Op-Ed

Beyond the Rhetoric: EPA Stunts Economic Growth

Published

10 years ago

June 8, 2015

By Harry C. Alford
NNPA Columnist

The Environmental Protection Agency is the “Air Police” for the federal government. It enforces regulations and rules that are self-set and approved by Congress. One area of enforcement is the ozone, which is matter floating through the air we breathe. The measurement is in “Parts per Billion” or ppb.

In March 2008, the ppb standard was set at 75 parts per billion. Any area with less than 75 ppb is considered in attainment and economic growth such as construction, development, infrastructure, etc. can proceed. Any area with more than 75 ppb is considered non-attainment. A designation of “non-attainment” – when an area is not meeting the ozone standards – means no economic development, no new construction, and no job creation in that area. In areas classified as in non-attainment, EPA can override state permit decisions, such as upgrading new or existing facilities via the most effective emission reduction technologies, without consideration of costs and federally-supported highway and transportation projects can be suspended.

The good news is that many localities have come under attainment and growth is now being realized. The bad news is that the EPA wants to stretch its muscle and change the rules. It wants to lower the standard from 75 ppb to a new and maybe impossible 65 ppb. If the EPA has its way (the way of environmental extremists), most of our nation will have to close down any construction and economic activity underway. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, such an extreme move would reduce our Gross Domestic Product by $140 billion, resulting in 1.4 million fewer jobs, and cost the average U. S. household $830 in lost consumption, with Blacks being the last hired and first fired as usual for each year from 2017 through 2040.

One local area’s business community is speaking out about already feeling the negative impact of EPA’s ozone proposal. Baton Rouge, La. and the surrounding area is home to many successful manufacturing and industrial facilities that help drive the economic livelihood of the area and the country as a whole. In recent years, the state has worked hard to decrease ozone levels in Baton Rouge. Following a period of non-attainment, Baton Rouge was found to be in compliance with the current 75 ppb ozone standard in April 2014.

Meanwhile, Baton Rouge has been experiencing an economic boom in the last few years with a great deal of the U.S. manufacturing renaissance taking place there. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis recently ranked Baton Rouge among the top 10 fastest-growing metropolitan, as measured by percentage gains in gross domestic product. In 2014, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce worked with four chemical manufacturers, who were considering significant investments in the area. Two of the companies executed purchase agreements on sizable industrial locations with the intent to develop them.

Unfortunately, all four companies later decided to search elsewhere for their investments. The companies all indicated that EPA’s ozone proposal with the threat of the ozone standard being lowered and the area falling back into non-attainment influenced their decisions to pull the plug on the projects in the Baton Rouge area.

Those four lost projects translated directly into lost dollars for the Baton Rouge area, its business community and its residents. According to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, the projects would have resulted in $86 million in wages annually for the local economy. That does not include any indirect investment or payroll that likely would have been created by the investments and project developments. Additionally, these projects would have included foreign investment – something that the U.S. is always eager to secure.

According to the Brookings Institution, Baton Rouge is among the 20 top-performing metropolitan economies in the country. Of those 20 economies, all but two of them would be in non-attainment were EPA to lower the ozone standard to 65 ppb. In other words, the growth and development being experienced by some of our country’s most economically prosperous areas are being threatened by EPA’s ozone proposal. The four lost projects in Baton Rouge are only the tip of the iceberg. Without a doubt, there have been others, and there will be more.

Will your community be next? There is a good chance and that is going to hurt your quality of life and may cause you unemployment and hopelessness. My people, it is time to fight! We must tell the EPA “Hold on!” How do we fight? The Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Black Chamber of Commerce will “draw the line” in Chicago, IL on June 29. We will host a half-day workshop on this ozone issue and what it means to Illinois. From there we will move to Missouri and then to Ohio. Our road show begins!

If you want us to come to your locality and help you fight, contact us at your earliest convenience. It is all about your economic future.

Harry C. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Website:www.nationalbcc.org Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.

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Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

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Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

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The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations

Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

Published

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Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Courtesy photo.

By Janani Ramachandran

There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4^th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.

With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.

We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.

The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4^th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.

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NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Published

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Oakland Post

iStock.

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”

At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.

“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”

A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.

The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: