Image Credit: whitehouse.gov & epa.gov
By Danielle Goodrich [Tennessee Stands / Tri-Cities Coalition] –
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will not reduce inflation. It will, like a lot of federal acts, do the opposite. The focus of the act is “clean energy and climate action” with the goal of reducing emissions and limiting fossil fuels which will actually increase inflation. And this plan has made its way to Tennessee.
The climate policies have led to a shortage of fuel; oil, coal and gas. Fuel that provides over 80% of the world’s energy. A shortage of anything leads to higher prices, that is basic economics. Fuel shortages have led to higher fuel prices. And because the energy industry powers every other industry it has led to higher prices of everything. Inflation.
This “climate action plan” has made its way to Tennessee via the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation), despite parts of this plan now being unlawful in the state.
In a Congressional document titled, “Building A Clean Energy Economy; A Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s Investments in Clean Energy and Climate Action” the White House details where the Inflation Act funding will be distributed.
It reads, “The Inflation Reduction Act also provides billions of dollars in grant and loan programs and other investments for clean energy and climate action.” The plan details tax provisions which will be given to, “accelerate the deployment of clean energy, clean vehicles, clean buildings, and clean manufacturing.”
We find this funding in the Tennessee Volunteer Emission Reduction Strategy Priority Climate Action Plan a TDEC plan from March 2024.
The EPA, much like the CDC, the DOE and most of the federal agencies are unconstitutional as they give the Federal government authority it was not Constitutionally delegated. Article 1 Section 8 was to limit the federal government to having authority over 18 things known as the 18 enumerated powers. Things like the military, post office, coining money. Health, environment, and education are not delegated to the Federal government, yet they are claiming these authorities and growing their power and reach using our tax dollars to incentivize the state to implement their schemes.
With COVID, they lifted a moratorium on experimenting on viruses, they said there would be a pandemic, they released a virus, blamed us for breathing and looked to infringe on our rights. With this supposed “climate crisis” they are experimenting on weather, saying there will be severe weather, as they blame us for breathing and infringe on our rights. Same strategy, same goal. More control, less liberty. Where we went from being dirty germ-emitters to dirty carbon-emitters.
In Tennessee, a law passed to ban weather experiments discussed in an article here.
The Federal government had funding attached to a Congressionally Mandated Research Plan and Initial Research Governance Framework Related to Solar Radiation Modification which looks to block out the Sun through Solar radiation modification (SRM) and increase precipitation through forms of geoengineering like cloud-seeding. Cloud-seeding recently came under fire following the catastrophic flooding in Dubai. Augustus Doricko, owner of a weather modification company called Rainmaker who testified in Tennessee against the ban, defended cloud-seeding in Dubai saying it proved cloud-seeding works. Mainstream media claims the severe weather is from the “climate crisis” and can be fixed by reducing carbon.
The Climate Action plan has Marxist components stating “shared prosperity” and primarily serving “disadvantaged communities” in the name of “equity” and “environmental justice” through President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.
How do you create “shared prosperity” in a Constitutional Republic built on individual liberty and private property rights? “Shared prosperity” and “equity” are hallmarks of socialism and the promises of communism. “Shared prosperity” is the promise of tyrants to the lazy, in exchange for everyone’s liberty. Our country was built on if you work hard you can achieve and you get to keep what you earned, and donate if you want. Not the government gets to decide how to spend your hard earned money and who to share it with and when. We see that in China and North Korea.
The goal of the climate program is, “to modernize the electricity grid, build a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers, strengthen the battery supply chain, expand public transit and passenger rail, invest in new clean energy and emissions reduction technologies, improve resilience in physical and natural systems, and clean up legacy pollution in communities across the country—all while creating new, high-quality jobs, including union jobs, with good benefits and supportive services that build pathways for all to the middle class.”
However, these strategies are not helping the middle class.
In 2021, the Tennessee General Assembly approved an $884 million dollar investment in Ford’s electric car megasite promising jobs.
Michigan bet billions on EV jobs and is now facing lay-offs and delays and scaling back their Ford mega-site as buyer momentum fades.
Forbes ran an article on May 9th which read “EV Stocks Slide as Demand Slows for Tesla, Rivian and Nio.”
The article points to;
“Tesla stock is down 30% through May 8, 2024 due to lower shipments, high vehicle prices, lack of new products, and fresh legal problems related to its self-driving software.
Rivian stock is down 51% after reporting a huge negative gross margin as the company tries to scale enough to lower its per unit costs.
Nio stock is down 38% as the company also suffers from negative gross margins and a high cash burn rate, while deliveries rose in April.”
But not to worry, what does the government do when people do not freely choose a product “for their greater good?” They mandate it. As Biden is doing.
Just trade your liberty for the perceived benefit of safety. Should mandates exist in a free-market economy built on God-given rights in a Constitutional Republic? Should a mandate be instituted by a federal government that wasn’t delegated such authority?
Don’t want a rushed-to-market, liability-free, injection? Mandate it!
Don’t want an electric vehicle? Mandate it!
And the best part is you can pay for it twice, through your tax dollars being used to fund a Federal Act or in the case of the vaccine, development of the product, then forced to buy it. What a scheme. A scheme that benefits the government and the industries they are supposed to govern.
The plan mentions Biden’s carbon goals, “President Biden has set ambitious goals of reaching 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035; a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030; and net zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050.”
Here is a problem. “Net Zero” and parts of this agenda were rendered unlawful in Tennessee via PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 479 SENATE BILL NO. 1147 which reads, “This state and its political subdivisions shall not adopt or implement policy recommendations that deliberately or inadvertently infringe or restrict private property rights without due process, as may be required by policy recommendations originating in, or traceable to, the United Nations or a subsidiary entity of the United Nations, including, but not limited to:
(1) “Agenda 21,” adopted by the United Nations in 1992 at its Conference on Environment and Development;
(2) The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, introduced at a United Nations Summit in 2015;
(3) The United Nations’ proposal to reach net zero emissions by 2050; or
(4) Another international law or ancillary plan of action that contravenes the constitution of the United States or the constitution of this state.
(c) Since the United Nations has accredited and enlisted numerous non- governmental and intergovernmental organizations to assist in the implementation of its policies relative to Agenda 21, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, net zero goals for 2050, and its related plans and initiatives, this state and its political subdivisions shall not enter into an agreement, expend any sum of money, or provide financial aid to those non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations as described in or promoted by such plans and initiatives.”
The Tennessee General Assembly recognized the UN Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and these emission reduction schemes are a threat to liberty and our form of government.
From one of the UN documents, “Governance and institutional settings. Complex governance arrangements and institutional structural rigidity can impede synergistic action and integration due to factors like overlapping authority, lack of mandate…”
The “rigidity” of our constitution is a hindrance to their ability to accomplish mandates and wield the authority to accomplish these goals.
The Tennessee General Assembly realized that in order to institute the UNs collectivist goals, where the end goal is “net zero” and a “sharing economy” which is mentioned in the federal act, we cannot have a Constitutional Republic, it would have to be a socialist or communist form of government, without individual liberty or private property rights.
Seeing as each elected office is tasked with upholding the Constitution and these foundational principles like individual liberty and private property they put in protections against the implementation of these goals in our state, in the form of law.
Yet, TDEC is moving forward with this plan and so are many counties and cities across the state.
The Tennessee Volunteer Emission Reduction Strategy (TVERS) is the Tennessee arm of the climate action plan which is funded through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, which was established in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).
“This plan includes the following required elements, established in the CPRG guidelines:
- GHG Emissions Inventory,
- Priority Measures and Reduction Estimates,
- Benefits Analysis,
- Low-Income and Disadvantaged Communities (LIDAC) Benefits Analysis,
- Review of Authority to Implement,
- Intersection with Other Funding Availability, and
- Coordination and Engagement.
Per the plan, “TDEC contracted with Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC) and Ernst & Young (EY) to complete the required technical sections of the PCAP, specifically the GHG Emissions Inventory (TN PCAP Inventory or Inventory), priority measures and reduction estimates, and benefits analyses.”
The state plan mimics the federal plan.
Per the state plan, “TDEC coordinated with the three metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in Tennessee that received CPRG planning grants: Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville. The resulting plan is meant to encompass and represent the entirety of the state and allow for state, regional, and local adaptations regarding projects and programs that can reduce emissions and benefit all Tennesseans.”
In an effort to encourage “electric vehicle adoption” Tennessee via TDEC and the Tennessee Valley Authority announced a $20 million Fast Charge TN Network to add about 40 new fast charging stations to fill charging station gaps on Tennessee interstates and highways. Brightridge recently posted proudly on Facebook about the installation in Johnson City and wrote about it on their website here.
The article states, “Tennessee’s air is cleaner as measured by federal air quality standards than it has been in generations, and a clean environment helps drive economic development,” TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young said. “TDEC is partnering with TVA and BrightRidge on the development of this station to continue Tennessee’s environmental and economic momentum while further entrenching our state as the epicenter of the electric vehicle transition.”
One should note a definition of “entrenched” being; “to enter upon or take over something unfairly, improperly, or unlawfully : encroach. used with on or upon. entrenchment.”
TDEC is an unelected governing body appointed by Governor Lee. Lee, who was slow to join other Republican Governor’s to stand against ESGs (Environmental Social Governance) another Marxist initiative to bully people into adopting liberty-infringing guidelines.
With the electric-car megasite investment, the promise of federal dollars to incentivize electric vehicle adoption, and apparently Tennessee looking to be the “epicenter of the electric vehicle transition” but with the reality of slowing EV sales and Tennessee EV ownership small, 22,040 electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in Tennessee as of December 31, 2022 of the 2.35 million cars registered in Tennessee in 2021, 0.9% were electric, showing Tennesseans aren’t willfully choosing this product. Begging the question, how far will Tennessee bureaucrats go to ensure this left-leaning climate plan does not fail? COVID far?
With TDEC being the agency who was appointed over the geoengineering ban, but also in charge of the climate action plan implementation, where they need people to buy into a “climate crisis” will they be effective in stopping geoengineering? Or does severe weather work in their favor?
And EVs are only one part of this plan. Expensive decarbonization of buildings, of homes. Decarbonizing land. Agricultural implications. We can’t have farting cows. Bees are integral but not cows? Lab-made meat is ok though. Because a lab is more green than a cow? Florida just passed a law against lab-made meat. With the left claiming geo-engineering and bio-engineering, man-made in a lab, more green than God-made in a pasture. Humanism.
Land use discussions like we have had in the Tennessee Legislature surrounding conservation easements. Where for “the greater good” the government will buy your land but let you stay there and supposedly use it as you like. Privately owned becoming government owned. Just like funding private schools with public funds. You’d really have to trust your government to believe you will get to retain full control despite no longer having full ownership. “You will own nothing and be happy.” That is the direction this emissions reduction plan is headed unless the law banning net zero is enforced and unless the law banning geo-engineering is enforced. Can’t drive your car, it’s bad for the environment. Can’t have a gas stove, it’s bad for the environment. Congress approved kill switches on cars made in 2026 and beyond. Everything with the ability to be turned off remotely. Right to move about freely, private property and individual liberty traded for authoritarian forms of government.
Let’s be sure these laws are upheld and this net-zero strategy is not implemented.
To report geoengineering to TDEC’s air pollution control: (615) 532-0554 and this is a toll free number that can be used to reach them as well: 1-888-891-TDEC. Take photos, look on skyglass or flightradar24 to see what type of plane, flight pattern, time of day, record when you made the report, who you spoke with and keep records. Talk with your Representatives about TDECs emission reduction plan being unlawful in our state. Let us be sure these laws are upheld. Thank you!
10 Responses
I wonder how many people know that Chattanooga was one of the original 19 beta-sites for UN Agenda 21?? ICLEI is the organization that implements UN Agenda 21 at the local level and Chattanooga (along with other cities/counties in TN) were long standing members paying dues to ICLEI. Somewhere along the line Chattanooga fell off the list of dues paying members to ICLEI but just recently the Mayor of Chattanooga signed a 4 year deal with ICLEI paying 4 years worth of dues…..a direct violation of Public Chapter 479 quoted in the above article. I wonder how many people know that U of T Knoxville has a UNESCO Secretariat on the payroll (Roslyn McKeown) and in 2002 with a back door grant from the US government wrote The Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit. This toolkit was to be used in the training of teachers to make Sustainable Development (UN Agenda 21) a top priority in the classroom. In this document she clearly states that highly educated people tend to make more money than those poorly educated and therefore use more resources so in essence her statement ended saying that in order to achieve Sustainable Development we have to dumb down education. She also praised the RIO Summit in 1992 which presented UN Agenda 21 to the world which the US proudly agreed to support and President Bill Clinton started The Presidents Council on Sustainable Development mandating many of our (unconstitutional) federal agencies adopt the principles of UN Agenda 21 which when you remove all the warm and fuzzy jargon is nothing more than a plan to implement global communism…..you know like “you will own nothing and be happy.” Time to wake up Tennesseans. Time to clean house in 2024 of all the legislators that are on the side of federal money, lobbyist money and against the people of Tennessee. If you don’t know who they are then you need to get busy. Or contact me and I will help you along. There are many that need to put out to pasture and 2024 is the best time to make it happen.
Hey Karen, good to see you still dropping bombs of truth… Yes, I’m happy to see that in Tennessee we might get some real pushback against ICLEI…
Thank you for writing this article. Just more proof our state government cannot be trusted and that we will have as much federal tyranny as our state will allow which is obviously quite a bit. Remember what our state is promoting in support of the federal unconstitutional programs when they tell you ” we can’t do anything about the feds”! We need to raise hell with our elected officials about this!
Tenn. Needs to tell Biden where to shove his Climate Hoax agenda and not accept a dime on this unconstitutional Black Mail scheme .
All about money and power.
Joe is the political marriage of Stalin and Hitler with his and Barry’s administration being an image of the first Soviet Communist Government of Russia.
However, the Bolshevik Dept. of Education no longer teaches any History.
The hatred toward Catholics and Christians in America is fueled by Communist NGO’s financed with US taxpayer funds.
Hell, Nashville is now the Liberal Bolshevik capital of the South and owned by Bloomberg.
It is a very strange matter when Republicans censor more than Democrats?
Stop being so obtuse. Specifics for your inferences if you please.
Those willing to give up their GOD given liberties, codified in the U.S. Constitution, for the ’empty’ promises from any and all forms of government (local, state and/or federal) for ‘security’ will LOSE both their LIBERTY and SECURITY and will deserve neither! How can we read this timeless statement and then allow these policies? Are we all asleep or just dooped? Local, state and federal politicians BEWARE!!! YOU will be held accountable for the actions and agenda of all the plans and policies of the millions of UNELECTED bureaucrats in the halls of government, from the county mayor’s offices, to school boards, to the state legislatures and the governor’s offices, all the way to the Oval Office! It is NOT acceptable to simply ‘pass a law’ and go back to collecting campaign contributions! Your JOB is to insure that these same bureaucrats aren’t taking unConstitutional actions or YOU will face the ire of the voters when they read great and timely articles like this from Danielle Goodrich.
Always excellent articles, thank you. This site provides Tennesseans with vital information that we MUST use – not just read. We all need to be working against these unconstitutional tools. And it will have to be from the bottom up ~~ it’s impossible to succeed at the state level after the decades of Marxist policies being imbedded in every area.
Just a note to say your piece about the climate hoax was stellar. Keep up the good work.