Republican legislators are threatening to punish corporations that are trying to fight climate change. (1 Viewer)

[timschochet]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/07/12/republicans-threaten-wall-street-over-climate-positions/
 

Unlike @IvanKaramazov, I don’t think it’s un-American to attempt to penalize anyone who disagrees with policies regarded as important- be it corporations, or states or people. It’s been done, peacefully,  all throughout our history. So I have no condemnation for these Republican legislators. 
 

That being said, the battle lines are drawn. If you believe that we have to fight climate change (as I do) then what they’re doing here is not a good idea. On the other hand, if you think that our energy rising costs are of so much concern that we need to ignore climate change and allow the oil and gas companies full speed ahead, as  apparently Tom Cotton does, then that’s the approach you should support. But this is the debate we’re going to be having. 

 

[Max Power]

I'm a firm believer that we need to export our pollution to other countries at an increased cost to us. 

 

[Stoneworker]

There is $550 billion in climate funding teed up via budget reconciliation.

Whether the Democrats can get their house in order and pass that funding prior to the midterms is the only meaningful debate to be having at this juncture.

The GOP's beef with Wall Street is just typical climate squabbling that has been going on ad nauseam for over 20 years. Nothing meaningful one way or the other.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Thanks for tagging me.  I'm happy to be consistent on this point -- of course this is un-American.  It's un-American when Ron DeSantis does it, it's un-American when Trump does it, and it's un-American when you do it.  Hope this helps.

 

[SoBeDad]

Boycott and cancel culture  fatigue setting in. Most boycotts are unsuccessful, but some are. PETA protests of furs comes to mind. And the Montgomery bus boycotts led to a SC decision. 

Government led boycotts that come to mind are not effective and even counter productive. The CA boycott of state funded travel to about 20 LGBTQ unfriendly states has a negative impact on business, although in todays virtual post-COVID world, not so much. The WP article says a similar Texas boycott of Sachs and Chase related to guns and oil cost the state hundreds of millions in lost interest. The 60 year embargo of Cuba gave Castro an excuse for his failures. Speaking of oil, we should be in Venezuela.

Climate change is an existential threat to the planet. I support a boycott of the meat industry, equally for ethical and environmental reasons. Plant-based meals have a lower carbon footprint than animal-based meals. However, a more effective approach is to engage naive people with options on Meatless Mondays and Plant Powered Fridays. Newsome is investing hundreds of millions to train school employees how to make tasty plant-based meals beyond just PBJ.

I hadn't heard about the Texas boycott of Chase & Sachs, so it probably was unsuccessful in addition to being costly for the state. I imagine the Arkansas cancel of corporations will have the same fate. Question for Cotton: did you support the proposed rollback of  fuel economy standards enacted under President Donald Trump?

 

[timschochet]

Thanks for tagging me.  I'm happy to be consistent on this point -- of course this is un-American.  It's un-American when Ron DeSantis does it, it's un-American when Trump does it, and it's un-American when you do it.  Hope this helps.

I’m happy to consistently disagree with you on each point. 

 

[Stealthycat]

On the other hand, if you think that our energy rising costs are of so much concern that we need to ignore climate change and allow the oil and gas companies full speed ahead

you can be pro-energy, looking for a smooth, unforced transition to cleaner energy in the future WITHOUT ignoring anything

we in the USA have come a long way on pollutions, we'll continue to in the future ... and even if the USA were 100% clean, the other countries in the world would continue to pollute anyway, its not like the USA can save the planet

 

[The Commish]

Being climate friendly is incredibly costly.  Companies aren't doing it of their own fruition.  They are being dragged along.  Any "progress" we make is because we are dragging them down the road kicking and screaming in 95% of the cases.