What Has Joe Biden Done For You Lately? – CleanTechnica

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Joe Biden is getting kicked around pretty hard after what can only be described as a disastrous performance in a TV debate at the end of June. It is fair to say that Biden dug a pretty big hole for himself and jumped straight into it. Suddenly, every pundit and internet hero is questioning whether Biden still has what it takes to be president. It’s not just that he had a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face during that debacle, he also tends to walk like an old man because of creaky knees and neuropathy in his feet. Suddenly people are alarmed because an 81-year-old man is looking, talking, and acting very much like an 81-year-old man. Oh, the horror!

There is a famous anecdote about a mayor of a small town who is shocked when he hears one of his supporters say he is voting for another candidate in the next election. “Didn’t I get you a job in the public works department last year?” he asks. “Yes, you did,” the man replies. “And didn’t I get your wife a job at the library last month? he asks. “Yes, you did,” the man replies. “And didn’t I get your son a summer job last week?” he asks. “Yes, you did,” the man replies. “So, why would you vote for anyone else?” he asks. “Mr. Mayor, what have you done for me lately?” the man asks.

That got me thinking. A president, of course, is an important leader, but he always has a large team of cabinet members and department heads to help set policy and then see that it is implemented. So I asked the gods of Google to tell me what exactly Joe Biden has done for us lately. They found a White House web page that has a pretty extensive list. Here’s part of it.

• Advanced cutting edge research on cancer and other diseases through the ARPA-H initiative
• Signed legislation to put more cops on the beat and invest in community policing
• Signed the Electoral Count Act, which takes long overdue steps to protect the integrity of our elections
• Lowered the cost of hearing aids by making them available over the counter
• Created more manufacturing jobs in 2022 than in any single year in nearly 30 years
• Signed an Executive Order to encourage competition across industries
• Took action to lower energy costs for families
• Lowered seniors’ health care expenses, including by capping out of pocket expenses on prescription drugs for seniors at $2,000 per year, ensuring that people enrolled in Medicare will not pay more than $35 for a month’s supply of insulin, and recipients will receive free vaccines
• Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles by reducing costs for families, jumpstarted the first national EV charging network, and made historic investments into EV batteries and materials
• Rejoined the Paris Agreement on day one to reassert the United States global leadership to combat the climate crisis
• Jump started the American offshore wind industry and convened the nation’s first federal-state offshore wind partnership
• Set new policies to reduce super pollutants like HFCs and methane to protect communities and reduce emissions fueling climate change
• Lowered the deficit with the single largest annual reduction in American history
• Secured commitments from 20 leading internet providers to increase speeds and cut prices
• Signed legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act
• Awarded the most ever federal contracting dollars to small businesses and disadvantaged small businesses
• Reignited the Cancer Moonshot with the goal of cutting the cancer death rate by at least half over the next 25 years
• Appointed a record number of women and people of color to serve in his Administration
• Hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years and released a National Strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities by 2030
• Awarded more than $1 billion to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites, over $250 million to clean up hundreds of contaminated brownfield sites and $725 million for abandoned mine lands
• Restored protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments and designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument to conserve our lands and waters, honor our nation’s veterans, protect Tribal cultural resources, and support jobs and America’s outdoor recreation economy
• Signed an Executive Order on Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
• Invested historic funding for Tribal governments and Native communities
• Mailed over 740 million free COVID-19 tests directly to tens of millions of Americans

Choose Biden, Save 4 Billion Tons Of Climate Warming Emissions

According to an analysis by Carbon Brief, a victory for Donald Trump in the next presidential election could lead to an additional 4 billion tons of US emissions by 2030 compared with the results expected from a continuation of the Biden climate agenda. That extra 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 would cause global climate damages worth more than $900 billion, based on the latest US government valuations.

For context, 4Gt CO2e is equivalent to the combined annual emissions of the EU and Japan, or the combined annual total of the world’s 140 lowest-emitting countries. Put another way, the extra 4Gt CO2e from a second Trump term would negate — twice over — all of the savings from deploying wind, solar and other clean technologies around the world over the past five years (emphasis added). If Trump secures a second term, the US would also very likely miss its global climate pledge by a wide margin, with emissions only falling to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030. The US’s current target under the Paris Agreement is to achieve a 50 to 52% reduction by 2030.

Carbon Brief’s analysis is based on an aggregation of modeling by various US research groups. It highlights the significant impact of the Biden administration’s climate policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act — which Trump has pledged to reverse — along with several other policies. The findings are subject to uncertainty around economic growth, fuel and technology prices, the market response to incentives and the extent to which Trump is able to roll back Biden’s policies. The analysis might overstate the impact Trump could have on US emissions, if some of Biden’s policies prove hard to unpick — or if sub-national climate action accelerates.

Equally, it might understate Trump’s impact. For example, his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” is not included within the analysis and would likely raise US and global emissions further through the increased extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal. Also not included are the potential for Biden to add new climate policies if he wins a second term, nor the risk that some of his policies will be weakened, delayed, or hit by legal challenges. Regardless of the precise impact, a second Trump term that successfully dismantles Biden’s climate legacy would likely end any global hopes of keeping global warming below 1.5° C (emphasis added).

Consider The Supreme Court

I have maintained for 30 years that the policies presidents enact last for a few years, but the people they appoint to the Supreme Court cast a shadow across America for 40 years — or more. Clarence Thomas is 76 years old; Sam Alito is 74. It is more likely than not that both would retire during a second Trump term in order to allow two new radical right wing judges to be appointed, thereby securing a rabid reactionary court for the next 40 years — or more.

The Takeaway

It is fair to say that it would be nice to have a young, vigorous president like John F. Kennedy instead of an old, broken down Joe Biden. In a perfect world, who wouldn’t? But we don’t live in a perfect world and are faced with a choice that many are unhappy with. So be it. The facts are that Biden and his team have done more for Americans than any president this century and will continue to push for policies that benefit all Americans — not just the wealthy. He will also accelerate the push for clean energy and clean transportation to lower the US carbon footprint.

Is Biden the best possible choice? No, he is not. But given the realities of the moment we are in, he is the best choice for president this November. Please vote responsibly.