I read the staff-authored article (rightly) excoriating the Republicans for the sturdiness of their denial bubbles in the face of these heat domes. So sturdy that these Congresscritters are trying to tear down Biden’s far-reaching energy transition legislation (aka the Inflation Reduction Act et al), really the only such federal initiatives in our history.
Worthy of derision, yes. But, given that the House is controlled by QAnon admirers, and the Senate is on the brink of control by fossil fuel investors, is derision all we got?
Let’s imagine what Biden could do on his own to treat this heat (and the likely repeat next year) as the emergency it is, by declaring a federal emergency of national scope, and mobilize as such:
(Note I don’t know how much of this can be done, and to what scope, under current executive authority, but I’d like to see Biden push hard on as many of these boundaries as possible as soon as possible. And I don’t even want to hear about the costs. Can you imagine the costs, human and material, if we start doing this in 10 years? Haven’t we already reached the point where we have no choice?)
- Open shelters in every affected region (um, pretty much everywhere in the U.S.) for the homeless and those who cannot afford adequate cooling and/or water. The big things to provide: open, 24-hour access, AC, water, and security. I’d love to commandeer empty rentals and office space for the purpose, but the revolution has not arrived yet, so we’ll probably have to settle for the usual high schools and other temporary shelters.
- Expand heating assistance programs to provide cooling assistance, and expand eligibility. Don’t forget that these programs include funding for equipment upgrades to meet the need.
- Provide crop insurance premium waivers and expedited claims to those affected by the heat, and by water shortages. Again, almost every producer. This is a lot of money.
- Create a category of crop insurance claim that calls for (often temporary) agrivoltaic installations where appropriate. Even crops that don’t require and thrive under shade could use help with this heat. Do similar with water-preservation measures (upgrades to more water-efficient irrigation equipment, measures to prevent evaporation and waste, etc.)
- Direct the appropriate manufacturers (under the auspices of the same emergency authority that can tell GM to make tanks instead of cars in times of war) to aim at the energy transition. If you can make electric vehicles, heat pumps, water heaters, stoves, power tools, generators, industrial equipment, etc. instead of their gasoline- or diesel- or fuel oil- or natural-gas powered equivalents, you’re doing it now to meet the emergency. And if you can make batteries, electronics, parts for solar panels, parts for wind turbines, etc, you’re in, too. And if you have plans to start making such things, here’s federal money to expedite the necessary capital investment.
- Prioritize water use to the extent possible. Expand watering bans, curtail production of non-food, non-essential goods that require large quantities of water
- Prioritize and manage existing federally-funded construction projects, especially in transportation, to choose opening up existing roads over maintenance and expansion, at least until September. Maybe you need to lean on emergency air quality measures to get this done.
These are just a few off the top of my head, but you get the idea. Executive emergency powers can be used in a wide geographic, time, and financial scope, and we need to recognize the hottest months ever, everywhere as an emergency demanding such mobilization, even moreso than being at war.
