By Padmini Arhant
Mother Nature has never been more vulnerable than now with the human power in industries and government targeting every available land on planet earth for profits. With the active space exploration for possible inhabitation on Mars and the Moon, earth’s natural resources depleted to the ultimate under the guise of ‘Clean Energy Act,’ by the yet another indomitable force in the corporate world, the ‘Energy Cartel.’
Should they trail behind in the Herculean contest of crushing democracy and the people it represents?
‘Profit’ revered more than the “Prophet” spares none in its sinister cannibalism revealed in the legislative matters concerning health, housing, finance, wars and even the planet they exist. It is no longer the Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest’ with a subtle hope for efforts to survive if not thrive in the sharks-infested waters.
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Thank you.
Padmini Arhant
Take a look at this article from Bloomberg.com. In my opinon one of the more interesting priovisions included in the America Recovery and Reinvestmnet Act was the idea of "Buying American". The theory behind it that as our nation recovers from the worst recession in decades, businesses and the like should be using products that are actually made in America.
In theory the idea makes a lot of sense.
In practice, it unfortunately exposes just how much manufacturing the United States does not do. The projects that are ready to roll have to be slowed down because of waiver requests. The waivers are necessary because in certain instances the peice of equipment or part needed is only made in a country outside of the United States.
This of course creates a backlog (temporary as it might be) and of course frustration with our government. I cannot blame folks if they get upset because of these types of delays, for they are ridiculous.
Patience is a true virtue...
A decade after safety concerns were first raised by experts, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted public hearings on Diacetyl – a chemical widely used to flavor microwave popcorn. The public comment period ended on April 21st.
Recent studies show laboratory mice made to inhale diacetyl vapors for just three months developed lymphocytic bronchiolitis.
Popcorn producers are not required to label Diacetyl separately, and may list it under a general heading on labels as a flavoring ingredient.
Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy Director David Michaels says: “This is an example of a potentially toxic substance receiving GRAS (generally recognized as safe) designation without undergoing adequate testing. It’s also an example of how our key public health agencies rely on chemical manufacturers themselves to provide critical health effects data. Whether food additives, pesticides, or industrial chemicals, the public's health and safety should not rely solely on industry affirmations.”
OSHA Closes Hearing For Diacetyl RulemakingOSHA intends the term ``diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl'' to encompass other constituents of food flavorings containing diacetyl. In addition to information on diacetyl, OSHA seeks information on acetoin, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, furfural, and other compounds present in food flavorings that may cause or contribute to flavoring-related lung disease. OSHA is also interested in and seeks information about diacetyl present in substances other than food flavorings (e.g., naturally occurring diacetyl or diacetyl in fragrances) as well as substitutes used in place of diacetyl (e.g., diacetyl trimer). The information received in response to this document will assist the Agency in developing a proposed standard addressing occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl. The Comment period ended April 21, 2009. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-1125.htm
OSHA Closes Hearing For Diacetyl Rulemaking
OSHA intends the term ``diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl'' to encompass other constituents of food flavorings containing diacetyl. In addition to information on diacetyl, OSHA seeks information on acetoin, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, furfural, and other compounds present in food flavorings that may cause or contribute to flavoring-related lung disease. OSHA is also interested in and seeks information about diacetyl present in substances other than food flavorings (e.g., naturally occurring diacetyl or diacetyl in fragrances) as well as substitutes used in place of diacetyl (e.g., diacetyl trimer). The information received in response to this document will assist the Agency in developing a proposed standard addressing occupational exposure to diacetyl and food flavorings containing diacetyl. The Comment period ended April 21, 2009. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-1125.htm
Despite lawsuit verdicts in the millions, finding in favor of microwave popcorn factory workers and against Diacetyl, neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission have investigated.
In 2000, OSHA conducted several studies that confirmed the link between occupational exposure the artificial butter flavoring Diacetyl and lung diseases.
In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Diacetyl investigation findings were distributed privately to the popcorn industry.
In 2006, two labor unions petitioned the OSHA to issue an emergency temporary standard on Diacetyl to protect workers in the food and flavorings industries. More than 42 scientists and public health experts signed a letter supporting the petition.
In 2007, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WT) Chair HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, wrote to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, and CDC Director Julie Gerberding. They also wrote to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, asking for an Emergency Temporary Standard to protect workers from Diacetyl – an action supported by unions and manufacturers. No action has been taken.
In 2008, by a vote of 260 to 154, the US House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2693, the Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act. The vote demonstrates the widespread recognition that OSHA failed to protect workers and Congress needed to act. To date, the Senate has not acted.
California
In 2008, our State Senate passed SB 456: Diacetyl Toxic Substance Ban, a bill that bans diacetyl, a vapor used in the production of microwave popcorn, pancake syrup, cakes, candies, frozen foods, and other products that has been associated to lung illness. The bill currently sits in the Health Committee.
Similarly, scientists and consumer groups point to a much larger health problem posed by unlabeled genetically modified organisms, also permitted by the FDA to enter the food supply under the GRAS designation several years ago.
The OSHA contact for this Emergency Temporary Standard rulemaking (numbered RIN 1218-AC33) is Dorothy Dougherty, director of the Directorate of Standards and Guidance (202-693-1950, dougherty.dorothy@dol.gov).
Reader Note: Andrew Schneider, a two-time Pulitzer prize winning journalist broke this story several years ago. I recommend reading his reports for additional information.
Stephen Views the News March 28, 2009
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
* Each new administration brings with it catch phrases to sell its programs as aggressively as a pharmaceutical company convincing large portions of the population that they suffer from fibromyalgia or erectile dysfunction. From “The Great Society” to “Global War on Terror” to “Abstinence Only” both good and bad policies are wrapped in sound bytes that are the envy of Madison Avenue. The Obama administration is no different.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates tells us that the troops we are leaving in Iraq will no longer be called “combat brigades.” The new term for these military forces will be “advisory and assistance brigades.” Since change is good the Defense Secretary did not stop there. The U.S. Command in Iraq will be re-designated "transition force headquarters" after August 2010. The Army must have felt that the Secretary needed an upgrade in sophisticated phrasing. Instead of "Advisory and Assistance Brigades" the Army is using the term "Brigades Enhanced for Stability Operations" (BESO). This may be progress linguistically but falls far short of Obama’s campaign promise to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by the middle of 2010. There is no word yet on how the Iraqis feel about re-labeled combat troops being in Iraq after the already agreed upon removal of U.S. troops by June 2010. My guess is that they are still trying to translate "Brigades Enhanced for Stability Operations" into Arabic.
Presidential administrations also tend to be competitive in some respects with previous administrations, especially if they represent a different political party. The Obama team is no different. In a recently leaked e-mail to Pentagon staff, Dave Riedel of the Department of Defense's office of security review wrote: "This administration prefers to avoid using the term 'Long War' or 'Global War on Terror'" -- a message he asked recipients to "please pass on to your speech writers." The preferred catchphrase is “Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO).” Some may say that OCO sounds more like an emergency appendectomy while visiting Uzbekistan but I kinda like it. “Global War on Terror” is a bit neoconnish for my taste and not very stealth. Using “Overseas Contingency Operation” allows us to sneak up on those terrorist bastards before they know what hit them.
As I observed this creative use of language I began to think of other phrases or terminology that do not contribute squat to solving problems but at least distracts one from the burdens of the day:
~ Instead of noting 700,000 job losses per month we should call them “interim disemployment economic adjustments” or IDEA. Somehow, 700,000 IDEAs has a much more positive connotation than “jobless” and will more quickly restore the confidence that we are told the economy needs.
~ Much of the economic tsunami that has enveloped our country can be attributed to Wall Street’s invention and abuse of derivatives. These are instruments made up of mortgages that often should not have been granted, then packaged and re-sold to other financial institutions with the intent of further re-selling them to other geniuses. When the housing bubble burst (home values precipitously fell) the weakness of these “financial instruments” became apparent and the proverbial shit hit the fan. Perhaps a derivative should have been called “Duck!”
* Protecting the Troops ~ and other works of fiction - I have commented on a number of occasions about the shoddy and incompetent work private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan committed while building facilities for US troops. At least 18 military have died from electrocution. Years have passed as this problem has been ignored and covered up. “Task Force Safe” has now been instituted to inspect these buildings. Their findings: “Thousands of buildings at U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan have such poorly installed wiring that American troops face life-threatening risks, a top inspector for the Army says... Of the nearly 30,000 buildings the Army's "Task Force Safe" has examined so far, Childs said more than half "failed miserably." And 8,527 had such serious problems that inspectors gave them a "flash" warning, meaning repairs had to be completed in four hours or the facility evacuated.” More than 70,000 buildings in Iraq have yet to be inspected. More than half of the less-than-inhabitable structures to date were constructed by Dick Cheney’s best buds KBR, using cheap and inexperienced foreign labor. Among the many disgraces that history will associate with Bush’s Iraq invasion will be the Bush administration’s abandonment of the troops and the screwing of the American tax payer by private contractors.
* If you cannot afford your prescriptions there is a solution ~ eat more fish – A pilot study funded by the EPA found that, “Fish caught near wastewater treatment plants serving five major U.S. cities had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression. The next time I need a re-fill prescription for Lipitor I’ll ask my physician for a fishing license. I will lower my cholesterol for free with the added advantage that the relaxation of fishing will help me avoid the need for blood pressure medication. Perhaps a degrading environment is not as bad as those liberal fear mongers make it out to be.
* What do the financial gurus under Bush and Obama have in common? They have strong ties to the financial world they are supposed to oversee and they opposed oversight and regulation of the financial services industry as it greedily spun out of control. They were given responsibility to police their friends and a broken system they helped create. That does not leave me with a great deal of confidence in Geithner and Summers and the team Obama has chosen to navigate the shark-infested waters of this economic crisis. It is not change I can believe in.
* Laboring for fairness - When an issue is complicated how does one know whether to be for or against it? In the case of the Bush presidency I learned that if Bush was for something, I was against it. This was not a purely partisan Pavlovian response. It was a result of observing failure upon failure upon incompetence. In the case of unions I strongly believe that it is time for the labor movement to be stronger as part of the renewal of America’s economy and to keep the middle class from facing extinction. My contrarian Bush principle applies to the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) - a measure intended to make it easier for American workers to form unions. Who is against this Act? AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, FOX News, Wal-Mart, The Heritage Foundation and a host of other major corporations and organizations on the right of the political spectrum – a movement designed to protect and enhance the well-to-do royalty of our society at the expense of the overwhelming majority of Americans. What do the EFCA naysayers have in common? Their actions and philosophies are at the very core of what bankrupted the American economy and the capitalist soul. Capitalism is a proven viable economic system, IF, it is tempered with government oversight and an empowered labor force.
* “It is one of the characteristics of a free and democratic nation that it have free and independent labor unions.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.” John F Kennedy
The Obama-Biden administration has the power to make sure that everyone has good, clean food. Change This stewardship agreement!
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=090000648084de39
"Technology/stewardship agreements required for the purchase of genetically modified seed explicitly prohibit research. These agreements inhibit public scientists from pursuing their mandated role on behalf of the public good unless the research is approved by industry. As a result of restricted access, no truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions regarding the technology, its performance, its management implications, IRM, and its interactions with insect biology. Consequently, data flowing to an EPA Scientific Advisory Panel from the public sector is unduly limited."
also see
"Rising Rhetoric on Genetically Modified Crops"in PR Watch, Volume 10, No. 1, 1st Quarter 2003.
"Their level of desperation appears to be increasing," says Michael Hansen, a scientist with Consumers Union in the US, who monitors the activities of the biotech industry as it lobbies for acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods. Hansen has watched with increasing alarm as the pro-GM lobby escalates its vitriolic attacks on critics.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rising_Rhetoric_on_Genetically_Modified_Crops
Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced a new initiative to further measure levels of toxic air pollution near many schools across the country for better protection. EPA and its state partners will prioritize and monitor schools for more extensive air quality analysis, looking closely at schools located near large industries and in urban areas.
Here it is the 26th -- Obama has been in office for less than a week, but already I am feeling better. Already his public moves have signaled forward momentum of the ideals we all supported throughout the long campaign. After 8 years of subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) errosion of the progress of the EPA, we see a move, through the decentralization of Air Emmisions Control Standards, toward the EPA being allowed to return to its mandate. I know this is just the beginning!
I have enjoyed my time involved in the Obama campaign, and look forward to the next chapter as Organizing for America unfolds.
Stephen Views the News 1/7/09
* Israeli government not always right ~ Palestinian people not always wrong, but often wronged by their leadership – Many of us in the United States have a cultural and/or emotional connection to Israel. Others see a political connection to Israel as an American ally and some Christian fundamentalists see the connection as biblical. Regardless of the connection it would be unbalanced to say that Israel can do no wrong. The defense of Israel’s actions in Gaza predominates in the mainstream media in America. Bush’s neocon support of Israel and Obama’s silence about the attacks further the one-sided American perception of this conflict. I suggest that the debate encompass contrasting views such as Glen Greenwald at Salon.com in an article titled “Orwell, blinding tribalism, selective Terrorism, and Israel/Gaza,” the website Dissident Voice that discusses Top 5 Lies About Israel’s Assault on Gaza and Jstreet.org “the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.” In Israel there are strong demonstrations against the Gaza military action and Consenting Adult offers some insight including the observation that the attacks are really about Israeli domestic politics.
Marty Kaplan writing at Huffington Post soul searches the myriad moral and political dilemmas confronting the long-suffering Israelis and Palestinians. For those wondering why Israel launched their Gaza attack at this particular time Lisa Gans writing at Huffington Post suggests: “But the fact that Israel decided to launch this massive attack on the Gaza strip in the waning days of the Bush administration suggests that Tel Aviv, at least, thinks that the days for such an action might be limited… Nothing in the events leading up to the now nine day long assault (as of January 5th) on Gaza created a sense of urgency that justifies the scale and speed of the Israeli action… Rather than being a sign of support for the Gaza offensive, Obama's refusal to comment at all may suggest that, while he is unwilling to interfere in the White House's ability to conduct foreign policy, he may not be supportive of Israel's actions, and that he intends to take a different tone from the current administration tone in office.”
A final thought, at least for the moment. Let us not forget, although the Arab world will, that Hamas (like Hezbollah in Lebanon) chose to secret their armies and weapons in hospitals, schools and mosques and use civilian populations as shields. Let us not forget the suffering imposed upon the people of Gaza through Israeli blockades and policies prior to the current hostilities. And let us not forget the decades-long abandonment of the Palestinian people by the surrounding Arab governments who see the Palestinians as pawns. There are no heroes.
* Quote of the Week ~ On Monday Barack Obama announced the appointment of Dawn Johnsen to serve as the next Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). It is the office that issued the torture memo justifying the behavior of the Bush administration in Guantanamo and other venues of disgrace. In an article in Slate on April 3, 2008 Ms. Johnsen said the following: “But we must regain our ability to feel outrage whenever our government acts lawlessly and devises bogus constitutional arguments for outlandishly expansive presidential power. Otherwise, our own deep cynicism, about the possibility for a President and presidential lawyers to respect legal constraints, itself will threaten the rule of law--and not just for the remaining nine months of this administration, but for years and administrations to come.” Contrary to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, whom I spoke about last week, Dawn Johnsen gets it. Thanks to Think Progress and Salon’s Glenn Greenwald for bringing this to our attention.
Greenwald is a constitutional lawyer who I have come to highly regard. He points out that “The Office of Legal Counsel, inside the Justice Department, is probably the most consequential federal government office that remains relatively obscure. The legal opinions which it issues become, more or less automatically, the official legal position of the Executive Branch. It is his opinion that Johnsen may be Obama’s best pick yet to serve in his administration.
* Hobby of the Week ~ Navel Maniac – The name does not refer to pirates off the coast of Somalia. Navelmaniac.com is a web site featuring photos of peoples’ navels. Since 1999 the photographer and web author stops men and women on the streets of Brussels and, with their permission, takes a photo of their belly button. On behalf of my readers I spent two hours looking at the vast collection and concluded that Belly Button Identification (BBI) could potentially replace finger prints and DNA in crime investigations. I sheepishly and salaciously concentrated on female buttons but sometimes could not tell the difference. I do not know if this brings into question my eyesight, my sexuality or the admonition to “get a life.” Since my travel agent Sheila reads my blog please consider this as a request to provide airfare and hotel accommodations for Brussels and a digital photo of your navel. In a world increasingly burdened with one crisis after another such a benign activity may prove beneficial to one’s mental well-being.
* Question answered ~ a moment of “a hah” – I have wondered why the Republican Party suffered dislocated shoulders throwing their arms around Sarah Palin in support of her vice-presidential nomination. Her Alaskan proximity to Russia seemed lame in establishing her foreign policy credentials. Her almost total lack of experience was a weak argument for “the fresh face” syllogism. Not every Republican is a religious fundamentalist. Finally, I have an answer to my quandary that makes sense. She understands how Republicans do political business (okay, Democrats too). An investigation of Palin appointments by the LA Times found: “More than 100 appointments to state posts — nearly 1 in 4 — went to campaign contributors or their relatives, sometimes without apparent regard to qualifications; Several of Palin’s leading campaign donors received state-subsidized industrial development loans of up to $3.6 million for business ventures of questionable public value.” In being guilty of being redundant I repeat the mantra that until we have public financing of elections, pay-to-play politics will prevail. You betcha!
* When the cupboard is bare one alternative is to eat crow – Marty Weisberg at Slate.com maintains an updated list of Bushisms, comments made by the President that usually do not make much sense. A Bush comment made this week but not yet added to the list is perhaps iconic of all that has gone before it. During a luncheon meeting with the Weekly Standard: “On domestic policy, Bush was asked if he made progress in some areas for which he hasn't and probably won't get credit. Topping his list was his unsuccessful drive in 2005 to reform Social Security.” By “reform” Bush meant “privatize.” He invested considerable time, energy and expense to sell this program to the American people. It proved to be a thorough dud that never came close to acceptance. Given the collapse of financial markets we can only say, “Thank goodness.” Given that a failed initiative tops his list of “making progress” we can only say, “Good riddance.”
* Clean Coal mythology – I recently noted the sludge spill from a coal-fired electric plant in Tennessee could wind up being an environmental disaster. It has not received that much attention in the mainstream news. However, the NY Times learned from the Tennessee Valley authority that in 2007 the plant’s byproducts included: “45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium and 140,000 pounds of manganese. Those metals can cause cancer, liver damage and neurological complications, among other health problems.”
The holding pond that yielded the spill contained byproducts accumulating for decades. For days after the spill authorities maintained that the spill was not toxic. We now learn that, “Elevated levels of lead and thallium and what the EPA called “very high” levels of arsenic have been found in water samples taken near the site of the spill.” What should have taken hours to test took days. No surprise and screw the public. “The spill has reignited a debate over whether coal ash should be regulated as a hazardous waste. In 2000, the E.P.A. backed away from its recommendation to do so in the face of industry opposition, promising instead to issue national guidelines for proper ash disposal, though it never did.” No surprise and screw the public.
It is important to note that the Tennessee ash dump is not unique. There are 1300 similar coal ash dump sites across the U.S., most of them unregulated and unmonitored and that contain billions more gallons of fly ash and other byproducts of burning coal. “In 2007, an E.P.A. report identified 63 sites in 26 states where the water was contaminated by heavy metals from such dumps, including three other Tennessee Valley Authority dumps. Environmental advocacy groups have submitted at least 17 additional cases that they say should be added to that list.” This raises two questions: how many other locations are being contaminated since regulation and monitoring is lax to non-existent?; when will the EPA become as responsible to the American people as it is to the energy industry?
A final thought, at least for the moment. The standard for determining the cost of any fuel is the amount of energy it generates. It does not account for the real cost to our society that must include the cost of cleaning up the toxic effects of these fuels. It appears that the cost of addressing the toxicity from coal use in our air, our water and our bodies has yet to enter the calculation. It will be substantial.
* We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Native American Proverb
* It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.
Ansel Adams
Stephen Views the News 11/16/08
* Bumper Sticker of the Week ~ Joe Must Go – Many voices are urging the Democratic Party in the Senate to remove Joe Lieberman from his chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee. I believe that this would be the correct action. His campaigning for John McCain and his questioning Barack Obama’s patriotism are at the bottom of the list of reasons for Joe to go. His pathetic record of leadership on this important committee is the overriding justification for his removal. Intentional incompetence best describes his tenure in this post. As Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show and Heather writing at Crooks and Liars point out, Lieberman over the last two years, never held hearings on the disastrous US government response to the Katrina hurricane disaster nor did the committee look into no-bid contracts awarded to friends and associates of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush. Many of those contracts were implemented incompetently while the US government was overcharged billions of dollars. As chairman of this committee Lieberman did not represent the interests of the American people. Instead, Lieberman represented the interests of the Bush administration that operated in secret and often outside of legal parameters, and at great cost to you and me, the citizens recovering from a natural disaster, and the military men and women who were underserved as they served this country while in harms way. Joe Must Go.
* Remember Typhoid Mary? ~ Meet Leukemia Dick and some of the other dicks who “serve” America – Drilling for natural gas, a policy being touted as a means of reducing America's dependence on foreign oil, may contaminate water supplies with unsafe levels of chemicals like benzene, a compound that can cause leukemia, according to an investigation by Pro Publica. The drilling process, pioneered by Dick Cheney's former company Haliburton, uses water pressure and chemicals to break rocks and release the gas. It was exempted by Congress from the Safe Water Act after a 2004 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study declared it safe. It now appears that this EPA study was not as conclusive at it claimed to be.
It is well-documented that the EPA often goes out of its way NOT to protect the environment and the American public. It is well-documented that Cheney has been the most ardent advocate for the interests of energy companies and Haliburton. One wonders what influence was imposed upon the EPA that resulted in this exemption from the Safe Water Act. “More than 1,000 other cases of contamination have been documented by courts and state and local governments in Colorado, New Mexico, Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania. In one case, a house exploded after hydraulic fracturing created underground passageways and methane seeped into the residential water supply. In other cases, the contamination occurred not from actual drilling below ground, but on the surface, where accidental spills and leaky tanks, trucks and waste pits allowed benzene and other chemicals to leach into streams, springs and water wells.” This is but one example where the interaction of the executive branch, the legislative branch, federal agencies and business failed the American people. The majority of the problems and dangers confronting America today are the result of such failed leadership.
* Fly Me to the Moon ~ it may be safer – Sixteen months ago I commented about the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) being accused of covering up mistakes by air traffic controllers at Dallas-Fort Worth airport. It was discouraging to learn that a federal agency empowered to protect air travelers was actually complicit in reducing safe conditions. At a minimum, one would expect that the release of the report would have resulted in personnel changes and an upgrading of the oversight. Not in the current state of our federal government.
ABC reports a new investigation has found “the misclassifying of safety errors had continued” at Dallas-Fort Worth, that FAA employees continued to hide safety errors. It causes one to wonder if the repeated dereliction of duty by the FAA at Dallas-Fort Worth is it also taking place at other airports. What is happening in Boston, NY, LA, Miami and hundreds of other major airports? I imagine that remedial action will be taken when two or three planes collide, resulting in the death of 639 passengers, 19 crew members, 412 people on the ground and the widespread destruction of a residential neighborhood. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security may even hold hearings. Perhaps Republican Texas Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson will exercise their fiduciary responsibility by pressing for an investigation into this problem that bodes dire consequences. Perhaps a new administration will coerce a sense of responsibility and accountability into the performance of federal agencies. That would be a refreshing development.
* Change we can believe in ~ it is up to us – The above examples of broken government brings to mind the often-used and cynical phrase, “You can’t fight City Hall.” It is only a truism if good people do nothing. I was reminded of this while reading an article by Gary Younge in the British newspaper The Guardian titled, “Obama's army of supporters must maintain their level of activism.” Younge notes that the characterization of American political life - the notion of a lazy, contented people who do not vote, care or really understand what is being done in their name and leaving governance to big business, and lobbyists – may be changing. I recommend the article because it notes many changes that have been occurring within the American electorate.
I would suggest that the change Younge identifies is a result of two influences; the devastatingly damaging tenure of George W. Bush and the electric and populist rise of Barack Obama. The Bush years awakened a previously unengaged citizenry and the Obama campaign provided the vehicle to channel the disappointment, the losses, the regression and resulting anger and frustration into a movement for change. This new activist citizenry demands responsible and responsive leadership. It opposes narrow ideology agendas and expects federal leadership to address the major issues that challenge our society – challenges that have been ignored over the last eight years. The higher expectations have brought us a new president, senators and representatives that embrace progressive ideas. Their mission is to overcome a bureaucratic government burdened by politicization, ideology and special interests as well as accepted and expected incompetence. Success will require a continually engaged citizenry that keeps a bright light on the ills, vociferously communicates to elected representatives the change that is required and rewards responsible and responsive representatives with re-election.
* All things Progressive – If you have interest in Progressive ideas and activities I recommend the web site The Bucks/Mont Progressive Events. The editor Tom Ulrich does a terrific job each month identifying Progressive events in the Philadelphia area and national broadcasts, publications and videos.
* All things regressive ~ prejudice, hate, ignorance – Much of the Sarah Palin rhetoric during the presidential campaign appealed to this three-headed Hydra. Those susceptible to divisive discourse reveled in the speeches of Palin and other Republican orators. The forces of hate are as real and alive today as they were 50 and 100 years ago. These forces certainly are not as widespread but, certainly as real. One example of such despicable human behavior is the Ku Klux Klan. This organization, originally spawned to repress African Americans, has broadened its “vision” to include Latinos and other minorities. It is fortunate that we have people such as Morris Dees and his organization The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) standing up to forces that debase civil rights and humanity.
In Kentucky on Friday the SPLC gained a decisive jury verdict against members of the KKK, accused of severely beating a Latino in 2006 at a rural county fair. As Dees noted, "The people of Meade County, Kentucky, have spoken loudly and clearly. And what they've said is that ethnic violence has no place in our society, that those who promote hate and violence will be held accountable and made to pay a steep price." The verdict against Imperial Klans of America (IKA), Imperial Wizard Ron Edwards and two former KKK members who have already served prison terms for their involvement was $2.5 million. It is likely the judgment will cripple IKA’s 16 chapters that are located throughout eight states.
The weakening of a KKK group is encouraging but the ugliness of hate that infects the land of the free and the home of the brave will not be eradicated in our lifetime. As noted in an article at the Huffington Post the election of Barack Obama has spurred hundreds of race threats and crimes that include, “Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting ‘Assassinate Obama.’ Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars.” America has come a long way in civil rights and human relations. Gay rights are improving with much still to be achieved. There is much to be proud of in America but the road ahead will not be free of prejudice, hate and ignorance. It is a flaw in the human condition that may never be overcome.
* “You cannot hate other people without hating your self.”
Oprah Winfrey
Greetings Everyone,
Because the agencies whose missions have been to protect us and our interests as citizens of this country have allowed themselves to be dictated to by political interests rather than there assigned duties as directed by their mission statements, we find our health & well-being, our environment, and our federal and local budgets are in jeopardy.
I am not just referring to the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but I am also talking about agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission.
The nuclear power industry has been allowed to tell the American public that it provides safe and clean energy to our country. Though nuclear power is neither safe nor clean, it has been allowed to do this by the FCC and the FTC and SEC when it engages in its advertising and when it engages in its business activities. The nuclear power/energy industry has been allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, the Department Of Energy, and state public service commissions to be heavily involved in setting the standards and regulations that govern it. Those standards and regulations, for the most part, do not protect human health or the environment.
The current as well as previous administrations have allowed these regulatory agencies to be run by, and in most cases rendered impotent by having them run with, political appointments and agendas. This has been unfortunate, because now we have an American public who is working from a well ingrained position of ignorance when it has been led to believe that nuclear power is clean, safe, less expensive, and needs to remain 'on the table' as part of our energy solution.
These agencies that were designed to protect us have allowed the nuclear power/energy industry to get away with false advertising in its commercials and publications, they have been allowed to misinform investors with this same false and incomplete information.
A nuclear power reactor/plant is not a stand-alone entity that acts as the sole source provider of nuclear power. It is only one segment of the process of getting nuclear power generated electricity to the public. It is only one link in the fuel chain.
We have to face that we are being led down a path that is false from it beginning. Nuclear energy is one of the most egregious emitters of CO2, toxic heavy metals, and other poisonous emissions and we have to stop being led by the nuclear industry to believe that nuclear power is clean, safe energy.
The electricity produced by nuclear power in and of itself is relatively benign, however the waste, including high levels of CO2, which has been created to get us to the production of that electricity will harm you, your children, your grandchildren, and generations after them.
You should also always keep in mind that CO2 is not the only toxin that we have to deal with or be worried about.
The nuclear industry itself uses enormous amounts of electricity in their gaseous diffusion plants, (created by coal-fired power plants). Enormous amounts of cooling water are needed and used, and the highly corrosive and radioactive uranium hexafluoride gas is produced. All have adverse human health and environmental impacts. The waste is pervasive in its movements through our earth, air, and water. It has proven itself to be more than difficult to contain. It has proven itself deadly. Sometimes it will kill you slowly; sometimes it will kill you quickly. The nuclear power/energy industry has of course chosen to do its damage primarily on Native American lands as well as in poor and minority communities. The people who until now had no voice, no say.
But don't be fooled. Nuclear waste is not just a byproduct created at the end of the nuclear weapons, nuclear fuel, or nuclear energy production cycle. The ugliness begins at the beginning and it's not all radioactive. The Uranium ore needed to produce nuclear power or nuclear energy has to be mined. Uranium is both radioactive and a chemical toxin. Part of the uranium mining process is milling which consists of chemically separating uranium from other ore. The waste produced is known as milling tailings. In some cases these highly radioactive tailings are left on and near the land surrounding the mines creating another legacy of dangerous waste. For typical uranium concentrations, the tailings contain an extremely high percentage of the radioactivity in the original ore, along with toxic chemicals and heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic which adversely affect the environment and human health. After being converted to uranium hexafluoride it is further enriched through the process of gaseous diffusion. Enrichment is required to increase the percentage of Uranium-235 (half-life of 700 million years). Considered to be the "product", it's the isotope needed for nuclear power and weapons. Uranium-238, aka depleted uranium, another byproduct of gaseous diffusion, is a heavy metal and radioactive. Uranium-238 can be used to breed plutonium-239. These radioactive and toxic wastes are process and production outcomes. Remember, all of this and we haven't even gotten to the nuclear reactor for the production of the first nuclear energy generated kilowatt.
We really have to let our representatives know that we are not going to continue to allow this industry to control our conversation on our energy needs and our national security. We can look forward to being carbon free and nuclear free if we make that commitment to ourselves, our families, and our environment.
We have to start now to look toward a new type of future, a future that considers all of us, not just one group of people. We have to stop this unsafe practice of giving quick money more importance than sound judgment and survival.
It is time to change how we live in this world, we have to start somewhere, at some point in time. Now is that time.
Peace,
Dianne
So we’ve had the bailouts and I don’t know what the effect will be. But I’ve found the perfect example of the completely screwed up priorities of this administration.This one borders on the obscene.
The Bush administration has abruptly halted a government program that tests the levels of pesticides in fruits, vegetables and field crops, arguing that the $8 million-a-year program is too expensive — a decision critics say could make it harder to protect consumers from chemicals in their food.
Data from the 18-year-old Agricultural Chemical Usage Program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) were collected until this year, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used the data to set safe levels of pesticides in food. read more
Why dosen't Obama give a more detailed energy plan for the public to see, and I don't mean off shore drilling! I am talking wind, solar, CNG conversions as well as other conversions on cars and trucks to get away from the us of oil all together. Below is a list of facts that most people don't know about. The best method of conversion of cars and trucks at this time is CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). Our present administration has limited this to a very small amount of cars so President Bush and his oil buddies can sell all the oil at $4.00 a gallon as long as they can.
1. CNG conversions as well as new cars equipped with CNG technology are available today to fit 90 percent of new cars and trucks, also large turcks, and 60 percent of used cars and trucks in the last 10 years. Do you have any idea how much gas that would save by using our plentyful supply of natural gas at half the price of gas!
2. At this time the EPA has only approved CNG conversions on a handful of cars and trucks and are taylored to only fleet use for cities and large companies.
3. At this time the EPA has only approved three companies in the US to manafacture and sell conversion kits for the small amount of cars that they have approved conversion kits for. There are hundreds of companies that could make and supply these kits, it is not rocket science, the EPA just does not want wide use of this technology because of the Republican oil party does not want you to convert your car.
4. At this time the EPA has only approved about 13 companies in the US to install these kits on the small amount of cars and trucks approved, guess why! Again there are thousands of companies who could install these conversions which would create thousands of jobs to help and aid our economy as well as cutting our oil use by a tremendous amount.
5. The EPA is only letting at this time three new car companies to sell CNG new cars, one Honda, some models of GM and Fords, again a very small amount of cars are approved for sale with these options, guess why!
6. What most people don't know is that they have dual systems of CNG cars that run on CNG natural gas, or regular gasoline with the flip of a switch. CNG will not only work on gas, but also diesel engines also, and at a much cleaner emission output per unit. The mileage is about the same if not a little better and the cost of natural gas is about one half of gasoline.
7. Granted there are not CNG filling stations on every corner, although in a small town the size of Asheville, NC, we have two locations that are open 24 hours a day with credit card sales. Of course the national oil companies like Exxon and others do not want to install the pumps at their locations, but I am sure that the independent gas stations would jump at the chance to sell another form of fuel if the EPA would let the conversions be installed on many more cars that are adapatable. You can also install a home filling station in your own home if you have natural gas in your home. This makes filling up even cheaper then at filling stations and more convenient.
8. This is not new technoligy, GNG has been used in fleet units since the 1970's. When I was in San Francisco this summer, all their mass transit buses that are not electric are CNG natural gas units. If it is good enough for mass transit, it is good enough for us.
9. There are tax incentives for installing conversion kits or buying new cars and trucks equipped with alternative fuels, although not as much as what they should be. There are also tax rebates for the fuel that you burn in your alternative fuel vehichle. The US would be far ahead to give more incentives to convert or buy new autos or trucks with any type of alternative fuel. The country would be a step ahead of the game to pay individuals and fleets to convert vechicles to alternative fuels for the energy independence it could lead to. We have all the natural gas we could ever use until other forms of alternative fuels are developed. It is the cleanest bridge of fuel we could use until other forms of alternative fuels are made to work on our vechicles.
10. If you have not looked at T. Boone Pickens web site you need to, and see the wonderful alternative ideas he has that are in use today, not 10 years down the road like off shore drilling.
11. Barac Obama should campaign to make T. Boone Pickens in charge of Energy on his cabinet and let him campaign with him so that he can explain all the wonderful ideas he has that will work now, not just talk, real alternatives that work NOW. If this were a big part of his campaign, his polls would just tremendously jump in my opinion.
12. Last but not least, I have tried to get some of this information to the National Headquarters because I think it would be a wonderful plantform to campaign on, but I cannot find a direct contact to their site. IF ANYONE IN THE NC OFFICE KNOWS HOW TO PASS THIS ON TO THE NATIONAL OFFICE, I THINK IT COULD BE A TREMENDOUS HELP TO THE CAMPAIGN PLATFORM. WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN AN ENERGY POLICY AT THIS TIME BESIDES THE ECONOMY. THIS WOULD ALSO ENHANCE THE ECONOMY BY ALL THE MILLIONS OF JOBS IN CONVERSIONS AS WELL AS IN INTRASTRUCTURE BUILDING!
13. PLEASE HELP, PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE CAMPAIGN DECISSIONS, I THINK THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE COUNTRY AND EACH AMERICAN NOT TO SPEAK OF THE TREMENDOUS HELP IN GLOBAL WARMING ISSUE!
Thanks you so much for your time. I urge you to look at T. Boone Pickens web site and learn more about alternative forms of energy and how it could help the next President of the United States of America be President Obama!
Dale Brown, Asheville, NC
Is testifying before Congress today about Climate Change...currently on C-Span.
Jason Burnett has made a lot of news lately, criticizing the Bush administration for rejecting California’s request for a federal waiver that would allow the state to enforce greenhouse gas restrictions.
Burnett, until recently the associate deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, last month testified before a congressional panel about the possible White House role in overruling the EPA staff’s recommendation of the waiver. Since then, Burnett has given numerous interviews on the issue.
Now Burnett is using his checkbook to do his talking. After quitting the administration last month, he donated $3,600 to Democrat Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. That came on top of a $1,000 contribution he made to Obama before joining the EPA.
A Stanford-trained economist and a Democrat, Burnett, 31, said in an interview that he is moving back to Northern California to campaign for Obama and Democratic Rep. Sam Farr of Carmel. He's counting on them to support more efforts to curb greenhouse gases.
“Climate change endangers health and welfare," Burnett said. "The EPA is required to use existing law to reduce greenhouse gases. The sooner we begin addressing it in earnest, the better off we’ll be.”
Burnett predicted that California will get its waiver, either by court order or after the next president--Obama or his Republican opponent, John McCain--takes office.
--Dan Morain
IT IS unlikely that a Nobel laureate, Oscar winner and former vice president of the United States would return to the nuts and bolts of the federal bureaucracy, but it is obvious who Barack Obama or John McCain should make either energy secretary or administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Given the impact each agency has on the other, they could hand both over to Al Gore so the nation has a shot at a coherent energy and environmental policy. This week, Gore called for an effort akin to President Kennedy's mission to put a man on the moon to make the United States a carbon-free nation by 2018. In his vision, all electricity in the United States would come from renewable sun, wind, and geothermal power. Gore said that according to scientists, enough sun falls on the earth every 40 minutes to supply 100 percent of the world's energy for a year. He said Midwestern winds could supply the United States with all the electricity it needs. With thinking like that, Gore could be called upon to liberate the scientists in the EPA - not to mention NASA and other agencies who have warned of the oncoming impact of global warming. The EPA said this week that climate change will probably result in more intense storms, severe droughts, rising water levels and more loss of life. But of course, this is the EPA that serves under President Bush, who for eight years has been waiting for the "sound science" to tell him when it is time to act on global warming, and pooh-poohing the EPA into impotency. The EPA's report came a week after it declined to regulate the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, a power the Supreme Court says it has under the Clean Air Act. The EPA's inaction was no doubt meant to please the president. In yet another act of making the outrageous ordinary, Susan Dudley, the White House's administrator for information and regulatory affairs, wrote the EPA to say "there is strong disagreement with many of the legal, analytical, economic, science and policy interpretations." She wrote that the Clean Air Act "is a deeply flawed and unsuitable vehicle for reducing greenhouse gas emissions." Dudley wrote that greenhouse gas regulation by the EPA "will not only harm the US economy, but will fail to provide an effective response to the global challenge of climate change. As the president observed in April: Decisions with such far-reaching impact should not be left to unelected regulators and judges." Take that, scientists and Supreme Court. Giving the EPA and Energy a new mission has to be one of the top priorities for the next president. The United States ranks only 39th on the world Environmental Performance Index compiled by researchers at Yale and Columbia. The United States ranks behind not only almost all of the developed world, but behind Chile, Ecuador, Slovenia, Hungary, Panama, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. Reacting to Gore's speech, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said renewable sources of energy "are the investments I will make as president." Virtual Republican presidential nominee John McCain said, "If the vice president says it's doable, I believe it's doable." It will be interesting to see how doable the next president will make it. Obama will surely get overwhelming support from environmentalists, but the Obama campaign was mum this week on a USA Today story about Obama's support of the coal industry as Illinois senator. McCain says he will reduce greenhouse gases, but he has joined the politically expedient call for offshore oil drilling. The United States is already so neglectful in marine protection that out of a possible score of 100 the Yale EPI gives us only a 38. Gore said, "I see my role as enlarging the political space in which Senator Obama or Senator McCain can confront the issue as president next year." The first step Obama or McCain could take to make sure the political space is safe for science is to see what Gore thinks about running the Department of Energy, or the EPA, or both.
Derrick Z. Jackson can be reached at jackson@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
Suggestions for EPA Administrator
Barbara Boxer (D)
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