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Sunday, January 03, 2010

2010

Welcome to 2010 or two thousand ten or twenty ten. Have it your way.
As we move into a new decade one can only hope that we can move forward with more progressive ideals, politics and environmental awareness.
Reduce, reuse & recycle should not only be the mantra, it should be a mandate.
For decades ignorance and greed has been in the driver's seat on environmental issues.

Here in the good ol' US of A our broken system of government has an unconscionable habit of ignoring environmental threats driven by corporate greed. Corporations continue to rape the landscape and pollute our water and sky. The corporations will spend billions to buy influence in Washington rather than take the responsible steps needed to correct the misdeeds of the past.
Two fine examples of corporate greed dictating policy is the coal industry and the oil industry.
Over the decades they spend billions on PR campaigns of misinformation, lobbies buying influence in Washington and teams of lawyers to keep from paying for damages in the courts. Whatever it takes to keep up their bottom line of profit but never to take responsibility and clean up their act.
These polluters should be fined to maximum, instead the so-called representatives in Washington subsidize the assault on nature and the environment.

It was clear who runs the show at the last Climate Conference.
The US is in arrears in regards to paying for damage to this planet. It was evident in Copenhagen that deals and bargains made in the backroom would dictate policy as opposed to any real progressive measures in concert with other world leaders. Larger governments, like those of the G-8 would take charge to protect corporate profits but not responsibility for the damage they have done.
More bullshit rhetoric from the ringleader, Obama, more empty pledges and nonbinding goals that kick the issues down the road. Seems to be a reoccurring theme.
We need leadership in congress and from Obama.
What we don't need is the ignorance of the deniers or spineless procrastinators.
We need to do so much more. (part 1, part 2)

In the '70s we experienced a petroleum shortage that should have served as a wake up call to begin weening off oil and getting our collective shit together in regards to alternative energy solutions. But no, the car companies continued to make gas hogs, ignoring the warnings and bowing to Big Oil by killing the electric car and coal companies continue to plunder the landscape, pollute the water with unchecked mountaintop removal.
Oversees, in Asia & Europe, the car companies made cars that got 40mpg and US car companies began to suffer for their stupidity. President Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House and the next dim bulb, Ronald Reagan took them down. One step forward, two steps back.

When Washington is confronted by issues they schedule the changes we needed in the last couple decades for the next couple decades. They continue to ignore the warnings and are perfectly comfortable to kick the issues down the road.

What we have is broken two party system. What we need is a ballot initiative that would open the process to more parties. The system now lets democrat & republican parties dictate the rules and make policy that serves to enforce the stranglehold they have on the process.
I believe we need at least four parties. On the far left the progressives, in the center left the dems, center right repubs and on the far right conservatives.

As much as I would like to see the republican party as it is (a stupid party of "no") just go away and take the radical evangelicals with you, I realize that they too have a right to express themselves even if they make no sense at all and contribute little or nothing that makes things better for everyone.

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