Yesterday, some guy representing the state of West Virginia changed his mind and decided his grandkids deserved to live on a habitable planet. Joe Manchin, in a turnaround, agreed to support additional funding for climate protection programs and tax increases, citing the possibility that they will reduce inflation rates. While democrats pat themselves on the back and claim the Inflation Reduction Act was all a product of their hard work, I’m wondering what member of Manchin’s family was taken hostage by environmental activists. In seriousness, Americans criticize other countries for their lack of freedoms and pride themselves on their representative democracy, but how effective is a system when one humble, yacht-residing gentleman from West Virginia has the power to shift climate change policy overnight?
If this inflation reduction bill gets passed, which is still far from guaranteed, it would allow modest investment in alternative energy sources like wind and solar, in hopes of eventually cutting emissions by 40% of 2005 levels. The exact terms of this bill are still hazy, but the climate won’t wait to find out exactly what false promises governments are making. While this bill is argued and discussed, temperatures will continue rising, storms will keep getting stronger, and fires will continue to spread and grow.
Side Items
JetBlue (a bottom 3 airline) announced plans to buy Spirit Airlines (also bottom 3) for nearly $4B, creating the fifth largest airline in the country and guaranteeing our continued access to their absolute dogshit services
Biden’s back to work after allegedly recovering from Covid. No word yet on the administration’s efforts to combat the disease’s elongated brother, long Covid, (probably cuz they all know Biden’s got the shelf life of an avocado)
The US has officially proposed a prisoner exchange with Russia for WNBA star Brittney Griner and a marine imprisoned on espionage charges. In exchange, Russia would like the return of an arms dealer with a pretty top-tier nickname.