Protecting Utah's Wilderness

According to The Huffington Post today, the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental action group, filed a lawsuit with the Bureau of Land Management to stop the sale of huge sections of wilderness in Utah's canyonlands  for oil and natural gas drilling.  As I (and others) have previously written, the sale of these lands was a purely special-interests move, designed to give more to the Big Energy companies.  These leases in Utah had already been limited by earlier court actions, but this move will hopefully protect an additional 100,000 acres.  The leases will be auctioned off, but the buyers will not be allowed to do anything until the lawsuit is settled - and we can only hope that it will be settled in favor of the environment.

The canyonlands of Utah are an area of the U.S. unlike any other.  They are carved out into some of the most beautiful shapes and courses, merely by a few drops of rain.  To go down the rivers, or to hike through them, is to spend days without seeing or hearing another human being.  This I have done, and it was an experience unlike any other.  The solitude and the beauty is simply indescribable.  You just have to go there and experience it.

Riding Roughshod Over Science

Surprise, surprise!  Bush & Co. have been interfering with the scientists at the E.P.A in regards to rules protecting endangered species!  Yeah, I could have seen this coming a mile away.

In an article in The New York Times today, a report was issued in which the inspector general of the Interior Dept. found at least 15 instances in which Interior agency officials interfered with the scientific work in regards to developing policies protecting endangered species.  Julie A. MacDonald, former deputy assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks and overseer of endangered species issues, was named as one of the worst in this gang of meddlers.  She had resigned in May of 2007, after an earlier report found she had "run roughshod over agency scientists and violated federal rules by giving internal documents to industry lobbyists".  

Well, I for one, have been expecting this for, oh, eight years, maybe?  The whole history of Bush & Co. is of bending over backwards for special interests, especially oil and energy and mining interests.  Unfortunately, those guys are the ones that are nearly always the worst environmentally, which explains the meddling of MacDonald and crew.  Whenever they interfered with the scientific work on endangered species policy, you can bet that it was because the new policy would have interfered with oil, energy, or mining interests' operations.

Oh, I CANNOT WAIT for Obama to assume the Presidency.  It will be oh so lovely to have some real, responsible people in the government - people who will at least consider the rest of us and the environment when they're making their decisions.  Maybe I'm putting too much faith in Obama - after all, he is only human, and the special interests have a stranglehold on Washington.  But after 8 years of Dubya, Obama is my last hope - my last hope, our last hope, and the environment's last hope.

Bush Blames Russia?

Last Thursday, after talks ended at the Poznan Global Climate Conference, the U.S. negotiating team was asked what they would have done differently during the past 8 years.  James Connaughton, Bush's chief environmental advisor, responded that he "whish[ed] first that Russia had made up its mind sooner as to whether it was going to join Kyoto or not.  I think we lost a couple of years of work while that decision was being made."

Whoa, hold on a second - WTF?!?!??  Does this guy have his head stuck up his a$$ or something?  He wishes that Russia had made up its mind about Kyoto sooner, because they held up work on it?   Ummmm.... I believe that the U.S. still hasn't ratified the treaty... so, what's Russia got to do with it?  Until the U.S. ratifies, it doesn't affect us, so we couldn't do any work on it whether Russia signed or not!

Besides, I thought Bush & Co. didn't really believe in global warming.   I mean, they haven't done anything to curb greenhouse gasses or improve gas mileage in our cars.  Just look at the difference in goals between the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

• The U.S. has no target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  by 2020,  and wants more tax cuts for the energy companies.
  
• Europe wants to cut emissions to 20% of 1990 levels and enforce a mandatory cap-and-trade system
• Canada wants to cut emissions to 1990 levels and let the energy companies create their own efficiency standards

The U.S. is clearly still in denial.  This will all change drastically once Obama assumes the Presidency, but until then, we're the outcasts and deniers.  Which is why it pisses me off so much that Connaughton can blame the Russians for holding up a treaty that we're not even paying any attention to.

Sources:

Gristmill: Guess which country the Bush team blames for lack of a climate deal?

The Wonk Room: Earth To Bush: We Can't Wait 15 More Years

Screwing the Native Americans Again

In the desert of Northern Arizona, there is a Native American Reservation for the Hopis and Navajo.  Unfortunately for them, there is a huge coal deposit nearby, named Black Mesa.  Just as the Native Americans were screwed when the Europeans came over and decided to take over North America, the coal company Peabody Coal and the government has decided that the coal is much more important that the welfare of the Hopis and Navajo.

The Black Mesa coal mine issue is actually an old issue.  The mine was first opened about a century ago, but had been closed a few decades later.  Now, Bush & Co. want to open it again, with no regards to the welfare of the Hopi and Navajo.  They were screwed then, and they'll be screwed again.

Some of the problems with the mine:

1. The Environmental Impact Report, which is supposed to look at all of the possible environmental issues that may occur, has completely ignored the problem of water availability.  The mining of the coal requires the use of billions of gallons of water, which the desert cannot possibly replenish.  The mining of the coal, when it first started, had drained all of the natural springs and aquifers for dozens of miles around, and lowered the groundwater level to a dangerously low level.  Because of this, the Hopis and Navajo had to travel 20-30 miles through the desert to access water... which just might have been contaminated.  And now they want to start mining again?
2.  There is no mention of the problems of air pollution for the local residents, and the mine workers are only to be given basic precautions... despite all of the know problems resulting from coal dust pollution, such as black lung disease and asthma.
3. The mining agreement does not take into account the CO2 emissions that are going to occur if the mine opens.

However, there is a bright spot on the horizon.  U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, who is tapped to take over the Dept. of the Interior under Obama's administration, is calling for a suspension of the proposed mining agreement until the environmental review can be re-examined.  If he is heeded, and the mining agreement is not given a green light, I think we can expect it to be scrapped.  Which is the environmentally and politically correct thing to do, considering the reasons given above. 

Source: Gristmill, Why Raul Grijalva Matters at Interior

Our Water is in Danger

Yesterday, Bush got another of his lovely deregulations passed.  Now, it seems that there's no problem with mining companies dumping all of those tons of waste and pollution into streams and valleys.

The mining companies used to have to follow strict guidelines and regulations about where they could dump their waste materials - and pristine streams and valleys certainly were not on the list.  Yet Bush seemed to believe that was too restrictive, and decided to drop the regulations, allowing waste to be dumped anywhere.  

But, you may ask, where was the E.P.A. - the agency that is supposed to watch over the environment and protect it through the government?  Oh, they were there all right - right on Bush's side, that is.  It just sickens and scares me that the E.P.A. has so fully and completely abandoned its role.  Their own scientists have published reports proving definitively that it is hazardous to the environment to dump waste material in the streams and valleys!  But instead, they signed off on the deregulation, no questions asked.

The E.P.A. is also at work trying to help out the big energy companies with two other deregulations.  One would allow coal-fired power plants near national parks.  Another would ease restrictions on coal-fired power plants and let them increase emissions.  WTF!?!?!!!?  Seriously, since when is the role of the E.P.A. screw the environment in favor of Big Energy?  Yeah, Bush is all over that, we all know.  But I used to believe that the E.P.A. would at least TRY to tone down the Bush damages.  It seems that that's not really an accurate job description, after all.

The Supreme Court, packed by Bush with right-wing judges, is hearing a case brought by Big Energy, in which it is deciding if there can be a cost-benefit analysis put on the environment.  It's like this: the Big Energy companies (coal, nuclear, and natural gas) all use water to cool down their plants so they don't overheat.  Part of the Clean Water Act stipulated that the energy plants had to use the best and most effective technology available to reduce the damage done by putting hot water back into the streams and lakes that it came from, since the hot water kills everything in the water (fish, larvae, microorganisms) - scientifically proven, for what that's worth!  Well, Big Energy doesn't like that, as you might imagine.  So Bush and his lapdogs at the E.P.A. created a provision that would let the power plants get an exemption from having to install the technology if the cost of the technology and the installation would be greater than the environmental benefits.  Hmmm... let's see.  Either spend some of your huge profits to update the plant.... or kill everything in the water.... HOW CAN YOU PUT A PRICE ON THAT??????  Environmentalists agreed, and sued to have the rule repealed.  The Big Energy lost in the lower courts, and appealed to the Supreme Court.  Not surprisingly, the court is taking the case.  Unfortunately, I think I know how they will decide.  So long, fishies!

SOURCES: 

The New York Times : Coal Mining Rule in Approved

Triple Pundit: Water Issues, the Supreme Court, and How It Will Affect Your Portfolio

Workers Screwed as Well

Not only is Bush cramming in anti-environmental regulation changes, but now it seems that he is willing to make it harder for workers at the same time.  The latest rule, according to an article in The New York Times, "would make it harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job".  Geez.  It's not enough for him to let his buddies dump waste in our rivers and streams; now he's going to kill some of those workers who are doing his dirty work for him as well?!?

Some Success in Utah

One of Bush's parting moves was to open hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Utah to mining and drilling, most of it very close to the canyonlands and the Green River - some of the most beautiful, remote, wild places on earth (I know, I've been there).  Well, it certainly pissed of a lot of people, because some of the leases have been taken back.  

According to The Daily Kos, drilling leases near Dinosaur National Monument, Delicate Arch, and Canyonlands National Park have been repealed.  The National Park Service, members of Congress, and a "top official" from Obama's team have all forced the Bureau of Land Management to back down on the leases being offered.  It's a good job so far, but they're really not anywhere near done yet - only 22 leases have been repealed, out of 90 created.  There's still about 130,000 acres open to drilling and mining, and although the BLM's been good so far, they've certainly got some Bushies in there who will not be eager to take back any more leases.  But it's a start, and it shows that we can do something to fight Dubya.

Leaving People Behind

President Bush is not satisfied with simply dismantling as many environmental protection as he can.  No, he has to ensure that soon-to-be-President Obama has to fight to protect the environment as well.  Using a practice called "burrowing", Bush is placing his anti-environmental buddies in career service posts, where Obama won't be able to remove them.  Among these transfers are Robert Comer and Matthew McKeown.  Comer is well known for his opposition to the Roadless Rule (a rule in which areas of national land that don't have pre-existing roads are barred from any development) and his sketchy grazing agreements.  McKeown is a favorite of the mining industry - and we all know about those guys (see previous post on Coal River Mountain, West Virginia).  These Bushies, among others, will be placed in senior civil service posts in the Department of the Interior, where they will be able to make trouble for Obama and block his policies.  

Is it just me, or is anyone else really getting annoyed by how impossible it seems that we'll ever be able to get away from Dubya?  He's already irreparably damaged the environment, and now he's going to insure that Obama will have to fight a battle to improve it!  It's like he knows we don't like him, and he's said, "screw it, and screw them - anything to continue being rich!"

Source: Environmental Law Prof. Blog - Bush Administration Land Mines the Interior Department, EPA and Other Environmental Agencies