The Bush Administration is required by law to announce a decision by tomorrow on whether polar bears will be listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act legally binds the government to take no longer than two years to determine whether a species will be listed. Of course, in practice, the Bush White House ignores the law. It has been almost three years since the required petition to set the listing motion in process was received by the government.
So, the Bush Administration was taken into a court of law to force Greenpeace, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In response, a mandatory deadline of January 9, 2008 was set for the Bush Administration to come up with a decision on whether to list polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. That’s tomorrow.
Well, now George W. Bush and his assistants have announced that they simply will not honor the power of the law. They say they’re not going to announce any decision tomorrow. The decision on polar bears will come some other time, they say – maybe next week, maybe later, maybe… not at all.
The Bush Administration’s excuse is that the government just hasn’t had enough time determine whether polar bears are under threat. That’s a load of bull. Just this last September, the U.S. Geological Survey announced its own determination that under current projections of global warming, the polar bear population can be expected to wither down to just one third of its current size by 2050. Other scientific projections show a completely ice-free Arctic Ocean during the summer in just a few years from now, exceeding projections. The scientific data is already available – including specific information about current threats to polar bears due to climate change.
The Bush Administration needs more time all right… to sell leases for oil drilling and natural gas exploitation in the Chukchi Sea north of Alaska. That’s scheduled to happen within the next month or so. The Bush Administration probably couldn’t make those leases if it legally agreed that the polar bears in the area were threatened or endangered.
A little time is all the Bush Administration needs, in order to sell out the polar bears, and all the other wildlife that depends on the same ecosystems they do.
We all, ultimately, depend upon those ecosystems, and they’re crashing.
Yes, there’s an important election in New Hampshire tonight, but the truth is that there is an equally important election that’s held every day. You can elect to wait another day before you take action against the global environmental crisis, or you can elect to do nothing.
(Sources: ENN, January 8, 2008; San Francisco Chronicle, January 8, 2008; Natural Resources Defense Council, January 7, 2008)
Hi JIm,
I need your help now…
Tired of waiting for politics and politicians to defeat those who are purposely destroying our planet? What would you do if given the pivotal wisdom required to drive a stake through the heart of these evil bloodsuckers’ hidden power sources? Would you complain because it’s not your “thing” or would you show some courage and do what is right for the sake of all life, regardless of your personal desires and most cherished opinions?
Use this special “gift” (rosenrot…) wisely…
Here is Wisdom…
Peace…
Oh, I’d squander it. Definitely squander it. Squandering’s such fun.
But Jim, you have to read past the initial introducton where he says “I know my writing is often long-winded and sometimes rough around the edges.” and get to the part where he reveals himself to be an incarnation of Melchizedek, reincarnated. Sort of like the Dattaswami, or maybe that Keith Elam Ray guy.
He says, “The Lady of the Lake burns brightly !! Sate Her with chained and captive serpents, lest the burning waves swallow you in their wrath. Tarry no longer, patience and humility are already well-served!”
What are you waiting for. Sate her, Jim, sate her.
check out the enviros “it” boy
http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Pledge
Well, who set her on fire? And with what? I mean, come on, that can’t be easy… she’s sitting in a LAKE for goodness’ sake. All soggy. Napalm?
Fer cryin’ out loud Jim, it’s a prophecy. You know, Nostradamus, 666, triangular numbers, the Book of Revelation. You’re not supposed to question it, just whip out those chained and captive serpents.
But if I might hazard a guess, there is a fountain in Pierre, South Dakota fed by a spring that has a little natural gas that escapes with the water. I’ve seen it, and there really is a nearly transparent flame above the water.
The high school kids used to go down there to the capital in the middle of the night and try to light the fountain. So the powers-that-be decided the capital needed an eternal flame and just left it lit. So in my day, the high school kids who were looking for cheap thrills had to try to put the flame out. I don’t know how many generational cycles this has gone through, but I think now the oracle is telling you it’s time to put the eternal flame out again.
You really don’t seem very imaginative with the symbolism, Jim. If you did receive that pivotal wisdom, yeah, you’d squander it all right.