theintercept--2020-11-22--Dispatches From a California Prison Amid the Climate and Coronavirus Crises

The only way to ascertain the temperature at the California Institution for Women , or CIW , on a given day is to check the hourly forecast at the nearest weather reporting stations .
During the September 5 and 6 heat wave in Southern California , the closest recorded temperature to CIW hit 115 degrees .
But those stations only measure outside temperatures , not the real heat index of a roughly 8-by-12 cement-walled cell , with no ventilation or air circulation .
The second-most populous women-designated state prison in California , CIW sits on arid former farmland , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the western edge of the expanse of suburbs commonly known as the Inland Empire .
Abutted by a golf course , fields of row crops , and a housing development called “ The Preserve , ” CIW is situated on the outskirts of two cities , Chino and Corona , that are hesitant to claim it .
CIW was once called the California Institution for Women at Corona , but elected officials and residents balked at being associated with the facility , and the name was officially changed in 1962 .
Together @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or CIM , the male-designated facility that CIW neighbors , the two prisons cover over 1,800 acres and have a combined incarcerated population of over 3,500 .
The expansion of the prison industrial complex has taken place against a backdrop of steadily increasing global temperatures .
When CIW was first opened in 1952 , California averaged fewer than two heat waves per year .
The original facility was built to house just over 1,000 incarcerated people , designed more along the lines of a community college campus than a high-security prison .
By @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over 150 percent capacity .
Now Southern California routinely sustains as many as 10 heat waves per year , far longer and hotter than the average heat wave of the 1950s .
Long-standing heating issues were exacerbated by changes made to curb the spread of the coronavirus .
CIW experienced a major outbreak in late spring and summer , which advocates believe to be the result of staff movement between CIW and CIM , which was the initial source of Covid-19 cases throughout the California prison system .
The state correctional department ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections at CIW thus far , and one death .
Many reported that throughout the outbreak they were unable to open their doors or leave their housing units .
One person who had been previously held in the prison ’ s Covid-19 quarantine unit reported that quarantined people were consistently denied access to showers or were banned from opening their windows .
When asked about these conditions , prison administrators cite the implementation of heat-management policies .
But those policies , even if followed , are an ineffective shield against the heat , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some of whom I have preexisting relationships with through organizing and advocacy work , and all of whom asked to be referred to by a pseudonym due to fear of retaliation from prison staff .
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation , or CDCR , which oversees and manages CIW , told me in an unattributed statement that the agency is “ moving forward with plans to improve energy facilities at its facilities , including evaporative cooling in housing units , ” but offered no concrete timeline .
CDCR also stated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ degrees outside or inside , ” “ ice water is provided in housing units , ” “ housing units with air conditioning are maintained at cool levels , ” and “ multiple fans are placed throughout the housing units.
” CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services , the agency that oversees health care inside CDCR facilities , did not respond to my inquiries about the number of people hospitalized annually for heat-related illnesses .
These “ specific cooling measures , ” as CDCR refers to them , are deceptively simple , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provided in housing units , and to whom ?
How many of the housing units have air conditioning to begin with ?
Where in the housing units are the fans placed ?
Adela , a 54-year-old woman serving a life sentence at CIW , who suffers from high-blood pressure , diabetes , and kidney problems — all of which increase the risk of heat-related illness — told me that throughout the August and September heat waves she was without a fan , after the small hand-held fan her family purchased for her at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constant use .
She begged staff for a replacement , to no avail .
And while staff provided her with a cup of ice in the morning , she reported that the ice melted within an hour , even when the temperature was only in the high 90s , which is the late summer norm in inland Southern California .
“ The only way for me to survive , ” she wrote to me the week after September ’ s heat wave , “ is to wash my clothes in the sink and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the leading cause of climate-related deaths in the Unites States .
There are no solid , national statistics on heat-related deaths in carceral institutions , but 13 Southern and Midwestern states lack universal air conditioning in jails and prisons , according to a 2019 brief from the Prison Policy Initiative .
And even in the states that do report the use of air conditioning in jails and prisons , there is no way to be certain that all facilities — managed by different municipalities , counties , and private contractors — uniformly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The lack of access to air conditioning is made all the more lethal by the architectural and design standards of modern carceral institutions , the majority of which are constructed using concrete and concrete-like materials , which increase interior temperatures .
Modern housing units , especially in maximum security facilities , generally have small , slit-like windows that do not open ; many solitary confinement or administrative segregation units have no windows at all .
At the same time , incarcerated people are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure , heart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which increase the body ’ s susceptibility to heat .
Incarcerated populations are also prescribed psychotropic medications at much higher rates than the rest of the population , which are known to impact the body ’ s ability to self-regulate its internal temperature when hot .
In Los Angeles County alone , over 30 percent of the jail population receives psychotropic medications , which can be forcibly administered without their consent .
All of this is compounded by frequent medical neglect and lack of access to adequate medical care in many of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in California , three men were found dead in their cells in Vacaville state prison ’ s psychiatric ward , 35 miles southwest of Sacramento .
The presumed cause was hyperthermia , and the coroner reported that all three men ’ s body temperatures were over 108 degrees .
Throughout the aughts , California faced lawsuits regarding conditions inside its prisons , including extreme heat , ultimately leading to the creation of what are commonly referred to as heat plan policies .
In the last decade , there have been numerous instances of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in jails , prisons , and detention centers , including high-profile incidents in St. Louis , Missouri , and Maricopa County , Arizona .
In 2014 , seven incarcerated people filed a class-action lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice , citing a pattern of severe heat-related neglect , resulting in at least 23 heat-related deaths inside TDCJ facilities over two decades .
In the case ’ s 2017 settlement , U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison described the TDCJ ’ s management of heat as “ cruel and unusual punishment , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ department keep prison temperatures below 88 degrees , setting a new federal precedent .
CDCR ’ s company line is to describe heat plan policies as a matter of fact .
But reports from inside CIW — where the incarcerated population is painfully aware that the world outside them is rapidly warming — indicate that they are mere guidelines that exist only in writing .
“ In the last five years of my sentence , it just kept getting hotter , ” said Beatrice , who was released last year after serving nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the summertime , it was so hot in my cell I stopped being able to sleep .
We could feel the difference in the climate .
We knew what was happening.
” Covid-19 restricted the majority of the population at CIW to their housing units and cells , exacerbating already existing extreme heat conditions .
“ Normally we are allowed outside until 8:30pm , ” wrote Deborah , 55 .
“ This allowed for us to sit in the shade or find cooler air .
But Covid-19 measures keep us in our rooms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s also hard to get into the showers , due to one-at-time access to avoid spread of the virus.
” Roxane , who is 73 years old and suffers from kidney disease and high blood pressure , spent four weeks inside the quarantine unit in May , after a roommate tested positive for Covid-19 .
Roxane reported that while quarantined , she went days without being able to shower and was not allowed to open her windows or door .
CDCR ’ s guidelines require that cells be opened and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ice and increased shower access when temperatures inside or outside reach above 90 degrees .
While these cooling measures are implemented sporadically , the incarcerated population also has no way of proving that temperatures have reached that threshold — and therefore no way of holding prison administrators to account .
Three sources , two currently incarcerated at CIW and one released this summer , told me that their housing units were without thermometers in the hallways or cells , and that if there were thermometers , they were kept in the air-conditioned offices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day .
When asked about the absence of thermometers , CDCR ’ s media representative pinned the missing thermometers on the incarcerated population , explaining , “ Officers have used portable thermometers to gauge the temperature in each room because wall thermometers have been stolen or vandalized and such incidents threaten safety and security of all those who live and work in the institution.
” “ Why would incarcerated people vandalize thermometers ?
” countered Jane Dorotik , 73 , a longtime activist for better conditions inside CIW .
“ That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the heat and demand better conditions .
It goes completely against our own best interest.
” Dorotik began to notice that thermometers were gone in 2019 after she told prison officials that if they did not adjust their heat management policies , they would no doubt face a lawsuit like the one in Texas .
( She was convicted in 2001 of the murder of her husband and was sentenced to 25 years to life .
She has always maintained her innocence and , following advocacy from Loyola Law School ’ s Project @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overturned by the San Diego Superior Court in an uncontested action based on false forensics .
The San Diego DA is now considering a retrial . )
CDCR ’ s heat plan also requires that nursing staff routinely check all housing units for symptoms of heat exposure .
But that was not Dorotik ’ s experience : “ What the nurse actually does is cruise in and out of the housing unit in approximately thirty seconds , give a quick hello to the custody staff , check the temperature log which the housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and continue onto the next unit.
” In response to a question about the nursing checks , CDCR stated , “ CIW ’ s Appeals Office has not received any complaints on this issue .
Also , concerns have not been raised at either CIW ’ s Inmate Advisory Council or Inmate Family Council meetings.
” Yet CIW ’ s grievance system is notoriously ineffective , according to those who have tried to lodge complaints .
Numerous people I spoke to reported having submit grievances , commonly known as form 602s , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ice .
They said none of their grievances were directly responded to or addressed .
Jesse , who identifies as male and is in his late 40s , said he filed a grievance about his broken fan in mid-September .
Despite being prescribed medications that increase the risk of heat-related illness or death — meaning , under the heat alert policies he is entitled to an individual fan — he said he has yet to receive a replacement .
( CDCR said it has not received any complaints about the heating issue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in segregation at Valley State ” — another California facility that used to be women-designated — “ I always filed 602s , because there was no ventilation and tons of people were having seizures , ” said Angel Quiroz , who served 15 years in CDCR custody and has completed their parole obligations .
“ They ’ d always get ripped up , we knew it , so we kept our own copies .
There were certain officers who were more compassionate , so we ’ d try and give our paperwork to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any changes.
” For many , the only respite is the care of peers and loved ones inside : a fan purchased for a friend , or left behind upon release ; helping the mobility impaired and elderly get to and from the showers ; keeping eyes on one another when nurses do not .
“ We are generous , ” said Carla , who is 73 and serving life without the possibility of parole .
“ We look out for the ones who don ’ t have , and no matter what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the only way to survive the unsurvivable.
” increases the portion of the United States that experiences extreme and unlivable heat , and the duration of the year during which this heat occurs , climatologists and students of climate-related migration predict mass population shifts , with millions of people leaving the Gulf Coast , the American Southwest , and the arid and semi-arid regions of California .
This year ’ s record-breaking fires only heighten the urgency .
And while migration patterns will be largely shaped by who has the resources and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — or , inversely , who have no other option — incarceration disallows any semblance of freedom to respond to the changing conditions of global warming .
Incarcerated people , aptly known in this instance as wardens of the state , are entrapped by and dependent on state agencies ’ ability to manage and in turn protect them from extreme weather .
Through hurricanes , heat waves , and floods , federal , state , and countywide correctional departments have consistently failed or refused to anticipate the effects of climate disasters on incarcerated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large carbon footprints , incarcerated individuals , by no choice of their own , have lower per capita emissions than the majority of the population , particularly the middle class and wealthy .
The disproportionate impact of the warming climate on incarcerated people is in keeping with a global pattern : those who emit less generally suffer more .
The truth we all live with — our limited ability to overcome the state ’ s ineptness around climate change — is amplified for incarcerated people .
Put simply , there ’ s nowhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not another county , not even another room .
While those of us in the free world respond to a warming climate with whatever methods we have available to us , incarcerated people are forced to experience extreme heat on a continuum of ever-increasing punishment .
“ They don ’ t see it from a risk management standpoint , ” said Dorotik , “ they see it from a punishment standpoint .
The logic is that if you ’ ve committed a crime , you have no right to a comfortable life .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @

The only way to ascertain the temperature at the California Institution for Women, or CIW, on a given day is to check the hourly forecast at the nearest weather reporting stations. During the September 5 and 6 heat wave in Southern California, the closest recorded temperature to CIW hit 115 degrees. But those stations only measure outside temperatures, not the real heat index of a roughly 8-by-12 cement-walled cell, with no ventilation or air circulation.
The second-most populous women-designated state prison in California, CIW sits on arid former farmland, where San Bernardino and Riverside counties meet, at the western edge of the expanse of suburbs commonly known as the Inland Empire. Abutted by a golf course, fields of row crops, and a housing development called “The Preserve,” CIW is situated on the outskirts of two cities, Chino and Corona, that are hesitant to claim it. CIW was once called the California Institution for Women at Corona, but elected officials and residents balked at being associated with the facility, and the name was officially changed in 1962. Together with the California Institution for Men, or CIM, the male-designated facility that CIW neighbors, the two prisons cover over 1,800 acres and have a combined incarcerated population of over 3,500.
The expansion of the prison industrial complex has taken place against a backdrop of steadily increasing global temperatures. When CIW was first opened in 1952, California averaged fewer than two heat waves per year. The original facility was built to house just over 1,000 incarcerated people, designed more along the lines of a community college campus than a high-security prison. By 2013, the facility was operating at over 150 percent capacity. Now Southern California routinely sustains as many as 10 heat waves per year, far longer and hotter than the average heat wave of the 1950s.
Outside the California Institution for Women on Oct. 8, 2020. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
In dozens of pages of correspondence and in phone calls with The Intercept, 10 people currently incarcerated at CIW described the day-to-day experience of incarceration through a heat wave as “unbearable,” “torture,” “a living hell,” and “like being cooked alive.” They consistently reported lack of access to working fans, air-conditioned spaces, or more than two small cups of ice per day; reportedly, people in units without ice machines often received less ice, and those held in solitary confinement units often received no ice at all.
Long-standing heating issues were exacerbated by changes made to curb the spread of the coronavirus. CIW experienced a major outbreak in late spring and summer, which advocates believe to be the result of staff movement between CIW and CIM, which was the initial source of Covid-19 cases throughout the California prison system. The state correctional department’s official Covid-19 tracker reports 342 total infections at CIW thus far, and one death. Many reported that throughout the outbreak they were unable to open their doors or leave their housing units. One person who had been previously held in the prison’s Covid-19 quarantine unit reported that quarantined people were consistently denied access to showers or were banned from opening their windows.
When asked about these conditions, prison administrators cite the implementation of heat-management policies. But those policies, even if followed, are an ineffective shield against the heat, according to sources currently incarcerated inside CIW, some of whom I have preexisting relationships with through organizing and advocacy work, and all of whom asked to be referred to by a pseudonym due to fear of retaliation from prison staff.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or CDCR, which oversees and manages CIW, told me in an unattributed statement that the agency is “moving forward with plans to improve energy facilities at its facilities, including evaporative cooling in housing units,” but offered no concrete timeline.
CDCR also stated that once “the temperature reaches 90 degrees outside or inside,” “ice water is provided in housing units,” “housing units with air conditioning are maintained at cool levels,” and “multiple fans are placed throughout the housing units.” CDCR and California Correctional Health Care Services, the agency that oversees health care inside CDCR facilities, did not respond to my inquiries about the number of people hospitalized annually for heat-related illnesses.
These “specific cooling measures,” as CDCR refers to them, are deceptively simple, and tellingly vague. How much ice is provided in housing units, and to whom? How many of the housing units have air conditioning to begin with? Where in the housing units are the fans placed?
Adela, a 54-year-old woman serving a life sentence at CIW, who suffers from high-blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney problems — all of which increase the risk of heat-related illness — told me that throughout the August and September heat waves she was without a fan, after the small hand-held fan her family purchased for her at the beginning of the summer broke from constant use. She begged staff for a replacement, to no avail. And while staff provided her with a cup of ice in the morning, she reported that the ice melted within an hour, even when the temperature was only in the high 90s, which is the late summer norm in inland Southern California.
“The only way for me to survive,” she wrote to me the week after September’s heat wave, “is to wash my clothes in the sink and wear them wet, day and night.”
Outside the California Institution for Women on Oct. 8, 2020. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
Extreme heat is the leading cause of climate-related deaths in the Unites States. There are no solid, national statistics on heat-related deaths in carceral institutions, but 13 Southern and Midwestern states lack universal air conditioning in jails and prisons, according to a 2019 brief from the Prison Policy Initiative. And even in the states that do report the use of air conditioning in jails and prisons, there is no way to be certain that all facilities — managed by different municipalities, counties, and private contractors — uniformly enforce and maintain working cooling systems. The lack of access to air conditioning is made all the more lethal by the architectural and design standards of modern carceral institutions, the majority of which are constructed using concrete and concrete-like materials, which increase interior temperatures. Modern housing units, especially in maximum security facilities, generally have small, slit-like windows that do not open; many solitary confinement or administrative segregation units have no windows at all.
At the same time, incarcerated people are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, all of which increase the body’s susceptibility to heat. Incarcerated populations are also prescribed psychotropic medications at much higher rates than the rest of the population, which are known to impact the body’s ability to self-regulate its internal temperature when hot. In Los Angeles County alone, over 30 percent of the jail population receives psychotropic medications, which can be forcibly administered without their consent. All of this is compounded by frequent medical neglect and lack of access to adequate medical care in many of these prisons.
In a notorious 1991 incident in California, three men were found dead in their cells in Vacaville state prison’s psychiatric ward, 35 miles southwest of Sacramento. The presumed cause was hyperthermia, and the coroner reported that all three men’s body temperatures were over 108 degrees. Throughout the aughts, California faced lawsuits regarding conditions inside its prisons, including extreme heat, ultimately leading to the creation of what are commonly referred to as heat plan policies.
In the last decade, there have been numerous instances of abuse and neglect connected to extreme heat in jails, prisons, and detention centers, including high-profile incidents in St. Louis, Missouri, and Maricopa County, Arizona. In 2014, seven incarcerated people filed a class-action lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, citing a pattern of severe heat-related neglect, resulting in at least 23 heat-related deaths inside TDCJ facilities over two decades. In the case’s 2017 settlement, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison described the TDCJ’s management of heat as “cruel and unusual punishment,” and demanded in his injunction that the department keep prison temperatures below 88 degrees, setting a new federal precedent.
CDCR’s company line is to describe heat plan policies as a matter of fact. But reports from inside CIW — where the incarcerated population is painfully aware that the world around them is rapidly warming — indicate that they are mere guidelines that exist only in writing.
“In the last five years of my sentence, it just kept getting hotter,” said Beatrice, who was released last year after serving nearly four decades at CIW. “In the summertime, it was so hot in my cell I stopped being able to sleep. We could feel the difference in the climate. We knew what was happening.”
Jane Dorotik works on a blanket she is knitting while at her sister Bonnie’s house in Long Beach on Oct. 8, 2020. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
(Left/Top) Jane Dorotik looks at photos from a recent trip to Florida, where she visited her daughter, Claire, and her new horse, Anthem, on Oct. 10, 2020. (Right/Bottom) Jane Dorotik works on a blanket she is knitting on Oct. 8, 2020. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
The onset of Covid-19 restricted the majority of the population at CIW to their housing units and cells, exacerbating already existing extreme heat conditions.
“Normally we are allowed outside until 8:30pm,” wrote Deborah, 55. “This allowed for us to sit in the shade or find cooler air. But Covid-19 measures keep us in our rooms to avoid the spread of the virus. It’s also hard to get into the showers, due to one-at-time access to avoid spread of the virus.”
Roxane, who is 73 years old and suffers from kidney disease and high blood pressure, spent four weeks inside the quarantine unit in May, after a roommate tested positive for Covid-19. Roxane reported that while quarantined, she went days without being able to shower and was not allowed to open her windows or door.
CDCR’s guidelines require that cells be opened and that all incarcerated people be provided with ice and increased shower access when temperatures inside or outside reach above 90 degrees. While these cooling measures are implemented sporadically, the incarcerated population also has no way of proving that temperatures have reached that threshold — and therefore no way of holding prison administrators to account.
Three sources, two currently incarcerated at CIW and one released this summer, told me that their housing units were without thermometers in the hallways or cells, and that if there were thermometers, they were kept in the air-conditioned offices where staff spend the majority of the day. When asked about the absence of thermometers, CDCR’s media representative pinned the missing thermometers on the incarcerated population, explaining, “Officers have used portable thermometers to gauge the temperature in each room because wall thermometers have been stolen or vandalized and such incidents threaten safety and security of all those who live and work in the institution.”
Outside the California Institution for Women on Oct. 8, 2020. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
“Why would incarcerated people vandalize thermometers?” countered Jane Dorotik, 73, a longtime activist for better conditions inside CIW. “That’s the only means we have to prove the heat and demand better conditions. It goes completely against our own best interest.”
Dorotik began to notice that thermometers were gone in 2019 after she told prison officials that if they did not adjust their heat management policies, they would no doubt face a lawsuit like the one in Texas. (She was convicted in 2001 of the murder of her husband and was sentenced to 25 years to life. She has always maintained her innocence and, following advocacy from Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent, her conviction was overturned by the San Diego Superior Court in an uncontested action based on false forensics. The San Diego DA is now considering a retrial.)
CDCR’s heat plan also requires that nursing staff routinely check all housing units for symptoms of heat exposure. But that was not Dorotik’s experience: “What the nurse actually does is cruise in and out of the housing unit in approximately thirty seconds, give a quick hello to the custody staff, check the temperature log which the housing staff keeps in the air-conditioned cop shop, and continue onto the next unit.”
In response to a question about the nursing checks, CDCR stated, “CIW’s Appeals Office has not received any complaints on this issue. Also, concerns have not been raised at either CIW’s Inmate Advisory Council or Inmate Family Council meetings.”
Yet CIW’s grievance system is notoriously ineffective, according to those who have tried to lodge complaints. Numerous people I spoke to reported having submit grievances, commonly known as form 602s, regarding broken fans or inadequate access to ice. They said none of their grievances were directly responded to or addressed. Jesse, who identifies as male and is in his late 40s, said he filed a grievance about his broken fan in mid-September. Despite being prescribed medications that increase the risk of heat-related illness or death — meaning, under the heat alert policies he is entitled to an individual fan — he said he has yet to receive a replacement. (CDCR said it has not received any complaints about the heating issue, either.)
“When I was in segregation at Valley State” — another California facility that used to be women-designated — “I always filed 602s, because there was no ventilation and tons of people were having seizures,” said Angel Quiroz, who served 15 years in CDCR custody and has completed their parole obligations. “They’d always get ripped up, we knew it, so we kept our own copies. There were certain officers who were more compassionate, so we’d try and give our paperwork to them, but it never amounted to any changes.”
For many, the only respite is the care of peers and loved ones inside: a fan purchased for a friend, or left behind upon release; helping the mobility impaired and elderly get to and from the showers; keeping eyes on one another when nurses do not.
“We are generous,” said Carla, who is 73 and serving life without the possibility of parole. “We look out for the ones who don’t have, and no matter what we help each other. It’s the only way to survive the unsurvivable.”
Angel Quiroz at Mel’s Drive-in on Mission Street in San Francisco on Oct. 10, 2020. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
(Left/Top) Angel Quiroz, wearing a “DROP LWOP” (Drop Life Without Parole) cap they made, in front of San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 10, 2020. (Right/Bottom) Jane Dorotik in Bluff Park, Long Beach, on Oct. 8, 2020. Jane wears a jacket advertising Loyola Law School's Project for the Innocent, the organization she credits with helping to overturn her murder conviction. Photo: Tag Christof for The Intercept
As global climate change increases the portion of the United States that experiences extreme and unlivable heat, and the duration of the year during which this heat occurs, climatologists and students of climate-related migration predict mass population shifts, with millions of people leaving the Gulf Coast, the American Southwest, and the arid and semi-arid regions of California. This year’s record-breaking fires only heighten the urgency. And while migration patterns will be largely shaped by who has the resources and mobility to uproot and rebuild their lives — or, inversely, who have no other option — incarceration disallows any semblance of freedom to respond to the changing conditions of global warming. Incarcerated people, aptly known in this instance as wardens of the state, are entrapped by and dependent on state agencies’ ability to manage and in turn protect them from extreme weather. Through hurricanes, heat waves, and floods, federal, state, and countywide correctional departments have consistently failed or refused to anticipate the effects of climate disasters on incarcerated populations.
While prisons themselves have extremely large carbon footprints, incarcerated individuals, by no choice of their own, have lower per capita emissions than the majority of the population, particularly the middle class and wealthy. The disproportionate impact of the warming climate on incarcerated people is in keeping with a global pattern: those who emit less generally suffer more. The truth we all live with — our limited ability to overcome the state’s ineptness around climate change — is amplified for incarcerated people. Put simply, there’s nowhere to go: not another state, not another county, not even another room.
While those of us in the free world respond to a warming climate with whatever methods we have available to us, incarcerated people are forced to experience extreme heat on a continuum of ever-increasing punishment. “They don’t see it from a risk management standpoint,” said Dorotik, “they see it from a punishment standpoint. The logic is that if you’ve committed a crime, you have no right to a comfortable life. You deserve whatever you get.”


theintercept--2020-11-22--Joe Biden's Silence on Ending the Drone Wars

has maintained silence for years on the controversial and continued use of so-called targeted killings — lethal strikes by drones , cruise missiles , and occasionally military special operations raids .
Biden has never publicly disavowed or criticized former President Barack Obama ’ s legacy of expanding the use of drones , nor made clear his own policy on the continuation of targeted killing conducted by the Department of Defense and , clandestinely , the CIA .
His campaign and transition websites similarly make no mention of policy addressing drone strikes , a defining feature of Obama-era foreign policy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ primary and general election debates about assassination policies .
While on the campaign trail , Biden pledged to end “ endless wars ” without detailing how his administration would differ from those of President Donald Trump and Obama , even as lethal strikes , including against American citizens , have remained an often-noted blemish on Obama ’ s legacy .
“ There ’ s a pretty clear divide on our understanding of what it means to end endless war , and between what the Left actually wants to do and what they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , policy director for Win Without War , told The Intercept by email .
“ I think Biden and his team have yet to fundamentally reckon with whether or not counterterrorism even works to actually address the security challenge and whether there are other tools that are more suited than military force to undermine the influence of violent groups.
” What we know of Biden ’ s opinion of lethal strikes is limited .
In 2009 , while serving as vice president , Biden pushed back against a strategy set forward by Gen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ troops to Afghanistan along with civilian-assistance workers to rebuild the country , Biden advocated for what he called “ counterterrorism plus , ” a combination of special forces and aggressive drone bombing to target suspected Al Qaeda militants .
Biden stuck by that advocacy on the campaign trail , vowing to keep a “ counterterrorism ” force in Afghanistan .
Obama sent about half as many troops as the generals wanted — but also embraced the plan Biden advocated for .
The president heavily expanded the use of militarized drones as a central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classified targets on a secretive “ kill list ” within a 60-day window .
The American public overwhelmingly supported drone strikes .
By the end of the Obama administration , strikes had been carried out across an impressive expanse of regions : Hellfire missiles rained down over Pakistan , Iraq , Afghanistan , Yemen , Somalia , Libya , and Syria .
While Obama officially recognized the targeting killing program conducted by the U.S. military in 2013 , the classified CIA-run counterpart program has never been confirmed or denied by the agency .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not surprising , that Biden would not have made a lot of statements about drone strikes over the years , particularly because the Obama administration was so aggressive in using drones as a method of warfare , ” Alka Pradhan , human rights counsel at the Guantánamo Bay Military Commissions , told The Intercept .
During Obama ’ s second term , Pradhan represented victims of drone strikes while working as counterterrorism counsel with Reprieve .
Americans have always been very comfortable with drone strikes , she said .
“ You don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re killing .
You don ’ t usually see their faces plastered across the newspapers because the government has a companion policy of not acknowledging civilian deaths for the most part.
” As Biden prepares to assume office , his possible Cabinet selections have already begun to knock the credibility of any pledge to end the forever wars .
Former Obama officials Michael Morell and Avril Haines have been reported as possible picks for director of national intelligence or CIA director .
Haines has already faced intense criticism from progressives .
Tasked in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ execute his foreign policy pledges , Haines was directly involved with the Obama targeted killing program , even playing a legal role in shaping it — yet was considered a voice of constraint on lethal strikes in the latter half of Obama ’ s administration , the Daily Beast reported .
Morell , a former deputy CIA director , embraced and defended the use of drone strikes , even calling reports of civilian deaths “ highly exaggerated.
” His defended targeting killings by claiming that they saved lives .
Last week , Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a team that included Haines , as well as Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Adm. William McRaven , both former commanders of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command .
McChrystal and McRaven were directly involved in the Obama-era chain of command that led to the approval and execution of lethal strikes .
McChrystal , whose own record is marked by allegations of coverups and commanding forces that killed civilians with impunity , has at times warned about blowback from civilian deaths by drone strike , though ending the practice of assassination strikes is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay .
We ’ re going to use them , we need to use them , and they ’ re an important part of what we do , ” McChrystal told the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2014 .
“ We ’ re actually going use them even more.
” There have been indications that Biden intends to keep military counterterrorism strikes on the table .
Earlier this year , during a Democratic presidential primary debate , Biden suggested that he wanted to replace , not revoke , the 2001 Authorization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the legal justification used by successive presidential administrations for using military forces to carry out counterterrorism operations across the globe .
For Kizer , the comment hinted that Biden does not understand what ending endless wars actually means .
“ Basically , what he ’ s saying is he wants renewed congressional authority to conduct drone operations , special forces raids , and relying on foreign ‘ partner ’ forces to fight these wars , ” she said .
“ That ’ s not ending endless war ; that ’ s a recipe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been even more circumspect in addressing the CIA strikes .
Early this year , the American Civil Liberties Union sent a questionnaire to candidates on a range of human rights issues .
One question posed to the candidates asked if they would pledge to end lethal strikes conducted by the CIA .
Biden never responded to the survey .
“ It is disappointing not to get a response , ” Hina Shamsi , director of the ACLU National Security Project , told The Intercept .
“ The use of lethal force , whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of recognized armed conflict , is a defining characteristic of post-9/11 policy , ” she said .
“ This approach has violated fundamental human rights , the rule of law , it has fueled conflicts , it has contributed to human displacement , and above all , in terms of consequences , has tremendously harmed hundreds of thousands of lives that are primarily civilian , Muslim , brown , and Black people.
” The issue of ending the alleged strikes conducted by the CIA is critical , said Pradhan .
“ It has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that that would even be a controversy , ” she told The Intercept .
“ If you ’ re going to have this program , it has to be operated through DOD ” — the Department of Defense .
What appear to be CIA drone strikes have been frequent , said Chris Woods , founder and director of Airwars , a watchdog that tracks various targeted killing operations .
“ You can ’ t have transparency when a clandestine agency is conducting strikes , ” said Woods , who spoke in a personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Defense for making improvements in recent years by systematizing civilian harm assessments and the admission of casualties , he said there was concern over a return to Obama-era secrecy : “ A Biden national security team can ’ t come in as if it ’ s 2016 .
Time has moved on.
” “ The really important thing that Joe Biden could do is end [ the ] CIA ’ s role in targeted killings , get them out of the drone strike business , and make it a U.S. military function @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though , ending only the CIA ’ s ability to conduct lethal strikes doesn ’ t go nearly far enough .
“ The underlying problem is the program itself , and it would be a mistake to end the CIA ’ s role only to transfer it to another government agency , ” she said .
“ It ’ s key to also remember that what we ’ re talking about is a program of lethal strikes against people who are suspected of wrongdoing , and that is the definition of extrajudicial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s drone program and escalated lethal strikes in Somalia , Afghanistan , Iraq , and Syria , while aerial bombings continued across Yemen and Libya .
Trump ’ s open embrace of airstrikes and special force missions led to shocking rates of civilian deaths in the early days of his reign .
Now , in the sundown of the Trump presidency , civilian harm has become his legacy .
That harm has created a stark motivation for raising questions about big-picture U.S. foreign policy over the past two decades .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of all these policies relating to the global war on terror , particularly with regard to the CIA ’ s use of drone strikes , ” said Matt Duss , a foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. “ We shouldn ’ t see the use of drones as separate from the broader use of military violence , because ultimately that ’ s the issue here : In what scenarios and under what authorities does the government of the United States , acting in the name of the American people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American people ?
” The violence of the Trump era , coupled with Trump ’ s Janus-faced pledge to end the wars , did provoke bipartisan support for reasserting Congress ’ s role in approving acts of war , even as those efforts fell short .
A historic attempt to end military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen was vetoed by Trump .
And another attempt by Congress this year to invoke the War Powers Resolution , seeking to block military action by Trump against Iran , was vetoed again .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ assassinate Iran ’ s Gen. Qassim Suleimani while the military commander was in the neighboring state of Iraq .
In the view of some in the legal community , the strike was a war crime that violated federal and international law . )
“ I think there is a genuine bipartisan consensus to be built around this idea of Congress reasserting its Article I authority over war , ” Duss said , referring to the constitutional provisions that give Congress sole power to declare war .
“ In following through on the commitment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s something that could be very useful for the Biden administration to focus on.
” Ending the wars is a broadly popular idea , but different actors see different ways of accomplishing the goal .
Critics of the U.S. ’ s assassination programs , though , warn of approaches that would bring troops home while leaving the shadowy targeted killing programs in place .
Pradhan said , “ There is no credibility to ending a war if you continue these strikes without accountability .
”

President-elect Joe Biden has maintained silence for years on the controversial and continued use of so-called targeted killings — lethal strikes by drones, cruise missiles, and occasionally military special operations raids. Biden has never publicly disavowed or criticized former President Barack Obama’s legacy of expanding the use of drones, nor made clear his own policy on the continuation of targeted killing conducted by the Department of Defense and, clandestinely, the CIA.
His campaign and transition websites similarly make no mention of policy addressing drone strikes, a defining feature of Obama-era foreign policy. And no questions were asked during presidential primary and general election debates about assassination policies.
While on the campaign trail, Biden pledged to end “endless wars” without detailing how his administration would differ from those of President Donald Trump and Obama, even as lethal strikes, including against American citizens, have remained an often-noted blemish on Obama’s legacy.
“I think Biden and his team have yet to fundamentally reckon with whether or not counterterrorism even works.”
“There’s a pretty clear divide on our understanding of what it means to end endless war, and between what the Left actually wants to do and what they are likely to do,” Kate Kizer, policy director for Win Without War, told The Intercept by email. “I think Biden and his team have yet to fundamentally reckon with whether or not counterterrorism even works to actually address the security challenge and whether there are other tools that are more suited than military force to undermine the influence of violent groups.”
What we know of Biden’s opinion of lethal strikes is limited. In 2009, while serving as vice president, Biden pushed back against a strategy set forward by Gen. David Petraeus. Instead of sending 40,000 troops to Afghanistan along with civilian-assistance workers to rebuild the country, Biden advocated for what he called “counterterrorism plus,” a combination of special forces and aggressive drone bombing to target suspected Al Qaeda militants. Biden stuck by that advocacy on the campaign trail, vowing to keep a “counterterrorism” force in Afghanistan.
Obama sent about half as many troops as the generals wanted — but also embraced the plan Biden advocated for. The president heavily expanded the use of militarized drones as a central tenet of his counterterrorism strategy, assassinating classified targets on a secretive “kill list” within a 60-day window. The American public overwhelmingly supported drone strikes. By the end of the Obama administration, strikes had been carried out across an impressive expanse of regions: Hellfire missiles rained down over Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Syria. While Obama officially recognized the targeting killing program conducted by the U.S. military in 2013, the classified CIA-run counterpart program has never been confirmed or denied by the agency.
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Biden would not have made a lot of statements about drone strikes over the years, particularly because the Obama administration was so aggressive in using drones as a method of warfare,” Alka Pradhan, human rights counsel at the Guantánamo Bay Military Commissions, told The Intercept. During Obama’s second term, Pradhan represented victims of drone strikes while working as counterterrorism counsel with Reprieve. Americans have always been very comfortable with drone strikes, she said. “You don’t have to see who you’re killing. You don’t usually see their faces plastered across the newspapers because the government has a companion policy of not acknowledging civilian deaths for the most part.”
President-elect Joe Biden, center, waves with transition team member Avril Haines, left, as he arrives to speak with diplomatic, intelligence, and defense experts to discuss readiness at the relevant agencies during a meeting in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 17, 2020. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Biden’s Team
As Biden prepares to assume office, his possible Cabinet selections have already begun to knock the credibility of any pledge to end the forever wars. Former Obama officials Michael Morell and Avril Haines have been reported as possible picks for director of national intelligence or CIA director.
Haines has already faced intense criticism from progressives. Tasked in June by the Biden administration to help execute his foreign policy pledges, Haines was directly involved with the Obama targeted killing program, even playing a legal role in shaping it — yet was considered a voice of constraint on lethal strikes in the latter half of Obama’s administration, the Daily Beast reported. Morell, a former deputy CIA director, embraced and defended the use of drone strikes, even calling reports of civilian deaths “highly exaggerated.” He defended targeting killings by claiming that they saved lives.
Last week, Biden was briefed on national security matters by a team that included Haines, as well as Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Adm. William McRaven, both former commanders of the secretive Joint Special Operations Command. McChrystal and McRaven were directly involved in the Obama-era chain of command that led to the approval and execution of lethal strikes.
“A Biden national security team can’t come in as if it’s 2016. Time has moved on.”
McChrystal, whose own record is marked by allegations of coverups and commanding forces that killed civilians with impunity, has at times warned about blowback from civilian deaths by drone strike, though ending the practice of assassination strikes is not an option. “Drones are here to stay. We’re going to use them, we need to use them, and they’re an important part of what we do,” McChrystal told the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2014. “We’re actually going use them even more.”
There have been indications that Biden intends to keep military counterterrorism strikes on the table. Earlier this year, during a Democratic presidential primary debate, Biden suggested that he wanted to replace, not revoke, the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the legal justification used by successive presidential administrations for using military forces to carry out counterterrorism operations across the globe. For Kizer, the comment hinted that Biden does not understand what ending endless wars actually means. “Basically, what he’s saying is he wants renewed congressional authority to conduct drone operations, special forces raids, and relying on foreign ‘partner’ forces to fight these wars,” she said. “That’s not ending endless war; that’s a recipe for perpetual global war.”
Read our Complete Coverage Drone Wars
Biden has been even more circumspect in addressing the CIA strikes. Early this year, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a questionnaire to candidates on a range of human rights issues. One question posed to the candidates asked if they would pledge to end lethal strikes conducted by the CIA. Biden never responded to the survey.
“It is disappointing not to get a response,” Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project, told The Intercept. “The use of lethal force, whether through drones or other weapons platforms outside of recognized armed conflict, is a defining characteristic of post-9/11 policy,” she said. “This approach has violated fundamental human rights, the rule of law, it has fueled conflicts, it has contributed to human displacement, and above all, in terms of consequences, has tremendously harmed hundreds of thousands of lives that are primarily civilian, Muslim, brown, and Black people.”
The issue of ending the alleged strikes conducted by the CIA is critical, said Pradhan. “It has to be ended and it is sad that that would even be a controversy,” she told The Intercept. “If you’re going to have this program, it has to be operated through DOD” — the Department of Defense.
What appear to be CIA drone strikes have been frequent, said Chris Woods, founder and director of Airwars, a watchdog that tracks various targeted killing operations.
“You can’t have transparency when a clandestine agency is conducting strikes,” said Woods, who spoke in a personal capacity. While Woods credits the Department of Defense for making improvements in recent years by systematizing civilian harm assessments and the admission of casualties, he said there was concern over a return to Obama-era secrecy: “A Biden national security team can’t come in as if it’s 2016. Time has moved on.”
“The really important thing that Joe Biden could do is end [the] CIA’s role in targeted killings, get them out of the drone strike business, and make it a U.S. military function,” Woods said.
For Shamsi, though, ending only the CIA’s ability to conduct lethal strikes doesn’t go nearly far enough. “The underlying problem is the program itself, and it would be a mistake to end the CIA’s role only to transfer it to another government agency,” she said. “It’s key to also remember that what we’re talking about is a program of lethal strikes against people who are suspected of wrongdoing, and that is the definition of extrajudicial killing.”
A wounded man lies on a stretcher at Jalalabad hospital after a suspected U.S. drone strike killing at least 16 people in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, on Sept. 28, 2016. Photo: Zabihullah Ghazi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The Broader Wars
The Trump administration inherited Obama’s drone program and escalated lethal strikes in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, while aerial bombings continued across Yemen and Libya. Trump’s open embrace of airstrikes and special force missions led to shocking rates of civilian deaths in the early days of his reign. Now, in the sundown of the Trump presidency, civilian harm has become his legacy. That harm has created a stark motivation for raising questions about big-picture U.S. foreign policy over the past two decades.
“I think we need a pretty comprehensive review of all these policies relating to the global war on terror, particularly with regard to the CIA’s use of drone strikes,” said Matt Duss, a foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “We shouldn’t see the use of drones as separate from the broader use of military violence, because ultimately that’s the issue here: In what scenarios and under what authorities does the government of the United States, acting in the name of the American people, use violence to advance the security of the American people?”
“I think we need a pretty comprehensive review of all these policies relating to the global war on terror.”
The violence of the Trump era, coupled with Trump’s Janus-faced pledge to end the wars, did provoke bipartisan support for reasserting Congress’s role in approving acts of war, even as those efforts fell short. A historic attempt to end military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen was vetoed by Trump. And another attempt by Congress this year to invoke the War Powers Resolution, seeking to block military action by Trump against Iran, was vetoed again. (Trump used a drone strike to assassinate Iran’s Gen. Qassim Suleimani while the military commander was in the neighboring state of Iraq. In the view of some in the legal community, the strike was a war crime that violated federal and international law.)
“I think there is a genuine bipartisan consensus to be built around this idea of Congress reasserting its Article I authority over war,” Duss said, referring to the constitutional provisions that give Congress sole power to declare war. “In following through on the commitment to end the forever war, that’s something that could be very useful for the Biden administration to focus on.”
Ending the wars is a broadly popular idea, but different actors see different ways of accomplishing the goal. Critics of the U.S.’s assassination programs, though, warn of approaches that would bring troops home while leaving the shadowy targeted killing programs in place. Pradhan said, “There is no credibility to ending a war if you continue these strikes without accountability.”


theintercept--2020-11-23--The Other Race on Georgia’s January Ballot

cast their ballots in the U.S. Senate runoffs , with Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock facing off against Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler , they ’ ll also be weighing in on another statewide contest that had no clear winner on November 3 : public service commissioner .
The Georgia Public Service Commission — a relatively obscure but highly consequential five-member body — makes important decisions like setting rates on Georgians ’ electric bills and determining state investments into renewable energy .
The commission has been controlled for years by Republicans who sit six-year terms , but this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” McDonald fell just shy of the 50 percent needed to win reelection , with Democrat Daniel Blackman earning 46.9 percent of the vote .
One of Blackman ’ s central campaign arguments is that the Public Service Commission has been too friendly to utility companies at the expense of customers and has not made fighting climate change an urgent priority .
Georgia Power , a subsidiary of Southern Company and a regulated state monopoly with 2.6 million customers , has pushed the commission to charge higher rates even as Southern Company earns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also a major producer of coal ash , toxic residue created when coal is burned by power plants to produce electricity .
Environmental activists have been pushing resistant state lawmakers to enact tougher regulations over coal ash storage , and they see the election of Blackman , a politician willing to speak out against Georgia Power , as a way to bolster their campaign .
Blackman said he knows no one in the state party really expected him to make it to the runoff , and his campaign didn ’ t depend on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focused on the U.S Senate and presidential races .
“ Democrats get excited when there ’ s a big election , but we have a real chance now to appeal to voters who have felt disenfranchised for a long time , ” Blackman said , adding that his platform of “ energy security , energy equity , and lower rates ” has been a way to bridge coalitions between Democrats , Republicans , progressives , moderates , and those who never vote at all .
Public Service Commission runoff was originally scheduled for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that due to the ongoing election disputes , the planned presidential recount , and the two U.S Senate runoffs , he would be postponing the commission runoff to make it easier for election workers .
Supporters of Blackman , like Travis Town in Troup County , Georgia , are relieved that the runoffs will be combined on one ballot , since it would likely boost turnout for the commissioner vote .
“ I don ’ t think people are informed about the PSC , the majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ existence , ” Town said .
“ I was worried about that election being right after Thanksgiving.
” Blackman , who has advised the Congressional Black Caucus and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental justice issues and served as Georgia ’ s political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ s 2016 presidential bid , said he will also be an advantage to Warnock and Ossoff , because his contest deals with issues directly of concern to disenfranchised voters .
Blackman pointed to a recent study from WalletHub that found Georgia has the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fifth highest electric rates .
“ Everyone has an electric bill , ” he said.
“ When you look at Warnock and Ossoff , their biggest arguments are the [ Affordable Care Act ] , the Supreme Court , and election protection .
No disrespect at all to those , but a lot of average people at their dinner table aren ’ t talking about that — but they are talking about their grandmother and grandfather on a fixed income with their lights about to be cut off.
” Blackman also noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on climate , and the Public Service Commission has direct influence over investments into areas like solar energy .
“ What we are able to do is add value to the Democratic argument as it relates to climate change , ” he said .
McDonald , who is 81 and would be 88 at the end of his next term if he wins , was originally appointed to fill a vacant commissioner seat after serving 20 years as a state representative .
While he has touted his work in pushing the commission to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has not used his platform to make fighting climate change a top priority , including pushing back on some of the anti-climate measures coming from the Trump administration .
The PSC Accountability Project , an effort led by the Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund and the Georgia Ethics Watchdogs Education Fund , has said that 85 percent of McDonald ’ s contributions have come from companies and people that may profit from the commission ’ s decisions .
Utility companies can ’ t donate directly to commissioners ’ campaigns , but individual employees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he could not comment for this story due to being tied up with hearings this week , though in October he told the Atlanta NPR affiliate that he ’ s not influenced by the industries he regulates .
“ As far as the influence of minor contributions , it ’ s no more than my neighbor giving me a contribution , or people in my church , or people that know me , it ’ s all within the framework of the laws , ” he told WABE .
“ I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world , and when they bring advice , I listen .
I listen to both the negatives of those and the positives of those , and at some point in time , I make a decision.
” Another area climate activists have expressed frustration with Public Service Commission members is around two nuclear reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle in Burke County .
Blackman himself calls the project “ one of the most fiscally irresponsible decisions in Georgia , ” demonstrating how he employs rhetoric that appeals both to progressives and conservatives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2009 , the Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act permitted Georgia Power to charge customers in advance for the construction of the two nuclear reactors , adding roughly $ 10 a month to an average customer ’ s bill .
But today , the reactors are years behind schedule and billions over budget , and Blackman said thanks to the commission , ratepayers will have to pay those overruns in the form of even higher Georgia Power energy bills .
“ The Republicans on the PSC have approved every single Plant Vogtl monitoring report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every single budget for the last decade , ” he said .
“ Those decisions were made to keep a very small group of folks in the utility industry very wealthy.
” In December 2019 , the Public Service Commission voted to raise the rates of Georgia Power utility bills by $ 1.8 billion over three years .
While this was less than what Georgia Power requested , commissioners approved the rate increases , saying they wanted to ensure that the company remained successful as it made new investments .
The average customer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 6 per month in 2020 , and will see another 2 to 2.5 percent increase in 2021 and another 4.5 to 5 percent in 2022 .
John Kraft , a spokesperson for Georgia Power , cited federal tax credits and interest savings from Department of Energy loan guarantees as ways the company has “ actively pursued customer benefits ” to reduce the impact to consumers .
The loan guarantees , he said , will save customers “ approximately $ 550 million in financing costs overall.
” Kraft also emphasized that the company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Folks don ’ t want to pay higher power bills , and Georgia Power doesn ’ t need the money , ” said Brionté McCorkle , executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters , which has endorsed Blackman .
“ But they keep getting the PSC to do these things , and it just hurts the consumer.
” Utility costs have become an even more serious issue for consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic ; Georgia Power ended its pandemic utility shutoff moratorium in mid-July , and nationwide activists have been trying to raise awareness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disconnections .
In 2019 , Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning ’ s pay jumped 30 percent , up $ 3.7 million in a single year .
His total take-home compensation last year was $ 27.9 million .
Georgia Power ’ s resistance to being regulated is one reason state House Minority Leader Bob Trammell , the rare Democrat representing a rural Georgia district , lost his election in November .
Trammell , a moderate first elected in 2014 , held his seat in 2016 , even as his district voted for Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district voted for Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp .
Trammell ’ s seat became the Republican State Leadership Committee ’ s top target in the country this past cycle , with millions spent on electing Trammell ’ s opponent , David Jenkins .
It was the most expensive statehouse election in Georgia history .
Trammell drew the ire of Georgia Power over the last year , as , among other things , he supported environmental advocates who have been calling to store coal ash in lined landfills .
While Georgia lawmakers passed one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fixed a loophole that had made it cheaper to dump coal ash than regular trash , meaning that millions of tons of coal ash from neighboring states were being dumped in Georgia , the state legislature resisted Trammell ’ s bill — HB 756 — which would have required coal ash to be disposed of in lined pits .
Georgia Power has been planning to excavate 10 of its 19 ash ponds into unlined pits , which advocates say do not adequately protect water sources .
Kraft , of Georgia Power , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ professional engineers and geologists to design our plans on a site-by-site basis considering size , location , amount of material and the geology of the area among other factors.
” He added that each closure design “ is unique and designed to meet ” state and federal coal ash standards .
Environmental advocates plan to campaign again in the next legislative session for lined pit storage .
Residents from the rural city of Juliette , where a coal ash pond sits in contact with groundwater , traveled to the state capitol in February @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and raise awareness of the contaminated water in their community .
Georgia Power denies that its coal ash pods contributed to Juliette ’ s toxic water .
In August , residents of Juliette filed a lawsuit against Georgia Power , alleging that the company polluted their water with coal ash .
“ Plaintiffs suffer from cancer , disorders of the cardiovascular , immune , renal and urinary , and respiratory systems ; neurological , thyroid , liver , skin and cell damage ; and developmental disorders , in addition to other personal injuries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The cancer rate in Monroe County … is more than double the state and national averages .
And Plaintiffs ’ property values are devastated because of the contamination.
” Georgia Power denies wrongdoing and the case is pending .
Blackman and his supporters say the Democratic Party needs to recognize that issues like fighting climate change and lowering utility rates have the potential to build broad coalitions capable of defeating well-funded conservatives , and there needs to be more attention paid to down-ballot races .
“ It ’ s called the Public Service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said McCorkle .
“ What matters here is doing the right thing for the people of Georgia .
”

When Georgia voters cast their ballots in the U.S. Senate runoffs, with Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock facing off against Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, they’ll also be weighing in on another statewide contest that had no clear winner on November 3: public service commissioner.
The Georgia Public Service Commission — a relatively obscure but highly consequential five-member body — makes important decisions like setting rates on Georgians’ electric bills and determining state investments into renewable energy. The commission has been controlled for years by Republicans who sit six-year terms, but this year District 4 Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald fell just shy of the 50 percent needed to win reelection, with Democrat Daniel Blackman earning 46.9 percent of the vote.
One of Blackman’s central campaign arguments is that the Public Service Commission has been too friendly to utility companies at the expense of customers and has not made fighting climate change an urgent priority. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company and a regulated state monopoly with 2.6 million customers, has pushed the commission to charge higher rates even as Southern Company earns billions in profit. Georgia Power is also a major producer of coal ash, toxic residue created when coal is burned by power plants to produce electricity. Environmental activists have been pushing resistant state lawmakers to enact tougher regulations over coal ash storage, and they see the election of Blackman, a politician willing to speak out against Georgia Power, as a way to bolster their campaign.
Blackman said he knows no one in the state party really expected him to make it to the runoff, and his campaign didn’t depend on the party, either, which was focused on the U.S Senate and presidential races. “Democrats get excited when there’s a big election, but we have a real chance now to appeal to voters who have felt disenfranchised for a long time,” Blackman said, adding that his platform of “energy security, energy equity, and lower rates” has been a way to bridge coalitions between Democrats, Republicans, progressives, moderates, and those who never vote at all.
Photo: Courtesy of Don Weir - Weir Media
The statewide Public Service Commission runoff was originally scheduled for December 1, but on November 11 Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that due to the ongoing election disputes, the planned presidential recount, and the two U.S Senate runoffs, he would be postponing the commission runoff to make it easier for election workers.
Supporters of Blackman, like Travis Town in Troup County, Georgia, are relieved that the runoffs will be combined on one ballot, since it would likely boost turnout for the commissioner vote. “I don’t think people are informed about the PSC, the majority of folks are just eking out day-to-day existence,” Town said. “I was worried about that election being right after Thanksgiving.”
Blackman, who has advised the Congressional Black Caucus and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental justice issues and served as Georgia’s political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential bid, said he will also be an advantage to Warnock and Ossoff, because his contest deals with issues directly of concern to disenfranchised voters.
“A lot of average people at their dinner table … are talking about their grandmother and grandfather on a fixed income with their lights about to be cut off.”
Blackman pointed to a recent study from WalletHub that found Georgia has the eighth-highest utility rates in the country and the fifth highest electric rates. “Everyone has an electric bill,” he said.“When you look at Warnock and Ossoff, their biggest arguments are the [Affordable Care Act], the Supreme Court, and election protection. No disrespect at all to those, but a lot of average people at their dinner table aren’t talking about that — but they are talking about their grandmother and grandfather on a fixed income with their lights about to be cut off.” Blackman also noted that many young voters are single-issue voters on climate, and the Public Service Commission has direct influence over investments into areas like solar energy. “What we are able to do is add value to the Democratic argument as it relates to climate change,” he said.
McDonald, who is 81 and would be 88 at the end of his next term if he wins, was originally appointed to fill a vacant commissioner seat after serving 20 years as a state representative. While he has touted his work in pushing the commission to invest in solar, advocates say he has not used his platform to make fighting climate change a top priority, including pushing back on some of the anti-climate measures coming from the Trump administration.
The PSC Accountability Project, an effort led by the Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund and the Georgia Ethics Watchdogs Education Fund, has said that 85 percent of McDonald’s contributions have come from companies and people that may profit from the commission’s decisions. Utility companies can’t donate directly to commissioners’ campaigns, but individual employees can. McDonald told The Intercept that he could not comment for this story due to being tied up with hearings this week, though in October he told the Atlanta NPR affiliate that he’s not influenced by the industries he regulates. “As far as the influence of minor contributions, it’s no more than my neighbor giving me a contribution, or people in my church, or people that know me, it’s all within the framework of the laws,” he told WABE. “I’m not an expert in every area of the world, and when they bring advice, I listen. I listen to both the negatives of those and the positives of those, and at some point in time, I make a decision.”
Another area climate activists have expressed frustration with Public Service Commission members is around two nuclear reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle in Burke County. Blackman himself calls the project “one of the most fiscally irresponsible decisions in Georgia,” demonstrating how he employs rhetoric that appeals both to progressives and conservatives. Originally approved by state lawmakers in 2009, the Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act permitted Georgia Power to charge customers in advance for the construction of the two nuclear reactors, adding roughly $10 a month to an average customer’s bill. But today, the reactors are years behind schedule and billions over budget, and Blackman said thanks to the commission, ratepayers will have to pay those overruns in the form of even higher Georgia Power energy bills. “The Republicans on the PSC have approved every single Plant Vogtl monitoring report and every single integrated resource plan and every single budget for the last decade,” he said. “Those decisions were made to keep a very small group of folks in the utility industry very wealthy.”
In December 2019, the Public Service Commission voted to raise the rates of Georgia Power utility bills by $1.8 billion over three years. While this was less than what Georgia Power requested, commissioners approved the rate increases, saying they wanted to ensure that the company remained successful as it made new investments. The average customer saw their energy bill rise by about $6 per month in 2020, and will see another 2 to 2.5 percent increase in 2021 and another 4.5 to 5 percent in 2022. John Kraft, a spokesperson for Georgia Power, cited federal tax credits and interest savings from Department of Energy loan guarantees as ways the company has “actively pursued customer benefits” to reduce the impact to consumers. The loan guarantees, he said, will save customers “approximately $550 million in financing costs overall.” Kraft also emphasized that the company does not endorse political candidates.
“Folks don’t want to pay higher power bills, and Georgia Power doesn’t need the money,” said Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, which has endorsed Blackman. “But they keep getting the PSC to do these things, and it just hurts the consumer.” Utility costs have become an even more serious issue for consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic; Georgia Power ended its pandemic utility shutoff moratorium in mid-July, and nationwide activists have been trying to raise awareness about the public health implications of utility disconnections.
In 2019, Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning’s pay jumped 30 percent, up $3.7 million in a single year. His total take-home compensation last year was $27.9 million.
Advocates say Georgia Power’s resistance to being regulated is one reason state House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, the rare Democrat representing a rural Georgia district, lost his election in November. Trammell, a moderate first elected in 2014, held his seat in 2016, even as his district voted for Donald Trump, and in 2018, when his district voted for Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Trammell’s seat became the Republican State Leadership Committee’s top target in the country this past cycle, with millions spent on electing Trammell’s opponent, David Jenkins. It was the most expensive statehouse election in Georgia history.
Georgia Power’s resistance to being regulated is one reason advocates say Bob Trammell, the rare Democrat representing a rural Georgia district, lost his election in November.
Trammell drew the ire of Georgia Power over the last year, as, among other things, he supported environmental advocates who have been calling to store coal ash in lined landfills. While Georgia lawmakers passed one bill this year — SB123 — that fixed a loophole that had made it cheaper to dump coal ash than regular trash, meaning that millions of tons of coal ash from neighboring states were being dumped in Georgia, the state legislature resisted Trammell’s bill — HB 756 — which would have required coal ash to be disposed of in lined pits. Georgia Power has been planning to excavate 10 of its 19 ash ponds into unlined pits, which advocates say do not adequately protect water sources.
Kraft, of Georgia Power, said the company has “worked with third-party professional engineers and geologists to design our plans on a site-by-site basis considering size, location, amount of material and the geology of the area among other factors.” He added that each closure design “is unique and designed to meet” state and federal coal ash standards. Environmental advocates plan to campaign again in the next legislative session for lined pit storage.
Residents from the rural city of Juliette, where a coal ash pond sits in contact with groundwater, traveled to the state capitol in February to advocate for Trammell’s bill and raise awareness of the contaminated water in their community. Georgia Power denies that its coal ash pods contributed to Juliette’s toxic water. In August, residents of Juliette filed a lawsuit against Georgia Power, alleging that the company polluted their water with coal ash. “Plaintiffs suffer from cancer, disorders of the cardiovascular, immune, renal and urinary, and respiratory systems; neurological, thyroid, liver, skin and cell damage; and developmental disorders, in addition to other personal injuries,” the complaint reads. “The cancer rate in Monroe County … is more than double the state and national averages. And Plaintiffs’ property values are devastated because of the contamination.” Georgia Power denies wrongdoing and the case is pending.
Blackman and his supporters say the Democratic Party needs to recognize that issues like fighting climate change and lowering utility rates have the potential to build broad coalitions capable of defeating well-funded conservatives, and there needs to be more attention paid to down-ballot races.
“It’s called the Public Service Commission because it serves the public,” said McCorkle. “What matters here is doing the right thing for the people of Georgia.”