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Texas artist donating customized caskets for Uvalde victims
A Texas artist is donating customized caskets for victims of last week’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Trey Ganem, the owner of custom casket company SoulShine Industries, pivoted to helping the victims’ families shortly after the shooting. The massacre left 19 children and two teachers dead, galvanizing the nation and reigniting a fight over gun regulations.
“I’m on my way to help families in this tragic time,” a post on the company’s Facebook page reads that was published just hours after the shooting.
“I was asked to help with the caskets and talk with families. This is something no family should ever have to deal with. My love and emotions are already there,” the post read.
Ganem designed custom caskets for 19 of the victims in just three days, hiring a set of drivers to quickly deliver the caskets from Georgia, NewsNation reported. The caskets arrived at the company’s facility within two days of Ganem taking on the task, according to the company’s Facebook page.
Victims’ funerals in Uvalde are set to begin this week.
“We are rocking and rolling with the help of so many!!” the company wrote. “Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help us and to help the families of Uvalde!”
Ganem’s company is based out of Edna, Texas — located almost 200 miles from Uvalde.
“We’re creating the last thing that the parents can ever do for their child,” Ganem told NewsNation. “And we’re making it with passion and purpose. We put all of our heart and soul into this thing.”
Tributes have been pouring in as the small Texas town and the nation continue to grieve the loss from the deadliest school shooting in the country since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., in 2012.
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Uvalde on Sunday and were met by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and his wife, Cecilia Abbott. They visited a memorial constructed outside Robb Elementary School, where the Bidens placed a bouquet of flowers and held hands with the elementary school’s superintendent and principal.
The president and first lady also met with families of the victims and survivors of the Uvalde mass shooting, later gathering with first responders for a private meeting. The Bidens also attended mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde.
Leading news organizations in Texas observed 21 minutes of silence on social media on Tuesday to honor the 21 lives lost in Uvalde.
Six survivors of the shooting remain in the hospital as of Monday.
Source: TEST FEED1
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NotedDC — House Dems keep foot on the gas on gun reform
House Democrats aren’t letting recess get in the way of sending gun control legislation to the floor as soon as possible following the school shooting massacre in Uvalde, Texas last week, which killed 19 children and two teachers.
The House Judiciary Committee will meet for an emergency meeting Thursday to markup an omnibus bill including proposals to curb gun trafficking, promote the safe storage of firearms and raise the purchase age for certain semi-automatic rifles.
Judiciary Committee vice chair Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) knows the odds that Democrats are up against in the Senate, which hasn’t passed any of the House-cleared bills on gun control since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting due to Republican opposition.
But she told NotedDC there’s hope for bipartisanship this time around, saying she believes President Biden is the best person to lead the fight. The last two times she spoke with him before the shooting, they discussed finding solutions to gun violence.
“I was a teacher. I had students who suffered from gun violence at LaSalle University,” Dean said, saying she “took offense” to Republicans’ proposed solution of arming teachers.
“The gruesomeness with which people are wounded as a result of these weapons is something that you would only fear seeing in a war zone,” Dean said. “We’re seeing that in schools.”
A bipartisan group of senators met Tuesday for ongoing negotiations on possible bills, but there’s skepticism that Democrats will get 10 Republicans on board with any proposal, including background checks.
Biden also said Tuesday he will “meet with Congress on guns.”
Dean said that when she knew the Senate wouldn’t pass universal background checks in 2019, after one of the times the House did, she asked the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) what to do with that feeling of disappointment.
“Do not give up,” Lewis told her, Dean remembered. “At this horrific moment, I pray this is the breakthrough.”
The Hill’s Mike Lillis outlines the specifics in the bill.
Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Have some news, behind-the-scenes insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan.
Biden homes in on inflation
Abortion and gun control have dominated the political conversation for the past month, letting Democrats go on the offense. But President Biden’s attention isn’t straying from inflation.
Republicans are slamming Biden over record gas prices and rising grocery costs, which he has blamed in part on the war in Ukraine.
Fifty-two percent of Americans rank inflation as their top issue, according to a FiveThirtyEight survey conducted this month.
Biden, knowing that his low approval rating is largely due to inflation, on Tuesday laid out a three-part plan in The Wall Street Journal and met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
“The economic reality that we’re facing right now is not good,” Cassie Smedile, the executive director of conservative America Rising PAC, told NotedDC. “Top of mind for voters is the economy and will be the economy this November.”
Biden’s strategy, which will get new attention on Friday when the May jobs report drops, includes touting oil released from global reserves while pressing for clean energy tax credits, working to lower daily costs such as child care and housing and decreasing the deficit, per The Hill’s Alex Gangitano.
Democratic pollster Matt McDermott pointed to Congress’s inaction as to why Biden has taken the blame on the issue so far, saying that Democrats have reverted to “apathy” while the enthusiasm intensifies among Republicans to take control of Congress.
“Voters are looking to a White House, to a president, to a majority in Congress for solutions,” McDermott told NotedDC. “Whether it’s guns, abortion or the economy and inflation, the trouble from the messaging perspective is there’s no proof point.”
BTS in the (White) House
Grammy-nominated K-Pop sensation BTS visited the White House and met with President Biden on Tuesday on the final day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month.
BTS members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook even took to the White House podium alongside press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during the daily briefing to talk about inclusion and their efforts to address anti-Asian hate crimes.
“We are here today thanks to our army — our fans worldwide — who have different nationalities and cultures and use different languages. We are truly and always grateful,” J-Hope told reporters.
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano noted that she’s “never seen the briefing room as crowded” as it was when they stood at the podium.
The band took no formal questions and didn’t respond to ones questions from reporters in the room.
Catch up on their visit with The Hill’s Judy Kurtz.
NEW ZEALAND PM SITS DOWN WITH BIDEN IN THE OVAL OFFICE
President Biden hosted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the White House Tuesday as part of his Pacific-focused diplomacy effort.
A big focus for the meeting — the New Zealand leader’s first in D.C. — was climate change, which Ardern described as “one of the greatest threats we face.”
“This incredibly difficult issue will only be resolved if we work together,” she told reporters after the meeting.
Biden said his goal on addressing climate is not to “dictate or lay down the law.”
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity to make the world safer, and deal with the environment,” he said.
Biden said that the two leaders also discussed violent extremism, pointing to New Zealand’s Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 and the recent mass shootings in New York and Texas.
PRIMARY SEASON ROLLS ON
After a break in action for Memorial Day week, the next major primary day hits states next Tuesday. Here’s our latest look at some of the big battles coming that day:
Montana
Montana will vote on its congressional seats, after getting a second one from the 2020 Census. Montana had been represented by a single at-large House member for nearly three decades.
The nonpartisan newsletter Cook Political Report has rated both as likely Republican seats.
Flashback: The drawing of the two maps became a bit of controversy last fall after Democrats pushed for a map that would create a tighter race in the new western district. Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission chair ultimately sided with Republicans agreeing that the two districts should be more compact, ultimately making the match-ups less competitive.
Names to know: Running for the 1st District seat, former Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who previously served in the House for two years. Shrouded in controversy, Zinke stepped down from his administration role in 2018. Despite the fallout, Trump has endorsed Zinke in the race.
After he left the Trump administration, Zinke, a Navy veteran, went on to work for a cryptocurrency investment firm.
He faces opponents Mitch Heuer, Matt Jette, Albert Olszewski and Mary Todd in next week’s primary.
On the Democratic side: Health policy expert Cora Neumann, attorney Monica Tranel and former state Rep. Tom Winter are seeking the Democratic nom.
Also in Montana: In the other district, incumbent Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Republican who took office representing Montana’s sole at-large district last year, is seeking re-election. He’s got the backing of former President Trump and has been one of the members who has spread unbacked allegations about the 2020 election.
He faces three opponents: Kyle Austin, James Boyette and Charles Walking Child.
Democrats in the race are Billings City Council member Penny Ronning and Billings resident Skylar Williams. State Sen. Mark Sweeney will also appear on the Democratic ballot, though he unexpectedly died earlier this month.
New Jersey
The Garden State has a pretty light midterm election year, with no statewide candidates on the ballot.
Each of New Jersey’s 12 U.S. House districts will be up for election.
All of the current incumbents are seeking re-election except Albio Sires, a Democrat who announced his retirement in December.
Other states with primaries on June 7: New Mexico, South Dakota and Mississippi. NotedDC will explore more on those next week. If you missed our look at California and Iowa’s primaries last week, you can find that info here.
2024 is coming: Who might run if Biden doesn’t
The figurative and literal age-old question swirling around the White House is whether President Biden will run for a second term. The Hill’s Amie Parnes ranked the top five contenders that could potentially hit the campaign trail in 2024 if Biden doesn’t:
- Vice President Kamala Harris: It’s a no-brainer for a vice president to be considered the top suspect to follow in the president’s shoes. And it would break the glass ceiling for Democrats to elect a woman president. But Parnes writes that “she has been tripped up by a rash of negative headlines since she assumed the role.”
- Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg (D): This would be his second go at a presidential run, with more name recognition and experience this time, but like before, it’s questionable whether those will stand against his more known opponents.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.): She’s said before that she won’t run against Biden, but her draw with progressives – an important electorate to grab for any Democrats during the primaries – will put her in the spotlight if Biden doesn’t run.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): Despite being almost the same age as Biden, Parnes writes that he hasn’t ruled out a run and has ramped up his calls for universal healthcare.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.): She made a name for herself as a moderate Democrat despite not performing well in the 2020 presidential primaries, and Parnes’ notes that her trip to New Hampshire later this month might be a sign of her laying the groundwork.
NUMBER TO KNOW: 7.1
The percentage of U.S. adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual, according to the most recent Gallup poll on the topic. Wednesday marks the first day of LGBT Pride Month.
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1 dead, 2 injured following shooting at New Orleans university campus
A shooting at a New Orleans university campus left one person dead and two others wounded, police reported on Tuesday.
One female died from gunshot wounds while two males were injured following a shooting on the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana, which is a historically Black Catholic university.
New Orleans police reported that officials responded to Xavier University’s convocation center after gun shots were heard in the parking lot just before noon local time. A high school graduation had just finished.
Police said that no arrests have been made so far and the motive of the shooting and the identities of the suspect(s) and victims were not immediately clear.
Police detained multiple people at the scene of the shooting to speak with officials, they said.
The shooting comes against the backdrop of a recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two adults dead after a suspect entered an elementary school and opened fire.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited a memorial built outside of the school to commemorate the 21 people who lost their lives following the shooting.
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Five changes Elon Musk says he'd bring to Twitter
Tesla CEO Elon Musk listed several changes he would make to Twitter pending approval of a $44 million deal from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to acquire the social media platform.
The SEC cannot reject Musk’s offer to buy Twitter based on his vision for the company. However, the federal agency can raise objections to the transaction if it believes that Musk has not been forthcoming on required disclosure forms.
The SEC could take issue with Musk’s late disclosure of his stake in Twitter as well as his constant criticism of leaders on the platform.
But while his official offer awaits approval, here are some of the potential changes Musk could make if it is finalized.
Edit button
Musk has been a proponent of a possible edit button on the platform, polling his followers in April about the potential change.
In that poll, more than 73 percent of more than 4 million respondents said they would support the edit feature.
Prior to the announcement of Musk’s multibillion-dollar deal, Twitter said it would test an edit button but noted that the decision was not from the poll.
“We’ve been working on an edit feature since last year,” Twitter said, adding, “No, we didn’t get the idea from a poll.”
Open-source algorithm
Musk has also toyed with the idea of making Twitter’s algorithm accessible to the public.
“There is so much potential with Twitter to be the most trusted & broadly inclusive forum in the world,” he tweeted earlier this month, adding later in the thread that “algorithms must be open source, with any human intervention clearly identified.”
The Tesla CEO has also polled his followers about the matter. In a group of more than 1 million participants, 83 percent of those who answered the survey said they wanted the algorithm to be open.
Even back in March, before his deal with Twitter, Musk tweeted, “I’m worried about de facto bias in ‘the Twitter algorithm’ having a major effect on public discourse.”
“The algorithm needs to be open source,” he added.
Protect users from spam accounts
In the same Twitter thread about making the platform the most “trusted” and “broadly inclusive,” Musk said, “That is why we must clear out bots, spam & scams.”
“Is something actually public opinion or just someone operating 100k fake accounts? Right now, you can’t tell,” he tweeted.
In a perhaps even stronger statement, Musk said in April, “If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!”
Twitter, meanwhile, has claimed that spam accounts make up less than 5 percent of its users.
Long-form tweets
The billionaire has also suggested the possibility of allowing longer tweets on the platform, which is known for its requirement of 280 characters per post.
In response to a lengthy Twitter thread, Musk said his “most immediate takeaway from this novella of a thread is that Twitter is *way* overdue for long form tweets!”
Reversing former President Trump’s ban and timeouts
Since Musk announced a deal to buy Twitter, questions have swirled about whether the platform, under new ownership, would permit Trump to return.
Trump was permanently banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Before the ban, many of his tweets were flagged by the platform for containing false or disputed information pertaining to the 2020 election.
The decision by the billionaire to purchase the platform was hailed by conservatives who argued that free speech would be reinstated on Twitter.
Musk remains undecided on the Trump question, though he has voiced support for returning the former president’s Twitter access.
“Even though I think a less divisive candidate would be better in 2024, I still think Trump should be restored to Twitter,” Musk tweeted earlier this month.
Musk has reiterated this opinion off the social media platform as well.
“I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme,” he said at the Financial Times’s “Future of the Car” event.
“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake,” he added. “It alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
In terms of bans more broadly, Musk has said he would be “very cautious” on permanent bans and thinks “timeouts” are potentially a better option.
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Pentagon reports high levels of 'forever chemicals' in drinking water near bases
The Defense Department is reporting high levels of toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water near several of its bases, according to new data released by the department.
Drinking water testing near bases in Washington state, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan found levels of the chemicals well above a health threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
PFAS is the name for a group of thousands of chemicals, some of which have been linked to health issues such as kidney and testicular cancer and liver damage.
The substances have been used in products such as firefighting foam, which is used by the military. For this reason, PFAS can be found near military bases and can contaminate nearby water.
They are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they build up in the human body and environment instead of breaking down over time.
While it has long been known that PFAS have leached into groundwater near military installations, the new data provides an official glimpse into how it is impacting nearby drinking water.
While the EPA has said that levels of two types of PFAS called PFOA and PFOS should not exceed 70 parts per trillion (ppt) — and states have called for even lower levels — findings at some of the bases far exceed that.
One assessment from October found a sample of drinking water near the Naval Air Station at Washington State’s Whidbey Island contained 4,720 ppt of PFOS. In September, a sample containing 208 ppt of PFOA was detected.
Meanwhile, a drinking water sample near Washington state’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord Yakima Training Center was found to have 800 ppt of PFOS in January. A separate sample from January at the base was found to have 130 ppt of PFOA.
A sample from near Pennsylvania’s Willow Grove base was found to have 864 ppt of PFOS in October.
Meanwhile an August sample from around Florida’s Naval Air Station Whiting Field was found to have 206 ppt of PFOA in August. A sample from December was found to have 130 ppt of PFOS.
A November sample from Michigan’s Camp Grayling Army Airfield was found to have 119 ppt of PFOA.
“These levels are extremely high,” Jared Hayes, policy analyst at the Environmental Working Group, said in a statement.
“For too long, service members and people living in communities near military installations have been the victims of the Pentagon’s failure to act,” Hayes added.
A Department of Defense (DOD) spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment. but the findings note that where PFOA or PFOS levels exceeded the EPA’s advisory as a result of department activities, the DOD “immediately took actions to address the drinking water exposure.”
The department was required to disclose the drinking water testing under fiscal 2022’s National Defense Authorization Act.
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Equilibrium/Sustainability — WHO says tobacco industry endangers environment
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report Sunday that found the cultivation and distribution of tobacco may be wreaking havoc on the global environment.
The tobacco industry’s carbon footprint from production, processing and transportation is equivalent to one-fifth of the carbon dioxide generated by the commercial airline sector each year, the global health body found.
The report, released on World No Tobacco Day, revealed that the tobacco industry costs the world more than 8 million human lives, 600 million trees and 200,000 hectares of forest (494,000 acres).
And most of that tobacco is cultivated in low- and middle-income countries, where water and farmland are sorely needed to produce food, according to WHO.
“Tobacco products are the most littered item on the planet, containing over 7,000 toxic chemicals, which leech into our environment when discarded,” Ruediger Krech, director of health promotion at WHO, said in a statement.
WHO officials called upon countries and cities to follow the examples of cities like San Francisco and countries like France and Spain to enact legislation that holds the tobacco industry responsible for cleaning up the pollution it creates.
Welcome to Equilibrium, a newsletter that tracks the growing global battle over the future of sustainability. We’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Send us tips and feedback. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.
Today we’ll hear some thoughts from Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) on how he says the West can cope with ongoing drought conditions and environmental challenges. Then we’ll look at how the global return to coal is eroding that fuel’s reputation as a cheap alternative — with contradictory climate results.
Polis: West must boost water efficiency
With ongoing drought conditions looming over the western U.S., Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) said that empowering local agencies to drive state-level policy could be instrumental in ensuring a more certain water future.
“This is really one of the biggest issues that our western states face,” Polis continued, referring to the drought.
Equilibrium spoke with the governor last week about both the future of the Democratic party ahead of the midterm elections and the most pressing sustainability issues that the U.S. West is confronting. The threat of drought was front and center.
Regional collaboration: Polis said that he regularly meets with members of the Western Governors Association, through which he and his colleagues discuss how states can collaborate on this issue.
“It’s a question of making sure we have a dynamic and strong future for [agriculture] production in our states,” he said, noting that such production will be coupled with the needs “of fast-growing cities and suburbs.”
Best practices, maximizing quality of life: “What that means is implementing best practices in agriculture, around soil health, around more efficient water usage, looking at new and better technology, and of course in the urban and suburban areas, more water efficiency without sacrificing our quality of life,” Polis added.
Local water projects: Just last week, the governor signed two water bills focused on decreasing groundwater use and financing water conservation projects, Colorado Newsline reported.
The first bill will allocate $60 million of federal COVID-19 relief funds for curbing groundwater use, while the second provides millions of dollars for local water infrastructure projects approved by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, according to Newsline.
Elevating local agencies in state policy: Polis said that these “really creative, ground-up projects,” which join a series of other recent water initiatives, will enable “better stewardship of our water.”
“They were from the water basins themselves elevated to the state — not the state legislature telling any part of our state what to do,” the governor said.
“They were from the water contacts in the communities saying this is what we need to provide for a more water secure future,” he added.
Sustainable living: Asked whether he might consider mandatory water cutbacks, a possibility that has been under debate in California, Polis only said that the discussion in Colorado focuses on “how we can reduce water usage and live in a sustainable way in a growing state.”
This means evaluating public spaces, decreasing water usage, promoting xeriscaping and increasing water efficiency, “which also saves the residents money on their water bills,” according to the governor.
CURBING AIR POLLUTION WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Polis recognized that the West also faces a battle to mitigate air pollution, maintaining that there are “really bright skies on the horizon.”
While air pollution comes from a variety of sources, the governor pinpointed transportation as the main culprit.
But he expressed optimism about a prospective shift, noting that last month, 13 percent of the vehicles sold in Colorado were electric.
Shifting toward electric vehicles: “This transition is happening rapidly,” Polis said. “We’re working to accelerate it — moving towards replacing nearly every school bus in the state with an electric school bus within five years.”
State and consumer action: Polis touted a bipartisan state infrastructure bill that helped build out fast charging stations across Colorado, as well as a partnership to install charging stations at all state parks.
But he attributed much of this shift to consumers, whom he described as “really embracing the lower costs and better reliability.”
A boost from D.C. could help further: Colorado may be a forerunner in the country’s electric vehicle transition, but Polis stressed that such advances could “go even further with the right kind of climate package out of Washington.”
“I particularly hope that Congress can come together around a climate package that accelerates the electric vehicle transition,” he said.
To read about Polis’s strategies for staying resilient in a “purplish” state, click here.
New reliance on coal causes cost spike
From the EU and U.S. to India and China, the mission to slow climate change is being delayed by a surging reliance on coal, a carbon-polluting fuel that has proven necessary to keep lights and air conditioning on in the face of rising summer temperatures.
But that sudden growth in demand is robbing coal of its usual competitive advantage over both renewables and methane — the biggest component of natural gas.
Backing off climate promises: In Europe, the British government announced Monday that it would keep coal plants open this winter that it had intended to close, Reuters reported.
And Germany will keep online several coal-fired plants till 2024 as “reserve power” in case of further disruptions to supplies from Russia, The New York Times reported.
Surging price: The rise in demand has Central Appalachian coal (a key U.S. benchmark) is currently trading at $125 per ton. This cost is about 40 percent above where it was before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more than twice where it was this time in 2021, according to Nasdaq.
That works out to about $58 per megawatt hour, which is just below the current $60 per megawatt hour price of methane, based on calculations by energy analytics firm RBN Energy.
Expect those prices to keep climbing: They could hit $500 per ton worldwide by the end of 2022, Reuters reported early this week.
That is the equivalent of $29 per megawatt hour in gas prices, according to RBN’s formula.
Newly cost-competitive: Renewables are now cheaper than coal and methane. The price for a new solar installation is around $25 per megawatt hour, according to analysis from S&P Global.
That’s less than half the current price to run an existing coal plant, which is why India is planning to ramp down its use of 81 coal plants over the next four years while it stands up new renewable capacity, the southwestern Indian daily Deccan Herald reported.
But that will take time: For now, India is still facing power shortages as its existing coal plants starve, according to Times Now, part of the country’s Times media group.
INDIA AND CHINA TREAT CLIMATE CRISIS WITH MORE COAL
Few countries are as dependent on coal as China and India — respectively the world’s first- and second-ranked consumer, importers and producers, according to the Deccan Herald.
With electricity demand rising before summer alongside global coal prices, both countries are beefing up their internal supplies — with potentially grievous global climate costs.
Going big at home: Beijing is planning 169 new coal mines — 76 percent of all new global coal capacity — as part of an emergency coal surge in response to last year’s power crisis, according to the South China Morning Post.
And India’s Power Ministry intends to increase coal output by 100 million tons, according to Power Magazine.
That’s the equivalent of about 43 million gas-powered cars, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Don’t forget the methane: In addition to the carbon dioxide released from burning that coal, the surge in coal production is also likely to be responsible for a huge surge in the potent climate pollutant methane, The Washington Post reported.
The methane emissions from China’s new coal projects could hit 6 million tons per year, according to estimates from environmental nonprofit Global Energy Monitor.
That’s the equivalent of emissions from 32 million cars or 19 million homes, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
A brutal irony: India wouldn’t have its current power shortages if Delhi had just kept to its promises made before the pivotal 2015 U.N. climate agreement was signed in Paris to install 175 gigawatts of new renewable power by 2030, according to Indian environmental nonprofit Climate Risk Horizons.
Not just India: Germany’s current power woes, which have Berlin returning to coal as well, also rose in part from failures to meet its own clean energy goals, according to the New York Times.
Transport Tuesday
A green vision for the future of railways, Egypt to get rail network to rival U.S. Northeast and shortages in a cheap part bolster the case for electric cars.
Getting railways ready for a more sustainable future
- As the passenger railway approaches its 200th anniversary in 2025, a CNN commentary took a look at how future railroads could — and should — offer “sustainable mobility in a world facing the challenges of climate change,” including with driverless trains.
High speed rail from Red Sea to Mediterranean
- German company Siemens is building the world’s sixth-largest high-speed rail line in Egypt, with a network of 60 cities linked by carbon-reducing electric trains capable of travel at 140 miles per hour, CNBC reported.
For want of a harness, an engine is lost
- Shortages of wire harnesses — a “humble” part that bundles cables together in internal combustion engine cars — are accelerating a long-term global switch to electric vehicles, Reuters reported. That’s easier said than done.
Please visit The Hill’s Sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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Supreme Court temporarily blocks Texas social media law
A Texas law that would bar social media companies from taking action on hate speech and disinformation was temporarily blocked Tuesday in a rare 5-4 Supreme Court ruling.
Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer ruled in favor of tech industry groups looking to block the law, with Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Elena Kagan dissenting from the ruling majority.
The decision is a win for tech industry groups pushing back on laws coming from Republican-controlled state legislatures that seek to put barriers on social media companies’ ability to moderate content.
A case on the law itself may wind up back before the Supreme Court as it makes its way through challenges in lower courts. But Tuesday’s decision means the law — which critics have said could lead to a more dangerous internet — will remain blocked for now in Texas, reversing a decision from a court of appeals earlier this month.
This is a developing story
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New survey: More than 4 in 10 US adults who needed substance use and mental health care didn’t get care
An alarming number of people cope with a substance use or mental health challenge.
The number of adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder nearly tripled during the pandemic, from 11.0 percent in 2019 to 31.6 percent in the fall of 2021, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 11 reported that drug overdose deaths increased 15 percent in 2021 to nearly 108,000 deaths.
New data released today reveals another alarming fact: 43 percent of U.S. adults who say they needed substance use or mental health care in the past 12 months did not receive that care, according to a national survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
So, why aren’t we doing more to help people overcome substance use and mental health challenges? As we observe Mental Health Awareness Month throughout May, we must work harder to answer that question.
While 43 percent of U.S. adults who say they needed substance use or mental health care in the past 12 months did not receive that care, just 21 percent of those who needed primary care and did not receive it, according to data from the new report, 2022 Access to Care Survey.
There is no health without mental health, and we must eliminate barriers to access.
Majorities of U.S. adults who needed care cited difficulties getting it, including those who did receive care. The primary barriers to access for those with unmet needs for substance use or mental health challenges over the past 12 months include cost-related issues (no insurance, out-of-pocket costs, 31 percent and 37 percent, respectively), the inability to find a conveniently located provider (22 percent and 28 percent, respectively) and the inability to get an appointment immediately when they needed care (31 percent and 25 percent, respectively).
Those who did receive substance use or mental health care over the past 12 months also cited difficulties in getting that care:
- 81 percent of U.S. adults who received substance use care had trouble getting care.
- 67 percent of U.S. adults who received mental health care experienced difficulties getting care.
The survey also found that nearly 3 in 5 U.S. adults believe it is easier (59 percent) and faster (59 percent) to get substance use or mental health care if you pay out-of-pocket versus using insurance.In addition, 71 percent of U.S. adults would be more likely to get substance use or mental health care if they could receive it through their primary care doctor, if they needed it, and 67 percent think it’s harder to find a mental health care provider than it is to find a physical health care provider.
So, what can we do? Our will to correct these problems and help people find the care they need and deserve must be stronger than the challenges we face. We cannot be mentally well and actively thriving if we are unable to access services.
The industry has difficulty fulfilling the need for treatment in communities across the country due to a shortage of mental health and substance use professionals. Communities need more substance use and mental health professionals. The lack of psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, social workers, case managers and more limits the ability to provide care.
Passing the bipartisan Mental Health Access Improvement Act (S. 828/H.R. 432) would allow marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors receive reimbursement from Medicare for their services. Passing the Promoting Effective and Empowering Recovery Services (PEERS) in Medicare Act (S. 2144/H.R. 2767) would allow peer support specialists to participate in providing integrated mental health services, the care coordinated by both primary and behavioral health clinicians, to Medicare beneficiaries.
We can also permanently lift restrictions on telehealth. During the pandemic, many organizations quickly transitioned from in-person services to telehealth and technology-assisted services, and this increased use of technology is expected to continue.
We can continue to invest in Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) by passing the Excellence Act (S. 2069/H.R. 4323). CCBHCs provide a full array of services and supports, integrated with primary care and coordinated with other social service providers, reduce wait times, expand states’ capacity to address the overdose crisis and establish innovative partnerships with law enforcement, schools and hospitals to improve care, reduce recidivism and prevent hospital readmissions.
Finally, stigma represents a significant barrier. We must overcome the fear and discrimination that so often prevent people from seeking treatment. Acknowledging the need for treatment provides hope that mental wellbeing — thriving regardless of a mental health or substance use challenge — is within reach.
The opportunity to be healthy and achieve wellbeing eludes many people. But we have so many opportunities to improve care for those with substance use and mental health challenges. As we observe Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s take advantage of those opportunities.
Our mental wellbeing depends on it.
Chuck Ingoglia is president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
Source: TEST FEED1
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LA Sparks center denies Australian media reporting that she used racial slurs
WNBA player Liz Cambage is denying allegations that she referred to members of the Nigerian national women’s team as “monkeys” during a scrimmage prior to the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Sunday, Cambage, an Australian whose father hails from Nigeria, said she had not used racial slurs toward the Nigerian team.
“I did not use the racial slur towards the Nigerian team that has been circulating,” said Cambage, who did apologize for a physical altercation that took place during the scrimmage between the Australian and Nigerian teams.
“After I unintentionally fouled a Nigerian player on court I was then physically assaulted by this player on the sideline of my bench,” Cambage wrote.
“I was hit in the face and pushed to the ground but I walked away. Prior to the game I asked to sit out because I was concerned about my mental and physical health, which I have addressed publicly.”
“This is not an excuse or justification to the events that unfolded or my actions, however, I feel that a full picture of the environment that led to this outcome must be shared,” she added.
The Los Angeles Sparks center’s remarks come as Australian news outlet The Daily Telegraph obtained a video on Sunday that showed a Nigerian player being elbowed by Cambage during a closed scrimmage between her Australia national women’s team and African national team last year prior to the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The physical altercation reportedly continued with another Nigerian player reportedly being slapped by Cambage before, according to the Telegraph, she shouted racist obscenities toward them.
“Go back to your third world country,” Cambage reportedly told the Nigerian team, also referring to them as “monkeys,” according to the Daily Telegraph. Several unidentified Nigerian players confirmed to the newspaper that the incident happened.
“That’s what I recall, the term monkeys, yes. And go back to where you came from,” one Nigerian national team player told The Daily Telegraph. “She definitely did use monkeys or monkey.”
The reported altercation led the scrimmage to be called off early by Australian team officials.
ESPN reported last November that Cambage wasn’t fined or suspended for the incident after a review from Australia’s independent panel on the matter.
This comes as Cambage, a four-time WNBA All-Star, previously said at a media conference that the Australian national team never protected her or wanted her to be “the best she can be.”
Source: TEST FEED1