A group of environmental and civil society organizations is fighting for better working conditions for people in countries that supply critical minerals to the United States.

Nickel, cobalt, lithium and other minerals are mined and shipped to the United States for use in manufacturing electric vehicles, long-storage batteries, microchips and solar panels.

Clayton Tucker, climate organizer for the nonprofit Trade Justice Education Fund, said conditions in countries where the minerals are mined do not meet U.S. standards.

"Mining cobalt, there's artisan mines, and child slavery is very, very commonly used," he said. "With nickel, in Indonesia to mine that you basically have to raze entire parts of the jungle and raze basically entire indigenous communities. "

Almost 219,000 electric vehicles are registered in the state of Texas, and the Department of Transportation is working on infrastructure to increase the number of charging stations across the state. Several nonprofits in Texas recently received federal grant funding to install solar panels in low-income neighborhoods, increasing the number of households using the clean energy.

Tucker and representatives from 38 other groups recently testified at a hearing with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, calling for more stringent requirements for future Critical Mineral Agreements between the United States and other countries.

The only CMA that currently exists is between the United States and Japan. The U.S. trade representative has said the agreement strengthens and diversifies critical minerals' supply chains and promotes the adoption of electric vehicle battery technologies. But the environmental groups have said the agreement doesn't go far enough to ensure that workers and the environment are protected and that it sets a concerning precedent.

Tucker said the contracts come with certain perks, and the United States needs to leverage its power "because we need these minerals.

"We're basically trying to make sure that if you receive a subsidy, a tax credit or any form of other support," he said, "that you play by our rules with climate protections, that you play by our rules with labor protections."

The organizations want to be part of future CMA negotiations between the United States and other countries.

A county high in the Colorado Rockies is working to include its underserved residents in plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver of climate change.

Nina Waters, a Summit County commissioner, said its new Climate Equity Plan is an opportunity for all residents to help keep the area economically viable. Summit County is a prime winter sports destination and Waters argued a warming planet puts all of that at risk. Even man-made snow cannot be created when temperatures hit 40 degrees.

"We have four world-class (ski) resorts here in Summit County," Waters pointed out. "As the planet heats up, we're going to have drier winters, less snow, and that will have really serious economic impacts to our community."

Officials tapped nonprofits and community leaders to engage low-income and minority residents who were left out of a 2019 Summit Community Climate Action Plan. Using online surveys, focus groups and individual interviews, new mitigation strategies emerged around energy use, transportation and waste reduction, along with ways to lower barriers to allow more residents to participate in solutions.

Waters pointed to a recent EV Ride and Drive event created specifically for the county's 15% Latino population. Residents were able to test drive new electric vehicles and the entire event was conducted in Spanish.

"We've prioritized ensuring that our large Spanish-speaking population can have access to that information in their native language," Waters noted.

Summit County and the towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne aim to reduce fossil-fuel emissions by 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Waters stressed free public transportation is critical for residents who cannot afford electric vehicles. A new initiative added smaller vehicles to the county's bus fleet to make it easier for more people to leave their gas-powered cars at home.

"A lot of our residents do not have access to a vehicle or they share a vehicle," Waters explained. "The micro-transit is really catered toward getting folks from that main bus hub station to their place of residence."


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A bill introduced in Congress is facing backlash from nonprofit organizations, warning it could stifle free speech.

The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act would postpone tax deadlines for citizens who are unlawfully detained abroad or held hostage but it would also give the federal government the power to remove the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit group it deems to be supporting "terrorist organizations."

Critics of the bill claimed it would give President-elect Donald Trump the power to make decisions about churches, universities, news outlets and more.

Lisa DePaoli, communications director at the Center for Coalfield Justice, said it could be used to stifle the environmental work they do in Pennsylvania.

"The main issue for us is that it could take away our nonprofit designation, and it could take away our First Amendment rights," DePaoli contended. "If stripped of our rights, it'll just make the fight to protect our communities that much harder."

Proponents said it would require the federal government to provide evidence a nonprofit has supported a listed terrorist organization. More than 130 religious, civil rights and other advocacy groups have joined the ACLU in asking lawmakers to vote against the bill.

According to the ACLU, there would be a 90-day period in which a nonprofit group could defend itself against the accusations. However, the federal government might not have to turn over the evidence it would be using to make its case.

DePaoli noted she has concerns environmental groups would be specifically targeted with such powers.

"We obviously don't consider ourselves a terrorist organization but I do know that, in the past, some environmental organizations have been labeled as such," DePaoli pointed out. "It feels like a really slippery slope to me. We don't want our First Amendment rights taken away. We want to be able to speak out and express if we're upset with something they're doing."

The bill passed the House last Thursday, in a vote of 219 in support and 184 against. Fifteen Democrats sided with all but one Republican to support the bill.


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Indiana environmental advocates are facing uncertainties following the election.

Changes in federal leadership could shift key environmental protections, creating questions for state policies on coal ash and water quality.

Sam Carpenter, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, noted federal regulations, like those from the Environmental Protection Agency, have helped Indiana manage environmental challenges, including addressing unlined coal ash pits contaminating groundwater. With shifting federal priorities, there is a question of what will happen to the protections.

"The EPA had recently come out with guidelines that require those to be cleaned up," Carpenter pointed out. "There are similar things with coal-fired power plants where we still rely quite a bit on our coal power generation which is dirty."

Carpenter argued the plants are costly and harmful to health and the climate. Supporters of reduced regulation argue scaling back federal oversight could ease economic pressures on Indiana's coal industry and reduce costs for energy providers.

Carpenter expressed concern over Indiana's legislative stance, emphasizing a need for strong regulations to protect the well-being of Hoosiers and natural resources in the state amid increased development.

"What we need to think about is protection of our health, protection of our water, of our natural assets," Carpenter emphasized. "In our statehouse there is a real concern about regulation. We rely on some protection for natural resources."

Despite the challenges, Carpenter urged residents to stay hopeful and engaged, stressing involvement is a powerful antidote to despair. He assured supporters the council would keep pushing for clean energy, water quality improvements and partnerships across political lines to secure a healthier environment.


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