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Situation Normal All Canucked Up
Air pollution on the rise in Canada Canada’s self-image as North America’s most enlightened steward of the environment has taken a blow with the release of a new report from the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. Studying the period from 1998 to 2002, the report concludes that air pollution rose by 8 percent in […]
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BushGreenWatch says it’s a win, but the argument is weak.
Today in BushGreenWatch, Doug Kendall of the Community Rights Council -- which, along with Earthjustice, has been fighting a campaign to highlight the environmental stakes of the judicial battles -- argues that the nuclear-option deal "may help the environment."
Or at least that's the headline. I don't see much in his essay that backs up his position. Maybe he's putting an optimistic spin on things because his organization's taken a high-profile position on it, but still, it's a pretty meager argument.
The "landmark victory," he claims, is that Dems can still, if they choose, filibuster the appointment of William Myers III, who is indeed bad news. We let three loony, anti-environment judges onto the bench, but retain the option to block one, and this is a "landmark victory"?
This is even weaker:
... the deal takes the nuclear option off the table, stating "In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement, we commit to oppose the rules changes in the 109th Congress."
No. It doesn't take the option "off the table." It says the Republicans won't use it as long as Dems reserve their filibusters for "extraordinary circumstances." But Dems have approved almost all of Bush's judges -- if the five remaining fruitloops don't constitute extraordinary circumstances, I don't see what ever will.
In the end, what you think about the deal rests on what you think would have happened if R's had pulled the trigger, Dems had ground Senate business to a halt, and the whole thing had gone before the court of public opinion. I think the Dems could have won that battle, with some canny messaging. Maybe not. But the deal just postpones the fight and weakens the Dems' position. Come Supreme Court appointment time, the fight will happen anyway.
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The Secret of Nimrods
Monsanto’s confidential research finds that GM foods mess up rats Rats fed with genetically modified (GM) corn exhibited health problems including shrunken kidneys and blood changes that could indicate immune-system damage or tumors. However, no one knows all the details, since the folks who did the research are the same folks selling the corn — […]
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An interview with doomsaying author James Howard Kunstler
James Howard Kunstler.“Check all of your assumptions at the door,” James Howard Kunstler advises reporters before he commences an interview. “Don’t assume that anything you think about the way we live today is going to be the same 10, five, even three years from now.” The author of the new book The Long Emergency: Surviving […]
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Wind farms: hot or not?
Treehugger has an excellent photo contest running. They want to see both the ugliest and the most attractive ... wind farms. Go check 'em out!
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The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runoff
Cities start getting creative in cleaning up runoff Catalyzed by legal action from enviro groups, the U.S. EPA has started cracking down on an oft-overlooked cause of befouled waterways: polluted runoff. On its journey through urban and suburban streets, rainwater picks up and carries motor oil, antifreeze, pesticides, and other nasties, eventually dumping them in […]
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Don’t Get Fresh With Me
Regional FWS director warns employees against using new science The southwestern regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn’t like his science fresh. He recently issued a memo instructing his staff to disregard any genetic science about an endangered species conducted after the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act (in some […]
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Bush to get roughly half his environmental-nightmare judges through the Senate.
Well, the showdown over the so-called "nuclear option" in the Senate is over, averted by a last-minute compromise. It will be spun every which way, but it looks to me like Democrats managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory yet again. Republicans promise not to prohibit (by breaking Senate rules) filibusters of judicial candidates -- for now, though Frist says, "all options remain" -- and Dems promise only to filibuster in "extraordinary circumstances" (if these fruitloop judges aren't extraordinary circumstances, what could be?). Democrats will allow Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen, and Bill Pryor to pass through unobstructed.
All these judges should be regarded as nightmarish to anyone fond of the post-1930s federal apparatus, but Pryor in particular is a blow to the environment.
The only bright spot is that William G. Myers III has not been filibuster-proofed. Myers is, as Grist readers know, quite possibly the most anti-environment judge in the nation.
So: the Dems let some truly insane far-right judges through without filibuster. In exchange, they get to keep the theoretical right to filibuster -- in "extraordinary circumstances" -- until Republicans decide to take it away.
The R's held a gun to the D's head and said, "give me all your money." D's gave them half their money and called it a compromise.
It's a grim day for the environment and a grim day for the country.
(Read this story for a full rundown on Bush's judicial nominees, and read this story for a principled argument on why the nuclear option is historically unprecedented and politically disastrous.)
Update [2005-5-23 22:25:0 by Dave Roberts]:: It makes me feel a little better that Mark Schmitt is resigned and James Dobson and Gary Bauer are furious. But only a little.
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Why don’t the big political blogs cover environmental issues?
Jeff is very right about this -- in general, the bigtime political blogosphere neglects environmental issues. This is a lamentable state of affairs. There are probably several factors at work.
First, blogs are very much of the moment. A few, like Mark Schmitt's Decembrist, are more deliberative and slow-moving, but most -- Atrios being the prime example -- are almost literally minute-by-minute affairs. As such, they are somewhat bound to the politicians and "mainstream media" they cover. And those politicians, and that mainstream media, don't cover environmental issues enough. So, the culpability goes upwards.
But still, energy issues come up a lot. Global warming comes up a lot. There's certainly plenty out there to cover if one of these guys -- and really, the big ones are mostly guys -- turned their minds to it. It's a peculiar thing: Even when something notable happens in the political arena, like the strange-bedfellows, bipartisan Energy Future Coalition sending a high-profile letter to President Bush pleading for a saner energy policy, it passes by virtually without note on the big blogs.
Is it just that the particular individuals involved have no interest or background on eco-stuff? Or is there something more systemic at work? Discuss.
