Act has served the environment and the economy”. VOX. 24 October 2018. https://voxeu.org/article/impact-clean-water-act .

(24) Emma Winowiecki. “Does Flint have clean water? Yes, but it’s complicated.” Michigan Radio NPR. 21 August 2019. https://www.michiganradio.org/post/does-flint-have-clean-water-yes-it-s-complicated .

(25) Jennifer Latson. “The Burning River That Sparked a Revolution”. Time. 22 June 2015. https://time.com/3921976/cuyahoga-fire/ .

(26) Kristie Ross, James F. Chmiel, and Thomas Ferkol. “The impact of the Clean Air Act”. PMC US National Library of Medicine. 21 August 2012. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4133758/ .

(27) “Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act 1990-2020, the Second Prospective Study”. EPA. Accessed 15 April 2020. https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/benefits-and-costs-clean-air-act-1990-2020-second-prospective-study .

(28) Ray Rasker. “Economic Impact of National Parks”. headwaters Economics. 28 May 2018. https://headwaterseconomics.org/public-lands/protected-lands/economic-impact-of-national-parks/ .

(29) Rudolf de Groot, Luke Brnder, Sander van der Ploeg, Robert Costanza, Florence Bernard, Leon Braat, Mike Christie, Nevill Crossman, Andrea Ghermandi, Lars Hein, Salman Hussain, Pushpam Kumar, Alistair McVittie, Rosimeiry Portela, Luis C. Rodriguez, Patrick ten Brink, Pieter van Beukering. “Global estimates of the value of ecosystems and their services in monetary units”. Ecosystem Services. July 2012. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041612000101 .

(30) Karen Graham. “Trump plan to do away with Energy Star sparks industry uproar”. Digital Journal. 22 February 2018. http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/politics/trump-plan-to-do-away-with-energy-star-sparks-industry-uproar/article/515605 .

(31) “About ENERGY STAR: By the Numbers”. ENERGY STAR. Accessed 15 April 2020. https://www.energystar.gov/about/origins_mission/energy_star_numbers .

(32) Kathy Matsui. “The Economic Benefits of Educating Women”. Bloomberg. 7 March 2013. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-03-07/the-economic-benefits-of-educating-women .

(33) Adela Talbot. “Study: Women’s impact on economy undervalued”. Phys Org. 22 June 2018. https://phys.org/news/2018-06-women-impact-economy-undervalued.html .

(34) Kristine Husoy Onarheim, Johanne Helene Iversen, and David E. Bloom. “Economic Benefits of Investing in Women’s Health: A Systematic Review”. PLOS One. 30 March 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814064/ .

(35) Patricia M. Davidson, Sarah J. McGrath, Afaf I. Meleis, Phyllis Stern, Michelle DiGiacomo, Tessa Dharmendra, Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo, Jacquelyn C. Campbell, Margarethe Hochleitner, DeAnne K. H. Messias, Hazel Brown, Anne Teitelman, Siriorn Sindhu, Karen Reesman, Solina Richter, Marilyn S. Sommers, Doris Schaeffer, Marilyn Stringer, Carolyn Sampselle, Debra Anderson, Josefina A. Tuazon, Yingjuan Cao, and Eleanor Krassen Covan. “The Health of Women and Girls Determines the Health and Well-Being of Our Modern World: A White Paper From the International Council on Women’s Health Issues”. Health Care Women International. October 2011. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3703826/ .

(36) Ramin Skibba. “Why Are FEMA’s Flood Maps So Horribly Flawed?” Slate. 6 September 2017. https://slate.com/technology/2017/09/heres-why-femas-flood-maps-are-so-terrible.html .

(37) Alex Ruppenthal. “Report Details Human and Economic Costs of Flooding in Illinois, US”. WTTW News. 26 September 2019. https://news.wttw.com/2019/09/26/report-details-human-and-economic-costs-flooding-illinois-us .

(38) David C. Holzman. “Accounting for Nature’s Benefits: The Dollar Value of Ecosystem Services”. Environmental Health Perspectives. April 2012. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339477/ .

(39) See the Action Timeline in the report in “Only 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage from Climate Change, Speakers Warn during General Assembly High-Level Meeting”. United Nations. 28 march 2019. https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm .

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