Keystone XL Pipeline to be Fast-Tracked by Congress - Both Sides Seeking Credit

I really wish somebody could explain this to me. The Keystone XL pipeline is loathed by environmentalists, and some climatologists. If successful, the oil extracted from the sands it will move is allegedly "game over" for the environment. And if it should leak, it could endanger a major aquifer that supplies water to a huge portion of the American populace. It will move oil that isn't ours, and will not be ours when it is sold either. It will employ lots of people for the time it takes to build it, but won't have many long-term jobs at all.

So, why does Right Wing World have a hard on for it, exactly? I know this is a major political football, so much so that both sides of Congress--particularly Louisiana Senate candidates looking at a runoff--are seeking to fast-track it, and try to take credit for it. But why? Why is this priority #1?

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Keystone XL Pipeline: Lame-Duck Congress Fast-Tracks Legislation

The tortuous six-year fight over a controversial proposal to funnel oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast took another turn this week after both houses of the lame-duck Congress moved to vote on the Keystone XL pipeline. As the legislation barrels through Congress and heads to the Oval Office, President Barack Obama may soon settle one of the most politically charged debates of the decade. The White House appeared to downplay the congressional maneuvering Wednesday, saying it takes a "dim view of these kinds of legislative proposals. . ."

Read more at: NBC News

Fracking Runs Texas Towns Out of Water

Image from AmericaBlog

Here's the thing: I can understand that we need new sources of energy, or at least new ways to get at energy. The stuff we have is finite, and before it is tapped out, we've got to figure out what to do. And we're torn between new technology that is still working out the kinks and expensive; or fossil fuels that are harder to get at than the stuff we're using. Short term, it makes sense to try to extract the stuff we already know how to use. But long-term, renewable energy makes a lot more sense, and doesn't damage the environment.

It's a tough question, and there's no denying that. But what floors me is the absolute rejection of science by conservatives. Or rather, the complete denial of any science contrary to their ideas. Global warming can't be real, because man couldn't possibly affect the climate. Really? Not even after pumping pollution into the air for 130 years, at ever increasing amounts? Fracking can't cause any damage to water sources, or cause earthquakes. Why the hell not? It seems to be happening! I don't understand how the conservative brain works.

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Texas towns run out of water due to fracking

Put simply, there are towns in Texas where you turn on the tap, and nothing comes out for days. Why? Fracking. You knew this was going to happen, and you knew it was going to happen in the desert-like South and Southwest. And whether the God-fearing folks in rural Texas knew it or not, when they voted for all those Drill-Baby-Drill Republicans (and Democrats who seek power by imitating them), they voted themselves out of water. . .

Read more at: AmericaBlog

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Talks to President Obama About Keystone XL Pipeline Project

Conservatives really hate celebrities mouthing off about politics. When it was the Dixie Chicks rightly expressing embarrassment about Dubya, the right said, "shut up and sing!" when they weren't destroying their CDs. When it was Sean Penn, they said "shut up and act!" Entertainers shouldn't have political opinions. Unless they're Arnold Schwarzenegger. Or John Voit. Or Janene Turner. Or Patricia Heaton. Or Kelsey Grammer. Or Ted Nugent. Or Ronald Reagan.

But here we have a celebrity not making a general-audiences pronouncement, but one directly at President Obama (conservatives would dig that). But it's against big oil (conservatives dig big oil: drill, baby, drill!). But Dreyfus is so adorable, even at 50!  How could anybody not love our Elaine/Christine?

Pennsylvania: Spectacularly Stunning GOP Overreach

If you thought that the Michigan Republicans passing laws that could allow them to disband elected town governments was crazy, that was just the appetizer. Pennsylvania is appointing a. . .I don't know. . .Czar? Viceroy?. . .position. A guy from the coal industry who will have the power to overrule laws by various agencies. Just say, nope, gonna ignore that one, here, have your fracking permit! Really, it's an unelected position of lawlessness. This is "conservative?"

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Al Gore on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update

Out-crazy the crazy! I love it!

"Earth Hour" a Bust?

This weekend, I went to Google to look something up, and was surprised to see the site reversed, with a black background. It turns out that there was a special "Earth Hour" being observed, an attempt to get people to turn out their lights for an hour. It was an experiment to raise awareness for energy conservation. Oddly, until that random search, I'd never heard of it.

Well, conservatives are taking special glee in the fact that this experiment did not yield any substantial energy savings. Mmmkay. Why would that make them happy? I'm still trying to figure out how a political ideology with "conserve" right there in its name, has become adamantly against any form of conservation.

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Earth Hour crashes to Earth

So Saturday was Earth Hour, and as if anyone reading this blog didn't know, lights were supposed to be cut off from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. to send a message to mysterious world power that the world was ready to cut down on energy use. Sort of.

I didn't honor the Earth Hour. We rarely have more than one light on in our home at a time on a daily basis because it's wasteful and increasingly expensive. I don't have a million electronic devices running 24/7, we walk to the store when we can (Heather can walk to work) and luckily, my commute is only about 15 minutes a day. In every daily activity, even blogging, I consider the amount of energy I'm using, and how I can minimize my consumption. . .

Read more at: The Voltage Gate