The Earth Pope

When will they ever learn?

Well, it looks like the oil heads are at it once again.  They are turning global catastrophe into the shortest of short term gains by rushing to claim all of the oil and natural gas rights under the melting Arctic ice cap.  That's right, they are intent on getting the last drops of oil and natural gas available on the planet and pumping it into the atmosphere, customers be damned!

This race to the top is really about the bottom being pulled out from under every life form on the planet because as any person not under the hypnotic spell of the Paris Hilton media slight-of-eye will understand the answer to global climate change is not the burning of more fossil fuels.  Regardless of where they are found or how much of them are left to be exploited, we can not fill up our tanks and drive away from the problem.  What fuelish logic do these scientists apply to convince the governments of Russia and the United States to invest citizen dollars to prove that these resources belong to the corporations residing in one country or another?

But it may be the Goddess of natural lubricants who gets the last laugh on this one.  The leaders of the American oil junkies in the US Congress have been arguing since 1994 about how much power the Law of the Sea Treaty gives to the United Nations.  For 13 years they have been unable to ratify this treaty that over 150 other nations have agreed to and now they may have put American oil addicts at risk of losing their daily petroleum fix in the very near future .  Just the thought of going through fossil withdrawal has started to take its toll on even the most stalwart servants of the environmental movement.

I'm talking about Stuart Brand, James Lovelock and Hugh Montefiore and others who are advocating nuclear power as the safe alternative to reducing CO2 emissions. Soon they and their followers, scared out of their wits by the thought of a world without petroleum, will be advocating along with the oil slick representatives in Washington for liquefied coal plants and increased investments in clean coal technology.  If we get scared enough maybe we can even get the autotrophic auto heads in Detroit to come up with a versatile sports van for soccer moms that runs on medical waste!  That way when little Jacob or Emily breaks their ankle mom can fill up while the tots get their X-rays.

With geoscientists plunging ahead convincing corporations and governments to pour money into extracting more oil and natural gas, and old guard environmentalists calling for massive increases in water use for nuclear energy while more mounds of virulent waste gets generated, we have our planetary work cut out for us all.  Our best minds and passionate scientists are throwing in the towel and taking the deadly way out.  That is why we can not and we will not stop advocating for investments in energy efficiency and renewable power.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to get us out of this mess but it sure appears that they and their kindred spirits are doing everything they can to keep us in the biggest one of all!

Stockpiling Insanity

As if we needed more proof of the insanity of those holding power in this once great country the United States Department of Energy is considering to sell stockpiled mercury on the international market.  The lack of forethought and the inability to connect the dots is staggering.

Mercury is a toxic metal particularly damaging to infants and young children, restricting their development and causing mental retardation, deafness and blindness. It is toxic enough to be regulated by EPA, FDA and OSHA and communities are beginning to ban the sale and use of mercury thermometers in their cities.

This announcement comes on the heels of  a recent revelation that the government is stockpiling methyl bromide, a pesticide that we were supposed to eliminate from manufacture and use in the United States 14 years ago.  It seems like there is a growing worldwide market for products that are banned and difficult to get on the open market. And as has been seen in court cases smuggling banned substances such as CFC-12 can be big business.

So, all of this got me thinking about the federal ban on medical marijuana and the recent raids on medical dispensaries.  Where does all of this marijuana go?  Is there anyone tracking this product to identify where it is in fact ending up?  And why are the DEA agents so damn healthy anyway? And then I discovered the answer!  It is right there on the DEA's own website on a page titled What's Up with Marijuana?

Down at the bottom of the page are many of the traits exhibited by DOE and other government officials making the decisions to stockpile dangerous substances and resell them on the international market.  According to the DEA site marijuana causes undependable and irresponsible behavior, difficulty learning and making wise decisions, and difficulty understanding simple ideas.

Drugs!  That's the only logical explanation for the insanity in Washington.

Something fishy going on

Recently, yet another report was published detailing the tremendous technological prowess we have to totally destroy the life support systems of this marvelous planet.  This particular document paints a very bleak picture for the future of the world's fisheries.  According to these researchers the world will be out of fish within 50 years.  That's right, we have the ability to catch them all whether we want them or not and as it turns out, we don't want most of what we catch.  We even have a catchy term for this enormous amount of death and destruction--bycatch.

Now one would think that such dire predictions would stimulate the leaders of the world to take action to protect the oceans and the biodiversity that lives there.  As a species dependent on this biodiversity for our very survival one would assume that such negative actions would be halted before severe unintended consequences were unleashed.  If not for the altruistic motivation to help other species at least to save our own collective asses.

But no, unfortunately the best that could be done is yet another gathering of multi-representational stakeholders under the United Nations direction.   These folks negotiated, communicated and gesticulated but in the end could not agree to the banning of any of the devastating methods trawlers use to wipe out life in the oceans.  They just wanted to remain gracious so that lines of communication could remain open and they could continue to hope that sometime in the near future an agreement could be reached.

Let's put some perspective on this for the average American and European who just wants to eat their tuna and doesn't want to think about what is going on in the oceans.  The next time you go shopping at the local grocery store drive a D9 Caterpillar tractor down the aisle to scoop up a can of tuna.  Make sure that everything else in that particular aisle is crushed beyond use.

When you get to the cashier, who will be standing there wide eyed and stunned by this shopping display don't apologize for anything.  Just call a meeting, sit down calmly and explain that the purchase of the tuna was critical to global economic viability and that the broken and crushed stuff as just byshop.  And then, if the store owner and shoppers get upset and begin to make demands do what is always done--call for the study of the situation and promise a detailed report in the near future.

Because as we all know, words speak louder than action.

Hole in the Head 2

After writing the last post about methyl bromide I got to thinking about the audacity of a Bush Abomination that had no intention of living up to an international agreement to help save life on earth even if such action could reduce the shareholder value of chemical companies.  I mean how much more cynical can these people be?  Turns out they can be so cynical as to become ludicrous.

While apologists like Jay Vroom (I am not making up this name) president of the pesticide association CropLife America  defames the American farmers with the tired old mantra that they are incapable of making the transition from cancer causing earth destroying tools (read chemicals) to less toxic tools, even after a 14-year transiton period because they need more time to find alternatives, our own US EPA is demonstrating what a crock of shit this argument is.

It turns out that while all of this pissing and moaning about how the US farm exports will go into the toilet without the aid of toxic chemicals the US EPA was giving out their Stratospheric Ozone Protection awards honoring companies, associations and teams that were able to accomplish just what Mr. Vroom said was impossible to do.

A quick read of the site makes known that the European companies were able to eliminate methyl bromide completely from their operations.  Even more revealing is the juxtapostion of the Australian Strawberry and Vegetable Growers who were able to phase out methyl bromide without ever needing critical use exemptions and the California Strawberry Commission, who in 2004 still used methyl bromide in 55% of planted acres.  Is this the best that the American farming community can show for reducing methyl bromide?

The critical use exemption is what the US government uses every year to help keep our farmers chemically dependent.  Instead of complying with the Montreal Protocol to have this deadly and earth destroying chemical completely eliminated our government works closely with the chemical companies to keep farmers addicted to dangerous chemicals. These collaborators in castastrophe are nothing but drug pushers using the scare tactics of economic collapse of the family farms to frighten American farmers into buying more poisons.

Now where have we heard of these kind of scare tactics before?

Hole in Our Head

What is that old saying about once your in a hole quit digging?

Well, we are in a very big hole, a hole in the ozone that is, and the United States of Addicts just can't seem to stop digging.  Maybe they are digging the graves for each and every species on the planet while they are all amped up on their chemical dependencies.

Let's connect some of the dots here so the picture is unmistakeable for all to see.  A recent news item states that the ozone hole is the biggest on record.  The hole is caused by the continued release of  "human-produced compounds that release chlorine and bromine gases into the stratosphere."  The reason this is important is that the ozone layer protects life on earth by blocking out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Scientists and international policy makers have known this for quite awhile.  The Montreal Protocol treaty was signed in 1987--almost 20 years ago.  The purpose behind the treaty was to get the world off of its dependency to chemicals that were destroying the ozone and thus placing the entire planet in jeopardy.  Not really an outcome anyone could live with.  One of the primary chemicals contributing to this untenable situation is methyl bromide, a hard core drug of choice for farmers in the United States.

Since the United States was a signatory to the treaty we promised to end the use of methyl bromide by 2005 but the government failed to meet the deadline and it has been seeking extensions for methyl bromide use ever since.  Now it comes to light that, as with any drug addict, while US of A representatives were negotiating the extensions the chemical companies were stockpiling methyl bromide and other banned pesticides. 

As if this wasn't enough to make you want to jump in a hole and hide, it was recently reported that greenhouse gas emissions have hit a record high.  This means that there is now more CO2 in the atmosphere and that the melting ice caps, increased droughts and rising sea levels have a greater probability of happening in a shorter period of time.  And the emissions limits set by the Kyoto Protocol
aren't going to help even if the biggest polluters (read US of Addicts) signed on, which they didn't.

Now, if you put these items on a piece of paper like the connect-the-dots games you did in elementary school and begin to connect them you will see a picture of the main impediment to reverse this global catastrophe--George W. Bush.  The Bush Abomination has the worst environmental record in the history of the nation. 

And that's one scary picture indeed!

   

Now Hear this

Wait until you hear this one!

In a major case of misplaced priorities, it now appears that the oil and gas companies are worried that the noise from their explorations might have a negative impact on the hearing of polar bears in the Arctic.  The oil companies are joined in this shameless diversion from true disaster by a host of science prostitutes pretending that this is important information to collect because, you know, we don't want nursing polar bear moms to go deaf while the oil companies explore for oil in the last wildernesses on earth.  And oh yeah, did anyone mention that the BP is putting up $60,000 for this bogus research?

The middleman in this shameless pandering to the "cute and cuddly" crowd is Polar Bears International.  PBI has a detailed news item on their site explaining why BP is funding this effort.  To quote from the article, "In awarding the grant, BP noted that obtaining a clear understanding of polar bear hearing will allow scientists and industry to better understand the frequencies and levels of received sound that could affect bear behavior."  The company seems to believe that defining how polar bears hear is extremely important because of Artic warming trends.  Huh?

Polar bears are facing extinction due to global warming and a loss of sea ice.  They aren't in danger of going deaf due to oil exploration but maybe the cracking of the breaking ice caps might cause their ears some damage.  Instead of conducting research to understand how other animals hear we need scientists to conduct studies on oil executives to understand why they can't hear all of the voices calling for major action to greatly reduce and eliminate the release of greenhouse gases.

Here's what I suggest.  Since Scientist Megan Owen of the San Diego Zoo is developing a mobile lab to take to different locations let's have her and her team go visit the executives of the oil and gas companies in the comfort of their offices.  She could shoot them with a tranquilizer gun, stuff them into small metal cages and stimulate them with various sounds (like polar bear roars) until they stuck their tongues into buckets to get their treats.

Maybe then they would be able to hear the sounds of a dying planet a little bit clearer.

Laboring Reality

Wasn't it nice of them?  I mean all of the papers this past weekend providing such a detailed overview of the plight of the American worker.  What with Labor Day and all I guess the media decided that it wouldn't be too much to have a few articles about the condition of the working class here in the good ole US of A.   

A good example was the piece by Hubert B. Herring in the Sunday NY Times.  It provided the almost comical comparison of what the average teacher makes and what the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes.  Mr. Herring provided us with the fact that the CEO makes in one day what the average teacher does in one year!  Mr. Herring does note that it is the teachers who provide the captains of industry with educated workers.  New flash!  Young children are much more than potential workers.

Preceding the long weekend was the Dupont announcement that they were cutting back on pensions for workers. After 2007 new employees will not be eligible for any pension or health care or life insurance after retirement. All of this so that the shareholders will receive an expected 3 cents increase per share.

When are the workers of the world going to see the light?  We are working harder, working longer hours and not taking vacations.  We are plugged in, accessible 24/7, on line while we are towing it.  And for what?  We are making less money, carrying more debt and for those of us fortunate enough to have a home, we are borrowing against our castle in an attempt to make ends meet.

It is all connected.  Until workers get a larger slice of the pie commensurate with their productivity they will not have the "peace of mind" to worry about the state of the environment, even though it is in their best interest to do so. When they are so concerned about putting food on the table, keeping the utility bill paid and getting medical attention for their 7-year old's asthma condition, they will never do anything about global warming.

It is a sorry state of affairs when the CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes more in one day then a teacher does in one year.  Who has the most responsibility for investing in the future of this country? If this isn't an indictment against our present capitalistic system I don't know what is.

So the next time you read about the plutocracy and their wealthy contributors remember that all  of that wealth is made on the backs of the working class.  A working class who will not be able to enter the privileged ranks of the 1%, no matter how many "up by the boot straps" stories they are fed.  A working class that will continue to pay the way for rich and greedy, until they decide enough is really enough.

Fool's Protection Program

My Goddess!  Have we reached the point where there are enough short-sighted consumers willing to give up their hard earned money to purchase and own a gas guzzling monstrosity because General Motors is guaranteeing that they will only pay $1.99 per gallon for one year? Are we so fearful of rising gas prices that this cheap marketing ploy can eliminate the last vestiges of common sense people might still retain?

I give thanks that this so called "Fuel Protection Program"is slated to end on July 5th. This "help America stay addicted" program is nothing more than another example of corporations reaping the benefits of short-term consumerism and leaving the long-term impacts to the members of the Earth congregation.  If you don't believe me just connect-the-dots on this one company, General Motors, a company that states on its web site that it wants to protect the environment and help drivers save money every time they fill up.

This same company is cutting tens of thousands of jobs that will leave cities in the United States and Canada devastated.  The workers leaving GM have to  give up their right to pensions and health care in retirement before the buyout packages take effect. This means that the working class in these communities will have to find another way to pay for food, shelter and health care. And for the workers who invested their best years with General Motors believing that the company would honor its agreements and provide for them in their retirement GM has other plans, among them cutting health plans for retirees.   

But this news was great for the investor class, the small percentage of Americans who make money off of layoffs and outsourcing.  These people drive the gas guzzlers without worry about the cost of gas, or the impacts on the environment.  They respond to the GM announcement of such drastic cuts by driving the stock price higher. Just after GM made these announcements the stock actually increased in value.

This is a fool-based economy where the working class refuses to act in their own best interests and instead gets hoodwinked into believing that companies like General Motors really have their best interests in mind.  While GM states that it is just a "communication problem" the facts speak for themselves.  Until the working class understands that a corporation's only requirement is to make money they will continue to be fooled again and again.

Lay on the Greed

Well it looks as if Ken Lay has indeed found God in his hour of darkness.  Lay and his sidekick Jeffrey Skilling turned the lights out on investors, bankers, government officials, employees and the State of California several years ago but when it began to get dark for them in the courtroom today Lay looked for the guiding light hoping to find forgiveness.

Jeffrey didn't have time to look inside himself to find God this afternoon.  He simply ran away to pray once again at the alter of plunder where he lies naked on piles of hundred dollar bills and mutters "in God we trust" as remnants of his third scotch dribble down his chin.  In his alcoholic haze he tries to calculate the money needed to appeal his conviction and then drifts off into a troubled slumber where  pudgy white men meander down steel gray corridors and only the guards wear ties.

As the disastrous duo heard these verdicts another court was awarding the victims of the ownership class $6.6 billion for the investment loses they suffered as Enron "hoodwinked" Wall Street.  While Kenny Boy and Jeffrey got slapped for causing the upper class to lose money let's not forget that 21,000 employees lost their jobs at Enron or that thousands of mom & pop investors lost all their retirement savings on the lies these men continued to tell in order to simply make more money.

But before the entire congregation of planet Earth is hoodwinked to death by rogue plundercrats let's remember that Ken Lay was President Bush's close friend while he was governor in Texas and his biggest contributor.  Early on in Bush's administration VP Cheney did what any good ol' oil boy would do--he created an energy plan to help Enron.  This is a pattern of business debauchery that is still being practiced in the White House by Chief Exploitation Officer Cheney and his minion of mendacity George Bush. 

How long, oh Goddess of all that is good and sacred, will it take these gluttonous Americans to wake from their intoxication with wealth, glamor and fame to the realization that this Administration's strategy for catastrophe is right out of the playbook of Lay and Skilling?

There is only protection for those with wealth and power while the rest of us will be left to inherit the debris.