The Time For A Comprehensive Climate Bill Is Now

Amidst the terrible tragedy in the Gulf and the (so far) failed attempts at stopping the flow of oil, some good things have happened. Unfortunately there have been idiotic governmental decisions as well, so the good points cannot overshadow the fact that we do not a have a holistic way of trying to shape our environment for the better. What we need is a climate bill that will make sure we protect our environment and at the same time meet our demand for energy. Not only does it have to be done now, it has to be done like any other proactive piece of legislation, in spite of Republican attempts to kill it outright.

From RawStory:

Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) announced on Friday that they would press ahead next week with an energy and climate change bill despite losing the support of Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC).

Graham had called on his colleagues earlier on Friday to freeze their efforts on the legislation, citing a feud over immigration and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

"I believe it would be wise to pause the process and reassess where we stand," Graham said, pouring cold water on predictions that he would eventually support the bill.

According to Graham's failed logic, because our lack of a bill to address energy and the environment helped to cause this disaster (e.g.) we must now not do anything for an undetermined amount of time. Of course, Republicans love to block everything from this to all of that and energy concerns in the 21st century are certainly within that range. Democrats in Congress must follow Senator Kerry and yes, Senator Lieberman (he's not 100% bad) so that we do not set ourselves up for another Exxon Valdez, BP spill, Three Mile Island or any other named man-made disaster you can think of.

Gene Taylor Needs To Know Oil And Chocolate Milk Do Not Mix

Congressman Gene Taylor (D-MS) might represent an area near the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but he certainly isn't qualified to talk about oil in any regard. The Mississippian was given a helicopter tour of the area surrounding the sunken rig this past Saturday, and he gave one of the wackiest observations of a man-made catastrophe that I've ever heard.

From The Sun Herald:

Taylor flew over the site of the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig Saturday along with Department of Marine Resources Director Bill Walker and Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama. [...]

"At the moment, it's not as bad as I thought it would be," he said, shortly after returning from the three-hour tour. [...]

What I want people to know is this isn't Katrina. This is not Armageddon. I did this for the Coast Guard many years ago. Yeah, it's bad. And it's terrible that there's a spill out there. But I would remind people that the oil is twenty miles from any marsh. [...]

That chocolate milk looking spill starts breaking up in smaller pieces... It is tending to break up naturally.

I don't know if Gene has ever tried to drink crude oil, but I doubt it would taste the same as chocolate flavored milk. And unlike milk, oil does not just 'break up naturally.' Introducing chemicals to break up oil, siphoning it and wiping it off from the surfaces it touches is how deal with a scenario like that is being dealt with in the Gulf.

Either Congressman Taylor needs to learn the fundamentals of chocolate milk and oil, be pulled away from the oil lobbyists that control part of his brain or be forced out of office by the people he supposedly serves.

McCain Hearts Oil Industry Money

And for his positions on offshore oil drilling, the oil industry hearts him back:

CNN Catches McCain's Flip-Flopping On The Environment

The media is having trouble keeping its love affair with McCain afloat when the candidate commits so many gaffes, so many blunders and flips his position with the change in direction of the wind. Kudos to CNN for pointing out his inconsistent remarks about oil, gas and the environment.

Republican Rep Politicized Russert's Death

Republican Congressman Darrell Issa showed us just how classless and tasteless he is yesterday from the House floor. Republicans are desperate to pass energy legislation that allows for drilling in wildlife preserves and off of our nation's coastline (the part that isn't be drilled now). When you have a hardcore addiction to oil companies and their campaign cash, obviously some will do and say anything to make their case, even if it disparages someone as honored as Tim Russert was and still is.

From RawStory (click for video):

“We’re going to miss Tim Russert when it comes to the people on both sides of the issue of why we have…$5 gasoline and $135 oil,” Issa said during his condolence speech. “I think Tim Russert would have been just the right guy to hold people accountable who would talk about the 68 million acres that are, quote, ‘inactive,’ while in fact, 41 million are under current lease and use, and are producing millions of barrels of oil and natural gas a day.”

He could have stopped at "both sides" and left politics out of it. Instead Issa decided to spit on his memory by using his name to hammer away about oil legislation. Legislation that will continue to fuel global warming and a hopeless cause to meet the growing demand that must be met with alternative energy like wind and solar power. Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time he has done a disservice to the dead, he recently had done so to the victims of September 11th.