[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from san francisco, california, this is democracy now!. presidenent trump: we call it tent city. it's terrible. in fact, we just sent a violation to the city of san francisco, unsafe water, unsafe conditions, environmental e.p.a., our e.p.a. doing a great job is sending nancy pelosi with all the talk about e.p.a. there's needles and drugs all over the street. there's tents. there's people that are dying

in squalor in the best location in san francisco. amy: trump versus california. the president attacks the city of san francisco again as the e.p.a. issues a violation notice to the city falsely claiming san francisco's homelessness crisis has caused water pollution. meanwhile, the trump administration recently revoked the authority to set stricter auto emission standards but the state is fighting back. >> transportation alone in our state is responsible for 29% of all greenhouse gases. we're already seeing the way greenhouse gases and climate change are affecting our state from wildfires and droughts to superstorms, floods and mudslides. amy: plus, the california legislature votes to ban private nonprofit prisons including private immigration jails.s. the bill is now awaiting the governor's signature. we'll get the latest.

all that and more coming up. ♪ amy: welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report, i'm amy goodman. democratic lawmakers warned president trump wednesday they're preparing to subpoena white housuse officials to produce documents related to trump's efforts to pressure the president of ukraine to investigate trump's political rival joe biden and his son hunter. house intelligence chair adam schiff, the california democrat leading the impeachment investigation said he's deeply concerned that secretary of state mike pompeo vowed to block current and former state department officials from being questioned. and schiff denounced president trump's attacks on the unnamed intelligence official who blew the whistle on trump's interactions with ukraine. >> the president wantsts to mam thisis all about the whistleblower and suggest to o peoplele that come forward with evidence of his wrongdoing are

somehow treasonists and d shoul be trereated as traitors and spies. this is a blatant effort to intimidate witnesses. it's an incitement of violence. amy: this comes after secretary of state mike pompeo acknowledged he was on the july call when trump spoke to the ukrainian president zelensky. meanwhile, "the washington post" reports trump enlisted vice president mike pence in his efforts to pressure ukraine's new leader. according to "the post" he ordered him to skip the presidency in may and tell the ukrainian president that u.s. military aid was still being withheld while asking more action on corruption which we understand included an investigation into the bidens. president trump reacted with fresh outrage wednesday to democrats' impeachment inquiry tweeting, the do nothing

democrats should be focused on building up our country, not wasting everyone's time and energy on bull -- using the four letter expletive. he lashed ouout at enemies from the oval office saying congressman schiff couldn't carry secretary of state mike pompmpeo's blank strap, in referencee to a jockstrap. rep a very stable genius. later in the day trump appeared with finland's president at a joint news conference where he refused to answer questions from reuters white house correspondent jeff mason about his july phone call with the ukrainian president. president trump: biden and his son are stone cold crooked and you know it, his son walks o ou with millions of dollars, the kid knows nothing. you know it and so do we. go ahead and ask your question. >> the question was what would you want president zelensksky t do about vice president biden and his son hunter?r?

president trump: are you tatalking to me? >> it's a follow-up of what i just asked you, sir. president trump: are you ready? we have the president of finland, ask him a question. amy: vermont independent senator and 2020 presidential candidate bernie sanders underwent surgery for a blocked artery after he complained of chest pain at a campaign event in las vegas tuesday night. the campaign said he had two extents inserted in an artery, a common procedure that's performed more than a half million times a year in the united states. patients are typically released from the hospital a day or two after the surgery. sanders' rivals for the democratic nomination issued statements of support as did many members of congress, in a tweet wednesday senator sanders thanked his well-wishers and said he's feeling good. she added, quote, i'm fortunate to have good health care and great doctors and nurses helping me recover. none of us know when a medical emergency might affect us and no one should fear going

bankrupt if it occurs. medicare for all, senator sanders wrote. in iraq, at least 18 people are dead, more than 800 others wounded after police and soldiers reacted with violence and anti-government protests across iraq. some of the deaths and injuries came in baghdad's tahrir square as they fired live am in addition and tear gas into a crowd -- live ammunition and tear gas into a crowd of hundreds. police are also opened fire on protesters in the southern city of nasiriya, thousands democrat straighted in the cities of illa, basra, kirk duck and tikrit. the people demand the fall of the regime as t they protete againsnst unemploynt, corrtion and lack of public c

services >> thehey're d demanding ahange. wewe w want the wholole governm. >> our demands, we wawa work, we want to work. you don't t want to treaeat us iraqis, , tell us we'r're n not iraqisisnd we'llll find other nationalities and migrgrate to other cocountries. amy: authorities have issued curfews in a number of cities whilile cutting off internet access across much of iraq. british prime minister boris johnson unveiled his plan to leave, as the united kingdom is prepared for a no deal brexit. under his plan northern ireland would leave the e.u. customs union in 2021 along with the rest of the u.k. but could keep its free flowing border with the irish republic by maintaining european trade rules. johnson outlined his plan at a conference of his ruling conservative party. >> this is not an anti-european party. this is not an anti-european

country. we are european. we love europe. i love europe anyway. i love it. amy: in brussels, head of the european parliament steering mmittee on brexit philippe lamberts a disastrous no deaeal brbrexit is looming. >> he claims to love europe, embrace europe by leaving it. cocome on. hohow can he be serious?? so what we are confronted with is thehe nationalists. amy: meanwhile prime minister johnson's spokesperson saidd wednesday the prprime ministere would seek to suspend parliament again from october 8 to 14th ahead of the october 31st deadline for britain to leave the european union. in hong kong, pro democracy demonstrations are continuing after authorities said they arrested an 18-year-old protester who was shot by police during violent protests tuesday, the student has been

charged with a assaulting a police officer and may face additional charges. on wednesday protesters smashed surveillance cameras and machines a the subway stations and elsewhere protesters used gasoline bombs to set a police station on fire. the hong kong chief executive has scheduled a meeting of cabinet officials friday where she's announcing sweeping powers to include a banan on n protesters using masks at demonstrations, whether to hide their identities or protect against tear gas. in the eastern atlantic, hurricane lorenzo struck the azores wednesday, lashing the portugese territories with heavy surf passing the archipelago as a category 2 storm and it became a monster category 5 cyclone with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, the most powerful hurricane ever observed north and east in the atlantic and is now threatening to strike ireland as a rare extra tropical cyclone with near hurricane force winds, a recent

study by british climate researchers found warmer oceans could triple the number of such storms by the end of the century. more climate news, protesters from the activist group extinction rebellion used a fire engine and hoses to spray hundreds of gallons of fake blood outside the british treasury in london thursday, covering part of the building in red liquid. the protesteters displayed a banner, stop funding climate deaths. two people were arrested and one of the activists told reuters the red symbolizes pepeople dying in the global south and p people who o will s dyining from climate change all around the world if we do nothing. in california, 37-year-old immigrant from cameroon died tuesday after he fell ill in an ice prison. in a statement, ice said the man, nebane abienwi became papartially paralyzed after sufferining a brain hemorrhage the middle of the night at otay

mason detention center and was rushed to a hospital but died after undergoing treatment. it's operated by core civic a for-profit prison corporation. in a statement, elizabeth abeln said the ongoing loss of life at immigration detention is heartbreaking and infuriating. there's a bill sitting on governor gavin newsom himself desk now waiting to be signed to ban private detention like otay from california. people in detention can't afford to be behind bar as second longer. newsom needs to sign now, unquote. later in the broadcast we'll have more on the campaign to end the for-profit prisons here in californinia. opopera superstar placido domin said wednesday he's resigning as director of the los angeles opera a amidst multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace spanning three decades. since august at least 20 women told reporters domingo regularlyy harassed them and tried to pressure them into

sexual r relationshipsps. severaral say he forciblyly kis them or r touched them without consent.t. in some cases he called them incessantly at home including late at night. in new york, a federal judge in brooklyn has denied bail to art kelly setting a trial date of may 18 for the singer to face charges of racketeering, kidnapping, s sexual exploitati of children and sex trafficking. kelly y is currently behind bar in chicago where he faces related federal charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault involving women and girls. his trial in chicago federal court is set to begin april 27. a court in dallas, texas, sentenced white former police officer amber guyger to 10 years in prison for shooting dead her upstairs neighbor botham jean, a 26-year-old black man in his own home in 2018. in a remarkable scene following the sentencing, botham jean's younger brother said during a victim impact statement that he forgave amber guyger and wished

she wowould not serve any time prison. >> again, i love you as a person. i don't wish anything bad on you. i don't know if it's possible, but can i give her a hug, please? please? amy: the pair then embraced for a minute. state district judge tammy kemp later hugged botham jean's famimily members before turning to amber guyger, handing her a bible and embracing her as well. guyger will be eligible for parole in five years. outside the courtroom, protesters condemned the sentence as too l lenient chchanting no j justice, no pea. shshe faced 5-9-99 yearss in ja

protesters later marched through the streets blocking an intersection near the courthouse. one woman was tackled to the pavement and arrested by riot police. and in nevada, anti-war groups say 10 activists were arrested wednesday as they held a nonviolent civil disobedience protest against u.s. drone attacks outside the base in las vegas, home to drone operators who pilot deadly drones for the u.s. military and c.i.a. in missions across afghanistan and the middle east. the protests come weeks after a u.s. drone strike in afghghanistan killed 3 30 civil farm workers who were resting in a field after harvesting pine nuts. 40 others were injured. in a statement, protest organizer toby said, quote, men, women and children are violently murdered on suspicion alone for standing in the wrong place at the wrong time for just living their lives, for being, are of the wrong race or

culture, for attending a wedding, for picking pine nuts it. it has to stop now, he said. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report, i'm amy goodman. we're broadcasting today from san francisco where president trump is continuing an all-out attack on the city's homeless population and political leaders. on wednesday, the trump administration filed an environmental notice of violation against san francisco, falsely claiming the city's homelessness crisis has caused water pollulution. this is trump announcing the move in a tirade against house speaker nancy pelosi whose home district is san francisco. president trump: she should focus on her own district. you see what's happening to her distririct? we call itit tent city. it's terrible. in fact, we just sent a violation to the city of san francisco, unsafe water, unsafe conditions, environmental e.p.a., our e.p.a. which is

doing a great job, is sending nancy pelosi with all the talk about e.p.a., there's needles and drugs all over the street, there's tents and people that are dying in squalor. in the best location in san francisco. it used to be a great city. now you have to see what's happened to san francisco. you have to see what the democrats have allolowed to happen. amy: city officials have repeatedly rejected trump's unfounded claims that homelessness is connected to water quality. the e.p.a.'s action comes a week after environmental protection agency chief andrew wheeler said in a letter to california governor gavin newsom that california is failing to enforce the clean water act. wheeler also has threatened to pull billions of dollars in federal highway funding to california, accusing it of having the worst air quality in the united states. a spokesperson for governor newsom called trump's moves

political retribution against california, plain and simple. california is home to 12% of the country's population but half of the country's unsheltered homeless people. president trump has been pushing for a crackdown on the crisis for weeks. "the washington post" reported last month trump ordered the white house officials to l laun this effort and that his administration is considering actions like destroying hohomeless encampments. california congressman ro told "the washington post" once again this is bravado for trump's base in no interest to solve an issue. we're joined in san francisco by two guests, jennifer friedenbach is the director of homelessness and paul boden is head of wrap, a homeless advocacy group and was formerly homeless himself.

jennifer friedenbach, let's begin with you. the attack by y president trump specifically on california on san francisco saying that homeless people are responsible for water pollution. can you respond overall? jennifer: yeah, i mean, it's idiculous on a few fronts. first, san francisco filters its water and no link to water pollution. more importantly is trump himself is in a position where he could truly address this crisis. we have a situation where in san francisco we have about 21,000 people experiencing homelessness every year and his an be traced back to feats. he's been traced to massive cuts in h.u.d. and has restored the h.u.d. budget which is where the roots of this crisis began when the h.u.d. budget had been cut so dramatically in

the early 1980's and has injustice for people to find a place to call home. he's complaining about it but causing the problem and doing nothing to solve it. amy: well, i'd like to turn to h.u.d. secretary, housing and urban development secretary ben carson discussing california's housing crisis on fox news last month. >> a lot of these people have mental health issues. a lot of them have drug addiction. some of them have simply fallen on hard times and don't know how to deal with it. as a compassionate society, it is something that we have to do something about. we can't just talk about it. should it be the responsibility of the federal government? no. these are local problems and the things that work best are when the local authorities take appropriate attention to these problems and then the federal government can helpp them.

ththe state government can help them. amy: so that's h.u.d. secretary dr. ben carson. paul boden, if you could respond. paul: it's so profoundly ridiculous that this is the person that's running h.u.d., when you look at the 1937 housing act that created h.u.d., it said very clearly in that legislation that it was the federal government's responsibility to ensure that people have a clean, safe, adequate place to live. in 1998, they amended that to say the federal government cannot be held accountable to do that during the welfare reform of the newt gingrich and signed by clinton. but the reason h.u.d. was created, and this is the individual charged with administering that federal department, is to ensure housing is available to poor people throughout the united states. and this isn't a california or

a san francisco issue. california may have a larger number of people according to h.u.d.'s point in time head count but that's because they go out on january 25 every other year and do a head count and that's how they come up with the number of homeless people in the united states. that's ridiculous and of course warm weather climates are going to have a higher number. we don't know what the number of homeless people is with any specificity because it's something that poor people go in and out of all the time. this is a federall responsibility to ensure that people in the united states have a decent place to live that they can afford and we now 200 $54 billion a year in 4 constant dollars less on affordable housing than we did before the homeless crisis kicked in in the early 1980's. restore that funding, look at the cause and effect of eliminating that funding and

you'll see the numbers of homeless people go way down because we all know nothing ends homelessness like a home. amy: i'd like to turn to the san francisco mayor london breed talking about the causes of homelessness in san francisco. she was interviewed on pbs last month. london: housing affordability is at the core of what i know is a challenge for even middle income families struggling to live in san francisco. between 2010 and 2015 in the city we concentrated on jobs we have a 12.6 unemployment rate but for every job we created we created one unit of housing and then it was a battle between people who were moving here and people who lived herere and fol were being pushed out ofof communities they were born and raised in like my friends and family. andd including the public housing i grew up in. it was 300 units. it was torn down and only 200 units were built. so there were a lot of mistakes

that were made around housing and housing production around affordable housing in particulular. becaususe if we don't have plac for pepeople to live that they can afford to live in, that's a bibig part of why we see even more people living in their vehicles. amy: that's san francisco mayor -- the mayor of san francisco london breed. she grew up in public housing. paul boden, you also were homeless for a time. can you talk about how you were le to, well, you say nothing solves homelessness like a home. talk about what happened with you and how you ended up not being homeless. paul: my circumstance of ending up homeless was rather different than what we see in the streets today or even what we saw in the early 198 0's. mine wasn't a h.u.d. related issue. it was something that i think

we've experienced for years, just there was so many fewer of us. my mom died and my father didn't want us there, so we ended up bouncing around in the streets. i got very fortunate in that i ended up at hospitality house in the tenderloin, a community organization that way predates the advent of contemporary homelessness and became part of a fabric of a community in addressing the fact that so many of our neighbors and our community members were finding themselves with nowhere to live. and i actually was able to use the e experience that i was goi through and how i was getting over feeling sorry for one's several by helping other community members that are even in a worse place than you're in. that's how we should be managing this issue. this homelessness should not be a career choice for people and poverty shouldn't be a career choice for people. we should be looking at how to systemically address the

massive economic inequalities that we see, the comodification of health care and housing and education. we're com odd flying our public parks and streets through business improvement districts now running whole neighborhoods, so we need to understand that neoliberalism is killing our country and we need to really understand that there's a massive human rights organizing campaign like with the poor people's campaign. we have to connect these issues and understand that it's not a san francisco issue. like homelessness exists with 62,000 shelter beds in new york city. there's over 50,000 in chicago, over 40,000 in l.a. this is a serious problem that's been around since reagan cut the affordable housing budget in the early 1980's and we're all living reagan's wet dream of neoliberalism in america, he called it the reagan revolution.

london breed talked about the units being torn down and replaced with fewer units and she didn't mention the newer units are mixed income units so a 1/3 of the people living in the public housing buildings that clinton under hope 6 tore down were ever able to get back into the units and family homelessness went sky high when the program was implemented in the 1990's. amy: jennifer friedenbach, can you talk about the connection between genderification and homelessness? san francisco, the enormous disparity in wealth, the tech -com boom here, the tech companies that have just changed the landscape of this city. jennifer: yeah, absolutely. i mean, we had an existing homeless crisis that was dramatically worsened. we have a situation where today it's so hard to get off the streets because those informal housing arrangements or being able to move into a residential hotel, share a room, even

living in a garage, i mean, all these options have basically disappeared. the real estate speculation here is out of control and we have thousands of folks who lose their housing in san francisco and end up homeless. and for many of them, they're stuck homeless because there's really not a way out. and that's a big reason why we saw 30% increase in homelessness with this last homeless count was because of this. and estimates are between about -- while we have some housing for homeless folks in san francisco, there's for every one housing unit, we have about two or three people who are stuck homeless. and we have a couple more people for each unit becoming homeless every year. so this is a huge issue and who we're talking about primarily is who gets preyed on and you look at the eviction data and see it, it's seniors a and peop with disabilities, the poor

communities where people of color live that have been particularly targeted. we have rent control in san francisco but don't have vacancy control. what that means is that if a landlord gets the household out they could jack up the rent as much as they'd like. there's a huge incentive among real estate speculators to push tenants out and that way they can rent a unit or sell off a unit at much higher income. so it's a massive problem and why we're seeing up and down the west coast such a dramatic rise in homelessness. amy: certain neighborhoods in san francisco have begun to place boulders, big gigantic rocks on sidewalks to keep people from setting up tents on the sidewalks, is that true, jennifer? jennifer: yeah, i think it's pretty emblematic of the lack of any kind of action on this issue.

we're not going to solve this issue. it's tough for the neighbors, of course, to have homelessness out there but it's so much worse for the folks who are homeless. we're talking about losing decades off your life through this experience. we're talking about really just massive misery and the city's primary response is a police response like cities across the country to move folks from place to place. in this particular situation this encampment had been moved around basically in a circle instead of solutions coming forward to get off those streets and into housing. amy: let's talk about those solutions. for example, what do you think of preresidential candidate bernie sanders' housing plan? jennifer: i've looked at that really closely and it's exactly the kind of thing we need to be talking about. i think it's kind of troubling it took trump to bring it up, though, for this to become infused in the presidential

debate. bernie had it in his platform for a while but am hopeful the other democratic candidates will look at this as well. because what's going on here, we have millions of people who can't afford housing on minimum wage jobs. we have folks with disabilities and elders out on our streets. we have families with children. i mean, in san francisco alone we have 3,000 children that experience homelessness every year. we have pregnant women who are ending up in preterm labor, mostly african-americans. this is affecting two more generations to come. it's really time to get serious. one of our members the other day was pregnant and lost her baby. you know, this is really a very dramatic situation. it's a huge human rights issue this country is facing. the things about bernie's platform that is really positive is looking at investing in public housing and improving the conditions and expanding public housing.

he's also got in there the creation of new social housing which is kind of a type of public housing where you have childcare and a kind of democratic self-governance that's in place. that's a really beautiful concept used in europe and different places. but you know, we need to make sure that poor people in our country have a safe and decent place to call home just as a basic because there's a massive disparity around the country not just on the west coast. every city in the country has the same problem. there's no place where you can really afford rent on a minimum wage j job. you're overpaying oror don't't enough to cover it.. so we really wouould like to se this taken a lot more seriously. amy: according to the "new york times," the median home price in san francisco is $1.3 million. paul, a headline in the "san francisco chronicle" at the end of july, al meda county agree

to lease former jail to oakland for homeless shelter. as we begin to wrap up, if you can say what at this point you feel needs to be done. paul: i think that the v.a. needs to get back into providing housing for veterans. i think the united states department of agriculture needs to reinvigorate and refund its housing program. they used to build over 30,000 units a year of affordable housing in rural communities. those programs are completely and totally gone. i think that h.u.d. needs to replace the $54 billion a year. this is every year over now 35 years. homelessness is not knew. these boulders are not new. the state of california puts up boulders all the time. the city of portland, oregon, put down boulders to keep people from camping there. the neighbors didn't just make it up and are emulating what they see their local and state governments doing. the federal government, all the

candidates for democrat -- or for republicans should be looking at the role of h.u.d. in ensuring people have a decent place to live because housing that isn't a commodity for people is a worthwhile housing program just like the homeowner housing subsidy program through the i.r.s. which is over $140 billion a year. if we can afford $140 billion a year in housing subsidies for homeowners, we sure as hell can do better than $34 billion a year in housing subsidies for poor people. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us. of course we'll continue to follow this issue not only in san francisco and los angeles but around the country. i want to thank jennifer friedenbach, executive director on the coalition of homelessness based here in san francisco anand paul boden, executive director of wrap, the western regionalal advocacy project, a homeless advocacy group. when we come back, the trump

administration recently revoked california's authority to set stricter auto emission standards but the state is fighting b back. stay with us. ♪ break]

amy: from ondara. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we're on the road in san francisco. the golden state is in a legal battle with the trurm -- trump administration over tailpipe and climate change and joined two dozen states to file a lawsuit against the trump administration after it revoked the pollutionon air statandards cars and light trucks in the latest regulatory rollback into slowing the climate crisis. this is javier becerra addressing reporters last month. >> our message to those who claim to support states rights, don't trample on ours. doing so would be an attempt to

undo the progress we've made over the past decades. we can't afford that here in california. we cannot afford to backslide in our battle against climate change. for us, this is about survival. our communities are screaming for help to address the climate crisis. unlike thehe trump administration, we don't run scared. it's clear that the stakes are high for california. it's clear to consumers across the country. and it's clear even to automakers who are embracing cleaner cars. amy: the trump administration move seeks to cancel california's agreement with ford, honda, volkswagen and b.m.w. that would see passenger vehicles average about 50 miles per gallon by 2026. the trump administration's proposed freezing auto efficiency at 2020 levels are around 37 miles a gallon. auto emissions are california's single largest source of greenhouse gases. late last month minnesota and

new mexico joined 10 other states in adopting california's more stringent air quality rules in a rebuke to the trump administration. for more we are here in san francisco and los angeles. there we're joined by mary nichols, the long time chair of the california air resources board and she's led the board in cracking the internationally recognized climate action plan. she is known as the queen of green. and here in san francisco, we're joined by michael brune, executive director of the sierra club. welcome to democracy now!. mary nichols, let's begin with you. what exactly is the trump administration trying to do? mary: well, they announced almost two years ago their goal which is to eradicate the standards that had been voluntarily agreed to by the state, the federal government, and the auto industry under president obama. so this is part of the broader campaign to erase from the

books every accomplishment really of the obama administration but in this case , the argument was that they needed to give relief to the auto industry by eliminating the standards which required the industry to produce slightly more efficient, cleaner cars every year going back to 2012 and out to 2025. so what they're doing is they're just stopping the program where it is instead of moviving ahead. amy: so what is the response of these auto companies? usually you're on the other side of these companies, demanding that they be regulated but it seems now you're coming together on the same side that the trump administration has united you. mary: well, the industry having agreed to these standards in the first place did ask for some changes. they wanted a little more time

and they wanted a little more flexibility in how to meet the standards. they didn't t ask for the progr to go away and there was a couple reasons for that, the main one being we're in a very competitive global market now where every one of the companies wants to be making and selling cars in china, in india, in the developing world. so they have all made commitments to move in to zero emission vehicles, battery electric vehicles, advanced hybrids, fuel cell vehicles, and california has been working with the industry on these plans and had been collaborating with them to make sure that the program could be effective but also something that the industry could live with. what the trump administration has been trying to do goes way too far and when the companies through their chief executive officers told the president that he just said they didn'n't know what was good for them.

amy: michael brunene, i want to bring you into this conversation, head of the sierra club, nearly two dozen states have sued to block the trump administration from undoing california's authority to set strict car pollution rules. one of the biggest u.s. battles over climate change. talk about the significance of this lawsuit. michael: sure. well, as mary noted a couple minutes ago, oil is now the largest source of climate pollution not just here in california but across the country and even around the world. as coal has begun to come down, oil now is the largest source of this climate emergency. and we can speak really plainly in saying these regulations are actually working, the safeguards put in place by obama have done a great job in cutting climate pollution, not just in california but across the country,y, and alsoo savavi people mononey at the gas pumps while also creating lots of jobs. and so there are two issues

that are at play, and the lawsuits from 22 states and the city of los angeles, the city of new york, and separate but complimentary lawsuits from the sierra club and other organizations are looking to protect those standards and continue the transition away from fossil fuels, away from oil, and moving towards clean electric vehicles and other zero polluting vehicles but then also to protect the right that california has, that is enshrined in the clean air act to set strong standards, to protect public health, to create jobs and save money and to cut pollution. so those are the two issues that are at plate and just like every lawsuit that environmental organizations and other states have filed against this administration, we're confident we're going to win because what we have seen is that this administration is sloppy, they are reckless, they don't use the facts, they don't follow the science. and that pattern of behavior from that administration is really difficult to defend in

court. we expect to win and will fight this vigorously and we will prevail. amy: also, there was just a new study that came out, driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem. turns out it just must be the largest contributor of microplastics in california's coastal waters. that's one of many new findings from onene of the most comprehensive study to date on microplastics in california, raininfall washes more than sev trtrillion plastics, mostly tir particles left behind in streets from san francisco bay each year, an amount 300 times greater than what comes from microfibers washing off polyester clothes or microbeads from beauty products. i'm reading from fiz.org news, if you can comment as well,

michael. michael: i did see that study and it gives me comfort that there are people like mary nichols in california beginning to explore these issues and causes me some alarm to think of better thanhearth or andrew wheeler, a former lobbyist or hunter pence who continues to ignore science and give benefits to some of the biggest polluters s in this country. what we know is that here in california, but also in several dozen estates across the country, we're beginning to find a way to help people get from place to place, either in vehicles that pollute a lot less or moving towards electric vehicles or by moving to other forms of clean transportation using mass transit, living closer to where we work and play. there's a variety of solutions that we can put into place at the state and at the fededal levevel to cut all forms of pollution and improve our quality of life. this is what the environmental movement is doing in concert

with private industry and with state regulators. and again, we are facing fierce headwinds coming from this administration on almost every front. amy: mary nichols, what t do yo have to say to president trump and what is the bigiggest probl you're facing in california right now around the climate crisis and the e.p.a. going after california, and also overall, deregulating, whether we're talking about coal power plants, whether we're talking about deregulating, you know, restrictions on energy companies in general? mary: sure. it wasn't lost on most people when andrew wheeler, the head of the environmental protection agency now sent a letter to california criticizing us for the fact that we still have some very persistent, troublesome areas where we

don't need the federal health standadards for air quality and we've been working diligigently toto bring that down over the years. we've had a lot of success but also still have quite a bit of work to do. the problem of global warming actually makes air pollution worse because heat in and of itself causes whatever emissionons are in the air to turn into air pollution more quickly and more completely. so it's really a vicious circle. so at the same time he's critiquing us for the fact that our air is not as good as we want it to be, he's also taking away, or tryrying to take away the biggest tool that we have, which is our ability to set more progressive standards for new motor vehicles, c cars, trucks, buses, etc., in order to make sure that we don't do anything that might possibly restrict emissions of greenhouse gases.

so it'ss honestltly a ridiculou situation that the trump administration has now gotten itself into, where in their great desire to deregulate and take away california's authority, at the same time they are eliminating the tool that has proven overer the year to be the most effective ones that we and all the other states that choose to use our standards have found in order to make our air healthier for our people. amy: mary nichols, can you talk more about minnesota and new mexico becoming the latest states to embrace e both of california's strict rules on tailpipe emissions and zero emissions vehicles and why it's so important that the trump administration is taking on california and how it affects those states. mary: sure. i think that the sign that we're doing something that makes sense not just for

california but for people around the country is that governors in other states who don't want to necessarily even use the word california standards when they move in this area have recognized we need to be all moving in the direction of the cleanest, most efficient vehicles that are out there, the auto industry and minnesota has some auto related industry but mostly that is the no their principal economy but they do have pockets of pollution and they are troubled with, you know, wanting to be part of the movement that is going on around the world in the direction of transportation which is cleaner and more efficient and they'd like to be a hohome foror some ofof the ad technologies that are now emerging. they've seen that new companies

are actually rising up to produce some of the newer zero emission vehicles and i think they would like to be a part of that. amy: finally, michael brune, the effect of the climate activism we are seeing not only in the united states but all over the world, just last week young people walking out of school throughout california, around the country, around the world, millions and millions of people marching to deal with the climate crisis. what do you think is going to be the direction of climate activism and where do you see this all coming to a head d wit president trump. michael: i think the effect of the protests we've seen in the marches have been profound. my own children were marching on market street last week and what we're seeing as you mentioned is millions of people

who are demanding strong action . and what we are also seeing is that we're seeing heads of state here in california, seven other states in the united states have committed to move to 100% clean energy, moving off of all fossil fuels. we've seen more than 100 mayors in cities across the united states beginning to make the same commitment to get off alll fossil fuels and move to 100% clean, renewable energy and seeing the largest countries around the world, companies like sales force and walgreens, ikea and starbucks and many others make the same commitments to get off all fossil fuels. and what we're starting to see is an increasing willingness by governors and state regulators and by people across all civil society of the trump administration to face this crisis and realize we don't just have an obligation to act but there's an opportunity to

address in of is biggest challengeses we face in the country. becan revive our economy and put millions to work in good, high quality, well-paying jobs. we can cut air and watater and climate pollution all at the same time by challenging our leaders to move ofoff of f foss fuels and move towards clean energy. i think it's an inspiring time and we're starting to see strong action almost everywhere except inside washington, d.c. and except from this administration. amy: michael brune, thanks for being with us, checktive detector of the sierra club in san francisco and mary nichols has led the air board in crafting california's internationally recognized climate action plan. known as the queen of green. when w we come back, the california legislature voted to ban private for-profit prisons including private immigration jails and the bill is now awaiting the governor's signature. stay with us. ♪

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amy: sad tomorrorow by the muck kim shattock passed away from a.l.s. october 2. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report, i'm amy goodman. a 37-year-old immigrant from cameroon died tuesday after he fell ill in an ice prison. in a state, ice said the man, nebane abienwi became partially pararalyzed d after suffering a brain hemorrhage in the middle of the night at otay mason detention center. ice said he was rushed to a san didiego hospital but died after undergoing treatment. the jail is offered by corecivic, a for-profit corporation. lesbeth albeln for immigrant justice said the ongoing loss of life in detention is not only heartbreaking but infuriating and there's a bill sitting on governor newsom's desk waiting to be signed that would ban private detention like otay in

california. people with detention can't afford to be behind bars any longer. newsom needs to sign now. she was referring to the bill the california lawmakers passed last month banning private prisons statewide. a major blow to the for-profit person industry in the u.s., hamid yazdan panah. an immigration attorney for california collaborative for immigrant justice. but are helping shape this bill. explain what this bill actually said. hamid: this bill sends a clear message that people are not commodities and that the state of california values people over profits and that corporations should no longer be allowed to profit off of the incarceration or the detention of california residents. amy: and it has been cast by -- passed by both houses in the california legislature? hamid: yes, it has. amy: and what is the governor's

intention here? what do yoyou understand? he has yet to sign it but it was just passed. hamid: we e expect the governor will do the right thing and he'll uphold the campaign promises that he made. he did state during his campaiaign that he would seek t end for-profit prisons in california and we expect him to continue to do the right thing with respect to this bill. amy: so what does it mean? what would happen in california? how much of the california prison system and immigration jail system is run by for-profit companies? hamid: well, so as it stands right now, there are four major private facilities that house detainees in the immigration context in california. those facilities are operated by large for-profit entities, and those facilities would no longer be allowed to renew their contracts. a number of those facilities actually are rife with immigration abuse. one of those facilities is

actually the second deadliest facility in the entire nation and so what will essentially happen is these facilities will no longer be allowed to continue their contracts and hopefully it means the end of for profit immigration detention in california. amy: so can you talk about this latest death and how it fits into this picture? hamid: one of the reasons why for-profit facilities are problematic is they don't have the same agree of transparency and accountability you would expect from an institution which deprives people of their liberty. and so we've seen over and over again that these private facilities don't care about medical conditions, they don't care about transparency, thehey don't t care about accountabili and treat people essentially like commodities. they're incentivized to do that, that's their entire business operation is to treat people like commodities and they don't care about conditions across the board. so this bill very squarely sends a message that california

will no longer allow this practice to continue. and the deaths we've seen are a direct result of a combination of horrific policies by thihis administration and the context of immigration detention. immigration detention as a whole is needless. people don't need to be detained in the context of immigration and civil proceedings and to add to that, the for-profit detention of immigrants is abhorrent. it's moralally reprehensible an something that i in 10-20 years from now we'll look back on with complete disgust. this bill is the first step in ending that. amy: the first step at an ice jail in this fiscal year occurred yesterday at otay mesa detention facility in san diego, the 37-year-old man from cameroon and is the ninth death this year. almost 200 people have died in ice detention since 2003. if you can talk about it's groups are calling now for an investigation of course into this death. if you can talk about how this

connects to the ice detention facilities, the overall picture with for-profit prisons, ice has contracts with for-profit centers, particularly the geogroup that is supposed to expire this year. will the bill prevent these contracts from being renewed but start off with a particular cameroonian man who died yesterday. hamid: yes. so overall within the context of conditions like i said before, the private facilities lack transparency. the attorney general of california actually has a mandate to investigate the conditions o of these facilitie and they were actually denied access in their initial inquiry into the private detention facilities in california. again, we've seen a lack of accountatability and transparen in these facilities which lead to things like deaths in detention, people suffering. and so this bill again will remove the for-profit incentive

from these companies in running these facilities and hopefully results in leless people being detained within the context of these for-profit facilities and overall less people dying in these facilities. amy: well, i want to thank you very much for being with us. of course we'll continue to follow this and whether or not the governor signs this ban on for-profit prisons, hamid panah is a immigration attorney for immigrant justice. that does it for our broadcast here in san francisco. e'll be here again tomorrow. nermine well speak in ithaca, new york at our website at emocracynow.org. democracy now! is produced by

several. special thanks to becca staley and julie crosby, david, karl, i'm amy goodman here in san francisco. thanks so much for joining us.