(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The plot twist in the horror movies we love to watch at this time of year (including 1978’s “Halloween”) is used so often it’s no longer surprising – the danger is inside the house, not coming from outside.

It plays off the idea that we consider our homes to be the safest place we can be, that we can lock out what’s harmful. But when it comes to air pollution from burning fossil fuels, the horror movies have it right – the damage is done inside buildings and gets pumped outdoors.

The outcome can be just as deadly. The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative in Maryland estimated that burning fossil fuels in heaters, furnaces, boilers, and water heaters results in 163 premature deaths in a year as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and dioxide, and fine particles of pollutants that escape from homes and buildings. The pollution leads to 3,500 cases of respiratory issues, asthma, and costs the state 6,500 lost work days and $1.3 billion in public health spending.

“The utilities have positioned gas as a clean burning fuel. It’s not,” said Christopher Stix, who volunteers with one of more than 100 Maryland organizations working on the air pollution coming from homes.

Across the country, half of our homes rely on gas as their primary heating fuel. Two-thirds of the greenhouse gas coming from buildings comes from heating spaces and water.

The good news in Maryland is that half of homes will have zero-nitrogen oxide heating by 2030. The challenge is where those homes will be.

“The homes that use heat pumps tend to be in wealthier communities,” Stix noted. But buildings in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods tend to have less weatherization and less efficient appliances, so they consume more energy and pollute more, he said.

Federal incentives in the historic clean energy and jobs package approved by President Biden and Congress last year give homeowners and landlords the chance to switch to electric powered heating.

“As we electrify buildings, we have to do it in an equitable way,” Stix said. “Community advocates in various parts of Maryland are testing air in homes to show the people who live there the impact of burning gas.”

The federal programs “will make a significant contribution to making electrification for low- and moderate-income families a possibility,” but it won’t cover all the cost.

Stix and other advocates want the state to pay any incremental amount beyond the federal aid for low-income households. Because the heating improvements may uncover other home repair issues like roof leaks and lead paint, those families also need a one-stop process that allows them to tap all the assistance they may need.

If we’re going to offer incentives, the federal government needs to take the next step with a benchmark for what we want to replace. More than a year ago, 26 climate and health groups called on the Environmental Protection Agency to set limits on pollution from household appliances. Unlike other sources of greenhouse gases across our economy that are regulated by the Clean Air Act, buildings filled with appliances that burn gas, oil, or propane are left unaccountable.

This dangerous omission makes even less sense today than ever. We’re rightly reimbursing Americans’ investment in readily available electric heat pumps and other appliances to address nearly 15 percent of net greenhouse gas pollution. Putting limits on those emissions should be part of the solution.”

Ben Jealous is executive director of the Sierra Club, professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free”.

I-Stock Photo Credit: SDI Productions

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A recent study has outlined a disturbing trend across the nation: Increasing retirement woes among Black people, coming from several angles that indicate some could choose to work longer or seek more palatable options for savings and income.

Either people aren’t feeling on-track to retire, they’re worried about outliving whatever savings they are able to accrue or their jobs don’t offer fair retirement plans for people of color. These being common fears in the Black community, some just breeze over the thought of retirement as a pipe dream.

“Black and Hispanic workers have significantly less access to employer-sponsored retirement plans than do white counterparts, exacerbating economic inequity and hampering the ability of people of color to build financial security later in life, according to researchers,” AARP reports. “Among private sector employees ages 18 to 64, more than 53 percent of African Americans and about 64 percent of Latinos do not have access to a workplace retirement plan, compared with about 42 percent for white workers and 45 percent for Asian Americans, a July 2022 report from the AARP Public Policy Institute found.”

According to the latest U.S. Census data, more than 55.8 million adults are older than 65. That is nearly 17 percent of America’s population that is “retirement age.” Yet only half of Americans even have access to retirement plans. And although we know well what the gender gap is, what isn’t talked about enough is the retirement gap. Generally, studies on savings show that the average Black family has lower savings than the disparity between the average U.S. family. It’s unsurprising, then, that 54% of Black Americans don’t have enough savings to retire – whether it be from system inequalities or otherwise.

All studies and reports on retirement are saying the same thing: People are worried aboutoutliving their retirement savings. The retirement crisis is hitting all of the country, but as usual, disproportionately impacting Black and other racial minority communities. Nearly 40 percent of independent savers, specifically, aren’t feeling on-track to retire. Independent savers are individuals who do not have access to a retirement plan through their employers. Many in the Black and Latino communities fall under the independent saver category. Therefore, for many in these communities, retirement planning gets put on the backburner as more urgent expenses and matters arise.

But there are now new financial tools that every person can use to begin retirement savings. Recently, the financial industry recognized this issue and started to rollout new products that will open up access to professionally managed retirement vehicles at a lower cost and without the need for a workplace-based retirement plan.  

For example, BlackRock recently launched the industry’s only suite of target date ETFs (Exchange-traded Funds), which is a new investment tool aimed at curbing the growing number of people who do not have any retirement savings plans, or access to such. Investors that choose this new product will be able to easily select a fund closest to their target retirement date and make regular contributions as their own finances allow. This allows for recurring deposits, but also allows for more choice. Meaning if life happens and an unexpected expense comes up – which will certainly happen – and there’s nothing left over for the month to invest, that’s okay. However, this investment is professionally managed and is taken care of to make sure it’s stable as retirement nears. 

According to BlackRock’s Read on Retirement report, 47 percent of independent savers lean on cash to build their retirement, creating a missed opportunity for potential investment growth which is important to achieving retirement goals. These new ETF funds allow for savers that might typically rely on stashing cash to instead put that into these ETF funds that will invest in a broad portfolio and turn out even more money.

Such strategies are often in line with initiatives such as Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Wall Street Project, which encourages the financial industry to open up and reach out to communities that may not necessarily be aware of alternatives to their personal savings that they may need from day to day.

“If Corporate America could see the vast potential within our underserved minority communities, would Wall Street provide access to opportunities for economic growth and stability?” Rev. Jackson asks in a statement.

All of these retirement tools are built off of the idea that in order to encourage more retirement saving, we need to make it as easy as possible for people to build their nest egg. Retirement tools like these are for the people that don’t have workplace retirement plans, those looking to complement their existing 401(k), or people that just want to boost their confidence in their retirement potential.

Most Americans are nervous; even stressed about retirement, savings, and finances in general. This is especially true for the Black community. These products may be the first of many from Wall Street aimed at further providing transformational solutions to the retirement burdens many have been feeling over the years.

For equitable economic contributions to family and to American society regardless of race or age, retirement savings and income must become straightforward and possible for everyone.

“The road to shared economic security travels through two-way trade, where all are included, and none are left in the margins of the marketplace,” Rev. Jackson states. “Industry by industry, the quantifiable gaps in opportunity and in access to capital for people of color-owned businesses define our agenda.”

Oct. 24, 2023

Pro-Palestinian demonstration in South Africa.

SPECIAL TO THE TRICE EDNEY NEWS WIRE FROM GIN

(TriceEdneyWire.com/Global Information Network) - Back in 1963, the founders of the Organization of African Unity pledged to work and speak as one, forge an international consensus in support of the liberation struggle and fight against apartheid.

Their aims were high. The achievements less so.  Last week, a one-day Cairo Summit for Peace, attended  by leaders and top officials from more than a dozen countries, closed without agreement on a joint statement two weeks into a conflict that has killed thousands and visited a humanitarian catastrophe on the blockaded Gaza enclave of 2.3 million people.

Only one Africa leader, President Cyril Ramaphosa, was in attendance.

The speeches reflected growing anger in the region, even among those with close ties to Israel as the war sparked by a massive Hamas attack enters a third week with casualties mounting and no end in sight.

The current Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza strip has left the African continent deeply divided, with some countries choosing to remain silent while others openly showing solidarity with either Israel or Palestine.

Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo all expressed some form of support for Israel since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

“Kenya joins the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel and unequivocally condemns terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians,” said President William Ruto, writing on Twitter, now known as X.

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs proclaimed Israel’s right to exist and defend itself while cautioning that country to exercise restraint and seek negotiation talks for both parties.

Rwanda called the Hamas attack an ‘act of terror’ while the Democratic Republic of the Congo expressed support for Israel from the presidency’s Twitter account.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in contrast, expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine.

“All of us standing here pledge our solidarity for the people of Palestine,” he said at a recent meeting of the African National Congress in Johannesburg. “We stand here because we are deeply concerned about the atrocities that are unfolding in the Middle East.”

One of Palestine’s strongest African supporters is Algeria which condemned ‘brutal air strikes by the Zionist (Israel) occupation forces in the Gaza Strip’. They stated they were in ‘full solidarity with the Palestinian people’ while calling on the international community to act against ‘repeated criminal attacks.’

Tunisia, a member of the Arab League like Algeria, expressed ‘complete and unconditional support for the Palestinian people “who have been ‘under Zionist occupation for decades.” They called on the world ‘to stand by the Palestinians and remember the massacres carried out by the Zionist enemy.”

Countries that are more neutral include Nigeria which, on the day of the attack, condemned the “cycle of violence and retaliation that the current escalation has assumed.”

While Uganda has not taken an official side, President Yoweri Museveni urged Israel and Palestine to strive for peace and a ‘two-state solution’.

“African countries take different positions based on their political and geopolitical interests,” said Louis Gitinywa, a Rwanda-based political analyst and constitutional lawyer. “This is nothing new. States have interests, they don’t have friends.”

The only African country with a strong historical attachment to Israel is Ethiopia, but it is yet to make clear its stance on the current situation.

Buchanan Ismael, a political scientist at the University of Rwanda, pointed out that some African countries depend on Israel for military technology and weapons.

“I don’t think African states have very strong diplomatic relations with Israel,” he said. “Their ties are based on an “opportunistic way of cooperation and assistance.” 

Oct. 24, 2023

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Two federal agencies recently reached a $23 million settlement with TransUnion, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies, and a subsidiary, TURRS. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the settlement on October 12.  

The regulators said the firm’s use of inaccurate, outdated, and incomplete eviction records to screen prospective tenants harmed consumers looking for rental housing and violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).  

The settlement, when approved by a federal court, will require the firm to repay $11 million to affected consumers, an additional $4 million civil penalty, and $8 million to CFPB for lying to consumers. TURRSS failed to provide consumers with the names of third-party vendors from whom it received criminal and eviction records included in its tenant screening reports. Further, no effort was made to ensure the accuracy of tenant screening reports. As a result, reports included inaccurate and incomplete eviction records that hampered consumers’ ability to obtain housing.  

“Americans across the country were put at risk of wrongful housing denials because TransUnion failed to follow the law,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “We are ordering TransUnion to cease its years-long illegal activity, clean up its broken business practices, redress its victims, and pay penalties.”  Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection reacted similarly.  

“Consumers struggling to find housing shouldn’t be shut out by tenant screening reports that are ridden with errors and based on data from secret sources,” noted Levine. “Protecting consumers looking for housing is critical to a fair economy, and we are proud to partner with the CFPB in obtaining this record-breaking order.” 

According to the complaint, TransUnion and TURRSnever took legally-requiredsteps to ensure the accuracy of the data it received until April 2021 when the corporation learned of the related FTC investigation. The firms’ failure to follow reasonable procedures resulted in the use of error-laden consumer credit reports that wrongly showed multiple eviction records when only one may have occurred. As a result, many borrowers were denied rental housing, subjected to additional and undeserved fees, and had to spend hours or days trying to correct errors in their credit reports.  

“An unfair denial of rental housing has effects beyond just the loss of rental application fees—it means losing out on the opportunity to live in a person’s preferred neighborhood, the neighborhood that makes sense for them in terms of schools, work, and more; and it may mean having to pay even more for housing down the line,” added Eric Halperin, CFPB’s Enforcement Director. 

FCRA, a key consumer protection law passed more than 50 years ago, requires firms that collect consumer credit data, as well as those that use it in making credit-related decisions, to ensure accuracy of the information. Further, companies are required to investigate disputes and advise consumers when an adverse action is taken on the basis of credit reporting.  

TransUnion, which has gathered an estimated 190 million consumer credit profiles has a long history of anti-consumer behaviors.  

For example, in 1992, FTC Commissioners issued a cease-and-desist order against the corporation after it was found to have sold information, without consumers’ consent, to a third party who used that information to solicit consumers to purchase goods and services.  A legal finding delivered in the case in 1998 agreed with the FTC, saying in part: “Trans Union invades consumers’ privacy when it sells consumers’ credit histories to third-party marketers without consumers’ knowledge or consent. ... " 

In 2017 the CFPB took action against TransUnion and Equifax, another major credit reporting bureau, for deceiving customers and luring them into costly recurring payments by pushing credit-related products that offered false promises. In 2022, CFPB sued TransUnion, claiming the company did not meet the conditions of the earlier law enforcement order. That lawsuit has not been resolved.  

CFPB encourages consumers to utilize dedicated whistleblower hotline and email to report suspected wrongdoing. The email address is:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . As an alternative, consumers may also phone the toll-free Whistleblower Tip Line at (855) 695-7974.  

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Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..