Saturday, March 25, 2023

Play

Georgia prepares for the end of COVID-19 emergency; comment period open for experimental nuclear tech in eastern ID; Mexican gray wolf population rebounds in Arizona.

Play

Lawmakers grill the CEO of Tik Tok over national security concerns, the House Pro-Choice Caucus aims to repeal the Helms Act and allow U.S. foreign aid to support abortion care, and attempts to ban or restrict books hit a record high as groups take aim at LBGTQ+ titles.

Play

Finding childcare is a struggle everywhere, prompting North Carolina's Transylvania County to try a new approach. Maine is slowly building-out broadband access, but disagreements remain over whether local versus national companies should get the contracts, and specialty apps like "Farmers Dating" help those in small communities connect online.

AZ Lawmaker Urges Biden to Expedite Transition to Clean Energy

Play

Thursday, March 24, 2022   

As prices at the pump hit record-highs, a coalition of elected officials is asking President Joe Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act to accelerate the nation's transition to clean energy.

The Act, which is employed during times of crisis, allows the federal government to expedite the manufacturing of certain goods.

Rep. Richard Andrade, D-Phoenix, speaking at a discussion hosted by Elected Officials to Protect America earlier this week, argued while gas companies continue to profit over spiking gas prices, working families are feeling the pinch.

"When energy costs go up, who absorbs it? We do," Andrade pointed out. "Working families absorb the higher energy costs, and we're seeing that today."

Andrade added a quick transition could carry multiple benefits, from aiding Ukraine by permanently cutting off a major revenue source for Russia, to creating new jobs for Americans across the country. Biden has previously said his clean-energy initiatives will generate nearly 10 million new jobs over the next several years.

Per the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as of 2020, nearly three-quarters of the country's energy came from petroleum and natural gas. While more than 90% of the nation's natural gas was produced domestically as of 2018, the U.S. has historically relied on foreign oil supplies to meet its needs.

Julia Nesheiwat, a member of the Consensus for American Security network, said developing America's clean-energy infrastructure is a matter of national security.

"If we're able to really feed these diverse energy sources into our grid, it can insulate us from the fluctuations of fossil-fuel prices and autocrats who wield their oil and gas reserves as weapons," Nesheiwat asserted.

The spike in gas prices can be mostly attributed to America's embargo on Russian-produced oil, an economic sanction established after the invasion of Ukraine. According to Reuters, Russia's oil revenues totaled about $119 billion in 2021.


get more stories like this via email
Nevada is the only state with what is known as a summary eviction process. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

The Nevada Housing Justice Alliance, tenants, lawmakers and community leaders gathered at a news conference outside the Capitol in Carson City this …


Social Issues

Family caregivers provide valuable work to Washington state - even if they don't get paid. A new report puts a value to the unpaid work they do…

Social Issues

Advocates for Michigan's LGBTQ community are calling lawmakers' move to expand the state's civil rights law to include them a victory that's "been a l…


Illinois advocacy groups say they are educating policymakers on the benefits of hospital screening as a solution to prevent medical debt, both for low-income patients and the hospital. (volgariver/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

A new report finds thousands of low-income or uninsured people in Illinois face medical debt that is depleting their savings and, in some cases…

Health and Wellness

The Iowa Senate has approved a measure allowing some medical facilities to be licensed as "emergency hospitals." This would be especially important in…

The Idaho National Laboratory is located near Idaho Falls. (MichaelVi/Adobe Stock)

Environment

The U.S. Department of Energy has opened a short public-comment window on an experimental nuclear technology in Idaho. The agency has released a …

Social Issues

School nutrition providers told Ohio lawmakers this week they're tired of hounding parents for school lunch money when their child's account accrues d…

Health and Wellness

A Georgia health advocacy group is concerned about people's health outcomes as the COVID-19 public health emergency is set to expire on May 11…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021