The Week of February 8th, 2016
Care
1. Not getting the green light
US greenhouse gas regulations
The Supreme Court ruled this week to temporarily suspend a set of 2014 EPA regulations aimed at curbing US greenhouse gas emissions, pending the results of a lawsuit being brought by 29 states and several energy sector businesses against the federal government. The regulations, championed by the Obama administration as an indication of US commitment to combatting climate change during the December Paris climate accords, aimed to cut US emissions by 30% over the next 15 years, mainly by targeting the country’s 600 coal power plants. The temporary ban will stay in effect until the lawsuits are resolved, which could be as late as 2017.
Although the policy is a key part of President Obama’s climate initiative, it is unlikely the issue will be resolved during his remaining time in office, leaving what could be a major part of the president’s legacy in legal limbo. Additionally, some doubt the necessity of such a policy as the US has been making massive strides in clean energy on its own. According to a US Energy Information Administration report, renewable energy is expected to grow 9.5% in 2016; US solar capacity is projected to increase 80% in the next two years, and US emissions from fossil fuels fell 2.2% last year alone. The decrease is attributed largely to the continued decline of the coal industry. The trend is clear: regardless of what happens with the EPA policies, coal is on the way out and renewable energy is on the way in.
2. Indian internet imbroglio
Net neutrality in India
On Monday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) ruled that differential pricing is illegal in the country, a decision lauded by net neutrality supporters. The ruling comes as a direct response to Free Basics, a service offered by Facebook which provided some Indian users no-fee access to certain parts of the internet, including, unsurprisingly, Facebook, as well as services such as weather reports and job listings.
Critics have cast a cynical eye towards the social networking site, questioning the company’s noble intentions of aiding India’s poor, rural population and casting the project as an attempt to steer new internet users towards Facebook and other services offered by the company. Free Basics, known as internet.org outside of the India, had already been introduced in over 30 countries when the TRAI ordered Facebook to put the program on hold in the country pending a review last December.
The decision by the TRAI puts Facebook in a gauche position: while the company is a proponent of American net neutrality, its conflict with the TRAI casts it as a decidedly anti-net neutrality actor. Facebook spent millions on an advertising blitzkrieg designed to convince the Indian public and the TRAI of the benefits of Free Basics. It proved too little, too late. It appears that Facebook miscalculated its initial approach in India, focusing too much on itself, which, in turn, fostered a sense of distrust about the company’s intentions in the country. The TRAI proved Monday that while Facebook may fancy itself the gatekeeper to internet access for millions of Indians, the government holds the true power.
3. No place like home
Homeless in Los Angeles
For years, Los Angeles has experienced a massive increase in homelessness, giving it the unfortunate distinction of having the largest chronic homeless population in the country. The city declared a state of emergency and outlined a $100 million initiative to tackle the crisis last September, but after facing challenges acquiring federal funding, the initiative ultimately failed. In part, Los Angeles’ warm climate contributes to the magnitude of its homeless problem, limiting deaths by exposure and encouraging homeless to migrate to the region. The recent affordable housing crisis caused by rapid city growth has also played a role, limiting spending on homeless shelters and causing new levels of gentrification, resulting in the further deterioration situation.
The Los Angeles City Council has now declared a massive $1.9 billion initiative to try and put an end to the homeless crisis. The plan includes provisions to create access to public restrooms and showers and relax laws against living in vehicles, but the crux of the plan is a significant investment in homeless housing. At least 15,000 long-term housing units will be needed to meaningfully tackle the issue, with an estimated cost of over $800 million. The state already spends $965 million yearly on expenses related to homelessness, including health treatment, welfare benefits, and law enforcement. Many fear this high-cost initiative may succumb to harsh budget constraints, as a more moderate initiative did in September. Mayor Eric Garcetti has said making this target will require some “difficult decisions.” However, even if the initiative is funded in full, both homelessness and rents will continue to soar in Los Angeles, and the city may continue to be nation’s homeless capital for years to come.
4. Raging against the machines
New Hampshire primary
With the support of working-class voters, Donald J. Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders won unprecedented victories in the New Hampshire primaries this past Tuesday. Both candidates have relied on antiestablishment campaigns and benefited from a cross-party frustration with political elites. As the second state to hold a nominating contest, the Granite State serves as an indicator for a candidate’s electability and a major elimination round for campaigns. While both Mr. Trump and Senator Sanders have welcomed increased support and legitimacy, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey returned home to fold his candidacy and former HP executive Carly Fiorina left the race.
Mr. Trump received 35.3% of the Republican vote and 10 delegates. He was followed by Governor John Kasich of Ohio with 15.8% of the vote and four delegates. Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio each received 3 Republican delegates. Mr. Trump has benefited from an abundance of candidates that fractured the electorate, and has learned how to cash in on the anxieties of many Americans. He received the most support from voters who polls revealed to be the most worried about illegal immigration, economic insecurity, and terrorist attacks.
Mr. Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist running for the Democratic nomination, received 60% percent of the vote, winning 15 delegates. Although he defeated Hillary Clinton, who won 39% of the vote, the former secretary of state may receive an equal number of delegates. This is due in large part to previously pledged superdelegates, party establishment delegates who can cast their vote whichever way they choose at the convention, independent of voter preferences.
5. L’enfant terrible
North Korean weapons tests
2016 is off to an explosive start in North Korea. The secretive rogue state announced to the world on January 6th that they had successfully detonated their first hydrogen bomb, although it was met with skepticism. Regardless, China was not given forewarning as the explosion’s 5.1 magnitude induced earthquake sent tremors into Jilin province, resulting in several evacuations. North Korea also staged a satellite rocket launch on February 7th to test the progress of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities. The launch took place only days after top Chinese diplomat Wu Dawei pleaded with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to halt his ICBM miniaturization program. Mr. Kim further humiliated China by going into orbit a day ahead of schedule, so that the test symbolically coincided with the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The US, Japan, and South Korea all took swift unilateral action. The UN Security Council declared an emergency meeting, and North Korea faced widespread international condemnation. But China, oddly, only expressed “regret” and refused to endorse any new UN sanctions on North Korea. Instead, several Chinese state-run mouthpieces are blaming the incident on America’s “hostile policy.”
Why is China tolerating Mr. Kim’s supreme insults? Perhaps after having ‘lost’ Burma to democracy along with influence in countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, President Xi Jinping feels North Korea is at stake. China is also concerned with US President Barack Obama’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Sunnylands, California. This annual meeting is seen by President Xi, who had his own personal summit at Sunnylands with Mr. Obama in 2013, as anti-China. Under these circumstances China seems completely willing to sustain North Korea and its destitute population on life support indefinitely via shadow banks and oil exports, even as a 33-year-old dictator holds them hostage.
Don’t Care
0. Blowing the wrong whistle
Michigan sodomy law
If one happened to be trawling the lowbrow shoals of the Internet this week, there was a good chance of pulling in several articles with alarming headlines like “Michigan Senate Passes Animal Cruelty Bill Which Includes Sodomy Ban,” or “Michigan Lawmakers Pass Bill Criminalizing Sodomy,” or “Michigan Republicans Pass Bill That Would Put Gay AND Straight Couples In Prison.” Even for a legislature known for social conservatism, this law seemed like an entirely new level of intolerance. A sodomy law, officially banning anal and oral sex, in the state of Michigan, in 2016? Could it be real?
As it turns out, it was not. Those lowbrow ‘news’ websites, like Huffington Post and Raw Story, were churning out clickbait with headlines completely misrepresenting both the animal cruelty prevention law recently passed by the Michigan legislature and the constitutional status of sodomy laws in the United States. No, Michigan did not pass a new sodomy law banning anal and oral sex. Rather, it passed a bill which added an amendment to the Michigan penal code increasing penalties and restrictions on convicted animal abusers. The law adds provisions to the code creating a system of background checks for pet adoption and prohibiting convicted abusers from adopting new pets for five years. Furthermore, in the landmark 2002 case Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court invalidated any and all sodomy laws passed at the state level. So even if Michigan had passed a new sodomy law, it would barred by the highest court in the land from enforcing it in any way.
So why did those sites end up splashing sodomy-law headlines on a story about animal cruelty legislation? One explanation is these sites’ insatiable thirst for more clicks. But also, in part, because the new provisions against animal cruelty were enacted as amendments to the Michigan penal code, which technically still has anti-sodomy laws on the books. Those provisions are unconstitutional, unenforceable, and completely ignored by Michigan law enforcement, but they’re there because Michigan – and 11 other states – never bothered to get rid of them. And because the animal cruelty provisions amended the section of penal code dealing with “bestiality and ‘unnatural sex’,” those old, invalidated sodomy provisions that are still on the books resurfaced in the media. The real take-away from this whole saga has nothing to do with animal cruelty or the new law passed by the legislature: rather, it is how ridiculous it is that state legislatures in Michigan and 11 other states have yet to repeal their outdated anti-sodomy laws.
Daniel Ruswick, David Gernon, Jose Trejos, Sean Conway, Daniel Sacks, and Will Kirkland contributed