While the regime of Donald "Rump" Trump is in high obstruction gear, his minions throughout the Federal government are busy dismantling our future. Here are just two recent examples.
Back to the 19th Century! (h/t P.E.C.)
The Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, slashing them by 72 percent overall in fiscal 2019, according to draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post. [snip]
The document underscores the administration’s continued focus on the exploitation of fossil fuel resources — or, as Trump put it in his State of the Union address, “beautiful clean coal” — over newer renewable technologies seen as a central solution to the problem of climate change. (our emphasis)So, draconian cuts to the research- and- development- heavy renewable/ energy efficiency budget (and putting steep tariffs on imported solar panels that will stunt investment and lead to job losses) -- that should make our competitors in Asia and Europe happy. Anyone concerned with global climate change, well that's a Chinese hoax anyway.
What else are these genius stewards of the public interest up to?
There's greed in them thar hills!
Despite protests from conservationists, local tribe leaders, Democratic lawmakers and even the United Nations' expert on Indigenous rights, at 6 a.m. on Friday the Trump administration will allow citizens and companies to start staking claims on sections of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah so the new stakeholders can conduct hard rock mining on the formerly protected lands. [snip]
In spite of widespread opposition, the Trump administration's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to move forward with allowing stakeholders to claim plots of land on Friday, and has determined the process will be governed by the General Mining Law of 1872, which covers mining for metals such as copper, gold, silver and uranium (but not coal and petroleum).
"The process for staking a claim remains much as it did during the Gold Rush"...If you think your average Yosemite Sam "prospectors" are going to make out in this travesty, you need to picture swarms of helicopters of corporate mega- extractors flying over the range, dropping teams armed with poles and pre- printed claim forms. That's whose greedy interests are being served by this action.
A prospector hammers four poles into the ground corresponding to the four points of a parcel that can be as big as 20 acres, and attaches a written description of the claim onto one of them.
It's not just the Russia scandal treason, its the betrayal of the birthright of current and future generations of Americans that's moving apace in this New Gilded Age of Rump. Rotted- out bastards.
(Photo: Bears Ears National Monument - take a good look, it won't ever be the same again.)
2 comments:
This is one more outrage that is being drowned out by the Memo.
Look, the very ground upon which we stand is being sold out from under us, sacred lands that deserve protection. Generations who follow us will not be able to see or enjoy the beauty of untouched nature.
Pipelines leak, fracking and drilling create earthquakes, mining leaves devastated land and damaged mountains, uncontrolled grazing ruins rivers and streams. This is what lies ahead. We can't stop them now, these greedy bastards. We have to hope that future people will fight back, as we seem to be unable to.
donnah - We worry that some of these decisions won't be reversible (walking away from the climate accords, restoring land to public protection after its been claimed for mineral or other rights, etc.). Which is one of many terrible lessons we're learning as a consequence of the last election.
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