Tree Hugger Thread

[Vrede too]

Tell the Senate: David Bernhardt Is Not Fit to Lead the Department of the Interior

[Vrede too]

Tell Congress: Permanently protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining




Less Enforcement: Communities at Risk
Federal Data Show (Record) Decline in EPA Enforcement Leading to Public Health Hazards




Urgent: Add your public comment against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Refuge

[Vrede too]

Tell the Senate: David Bernhardt Is Not Fit to Lead the Department of the Interior

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about President Trump’s selection of David Bernhardt to serve as Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI). I appreciate hearing from you.

On February 4, 2019, President Trump nominated David Bernhardt to serve as Secretary of the Interior. The task of vetting nominees and judges is one of the most important duties I have as a United States Senator. In order for nominees to gain my support, they must be eminently qualified with the necessary experience to execute their responsibilities capably.

Prior to his nomination for DOI Secretary, Mr. Bernhardt was confirmed by the Senate to be Deputy Secretary of the Department. Mr. Bernhardt has been leading DOI as the Acting Secretary since January 2, 2019, after Secretary Zinke resigned. I am confident that Mr. Bernhardt will continue working to protect, promote, and preserve our public lands and natural resources should he be confirmed as Secretary. Please know that when his nomination comes before the full Senate, I will keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about other important issues.

Sincerely,

Thom Tillis (R-NC)
U.S. Senator

"eminently qualified", Repug style:

David Bernhardt: Legal work and lobbying

Bernhardt served as DOI Solicitor until 2009. That year he rejoined the Colorado-based law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Bernhardt became a shareholder in the firm and chairman of the firm's natural resources law practice. Bernhardt's clients included Halliburton, Cobalt International Energy, Samson Resources, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Through Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Bernhardt represented San Joaquin Valley’s Westlands Water District in "a lawsuit that sought to undo court-imposed protections for endangered salmon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta." Berhardt also represented entities such as the proposed Rosemont Copper open pit mine in Arizona. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck was involved in representing other mining, oil, and extractive industries, as well as projects such as the Cadiz, Inc. groundwater pumping project in the Mojave Desert in California. Cadiz later refuted that Bernhardt had lobbied directly for the company, though environmentalists at the non-profit Center for Biological Diversity suspected Bernhardt's involvement when the DOI changed its views to be positive towards the project in March 2017.

In 2011, Bernhardt filed a lawsuit for Westlands that "sought to force the feds to make good on a commitment to build a multibillion-dollar system to dispose of the poisoned water" resulting from toxic irrigation in the Westlands district. Later, through the 2017 bill HR 1769, Westlands agreed to drop the lawsuit in exchange for forgiven debt and long-term access to water from Central Valley Project facilities. In April 2017, the House Natural Resources Committee approved the settlement, but rejected an amendment that would have "barred former Westlands officials or lobbyists — meaning Bernhardt — from working on the drainage issue for five years."

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). I appreciate hearing from you.

On February 11, 2019, Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1146, the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act. If enacted, this legislation would repeal a provision of the December 2017 tax reform package opening a small portion of the non-wilderness 1002 Area of ANWR to be used for responsible energy exploration (Title II).

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that oil and gas development in the section covered by Title II amounts to a mere 0.01 percent of the entire refuge and would generate over $1,000,000,000 in new revenue. This revenue from Title II is important in offsetting costs associated with tax reform and meeting restrictions under federal law.

While I understand your support for protecting our country’s most critical natural resources, I believe that we can successfully explore oil and natural gas opportunities without creating adverse effects to our environment. In fact, expanding opportunities for domestic energy production under our stringent environmental protection standards can help protect the global environment by reducing the demand for foreign oil. Please know that if H.R. 1146 comes before the full Senate, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about other important issues.

Sincerely,
Thom Tillis (R-NC)
U.S. Senator

There is no such thing as "responsible energy exploration" in an ecosystem as hostile and fragile as ANWR, and leaving it in the ground while developing alternatives does far more to "help protect the global environment" and our economy.

[Vrede too]

The EPA is currently accepting public comments on pesticide renewals. Please insist that the EPA use its authority to discontinue the use of sodium cyanide for predator control. Please send your comments no later than March 21.

[Vrede too]

Save the Arctic Refuge Before It’s Too Late
message to: President Trump and Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt

[Vrede too]

Tell Congress: Everyone deserves clean water. Support the WATER Act

[Vrede too]

The Cuyahoga's Comeback
Celebrating 50 years since a burning river sparked the environmental movement

Trump Administration Seeks to Slash Clean Water Safeguards

... We cannot let the Trump Administration throw out protections for streams and wetlands. Send a message to the EPA and Corps today. Tell them we need to strengthen, not weaken safeguards for clean water.

“Biggest advancement for river protection in nearly a decade”
Landmark Bill Protecting more than 600 Miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers and Public Lands Passes U.S. House

... S. 47, which the Senate passed earlier this month by a vote of 92-8, forever safeguards beloved rivers from Massachusetts to California from new dams and other harmful development. It’s a fitting celebration as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act....

I suspect that Trump has or will sign it. Otherwise, American Rivers would be screaming.

Dam Removal in 2018 — Another successful year of freeing rivers
82 dams and more than 1,230 miles of river were restored through dam removal in 2018.

I was a mall part of an ultimately successful decades-long effort to get a mid-sized dam removed out West. The free-flowing river is a joy every time I see it.

[billy.pilgrim]

The Cuyahoga's Comeback
Celebrating 50 years since a burning river sparked the environmental movement

Trump Administration Seeks to Slash Clean Water Safeguards

... We cannot let the Trump Administration throw out protections for streams and wetlands. Send a message to the EPA and Corps today. Tell them we need to strengthen, not weaken safeguards for clean water.

“Biggest advancement for river protection in nearly a decade”
Landmark Bill Protecting more than 600 Miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers and Public Lands Passes U.S. House

... S. 47, which the Senate passed earlier this month by a vote of 92-8, forever safeguards beloved rivers from Massachusetts to California from new dams and other harmful development. It’s a fitting celebration as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act....

I suspect that Trump has or will sign it. Otherwise, American Rivers would be screaming.

Dam Removal in 2018 — Another successful year of freeing rivers
82 dams and more than 1,230 miles of river were restored through dam removal in 2018.

I was a mall part of an ultimately successful decades-long effort to get a mid-sized dam removed out West. The free-flowing river is a joy every time I see it.

https://youtu.be/VtW8RkI3-c4

[Vrede too]

https://youtu.be/VtW8RkI3-c4

Thanks.

[billy.pilgrim]

https://youtu.be/VtW8RkI3-c4

Thanks.

Is that a frown?

[Vrede too]

Is that a frown?

Not mad at you or Randy Newman, "Sad" emoji for the burning Cuyahoga.

[billy.pilgrim]

Is that a frown?

Not mad at you or Randy Newman, "Sad" emoji for the burning Cuyahoga.

Got it. Newman's political songs were so often misunderstood - just like emojis.

[Vrede too]

Greenpeace "swamp monster" at the confirmation hearing for fossil fuel lobbyist, David Bernhardt, as Secretary of the Interior:

[Vrede too]

March 28, 2019 marked the 40th anniversary of "the partial meltdown of reactor number 2 of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI-2) in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg and subsequent radiation leak".

April 25–26, 2019 marks the 33rd anniversary of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's Chernobyl disaster.

March 11, 2019 marked the 8th anniversary of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

[neoplacebo]

Saw a story today that Duke Power or whatever they call themselves now has been ordered to clean up and or remove all the waste products from its coal fired power plants that have been sitting around for decades; this is a significant blow for them unless you consider that the power company customers will be paying for this. So, a mixed bag; a pig in a poke.

[Vrede too]

Saw a story today that Duke Power or whatever they call themselves now has been ordered to clean up and or remove all the waste products from its coal fired power plants that have been sitting around for decades;

North Carolina orders Duke Energy to excavate all coal ash

this is a significant blow for them unless you consider that the power company customers will be paying for this. So, a mixed bag; a pig in a poke.

Not necessarily. Since it's a monopoly utility, it's up to regulators, the Leg. and possibly the courts whether customers or investors foot the bill. If customers, we were going to pay for the perpetual pollution, anyhow.

[neoplacebo]

Saw a story today that Duke Power or whatever they call themselves now has been ordered to clean up and or remove all the waste products from its coal fired power plants that have been sitting around for decades;

North Carolina orders Duke Energy to excavate all coal ash

this is a significant blow for them unless you consider that the power company customers will be paying for this. So, a mixed bag; a pig in a poke.

Not necessarily. Since it's a monopoly utility, it's up to regulators, the Leg. and possibly the courts whether customers or investors foot the bill. If customers, we were going to pay for the perpetual pollution, anyhow.

Yeah, even though it's a good thing that they are being held accountable, it's like they were driving down the highway at high speed while highly drunk and caused millions in property damage but walked away with only bumps and bruises and all the damage is in the rear view mirror.

[neoplacebo]

Or maybe they'll just ignore it, appeal, and trust in trump's EPA to do what Duke considers the right thing. Hard to say

[Vrede too]

Or maybe they'll just ignore it, appeal, and trust in trump's EPA to do what Duke considers the right thing. Hard to say

The people are sovereign, but the Duke never loses in the end.

Send Gov. Cooper a quick note below to thank him for requiring Duke Energy to move all of their toxic coal ash into safer storage.

[neoplacebo]

Or maybe they'll just ignore it, appeal, and trust in trump's EPA to do what Duke considers the right thing. Hard to say

The people are sovereign, but the Duke never loses in the end.

Send Gov. Cooper a quick note below to thank him for requiring Duke Energy to move all of their toxic coal ash into safer storage.

Well, I hope they will be made to clean up the mess they made and not charge their customers for it. I suppose I should also hope for a bird in the hand just as well. The Duke likely figures a bird in the hand is worth two dozen in the ash pond.