Time to Keep Fighting, Mr. President

by Michael Brune

Has someone discovered a way to travel back in time to the Bush administration? On Tuesday, the EPA asked for a one-year delay on new rules for air pollution from industrial boilers. The very next day, the agency announced it wants to wait for another half year before setting new standards for ozone smog. Both actions defy every kind of logic but one -- pandering to polluters and their scare-mongering political allies.

Barack Obama ran and was elected on a promise to protect Americans by cleaning up the air that we breathe every single day. But to clean the air, you have to get your hands dirty. If the polluters who are complaining today had gotten their way for the past 40 years, there never would have been a Clean Air Act, and millions more Americans would have been sickened or died. Many of these polluters -- and their allies in Congress -- have fought progress to improve people's health at every opportunity. We need our president to fight back.

continued at Daily Kos....

White House and My House, Reflections on 10 months of Solar in Central Texas

by Jakkalbessie

This is my first time writing a diary here, and decided maybe this one would not inflame too many souls even though it is a hot topic.

I was motivated to write this after reading about  solar panels going back up on the White House.

We, as a country really need to think more about Green Energy/Clean energy and so thought I would share our experience in making the decision to go solar.

continued at Daily Kos....

Obama White House going solar!

by Lawrence

Jimmy Carter started it all by installing solar panels on the White House and pushing hard for renewables and energy independence.

Then came Reagan/Bush and 30 years of a Republican-driven agenda and the U.S. went from being on the forefront of the renewables industry to being a laggard.  

continued at Daily Kos....

Renew The Child Nutrition Act - The Senate Needs Help

by Ellinorianne

It's time to vote, or at least we may think it is time for the Renewal of the Child Nutrition Act and I've been following very closely for almost a year now.

This is important policy that affects the lives of thirty million kids a day and what may be the only source of nutrition they receive if they are facing hardships in their personal lives.  School food matters, what we chose to feed our children is a reflection of what our priorities are as a society.  Not only does it say how important do we think our children's health is, but it has been proven to have an impact on their ability to learn, thrive and succeed academically.

And the other issue at the forefront here is tied to health care, sustainable agriculture and where our Government puts its farm subsidies.  Boy, and you thought it was just school lunches.

continued at Daily Kos...

BP Ecocide v15.0: Encyclopedia of the Gulf

by vets74

Bit o' brilliance.

Katja Schulz, Species Pages Coordinator at National Museum of Natural History's

struck gold with an idea she suggested to SkyTruth.

Katja has altogether too much education and experience. She did Tree of Life work before coming to Smithsonian. (She's way too smart for web blither.) Her strategy is K.I.S.S. simple:

Build a Before/After image warehouse:

1. Collect images of the Gulf Coast now. Identify date, time, and shooting location.

2. Recreate the same images after ecological changes occur.

Can we call this:

Schulz's EOL system could support an EOGulf project. Add spacial/mapping data and adopt USCGS standards. Google/site has an EOGulf stub.

The better to prepare for corporatist denials as with Exxon Valdez and Chernobyl. Tag these crimes like it was Abu Ghraib.

Greenpeace, SkyTruth and more BTF :::

continued at Daily Kos...

BP Ecocide v14.0: Fake Command Center Pics Admitted

by vets74

This came out Monday. The follow up astonishes.

Yessirreeee....... BP went and repeated a plot twist out of Sean Connery's "Rising Sun" movie. All that's missing is a dead gal sprawled on a conference table and snips from XXX porn  footage.

Still... faking a pic for BP's "Command Center" kinda takes the cake for screw-the-facts, no respect dishonesty.

BP admits they reworked a 2001 photo. Put it on their web site. (John Aravosis bagged them at AmericaBlog.) Plutocrats to the core.

Corporate Culture On Display

D'oh... &MBTF :::

continued at Daily Kos...

BP Ecocide v13.2: New Pollution & Leaks from "Stack"

by vets74

The focus here is ecological damage from this Deepwater Horizon blow out. Louisiana officials list these counties for oil pollution:

St. Bernard Parish - Oil in the marsh in Drum Bay  southwest of Turtle Pen Isle; Chandeleur Island;  North Island

Plaquemines Parish - south of Sandy Point; Shell Rock Beach; Petit Bay Chene Fleur; Bay Batiste northeast of Big Island; west side of Saint Marys Point; Bay Ronquille; Isle Grand Terre; South Pass.

Jefferson Parish - southeast of Elmers Island; Grand Isle; Caminada Bay; north of the Grand Isle Bridge.

Terrebonne Parish - south of Timbalier Island; Bayou Petit Caillou; northwest of Bodwin Point; Bay Round; Locust Bayou; Cooke Point.

St Mary Parish - southwest of East Bay; Salt Point.

St. Tammany Parish - north of Treasure Island.

Cameron Parish - southwest of Lower Mud Lake; Lower Mud Lake; on the shore east of Calcasieu Pass; Rutherford Beach.

Iberia Parish - Marsh Island; south of the Marsh Island shore; Southwest Pass.

This gets worse and worse.

BREAKING: BP and CG admit to subsurface leaks. MTBF :::

continued at Daily Kos....

BP Ecocide v12.1: "Undetermined Anomalies”

by vets74

"Where there's smoke, there's fire" comes to mind.

Except for scale. Residual leaks work to drain the Macondo Prospect reservoir. That's 100,000,000 barrels or 4,000,000,000 gallons of crude oil.

Senator Nelson (D-FL) references the seabed geysers imaged by Viking Poseidon ROV #1.

UPDATE: BP off-loading finding seabed leaks to NOAA. So-called "undetermined anomalies" rising from the seabed are noted by Coast Guard.

Oil Biz apologists belong on SNL:

-- "I don't see oil."
-- "There are plenty of misleading videos...."
-- "I am calling... you a conspiracy theory nutjob...."
-- "It's pitch black down there."

The ROVs have very good lights and cameras. MTBF:::

continued at Daily Kos....

UPDATE BP Ecocide v11.3: Seabed Geysers

by vets74

Your pics and vids are welcome. There's nothing like a direct image.

Edger posted at yesterday's diary:

Seabed blow out ejecta, videoed by Viking Poseidon ROV 1.

The blow out continues with approximately 2,250 PSI of oil going lost. UPDATE: YouTube of another secondary outflow below. Senator Nelson confirms info.

Back on April 20th a strong shock wave holed DWH's BOP/manifold structure. Other pipes and joints were also blasted. Now an estimated 2,250 PSI of oil is escaping.

BP claims "puzzling pressure readings."

For every truth, there is an attractive Chernobyl-modeled lie. This blow out could leak for years.

More BTF :::

continued at Daily Kos....

BP Ecocide v10.0: One Swab, No Mask

by vets74

Your pics and videos are welcome here. Between the Deadly Sins and incompetence, BP and Halliburton have loosed a massive petrochemical killing zone.

Mitigation efforts use booms, sand bars, humans walking around with pick-up bags, burnings and skimmers. So far... the "make work mindlessness" of these efforts come down to this:

Gulf Coast "cleanup" and "recovery" are addressing less than 1% of the petrochemical spew. Putting these guys out there for "cleanup" without protective breathers is similar to these:

-- Putting an employee inside an auto body paint box without a breather

-- Putting the World Trade Center workers in the burning ruins without breathers.

These are are not getting the simple $29.99 N99 Standard safety masks for particulates.

BP is as bad at protecting workers as Rudy Giuliani. Next they will be selling a corporate symbol "Mr. Cleanup," parallel to Giuliani stumping as "Mr. 9/11."

Holes.

More on the ecocide BTF :::

continued at Daily Kos....

Mr. President/Dems: "Set America Free", "Choice"

by divineorder

We are on the home stretch to the 2010 elections, and we all want the same thing: A Big Democratic Party Win!

Framing is said  to be a challenge for us, well expressed in the diary Disaster Messaging

Republicans have control of the traditional media for the most part, however no need to give up, we still can run ads and continue to work for change.

We can elect More and Better Democrats. Yes, we can!

continued at Daily Kos....

John Boehner Contradicts John Boehner on BP Oil Disaster

by TheGreenMiles

John Boehner is a formidable opponent. For John Boehner.

You see, John Boehner thinks President Obama is doing too little to respond to the BP oil disaster. But John Boehner, on the other hand, thinks President Obama is doing too much.

It depends on which John Boehner you're talking to. Is it the John Boehner trying to pander to voters? Or the John Boehner trying to suck up to Big Oil?

continued at Daily Kos....

A Bipartisan Strategy for Energy Leadership

by Teryn Norris

By Teryn Norris and Clifton Yin
Published by The Huffington Post

When President Obama and key Senate leaders meet today to reach a compromise on energy and climate legislation, they should strongly consider increasing federal investment in clean energy technology to at least $15 billion annually.   This is a comprehensive third way strategy to improve U.S. energy independence, economic competitiveness, and climate security, and it deserves bipartisan support.

We are a Democrat and Republican.  One of us campaigned for Barack Obama in 2008, the other as a delegate for John McCain.  One of us worked on energy and climate policy for the progressive Breakthrough Institute, while the other worked on similar issues for the conservative American Enterprise Institute.  We disagree on a wide range of issues, and we hold different economic philosophies.

continued at Daily Kos....

Obama is Not No-Visit, Feckless Bush on Oil Gushers:  Update: GOP say is "natural disaster"

by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

Right-wing media have whined that Obama is "scrambling after week-old spill" and that Obama visited the Gulf BP disaster too late. They have the audacity to try to compare Obama's response to some imaginary Republican who would have been "absolutely pilloried in the press" if a Republican administration had "gone eight days without serious action."

Really? We don't have to imagine. I checked some press articles from 1989, and Papa Bush apparently did not show up in Alaska when Exxon Valdez happened because he was either too busy or believed a site visit would be a "political downer." Moreover, how has Papa Bush been "pilloried in the press" for not providing compensation claims to the people in over 20 years?

continued at Daily Kos....

BP's 48-hr deadline. Team Obama: "Every effort must be made"

by Gorette

Did you hear about a letter our government sent to BP? If like me you are reading too much and feeling a bit zoned out due to outrage and catastrophe fatigue, you may have missed it too. It was confusing, but McClatchy helped clear up the questions: Actually there are two letters. The June 8th letter tells BP to get their act together in no uncertain terms. The second, pdf, June 11 letter gives BP an ultimatum.Washington Post: You have the weekend to figure out a better way to contain the oil. Acting on the Obama team decision (see below): Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. Watson wrote the letters.

continued at Daily Kos....

BP, US Government, Delay, Deny and Defend

by KJG52

The right of the people to know is being flagrantly dismissed by the management of BP.  The list of attempts by BP to restrict the information flow to the public begins with the silencing of workers on the Deepwater Horizon and to assume Transocean did this without BP's complicity is unwarranted. The complete lack of information from BP about the velocity and volume of discharge of gas and raw petroleum followed closely behind the first instance. The delay in publishing data about the drilling permits, procedures, oversight, and planning for response closely followed the first two incidences. To assume that BP's underlying motives are beneficial to the people of the United States or its government, given BP's history of flagrant disregard for both government regulation and worker/public safety, is both naive and inherently unwarranted.

continued at Daily Kos....

UPDATE - Building the Berms Isn't As Easy As It Sounds - BP CEO Would Like his Life Back!

by Ellinorianne

I heard about that tweet that Sarah sent out recently to Governor Jindal regarding the fight to build the berms to protect the marshes of Lousiana.  Those are important ecological areas for more than just his State, I get that and I think it's important that everyone care about finding a way to protect them.  But we most certainly can't do it in a way that might actually do MORE harm to the environment. If you missed the tweet, someone here was kind enough to write a diary about it.  It seems Sarah was just as concerned as the rest of us and the fragile marshes being "ravished" by the oil. But the berms are not as simple as it sounds, Sarah, and I will let you know why.

continued at Daily Kos....

Action: PROTEST IN NEW ORLEANS.....

by eb23

Hey you all, gonna be a quick diary. This is what we might be doing tomorrow: Uploaded with ImageShack.us follow me below the fold......

continued at Daily Kos....

What Our Leaders Can Do

by JRandomPoster

There's been a lot of talk about what our leaders can - and should - be doing to address the Gulf catastrophe. This is a time when we need strong leadership.  And I'm not talking about waving some magic wand, or having the President personally plug the leak.  I'm quite cognizant of the fact that there are no known good solutions at this point in time. But there are actions that can be taken to lead us both towards a solution to the ongoing crisis, towards prevention of further drilling incidents, and towards breaking our addiction to the wasteful use of our energy and resources that can be taken, and taken now.  These are pragmatic actions that lead towards a stronger nation and towards ensuring that future generations have at least some resources and energy supplies.  Furthermore, they are actions that would increase political capitol and push the electoral calculus in favor of our Democratic leaders.

continued at Daily Kos....

Good News On Government Response To Oil Spill

by slinkerwink

The Wall-Street Journal has reported the latest actions the government has taken in response to the oil spill, and I'm in approval of these actions: WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, fighting to stay ahead of the political storm over the Gulf oil spill, is expected to announce on Thursday that the government will impose tougher safety requirements and more rigorous inspections on off-shore drilling operations. ... BP has said it will attempt the operation today. After initially balking a broadcasting the attempt on its live Internet feed, the firm relented at the request of the president and the administration response team, an administration official said. Company officials have cautioned the maneuver has never been done in such deep water. The leaking well is a mile below the surface. Please read for more good news on the government response so far below the jump:

continued at Daily Kos....