

Trump & Republicans Are Environmental Disasters
#21
Posted 16 May 2018 - 08:49 AM
"Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices" Voltaire
#22
Posted 16 May 2018 - 10:21 AM
Meanwhile I think the new crop of woodpeckers, Gray Catbirds, and Blue Jays are hatching at my place. My suet cake burn rate is going up as expected. By mid- to late-June we'll probably be going through two a day with zero gray squirrel damage. The Pileated is coming in multiple times a day now and can make a pretty big dent in just a few minutes. The night crew (a.k.a. flying squirrels) munch on them at night. It's like we have our own wildlife restaurant. "The Feeding Station, now open 24 hours!"
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#23
Posted 16 May 2018 - 10:26 AM
"Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices" Voltaire
#24
Posted 16 May 2018 - 10:47 AM
Traveler, on 16 May 2018 - 08:49 AM, said:
“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”
“Do you believe we can trust you rabble with a Republic?"
#25
Posted 16 May 2018 - 10:53 AM
LFC, on 16 May 2018 - 10:21 AM, said:
Oh man, I LOVE G-C flycatchers. About ten years ago I had a nesting pair in Alley Pond Park, about a quarter mile walk from my mom's house. I used to go there in the late-spring and watch the two adults with almost military precision, leave the nest, return 30 second later each with a red admiral butterfly, and then go back out for another round. How on earth they were able to find so many in such a short time is just beyond me, this was in NYC, not a mountain in the Catskills. On the two times I got too close, they just waited until I got further away and then they'd continue to feed. I've seen breeding pairs of RB grosbeaks and multiple pairs of redstarts even though by the book, they aren't supposed to be breeding in NYC. I guess nobody showed them a map.
“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”
“Do you believe we can trust you rabble with a Republic?"
#26
Posted 16 May 2018 - 11:38 AM
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#27
Posted 16 May 2018 - 11:40 AM
"Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices" Voltaire
#28
Posted 16 May 2018 - 03:05 PM
LFC, on 16 May 2018 - 11:38 AM, said:
I don't see profit as being much of an issue. Look at Trump's offspring: kill whatever they can, regardless. Lots more where that kind come from. Somebody is going to have an unmatchable trophy when they shoot the last of their species.
— Nate Silver
"Robots aren't the problem. Capitalism is." -- Last words of Stephen Hawking.
These days, "libertarian" is just a euphemism for a Nazi who's afraid to commit.
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." -- Heather Heyer
"I'd rather have my child, but by golly, if I gotta give her up, we're gonna make it count." -- Her mother
"Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events." -- some RINO
#29
Posted 07 June 2018 - 02:26 PM
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Superintendent Dan Wenk last week announced he intended to retire March 30, 2019, after being offered a transfer he didn’t want to take.
He said was informed this week by National Park Service Acting Director Paul “Dan” Smith that a new superintendent will be in place in August and that he will be gone by then.
“I feel this is a punitive action but I don’t know for sure,” Wenk told The Associated Press. He wasn’t given a reason and said the only dispute he’s had with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was over bison.
Ranchers in neighboring Montana have long sought reductions in Yellowstone’s bison numbers because of worries that they could spread the disease brucellosis to cattle and compete with livestock for grazing space outside the park.
Wenk and park biologists have said the current population of more than 4,000 bison is sustainable. But Zinke and his staff have said the number is too high, Wenk said, and raised concerns that areas of the park such as the scenic Lamar Valley are being overgrazed.
Well if Zinke and his cronies disagree with science then there you have it. So why would he be sticking his nose into an issue like this anyway?
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Aaaaah, personal payoff. Of course.
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#30
Posted 06 July 2018 - 11:23 AM
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1. His last gig was as a coal industry lobbyist. Wheeler worked for Murray Energy Corporation—the largest coal mining company in America. Wheeler must have been good at his job promoting big coal interests, netting close to $3 million for the gig.
2. Murray Energy’s CEO, who doesn’t believe in climate science, worked hard to stall the Obama administration’s efforts to pass environmental protections.
3. Wheeler formerly worked for James Inhofe, pre-eminent climate change denier, according to DeSmog blog.
4. While Wheeler worked for Murray Energy, the company was forced to pay millions in fines for contaminating water in three states with coal slurry, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
5. Prior to his nomination, Wheeler hosted fundraisers for Senators in order to evaluate his chance of getting the post.
6. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Wheeler presents a dire threat to mitigating the negative effects of climate change. “Unlike Pruitt, Wheeler worked for the EPA early in his career and has played key roles in Congressional oversight of the agency and its budget, making him a formidable opponent with intimate knowledge of the agency’s programs and regulations,” they wrote.
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#31
Posted 18 July 2018 - 02:35 PM
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The 2015 rule established minimum national standards for the disposal of coal ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants that contains materials such as arsenic and lead.
The EPA said the revision would give flexibility to utility companies and states, which had fought against the standards calling them unduly burdensome, and save $28 million to $31 million per year in regulatory costs.
“Our actions mark a significant departure from the one-size-fits-all policies of the past and save tens of millions of dollars in regulatory costs,” said Andrew Wheeler, the acting head of the agency. Wheeler took over last week after Scott Pruitt, who was facing more than a dozen probes into ethics issues, stepped down.
It was the first rule that Wheeler, a Washington insider who in recent years worked as a lobbyist for coal and other companies, signed in his new position.
Under the new rule, state and EPA officials will be able to suspend groundwater monitoring requirements at coal ash sites if it is determined there is no potential for pollutants to move into certain aquifers. The rule also extends the life of some coal ash ponds from early 2019 to late 2020.
Coal ash is stored at hundreds of power plants throughout the country. Spills in Tennessee and North Carolina leached sludge containing toxic materials into rivers in those states over the last decade.
Environmentalists said the signing of the rule showed that the EPA’s direction of slashing regulations since Republican President Donald Trump took office will not change under Wheeler.
Aresenic and lead. It's what's for dinner ... and lunch ... and breakfast ... and in your iced tea ... and ...
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#32
Posted 06 August 2018 - 11:28 AM
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Our thought bubble, via Axios science editor Andrew Freedman: President Trump appears to be referring to endangered species protections, which mandate availability of water for some species. However, firefighters haven’t complained about lack of water for firefighting, but rather, the extreme nature of these fires.
To be fair if we cut down all the trees and stripped mined or farmed all the land then there wouldn't be a lot left to burn.
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#33
Posted 06 August 2018 - 11:36 AM
LFC, on 06 August 2018 - 11:28 AM, said:
"It all makes sense when you remind yourself that the GOP is no longer a political party but turned into an organized crime family"
"I hope to live long enough that the name Trump is reviled as much as the name Hitler or Stalin"
#34
Posted 06 August 2018 - 05:07 PM
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“Governor Jerry Brown must allow the Free Flow of the vast amounts of water coming from the North and foolishly being diverted into the Pacific Ocean,” Trump tweeted. “Can be used for fires, farming and everything else. Think of California with plenty of Water - Nice! Fast Federal govt. Approvals.”
Trump said on Sunday that too much water from the northern part of the state is being allowed to flow into the Pacific Ocean, instead of being captured or redirected to use for firefighting, agriculture or other purposes.
The president's remarks echo longstanding Republican arguments that environmental policies like the Endangered Species Act make it harder for California to hold onto its water. Congressional Republicans for years have pushed for policies to direct more water into storage or to the southern part of the state.
But fire officials have generally not complained that they are running out of water to fight the blazes.
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#35
Posted 07 August 2018 - 09:56 AM
#36
Posted 07 August 2018 - 12:20 PM
golden_valley, on 07 August 2018 - 09:56 AM, said:
I have a relative who works in the lumber industry and we've had some discussions about things he's read in industry rags. One concerned the harvesting of old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. The article complained that the timber industry was being blocked from harvesting virtually all old growth in this country and that wasn't fair. He asked me (in good faith) what I thought with my conservation background. My reply was that over 95% of all old growth forests had already been harvested in this country and that was the proper baseline to work from, not from the tiny bit that was left. He started to push back a little and I asked "The industry has already taken 95%. How much is enough? Is it 98%? 100%? What do you think is a reasonable stopping point?" He didn't really have a reply to that. He's not stupid or ideological by any stretch. He just never thought of it in terms of the true baseline because he industry moved the baseline by 95%. The nice thing for the industry is that no matter how little is left they're always COMPLETELY blocked from harvesting. How unreasonable!
It's the same way with water. How much is enough? "Conservatives" believe that it's 100% as long as somebody is making money off of it. The baseline always changes to argue for "more."
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
#37
Posted 07 August 2018 - 07:20 PM
Note that if the US planning to sanction Brazil, Russia could become the sole supplier of asbestos raw material to the US.
— Fran Lebowitz
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
— Carl Sagan
Pray for Trump: Psalm 109:8
"Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time - when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers arc in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”
— Carl Sagan
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
1995
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
— H.L. Mencken
On Politics: A Carnival of Buncombe
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
— Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Second inaugural address January, 1937
#38
Posted 07 August 2018 - 08:38 PM
Purely a coincidence, I'm sure.
#39
Posted 07 August 2018 - 11:33 PM
JackD, on 07 August 2018 - 08:38 PM, said:
In addition to Po-209 and Novichok.
#40
Posted 08 August 2018 - 09:25 AM
AnBr, on 07 August 2018 - 07:20 PM, said:
From the original FastCompany story (bold mine):
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Soooooo if it doesn't spontaneously combust then it's OK? They are literally taking refusing to do their job. Sounds like a recurring Republican theme.
"That's the problem with being implacable foes - no one has any incentive to treat you as anything more than an obstacle to be overcome."
"The 'Road to Serfdom' is really all right turns." --Progressive Whisperer
""The GOP ... where every accusation is also a confession." --Progressive Whisperer
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