In response to today’s New York Times story that revealed Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt violated his ethics pledge by taking specific actions to benefit a former client, the Center for Western Priorities issued the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“Today’s story raises more questions than it answers. Bernhardt lobbied and litigated to weaken specific wildlife protections on behalf of Westlands Water District, then ordered Interior staff to do exactly that a mere four months into his time at Interior—a clear conflict of interest.
“The idea that someone as meticulous as David Bernhardt only got verbal approval to skirt his ethical conflicts doesn’t pass the smell test. Why would he carry a list of conflicts in his jacket pocket if he’s just going to ignore them? Clearly Bernhardt’s ethics pledges aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.
“Before David Bernhardt goes before the Senate for a confirmation hearing, Senators must demand answers to several specific questions:
1) When discussing the Delta Smelt and California water with ethics officials, did you disclose you had previously lobbied and litigated on behalf of Westlands Water District for the policy actions you were ordering Interior officials to take?
2) How many times have you explored whether you need a verbal or written waiver from your ethics recusals?
3) How many waivers did you receive, who issued those waivers, and how did they reach their decisions?
4) Will you commit to recuse yourself from any future decisions that benefit your former clients for the duration of your tenure at Interior, and notify the Senate in writing if you receive waivers from those recusals?”
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee requested Bernhardt provide documents relating to his calendar and schedule which have not been made public, pointing out that the public calendars Interior have been released appear to withhold information about who Bernhardt met with as Deputy Secretary. In light of today’s story, the Senate should also refuse to hold a confirmation hearing until Bernhardt produces all of the documents requested by the House committee.
During Bernhardt’s Deputy Secretary nomination hearing in 2017, Senator Maria Cantwell asked specifically if he would make his ethics waivers public. Bernhardt refused.
Cantwell: “You reserve the right, in your ethics agreement, to seek a waiver from your recusals in accordance with 5 C.F.R. § 2635.502(d). Under what circumstances would you seek such a waiver? Would you commit to making any such waiver request public?”
Bernhardt: “I do not know under what circumstances I might seek a waiver because I do not anticipate doing so. However, should I seek a waiver from the Designated Agency Ethics Official, I will discuss whether such a request should be made public.”
For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. To speak with an expert on public lands, contact Aaron Weiss at 720-279-0019 or aaron@westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox.
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The Center for Western Priorities is a conservation policy and advocacy organization focused on land and energy issues across the American West.
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Solar Jobs Down 3 Percent Nationwide in 2018, But Some Key States See Job Growth
Uncertainty over tariffs, state policy impacts contribute to job reduction nationwide
Washington, D.C., February 12, 2019 – The U.S. solar industry employs 242,343 workers as of 2018, a decline of nearly 8,000 jobs (3.2 percent) compared to 2017, according to the National Solar Jobs Census 2018 released today by The Solar Foundation.
This marks the second year in a row that solar jobs have declined after seven years of steady growth. At the same time, solar jobs increased in 29 states in 2018, including in many states with emerging solar markets.
States with the highest employment gains include Florida, Illinois, Texas, and New York State. Other states that saw job growth include Ohio, Washington State, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Virginia, and Tennessee. The full report and a complete list of solar jobs by state is available at SolarJobsCensus.org.
The Solar Foundation, a nonprofit educational and research organization, issues the National Solar Jobs Census each year to provide comprehensive and reliable data on the U.S. solar workforce. Overall, solar employment has grown 159 percent since the first Census was released in 2010, adding nearly 150,000 well-paying jobs across all 50 states.
The 2018 National Solar Jobs Census for the first time includes jobs numbers for Puerto Rico, which has 1,997 solar workers as of 2018. With Puerto Rico jobs included, the total number of U.S. solar jobs comes to 244,340.
“Despite two challenging years, the long-term outlook for this industry remains positive as even more Americans turn to low-cost solar energy and storage solutions to power their homes and businesses,” said Andrea Luecke, President and Executive Director at The Solar Foundation. “However, it will take exceptional leadership at the federal, state, and local levels to spur this growth and address the urgent challenge of climate change. Expanding solar energy and storage across America will create high-quality jobs, reduce carbon emissions, boost local economies, and build resilient and adaptive communities.”
Nationwide, the jobs decline in 2018 reflects a slowdown in installed solar capacity. Solar companies delayed many utility-scale projects in late 2017 while awaiting the outcome of a petition for new tariffs on solar panels and cells. These delays led to reduced capacity growth and fewer jobs in the first three quarters of 2018.
At the state level, policy challenges and a difficult business climate contributed to lower jobs numbers in some states with established solar markets. In other states, supportive policies and the rapidly declining cost of solar technologies helped drive an increase in employment in 2018.
“We are proud of the solar job growth in Wisconsin. It solidifies our commitment to getting our state on track for a future driven by renewable energy that will make Wisconsin a stronger, better place to live, work, and play," said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. “We look forward to continuing our promise to build a clean economy that incentivizes energy innovation, diversifies Wisconsin jobs and energy sources, and promotes efficiency, affordability, and accessibility in clean energy production.”
“I’m proud that Minnesota continues to be a clean energy leader in the Midwest,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. “While our solar workforce continued to grow last year, we need to do even more to develop and deploy renewable energy and continue to build a strong clean energy economy in Minnesota.”
This year’s National Solar Jobs Census is based on a rigorous survey of solar establishments conducted between September and October 2018. The survey included approximately 59,300 phone calls and over 49,000 emails. The survey was administered to 13,945 separate establishments, of which 2,697 provided full or substantially completed surveys.
“Google is very proud to be the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the world,” said Urs Hölzle, Senior Vice President of Technical Infrastructure at Google Cloud. “We deploy solar because it helps the environment and the economy; our total investment in energy from solar and other renewable resources exceeds the amount of electricity used by our operations around the world. An added benefit of that achievement is the enormous job creation that renewable energy deployment spurs – as borne out by the findings of The Solar Foundation’s 2018 Solar Jobs Census.”
“At Target, we are committed to solar and the benefits of clean energy, which drives our goal to install rooftop panels on 500 buildings nationally by 2020,” says John Leisen, Vice President, Target Properties. “We’re proud to be a partner in helping communities, cities and states reach their clean energy goals with our solar programs.”
Other key findings from the National Solar Jobs Census 2018 include:
“As one of the largest utility and commercial solar contractors in the U.S., we were impacted by several factors that caused market instability in 2018,” said George Hershman, President of Swinerton Renewable Energy. “Tariffs on solar cells and modules, steel, and aluminum increased costs and impacted projects that were already in the pipeline. Despite these economic factors, we began 2019 with a robust pipeline that includes new projects in existing and emerging markets. Together with industry partners, we will continue to advocate at the federal level in support of long-term solutions that support growth for solar energy.”
“This report highlights that in order to continue adding jobs, the solar industry is going to have to work harder to reduce the cost of going solar,” said Samuel Adeyemo, co-founder and COO of Aurora Solar. “Over the past seven years, this was accomplished by lowering module prices and democratizing financing. At Aurora, we believe that over the next seven years, it will come from reducing soft costs, such that solar gets to the point where it is the default option for most homes and businesses.”
“As a leader in renewable energy, E.ON is proud to contribute to one of the fastest-growing industries in the country,” said Silvia Ortin, E.ON Chief Operating Officer North America. “Our utility-scale approach to solar energy with an effort to continually lower costs, combined with our customer focus, provides us with the tools of success despite challenging market conditions.”
“Natixis is incredibly proud to work with and support the The Solar Foundation,” said Jim Roach, SVP of Retirement Strategies at Natixis Investment Managers. “The annual Solar Jobs Census report is a great means to showcase industry trends, and we are hopeful the Foundation’s efforts will continue to be transformative in the years to come.”
About The Solar Foundation®
The Solar Foundation® is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate adoption of the world’s most abundant energy source. Through its leadership, research, and capacity building, The Solar Foundation creates transformative solutions to achieve a prosperous future in which solar and solar-compatible technologies are integrated into all aspects of our lives. Learn more at TheSolarFoundation.org. Updated data on solar jobs by county, metro area, and congressional district is coming soon at SolarStates.org.
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HOPELESS RECORDS ANNOUNCES
DYING IN DESIGNER
NEW SINGLE "DEVIL'S CALLIN'" OUT NOW
WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO HERE
FEBRUARY 12, 2019 - Hopeless Records has announced their signing of Chicago-based singer/rapper dying in designer and shared a new single, "Devil's Callin'." Fans can watch the music video here: smarturl.it/DevilsCallinVideo.
"Devil's Callin'" is about saying you feel better about moving on from a past relationship, but in reality you don't. This song means a ton to me and you can actually feel my anger in the first 4 bars of the verse," dying in designer's Bobby O'Brien said. "Mentally, I was preparing myself to move on and it was the turning point in my relationship. I was lying to myself the whole time until it eventually became true."
For Chicago-based singer/rapper, dying in designer,2018 was the hardest year of his life. Fully-consumed by a toxic relationship that ultimately led to immense pain, heartbreak, depression and suicidal thoughts, vocalist Bobby O'Brien, used every ounce of pain and sorrow to create music that pulled him back into the world. The result is a lyrically gut-wrenching, honest, raw portrait of emotion backed by catchy melodies, cathartic 808s and breakdowns.
Hailing from the South Side of Chicago, dying in designer's early influences came from bands like Blink 182, Taking Back Sunday, and Silverstein. He played in several emo and hardcore bands throughout high school. At the same time, dying in designer became fully-engulfed in rap and the Chicago drill scene (Chief Keef, Lil Durk). Throwing down cyphers in the high school cafeteria and writing his own bars, dying in designer cemented his unique style, blending pop punk, emo, rap, and trap to create a melodic sound that is all his own.
This unique blend of styles shines through in "Devil's Callin',"the melodic, uplifting single that hits hard with a false bravado. Feeling broken, and anxious, dying in designer uses these feelings of pain, anger, and sadness as fuel toward something therapeutic and cathartic. On the meaning behind the song, dying in designer explains, "The song is about saying you feel better about moving on from a past relationship, when in reality, you really don't want to move on at all." Following that theme, "Gerard Way," deals with missing someone after they are completely out of your life, wrestling with the good and bad moments, and ultimately admitting that "you're not okay."
On "Lately" - the first track to hit over a million streams, dying in designer laments, "This was my worst fucking year. I could drown in my own tears." Stripping out all pretension and leaving raw vulnerability, dying in designer admits freely to dealing with suicidal thoughts.. "Lately was written like a suicide note. I was in a very toxic relationship, which put me in an extremely dark place," dying in designer shares. "I want to help people who feel the way I have felt. I want to be a role model to these broken kids around the world. I want these kids to know that it's okay to feel down sometimes - emotions are real and will always be universal. I want my music to save lives."
Stayed tuned for new music from dying in designer.
Follow dying in designer:
Instagram: @dyingindesigner_
Twitter: @Brewski773
For more information:
https://www.hopelessrecords.com/
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