(Office of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) together with Sen. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sen. Markey (D- Mass.) and Rep. Barragan (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to close tax loopholes and eliminate other federal subsidies for the oil, gas, and coal industries.
Right now, American taxpayers are on the hook for about $15 billion in direct federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. In 2019 alone, the oil, gas, and coal companies that receive these handouts spent $190 million lobbying Congress – for an over 11,000 percent return on investment. At a time when climate change is already causing devastating harm around the world, it makes no sense for Congress to continue giving away taxpayer money to the hugely profitable and highly polluting fossil fuel industry.
The Visionary Activist Show
Michael Stocker (center) with OCR team in Alaska
Convening with long-time ally, Michael Stocker, scientist, Marine acoustician, jazz musician – dedicated to all true chorusing on this planet. He has written and spoken about marine bio-acoustics and the impacts ocean noise pollution on marine life since 1992, presenting in national and regional hearings, national and international television, radio and news publications, and museums, schools, and universities.
Michael’s book
Hear Where We Are : Sound, Ecology, and Sense of Place is an assembly of ideas and understandings of human and animal sound perception cultivated over a lifetime of interdisciplinary thinking incorporating his studies in world cultures, western intellectual history, physics, architecture, biology, acoustics, signal processing, music, theology, and literature.
“I just got to the point where I thought I don’t have an excuse,” Stocker said. He said his only remaining apprehensions about vaccination were the possible judgement from medical staff and the cost. In 2017, he rolled up his sleeve for a series of vaccines which were free and the nurses “didn t make an issue of it”, he said. “Those apprehensions were very unfounded and that was the last barrier to get through.” Growing up, Stocker said his mum “didn t like the overmedicalisation of everything” and felt her children’s immune systems were healthy enough. During university, he said a flatmate told it to him straight about immunisation.