Image my Ken Lund<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n
On July 24, the world\u2019s first named heatwave \u2014 Category 3 Zoe \u2014 hit Seville, Spain, with temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, signaling a new level of awareness of the tragic course the world\u2019s climate is headed down. Los Angeles, with more than 2 million people considered \u201chighly vulnerable,\u201d is one of half a dozen cities poised to follow Seville\u2019s example with a new life-saving alert system, but we\u2019re farther behind many European cities when it comes to a deeper response: changing our built environment to a more climate-resilient mode.<\/span><\/p>\nTriple-digits heat waves as far north as England blanketed Europe throughout June and July along with North Africa and the Middle East, bringing a wave of wildfires as well. In Portugal and Spain alone, deaths had topped 1,700 according to the World Health Organization, even before Zoe hit.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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East Asia and North America were hit as well, with persistent triple digits in the Pacific Northwest.<\/span><\/p>\nIn the midst of all this, Joe Biden\u2019s efforts to pass climate legislation were abruptly derailed on July 14, when West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin withdrew his support \u2014 highlighting concerns about inflation \u2014 only to reverse course 13 days later, announcing support for a renamed \u201cInflation Reduction Act\u201d that contains $369 billion in climate investments \u2014 substantially less than the $555 billion passed by the House of Representatives last fall, a figure that was already a compromise.<\/span><\/p>\nUsing inflation first to kill climate legislation and then to sell it highlights a profound absurdity. Inflation today is a global phenomena, largely resulting from the pandemic and pandemics, in turn, will become increasingly common as a result of further global warming. The shifting of wildlife ranges \u201cposes a measurable threat to global health, particularly given several recent epidemics and pandemics of viruses that originate in wildlife,\u201d according to a recently-published article in <\/span>Nature<\/span><\/i>. So delaying climate action on account of inflation only increases future harm from inflation \u2014 along with the more deadly aspect of pandemics, and the enormous costs they entail.<\/span><\/p>\nIRA Still Points to Uncertain Future<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Although passage isn\u2019t assured, the IRA would easily be the most substantial climate legislation ever.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThis is a game changer,\u201d said Dr. Leah Stokes, a climate-focused political scientist who advised Senate Democrats in negotiations. \u201cIt would get us 80% of the way to President Biden\u2019s climate goal,\u201d she tweeted. And it would answer Manchin\u2019s concerns: \u201cThis bill will cut energy costs for everyday Americans. 41% of inflation is driven by fossil fuels,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe bill will help Americans buy clean energy technologies, like EVs, solar and heat pumps, which will lower their energy bills every month.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nBut even 100% would not be enough, as this summer\u2019s heatwaves underscore that catastrophic impacts are arriving much sooner than expected, which means an even greater need to invest in mitigation and adaptation in addition to clean energy transition. Phasing out fossil fuels won\u2019t be enough.<\/span><\/p>\nSome of that is addressed in the bill, including good news for us locally. \u201cThis bill also contains key environmental justice investments \u2014 and at $60 billion it will be the largest EJ investment in American history,\u201d Stokes noted. \u201cThere\u2019s funding to clean up ports, set up community grants, and clean up dirty vehicles that hit communities of color the hardest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe 710 Freeway as Microcosm<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n A microcosm of what lies ahead can be seen in the 710 Corridor planning process following the abandonment of the freeway expansion we reported on in June. That decision was monumental, according to Commissioner Joe Lyou, California Transportation Commission, president of Coalition for Clean Air and 710 Task Force member.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re witnessing a profound and systemic shift in how we think about and act on transportation in California. The 710 freeway \u2014 both north and south \u2014 is a good example of that.\u201d Lyou told <\/span>Random Lengths News<\/span><\/i>. \u201cNow we need to deal with the huge backlog of historic projects planned long before our thinking shifted from car-centric freeway building to a much greater focus on mobility, equity, air quality, and climate protection. Fixing these problematic pipeline projects will require commitment, persistence, leadership, money and lots of hard work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nBut even as big-picture thinking has begun to change, old habits die hard, especially when powerful interests are involved. Although 710 funding is unrelated to the IRA, the struggle to shape an equitable future involves many of the outstanding major issues on a down-to-earth scale. European cities like Munich start off less auto-dependent and plan to become even less so. Munich\u2019s 860 acres Freiham district plan will create an ecodistrict with 15,000 jobs, a mix of homes for 25,000, schools, daycare, cafes, shops, car-free streets, parks and courtyards, all combined with high capacity transit.<\/span><\/p>\nNo American city plans anything like this, but the revised 710 project represents progress in that direction, with guiding principles of equity and sustainability. The equity principle is stated as \u201cA commitment to: (1) strive to rectify past harms; (2) provide fair and just access to opportunities; and 3) eliminate disparities in project processes, outcomes, and community results.\u201d The sustainability principle is defined as \u201cDevelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe see the vision for this project as supporting sustainable communities by enhancing health and quality of life of residents,\u201d Fernando Gaytan, an Earthjustice attorney told <\/span>Random Lengths<\/span><\/i>. \u201cThat for us is the most important guiding principle because it encapsulates each of the other goals of improving air quality, mobility, safety, economy and protecting the environment. But it also centers the critical role that community plays in making sure that each of the goals are carried out in a way that repairs past harms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nStanding in the way of that, Gaytan said, \u201cThe biggest obstacle that we\u2019re going to face, in carrying out that principle is the insistence on really catering to the needs of industries that have really laid claim to the 710 as a freight corridor, without recognizing their culpability in creating the very inequities that we now have an opportunity to address through this re-envisioning of the 710.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
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