Rep. Scholten claims to walk the walk on environmental matters, but you can’t support massive military spending and promote environmental justice at the same time

In her most recent weekly Email message, Rep. Scholten at the following response when she was participating in a panel discussion hosted by the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum:

When asked what I’m doing to help create a circular economy here in West Michigan, I had a robust answer at the ready – walking the walk, not just talking the talk, by funding green energy initiatives through my discretionary appropriations like the GR Biodigestor; and working on legislation like the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act (H.R. 6053), of which I am a cosponsor. 

There are numerous point to make in response to the Congresswoman’s comments. First, it is important to point out that the term circular economy is a term that has increasingly been used by the people who are promoting green capitalism, which is essentially means that they want to appear to be more environmentally friendly, while expanding markets and continuing to perpetuate consumption. For those who want to explore the false solutions of green capitalism I would recommend the following books: 

• Green Gone Wrong: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Eco-Capitalism, Heather Rogers 
• This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, by Naomi Klein 
• What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism, by Fred Magdoff and John Bellamy Foster 

Second, the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum is a group that promotes green capitalism, embracing the idea of a circular economy or what used to be fashionable, the Triple Bottom Live. 

Third, the response from Rep. Scholten during this panel discussion is instructive, both by what she says and what she failed to say. Rep. Scholten highlights two things, the GR Biodigestor and a piece of legislation she has co-sponsored. The GR biodigestor is designed to use organic waste and turn it into natural gas. According to an MLive article from 2022, the City of Grand Rapids is selling the natural gas to DTE. DTE is a company that profits from the trafficking of fossil fuels and they are notorious for shutting off gas to people who can’t afford to pay it in the current economy.

The legislation that Rep. Scholten referred to is H.R.6053 – Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023, would provide some good regulation on the production and use of plastics, but it is unlikely to pass since this industry has deep connections to Congress. In addition, it is important to point out that Democrats generally will propose somewhat progressive legislation when they are not in control of Congress, but they can still appear to be progressive on issues.

However, it is what Congresswoman Scholten did not say that we should really be concerned about. Rep. Scholten has been bragging about for months her roll in getting additional federal funds for the Kent County Airport. As the Kent County Airport expands, it means that more people are using air travel as a means of transportation. According to the David Suzuki Foundation:

Carbon emissions from the airline industry grew by 75 per cent from 1990 to 2012. It’s expected they will continue to grow rapidly until 2050. If left unchecked, they could consume a full quarter of the available carbon budget for limiting temperature rise to 1.5 C.

Another thing that Rep. Scholten didn’t say was that she voted to provide federal funds to re-open the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in SE Michigan. Not only does nuclear energy a bad choice when moving towards a fossil fuel free future, it put people at risk to exposure to nuclear radiation and it perpetuates the mining of uranium, which is a polluting industry that disproportionately impacts indigenous communities around the world.

A third item that Rep. Scholten failed to mention is the fact that she has not only voted in favor of increased weapons sales to Israel and the Ukraine, she has voted for the massive US military budget. Not only is militarism one of the most anti-environmental realities in the world, the US Military consumes more fossil fuels than most countries do on an annual basis. It is impossible to vote for increased militarism and claim that the care about the environment. These issues are intertwined, as the recent report No War, No Warming: How Militarism Fuels the Climate Crisis documents so thoroughly. 

There are a number of other things that Rep. Schoten did not address, which contribute to environmental destruction, and Climate Change, such as our continued emphasis on pushing cars over an efficient mass transit system, the unsustainable realities of agribusiness – which is subsidized by the US Farm Bill, or how human and non-human species are being impacted by the global heat waves and other forms of extreme weather that is directly related to the current climate crisis.

No matter how much Rep. Scholten likes to say she is “walking the walk, not just talking the talk” on environmental matters, her voting record says otherwise.