The environment thread

[mr_genius]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html

 

BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company’s political action committees — $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.

 

 

 

[southsider2k5]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html

 

 

 

 

The funny thing is that it was the same thing with Goldman Sachs.

[BigSqwert]

Both parties are corporate shills. There is virtually no distinction between the two.

[southsider2k5]

Mary Landrieu still believes in BP, or at least enough to not give donations back to them...

 

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard...n-contributions

 

CNN's John King on Tuesday asked Sen. Mary "Louisiana Purchase" Landrieu (D-La.) if she intends to give back all of the campaign contributions she's received from BP over the years.

 

"Of the top 20 recipients from the oil and gas industry ever in the Congress, you rank number 14th," said King.

 

"In the 2008 campaign you were the number one Congressional candidate in terms of receipts from BP after only President Obama, then candidate for president Senator Obama, and Senator McCain," he continued. "There are some who say if you're going to be the watchdog you should give that money back."

 

JOHN KING, CNN: Let me ask you lastly. When something like this has people look back at political relationships. Of the top 20 recipients from the oil and gas industry ever in the Congress, you rank number 14th. In the 2008 campaign you were the number one Congressional candidate in terms of receipts from BP after only President Obama, then candidate for president Senator Obama, and Senator McCain. There are some who say if you're going to be the watchdog you should give that money back.

 

SENATOR MARY LANDRIEU, (D-LOUISIANA): I'm not trying to be a watchdog for BP. I'm trying to be a good senator for this country and for Louisiana and to bring a balance to our energy policy, which is protecting our coast, fighting for energy security and a clean environment. I want to say again, John, this is important. We've drilled 1,000 deep-water wells in the gulf successfully. 1,000 except for this one. So the fact that do you it 999 right and then 1 wrong doesn't mean you throw up your hands and run in hysteria. What you do is find out what went wrong --

 

KING: Even if an ecosystem is destroyed for ten years?

 

LANDRIEU: It may not be destroyed for ten years. We'll see what happens. I know there will be environmental challenges but we believe we have the technology to clean it up to compensate for people. Look, if New Jersey wants to give up their oil, if Florida wants to give up their oil, fine. But they're going to have a crash in their economy. We've got to transition to cleaner fuels, but we need to have the oil industry safe. Transition, use natural gas as a transition and then transition to wind and solar. Even the secretary of energy, who briefed us today in a speech, said it may take 50 years. It's 50 years, not 5 years or 3 years, not 10. It's 50 for this transition. Revenue sharing which I've been saying the leading advocate of saving our wetlands and saving our coast, this is a perfect example of why I think I've been right and the senators along the gulf coast to say we do receive 100 percent of the risk. Let us share a portion of those revenues to preserve our wetlands, to invest in technology and hold the industry accountable.

 

KING: Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana here tonight; obviously strongly held views on this issue. We'll keep in touch.

 

 

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard...s#ixzz0n4g3UeyT

[HuskyCaucasian]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html

 

 

 

I NEVER like it when they say a companies "employees" donated money to a political candidate (inferring they were trying to buy political influence). What does that mean? To me, it means everyone from top execs to the out of college "office assistant" (secretary) making $25,000 a year. "$638,000 came from individuals". How many individuals? Was it only the top execs maxing out their donation limits? Or, was it a colection of THOUSANDS of small donations? BP is a huge company with a lot of people working for it. Saying a companies employees donated money is a non-starter with me.

 

To make me an example of this, just because I donated $xxxx to Obama doesn't mean my company is trying to buy his support on an issue. It only mean I like him.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Athomeboy_2000

[bmags]

It wasn't meant to be funny. What it is, is wonderful. Freedom is great, isn't it? I'm free to choose to drive to work, because I can, because I dislike public transportation.

 

Oh, wait, you only like freedom when people agree with what you agree with, right?

 

 

And I like being able to walk to restaurants and grocery stores and not having to deal with parking, gas prices, auto insurance or car maintenance LOLOLOLOLOZOOLZOLZOLZOLZOZL

 

 

[BigSqwert]

It wasn't meant to be funny. What it is, is wonderful. Freedom is great, isn't it? I'm free to choose to drive to work, because I can, because I dislike public transportation.

 

Oh, wait, you only like freedom when people agree with what you agree with, right?

 

I also like the freedom to breathe clean air and have clean water. God forbid some lazy asses actually walked to the corner of the street to drop something in the mailbox.

[NorthSideSox72]

I also like the freedom to breathe clean air and have clean water. God forbid some lazy asses actually walked to the corner of the street to drop something in the mailbox.

Dude, he's just trying to get your goat, and you keep falling for it.

 

[Y2HH]

Dude, he's just trying to get your goat, and you keep falling for it.

 

=]

[BigSqwert]

Dude, he's just trying to get your goat, and you keep falling for it.

Aren't there anti trolling policies in the buster?

[Y2HH]

And I like being able to walk to restaurants and grocery stores and not having to deal with parking, gas prices, auto insurance or car maintenance LOLOLOLOLOZOOLZOLZOLZOLZOZL

 

Actually, for everything other than work travel, I walk or ride my bike, especially for neighborhood type distances. Of course this doesn't apply to my camping trips, which often involve state to state driving. But in relation to that, I also tent camp or backpack, no trailer homes or crazy amenities to make life easier on the road.

 

My commute to work is 35 minutes by car, it's well over an hour by bus/train, it's just not worth it for me, especially considering I get a huge parking discount.

[NorthSideSox72]

Aren't there anti trolling policies in the buster?

If you want us to enforce them that stringently, some of your one-liners would get the same treatment.

 

Y2HH is a poster much like people we've all met - the ones who argue by trying to find your soft spots, and then poke at them until you get yourself in a tizzy. Note that he didn't criticize your view on mass transit at all, by the way. Just asserted his own methods.

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Actually, for everything other than work travel, I walk or ride my bike, especially for neighborhood type distances. Of course this doesn't apply to my camping trips, which often involve state to state driving. But in relation to that, I also tent camp or backpack, no trailer homes or crazy amenities to make life easier on the road.

 

My commute to work is 35 minutes by car, it's well over an hour by bus/train, it's just not worth it for me, especially considering I get a huge parking discount.

 

BS, this is what I am talking about - he doesn't even disagree with you as much as you think he does.

 

[BigSqwert]

BS, this is what I am talking about - he doesn't even disagree with you as much as you think he does.

So what's the point with arguing in the 1st place? Just because you can annoy someone doesn't mean you should.

[bmags]

Actually, for everything other than work travel, I walk or ride my bike, especially for neighborhood type distances. Of course this doesn't apply to my camping trips, which often involve state to state driving. But in relation to that, I also tent camp or backpack, no trailer homes or crazy amenities to make life easier on the road.

 

My commute to work is 35 minutes by car, it's well over an hour by bus/train, it's just not worth it for me, especially considering I get a huge parking discount.

 

That's good. I'm not sure why you ridiculed public transit, though. I don't find it inconvenient to hop on a bus or a train especially with the CTA feature of telling you when the next bus is so you don't have to wait. And the efficiency of a dense population means that chicago and their metra service to the suburbs means that Chicagoans should be proud their lifestyle is an asset to the country. California's highway layout is really stupid and poorly planned in hindsight. We are not. I'm happy about that.

[NorthSideSox72]

So what's the point with arguing in the 1st place? Just because you can annoy someone doesn't mean you should.

Again, not like you haven't done similar things. We only step in back here as admins or mods when it gets really bad, like attacks thrown directly at another poster.

 

Plus its really easy to solve the problem in this case.

 

[Y2HH]

Y2HH is a poster much like people we've all met - the ones who argue by trying to find your soft spots, and then poke at them until you get yourself in a tizzy. Note that he didn't criticize your view on mass transit at all, by the way. Just asserted his own methods.

 

Heh.

 

My friends call me the groups devil's advocate. I do utilize the thank you for smoking method of argument...I did it long before that movie was made, but that movie hit the nail on the head of my style of argument. I don't argue to prove another person wrong, I argue to prove myself right, one way or another, and if I'm right, bystanders will just automatically assume the other guy is wrong...even if he isn't. And yes, often this equates to trying to get the other guy to emotionally attach himself to an ideal he's arguing for, that way you can make them appear biased, thus untrustworthy.

 

I often don't even realize I'm doing it or really mean to do it. I just do. :/

[kapkomet]

So would the world have to end in like a 3-day span from climate change in order for you to pay any credence to it?

 

 

The Goracle definition of "climate change", errrrr, "global warming" (what do we need to call it today to make it fit an agenda), yep, that's about right.

 

"Climate change" doesn't have to exist based on a cult.

[kapkomet]

That's good. I'm not sure why you ridiculed public transit, though. I don't find it inconvenient to hop on a bus or a train especially with the CTA feature of telling you when the next bus is so you don't have to wait. And the efficiency of a dense population means that chicago and their metra service to the suburbs means that Chicagoans should be proud their lifestyle is an asset to the country. California's highway layout is really stupid and poorly planned in hindsight. We are not. I'm happy about that.

 

 

I wish we had a decent public system here.

[BigSqwert]

I love the right wing pundits complaining that the government was too slow to respond to the gulf crisis. I thought they wanted to let the market dictate things without government intervention. Now they want they expect the free handout?

[kapkomet]

I love the right wing pundits complaining that the government was too slow to respond to the gulf crisis. I thought they wanted to let the market dictate things without government intervention. Now they want they expect the free handout?

 

 

Of course! Everything is SO black and white (or brown, depending on the day).

[lostfan]

Someone's Facebook status the other day:

 

"Bobby Jindal is requesting federal funds to help clean up the oil spill. Bobby, big government is not going to solve your problems. All this spending will do is add to the deficit and ruin our children's future."

 

I lol'd.

[lostfan]

The Democrats are just as owned by lobbyists as Republicans are, I thought this was kind of a settled point actually, but in any case why wouldn't lobbyists be donating to the Democrats right now? They have the White House, 59 Senate seats, and a huge majority in the House. If you are actually trying to influence the government's agenda, wouldn't donating more to Republicans seem kind of retarded?

[bmags]

I wish we had a decent public system here.

 

you see this a lot in the west because it was developed a lot later and had so much more land. They were built for highways. Yglesias had a good point to the effect of : "while you may get angry and not support legislation that is "anti-sprawl" we should at least find a middle ground to try and avoid and remove legislation that is pro-sprawl". I think that's about right. Urban planning will almost certainly become a hugely influential field this century (and probably won't stop). A lot of local and state regulations in regards to planning and zoning is antiquated. While you shouldn't have to mandate walkable neighborhoods, they should be built where there is a demand, and there almost certainly is! But when you have regulations such as mandatory connected parking garages for buildings with so and so capacity, you are forcing 1) land that could be used for business, housing or retail space to be reserved for parking and 2) encourage driving.

 

Another small 2 points, Y2HH pointed out about his commute. That is a big deal, and should likely be #2 for reasons for renting or purchasing a house after affordability - even connecting to affordability. And while in Y2HH case it was more reasonable for him to drive, cities and states should at least work to make it a choice and competition for people to use public transport where it is efficient to do so. I'm looking at you, St. Louis.

 

The second point is for people to adjust the price of housing to their commute. Commute time has shown to be a gigantic, if not the biggest, factor in their happiness (could NOT think of the term for people's view on living). So if houses are a little more expensive closer in to the city, but cut your work commute by a half hour, that's a significant difference and should be accounted for.

[BigSqwert]

Someone's Facebook status the other day:

 

"Bobby Jindal is requesting federal funds to help clean up the oil spill. Bobby, big government is not going to solve your problems. All this spending will do is add to the deficit and ruin our children's future."

 

I lol'd.

LOL

 

I think I'll have to borrow that one.