Shortly after the President announced on Thursday that the US was pulling out of the Paris Agreement* a number of states, as well as cities, quickly announced they were going to actually work to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement. These ranged from large states like California to small states like Connecticut. By doing so they’ve essentially created a shadow coalition within the US to abide by the agreement and meet its outcomes. While we’ve all seen Pittsburgh’s Mayor Bill Peduto’s tweets contradicting the President’s remarks and defying him in regards to what Pittsburgh will actually do, Massachusetts Republican governor has now stated that Massachusetts will also follow California’s lead and become part of the unofficial US state and municipal alliance adhering to the agreement.
There are two interesting dynamics going on here. One is recognizing what Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti stated that:
Cities and states are already where most of the action on climate is. Our message is clear to the world: Americans are with you, even if the White House isn’t.… Trump’s move is going to have unintended consequences of us all doing the opposite of what the president wants. It will in many ways greatly backfire.
Even more specifically 2o states have greenhouse gas reduction/emission reduction targets. As a matter of policy, law, or both. There are also regional and state carbon and renewable fuel initiatives. Additionally, 160 mayors across the US have agreed to join the California led effort as can be seen in this map from The LA Times (because the image is truncated you can’t see Hawaii, which has reduction targets too).
(Map 1: State’s with emission targets and cities that will adhere to the Paris Agreement)
Or this better state by state image that includes the actual emission targets:
(Map 2: State Emission Targets)
The other dynamic is the relative economic power of the states and the cities that are going to be part of the unofficial coalition to adhere to the Paris Agreement. California, as is often remarked on, is currently the equivalent to the 8th largest economy in the world (if it were an independent country). New York would be tied for 14th. Massachusetts for 29th, Illinois 20th, etc. California and New York individually, let alone working together, have a tremendous amount of economic power. And a lot of that economic power is regulatory. When two of the four state economic powerhouses combine with a lot of other economically strong states and 120 municipalities ranging from mega city to regionally large metropolitan area, a lot of economic power is being wielded. Corporations, from auto makers to energy providers to appliance makers, that wish to do business in California, New York, and their allies are going to have to meet the standards that those states and municipalities set. Given the amount of money to be made from doing business in those places they will meet the standards that will be set. As a result, even if other economically powerful states like Texas and Florida choose to ignore the Paris Agreement it won’t make much difference. They’re going to get the same goods and services designed to pass muster in the California led coalition to adhere to the Paris Agreement whether they like it or not.
In many ways what we’ve seen emerge over the past several days is an example of federalism done right. This isn’t an attempt to thumb a state’s nose at a Federal law or regulation by making a legal case rooted in a bizarre reading of the 10th Amendment and the fringe theories of libertarian fundamentalist lawyers holding sinecures at think tanks to create a 21st Century form of nullification. Rather it is a coalition of states and municipalities stating that they will use the economic power that exists because of their size, pool it with those of like minded states and municipalities, and let the power of the market work its magic. This is not only how federalism was intended to work, it is also how properly designed and functioning governments and markets are supposed to work. Both function best, and are at their best, when they are transparent, have predictable, clear, and enforced rules and regulations. What California and its allies are doing is to create that dynamic in regard to environmental governance, rules, and regulations. As a result we get the United States that will adhere to the Paris Agreement as opposed to the The United States choosing not to.
* It is important to note that the process and procedure for pulling out of the Paris Agreement is not quick. Once formal notice is given it will take three years. So it won’t actually happen until after the next Presidential election. As a result, and has been so often the case with his executive orders, the President’s announcement on Thursday was almost completely symbolic messaging to his base with the added bonus of pissing off the Europeans.
JPL
If Obama had the accord ratified by Congress, this would not be happening.
(kidding!)
Amanda in the South Bay
I’m not being snarky when I ask if there ever is an example of federalism being done right, with our meth labs of democracy (is that still a tag here?) and all.
Corner Stone
@JPL: He should have invited Congress over more often for drinks, and used shaved ice from Glacier Bay in the cocktails!
zhena gogolia
The front page of the New York Times tells me that a major factor in Republican denial of climate change is “Democratic hubris.”
Luthe
How long until the assholes in power decide to write a law preempting all these state and local efforts? Because that’s exactly what they’ll try to do.
Zach
Interested states should impose a carbon-weighted sales tax that’s 100% refunded to state citizens and companies producing goods based in the state who adhere to best practices for reducing greenhouse gas footprint… with interstate tax agreements between like-minded states (in effect, disadvantaging importa from states without similar tax regimes).
JPL
I’m steaming the concert in Manchester, and although I have no idea who half the performers are, I still have tears in my eyes.
trollhattan
Rick Perry is apparently is fast-tracking a study on whether renewable subsidies are being mean to old-fashioned power. Gee, I wonder what they’ll conclude?
Amanda in the South Bay
@zhena gogolia: And yet you’ll get a Tweetstorm from an establishment type saying how they’ve read the Times everyday for 40 years and how necessary they are (like James Fallows) for even vaguely suggesting that they have issues.
moops
I don’t know. Despite the good intentions brought out by state and municipal efforts, this is a global problem that needs a multinational response. We are in a sweet spot where solar and natural gas got cheap fast and so everyone still thinks there will be no sacrifices. To make all our targets to save our climate for us and our co-species and ecosystems, and adapt to the inevitable changes already on their way, you lack the shared burden mentality that has to come from national and international leadership.
Climate change is the ultimate tragedy-of-the-commons problem.
Mnemosyne
@Luthe:
I’m assuming that’s half the reason for putting Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. He’s there to be the deciding vote for whatever disaster the Republicans decide should be put in place, regardless of the constitution.
JPL
@Mnemosyne: They say the apple doesn’t fall from the tree, so I assume you are right.
realbtl
@Luthe: Nah, writing a law is too much work. More likely a court appeal on something totally wacky.
Corner Stone
Isn’t this just like red state Gov’s refusing medicaid expansion under ACA?
J R in WV
I have been really surprised by how uplifting the individual decisions of large states and cities to support the Paris Accord regardless of Trump’s petty jealousy and hatred. And Mr. Bloomberg’s announcement that he will personally pay the USA’s contribution to the Paris Accord funding pool, amazing, as I said last night when the news came out. What a generous and stand up decision.
So, Fuq Trump and his petty and insignificant hatred for combined work to overcome a looming catastrophe. That’s what this amounts to.
His Executive Decisions to enable hate, not applicable.
His Executive Order to withdraw from the Paris Accord on Climate Change, nugatory!
His Executive Order to exclude people from our great nation based upon prohibited religious distinctions? Over-ruled!!
That’s three big strikes against his administration of frustration and failure. Not to mention the legal and counter-intelligence investigations that have yet to bear fruit. I fully expect him to stroke out when the really bad news erupts. If it does, and I begin to have hope again that it will.
We ARE better than that, which is why Mrs Secretary Clinton won that election! Without the treason of Electors voting for a clearly incompetent loser, she would be taking care of business, instead of the current administration being lost in the pre-existing maze of legal and administrative structures they didn’t even realize comprise the federal government’s structure.
Thanks Adam!! Good news done right!!
schrodingers_cat
@Amanda in the South Bay: I used to think so myself. Haven’t touched the Vichy Times except an occasional recipe post since October and am just as well informed as before. Nothing is indispensable..
zhena gogolia
Slightly OT and mentioned by someone below, but Jennifer Rubin in WaPo today is a must-read on our embarrassment of a POTUS. Most eloquent.
J R in WV
@zhena gogolia:
Which was posted last night to Twitter, and picked up by regular commenter Butthurt, here:
From yesterday’s Bloomberg news post – there are two different links into two different examples of the NYT failing again, one also picked up by Mssr gogolia above:
@Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD):
Fuck the Motherfucking even-the-liberal New York Fucking Times.
Running two separate instances of the same story, searching, searching for support of their work to elect Failed Looser Trump! Then blaming Trump’s newest failure of a plan to be the only nation to ever drop out of a world-wide environmental compact ON DEMOCRATS!!??!?!? How failed is that for a “news organization”??? Totally, in my book.
I used to have a great deal of respect for the news published by the N Y Times, but that was before I saw their 1930s coverage of Hitler’s rise in Europe, and lived through their support of waging an illegal war on the wrong nation based on fraudulent data published by THE NEW YORK TIMES~!!!
[ I’m liking that bold – strong tag suddenly ! Can you tell? ]
And now working to elect and support a totally incompetent fool president because of their deranged hatred for one of this nation’s strongest, hardest working leaders… They deserve all the fail they are committing, more than any publication not owned by Murdoch.
ETA to fix things!
Achrachno
@moops: We aren’t going to have decent and intelligent national leadership for the next few years. What can we do in the mean time? I’m pleased to see state and local governments step up, even if they can only do part of what needs doing. Some is better than none. plus, we all need to look closer at our own lives to see what more we can do too. Every little bit helps. Maximize energy efficiency.
? Martin
Two corrections:
1) California has already met the 1990 target. We reached it 4 years early.
2) The new target is 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. That passed end of last year.
If we can move to 100% ZEV sales, that alone would reduce 36% from where we are. If we can pass the new requirements on lawn equipment to be zero emissions, that’d be another 35%. Those shouldn’t be a problem by 2050. The continuing build out of solar/wind here (simply because it’s cheaper) will take care of the rest.
Chet Murthy
@zhena gogolia: Dayyum, she’s on fire today. I have to say, if it’d been written by a Dem, it couldn’t have been more fiery.
debbie
All I know is that the 13-year cicada brood has emerged after 10 years. The only positive I see coming from this is if they like feasting on stink bugs.
J R in WV
@? Martin:
We have a ways to go to provide field tools powered by electrical storage that are as safe and effective as gasoline powered tools. Particularly farm and ranch tools like chainsaws, combines and tractors, which are a long way from lawn and garden tools. But still, that’s a way to go to reduce carbon.
I really hope we don’t wind up needing to resort to climate engineering, like spreading chemicals into the oceans to change biological cycles being altered by excess acid buildup, or pumping sulfur-dioxide into the atmosphere to reduce warming by brute force. Like volcanic eruptions triggered by artificial violence for example.
Mnemosyne
@Chet Murthy:
I think the open anti-Semitism of the Trumpistas was the last straw for her, and seeing her fellow Republicans give it a free pass only pissed her off more.
Patricia Kayden
@Luthe: Good question.
ThresherK
@Corner Stone: One caveat: Texas’ airborne byproducts will go downwind.
Sounds trivial, but it seems like the states which are determined to shit in their own beds will come running to the rest of us (at some point in the future) to help them clean up.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
Very impressive. I’m not religious, but I cringe whenever he starts with the God blessing.
Patricia Kayden
@debbie: I haven’t seen them in the part of Charles County where I live but a coworker said she’s seen them in Prince George’s County which is the next county over. My Boxer will chow them down which I know won’t be good for him so I hope they don’t show up in my county.
pk
Very OT, but this made me so angry and relevant threads are in past. As long-term lurker, I’m hoping some may wish to contribute to response.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/03/far-right-raises-50000-target-refugee-rescue-boats-med
response: https://www.gofundme.com/uniteagainstterror
Chet Murthy
@Mnemosyne: Well sure, I can believe that the anti-Semitism finally put her off. But there are a lot of Jewish intellectuals amongst the neocons who tut-tut Trump, and from time-to-time will get a bit of wind up to denounce him, but eventually slither back around to supporting him, albeit by supporting the Republican Party, e.g. in Congress. Rubin is one of the few I’ve seen who’ve given up on Republicans (for the time being).
I guess what I’m saying is, I think it’s more than *just* because of the anti-Semitism. She and Max Boot (and Ana Navarro, and a few others) seem to have really put country before party. It’s been surprising to me, b/c for the last 30 years, they didn’t — they participated in the demonizing and “other-izing” of Dems and supported Rs who did it. So seeing them finally renounce that …. it’s surprising. I wonder if they’ll stick to that, once this is over (assuming there’s anything left other than rubble and jackboots).
Splitting Image
@Corner Stone:
From the point of view of the federal and state governments, probably yes.
But in terms of the way corporations are likely to respond to this, it’s actually the complete opposite. The health insurance market in each state basically acted as a completely separate entity. Once they were given the OK to do so by the Supreme Court, state governments could accept or refuse medicaid expansion as they saw fit. Ditto with setting up a functioning exchange. Private companies selling insurance can’t sell across state lines, so they are hamstrung by what the state governments decide to do.
This is different. Most industries with a big carbon footprint, like the auto industry, have a few large companies working on a national or international scale. If enough of the biggest markets toughen their standards, they can force the companies to play ball regardless of what places like Texas do. This creates a situation where the states with the toughest regulations become the standard rather than the worst ones.
Bobby Thomson
All well and good until republicans pass federal legislation banning this.
Chet Murthy
@Patricia Kayden: Oh wow, I hadn’t thought that they could cause a problem — they’re protein after all — but I read that they can cause GI inflammation, and they’re significant bioaccumulators of mercury. So …. yeah, keep the pups away from the walking snacks, I guess.
Mnemosyne
@Chet Murthy:
I don’t think it was only the anti-Semitism for her, just that it was the last straw as far as she was concerned. I hope that she, Boot, and Navarro are having a Cole or Charles Johnson-like awakening of holy shit, what was I enabling all those years? rather than a temporary shake-up, but I’ll take what I can get right now.
Boussinesque
@pk: wow, that is just unbelievably vile. Good on the good people of Europe pushing back against it, but damn…
gene108
@zhena gogolia:
In the post-mortem of the 2016 election, one reason people in rural areas vote for Republicans is because the entertainment industry never has any shows set in rural areas and the ones that are belittle rural folks.
I am seeing a pattern here, I think.
Mnemosyne
@Splitting Image:
As you’re saying, it’s more analogous to textbooks — the biggest markets drive the decisions more than the smaller ones do, for better and for worse.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: No.
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman: Oh. Ok.
Adam L Silverman
@pk: My guess is someone, a la the Sea Shepherd Society, will sink a couple of these identitarian funded boats and that will quickly be the end of that.
Same thing will eventually happen on a smaller scale domestically. Instead of trying to simply shield those being assaulted by racists and neo-nationalist as was the case in Portland ten days ago, a concealed carrier is simply going to stand his or her ground and ventilate one of these chuckleheads. At that point a whole lot of white folks are going to realize that the saying: “G-d created man, Samuel Colt made all men equal” doesn’t just apply to white Christians Americans.
skerry
@Patricia Kayden: They are out in my part of Howard County. My dog has been munching all he can find.
TriassicSands
@zhena gogolia:
Democratic hubris is responsible for everything wrong with the GOP today. Those poor Wee-pub-wikans aren’t responsible for anything bad they do.
Liz Spayd is gone but false equivalency lives on at the NY Times.
If it weren’t for Obama (who pretended to be GOD) and general Democratic hubris we would have none of the following:
Republican climate change denial
Merrick Garland’s failure to get a hearing
Republican voter suppression
Republican racism
Republican tax cuts for the rich (and war on the poor)
Republican health care disaster
And many, many more
Coral Davenport and Eric LIpton should be fired — along with their editor.
Adam L Silverman
@Mnemosyne: Exactly.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: Glad I could resolve that for you.
ETA: More seriously there are two differences. The first is that the legal challenges to the ACA, including the Medicaid expansion, were largely made up out of whole cloth by a small number of extreme libertarian legal scholars at a couple of think tanks and law schools on endowed chairs funded by the usual suspects (Kochs). They got state governors and AGs to agree to serve as the hosts for their pet theories and then rode the suits, after initially filing in select Federal district courts where they knew they’d get an initially positive hearing, up to the Supreme Court. These challenges were specifically about testing out these pet libertarian legal theories in service to a 21st Century version of nullification.
This is not what California and its coalition partners are doing.
Frankensteinbeck
@Bobby Thomson:
Possible, but unlikely. After seeing North Carolina, I was expecting a flood of this stuff. Ryan has passed a few ugly bills in the House. McConnell is completely ignoring all of them, even the AHCA. Damned if I know what he’s up to. Holding out a little worry he’s planning a late-night ‘force through every monster bill at once just before recess’ extravaganza, but that honestly doesn’t make much sense.
NorthLeft12
Yes, it looks like the Repubs and Deadbeat Donald have really stumbled on this one. Instead of staying in the accord, which really did not require much heavy lifting by the Feds, they now look totally out of step and have allowed the opposition to seize the initiative and the headlines.
And yes, extra kudos to Mr. Bloomberg for living up to the American commitment. He did not have to do this so full credit for his response.
Spanky
@Patricia Kayden: No sign of them here in Calvert.
“Yet”, I guess.
RSR
Right. And how are those cities and states doing? NJ is prioritizing highway upgrades and repairs after scuttling new Hudson River train tunnels. Philly’s mayor wants to stick to targets, but PA just announced highway infrastructure spending that includes expanding capacity.
Weaselone
@Chet Murthy:
Not sure. I assume that they were Republicans that supported the party based on it’s stated ideals of things like fiscal prudence, support for business, social conservatism, strong foreign policy, etc. In other words, they probably believed the party was still that of Eisenhower and Bush Sr. And defended it and attacked liberals accordingly. Trump certainly disabused them of that notion, but, it’s difficult to know if it sticks once Trump is gone. I suspect it depends on whether they’re just turned off by Trump, or if they’ve become skeptical of the entire party.
Corner Stone
@Adam L Silverman: Imagine, if you will, a future cap and trade market based essentially on the underpinning psychology/mania of tulip bulb futures.
Larger point being we are not going to address this problem at a state level, just as we could not adequately address the challenges of ACA on a one-off basis after we got shit bombed by CJ Roberts. It’s a bunch of life boats trying to row away from the undertow of a sinking Titanic. And I take issue with your argument that this will not devolve into a circuit court fight, unltimately being settled by the SCOTUS. I believe that is exactly what will happen.
gene108
@RSR:
I live in NJ. They jacked the gas tax up 23 cents last November. And for the first time in the 20 years I’ve lived here roads are really getting repaved. It is beautiful.
Also, Christie did what every Republican governor did, when given infrastructure money, he refused to take it. The fuck you to Obama was not just from the Senate Republicans; every elected Republican official wanted to get their lick in anyway they could.
It was a dumb decision, but does not reflect on the overall effort of NJ to reduce emissions.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_New_Jersey
D58826
OT but was watching a bit of the Ariana Grande concert. My first reaction was she must get altitude sickness in those heels. She could do serious damage if she fell off them. But the more lasting impression was of 10’s of thousands of people singing, clapping and celebrating love and life. Giving the terrorists a very big middle finger.
In the meantime Der Fuhrer is off spreading fear and insulting the mayor of London and then going off into hiding to play some more golf.
Corner Stone
We’re under a flash flood warning here. My years of climate change denial may have finally caught up with me. I always believed it would come…..later.
Just remember, I love you all. Well except for a couple of you.
Chet Murthy
@D58826:
When I was a young randy boy, I used to find women in heels sexually appealing. Now that I’m gettin’ olllld, sure, they’re attractive, but I’m much moreso impressed with the athleticism. I mean geez, walking down stairs in serious heels? Sheeeite, that takes some serious muscles and control. And then there’s walking in heels over uneven terrain (sidewalks everywhere, rumble strips, etc). Just … wow.
NotMax
But- but- clean coal.
Bwahahahahahahahaha.
sukabi
@Luthe: “Democratic hubris” translates to “fucking know-it-alls with their science and shit”
BBA
So what happens when the denialists do something even more insane and spiteful, like making “rolling coal” mandatory nationwide, because suck it libtards?
Hyperbole, of course, but they’re certainly going to do their best to keep energy as dirty as possible.
D58826
@Chet Murthy: and singing and dancing. There was a twitter clip that she originally had planned to sing some more serious/subdued material but the Mother of one of the girls that died told her that her daughter would have preferred to the uptempo hits. So the hits it was.
wuzzat
OT (except in the “Trump hates science” aspect, I suppose), but I’ve been hoping to get Adam’s opinion on the fact that Trump’s budget kills the National Bioforensic Analysis Center in Fort Detrick. Personally, if I thought Hair Fuhrer had any idea what NBAC actually does, I’d think it was a middle finger to the FBI. As is, though, I’m guessing he’s just trying to get Wall money saved up, and figures that if he doesn’t know what bioforensics are then no one else will care.
Sab
@debbie: Our 17 year cicadas came out 2 years early also. I hope they also ate stink bugs.
Corner Stone
@BBA: I do not recommend watching it, but on MtP today Chuck Todd had to mention something about placating ignorant white voters at least three times that I saw.
How didn’t we “have to” stop insulting them for being ignorant, petulant, grievance children?!
Achrachno
@ThresherK: Texas is well situated for wind power production, and so the market is driving large increases in wind generated electricity production even there. I don’t think the bad guys are in a great position. They’ll make things worse than they should be, and could create disaster, but they’re not going to keep their carbon fueled economy, no matter what Trump does. The economics are against it. For example, coal is failing everywhere — too expensive to mine and transport. Can’t compete. Oil will decline too.
Kelly
I’m certain under Trump’s wise leadershit things will work out peachy.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
The other thing I liked was the guy who went back and paid his bill. Trump would never do that.
zhena gogolia
@debbie:
Yes, that’s amazing. Keep calm and carry on, indeed.
Frankensteinbeck
@Sab:
Given they’re herbivores who feed only on tree roots during the nymphal stage, probably not.
ThresherK
@Achrachno: I’m thinking they’ll go the WV route: Some over-subsidized, tax-propped-upm near-useless “boutique” industry. Except with incredible damage and tailings left over.
Adam L Silverman
@wuzzat: I think it is DOA, like almost everything else in his proposed budget, in Congress. Definitely on the Senate side. There’s just too many dollars in too many districts and states at play. And for something like this, which is to important to defund, the local member of the House and the state’s 2 senators will get support from those across the aisle.
cain
@zhena gogolia: She’s broken through the bubble, and can see clearly now, now that the rains are gone.
Fake Irishman
@Mnemosyne:
What you all are talking about here is a phenomenon called “Trading Up” when one large jurisdiction can force lax jursidictions to comply with higher level There’s a great book by that title from the 1990s discussing this “California Effect” on regulations by a UC prof. Good read if you can dig up a copy.
Also: that California ZEV regs have been adopted by 9 other states and will go into effect there in 2018 — a lot of those electric “compliance cars” built for Cali will be sold in a bunch of other markets now too. There may be a lawsuit over this from Trump’s flunkies eventually, but California’s waiver is on very, very strong legal footing.
Bill
Just to update your 2014 figures on California’s economy:
Using 2016 data, the state is now ranked as the 6th largest economy, close behind 5th-ranked UK.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-10/california-leads-u-s-economy-away-from-trump
E.
@Corner Stone: Corner Stone, I am a mayor of a small California town in a very very very red county. I agree with you that this is not a problem that can be solved on a state level, and most certainly not by a coalition of mayors. However, you have to start somewhere, and we are way behind in starting. In a way, Trump gave people like me a great opportunity. Climate change hasn’t been on local folks’ radar at all until now. If you believe politics is local, then a mayor successfully pushing through visible photo voltaic panels and greener building standards can help turn that ship much more than randomly screaming at Trump on Facebook. And on an issue like this one, I much prefer being challenged to being ignored. Before this Paris business, I was ignored.
Ruckus
@Chet Murthy:
It may be, and I’m only supposing, that they have seen that the last 20-30 yrs of republican bullshit is exactly that. Bullshit. That bullshit impeached a president for nothing, it got us in 2 wars and allowed torture, for nothing, it allowed an economy to go into a recession second only to a major depression, and it allowed the election of an idiot with the maturity of a 4 yr old brat. And that’s just some of the low points. Not a good record in the least. And it matters not that the top few percent of the country are doing well, because they are doing well by destroying the rest of us. I know I sound like a BS supporter, but I’m not. Not in the least. He had/has no idea about the size and complexity of the problems that face most of the people of this and other nations. Zip, Zero, Nada, None.
Ruckus
@E.:
Keep up the good work.
I’ve seen reports on renewables that are being installed in all segments of the economy and in many, many places, some very red places. People may not be doing it for all the green reasons but only for that one, money.
Achrachno
Just saw this, which bears on this discussion (if anyone’s still reading here):
https://www.juancole.com/2017/06/policies-driving-advances.html
Amir Khalid
@Ruckus:
I saw an op-ed piece a week or so ago in the F’ing NYT in which the writer, a professor of psychology, argued that President Trump lacks even that level of maturity.
wuzzat
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks for the input — I’ve pretty much only heard about this through the bioscience community, who are convinced that the Administration is targeting anything that sounds too sciencey because the base will eat it up.