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The Push for Energy Deregulation Threatens America's Heartland
In recent weeks, Washington has provided ample evidence that the fossil-fuel industry remains as powerful as ever in the wake of the Gulf Coast apocalypse. Whether it's Louisiana's Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu demanding more offshore drilling as her state gets covered in sludge, or Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton criticizing the government for forcing BP to finance a spill-relief fund, major political players in D.C. still do energy firms' bidding, leaving both national parties disinclined to champion stronger environmental statutes.
Such Beltway intransigence is certainly atrocious, and has rightfully generated media fury. However, congressional reluctance to proactively legislate eco-friendly regulation is less outrageous than the state-based push for full-on deregulation.
The key political battlefield in this little-noticed but big-impact fight is Colorado, which holds one of the country's largest oil and natural gas reserves. In the state's 2010 gubernatorial campaign, former congressman Scott McInnis, a Republican, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, have turned the race into a competition to see who is more enthusiastic about shredding the minimal energy regulations already on the state's books.
Among the rules in question are: requirements that drillers consult with regulators when operating in sensitive wilderness, provisions creating no-drill buffers around drinking-water supplies and mandates that energy companies follow stricter waste-management guidelines.
To understand how crucial such regulations are in the Rocky Mountain region, just look at Chevron's 20,000-gallon petroleum spill in Utah a few weeks ago, peruse The Denver Post's recent report documenting 1,000 drilling-related spills in Colorado over the past two years, or watch the HBO documentary "Gasland" showing citizens in drilling country lighting their chemically contaminated tap water on fire.
Despite all this, and despite analysts now warning that Gulf-inspired offshore drilling restrictions could mean even more drilling throughout Colorado's fragile ecosystem, both McInnis and Hickenlooper last week told energy executives that they would try to weaken state environmental regulations if elected.
As a former oil lobbyist, McInnis was at least consistent in his "drill, baby, drill" posture. Hickenlooper, by contrast, had been billing himself as an environmental advocate. That is, until he launched his gubernatorial campaign by attacking environmentalists as "overboard," insisting he is skeptical about climate change's potential consequences, and now criticizing energy regulations as "onerous."
But, then, consistency (or lack thereof) is less troubling than both candidates dishonestly justifying their positions with old fables about the environmental rules allegedly hampering energy exploration and killing jobs.
These industry-manufactured claims, mind you, have been previously debunked. The Associated Press, for instance, has reported that though the recession hurt all energy producers including Colorado, the state still "led its energy-producing neighbors" in drilling permits last year — even with the rules.
Meanwhile, the Ft. Collins Coloradoan in February noted that "after years of claiming Colorado's new oil and gas regulations will chase the energy industry and its jobs from the state, oil and gas operators and an industry group are now saying the rules will have little impact on future energy development."
In light of those facts, the deregulatory push by McInnis and Hickenlooper can be viewed as the equivalent of trying to ramrod candy down a child's throat. So desperate to display their fealty to the fossil-fuel industry, the two candidates have resorted to force feeding oil and gas executives goodies — even if those executives say they don't need them.
Such persistence exposes the destructive corporatism baked into our politics. Suddenly, we can see both parties' ideological rejection of the Gulf Coast's "first do no harm" lesson in favor of industry's consequences-be-damned reflex.
That profiteering ethos, of course, originally birthed the Gulf crisis. Now, thanks to Colorado, it threatens yet more ecologically sensitive regions with the prospect of yet more man-made disasters.
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17 Comments so far
Show AllThis open display by pol's of arrogant disregard for the public interest, and absolute regard for their personal interest, illuminates the corrupt to the core value systems of modern Americans. Neither of these candidates can be elected without the participation of corrupt voters. The ultimate outcome is self destruction. A preference for walking death does not recommend us as candidates for human continuance.
Did anybody who hasn't been locked in a closet for a decade expect the DC electeds to react any differently to the BP travesty?
We witnessed the same reaction from the DC electeds when the banksters tanked the global economy...reward the perpetrators and punish the victims.
Do I need to cite more examples?
Perhaps water under the bridge, but the control of society by naked capital has thwarted wise investments in those technologies, if taken as a diverse series, that would have relieved the nation of its reliance on oil in the first place.
The short-sightedness of those with money (or those tethered to its strings) in failing to invest in alternative technologies, while all the while wasting so much revenue on the moral and fiscal folly of war, will go down as history's ultimate 21st century tragedy.
Someone on CD once suggested a lottery as basis for determining the president... although the nation's citizenry has been programmed to believe a great many fictions, I still think we'd see saner policies (on this random basis) than what in fact is in gear. More wasteful, deadly, sickening approaches to the many crises that confront us could only be found in dark fiction. It amazes me that they have become the "law" of our land.
This is why we in this country need "NONE OF THE ABOVE" as an option in voting. Quite honestly, I have no idea what to do at this point. Voting for McGinnis is a non starter, as he's a republican AND an oil lawyer, two reasons he should be in jail already. But Hickenlooper is no winner, not by a long shot. Voting third party essentially allows you no say in who is chosen, but I suspect that I'll be going that way. I just can't vote FOR either of these two ass kissing sell outs.
The Swiss have the right idea. You are appointed to run, it's considered a public duty, kind of like jury duty, and people want to do it about as much as jury duty. Anyone who actually WANTS the job is automatically suspect and very rarely elected to anything. No one ever stays on the job and certainly not into old age, or dying in office.
Maybe it's time we start looking at things that way. Seems that all we get to vote for is one sociopath or another. Great choice to have to make. In this case, we've got NO choice at all. Either one will sell us right down the river and the toilet for the big bucks THEY will get for it. WE, on the other hand, get to keep getting screwed with no end in sight.
I'm really sorry to see my state put into this situation. I'm afraid that the righties here will get McGinnis in, and then there will be NO hope at all of ever reversing the damage he does. God, it's going to really suck no matter which of them gets in. Why doesn't this state have a Jesse Ventura? We could sure use one.
Because NONE OF THE ABOVE would have been our President these last 30yrs.
See how voter turnouts have gone down even faster that the economy, people have long been discusted with the options of the parties of choice.
>^^<
It's not just the 'drill, baby, drill' crowd, we all love cheap energy. But Jesus F'n Christ, do we have to put hundreds of chemicals in the ground to 'fract' out the natural gas? F*ckn' Hell, massive Gulf destruction from taking insane chances. Does stupidity and greed account for it all or does humanity simply have a death wish?
For anyone who has access to HBO, Josh Fox's new documentary, Gasland, is currently being shown. He knew very little about hydro-fracking, drilling through shale for natural gas. And, then, one day, in the mail, he received a contract from a corporation that wanted to do just that on his land. If he signed, he would have been paid about $100,000 for access to his land. Instead, Josh found himself on a journey that took him across this country. The trail he followed was filled with tears, disease and death. At least 596 chemicals, many of them deadly toxic, are used in the process of "fracking." The 2005 Energy Bill provided a loophole so that the corporations don't have to disclose the chemicals they use in the process to drill for natural gas -- a substance that is supposed to be "cleaner" than oil. BTW -- Senator Obama voted for the 2005 Energy Bill.
The devastation to the environment -- land, water, air and wildlife -- and to human beings is documented in this film. The corporations want to drill in NY State and in Eastern Pennsylvania, but the reservoir north of NYC supplies good, clean water to about 15 million people. That entire water system could be in jeopardy if the corporations are allowed to drill through the shale, using the 596 deadly chemicals. So far, the project is on hold while the EPA does a study. But, who can trust the EPA? -- the agency that told emergency responders and cleanup workers here in NYC, following 9/11, that the air was safe to breathe. We know how that turned out, don't we. People have died and are dying. Right now, the people on the Gulf Coast are facing the same declarations -- the air is safe to breathe.
If government does NOT serve the people, it's NOT worth supporting. But, what can we do to make a difference?
Even unfurling a banner, calling attention to green jobs, can mean a prison sentence of three years.
>>U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen yesterday announced a ban on members of the public, including members of the media, coming within 65 feet of boats and oil boom. The ban was allegedly put in place at the behest of local governmental officials
>>How serious is the government about the media blackout? You could be fined up to $40,000 and convicted of a felony if found guilty!
Well remember if he ever gets done here he will be going to work for BP.. He had his papers in when the "accident" happened.
as in accident meaning if you smoke four packs a day for 20yrs you'll "accidently" get cancer. Who Knew?
>^^<
Yeah yeah Sirota. Republicans vs Democrats talk as usual. Shoulda voted for Nader like I did. How about campaigning for Mike Kinsley for your next CO Senator?
http://kinseyforsenate.org
If any of you live in CO and wanna see what he has to say on the issues, check out his site and support him. Don't fall for the lesser of the evils shit.
So-called clean energy sources such as natural gas are anything but clean. The natural gas production process called "fracking" is one of the most destructive to the environment, water table, and watersheds, and dangerous to wnyone who lives near one of the thousands of little wells that can dot a landscape.
Watch the documentary, "Gaslands" and see people light their water taps on fire and learn about the chemical pollutant injected into the water system to produce "cleand and cheap" natural gas.
Oligopoly Parasite Capitalism, and energy de-regulation will contribute massively to the total destruction of the earth. That would be a more fitting headline.
Why are consequences of climate change not considered too severe for fossil fuel corporations and their shills?
It seems to be very much like a religion, the powerful social inclusion and exclusion process, whereby the primary benefits go to those who consider themselves to be one of the saved, so that their loyalty is rewarded with profit and sinecure. And those rewards are to be kept amongst the self selected few, and doled out to the army of supporters.
The damned are those to deprived of life support. Our kind are to be wiped from the face of the earth by the slow decrease in fertile agricultural land and water resources to support them.
The governments of the rich are the agencies that prevent the access of the damned to the spoils of the wealthy. The military is charged with the task of keeping the suffering corralled. The prime danger is that with a bit of organization and funding, some groups may challenge their sentence of impending extinction caused by both external exploitation, and local over-population.
So the well heeled and well armed nations by policy to impose at home and abroad the government agents of their choice, to suppress the native populations and reap the resources necessary to continue the hegemony and survival game.
The only means of long time survival then becomes to suck up to the perceived likely winners, where and whenever possible. This laudable attribute explains to large part the fawning media, and the self-congratulatory attitudes of the bigger economies. Those who perceive that they will never be allowed to partake in the winnings, must feel that there is nothing to lose. Suicide attacks and terror are the symptoms of a world where large numbers of people feel they have already been numbered amongst the damned.
The promise of the world to the promised few, is that climate change, and resource depletion, will wipe out more than nine tenths of the human race within the next fifty years. There is a belief that nothing else can be done anyway. The political will to avert disaster is missing because the current rulers believe they will be among the saved, and will defend their lifeboats, and even destroy others in order to survive themselves. Political will is absent because rulers will not suffer. Also its probably a full time job looking after private wealth interests. The effects following the interests are beyond comprehension.
Perhaps there will be sufficient time and recovery of nature from its departed human insults, to support the few survivors. The possibility of runaway global warming that could produce even our extinction is dismissed, because the earth has always been here, and because it is believed the early results will largely remove the principle cause of the problem. The principle cause is the industrial burning of fossil fuels, and this will continue at increasing pace until our global civilization falls, or fully converts to widely distributed renewable energy.
Ignore the earths history, that most large sized species become extinct, and are replaced by descendants of the small. Ignore that every previous civilization destroyed its means of existence. Ignore that our current means of existence is globally destructive. Ignore it, and extinction is practically guaranteed.
B3NIGN: Thanks for a most excellent post.
Once again, voters are offered a Hobson's choice, a decision to pull the lever for evil or less evil, for dumb or dumber.
For some reason, probably some stubborn need to cling to rational thinking, I find myself continually stunned over the brazenness of the political/corporate class.
Political corruption is such an attractive and overpowering force, the hacks can't seem to control themselves and proffer insanity after insanity--even in the midst of contrary evidence, even as we watch the disintegration of the Gulf.
Couldn't be a better time for Greens to run for office, especially at the local level!