Drill Drill Drill :(

So the news today is basically the moratorium on offshore oil drilling will be allowed to expire. Forget about any of these comprehensive energy bills that include renewables that everyone SAYS they want. This is pretty discouraging to me personally, since it is pretty much all of the bad with none of the good. Hopefully, one the election is over though this will be be revisited and done the way it should be.

Big Day Today

Today was a pretty big news day. First off is the new Energy Bills floating around Congress. We might as well all accept that there will be some sort of bill that will open up offshore drilling at each state's preference. The moratorium will end, and if nothing is done, it will open up drilling as close as 3 miles off the coast. Anyway, clearly my favorite is the one introduced by the Senate;

"The bi-partisan group's bill, which has not yet been formally introduced, calls for increased tax credits for renewable and clean energy production, as well as consumer tax credits for purchasing energy-efficient vehicles and business tax credits for investing in clean energy like solar power. The cost of the tax credits to the government would be offset by repealing tax credits to major oil and gas companies.

The compromise bill would also transition 85% of the nation's cars and trucks away from gasoline and diesel to renewable fuels by 2028. In the meantime, the New ERA bill would increase domestic production by expanding drilling leases to 100 miles offshore like in Pelosi's bill. The Senate bill would also permit Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas to petition for leasing as close as 50 miles offshore, and some analysts believe Alaska could be added to the fray as well. In return, the states would receive some royalty sharing from the drilling companies.

The bill would also increase energy conservation and ban exports on domestic oil, in addition to the consumer and corporate tax credits for renewables."

This is the exact type of comprehensive energy bill that McCain claims he would support, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for this one. As you may know, the president has in the past threatened to veto any bill that would repeal the tax credits to oil companies, and then there is this tidbit, "Though Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will try to filibuster any bill that includes raising taxes on oil and natural gas companies to offset the costs of renewable energy tax credits, compromises between lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seem to be gaining." Needless to say, I am watching this one VERY closely.

The other bit of info today was a new study released about Bisphenol A used in water bottles (among other things). I've posted about this in the past as well warning of the possible dangers. This new study has found some statistical connection to higher levels of BPA in people's systems to higher risk of things like heart disease and diabetes. The scientists say that nothing conclusive has come from this yet, but the fact is that there is enough evidence out there that would point to the possibility that this stuff isn't safe that it needs to be pulled from the shelves until we have something that proves it's safety. We should not be put at risk because there is not yet enough conclusive evidence that these products are unsafe. Canada has already all but phased these things out, but the truly disappointing and disturbing part about all of this was the response from the FDA. “A margin of safety exists that is adequate to protect consumers, including infants and children, at the current levels of exposure,” What exactly is a "Margin of safety?" I am continually shocked with the philosophy of the FDA that products innocent until proven guilty. This is great for our criminal justice system, but not for the regulating body that is supposed to be acting in the best interest of the citizens of this country. sigh... I've personally been working on using less and less plastic, but it really is nearly impossible. I can only hope at this point that FDA changes it's stance instead of hoping that all these studies are totally wrong and BPA is perfectly safe.

EPA actually doing their job

This came up today in my newsfeed. To sum up, the EPA took advantage of a little used veto they have for public works that could threaten the environment and natural habitats. In this case, it was a a flood control pumping station along the lower Mississippi delta area that has been in the works since the 40's. This project would potentially severely damage extremely important wetlands along the gulf of mexico. Not just for the wildlife, but also the natural barrier that these wetlands form against stormswells. So I say well done EPA. Keep up the good work and fight the good fight. Looks like this one will continue to be fought in the courts, but I'm jut happy that the EPA is standing up and doing what they are supposed to do.

Nature is getting Rights!!!

I found this today and had to pass it along. It would seem that Ecuador is doing something revolutionary and placing the same rights that fall onto individuals and corporations in this country on nature itself. The result being that people can sue for the rights of the environment in cases where there are mistreatments. It sounds really cool and I'm really curious and excited about what the ending result could be. Perhaps, mother nature fighting back in the courts and getting justice for pollution? Wouldn't that be incredible.