Now, we coud be worse.

When I found this article I thought of one word: catastrohpe.

Most likely due to our complete incapability for economic moderation or sustainability, we find ourselves slipping in our efforts to consume and waste as much as humanly possible. Somewhere along the line, we dropped the ball. And now we have been outdone.

Australia pollutes more than the United States of America.

http://www.physorg.com/news171889925.html

Per capita.

Come on people. I thought we had standards. I thought there was the basic tenet that we all live by:



In a time where global climate concerns are being evidenced by intense climatic events and disturbances, we cannot afford to waste time. These hippies think that we can’t out do their fancy science and ‘objective reasoning’.

Hell, I like wearing shorts anyway.

The Environmental Protection Agency: Finally Living Up To It’s Name

Throughout the Bush administration, it was blatantly obvious who was really in control of the EPA. Here in Oregon this was especially obvious, as the national forests that define us were callously put up for auction and sold to the highest bidder. An article published in April, 2008 by J.R. Pegg is worth quoting at length:

"The Bush administration has frequently meddled with scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a survey released today by a scientific advocacy group. The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that nearly two-thirds of the 1,586 staff EPA scientists who responded to a questionnaire complained of recent political interference with their work...The survey reports concern by agency scientists over political meddling with EPA's scientific assessments of climate change and with the science supporting regulation of mercury and other air pollutants."

When looking at the Bush administration’s penchant for lying, deceiving and manipulating the public, it is no surprise that the aforementioned study came to those conclusions. But now, with a new administration comes a revitalized EPA, and a fresh outlook.

Yesterday an article by Jennifer Dlhouhy in the San Francisco Chronicle detailed a rejuvenated EPA, one that lives up to the once laughable title. This ‘new’ EPA is on the verge of declaring carbon dioxide (CO2) a ‘dangerous pollutant’, reversing a previous EPA ruling under the Bush administration.

All I can say is, finally.

While congress stalls on the issue, pushing the climate change bill back yet again, this time to the end of September, the EPA is actually making something happen. The move is designed to give a solid goad Capitol Hill into action, as business interests will no doubt be clamoring for action now that a ‘top down’ approach, which is blind to the needs of the economy and businesses.

While the House barely passed a climate-change bill in June, the Senate has been dragging its feet on the issue. While this can be partly attributed to Senator John Kerry’s hip surgery and the death of Ted Kennedy, these are paltry excuses for delaying an issue of this importance. I think the late Mr. Kennedy would agree.

As a result of this inaction, the EPA has taken the reigns of the situation. In April, the agency proposed declaring carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as pollutants dangerous to the public. Now that a precursory 60-day publc comment period is over, the EPA can institute the change at its own discretion. Now that is some leverage.

Of course, legislators, EPA officials, and business interests alike would prefer to see Congress at the forefront of implementing these changes. Congress is much more suited, and predisposed, to cater to the needs of the economy as well as the environment, thereby reducing the total impact to its most manageable level. And this is necessary. But if Congress cant get it done, someone has to.

In 2007, while still gripped by the talons of the Bush administration, the Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases qualified as pollutants. Additionally, the ruling stipulated that if the government found that the gases were harmful to the public, they could be regulated. Now, two years and countless tons of greenhouse gases later, the EPA has finally taken that crucial step towards sustainability.

Cheers to you EPA, if you can’t hear it, my lungs are clapping.



Sources used-

Image courtesy of-
http://www.newraleigh.com/images/articles/stacks.jpg

EPA to declare CO2 a dangerous pollutant-
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/31/MNM219GIJD.DTL

Bush Administration: Carbon Dioxide Not A Pollutant-
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0829-02.htm

Survey Finds Bush Administration Interfering With EPA Scientists-
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2008/2008-04-24-10.asp

Silly British, Banning Drinking Isn’t Really Possible

An article published today on BBC news piqued my interest. Normally I refrain from delving into any nation’s politics aside from my own, but this was too good to pass up. The piece details a new Drinking Banning Order that bans those with the nasty habit of behaving 'anti-socially' or criminally while drinking.

You can find this article here- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8227236.stm

Oh my. The people of England and Wales are going to have a good time with this one. It is amazing to me that the powers that be, wherever they are, haven't yet realized that the only thing that keeps the blue collar mass (that I am proud to be part of) in check is their ability to drown out the day in booze. I'm almost be tempted to run straight down to Vegas and put good money on the odds of revolt, if I knew that anyone would actually follow the ordinance.

Still, it makes me chuckle.

To President Obama: How To End Partisan Politics

For far too long we have watched the top dogs of Washington squander our time and money away on frivolous arguments and meaningless pandering. On the campaign trail Obama promised, if elected, to put a stop to the bickering.

Obama had this to say in his inaugural address:
"We come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics,"

Clearly, with the sluggish progress of congress thus far, this goal has not come to fruition. Mr. President, there is a bear in the room and there is only one way to deal with it. This Grants Pass man may have a solution for you:

Grants Pass Man Grabs Shotgun, Kills Bear In House
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/grants_pass_man_grabs_shotgun.html

While I do not advocate violence in any form, this metaphor closely matches what needs to be done with the old ways of conducting our business in the two houses. We as a people are sick and tired of paying irresponsible people to embarrass us. A bear has snuck into the living room, are you going to let it maul your family?

Or are you going to put it down?

The PGE Park Renovations: Another Debacle in the Making

After months of nail-biting and fan-mongering, the Portland City Council has finally inked a preliminary deal regarding the plan to renovate PGE Park to make way for an MLS Soccer team. Portlanders can finally relax with the knowledge that Rip City will finally have another professional sports venue where we can get silly drunk while supporting our local economy. Right? Wrong. Like most true Stumptown natives, I would love to see a host of teams waltz in here and claim residence, but it can’t be at the expense of our livelihood. As that weird looking blond from the Matrix so poignantly puts it: “not like this, not like this.”

With the twisted wreckage of failed proposals piled at their feet, the Council voted 4-1 to pass the financing plan. The proposal hinges on Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, who will supply the majority of the $31 million necessary for this scheme. The tentative new agreement looks something like this:

• The city will be paying for $11.2 million of the $31 million necessary to complete the renovations. Mr. Paulson will be covering the rest. At first glance this looks like a sweet deal, until one realizes that this hinges upon the ‛benefactor’s’ use of the park between 2017 and 2035, carte blanche. He will be paying the rent up front, tax and interest free. This means that the city will receive no revenue from the venue for nearly two decades, while subsidizing the wages of the employees and generating no tax and interest income.
• The city has dropped the contentious issue of whether to tear down Memorial Coliseum, develop Lents Park, or build a stadium in the sky near Sam Adams’ ephemeral cloud mansion. Instead, Paulson is said to be in discussions with the city of Beaverton for a new home for our beloved triple A baseball team.
• Also dropped was the issue of using funds previously slated for urban renewal and proceeds from the taxes levied on the players salaries. In order to make up the financial windfall from dropping these proposed elements of the financing scheme, the Council will borrow against the Spectators Facilities Fund (SFF). This places most of the debt-responsibility on the shoulders of Blazers fans, who contribute most of the money that constitutes the SFF. In doing so, the city has levied the success of the Blazers against the proposed success of a new soccer team in a less than ideal economic environment (did no one call David Beckham?). The high-risk, high-interest plan that will result will rely heavily on the income generated from Rose Quarter operations, such as ticket taxes, parking fees, etc.

When teaching me the game of Poker, my father always stressed that I should never play with scared money. Maybe we should play a few rounds with the City Council. The $11.2 million, a sum that will take at least twenty-five years to pay off, is a massive hemorrhage of money from a body that is already dangerously close to atrophying. If all goes as planned, and we actually have an MLS stadium by 2011, we will still be paying this off until 2036. And this is the best-case scenario.

During the majority of this time, the City of Portland will see little revenue from the presence of the park. The Blazers, the major financial backing of the deal, are only locked into a deal with the Rose Garden till 2025. This leaves at least a decade of complete uncertainty. This deal is more toxic than the Millsap offer and unfortunately, the Jazz front office cant bail us out of this one. As a Portlander, my money is shaking in terror, and the City Council just went all in.

Go Timbers.