You may have noticed that in recent weeks, the Biden administration has been rolling out a hell of a lot of new regulations. Earlier this month it wasĀ big student loan reformsĀ and aĀ massive improvement in how public lands are managed, then this week we hadĀ better pay and working conditionsĀ for working Americans,Ā minimum staffing ratiosĀ for nursing homes, and evenĀ improved service on airlines.

Thatā€™s not only because itā€™s an election year, though Joe & Kamala certainly do like to point out that where the Other Guy rages (andĀ wants to raise inflation!) theyā€™ve been busy making Americansā€™ lives better. But the bigger reason is that the administration wants to get new rules finalized prior to May, toĀ keep them from being tossed out in the next CongressĀ via the Congressional Review Act, which Donald Trump and his cronies used to reverse a bunch of Barack Obamaā€™s environmental regulations.

. . . The requirement that coal plants find a way to eliminate 90 percent of their emissions by 2032 effectively accelerates the end of coal for power generation, which was inevitable anyway. Roughly 70 percent of US coal plants have already closed, and last year,Ā coal generated only 16 percentĀ of electric power, a new record low. In addition to the emissions rule,Ā three other final rulesĀ alsoĀ impose strict new limits on mercury, coal ash, and pollution of wastewater,Ā to put an end to the environmental degradation caused by coal.

. . . The other option, obviously, would be for utilities to meet coming demand with renewables, as administration officials pointed out when previewing the new rule. Thanks to the IRAā€™s hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives, carbon-free power generation, including battery storage,Ā already beats the cost of building new gas plants.Ā Going forward, the administration is confident renewables will be the far more cost-effective and reliable way to meet increasing demand by 2032, when the emissions limits fully kick in.

  • mlg@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Bidenā€™s entire stance on climate change went out the window when his administration started chasing China in a trade war over cheap eco technology like batteries and solar panels because we obviously canā€™t save the planet without making billions for american megacorps first.

    Chinaā€™s overproduction of clean energy goods needs to be mitigated, Yellen says

    Also trying to do the same national rail program as Obama which went nowhere because surprise surprise the rail industry in the USA is also monopolized and unregulated. Canā€™t utilize that sweet anti trust law when it actually matters.

    None of these changes qualify as reforms, theyā€™re just half assed pork barrel projects for election year.

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Literally nothing is ever good enough rofl

      Joe Biden could personally cure cancer and you fucks would complain that he hasnā€™t cured influenza too.

      • mlg@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        If you wanna make that type of comparison, Joe Biden is offering a crappy pain reliever for a million dollars a bottle, giving federal funds to a random healthcare CEO, and banning import medicine that can actually cure cancer. But donā€™t worry because that pain reliever is ā€œprogressā€ and is much better than none at all.

        Why the hell would I be complaining if any of these initiatives actually made significant changes in our system?

        My exact complaint is that itā€™s nothing but election shilling, meaning he hasnā€™t met the minimum standard of good enough.

        Good enough would have been announcing these plans 3 years ago so his administration could actually follow through. Not handing morbillions to the rail industry expecting something to magically happen, especially after killing their union strike.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Blah blah lies blah

          I would ask how Trumpā€™s dick tastes but itā€™s probably so small you donā€™t even notice it in your mouth