Leveling Mountains For Coal? Not If I Can Help It

It would be easy to sit here and vent about the recent ruling by BushCo shitcanning restrictions and expanding the scope of mountaintop removal mining. But I'm not going to do that now. There's time for that later. Right now it just simply needs to be stopped.

I don't know the implications for Montana from this ruling, but it could open up a whole new level of destruction that none of us want to see. Shane did a fine piece of photoshop work that illustrates it here. The main thing is to stop this travesty, but what to do? Where to start?

As things stand there are roughly 55 days left for public comment. Let's all do it, for whatever it may be worth. There is a bill in the House, the Clean Water Protection Act, with 93 co-sponsors at this time. Denny's not likely to get on board, but give him an earful anyway. Same goes for our Senators.

I'm not absolutely certain about it, but I think that when it comes to specific executive rulings and orders Congress can nullify them if it's done within a certain time period. Maybe 30 or 60 days. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. In any event there's more that can be done. The main thing is to do what we can while we can.

There's been very little coverage of this in the media, blogs included. Let's all spread the word. There are several groups in the coal country back east who have been working on this, and are continuing to do so. They need all the help they can get, so I've included a button over in the sidebar where you can donate to the cause. Please do so if you can. For that matter do so even if you can't. This one is that important.

Rather than go on here, I'll give you a link where you can go to start finding out more. Here's a good place to start.

One more link. Check out the video.

Let's Keep Our Eyes Open

I guess it's no secret that I consider the Bush administration one of the worst man-made disasters this country has ever experienced. We all know about the war and the blundering incompetence in dealing with New Orleans after Katrina. Old stuff. No need to hash that out.

We know of BushCo's attempts to privatize everything from Social Security to our highway system. There is even plans to further contract out our nation's intelligence gathering to private contractors. Thumbing their noses at the Constitution and circumventing accountability by simply slamming the door and acting in private is becoming a trademark of this gang.

Bush/Cheney's environmental record could hardly be worse. The EPA is relying more and more on corporate money to fund their work. National Forest policies are a disgrace. They are pushing to open up the old-growth forests in the northwest, and are pushing to increase the cut so fast that the Forest Service can't even keep up. A decision is expected to come down just today that would allow and expand mountaintop removal as an accepted and approved coal mining method.

This is a short list, an incomplete list, and intentionally so. Little of this is new stuff. I point it out simply as a reminder. It's easy, and tempting, to start looking ahead to 2008. But let's keep our eyes open and remember that Bush/Cheney Inc. isn't history yet. They have an agenda, they're not done with it yet, and they still have almost a year and a half left to push through as much of it as they possibly can. You can bet they will. No, they're not done yet.

Update: Public comment on mountaintop removal is open for 60 days. Here's where you can add yours.

Read This

I'm kind of in 'STFU for a while' mode here, but that doesn't mean I'm not reading what the other Montana bloggers are writing about.

Often I come across a post that says exactly what I'm churning around in my own little brain, and I just think damn -- wish I could've said it like that. Just as often it's Mark at Piece Of Mind that wrote it. Here's another one of his about the selection of our Presidential candidates by the media that says it about as well as it can be said. Go check it out. Comments belong there.

Safer To Cave In

So it's complete. BushCo wants broader power to expand their eavesdropping activities, and both the Senate and the House agreed to grant them those powers. Congressional Dems couldn't face the prospect of going into recess facing accusations of being soft on terror I suppose. Better to cave than to face that.