Man, I really dislike what's going on right now in the House.
Case in point: The Energy Bill
"The House approved a broad energy bill Thursday aimed at boosting domestic production,
including provisions to allow oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge and to shield makers of a gasoline additive from water contamination lawsuits.Contentious issues during debate involved the gasoline additive, MTBE. The bill calls for shielding MTBE makers from product liability lawsuits stemming from contamination of drinking water supplies.... The MTBE provision has been a top priority of Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Rep. Joe Barton, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, who argue that Congress endorsed the widespread use of the additive when it required gasoline contain an oxygenate to help clean up the air. Both are from Texas where major MTBE manufacturers are located.
The energy bill would shield these companies from lawsuits claiming that MTBE is a defective product and that the companies knew all along it would cause water contamination problems. At least 80 lawsuits involving MTBE have been filed.
The bill includes $12 billion in tax breaks and subsidies for energy companies.... and calls for $8.1 billion in tax breaks over 10 years, most of it going to promote the coal, nuclear, oil and natural gas industries."
Yes, because energy companies and oil companies really need subsidies. Also, let's protect all the polluters and contaminators-- in fact, let's giver them money. Sounds good to me.
But more importantly-- who the heck thinks it's a good idea to drill for oil in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge? Who really thinks that will solve our oil problems? And really, do people really believe that doing so won't have any sort of negative impact on the environment? COME ON. I think that drilling there will only provide a short term answer while causing long term environmental damage. But hey, apparantely House Republicans (and 40 House Democrats) could give a crap about the future of our natural resources and really only care about make rich people richer today. Oil companies need more money, our children's futures be damned!!
Here's a scary article by the way:
"The first comprehensive survey of glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula has shown that the rivers of ice are shrinking, mostly because of warming of the local climate.
Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed more than 2,000 aerial photographs dating from 1940 and more than 100 satellite images from the 1960s onwards.
They calculated that 87 percent of the 244 glaciers going out to sea from the peninsula have retreated during the last 50 years and that the pace of shrinkage has accelerated in the last decade. Until now, scientists were uncertain whether the glaciers were growing or melting.
Scientists worry about the melting of the ice sheets because the extra water may increase sea levels, which in turn could mean more flooding damage to coastal areas during storms."
Grrr. I mean, I know I'm not exactly Ms. Conservation. Sometimes I forget to recycle, and sometimes I leave the lights on. But there's something about the fact that our leaders our selling out the environment and our world's future for the sake of donations and corporate greed that really pisses me off. Couldn't they at least pretend to care?
