California gives 17 million salmon a ride to the coast – National & International News – FRI 11Jun2021

CA saves 17m baby salmon by trucking them to coast. New bipartisan infrastructure plan falls short. Myanmar’s Suu Kyi charged with corruption.

NATIONAL NEWS

California gives salmon a ride to the coast

Drought conditions on the west coast have created difficulties for local juvenile Chinook salmon. Normally at this time of year, the young fish should be embarking on a long journey to the sea via local waterways to being their next stage of life. But high temperatures and low water-levels are preventing them from doing so.

Further north in Oregon, drought conditions have made the salmon vulnerable to deadly pathogens. Local Native tribes who depend on and manage these salmon populations say that 98% of the local salmon they’ve tested are infected with the pathogen.

To prevent a massive die off of salmon, the state of California has commissioned 146 temperature-controlled tanker trucks to transport 17 million juvenile salmon to the sea. This will involve a seaward journey of about 50-100 miles. This is not the first time that California has transported fish to the sea. But the scale of this operation dwarf all previous undertakings.

But this isn’t just about salmon. Salmon are an important food source for large marine mammals as well as forest animals like bears. When they return from the sea to spawn, salmon also carry nutrients from the ocean like nitrogen and phosphorus that forests need to thrive. A massive salmon die off could deal a serious ecological blow from which it would take many years to recover. 

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New bipartisan infrastructure proposal would raise gas tax

After President Biden’s negotiations with Republican senators failed to reach a satisfactory compromise on infrastructure, a bipartisan group of ten senators are floating their own proposal. The senators are Democrats Kyrsten Sinema (AZ), Joe Manchin (WV), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Jon Tester (MT) and Mark Warner (VA) and Republicans Rob Portman (OH), Bill Cassidy (LA), Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Mitt Romney (UT). 

However, this is not the end of the story. There’s reason to believe that President Biden would not be likely to sign off on the plan as it stands now. Leading Democrats in the Senate have also raised serious objections to the details of the plan that have emerged so far. 

Pay-fors

The first major sticking point is the plan’s price tag and funding. The proposal would total $1.2 trillion in spending over 8 years. So far, few details have surfaced as to how the group envisions paying for the bulk of the plan. 

A previous Republican plan (which Biden rejected) would have diverted COVID relief funds away from aid programs for small businesses and needy families. The rest would have come from “user fees” like tolls and other expenses.

What we do know about the new bipartisan plan is that it requires $579 billion in new spending. This would, in part, be raised by investigating tax cheats. But the bulk of it would come from raising taxes on gasoline. 

In his objection, progressive Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) pointed out that “I think the gas tax is a fairly regressive way of funding transportation. It hurts rural America especially hard”. 

President Biden has also previously rejected such taxes that place a disproportionate burden on low- and middle-income Americans. Biden’s original plan would instead raise corporate taxes from 21% to 28%. 

Scope

The plan’s single focus on traditional infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and digital infrastructure have also failed to impress the White House and Senate Democrats. Biden’s plan calls for investment in “human” infrastructure, like upgrades to education, housing and healthcare facilities. The bipartisan plan leaves these elements out entirely.

Sanders says that even spending in the plan for traditional infrastructure is inadequate. He says, “The problem is this country faces enormous issues that have been ignored and neglected for a very long period of time. Even if you look at infrastructure from the narrow perspective of roads and bridges, (the plan’s funding) is inadequate. That’s not me talking, that’s the American Society of Civil Engineers”.

Climate

Sanders and other leading Democrats have also pointed out that there is virtually nothing in the plan to address climate change. The country is currently facing increasing threats from climate change (see the above story). Democrats are pushing for spending not just on carbon-neutral production and power, but also mitigation strategies to minimize damage from floods, wildfires and ice storms that left much of Texas in the dark earlier this year.

One Democratic senator who requested anonymity (but talks a lot like Majority Leader Chuck Schumer) called the plan a publicity ploy that would not lead anywhere. The senator, who is definitely not Chuck Schumer, said, “We need to be mindful, the American people want something big and bold, that’s how we’ll be judged. If it fails to meet the moment, it’s too small”.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi faces most serious charges yet

Myanmar’s junta has leveled its most serious charge yet against democratically-elected leader Suu Kyi, accusing her of corruption and bribery. This charge alone could put Suu Kyi in prison for 15 years. Suu Kyi had previously been accused of violating the official secrets act, which comes with a 14-year prison sentence.

Since the Feb. 1 military coup which unseated Suu Kyi, Myanmar has been sliding into all-out civil war. Ethnic militias in the country’s border regions have risen up in open rebellion against the military. This has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have fled to neighboring countries.

People in cities have fared little better. Since February, police and military personnel have killed 739 pro-government protesters, including many children. Police have also rounded up thousands, torturing and beating many to death. This includes members of Suu Kyi’s party.

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