Government regulation?

I'm just glad they know what's important, aren't you?

The BP Deepwater Horizon anniversary, April 20

Let's not forget this, either.

How appropriate, isn't it? that Earth Day is two days away?

There is no Planet B, folks, as we know.

On America and "Big Oil"

Additionally? We, the people, you and me, all the working class stiffs in the nation give "Big Oil", the oil companies like Exxon-Mobil and Shell and BP and all of them? We give them tax deductions and subsidies. Yep. The wealthiest and most profitable companies and industry in the nation and the world and we give them--they get--tax breaks.

We just aren't very smart.

Another documentary Americans need to see--but won't

We really should figure in the actual, true cost of oil as we use it.

It would surely make solar energy far more affordable, sensible and even logical.

On the contrary, the Keystone XL Pipeline must NOT be built

A young woman--one Sarah Mceuen of Maysville, Missouri who also happens to be a "helper" from UA Pipeliners Local Union 798 in Missouri wrote in an op/ed piece in the Star this week that "For jobs and energy, Keystone pipeline must be built."

To which I and a great deal of us across the nation say nonsense.

There is every reason in the world to not build this environmental nightmare in waiting and precious few good, positive reasons for doing so.

More than anything, this pipeline is merely for transporting Canadian oil from Canada, through the US, through our country, down to the Gulf of Mexico so it can be exported to other world markets--likely China--so the TransCanada oil company can make more money.

All America would get out of it is some temporary construction jobs and then far fewer maintenance jobs, once it was up and running.

Along with it, we would get the inevitability of oil pipeline spills, time and again, repeatedly, over time, which would further ruin our environment and which would cost untold amounts to clean up.

Want proof?

Here you go.

Here's the first one, from 2010:

Pipeline leak pollutes major Michigan river

More than 800,000 gallons of oil flow into Kalamazoo River, coating birds and fish

Here's a second, more recent one, from Canada itself:

This 2nd rupture happened at the beginning of June, this year, only weeks ago.

Don't say it can't happen here or that it won't. They've already been happening and there can be no guarantees they won't happen in the future.

Here's yet another reason the Keystone XL pipeline shouldn't be built: the American people don't want it. They--we--don't want it on our land, on our soil. Americans from the Northern border of the country, down to Texas are saying they don't want to sell their land to Transcanada for the pipeline.

So have you seen or heard what's happening instead?

Transcanada is getting with our national and state governments to have the land seized by eminent domain. Here is just one article on it:

Texas farmer fights Keystone XL route

A Texas farmer is back in court today in her continuing challenge of Calgary-based TransCanada’s right to expropriate a part of her farm to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

Julia Trigg Crawford’s hearing before a county court judge in Paris, Texas, is the beginning of a process to challenge TransCanada’s claim to be a common carrier, which in Texas gives it what lawyers call the power of eminent domain, or the right to seize property.

Canada's crude oil pipelines Charting TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL pipelineThe $12-billion, 36-inch diameter pipeline would carry up to 1.1 million barrels of oilsands crude a day more than 2,700 kilometers from Alberta to refineries in south Texas, crossing six states, including Crawford’s farm in northeast Texas. The farm has been in her family for 64 years.

The farm has been in her family for 64 years yet some young woman in Missouri or someone else in a corporation in Canada or some union or some government is going to tell this woman in Texas, this farmer, this citizen that she must sell her land for an oil company's pipeline?

No.

No, this Keystone XL pipeline should NOT be built and it shouldn't be strung across the country.

There are too many reasons we shouldn't, not the least of which is the fact that oil is a dirty, polluting, carbon-emitting "fossil fuel" of the past that we need to wean ourselves from and the profits from this would go out of the country anyway.

It would not only be a short-sighted idea but a wrong one, too, in far too many ways.

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/08/07/3748769/as-i-see-it-the-urgency-of-keystone.html#storylink=rss

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38435210/ns/us_news-environment/t/pipeline-leak-pollutes-major-michigan-river/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/08/10/transcanada-keystone-texas-hearing.html

Another important documentary coming out soon

This one is on the BP Gulf oil spill and our government's work--or lack of it--in the capping and cleanup, after the fact.
It opens June 19. Please take the time to see it, for all our sake.

"An informed citizenry is the bulwark of a democracy." --Thomas Jefferson

Link: http://truth-out.org/news/item/9261-the-big-fix-documentary-exposes-bp-us-government-on-gulf-disaster

Senate Republicans keep "Big Oil's" tax cuts

Breaking news today: Senate Republicans reject Obama call to end 'big oil' tax breaks (links at bottom). In spite of the billions and billions of dollars in profits the oil industry makes and is taking in, the Republicans in the Senate today voted down taking away their tax subsidies. Get that--the oil industry makes more money than any other in the nation--and the world--yet we, the United States, give them tax subsidies. Not only that, but these Senate Republicans voted to allow them to get and keep these tax breaks. Does this make any sense to anyone? Well, except to the Senators in Congress who get "campaign contributions" from "Big Oil." Sure, it makes sense to them. Check this out, from one of the articles at the links below--"The top five oil companies in the United States have already made $5.8 billion in windfall profits from spiking gasoline prices this year." Yet we're giving them tax breaks. Is that not insanity? I thought tax breaks should be for small, upcoming industries you want to encourage, not already mature, grossly successful companies that, frankly, in this case we want to discourage since, first, it's a dirty, foul, polluting industry and second, we need to get out of the Middle East for national security purposes. Wow. We have got to stop this. Links: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/29/politics/oil-subsidies/index.html;

Further proof: We have to get the big money out of our elections

If we don't kill "campaign contributions" and get the big, ugly, corrosive, corrupting money out of our election system and so, our government, nothing will ever change. This trailer for this coming documentary also confirms this.

We give tax credits to the most profitable industry in the nation and world

This could be a definition of insanity. It is most certainly a definition of gross unfairness.

Big Oil: Big profits and tax cuts from us, to boot

How much is enough? The top five oil companies in the country raked in $70 billion--that's billion--in profits the first HALF of this year. These are some of the most profitable companies in the nation and so, the world. But here's a dirty little secret they don't want us to emphasize--they get tax subsidies. Here's another not-so-secret secret--the Republicans and Right Wingers have been fighting in the last few months to have these same wealthy companies KEEP those tax subsidies--tax breaks. "Big Oil" is sqealing like a stuck pig, too, over the mere POSSIBILITY that they might lose $400 million in subsidies. It's time to stand up, folks. It's time we speak out. This is insanity. We're being gouged at the pump and then giving them tax breaks, to boot. Sound sensible to you? Links: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/big-oil-profits_n_913452.html; http://consumerist.com/2011/04/big-oil-companies-sucked-up-much-higher-profits-than-they-did-a-year-ago.html; http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/04/28/207983/big-oil-profits/

Things going on this holiday weekend

Two pretty big items this weekend (with links below): Now it's Exxon-Mobil, ruining Yellowstone National Park, after BP screwed up the Gulf and second, we, the US, now have American soldiers on the ground in Somalia (that's HOW MANY wars?) and we're sending in drones. Happy 4th, everyone. Links: http://news.yahoo.com/teams-gauge-exxon-oil-spill-damage-mont-river-152649789.html; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/world/africa/02somalia.html; http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=Aud023eNfdsgxjNUTY1vg1ybvZx4?p=somalia+drones&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701; http://news.yahoo.com/american-boots-hit-ground-somalia-drone-attacks-170751348.html

Quote of the day

"We don't need incentives to the oil and gas companies to explore.  There are plenty of incentives."   --Former President, Texan and long time supporter of "Big Oil", George W. Bush.

And yet...

Big Oil makes the case for tax breaks

Ayn Rand just took it too far

Ayn Rand just took her praise and dedication of and support for Capitalism--unfettered Capitalism--too far.

Completely,  utterly "free markets" leads to things like Gulf of Mexico oil spills and the collapse of both national and international economies and markets, as we've so tragically experienced recently.

Capitalism needs limits because there is no limit to greed.

On corporate tax dodgers (read: cheats)

From Alternet and Rainforest Action Network (RAN):

...12 of the dirtiest corporate tax dodgers: Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Chevron, BP, Shell, Exxon, Massey Energy, Alpha Natural Resources, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal. These 12 banks, oil and coal companies are largely responsible for foreclosing on millions of people’s homes and polluting our air, water and climate. At the same time, we found that they pay next to nothing into a tax system that provides the very services that protect the homeless, the sick and our environment.   

Our new infographic, Dirty Corporate Tax Dodgers, shows that banks, oil and coal companies made billions in profits last year and paid much less than their fair share in taxes. In fact, we found that if these 12 banks, oil and coal companies actually paid the IRS corporate tax rate of 35% they would be giving back $62 billion this tax season. That is almost double the $38 billion in federal budget cuts. 

To add insult to injury, while these multi-billion dollar industries we raking in the profits and evading their taxes they were also paying millions in CEO compensation and lobby dollars. These corporations are happy to pay large sums to manipulate our democracy but aren’t so interested in paying to support it.   

We were shocked to find that:

• Chevron, Exxon, BP and Shell together made $1.26 trillion in gross revenues, but paid a paltry 2.04% average tax rate;
• Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo collectively dished out $83.4 million in CEO compensation;  and, while the top 4 banks made $454.4 billion in gross revenue, the top 4 oil companies made $1.26 trillion (yes that’s a ‘t'), and the top coal corporations made $17 billion, they collectively only paid $8.74 billion in federal taxes.

...let’s get one thing straight. America is not broke, and these dirty corporations don’t need any more handouts, bailouts, or subsidies. We don’t have a money problem we have a priorities problem. We’re slashing billions from our budget, much of which will come out of social services and environmental protections, while allowing corporate giants to slip ever-increasing profits into offshore accounts.  

By reversing years of tax giveaways to the largest corporations, Congress could raise trillions in revenue not only covering our budget deficit but also enhancing education, health and environmental programs that safeguard our families and our future. 

Like the now old saying goes, "If you're not angry, you're not paying attention."

Link:  http://www.alternet.org/economy/150617/corporate_tax_dodgers%3A_the_dirtiest_dozen

The Gulf's fine. BP told us so

Oh, yeah?

Officials remain baffled over source of oil slick as Louisiana coastline is oiled again

Suckers.

Link to original story:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110322/ts_yblog_thelookout/officials-remain-baffled-over-source-of-oil-slick-as-louisiana-coastline-is-oiled-again

Myths of nuclear energy

There is a terrific, if brief, column on "5 myths about nuclear energy" online right now at The Washington Post and I thought a couple of the points were particularly important to note:

3. Democrats oppose nuclear energy; Republicans favor it.

Yes, the GOP base is enthusiastic about nuclear energy, while the Democratic base is skeptical. Moreover, many Republican politicians support assistance to the industry such as loan guarantees for nuclear developers, while many Democrats oppose them. But the politics of nuclear power have changed in recent years, mainly because of climate change.

Democrats, including many supporters in the environmental movement, have become more open to nuclear power as a large-scale zero-emissions energy option. Steven Chu, President Obama’s energy secretary, has been enthusiastic about the nuclear option. When asked to compare coal and nuclear energy in 2009, Chu responded: “I’d rather be living near a nuclear power plant.”

The biggest prospective boost for nuclear power in the past two years was an initiative championed by Democrats and scorned by Republicans: cap-and-trade legislation. Cap-and-trade would have penalized polluting power sources such as coal and gas emitters, thus tilting the playing field toward nuclear power. Department of Energy simulations of the ill-fated Waxman-Markey climate bill projected that it would have increased nuclear power generation by 74 percent in 2030.

Yet although Democrats may have become more accepting of nuclear power, few became fully enthusiastic. Japan’s tragedy may make many reconsider their stance.

This one, though, was the one that, to me, seemed one of the most important and told yet another reason why we should be putting our energy eggs in solar and clean, renewable sources for the future:

4. Nuclear power is the key to energy independence.

When people talk about energy independence, they’re thinking about oil, which we mostly use in vehicles and industrial production. When they talk about nuclear, though, they’re thinking about electricity. More nuclear power means less coal, less natural gas, less hydroelectric power and less wind energy. But unless we start putting nuclear power plants in our cars and semis, more nuclear won’t mean less oil.

And this one, as we've found out yet again, but this time all over Japan seemed especially poignant:

5. Better technology can make nuclear power safe.

Technology can increase safety, but there will always be risks with nuclear power. The Japanese reactors at the center of the current crisis use old technology that increased their vulnerability. Next-generation reactors will be “passively cooled,” which means that if backup power fails like it has in Japan, meltdowns will be avoided more easily. (Passive-cooling systems vary, but their common feature is a lack of dependence on external power.) Other lower-tech improvements, such as stronger containment structures, have also mitigated risk.

But what happened in Japan reminds us that unanticipated vulnerabilities are inevitable in any highly complex system. Careful engineering can minimize the chance of disasters, but it can’t eliminate them. Operators and authorities will need to make sure that they’re prepared to deal with unanticipated failures even as they work to prevent them.

Most energy sources entail risks. In the past year, we’ve seen an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, fatal explosions at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia and now the crisis in Japan. The American public will need to decide whether the risks of nuclear power — compared with those of other energy sources — are too high.

Michael A. Levi , a senior fellow and director of the program on energy security and climate change at the Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of “On Nuclear Terrorism.”

When will we ever learn?  

Now would be nice.

Link to original post:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/5-myths-about-nuclear-energy/2011/03/15/AB9P3Oe_story.html

Things we need to remember from 2010

Sure, it's one thing to "move on" and get on with the new year and that's fine but there are things from this year just past we need to remember, in part so they're handled and the people are not forgotten.  In part, too, so people who are responsible aren't let "off the hook" for their responsibilities.

Herewith, then, are some of the biggest:

--In January of last year, the desperately poor people of Haiti were struck by a devastating earthquake, from which they are still recovering.  They deserve to not be forgotten;

--The BP oil disaster which began at the end of April.  We certainly can't forget this happened.  We can't forget the devastation, both natural and economic, at least, that it reeked on the Gulf region.  We can't forget that so many millions of barrels of oil gushed into the area and we can't forget that it's still down there, doing more harm.  We have to hold BP responsible for all the damage inflicted, and truly for years;

--We can't forget the April earthquake that struck the island Sumatra in Indonesia and the devastation that wrought.  These people need our help--the help of all of us in the world;

--We can't forget the October earthquake on that same island of Sumatra and for the same reasons as above;

--Then there was the October tsunami that struck--again--Indonesia.  These people had a rough, rough year;

--Then there was Hurricane Tomas that then struck already-hurting Haiti.  It's crucial we don't forget--and so, abandon--the Haitian people.

--We need to remember that our health care system is badly, badly broken and needs fixing.  Too many big businesses are sucking far too much money out of our personal, individual accounts and out of the national budgets.  That and too many people are either going without care or simply, worst case scenario, dying.  It's badly fixed and needs fixing and as soon as possible.  What little remedy we got this year with the Health Care Reform Act of 2010 should absolutely not be revoked and should, instead, be augmented with more stipulations, beginning with a "public option" for insurance;

--Finally, we need to remember that we're all Americans and that we're in a bit of one heckuva bad economy right now and that we need to be Americans and work together to solve our problems.  And for you and me, the "person on the street", if you will, that's all well and good but what we really need to get in this new year is representatives in government--particularly in the US House of Representatives--that want and need our government to work for all of us, the people, and not just for the representatives and not simply against the opposing political party.  We don't have enough time on our clock to waste with in-fighting between these political parties.

There is no doubt more but I thought these the "biggest of the big" and things that needed to be kept in mind, in case we can help any or all of these people in the new year.

It seems crazy that we fight all these obscene wars around the world when we should be taking all that manpower, materiel and just plain money and start just helping each other with all the natural disasters we face each year, let alone the poverty, homelessness, disease and starvation.

But that would make too much sense, right?

Let's hope it's a happy new year, indeed.

Links:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Tomas_(2010)
http://yearinreview.yahoo.com/2010/us_natural_disasters#Natural Disasters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2010_natural_disasters
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100905151748AAONyZk
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69P0QN20101026
http://sickothemovie.com/checkup/

Some Hallowe'en education from Bill Maher

Oct. 29, 2010 New Rule: No Tea Party Halloween

It can't get any better said than that.

Sadly true.

The Final lesson from Deepwater Horizon and the Gulf

Let's face facts, kids--BP won. While watching the news this morning, I saw one of their ads, showing a Black woman--from Louisiana herself, she said--doing her best job to make sure the oil slick mess would be cleaned up and all done right and well. Right then, I knew BP had won. Though they had soiled and spoiled hundreds of square miles of the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf coast beaches and killed untold amounts of sea life, they are successfully painting the picture on TV and in the media that they are the "good guys" in all this and that they've "done right" and good by everyone in the Gulf and America. Forget their short-sighted money saving and carelessness that caused all this pollution and killing of wildlife, they tell that they're cleaning up the Gulf and treating everyone down there "A-okay" so, gosh, what's your problem, America? So they'll get away with this debacle. Indeed, they apparently already have. And it will happen again. Maybe by BP and maybe not but it will happen again. Americans just don't learn from history. Or facts.

How's that "drill, baby, drill" look now, Sarah?

Just off the internet: Gulf oil platform explodes, burning off La. coast GRAND ISLE, La. – An offshore petroleum platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site where BP's undersea well spilled after a rig explosion Yeah, let's stay addicted to oil. It's working really well for us. Link to original story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_rig_explosion/print