Biden may declare a 'national climate emergency' to further the Green New Deal by non-democratic means: 'Just like COVID'
Democrats have had trouble advancing the whole of their radical Green New Deal by democratic means, so they're now calling upon President Joe Biden to invoke abstract threats and exploit real tragedies to get their way.
Proponents of the climate alarmist legislation that would see the state's power grow further at the expense of the populace were not placated in the least by the green handouts resultant of last year's "Inflation Reduction Act," which authorized well over $600 billion in spending on so-called renewable energy and climate change initiatives.
In July 2022, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other leftist senators in the Democratic caucus penned a letter to Biden, stating, "For too long, we have been waiting for a single piece of legislation, and a single Senate vote, to take bold action on our climate crisis. ... As a result, we urge you to put us on an emergency footing and aggressively use your executive powers to address the climate crisis."
Having not yet gotten their way in full, leftists in Washington, D.C., now seek to cite the wildfires in Hawaii — which appear to have been largely resultant of negligence and the vain pursuit of Democrats' green agenda — as reason enough for Biden to declare a national climate emergency.
Markey, one of the authors of the original Green New Deal resolution, said in a statement to Politico, "The devastation in Maui is a clear sign that the president must declare a climate emergency — now."
"While FEMA is providing resources to the local heroes on the ground fighting for the lives and livelihoods of Hawaiians, the underlying climate-driven conditions of drought, extreme heat, environmental injustice, and non-resilient infrastructure will remain," added Markey.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) similarly called for a statist solution to the specter of anthopogenic climate change, stating, "This is a crisis and we need to treat it that way. That starts with President Biden declaring a national climate emergency to unlock vast federal resources and emergency powers to help our communities prepare for and recover from these deadly climate disasters."
When asked earlier this month by the Weather Network whether he intended to make such a declaration, the 80-year-old president claimed he had done so, "practically speaking."
Biden, who spent the most recent stretch of the over 365 vacation days he has so far taken as president at a billionaire climate alarmist's home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, claimed, "We've already done that. ... We've conserved more land, we've moved into rejoining the Paris Climate Accord. We've got a $60 billion climate control facility."
Mark Nevitt, a professor at Emory University’s School of Law, characterized the national climate emergency declaration as a "skeleton key" that "unlocks the door" to other powers, reported The Hill.
The Center for Biological Diversity pushed a report last year entitled, "Legal Guide to Bold Climate Action from President Biden," which stated that by declaring a climate emergency, Biden could take various drastic actions, such as: halt crude oil exports; stop oil and gas drilling in the outer continental shelf; and restrict international trade and private investment in fossil fuels.
Tim Steward, president of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, told Just the News, "If you grant the president's emergency powers to declare a climate emergency, it's just like COVID."
Accordingly, Biden would end up with "vast and unchecked authority to shut down everything from communications to infrastructure," said Steward.
Even some left-leaning analysts worry that such an emergency declaration would leave Biden with new dictatorial powers that would be ripe for abuse.
Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Program, wrote, "Overbroad emergency powers provide a ready mechanism for undermining democracy and entrenching political power."
Politico reported that any such executive action to this end would face legal challenges, "including going up against a conservative Supreme Court that has already ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the broad authority to rein in carbon pollution."
Extra to the likely illegality of such a usurpation and exercise of power to combat the weather, a Green New Deal by decree could harm Biden's chances of re-election, given that gas prices would likely skyrocket once again.
Nevertheless, some reportedly suspect he may ultimately make the declaration and soon.
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