Tip jar for the usual bartenders…

Biden demonstrates how not to design a climate plan

In this cycle, there are indications that the most important priority for Democratic voters is climate change. Indeed, one analysis shows that at candidate events in Iowa, the only issue that citizens ask questions about more often than climate change is health care.

But so far, with a couple of exceptions like Jay Inslee and Beto O’Rourke, few of the candidates have offered much in the way of concrete plans on how to address climate change.

So it’s obviously of interest when the person leading in the polls drops hints about his yet-to-be-released climate plan. That’s what Joe Biden is now doing, but as Reuters reports, there’s a problem:

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden is crafting a climate change policy he hopes will appeal to both environmentalists and the blue-collar voters who elected Donald Trump, according to two sources, carving out a middle ground approach that will likely face heavy resistance from green activists.

The backbone of the policy will likely include re-joining the United States with the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving U.S. regulations on emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency that Trump has sought to undo, according to one of the sources, Heather Zichal, who is part of a team advising Biden on climate change. She previously advised President Barack Obama.

The second source, a former energy department official also advising Biden’s campaign who asked not to be named, said the policy could also be supportive of nuclear energy and fossil fuel options like natural gas and carbon capture technology, which limit emissions from coal plants and other industrial facilities. […]

The approach, which has not been previously reported, will set Biden apart from many of his Democratic rivals for the White House who have embraced much tougher climate agendas, like the Green New Deal calling for an end to U.S. fossil fuels use within ten years. That could make Biden a target of environmental groups and youth activists ahead of next year’s primary elections.

It’s probably too early to criticize this vague set of ideas until we see exactly what it entails. But there’s already cause for concern: the people who have been authorized to speak to the press about this are framing it explicitly as something Biden “hopes will appeal to both environmentalists and the blue-collar voters who elected Donald Trump.”

We’re not naive here. Of course candidates are going to consider how the policies they propose will be received by voters. But can you at least pretend that you first decided what the best policy would be, and only afterward set about determining the most effective way to sell it to the electorate?

Biden’s people are just coming out and saying that he has an existing election strategy — hold Democratic voters and poach conservative blue-collar white voters from Trump — and they’re fashioning his climate plan so it slots into that strategy.

1. He’s proud he called it an existential threat. Don’t really care what you call something, we care what you’re going to do about it. 2. It’s nice that you did something bold in 1986, but are you going to do something bold now? 3. How did “keep the status quo” work out for HRC? https://t.co/o2BO1i6JPX

— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) May 10, 2019

How the University of Iowa Recovered From the ‘Unfathomable’ Flood That Ruined It

Don Guckert’s job is keeping the buildings on the University of Iowa’s charming campus up and running, and safe. His most important lessons came from the worst days of his career, in June 2008, when the waters of the Iowa River washed across the campus, causing catastrophic damage.

The night before the waters flowed over the backbreakingly stacked sandbags, Mr. Guckert recalled, “I walked into the house, and looked at my wife and said, ‘We’re going to lose the campus.’”

In all, the raging waters caused $750 million in flood damage, with $36 million in equipment lost in one building alone. Twenty-two major buildings were damaged, some of them irreparably; a quarter of the school’s classroom space was lost, and one-sixth of the university’s 2.6 million square feet of space was closed. The level of flooding “was unfathomable to those of us who lived through the previous record flood” of 1993, said Rod Lehnertz, the university’s senior vice president for finance and operations.

Now Mr. Guckert has a side gig. He travels the country, telling other institutions what he and the University of Iowa have learned from the disaster, and explaining how others can prepare for the worst. Mr. Guckert said that in a changing world, people might not know what the worst could mean.

In his talks, he presents the lessons he learned from the 2008 flood, with slides titled “Plan for your next disaster, not your last one” and “Plan for Failure (Because Mother Nature Always Wins).”

Climate change is already affecting extreme weather events around the world. Hurricanes are wetter, and wildfires are bigger. And scientists expect conditions to get worse over time.

snip

Research has shown an increase in the frequency of flood events in parts of Iowa and elsewhere in the Midwest. The Iowa Flood Center estimates that what was once considered a 500-year flood in Iowa City is now an 80-year flood, meaning the probability of a flood of that magnitude occurring in any given year has risen from 0.2 percent to 1.25 percent.

Average annual interest rates on payday loans:

Delaware: 521%
Idaho: 652%
Nevada: 652%
Texas: 661%
Utah: 652%
Wisconsin: 574%

It's time to end exploitative lending that keeps Americans trapped in debt. We will cap interest rates on consumer loans and credit cards at 15%.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 10, 2019

TYT is going to be roasting Biden over the stale climate change plans.