Energy Industry

The Santa Barbara Oil Spill, And The Shell Arctic Ocean Permit

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The issue of oil drilling and exploration has reared its ugly head once again, with the disaster off of Santa Barbara, California, on its way to a massive disaster affecting the Southern California coastline, including the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Already, the estimate is that 105,000 gallons of crude oil have been spilled by the oil leak, killing wild life and destroying the ecosystem in that area.

And yet, just days before this latest energy disaster, Barack Obama has authorized Shell Oil Company to drill in the Alaskan Arctic, an area that is mostly unreachable in case of an ecological and wild life disaster if an oil spill or leak occurs.

Obama has been, generally, outstanding on many aspects of environmental issues, but on the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, he has made a major mistake, which needs to be fought in court, particularly with the later example of another disaster now in the Santa Barbara, California area.

Obama has done a lot of good, but it is alarming that he would give in to Shell Oil and the energy lobby, when we have plenty of sources of domestic energy already, and seem to forget the need to start the move away from polluting oil and coal toward alternative energy resources.

The BP oil spill of 2010 still reverberates, and now the Santa Barbara oil spill, and so it is time to say NO to Shell on drilling in the Arctic Ocean in Alaska!

CPAC Convention: The Lunatic Right Displays Itself!

Ronald 39 Comments

Watching, listening, and reading about the Conservative Political Action Conference makes anyone with a stable mind roll his eyes in wonderment at what conservatism has become!

All the losers of the past were there and ranting and raving their insanity, including Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Paul Ryan, and Mike Huckabee. The “newcomers”,” people not yet defeated but soon to be, including Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal and Chris Christie, also appeared, and made fools of themselves. Of course, the ultimate lunatic and embarrassment, Donald Trump, also spewed his sick mind and constant need for attention. And to top it off, Sarah Palin is making an appearance, as if any sane, intelligent person cares! And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, desperately trying to keep his seat, showed up brandishing a rifle, a horrible image for a Senate leader to display just a year after the Sandy Hook Massacre!

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker stayed away, for both a smart move, and Jon Huntsman was also not there, and at least for Bush and Huntsman, who are the most mainstream of this group of characters, it made sense NOT to be there!

Speaker of the House John Boehner was not invited, which should really be seen as a blessing, as he has upset right wingers by being exasperated with the Tea Party Movement, for making his job absolutely impossible in the lower chamber.

It is still reality that ONLY Jeb Bush and Jon Huntsman would have ANY chance to be elected over Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Election of 2016, but not very good odds for either of them. And again, let this author repeat, that the Electoral College strongly favors ANY Democrat to win the White House, and as long as the GOP alienates African Americans, Latinos, women, and many young voters, it will not win the White House. And as long as it fights the idea of national health care coverage for all; acceptance of gay rights and same sex marriage; opposition to immigration reforms; favors the energy industry over the environment; and continues to fight against a living wage for the poor and middle class, it will lose for the long term future! And if it continues to promote religion and theocracy, it will NEVER win the White House ever again, in a nation that believes in separation of church and state!

So those of us who care about our fellow Americans can sit and observe the CPAC Conference, and feel good that the potential candidates and the Republican party are sealing their doom for 2016 and beyond!

Earth Day: Time To Reflect On Progress Made, But Challenges Ahead!

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The environmental movement celebrates its greatest day on April 22 every year, since Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson promoted the idea of an Earth Day in 1970, and President Richard Nixon and Interior Secretary Walter Hickel acted on it nationally.

We have had environmental champions since, including Nixon, Hickel, President Jimmy Carter, Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus under Carter, Vice President Al Gore under Bill Clinton, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt under Clinton, and many others in and out of government!

We have also had those who have become environmental enemies, including President Ronald Reagan, Interior Secretary James Watt under Reagan, President George W. Bush, Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, other Republicans in Congress, and of course, the corporate community!

So the battle for environmental protection is a never ending struggle, but one which is worth remembering on this Earth Day!

The energy industry is always at work to combat environmentalism, including the coal, oil, and nuclear power industry. The Republican Party is far from the era oF Theodore Roosevelt, the great conservationist, who would be mortified were he to come back and see what the GOP has become–a corporate party not concerned about pollution of the environment!