Update: It looks like TDEC took the survey down earlier than scheduled. See comments section below for more info on that…
Image Credit: TNEnvironment / YouTube
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Slavery and racism are being blamed for climate change in the south, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment and Tennessee will create an inventory of its biggest climate “offenders” after having been allocated $3 million in grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June.
The state’s inventory process, which will rely heavily on EPA data, will look at transportation, electricity, land use, forestry, agriculture, waste, wastewater, among other categories.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will be in charge of creating the inventory, the first task in a two-step process, to then be followed up by the drafting of a plan aimed at cutting pollution throughout the state.
Both actions, to be divvied up over four years, will be a first for the state, and are being funded through a Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant, established by the Inflation Reduction Act. The two parts of the plan are the Priority Climate Action Plan, and the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan.
TDEC has until November 30th to submit an initial inventory of sources of climate pollution with proposed action steps due January 1st. The EPA will be expecting a climate plan draft for the state by March 1st. The public has until tomorrow, Wednesday 29th, 2023 to provide feedback in a survey.
According to the Climate Assessment, “Centuries of political and land-use decisions have threatened the landscape and the people, with a few prospering at the expense of many.”
These decisions, according to the document, were shaped by “a long history of systemic and structural racial discrimination and aggression” and have continued to negatively affect the preparedness of Southeast communities to face climate change threats.
“The institutions of slavery and intergenerational ownership of individuals as property, Jim Crow segregation, and housing discrimination have resulted in many BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities living in neighborhoods that are disproportionately exposed to environmental risks and with fewer resources to address them when compared to majority White communities,” states the Climate Assessment.
Tennessee residents had the seventh-highest electricity use per capita in 2021, according the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The EPA says that electricity accounts for a quarter of climate pollution in the U.S. and in Tennessee that means electricity that is created from fossil fuels.
While proponents of “clean electricity” want to eliminate power that comes from fossil fuels, in Tennessee the state legislature passed a law earlier this year that defines natural gas as clean energy and TVA has no plans to move away from natural gas any time soon.
TDEC has found that electricity, transportation, and industry account for nearly 80% of pollution in their preliminary statewide analysis. The agency is not talking about any plan of action yet, but Director of Policy and Planning Jennifer Tribble has said that TDEC will be considering both voluntary and mandatory actions to promote “clean” electricity, weatherization and energy efficiency.
According to this document, the Tennessee Volunteer Emission Reduction Strategy will be largely voluntary.
“While other states have imposed mandates to reduce emissions, we hope to reach established goals through voluntary measures that may differ throughout the state,” wrote TDEC.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
17 Responses
So get off your collective federally funded bribe predetermined false narrative and build three reduced size regional nuclear power plants.
Everyone already comprehends the growing need for expanding demand.
Molly – Good idea.
Everyone in this state should be up in arms fighting this. Return the federal funds. Do not buy into the climate hoax or the wokeness.
So our politicians here in the great state of Tennessee will sell us out for a measly three million dollars. I agree with the other comments, lets build out our infrastructure, maybe a mix of natural gas, coal and nuclear power. I live in Greene county and there are few options to electric for our appliances.
Washington DC continues their overreach by unelected people who have many college degrees but actually know nothing! Did they stop to think that the TVA is the primary source of power to our state?
This is the sneaky way that leftist and environmentalist fund their activism….using the federal government ‘grant’ system to fund the elite ruling class rules and regs that would not have a snow ball’s chance at passing at either the local or state levels! SO, our state’s political leaders decide to take funds in the form of federal grants that SUFFOCATE our state’s sovereignty and our citizens freedoms over some racist and wacko environmental propaganda. All the while, creating a ‘list’ for the fed’s to ‘investigate’…it’s like TDEC is actually doing the work FOR the EPA! And…WHO is to blame? The radicals with the money and agenda OR our ‘naive’ state officials. This is why Republicans never win battles, and will probably lose the war! Leftist and Democrats ALWAYS make it about money and a ‘hook’. Take any current issue immigration, voting, housing, ad nausea and this is the Left’s protocol…and, it is working all to well. When will our Republican officials learn?
so what’s being done about this nonsense? i read this and it’s another assault on our freedoms and prosperity. it has to be fought tooth and nail.
Climate hoax is a means of control. It is total BS and this is insulting and leftist communist narrative. Everything is mirrored under the guise of racism. It’s a communist doctrine.
Once again you just can’t make this stuff up. Stop the insanity and do something productive with your time people.
It’s getting harder and harder to everyday to put food on the table and pay expenses and these fools have gotten 3million dollars to insult the constituents of this great state.
Vote red and get these fools out of our state.
Oh here we go again. More bribe money from the green Nazis in the federal government. Nope Tennessee, don’t take the money.
The link to the survey does not go to any survey. All I could find was a page thanking people for taking the survey. Why is this crap being given any consideration in this state?
It appears TDEC took down the survey early. Funny how that happened right after we published this article. We’re sorry we didn’t get this info out to you guys earlier. ~The Tennessee Conservative
THANX!!
What’s Bill Lee doing? Return that money. The “Climate Assessment” sounds like it was written by Karl Marx.
Thanks Paula. Important article.
People looking for power, always use lies, and junk science, when promoting their so called ” climate change” agenda. They deserve having a fake surgeon operate on them.
The current Surgeon General is a fake female.
It’s called “South Bashing”. There will be more later on.