or another cave?

How quickly the climate changed for Obama’s EPA after his shellacking. Amid threatened budget curbs and aggressive investigation of the EPA by incoming congressional Republicans, but before they have even taken charge certain sets of rules governing ozone smog and toxic emissions from industrial boilers that were set to take effect in a matter of weeks are now under further study and may wait years.

The move to delay the rules, announced this week by the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave in place policies set by President George W. Bush. President Obama ran for office promising tougher standards, and the new rules were set to take effect over the next several weeks.    

Now, the agency says, it needs until July 2011 to further analyze scientific and health studies of the smog rules and until April 2012 on the boiler regulation.NYTimes

The smog rules according to the EPA would have saved thousands of lives per year however with costs to business and municipalities estimated to be $90 billion annually The boiler rule would have limited industrial boiler, heater and solid waste incinerator emissions of mercury and other dangerous pollutants by half.

Groups including the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute have called the proposed range of ozone standards too aggressive. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has listed the rules among “job-killing” EPA policies that he said he will seek to turn back.

 

However as recently as this past September EPA administrator Lisa Jackson  was saying this about industry scare tactics

“Industry lobbyists have a long and storied history of doomsday scenarios about what EPA actions would mean across the countryside. They have never proven true”

   These two things I know are true; water flows down hill and Friday afternoon is when the Vt Health Department and Vermont Yankee release bothersome news. This past Friday afternoon, reports from the Vt. Health Dept. leached slowly into the weekend news flow  that two monitoring wells(one near a former drinking water well )showed elevated levels of radioactive tritium.  

A Vermont Yankee spokespersonflackman saw this as good news because he claimed it showed the tritiated water was moving away from the area of the water well and toward the Connecticut River.

The state Health Department, reporting the test results late Friday afternoon, was less positive, calling them “of particular concern” because it meant tritium was again found in the area of a former drinking well. The detection of tritium in that well in October raised concerns because it was deeper than previous findings, suggesting that the radioactive isotope could be headed into aquifers that reach the public water supply.

In mid-November Vermont Yankee shut down it’s voluntary contaminated water extraction effort after shipping out, by truck to Tennessee 300,000 gallons of water for disposal processing. Monitoring will continue and an NRC report on the ground water extraction is due out sometime in January. The NRC held a non-public exit meeting[?] in November no findings where released

The NRC’s Sheehan said, however, that there were higher concentrations closer to the Connecticut River as the plume has moved, which was expected.

Check for more updates any Friday afternoon.  

  The midmorning meeting came a day after Obama, pre-empting the Republicans, announced he was proposing to freeze the salaries of some 2 million federal workers for the next two years.

Below is a short diversion from this type of Obama stuff.

Because you know he’s not listening to Howard Dean when he says:

“— you're not going to placate the conservatives,” Dean said (Times Argus AP pay-walled). “They're out to get you and they've placed that as their highest interest.”  

The red bees of Red Hook

An urban bee keeper, in Red Hook section of Brooklyn has found her bees have a strange problem. The forager bees were arriving back at the hive with mysterious stripes of red color.

Where there should have been a touch of gentle amber showing through the membrane of their honey stomachs was instead a garish bright red. The honeycombs, too, were an alarming shade of Robitussin.  

A fellow beekeeper sent samples of the red substance that the bees were producing to an apiculturalist who works for New York State, and that expert, acting as a kind of forensic foodie, found the samples riddled with Red Dye No. 40, the same dye used in the maraschino cherry juice. “…an entire season that should have been devoted to honey yielded instead a red concoction that tasted metallic and then overly sweet.”  

One food author explains terroir ,the taste of place used by the French to describe the way that local conditions such as soil and climate manifest themselves in the flavor of wine and food is a fast rising buzzword that Amercia is catching up with .  

What a strange example of Americanized terroir, the red overly sweet metallic tasting honey given by the bees that frequent the vats at the nearby maraschino cherry (red dye 40) processing plant nearby.  

  Congressional Republicans are targeting the EPA for heavy duty oversight when they gain the chairmanship of certain committees in January. One Republican congressman has given fair warning to an EPA administrator that she will be a regular guest in the hot seat and witness stand. Dealing with a barrage of congressional inquires will certainly do nothing to speed along one program the EPA is already lagging behind on.  

The EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) is a human health assessment program that evaluates risk information on exposure to environmental contaminants. The database contains information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various substances in the environment.  

A recent report by a non-profit research group says that despite much improvement and streamlining under the Obama administration the process lags far behind.

The EPA completed nine risk assessments of toxic chemicals last year and hopes to complete nine this year. While that’s “an improvement” from the Bush administration, “it would still take approximately 55 years to complete all of the assessments that EPA program offices need to complete statutory responsibilities,” a Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) statement says.

Among many problems highlighted are:

Thirty-two hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) regulated under the Clean Air Act are not listed in IRIS at all  

Three of 71 contaminants regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act are not listed

Eighty-seven of the 275 substances frequently found in Superfund sites and identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as “high profile” have not been assessed.”

Maybe it will be more than half a century will pass before the EPA completes the IRIS assessment given what Rep.Darrell Issa of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Rep. Fred Upton a member and possible future chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee have to say today in the rightwing Washington Times

The new majority in Congress certainly has its work cut out to undo the big-government havoc that was wrought during the Democrats' one-party reign over the past two years.  

What good tax cutting trickle down Republican wouldn’t see the following anecdotal evidence as reaffirming, perhaps proof positive Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy need to be extended or even made permanent?

So to those struggling to make ends meet or people whose unemployment benefits are about to end ,be of good cheer, the wealthy are shopping and paying full price!  

Saks Inc. and Wal-Mart may not be the best measure, but their sales do indicate spending patterns in polar segments of the economy. It’s a pattern that indicates a widening gulf in the middle, between those struggling to stay afloat and those that are floating along quite nicely with hardly a ripple on their pond, thank you.    

Reports show that Saks Fifth Avenue overall revenue rose 4%.They sold more at full price noting strong demand for jewelry, woman’s clothing and sportswear. A Saks spokesman remarked that “we feel much better about the overall tone of business”.  Saks does caution that the increase isn’t due to wealthy customers mindless spending but because:

stores are starting to hold the line on prices and inventory and train customers not to wait for a big sale.

On the other side of the town

You have the Wal-Mart customers who are going to dollar stores toward the end of the month,observed a Wall Street Strategies analyst.

Total revenue at U.S. Wal-Mart stores fell as fewer customers visited and spent less when they did. Low end shoppers according to a Wal-Mart spokesperson: "are focusing on necessities and being practical in how they're spending their money,

The working poor (formerly known as the middle class) discount shoppers and those with jobs are scrimping and saving in an admirable fashion. Attention Wal-Mart shoppers boot-straps half off.  Now they can start cutting entitlements.  

In the new Republican controlled congress Democrat Henry Waxman the current Energy and Commerce Chairman will be leaving that post. The House Energy and Commerce Committee oversees legislation related to issues including the supply and delivery of energy, public health, and air quality and environmental health.

Republican Congressmen John Shimkus (Illinois), Joe Barton (Texas), Fred Upton (Michigan) and Cliff Stearns (Florida) are all vying for the chairmanship.All four Republicans are clinging to their old familiar light bulbs just as ferociously as their retrograde views.

Here is a quick look at some remarks that the candidates have made which offers some insight to each congressman’s views on energy issues.  

Rep.John Shimkus has said that

"Greenhouse gases are not toxic – every time we exhale we emit carbon dioxide; does EPA propose we stop breathing,"

He also made clear he is not worried about global climate change because

"The Earth will end only when God declares it's time to be over.  Man will not destroy this Earth.  This Earth will not be destroyed by a Flood."

Texas Rep.Joe Barton famously called  Obama’s proposal for the oil company to establish a $20 billion escrow account for oil spill remediation  a “shakedown” and   apologized to the oil giant. He did back track afterward but he remains a recipient of large oil industry contributions.  

Rep.Cliff Stearns supports  drilling in ANWR and has claimed that this alone would reverse the decline in the US oil supply in a decade. Doubts about climate change science. In 2007 he gave a speech on the house floor saying the experts were wrong about global cooling in the 1970’s and that “…does not necessarily mean that they are wrong about global warming today, but it does at least show that experts are sometimes incredibly, incredibly wrong”.    

What is happening with Rep.Fred Upton’s effort to gain the chairmanship is interesting.

In 2007, Upton suffered an apparent spasm of reason and supported and co-sponsored bills aimed at phasing out incandescent light bulbs and establishing efficiency standards for light bulbs. Although he has established his retrograde credentials by questioning the science of global warming and says the Democratic-controlled congress has let the EPA run wild and that the EPA must be held accountable.

Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh  have attacked Upton as a socialist and supporter of the nanny-state for his ideas on light bulbs.  

I recently took the time to list the number of family members that have been in the military. I was surprised at how long and varied a list it is.  

Veteran’s Day, my grandparents always called it Armistice Day, "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.

What follows is part of a 93-year-old letter I found in some family papers. This letter was written in reply to my great grandfather living in the USA from his brother Amos, fighting with the British Expeditionary Force in France March, 1917.  One final winter still remained in that war.    

A letter from the war to end all wars…

I am hoping that this terrible war will soon cease & I can settle down again, I think the news are looking fairly well soon [sic] & I sincerely hope this summer will see the close, for I’m sure I don’t want to spend another winter out here, the people here say it is the worst winter they have witnessed for many years & I can tell you what with the hard weather & the conditions we have had to put up with has been terrible, but still we must keep smiling & hope, we long to come out victorious.  

I think I must now close for this time with fondest love & best wishes from your loving brother, Amos

Google, googles up some odd marriages, search-wise but what does this say about Vermont Yankee?

The flurry of news from Public Service Commissioner David O’Brien about Entergy putting the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant up for sale found  their way onto an anti-aging news webpage as the screen capture shows. Maybe poor VY, suffering the indignities of old age, leaking pipes and collapsing cooling towers and up for sale is searching for a miracle cure.  

Here are a couple anti aging insights offered alongside the thirty year old plant’s news link.

From Salamat Dok a Philippine medical TV show that featured a discussion on aging asking:

‘Why look old when you can age beautifully?’  Maria Isabel “Maribel” Lopez. Winner of the Miss Philippines-Universe 1982! That was 28 years ago but the feisty actress with beauty and brains has not aged at all. What’s her secret?

Or: 10 Skin Care Steps a process which claims to be science based. This offers 10 ways to turn back the clock, now using a new science of reverse aging process that scientists have recently pinpointed!

Science based reverse aging suitable for any aging power plant. Please consult your NRC for approval before using this product.

  (The following makes an interesting companion to Sue’s tale about income related justice.)  

Nicholas Kristof often travels to banana republics as part of his New York Times reporting. In his column this past Sunday he pointed out what to some hopefully will be a troublesome characteristic the US now shares with those plutocracies.

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. As Timothy Noah of Slate noted in an excellent series on inequality, the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana.  

C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001. Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent.

Well,how’s everyone else doing?

In the past three years US households lost 17percent of their wealth which according to the Federal Reserve is more than $10 trillion. Nearly one in ten Americans are unemployed and one in six now receive food stamps, jobless benefits or some form of government assistance  

But enough of that. Can’t we do more for those who have it all?

Washington — how far to extend the Bush tax cuts to the most affluent 2 percent of Americans. Both parties agree on extending tax cuts on the first $250,000 of incomes, even for billionaires. Republicans would also cut taxes above that.  

The richest 0.1 percent of taxpayers would get a tax cut of $61,000 from President Obama. They would get $370,000 from Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. And that provides only a modest economic stimulus, because the rich are less likely to spend their tax savings.  

Entergy is actively peddling Vermont Yankee. The rumors Vermont Public Service Commissioner David O’Brien mentioned last week have proven to be true. According to reports Entergy will make an announcement this week. Officials at VY didn’t respond but David O’Brien, continuing his policy of active public commentary on Vermont Yankee, offered up his assessment of the value of the aging plant. David O’Brien is proving Entergy Louisiana’s most active broker real estate agent or simply a nuclear used car salesman.    

He stresses the NRC’s rating of the plant though he never mentions the condition of the plant.  At the same time he fails to mention why this sale is in the interest of the people of Vermont and turns a blind eye to leaking under ground pipes, a tritium plume and the dangerously under funded decommissioning fund that may leave taxpayer footing the bill.

What environmental concern does Commissioner David O’Brien see as the largest hurdle to the sale of Vermont Yankee? He notes only one environmental problem surrounding the sale.  

He said its biggest liability is the political environment in a state with a powerful anti-nuclear movement and where the incoming governor and key legislators are longtime critics of it.

"Certainly the political environment that's developed in recent years in Vermont is a cause for concern for any potential bidder," O'Brien said. "That's real. That I would say is the largest hurdle" to a sale.