The Real National Emergency?

Should a future president declare climate change a national emergency?

Greta Moran, January 22, 2019 (Grist)

“…[Talk persists that the president will] declare a national emergency on the southern border to get the wall built…[It] would allow Trump to dip into federal funding used for actual crises, like the ongoing Hurricane Maria recovery effort…[Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont tweeted that the real national emergency is the climate change-driven and potentially irreversible] severe damage done to our country and planet…The National Emergencies Act, passed in 1976, gives the president legal authority to declare a state of emergency. Under the law, the president could invoke up to 136 statutes…

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In the case of a climate emergency, the president could theoretically suspend oil leases, support the expansion of battery and electrical vehicles, divert military funds to renewable energy, and impose further regulations on the fossil fuel industry…But Congress doesn’t like being bypassed…[Also,] each statute has its own history and quirks, so there are possible legal snags…[And the money comes at the expense of someone else who was is] prepared to push back legally and politically…[Some lawyers say declaring climate change to be a national emergency] would be an overreach of executive power and a digression from more meaningful legislative work…[Climate change is unlike other] national emergencies…[It is] not an unexpected crisis…[It is] a new normal…” click here for more

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