Maybe the Lock Box is Green
...A few months ago I apparently outed myself as a kook when it comes to the issue of global warming. While I’m in full agreement with the idea that pollution needs to be reduced (I don’t like breathing that shit, either) and that oil companies’ hold on the country is frightening, I stand by the possibility that the study by Harvard scientists in 2003 was correct and much of our warming trend might be natural.
...Perhaps it doesn’t really matter, though, because I can simply call myself an Al Gore-type of environmentalist. By that I mean one who talks a good talk, but when we get down to the substance of the issue, it’s apparently okay to do little more than talk.
...While scanning the USA Today Website, I found an interesting column by Peter Schweizer that offered a few telling points. For the record, yes, I’m quite aware that a column is an opinion piece, but since I had to defend myself once before for using opinion pieces as sources, I’ll make it known that segments of this column are based on fact (similar to my other blog post, too). The opinions are written by the author around those facts.
...It turns out that Mr. Gore preaches the virtues of saving the planet by adopting the “reduce, reuse, recycle” approach, but—according to public records—he and Tipper own three houses—one of which is 10,000-square-feet with 20 rooms and eight bathrooms. Oddly enough, it turns out that Mr. Gore has yet to sign up for green energy at any of his homes, even though wind power is available. Hell, even Bushie has a few of the federal buildings on green energy.
...Even more troubling is that Howard Dean and the DNC have apparently been taking notes from both Gore and the RNC and also have yet to sign up to go green. Maybe those extra two cents per kilowatt hour are too much. Either way, Dr. Dean still says that global warming “threatens our very existence.” Umm…yeah. It looks to be as threatening to the “environmentally aware” politicians as it does to those who have a reputation for not caring too much about it.
...This isn’t anything new, I suppose. All the way back in 2000 it was known—as reported by Bill Mesler at CorpWatch (and yes, that’s the same Bill Mesler who has written for such liberal publications as The Nation, Mother Jones, and The Progressive)—that Gore not only makes money off Occidental Petroleum, but helped design the sale of drilling rights in the Elk Hills of central California—even though drilling there threatened a rare species of fox, lizard, and the kangaroo rat as well as tribal land of the Kitanemuk natives.
...In that case, the sale of the Elk Hills was approved after one of the most quickly prepared environmental assessments ever seen by Peter Eisner of the Center for Public Integrity. The drilling destroyed native Kitanemuk sites and burial grounds and when asked about the people involved in the issue, tribal member Dee Dominguez called Occidental executives “cold” and “insensitive.”
...With regard to Al Gore and cohort Bill Clinton, Dominguez said, “They sold us down the river.”
...I can’t help but think that there’s something a bit more threatened in this country than the fox, lizard, and kangaroo rat: integrity.
4 Comments:
I happened across the same USA Today article yesterday as well and was quite surprised. I think it's much to hard to walk the talk so people just give up and keep spouting off their diatribes. It's a sad, sad situation.
It reminded me a lot of listening to conservative politicians preach about fiscal responsibility, only to read about their willingness to spend taxpayers’ money à la Duke Cunningham and others’ earmarks.
You're absolutely right. I like to call my Dad on that very same hypocrisy and he never knows what to say really. He's a big fiscal conservative who saved every penny he could while supporting 3 kids on an auto-worker's salary. So for him to defend other conservatives who are living so high on the hog is really difficult for him, I know.
Though I have to say, the politician's who like to play the lottery and win big bucks and then they are surprised when people get upset when they keep the money for themselves. Seriously folks, give it up! (But hey, I'm nitpicky, so what's new.)
I'm with you on the global warming thing and it is a lonely place to be. God forbid anyone look at weather trends for any period of time. Don't get me wrong. I'm feeling extremely guilty about our truck that gets 15 mpg. Which is 12 mpg when I drive it. Like our area needs any more pollution.
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