Mass extinction coming...?

let us behave as if our descendants lives depend on us.

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OMG

and why am i suprised......i am trying to figure why the pale, stale and male righties aren't salivating....more to be revealed. shame shame shame....don't know how we are going to save this home for our descendants....the fossil fuel orgy will continue until our land air and water can no longer support live as we know it. shame shame shame....
wake up fellow citizens of Earth....

Secretary of State Candidate Has a Major Financial Stake in Canadian Tar Sands
 BY SCOTT DODD
November 28, 2012
 BUSINESS & POLITICS

 Susan Rice, the candidate believed to be favored by President Obama to become the next Secretary of State, holds significant investments in more than a dozen Canadian oil companies and banks that would stand to benefit from expansion of the North American tar sands industry and construction of the proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline. If confirmed by the Senate, one of Rice’s first duties likely would be consideration, and potentially approval, of the controversial mega-project. Rice's financial holdings could raise questions about her status as a neutral decision maker. The current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Rice owns stock valued between $300,000 and $600,000 in TransCanada, the company seeking a federal permit to transport tar sands crude 1,700 miles to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, crossing fragile Midwest ecosystems and the largest freshwater aquifer in North America. Beyond that, according to financial disclosure reports, about a third of Rice’s personal net worth is tied up in oil producers, pipeline operators, and related energy industries north of the 49th parallel -- including companies with poor environmental and safety records on both U.S. and Canadian soil. Rice and her husband own at least $1.25 million worth of stock in four of Canada’s eight leading oil producers, as ranked by Forbes magazine. That includes Enbridge, which spilled more than a million gallons of toxic bitumen into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010 -- the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history.    full article

just for fun....Garfunkel and Oates

NO COAL!!!

my input to the scoping process........

Rail Infrastructure

I am very concerned about the effect on Amtrak passenger service of the increased number of trains using our rail infrastructure if GPT starts shipping coal and using our rail infrastructure to get increasing amounts of coal from Wyoming and Montana. I have had the pleasure of using Amtrak to travel from my home in Ferndale, Wa. This is especially true in the winter, when travel may not otherwise be possible for me. It is my understanding that freight has precedence over passenger rail traffic.  We pulled over in “the middle of nowhere” a few times to wait for rail freight to pass.   I can't imagine what the trip south from Bellingham will be like with the increased freight.

I would also imagine our infrastructure would have to be improved to accommodate the increased load.  It is my understanding that the railroad is only responsible for 5% of this cost and we the people are going to get the bill for the rest.  I am very concerned that the increased, extremely heavy coal traffic would put a lot of stress on our rail infrastructure.  Who will pay for upgrades and repairs? I hope the scoping attention will be very seriously focused on all aspects of rail use and especially the increased load that the increased coal shipping would have on our rail infrastructure. I am very concerned there will be no passenger rail if our infrastructure is dominated by this increased freight.

I would like to know that Amtrak service will continue and, as it becomes more important to me in my senior years, it would be my hope that our rail infrastructure would serve we the people in that way.

Diesel

As a resident of Ferndale and Whatcom County, I am very concerned about the increased diesel particulate in my atmosphere with the increased rail traffic, very large loading and unloading machines and giant ships in the harbor 24/7.  It is my understanding that ships are fueled by bunker oil, which is a very heavy substance left over after other fuels have been distilled from crude oil.  It has high sulfur content and causes serious air quality concerns when burned as fuel.  It is also speeding the devastating acidification of our oceans. The increase of dangerous particulate, very small in size, from regular diesel and the even dirtier bunker oil will go deep into the lungs of all, causing serious increased health issues. As a mother and grandmother of humans living in the wake of this pollution, I am very concerned about the health risks and degraded environment. Please put a serious amount of scoping attention on the extremely dirty bunker fuel used by the giant deepwater shipping vessel and all the increased diesel used from the coal extraction to it's destination in China.

Overall Irresponsibility

I live in Ferndale Washington. I am very close to the proposed coal shipping terminal and rail path and I am concerned about being a conduit to this irresponsible project. We are long past peak atmosphere and it's time to take the effects of this fossil fuel orgy we have been on seriously. From the barbaric extraction of coal from a river basin and all the environmental damage there, to the impacts along the rail transport, to the diesel and bunker diesel particulate burned into our atmosphere, to the 80 acres coal pile waiting to be loaded on giant deep water ships and ultimately burned in China this is a shameful legacy to those who come after. Coal, as a form of energy production, should go the way of whale oil, if we value the lives of our descendents.

I have also written specifically about the huge increase in diesel particulates degrading our already endangered oceans and atmosphere and the affects on our rail infrastructure, but I think the big picture overall devastating consequences should stop us from considering this insanity.

I hope all the externalities, especially the degradation of our land, air and water, will be given the highest level of attention and not just swept under the rug and put on our descendants credit cards.

At the very least, we should be compensated. If the pipeline is to go through our state, shouldn’t the citizens be paid annually, much like the citizens of Alaska are paid to have the pipeline pass through their state? Arguably, the impact of rail conveyance of millions of tons of coal annually would be much more invasive than the pipeline.

To even be considering this use of the earth's finite resources is the height of irresponsibility and greed. We can and should do so much better if we care about out descendants future.

dear president obama

and all who care about our descendants home..... late at night when i read an email asking for feedback i thought sure, i'm rich with opinions and ideas .  i think mostly it was trying, as near as i could tell,  to just plug me in to a campaign slot and i zoomed thru most of it, only answering the odd question.  n finally there was a last question to the effect of what's on your mind..... here's my "let's get started" list.....

 we must save the planet for our descendents.

 stop barbaric extraction. coal should go the way of whale oil yesterday.

 end the fossil fuel orgy

 hemp is not a drug, we should immediately start growing this plant as if our descendents future depended on it. (watch the movie "hemp and the rule of law" to understand)

 quit using our precious water supplies for barbaric extraction (hydraulic fracturing) and dangerous expensive nuclear energy production.

 no dirty tar to go thru our country.

 single payer healthcare

 end the "industrial complex profit everything" for anything that involves our commons.

 all of the above would be a good start

Naomi

Absurdity Today with Julianna Forlano

→thank you for this link citizen steve....i've found a place to go when i can't pretend we are not destroying our descendants home as we continue with business as usual with no limits on their credit cards. by human design, we are all involved. absurdity today nails it.

 i got linked to Julianna today right after screaming to no one in my room as a bp oil commercial is marketing good intentions and sunny daze ahead, kinda like morning in merica' in the early 80's when we cranked up the fossil fuel orgy.  hmmm...what was dead-eye dark side dick doing then????

  truth with humor are my antidote to the fucus group produced marketing rigged to cast a spell over the masses.......

 we are all involved

 

thank you Leslie Gore.....

Whatcom Peace & Justice And VFP Chapter 111 Welcome Author and CODEPINK Cofounder Medea Benjamin

→I had the good fortune to hear Medea speak about the use of killer drones as they become the latest product of the military industrial complex worldwide.  I remember how horrified I was when 60 minutes showed the new way.  It looked like youngsters I've seen playing video games.  Medea speaks about the place we find ourselves with conviction, passion, humor and is incredibly well informed.  She inspires me to keep trying to save the planet so all our descendants have a home.  There is no planet B

Increasing alarm is widespread among activists and intellectuals nationwide about the use of killer drones in modern warfare. Medea Benjamin will address this in a presentation of her new book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, a comprehensive look at how drones are being used to assassinate people around the world, the legal and moral implications, and how to build a movement to rein in the drones. It also looks at how drones are coming to local police departments, and what that means for our privacy rights.

“In this remarkably cogent and carefully researched book, Medea Benjamin makes it clear that drones are not just another high-tech military trinket,” Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, wrote about the book. “Drone Warfare sketches out the nightmare possibilities posed by this insane proliferation.”

Drone Warfare explores the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who “pilots” these unmanned planes, who are the victims and what are the legal and moral implications. In vivid, readable style, the book also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward.

In reality, writes Benjamin, the assassinations we are carrying out via drones will come back to haunt us when others start doing the same thing—to us.    

Whatcom Peace and Justice or find them on Facebook

Veterans for Peace Chapter 111

check out Medea at Global Exchange and Code Pink  and drones at Code Pink

Get your copy of Medea's book  Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control  at Global Exchange

“In this remarkably cogent and carefully researched book, Medea Benjamin makes it clear that drones are not just another high-tech military trinket. Drone Warfare sketches out the nightmare possibilities posed by this insane proliferation.” —Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed

check out Knowdrones for activism tools

Don't frack with my water

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Advice to our youth....???

Geraldo gets how many news cycles??? Is this our advice to certain identifiable youths in our society today....."dress right and be polite" Hmmmm.....

Bread and circus

while Rome burns.....many of the young people i know get their news from John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. this bit from Colbert is brilliant!!!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Republican Legislators Say 'truck you' to Hiway Safety

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Our 42nd Legislative District three stooges(R) [Senator Ericksen, Rep's Overstreet & Buys] are in lockstep with Republicans in the U.S. Congress. They want to allow big-rigs to get even bigger, tearing up our hiway's and putting all our lives at greater risk.

Here are the Bill's they're sponsoring:

SB 6138 - 2011-12 - Increasing the allowable maximum length for vehicles operated on public highways.

Sponsors: Senator Ericksen

Companion Bill: HB 2430

HB 2430 - 2011-1 - Increasing the allowable maximum length for vehicles operated on public highways.

Sponsors: Representatives Overstreet, Armstrong, Clibborn, Buys, Moscoso

CNN has the story of the U.S. House Republicans transportation bill:

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New transportation bill creates safety concerns over bigger rigs

By Greg Clary, CNN

February 2, 2012

Washington (CNN) -- Could tractor-trailer rigs almost as long as Boeing 737s be driving on a highway near you? If a new transportation bill proposed by House Republicans passes, the
answer is yes, and the safety ramifications would be astronomical, say congressional opponents of the bill and the AAA Auto Club. ...

... While statistics from 2010 show overall traffic fatalities declining across the nation, truck crash fatalities actually increased 9%, to 3,675, according to statistics from the Truck Safety Coalition. ...

... Besides safety issues, opponents also say bigger trucks would put further stress on already deteriorating roads and bridges. ...

full article: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/01/travel/big-trucks/?hpt=tr_c2

local barbaric extraction

I am just finding out about a local barbaric extraction scheme trying to happen on Lummi Island. When you look at the video of what has already happened it's enough to break your heart. For the life of me, I cannot imagine how anyone could think it was a good idea to scrape away any part of a small island. In my book, this falls in with other insanity I call barbaric extraction.

This practice is going on steroids now that we have extracted all the easy stuff. We see it inAppalachia, the 2nd most diverse forest on planet Earth, where mountaintops are being blown off to strip mine the coal. And how did we get to a place where anyone thinks it's ok to destroy the Powder River Basin to extract the coal and ship it by rail across several states, the pacific ocean and then burned for energy. We are long past peak atmosphere. Coal, as a source of producing energy, should have long ago gone the way of whale oil.

We see it in at least 37 states(old numbers....2007) where undisclosed chemicals are blasted thousands of feet vertically and then horizontally to open seams to suck out the natural gas. As my sister said, "oh great, I never even heard of hydraulic fracturing and now I'm going to hear about it everywhere!" In all of these cases, including the proposed expansion on Lummi Island, externalities be damned. These industries put lipstick on the pig and sell these endeavors as assets to the communities. They promise revenues and jobs. They hire slick market-sters to bring the glossy Ads and paint a rosy picture. What isn't talked about is who pays for the unintended consequences and externalities. Fouled water, land and air will be put on our descendents credit cards and some of them haven't even been born yet. We will be dithering around for years to come trying figure out what to do in Bellingham bay and GP is long gone. Yes, there was money and jobs and they put the externalities on the kid's credit cards and moved on.

It's time to wake up! The natural resource orgy is over. We need to use the remaining resources to build infrastructure for local grids using local renewable resources. We need to quit devastating ecosystems to gorge on fossil fuels, gravel, water, wood and every other finite resource this Earth provides. We need to proceed as if our children and grand children's lives depended on our actions now.

I hope we will wake up and stop this devastating destruction on this small island in our county.

senator imhof speaks for the 1%

get your credit cards out kids!! yikes!!!!

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"Get It Done": Urging Climate Justice, Youth Delegate Anjali Appadurai Mic-Checks UN Summit

good question....why does someone who speaks for half of the world's population get to speak last!??!

L A rocks!!!!!

Rally for Respect

It was a pleasure to stand with the nurses of St. Joseph Medical Center. I hope, for the sake of our community, that administration will work with the nurses. They are the ones at the bedside and are the most valuable resource in making decisions about patient care. Patients not profits!!!

Petition to St. Joseph Medical Center

December 1, 2011

We, the residents of the Bellingham region, support the Registered Nurses at St. Joseph Medical Center in their demand for respect and efforts to be heard by hospital administration in decisions impacting patient care.

We, the Registered Nurses at St. Joseph Medical Center, are dedicated to providing safe and quality care to the patients we see every day.

We, the undersigned, request that St. Joseph Medical Center administration stop the implementation of the proposed plans for restructure and partner with the Registered Nurses to address the morale and staff concerns to ensure quality and safe patient care for our community.

here are a few photos of crowd gathering

Rally for Respect

Occupy Bellingham Oct 7 2011

I arrived a few minutes before 4pm and witnessed the crowd growing., I don't know what the total was...alot! People of all ages, old friends and many wondraful folks I have had the pleasure of spending time with in my travels. and, so exciting and inspiring, many young folks. I even had a young fella hug me and thank me for showing up,. Very cool! after receiving my Cowboy Boots calendar for 2012, thanks Six, and seeing all the folks in the street I'm gunna go with the hopesy changey thing. I will believe another world is possible.

Occupy Bellingham Oct 7 2011

occupytogether plans to be there till we get some change.

I stand with The American Dream Movement and wholeheartedly support the 10 most critical steps in their contract.

And if we are to reclaim our democracy we must END CORPORATE RULE. LEGALIZE DEMOCRACY. MOVE TO AMEND

MoveOn.org still rocks!

oh and if people still can't get it...thanks Digby for getting us in touch with Alan Grayson.

he gets it!!!!!

Tea Party Zombies

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Today I read a letter to the editor that was filled with hysterical, insane political clap-trap. It was written by one of those 'Tea Party patriots'. At first, I was baffled by how he could possibly believe such absurd and ridiculous lies about President Obama and the Democratic Party. But then I realized:

These Tea Party 'patriots' have been taken in by focus group tested, fear inducing, fabrications about President Obama and the Democratic Party. They have placed their trust in 'conservative'/Tea Party promoters who have abused that trust and, at the direction of their rightwing billionaire benefactors, deceived and misdirected their listeners.

Conservatisms is about resisting change and looking to the past for answers.

'Conservative' Tea Party promoters have taken the worst vices of our past, cronyism, corruption, bigotry, classism and rebranded them to be sold to the Tea Party as virtues. They have cherry picked bit and pieces from our past to paint a picture of a narrow-minded, selfish, self-centered American history.

To lure in their victims, these 'conservative'/Tea Party promoters pour out a never ending deluge of dire warning and conspiracy theories. That's because they trade in fear. They enthrall their listeners with stories of threats to everything they hold dear. They terrify them with tales of impending doom and having reduced their listeners to mindless terror, they then supply them with an enemy to fear and hate.

And the enemy they supply their terrified devotee's? Democrats, liberals, progressives, Obama! Never mind that what they say about these supposed enemies is pure fabrication, they have already frightened their listeners into unthinking submission. Whatever they say is taken as gospel and anything that contradicts that must not be considered. And that fearful, closed-mindedness is exactly what these 'conservative'/Tea Party promoters are aiming for.

These 'conservative'/Tea Party promoters don't want the kind of rational dialogue that is necessary to maintain a democracy. They want to tear down democracy and usher in a plutocracy, run by their rightwing billionaire benefactors.