Show Notes: Best Laid Plans of FEMA and the Elites

FEMA – Changing the Mission From Disaster Relief to Climate Change Resiliency

FEMA can reject Disaster Recovery Plans if they do not cover climate change measures.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fema-gets-real-about-climate-change

In March 2015, however, all that changed. After a three-year campaign by NRDC, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, announced that states would be required to factor climate change into their hazard-mitigation plans. In order for individual plans to be approved by FEMA—and in order for states to be eligible for federal funding related to pre-disaster mitigation projects—these plans must now also be approved by the state’s highest elected officials. In other words, state governments must begin acknowledging “that future hazards may not follow the same pattern as the disasters the state has experienced in the past,” says Becky Hammer, an attorney with NRDC’s Water program.

Biden White House Shifted Climate Change Emphasis With Executive Order 14008

EO 14008 underscores the Biden Administration’s commitment to addressing climate change as a central element of U.S. foreign policy, national security planning, and domestic policy.  

• Climate Considerations in Foreign Policy and National Security
• Government-Wide Approach to the Climate Crisis
• Federal Government’s Sustainability Efforts
• Environmental Justice
• Conservation Efforts – order emphasizes the significance of conservation in tackling the climate crisis. It sets a goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030

This below link is now blocked.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/05/24/fact-sheet-biden-administration-invests-1-billion-to-protect-communities-families-and-businesses-before-disaster-strikes/

https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan/goal-1

Disasters impact people and communities differently. Every disaster occurs within a unique context based on a community’s geographic, demographic, political, historical, and cultural characteristics.

https://www.fema.gov/about/strategic-plan/goal-2

Through close collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, and territory governments, community-based organizations, and the private sector, FEMA will take a people first approach to increase climate literacy, develop tools, and allocate resources informed by future risk estimates to target investments to create a more equitable and resilient nation. The agency will demonstrate its commitment to climate change mitigation strategies within its facilities.

Executive Order 12898 Hinders FEMA Action

https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/executive-order-12898-environmental-justice#:~:text=FEMA%20considers%20environmental%20justice%20(EJ,low%2Dincome%20and%20minority%20populations.

FEMA considers environmental justice (EJ) impacts as required by Executive Order 12898. The executive order directs federal agencies to identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects on low-income and minority populations. Federal agencies must conduct their programs, policies, and activities that may substantially affect human health or the environment to avoid excluding persons or populations or subjecting persons or populations to discrimination because of their race, color, or national origin.

Common FEMA-Funded Project Types that Can Have Environmental Justice Concerns

Table 1 provides examples of common project types funded by FEMA that may trigger environmental justice considerations in project design to minimize, mitigate, or avoid disproportionately high and adverse effects on low income and minority communities. All direct, indirect, and cumulative effects from a proposed project must be considered, including those occurring directly at the project site and those that may be further removed.