Top Issues: Drilling

Yesterday my mood was improved by my mother, followed by an email from the Obama campaign, informing me that in the wake of John McCain's announcement of Palin as his VP more first time contributors donated to the Obama campaign than ever before. Ah, the smell of political suicide in the morning.
Today, irked by the once again rising cost of gas (and doughnuts) I'm not in such a good mood.
A good friend of mine told me when we were discussing various political problems the other day that she supports more drilling in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Alright, I'll give her that. I respect her opinions. But I see no point in opening up new areas such as in the Gulf of Mexico and ANWR to drilling when we aren't even striving for peak production with the drilling operations we HAVE. Until such time as production peaks in our CURRENT oil interests, I continue to be against further drilling. And I also expect that by such time as production peaks we will also be well on our way to the We Campaign (WeCanSolveIt.org) goal of 100% clean energy.
So that said, here is your chance to speak out against further offshore drilling, thanks to Defenders of Wildlife:
Please urge the U.S. Minerals Management Service -- the federal agency accepting comments on the Administration’s plan -- to shelve the Bush/Cheney Administration’s latest offshore oil drilling scam.

• Offshore drilling contaminates water, routinely spilling oil and toxic liquids into our oceans and releasing hazardous fumes into our air.
• Pollutants like mercury and persistent hydrocarbons contaminate important marine habitat near platforms.
• Seismic testing associated with drilling can cause dolphins, whales and other marine mammals to become disoriented and stranded and -- in some cases -- even die.
• Massive spills that can result from drilling and increased tanker traffic can kill dolphins, seabirds, sea turtles, fish and marine mammals.

And while the environmental damage of offshore drilling may be significant, the savings to U.S. consumers would not be. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that drilling off our coasts would have "no significant" impact on domestic production until 2030, and even then “impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant."

Tell the MMS that we don't need more drilling, what we need is a new way of thinking!

Sarah Palin VP?!?!

You have GOT TO BE F*CKING KIDDING ME.
I go on vacation, and the world goes crazy? I figured it would survive without me for a week, at least!
What in the name of all that is holy is John McCain thinking? Palin is more of a right wing whack job than he is! The woman's track record as a Governor (an office she's only held for TWO YEARS) is appalling. Her policies on conservation atrocious. And McCain wants us to believe that he cares about Polar Bears and Wolves and the sanctity of our National Parks?
Here's what Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen had to say:

Shocking Choice by John McCain

WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

“Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.

“Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.

“This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.”

And I thought the Bush administration was bad! All I can say is I hope that by making this utterly idiotic choice (an obvious push to get female voters!) John McCain has just committed political suicide.

Aerial Gunning Update: Please help stop it!

I wish I had the time to keep up with my goal of four or more LG articles a month, but with spring coming and the days getting longer my own days get longer as well! Never the less, here is the latest on Alaskan Governor Palin's anti-democratic attempts to continue the aerial slaughter of wolves and bears in Alaska.
As I've mentioned before, twice in the past when it has come to a vote Alaskan voters have voted AGAINST aerial gunning, and twice they have had their decision overturned. What is the point of living in a democracy if our votes mean nothing? And horror of horrors, Governor Palin is being considered for VICE PRESIDENCY? That's it. I'm moving to Canada. Mr. McCain, you should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking a bout it! Governor Sarah Palin is a politician of the worst sort, running smear campaigns against defenseless wildlife, and secretly trying to push bills through legislature that would strip Alaskan voters of their right to weigh in on key wildlife issues such as aerial gunning! Even if you care nothing for wolves it would be wrong to allow this sort of fascist manipulation to continue.
As always you can donate to Defenders of Wildlife to help them continue to run ads exposing Governor Palin's attempts to neuter Alaskan voters, or you can simply personalize and sign this handy petition.