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Marianne Williamson on Environment
Author & Democratic Presidential Challenger
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Flint is just tip of the iceberg of environmental injustice
Q: What's your response on the Flint water crisis?WILLIAMSON: My response is that Flint is just the tip of the iceberg. We have an administration that has gutted the Clean Water Act. We have communities, particularly communities of
color and disadvantaged communities all over this country who are suffering from environmental injustice. This is part of the dark underbelly of American society. It's bigger than Flint it's particularly people who do not have the money to fight back.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
Close down existing nuclear power reactors
Williamson on Nuclear Power: Support closing down existing nuclear power reactors.TWO CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Tulsi Gabbard; Bernard Sanders.
Many environmentalists have for decades called for shutting down nuclear power plants because of
the problems presented by the radioactive waste. They also fear accidents like the one at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011, when a tsunami caused an outage that led three reactor meltdowns and spread radioactivity through the air and water.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
, Jul 17, 2019
Opposes nuclear power; phase out existing reactors
Q: Do you think nuclear energy should be part of the U.S.'s decarbonizing toolbox?Williamson: "I'm opposed to nuclear power, as it provides risks and wastes that are dangerous and life-threatening. That said, nuclear power currently is responsible
for about 20 percent of U.S. electricity and 50 percent of its carbon-free electricity. We may not be able to replace this carbon-free production in time if we close these plants too soon. Germany initially set out to close all of its nuclear reactors
by 2022, but as a result, they are now likely to miss their emissions reduction targets. And France is now considering options to extend the life of many of its older nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy is not ideal, by any stretch.
But it is still head and shoulders above coal and natural gas, and until we have solar, hydro and wind plants up and running to pick up the slack, we need to keep certain options open."
Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com)
, Apr 18, 2019
Deal with factory farming by having environmentalists at EPA
We would have, if I were president of the United States, a world-class environmentalist at the head of the EPA. No more chemical company executives heading the EPA. No more oil company heading the EPA.
We need to deal with the animal factory farming. Enough with these incremental changes here and these incremental changes there.
Source: CNN Town Hall 2020 Democratic primary
, Apr 14, 2019
EPA head shouldn't be from chemical or oil industry
GETTING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY BACK ON TRACK: Every problem can be traced to a lack of devotion to things that matter most, and nowhere is this truer than in our relationship to the earth.
As President, I would begin with the appointment of a world-class environmentalist rather than a fossil fuel or chemical company executive (as is now the case) to lead the Environmental Protection Agency,
I would fundamentally reverse the current misuse of the EPA, whereby it serves mainly the cause of profit maximization for fossil fuel and chemical companies, and return it to its original mission of
protection and advocacy on behalf of our natural environment. The full powers of the executive branch of the US government would be put in service to this effort.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Marianne2020.com
, Apr 8, 2019
Clean air and water are environmental justice
The Environmental Protection Agency has become an agent of protection not of the earth and the earth's resources, but of the corporate profits of fossil fuel, chemical, and big agricultural companies. From our land to our water to our air to our food,
our most precious treasures do not just lack protection; they are currently under assault.Environmental justice does not just mean justice for the earth; it also means justice for the people who live on the earth. Gutting the Clean Air Act--as has
recently been done--does not just affect the air; it affects our breathing. Gutting the Clean Water Act--as has recently been done--does not just affect the water; it affects our bodies when we drink it. As protectors of our earth, and protectors of our
own bodies, we should vigorously and passionately defend the health of our environment against the ill-advised, dangerously recalcitrant policies of the current leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Source: Healing the Soul of America, by Marianne Williamson, p.178-9
, Jul 24, 2018
Page last updated: Dec 16, 2019