The White House is taking preemptive measures and actions to protect Americans and communities from the impacts of extreme weather.
According to a White House fact sheet provided to PoliticusUSA:
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing a rule to protect workers that, if finalized, would create the nation’s first-ever federal safety standard to address workplace overheating. Even without considering the effects of climate change, the risks extreme heat poses to some workers have long been recognized. Recognizing these risks, the proposed rule includes requirements for identifying heat hazards, developing heat illness and emergency plans, providing training for employees and supervisors, and implementing work practice standards—including rest periods, access to shade and water, and heat acclimation for new employees. . OSHA anticipates that, if finalized, the rule will impact approximately 36 million workers and significantly reduce workplace heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced nearly $1 billion in funding for 656 projects across the country to help communities withstand hazards and natural disasters, including extreme heat, storms and flooding. The bipartisan Infrastructure Act’s historic funding through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program will be used for projects that eliminate or reduce flood damage, mitigate the effects of extreme heat, and make infrastructure more resilient. Projects include $50 million to Philadelphia, Pa., to increase stormwater pump station resiliency and mitigate flooding; $6 million to Goldsboro, N.C., to improve flood drainage channels; $724,000 to improve flood drainage channels in Washington, D.C. The plan to build shaded bus stops in hot spots in the District is part of the president’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy and other investments go to areas marginalized by underinvestment and suffering from pollution. Overburdened and disadvantaged communities.
The president can’t change the weather, but the Biden administration differs from its opponents, who think climate change and extreme weather are great because they create more oceanfront property. That’s important as the nation faces more extreme weather, such as the deadly heat dome that recently threatened much of the country.
Trump pledged to leave energy policy in the hands of the fossil fuel industry, while Biden sought to protect workers and communities from extreme weather.
As extreme weather and extreme weather events become more common, the country needs a president who accepts the causes of the crisis and is willing to take action.
Biden is taking action, while Trump is promising that inaction will endanger lives and the planet.
