Check out our nominations for the most reprehensible eco-villain of 2007, then vote at the bottom of this post. (And tell us who we missed.)
George W. Bush. You've heard of him, right?
Pete Domenici. Sen. Domenici, top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, played a key role in neutering the just-signed energy bill, pushing successfully to remove a provision that would have required utilities to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources -- even though Domenici's home state of New Mexico is well-positioned to profit from renewables. He also relentlessly shills for the nuclear industry.
Stephen Johnson. Bush's man at the EPA, Johnson just denied California's request for a waiver that would let the state regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks -- against the advice of the career professionals at the agency.
Julie MacDonald. This Bush appointee to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service abruptly resigned in May 2007, just as Congress was about to consider charges that she had altered scientific reports to minimize protection for numerous species under the Endangered Species Act (and had inappropriately released government documents). Ongoing review of her decisions continues to turn up trouble.
Robert Murray. He is owner of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, which collapsed in August, causing nine deaths -- and which had racked up hundreds of safety citations since January 2004. Murray insisted his mine was safe (all evidence to the contrary), whined about federal mine regulators, complained about proposed climate-change bills, bitched about the miners union, and moaned about how hard the whole collapse had been for him.
Harlan Watson. Before attending the December climate negotiations in Bali as chief U.S. negotiator, Watson told Reuters, "We don't believe targets and timetables are important, or a global cap-and-trade system." He also argued that the U.S. shouldn't be singled out for criticism for rejecting Kyoto, because Turkey rejected it too. No surprise, then, that the U.S. gummed up the climate talks and watered down the final deal.
Americans for Balanced Energy Choices. Once ABEC, now apparently "America's Power" (perhaps the patriotism didn't come across well enough), this coal front group is the leading wedge of a multimillion-dollar PR campaign aimed at buffing dirty energy's clean image among lawmakers. Last seen sponsoring presidential debates and sending Santas out to dispense coal-shaped chocolates (really).
UNGREEN. The nefarious United Nemeses aGainst Reliable Eco Experts Network kidnapped our beloved advice maven, Umbra Fisk -- forcing her to (horrors!) eat from Styrofoam containers, use energy-inefficient appliances, and live in a sprawling McMansion. Fortunately, with the help of our readers, she was released.
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On ‘climategate’
For McCain, it’s really all about the fake snow
Comments
View as Flat
randino Posted 10:09 pm
20 Dec 2007
Randy Cunningham
Randy Cunningham
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Fish out of water Posted 11:46 pm
20 Dec 2007
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PermieWriter Posted 1:12 am
21 Dec 2007
Eat what you grow, grow what you eat
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Solar John Posted 2:00 am
21 Dec 2007
Solar John
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Delay And Deny Posted 2:21 am
21 Dec 2007
Why all the suppression of Bush's innovative alternative energy programs, and the support of nanotechnology, nuclear fusion (ITER), materials research and fuel cells -- the technologies that might actually make it possible to move into the 21st Century.
Sometimes I wonder if you actively ignore these facts for political reasons, or that the average "Green" is a liberal arts major with no capacity to understand science or engineering.
My Log
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caniscandida Posted 3:04 am
21 Dec 2007
But Julie MacDonald also deserves special high disapprobation, because insensitivity to the welfare of vulnerable and helpless wildlife is a peculiarly ugly form of depravity.
She can be understood to be the symbol and representative of a whole army of people who either have no concern for what happens to wildlife, or actively wish to see wild animals destroyed. E.g.:
those who seek to build a wall along the southwestern border of the US, thereby impeding the free passage of such wild animals as jaguars and ocelots;
fish farmers whose operations endanger wild animals in neighboring ecosystems;
all the wolf-haters, the savage leader of whom is Governor Butch Otter of Idaho, but including as well many other people in Idaho and elsewhere in the northern Rockies and the vicinity of Yellowstone NP, the people who are violently resisting the re-introduction of the Mexican wolf in the Gila Mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, and the people in Alaska who support the hunting of wolves from aircraft (the position and actions of Governor Sarah Palin in that regard are unknown to me);
all trophy hunters, especially those in search of specimens of rare or endangered animals;
the members of the Canadian government who promote the annual slaughter of juvenile harp seals, and who seek to hide it from observers;
all fishers who go after endangered fish, especially those who catch more than they are allowed by national or international quotas;
all fishers who knowingly use methods that endanger the lives of many animals other than the ones that are meant to be caught;
promoters, sponsors and organizers of the trade in ivory, hides, and other body parts collected from rare or endangered animals;
Japanese slaughterers of dolphins;
whalers, Japanese and other.
This is not an exhaustive list.
Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.
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amazingdrx Posted 3:21 am
21 Dec 2007
If/when he dies he should be shot into the Sun. Only nuclear fusion can destroy that much evil.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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BILL HANNAHAN Posted 5:24 am
21 Dec 2007
By scaring Americans off of nuclear power, coal surged ahead, killing 20,000+ Americans each year, more than Osama has killed in his whole life.
http://www.cleartheair.org/dirtypower/docs/dirtyAir.pdf
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gmb1777 Posted 6:06 am
21 Dec 2007
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Sam Wells Posted 7:57 am
21 Dec 2007
Bush really doesn't deserve the medal. He is too stupid, inane and asinine, and has plenty of court jesters and fools that do the dirty work for him.
To some moderate, northern and western Republicans I must apologize in such a broad-brush condemnation. I feel your pain, brothers and sisters, I feel your pain.
Onward through the fog
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KevinMichael Posted 2:19 am
22 Dec 2007
My recommendations to everyone on the forum.
Make a good faith effort to conserve.
Find a hobby not linked to environmental concerns.
Enjoy your life and stop blaming others for the problems you directly precipitate
Stay positive, love your life.
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amazingdrx Posted 3:50 am
22 Dec 2007
But that Al Gore, uses way too much power. Right?
That means Gore's POV on GHG climate change must be all wrong. Are you listening to Limbaugh right now? I bet if you keep this up, Hillary and Bill won't get back to the Whitehouse. Good work.
Just remember how important this is. If Hillary wins, Janet Reno will be coming to get your guns! The Bush administration cancelled your constiotutional rights. All Reno will have to do is have you declared a terrorist. Yikes. Off to gitmo for water boarding.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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RedHawk Posted 1:26 am
23 Dec 2007
I've been saying something for 7 years about him: the way the whole country works starts at the top. Think the whole administration, the Congress itself, the DOJ, EPA, DOE, the Pentagon; then police depts., the judiciary (though thankfully, there are some judges on our side!), the Federal Reserve and whole banking system, ENRON, oil companies, other corporations, even small businesses; the list is not exhaustive, as you say. The philosophy has been: Nothing is wrong except to get caught. And even then, you will not be accountable...so, who cares, have at it, destroy the economy, the Republic...even the planet! And you can laugh all the way to the bank.
A country is only as good as its leadership...and IMVHO, we've been sadly lacking a moral compass for a very long time, and it doesn't look like we'll be finding one too soon.
The Democratic candidates, while better than what we have, are STILL the lesser of 2 evils; which leaves us with evil, anyway.
Sen. Chris Dodd is the ONLY presidential candidate unequivocally stating the FIRST thing he would do after being sworn in as President, is to restore the Constitution (which MUST be done before anything else can be accomplished). He seems to be the only candidate who realizes how serious the Constitutional crisis we are now experiencing is.
Why aren't Clinton, Obama and Edwards, or even Richardson & Kucinich saying this??? (Well, maybe Rep. Kucinich has said something to that effect.) Could somebody enlighten me on this???
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amazingdrx Posted 2:22 am
23 Dec 2007
Somedbody ought to hire an Ent hit squad to target Sauron (Murdoch) on his next Aspen skiing junket. Hehey.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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KevinMichael Posted 9:45 am
23 Dec 2007
I think Al Gore and his crusade to educate and mitigate the damages of global warming are noble and well intentioned. Additionally, I was not defending George Bush and his environmental record or lack thereof.
More to the point, I was attacking the premise of this very discussion. The collective habits of the 1 or 2 billion people not living in caves are the biggest concern for our planet.
Just because I don't believe its right to take pot shots at a single person for the actions/consumption of a few billion people, well I guess I must be Bush defending, Limbaugh listening zealot. You are wrong, keep blaming everyone but yourself it makes you feel better.
Lastly, Amazing, if you are reading this you just validated my point. Honestly think about the embodied energy of all YOUR daily activities.
Stay positive, love your life.
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caniscandida Posted 11:01 am
23 Dec 2007
And yes, while we are in the season to laud Kevin Rudd as an eco-hero, it is good to remember that there are other Australisns too, of a very different sort.
Chickens are our cousins! So are fish! So are other sentient animals! Let us learn to be kind.
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s5 Posted 2:09 pm
23 Dec 2007
You see, there's this little thing called "policy" that decides what choices are even available in the first place to the 1-2 billion people who you think should look in the mirror.
And guess who decides what that policy is? That's right, our elected officials in government, like George W. Bush. Elected officials who make bad policy absolutely deserve to be blamed, for the simple reason that it's their fault.
Blame everyone else all you want, but right now the choices for most people in America are either (1) drive to work and heat their homes or (2) lose their jobs and freeze to death in the dark.
And that's why we have government. To recognize problems and provide a better set of choices. Something which George W. Bush has utterly failed at doing. Hence, he gets the blame. He deserves it. When you suck at your job, people tend to blame you for stuff that goes wrong on your watch.
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KevinMichael Posted 10:51 am
24 Dec 2007
Please elaborate on the best way to correct the current situation we are in using "policy". How is the ideal presidential candidate lauded by everyone on this forum going to provide you with a warm home and transportation to work without destroying the environment?
Also...what do you mean by trolling? Approaching someone with a different point of view?
Stay positive, love your life.
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amazingdrx Posted 1:08 am
25 Dec 2007
Energy and farm policy to stop GHG climate disaster and revive our economy.
Shift subsidies now going to the energy status quo and oil war, over to supporting a distributed renewable energy generation and storage smart internet enabled grid, plugin hybrid vehicles, high speed electric commuter rail, and conservation.
Create a mass market by converting government energy use and vehicles to this mode. Then target subsidies to help the rest of the economy shift over.
I bet you didn't want that answer, did you? Hehey.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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randino Posted 1:40 am
30 Dec 2007
We can do better than this. I know we can.
Randy Cunningham
Randy Cunningham
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chargerplates Posted 3:59 pm
27 Feb 2008
Energy and farm policy to stop GHG climate disaster and revive our economy.
Shift subsidies now going to the energy status quo and oil war, over to supporting a distributed renewable energy generation and storage smart internet enabled grid, plugin hybrid vehicles, high speed electric commuter rail, and conservation.
Create a mass market by converting government energy use and vehicles to this mode. Then target subsidies to help the rest of the economy shift over.charger plates
I bet you didn't want that answer, did you? Hehey.
Sen. Chris Dodd is the ONLY presidential candidate unequivocally stating the FIRST thing he would do after being sworn in as President, is to restore the Constitution (which MUST be done before anything else can be accomplished). He seems to be the only candidate who realizes how serious the charger platesConstitutional crisis we are now experiencing is.
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