Category: Environment

Biden Violates Environmental Policy Act With Border Wall Stop

Biden Violates Environmental Policy Act With Border Wall Stop

By Joe Guzzardi

Responding to the consequences of President Biden’s wildly out-of-control border mess, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sued the administration in the U.S. District Court of Arizona. At issue is Biden’s unilateral decision to stop border wall construction, and to end the policy which requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their petitions are reviewed. The wall and Mexican Migration Protocols are among former President Trump’s signature immigration accomplishments, and helped to slow population growth in Arizona and other states.

Biden Violates Environmental Policy Act With Border Wall Stop

Biden’s irresponsible, illegal border permissiveness violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which President Richard Nixon signed in 1970 and which recognized that population directly affects the environment. Today, 90 percent of that growth is caused by immigration. NEPA requires that every agency considering an action that will affect the environment must analyze and publicize those outcomes before going forward. The published analysis is officially called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Yet the Department of Homeland Security and, before it, the Immigration and Naturalization Service have steadfastly refused to comply with NEPA even though it’s federal law. Environmentalists like Julie Axelrod, Center for Immigration Studies Director of Litigation and a former Trump administration senior Environmental Protection Agency policy advisor, who have testified before the Council on Environmental Quality, had their logical arguments fall on deaf ears.

From the Arizona complaint which lays out the indisputable truths:

“Migrants (like everyone else) need housing, infrastructure, hospitals, and schools. They drive cars, purchase goods, and use public parks and other facilities. Their actions also directly result in the release of pollutants, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which directly affects air quality. All of these activities have significant environmental impact which, as discussed above, courts have recognized as cognizable impacts under NEPA.”

On April 15, Brnovich told Tucker Carlson Tonight that the average border crosser carries about 6-8 pounds of trash. Using the best estimate of 2 million aliens illegally entering the U.S. this year, Brnovich said that translates to “about a million of pounds of trash each month.” Brnovich insisted that the so-called environmental movement, which includes the hypocritical Sierra Club, cares only about raising money, not safeguarding America’s beauty.

U.S. immigration-driven population growth is dire, and should be a matter of grave concern to Congress. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that immigrants and births to immigrants represent more than 80 percent of the nation’s population growth. Yet Congress refuses to develop a responsible immigration policy that would provide a better quality of life for the nation’s native-born and settled immigrants.

Instead, Congress is intent to let unchecked population increases propel the nation, figuratively speaking, off a cliff. In 2016, respected environmental scientist and natural resources planner Leon Kolankiewicz, working with Progressives for Immigration Reform, completed a three-year study which led to a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), an analysis of the long-term, cumulative effects of immigration on America’s environmental resources.

Summarized, the study assessed three alternative immigration scenarios, all projected out to 2100: 1) the No Action Alternative, in which current immigration rates of approximately 1.25 million per year would be maintained; 2) the Expansion Alternative, or 2.25 million annual immigration; and 3) the Reduction Alternative, 250,000 annual immigration, the historic level.

As of Earth Day 2021, the U.S. population stands at slightly more than 330 million. In approximate numbers, the No Action Alternative would lead to a U.S. population of 524 million in 2100; the Expansion Alternative, the option the Biden administration is committed to, would create a 669 million U.S. population in 2100, and the Reduction Alternative would lead to a 379 million U.S. population in 2100, not ideal but the most manageable of the three options.

Assessing each of the three possible immigration levels’ outcomes and their potential environmental impacts on urban sprawl and loss of farmland, habitat loss and impacts on biodiversity, water demands and withdrawals from natural systems, carbon dioxide emissions and resultant climate change, and energy demands and national security implications, the results are widespread, ominous and highly adverse.

Congress has a long way to go to make up for ground lost since Wisconsin’s former U.S. Senator and Governor Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day more than half a century ago. As Nelson’s daughter Tia said, her father would be “deeply distressed” by the lack of progress on environmental causes. And, immigration is intimately related to environmental issues. As the Earth Day founder said, “… (I)t’s phony to say, ‘I’m for the environment but not for limiting immigration.’ It’s just a fact that we can’t take all the people who want to come here.”

Arizona’s lawsuit puts environmentalists back in the game in a manner earlier suggested by PFIR in the PEIS and the “Let’s Make America Green Again” campaign.

If other border states, such as Texas and New Mexico, joined Arizona, then environmentalists’ important goal – to preserve America’s magnificence – could start to be within reach.

Joe Guzzardi is a Progressives for Immigration Reform analyst who has written about immigration for more than 30 years. Contact him at jguzzardi@pfirdc.org.

Biden Violates Environmental Policy Act With Border Wall Stop
Biden Violates Environmental Policy Act With Border Wall Stop

Bidens Pro Ukraine Energy While Anti-US Energy Or Things That Make You Go Hmm

Bidens Pro Ukraine Energy While Anti-US Energy Or Things That Make You Go Hmm –Put this in the category of things that make you go hmmmm. Joe Biden wants to end fracking (and the entire oil industry for that matter) in America. His son Hunter was on the board of directors of Burisma, which is one of Europe’s major producer of natural gas.

Bidens Pro Ukraine Energy While Anti-US Energy Or Things That Make You Go Hmm --Put this in the category of things that make you go hmmmm.
Ukraine Gas Good, US Gas Bad!

Hmmmm. There must be a logical explanation for it!!

Bidens Pro Ukraine Energy While Anti-US Energy Or Things That Make You Go Hmm

Joe Biden Mansions Show He’s Fake On Climate Change

Joe Biden Mansions Show He’s Fake On Climate Change — Working class Joe Biden’s primary residence is a 6,850-square-foot mansion in Greenville, Del. and a 4,800-square-foot vacation house in Rehoboth Beach. Further he is renting a 12,000 square feet mansion that boasts marble fireplaces, a sauna, five bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and a gym in McLean, Va.

Joe Biden Mansions Show He's Fake On Climate Change
One of Joe Biden’s planet destroying residences.

You seriously think he seriously believes that global warming is a problem?

My Democrat friends, you are being conned.

Joe Biden Mansions Show He’s Fake On Climate Change

Aqua Backing Carolyn Comitta

Aqua Backing Carolyn Comitta — Carolyn Comitta, who is seeking to replace fellow Democrat Andy Dinniman to represent the 19th District in the Pennsylvania Senate, is backed by Aqua America.

The Bryn Mawr-based, now-national water company that once called itself Springfield Water Co. and the Philadelphia Suburban Water Co. but now calls itself Essential Utilities gave a grand to Carolyn in April. Wonder why they want her to win.

Could it have anything to do with their lust for the locally owned Chester Water Authority?

Guess we know where Carolyn, who now represents the 156th District in the State House, comes down on the matter.

Hey did you see where Aqua — excuse us Essential Utilities — is making beaucoup bucks supplying water to frackers in the Marcellus Shale? Not that we have any problem with it but we kind of wonder how much that warms the hearts of Dinniman’s voters.

Aqua Backing Carolyn Comitta
Aqua Backing Carolyn Comitta

Free Beekeeping Lessons From Penn State Extension

Free Beekeeping Lessons From Penn State Extension — For those tired of streaming television and video games as we await another 27 days of imposed inactivity, Penn State Extension has waived through April 30 its $159 fee for Beekeeping 101. That’s right, you can learn to beekeep for free. Sign up here. Beekeepers are desperately needed. Be cool. Beekeep.

Penn State Extension is affiliated with Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and provides science-based information to people, businesses, and communities. It has an office in every county in Pennsylvania.

Free Beekeeping Lessons
Be cool, beekeep
Free Beekeeping Lessons
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Environmental Regulations Solve Border Crisis Says PFIR

Environmental Regulations Solve Border Crisis Says PFIR — Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR), a nonprofit group, says the Trump Administration should consider utilizing the National Environmental Protection Agency and two key pieces of legislation, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to address the immigration crisis.

At the height of concern about overpopulation and degradation of the natural world, the Environmental Protection Agency was proposed and established by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1970, and he subsequently signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. These essential pieces of legislation are considered the Magna Carta of U.S. environmental law.

“President Trump has powerful tools in cornerstone environmental legislation that he could apply to bring commonsense to our immigration system,” said Kevin Lynn, Executive Director of Progressives for Immigration Reform. “With these laws, federal agencies are required to assess the environmental impacts in areas for which they have purview and ensure the preservation of biodiversity and the natural habitat for that biodiversity.

“Federal agencies operate as though they are exempt from NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, however, when it comes to population growth and the impact of that growth on the natural world. The U.S. has seen historically high immigration-driven population growth since NEPA became law, and no environmental impact study has been conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, or its predecessor, the INS,” Lynn added.

Countless science-based studies through the years have shown the connection between environmental degradation and population. Driven by the need for more and more living space, supporting infrastructure for modern living, and farm and ranch lands to produce food, more and more land is being appropriated for human use, at a tremendous loss to the natural world. Research shows that surveyed animal populations have declined by more than 50 percent on average in the last two generations, as reported in National Geographic.

To make the case for utilizing the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act and the Environmental Protection Agency in helping decide if we need more, less or about the same levels of immigration, PFIR produced the video, “NEPA: Let’s Make America Green Again,” which can be seen here. Learn more at Progressives for Immigration Reform.


About Progressives for Immigration Reform
Progressives for Immigration Reform is a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the unintended consequences of mass migration. PFIR supports economic policies that protect workers’ rights, increase wages and decrease economic inequality, and environmental policies that preserve habitat for wildlife and conserve resources for future generations.  

Environmental Regulations Solve Border Crisis Says PFIR
Environmental Regulations Solve Border Crisis Says PFIR -- Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR), a nonprofit group, says the Trump Administration

Chris Saullo Makes Environment Campaign Issue

Chris Saullo Makes Environment Campaign Issue — Chris P. Saullo is seeking a supervisor seat, Nov. 5, in Lower Gwynedd in Montgomery County.

His main issue might be the Wissahickon Creek watershed. It is good to see It is good to see a Republican making the environment a front and center issue. He issued the below statement.

For what it is worth, all new development but especially residential development from which people must flee during floods should be prohibited on creek and river banks. It’s one time when eminent domain makes eminent sense.

Saullo’s statement:

Chris Saullo Makes Environment Campaign Issue

I am deeply concerned with the known problems within the Wissahickon Creek watershed. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3 (EPA) has established a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for total phosphorus (TP) within the Wissahickon Creek Watershed. This issue affects 13 municipalities within the 64 square miles of the Wissahickon watershed, with Lower Gywnedd Township being one of them.

We should consider a pause to rethink our focus in regard to development in our township in order to stop and hopefully eventually reverse this problem. Off the top of my head, this is greater than just stormwater management. And what raises the stakes on this issue is the Wissahickon Creek is used as the main source of water for over 200,000 households, and in the summer the only flow in the Wissahickon Creek is from the Ambler Wastewater Treatment Plant.

As I said above, I am deeply concerned with this issue and I do know Lower Gwynedd Township has joined with the other municipalities to begin developing a plan towards repairing this issue. We, as a community, are at the beginning of even understanding this problem and all that factors into it. Take note Bill, this is a local issue and will be solved locally. This is one example of where candidates in the upcoming municipal election should be focused, not on national issues.

And as a candidate for township supervisor, I’ll simply ask my neighbors, on what issues are the other candidates focused?

Chris Saullo Makes Environment Campaign Issue

CEI Debunks Global Warming Panic With Chicken Little List

CEI Debunks Global Warming Panic With Chicken Little List — The Competitive Enterprise Institute has created a fantastic list of article forecasting imminent environmental doom starting in 1967.

The claims ranged from famine to ice ages to the disappearance of entire nations (and New York City’s West Side Highway) due to global warming.

All were made in major establishment media outlets by highly regarded and credentialed men of science.

Check it out here. You will understand we are skeptics of the climate change panic and likely become one yourself.

CEI Debunks Global Warming Panic With Chicken Little List
CEI Debunks Global Warming Panic With Chicken Little List

Black Plague Looms For Los Angeles

Black Plague Looms For Los Angeles — Dr. Drew Pinsky on last night’s (May 30) Ingraham Angle reported that Los Angeles is experiencing medieval diseases such as typhus, typhoid fever, and, notably, the bubonic plague, which killed half of Europe in the 14th century.

Black Plague Looms

“We have a complete breakdown of the basic needs of civilization in Los Angeles,” Pinsky said.

He said airborne disease like tuberculous is exploding.

He said that rat-borne disease is unchecked as L.A. is one of the country’s few major cities that doesn’t have a rodent control program.

There will be a typhus outbreak this summer, he said, and worse.

“I’m hearing from experts that bubonic plague is likely. It’s already here,” he said.

And of course, there is the disease spread by fecal filth in the street like typhoid fever.

“This is not Third World,” he said. “This is medieval. Third World countries would be insulted if they were accused of being like this,

Welcome to the Golden State. Guess that’s what happens in “sanctuary states” that consider unrestricted abortion to be the primary health objective.

Pinsky noted that L.A. is sub-optimally immunized.

“God forbid if measles gets in,” he said.

Questions for all the progressives sneering at the anti-vaxxers: Do unvaccinated illegal immigrants — who exponentially outnumber anti-vaxxers — cause any concern for you?

For laughs, the Los Angeles Times is blaming “climate change” for the looming plague outbreak. Do people really still believe the garbage the establishment media is feeding them?

Black Plague Looms For Los Angeles

Wolf Climate Plan Crushes Pennsylvania Citizens

Wolf Climate Plan Crushes Pennsylvania Citizens

By Gregory R. Wrightstone

On April 29, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf released the latest version of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Climate Action Plan, announcing that Pennsylvania would join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of 24 states committed to implementing policies that support the Paris Agreement — an international collaboration from which the U.S. has withdrawn.

According to the governor, “states like Pennsylvania must take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our communities, economies, infrastructures, and environments from the risks of a warming climate.”

The plan’s primary objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 80% by 2050 in the Keystone State to reduce the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and keep future increases to less than 2 degrees Celsius.

Described in the 231-page plan are more than 100 actions intended to reduce GHG emissions, 15 of which are analyzed in detail. Each action involves increased taxation, increased regulation, increased spending or restrictions on citizens’ freedoms.

Some very relevant questions should be answered by the governor and the PA DEP concerning this far-reaching plan that will necessarily have significant negative impacts on the Commonwealth’s citizens and businesses:

  • Once implemented, what effect would this have on global temperature?
  • Are the justifications listed in the proposal supported by the science, facts and data?
  • What costs and negative effects are associated with this plan and are they offset by the alleged benefits?

The overarching goal of the proposal is to lower the Earth’s temperature by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Pennsylvania. However, nowhere does this hefty document estimate a reduction of temperature.

To obtain an estimate, we used the MAGICC simulator (Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse-gas Induced Climate Change) that was developed by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research under funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The model estimates how much temperature rise would be averted globally by various reductions of CO2 for the United States.

Calculations using this (Figure 1) assume an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions, a climate sensitivity of 2.0 and the latest estimate of Pennsylvania’s share of U.S. emissions (4.2%) to reveal the following theoretical reductions:

  • 0.0023oF by 2050
  • 0.0061oF by 2100

This extremely small effect should be a very important component in the discussions on whether to impose the significant burdens of the Climate Action Plan on the state and its citizens.

Wolf Climate Plan Crushes Pennsylvania Citizens

Listed on page 14 of the plan is a section titled “Why Does Pennsylvania Need a Climate Action Plan?” It lays out justifications for why the plan is needed, listing 10 climate impacts that were “already occurring and put Pennsylvanians and local industries at risk.” Many of the impacts it described as occurring are, in fact, not happening and in some cases are improving the state’s ecosystems.

We will look at only a few of the most egregious examples of misinformation due to space restrictions, but these should serve to illustrate that this document is more of a political tool than science-based justification for action.
More frequent extreme weather events including drought

Increased risks of injury and death from extreme weather events.

Increased human health risks from air pollution

Increased demand for energy, particularly during warmer summer months

  • There is no mention of the reduced energy demand during the winter months.

Most of what was listed as justification for implementation of this far-reaching plan were projections of what may or may not occur many decades in the future. These projections are based on climate models that over-predict warming by 2.5 to 3 times too much. It is important to separate speculation of what may occur in the future based on failed climate models from the actual events that can be empirically observed.

Recommended Strategies: 
The Plan identified 15 actions that were most impactful for reducing GHG emissions and would require increased taxation, spending and government control, some of which are listed below.
In the Energy sector, the Plan would:

  • Invest in building-scale solar
  • Incentivize renewable energy
  • Maintain current nuclear generation levels (bailouts for Exelon)
  • Tighten regulations on methane emissions
  • Create a Cap & Trade program for electricity sector carbon emissions

Transportation

  • Reduce personal vehicle mileage (no more trips to Home Depot)
  • Incentivize increased electric vehicle use
  • Increase use of public transportation

Please note the repeated use of the terms “invest” and “incentivize” as code for spending more taxpayer dollars. Additionally, the Cap & Trade program that is proposed will be a huge revenue generation scheme that would draw large sums of money into Harrisburg for redistribution to favored programs.
Pennsylvania’s citizens would not only be burdened by new direct taxation, but additional costs of regulation and higher energy costs would be passed on to customers.  While the plan offers no estimates of costs, they surely would run into the millions if not billions of dollars.

According to the Plan itself, the 15 action items would only reduce the state’s GHG emissions by 21%, far less than the 80% targeted. In order to reach the higher targeted goals, ever more onerous and economically crippling actions would be required.

Conclusion
Pennsylvania’s Climate Action Plan will impose huge costs on the Commonwealth’s citizens and businesses while burdening them with additional levels of restrictions and regulations.
Companies will pass these higher costs on to consumers or absorb the costs, which will deter hiring and new investment. A rise in prices means that consumers will buy less, and companies will drop employees, close entirely, or move to other states where the cost of doing business is lower. The consequence means fewer opportunities for Pennsylvania’s workers, less economic growth, lower incomes, and higher unemployment.

The justifications for imposing this plan are flawed, the costs and regulations are economically crippling, and the result is a temperature reduction so low that it is indistinguishable from zero. 

In short, the plan would infringe on the freedoms of people and make them significantly poorer. This plan should be opposed vehemently by the GOP-led House and Senate. 

Mr. Wrightstone is the author of Inconvenient Facts: The science Al Gore doesn’t want you to know