BP and the Feds have fooled America and the entire world into thinking the BP Gulf Oil Spill is over, that the beaches are clean and that the seafood is safe, and everything is OK.
Titled "The Gulf Oil Spill isn’t over!" here's a little bit of mournful Louisiana blues to tell the real story.
Let's make this one viral...
The U.S. Senate looks on track to take one measure in the post-election, lame-duck Congressional session to address the most serious challenges of our oil addiction and our heavy carbon footprint. This will be, as I understand it, an effort to fast track a piece of legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid: S. 3815: Promoting Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Act of 2010.
Let us be clear, the idea that the Senate (and Congress) might actually fast-track something to deal with America's addiction to oil is -- on the face of it -- a good thing. Even if we didn't face the looming prospects of future economic shocks and security risks due to Peak Oil colliding with increasing demand, that a significant portion of America's trade deficit is going to put oil in our McSUVs (that we drive to Wal-Mart to buy Chinese-made products) is something that should be on the top of Congress' agenda for addressing with serious and meaningful legislation.
However, the idea that that will be throwing more money into subsidizing fossil-foolish addictions is a sorry excuse for responsible legislating.
In almost all American communities, if public transit exists in any meaningful way, it competes for patronage, primarily though not exclusively with driving. While some advocates seem to believe that the best way to attract more riders to transit is to make driving increasingly as unappealing as possible through fees, removal of or restrictions on parking, "road diets" and the like, I’m not fully in that camp. There is an appropriate context for each of the things I just mentioned, but for the most part I want to make transit better so that customers choose it not just out of necessity but because it is easily accessible, comfortable, and efficient.
You are in the current BP Catastrophe Morning Edition - AUV #402. ROV #401 is here.
The digest of diaries is here.
Please RECOMMEND THIS DIARY, the motherships have been discontinued.
Bookmark this link to find the latest Gulf Watchers diaries.
Please be kind to kossacks with bandwidth issues. Please do not post images or videos. Again, many thanks for this.
PLEASE visit Pam LaPier's diary to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!
I live in Little Texas. I am surrounded by people whose worldviews are very different from mine.
Some are libertarians. Some are likely neo-cons, and even neo-libs. Not very many true libs. I'm not sure how many true conservatives populate my region, either - old-time conservatives. The ones that really want to conserve things, as opposed to just steal them.
It's hard to work it out. People get so confused by the ongoing changes in nomenclature. And rightly so.
(Crossposted from FireDogLake and RightofAssembly)
Ryan Lizza, writing in the New Yorker, has published a devastating behind-the-scenes story of how the Senate and White House missed their best chance to deal with climate change. It's a fascinating story of capitulation, recalcitrance, and political malpractice.
I tracked the climate bill in the Senate for about a year, generally speaking in favor of passing a mediocre bill now and strengthening it later. The bill that came closest to passing the Senate was not that mediocre bill. Instead, it appears -- its text was never released in public -- in its near-final form to be an abomination one step above the "Dick Cheney's oil lobbyist's wet dream" Energy Policy Act of 2005.
In case you didn't know, Solar, Wind, Geothermal Projects, are being "Fast Track" by the Obama Administration.
Fast Tracking attempts to minimize the red tape, in order to get the boots on the ground as soon as feasible.
They are OUR Public lands by the way. We should use them to secure our Energy Future while protecting our wonderful Natural Heritage.
Here are the highlights:
BLM> California> California Desert District> Alternative Energy> Fast-Track Projects
Fast-Track Renewable Energy Projects
SolarIvanpah BrightSource Solar Project
The 400-megwatt project would incorporate seven 459-foot tall power towers and 214,000 heliostats (each holding two flat mirrors).
The project’s power plants would share an administrative complex/construction logistics area on approximately 4,073 acres of public land.
This study is crucial to understanding how chemical dispersants and exposure to UV light -- both factors that can crack hydrocarbons -- act on crude and affect PAH levels and bioavailability of the toxins created in an oil spill. The "deployed dispersant" study is pertinant in the BP spill, because they sprayed so much of the chemical onto the water's surface.
Burning the Midnight Oil for Living Energy Independence
After months of sitting on the sidelines as states and regional agencies promoted major new high-speed rail investments, Amtrak has finally announced what it hopes to achieve over the next thirty years: A brand-new, 426-mile, two-track corridor running from Boston to Washington, bringing true [Express] high-speed rail to the Northeast Corridor for the first time.
Some questions and answers, over the fold.
You won’t hear about it on CNN, MSNBC or the front page of the New York Times.
It won’t make your teeth whiter, your breasts larger, grow hair to cover your bald spot or get you laid Monday night.
Bono, Bjork and Sting are unlikely to jet in for the photo ops, and Obama is not scheduled to make a surprise appearance so BWD can post some eye candy.
And the title, UNFCCC Intercessional Meetings AWG-KP14 & AWG-LCA12, aka, United Nations Climate Change Conference 4-9 October 2010 Tianjin, China, is unlikely to cause Young Republicans to masturbate compulsively, so Christine O'Donnell is safe to take the week off and attend a Church Picnic or whatever it is she does when she’s hiding from the press.
But if, like me, you think this summer was a mind-fuck of an environmental disaster for the world, join me after the flip and let’s talk about talking, because COP16/CMP6 is so last year and there are only 57 shopping days remaining until COP16 starts Nov 29, and the clock is still ticking on 350ppm.