THREAD: The effects of climate change are already manifesting themselves around us. From record-breaking fire seasons to drought and sea-level rise, California is witnessing a preview of things to come if we don’t act now to fight global warming. It’s #TimeToWakeUp.
Climate change is already threatening our coastal cities. San Francisco’s historic waterfront is being threatened and the seawall is in need of upgrading to handle stronger storms. This is what we can expect as temperatures continue to rise.
Antarctica holds 90 percent of the world’s ice, and the rate of ice melting and calving increased six-fold from 1994 to 2012. A six-time increase in ten years. If the West Antarctic ice sheet collapses it will eventually raise sea levels worldwide by 10 feet.
During the recent California drought, many areas, including the Central Valley which produces the majority of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, had to depend on groundwater pumping that will not always be available and will take longer to replenish due to global warming.
We have to come to terms with the new reality of severe wildfire seasons. The recent Camp Fire, which is the largest fire California has ever had burned down an astonishing 15,000 homes.
It’s not all bad news, California has mandated that 50 percent of its electricity must be from renewable sources by 2030, and we’re actually ahead of schedule and on track to reach that deadline by 2020. More must be done, but that’s certainly a move in the right direction.
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I’m delighted that President Biden has signed this historic bipartisan infrastructure legislation into law. This is a huge win for everyone across the country. See how this bill will benefit Californians:
$600 million will go toward increasing salaries for federal firefighters, helping narrow the salary gap that makes it hard to recruit and retain wildland firefighters in California.
It will also transition 1,000 seasonal firefighting jobs to permanent, year-round positions. This is important as climate change has extended the traditional fire-season to be year-round.
This week marks the anniversaries of three mass shootings in the United States. Eight years ago, six people were killed while worshiping at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. Last year 23 people were killed at a Walmart in El Paso, and one day later nine people were killed in Ohio.
These three anniversaries are tragic reminders of how often we experience mass shootings in this country. No other nation has as many guns or allows such easy access to guns. It’s absolutely unacceptable that Republicans still refuse to take action against gun violence.
There are commonsense bills ready to be voted on today. We need to raise the age to purchase all guns to 21. We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. And we need to incentivize states to implement extreme-risk laws to keep guns away from dangerous individuals.
Today the Senate passed a second coronavirus response bill focused on helping American families facing hardship because of the virus. We need to ensure that families suffering from this virus are taken care of, and this bill gets us closer to that goal.
First, this bill ensures that coronavirus testing is free for everyone who needs it, including the uninsured. No one should go untested because they’re worried they can’t pay for it.
Second, the legislation requires companies to provide paid sick leave during public health emergencies. No one who is sick with this virus should feel that they have to choose between getting paid and spreading the virus to coworkers.
THREAD: "Thoughts and prayers" don't make up for the lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or any of the mass shootings around the country. If we want to truly honor the memory of those lost, we must act to ensure such tragedies never happen again.
There are several gun-safety bills ready to be voted on TODAY. We should start with a bill to empower families and police to remove guns from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others. We just need Senate Republicans to stand up to the NRA.
The Parkland shooter was only 19 years old. We have a bill to raise the minimum age to purchase assault rifles to 21. If you can’t buy a beer, you shouldn’t be able to buy an assault weapon. This bill is ready – let’s vote. feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.c…
The president this week attacked two of California’s cities. Never before have I seen a president go out of his way to attack a state. The president should be looking to help.
We’re all working hard to fight homelessness, so I say to the president, work with us, not against us.
California’s state, county and city governments are all taking great pains and dedicating considerable funds to confront these challenges. Homelessness is one of @GavinNewsom’s top priorities, so much so that he wants to double state spending on the problem to $1 billion.
Since Eric Garcetti took over as mayor in Los Angeles, 30,000 people have been housed. His last budget included more than $400 million to fight homelessness. And in 2016 the city passed a $1.2 billion bond to build thousands of homes. @MayorOfLA
I’m pleased the Supreme Court rejected the administration’s rationale for adding a citizenship question. However, the court’s conservative majority overlooked clear evidence that adding it would discourage census participation in immigrant communities and communities of color.
I’m concerned what that will mean for future rulings. The Constitution calls for an accurate count of ALL individuals living in the U.S.. A Census Bureau report found that adding the citizenship question could result in an up to 8 % undercount.
Such a result would affect everything from voting representation to federal funding for infrastructure, schools and safety-net programs, which would be particularly harmful to diverse states like California.