Comments KarenLOrr has made

For Love of Money

The following is excerpted from 'For Love of Money.'

Kenneth Weiss, author of the LA Times article who broke the Gelbaum-Sierra Club story, quoted what David Gelbaum said to Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope:

"I did tell Carl Pope in 1994 or 1995 that if they ever came out anti-immigration, they would never get a dollar from me."

In 1996 and again in 1998, the Club's leaders proved their loyalty to Gelbaum's position on immigration, first by enacting a policy of neutrality on immigration and then by aggressively opposing a referendum to overturn that policy. In 2000 and 2001, Gelbaum rewarded the Club with total donations to the Sierra Club Foundation exceeding $100 million. In 2004 and 2005, the Club's top leaders and management showed their gratitude for the donations by stifling dissent and vehemently opposing member efforts to enact an immigration reduction policy.

Mr. Gelbaum is entitled to restrict how his donations to the Sierra Club Foundation are spent. But he should NOT be permitted to influence how other members' dues or donations are spent or to dictate policy choices via the threat of withholding contributions. That is completely inappropriate.

Even worse, Sierra Club leaders accepted Gelbaum's conditions in secret and forced a modification of the Club's policy to conform to his wishes. Furthermore, Club leaders certainly shouldn't have misrepresented immigration reductionists as anti-immigrant or racist in order to guarantee Gelbaum's donations; there is nothing inherently racist or anti-immigrant about sustainable levels of immigration.

Worst of all, the U.S. population continues to grow by about 3 million people per year, of which nearly half are immigrants, and two-thirds of the growth is a result of immigration, if the children of immigrants are included. Our forests continue to be clearcut to provide construction materials, our groundwater is depleted to provide water for our growing population, we grow more and more dependent on foreign sources of oil, and we are unable to reduce our output of greenhouse gases, all thanks to our burgeoning population.

We don't like it when the oil, timber, coal, and nuclear power industries oppose environmental reform, yet we understand why they do it: for the love of money. Is it any better when the Sierra Club opposes environmental reform for the love of money?

For more from SUSPS, click below
 http://www.susps.org/

Also see

U.S. Immigration: The Great Sierra Divide
http://www.capsweb.org/newsroom/media_coverage/oberlink_U ...On Carl Pope stepping down from helm of the Sierra Club posted 10 months, 1 week ago 24 Responses

Cellulosic ethanol is the worst

 Stanford engineer Mark Z. Jacobson has conducted the first quantitative evaluation of the major energy solutions, assessing not only their potential for delivering energy for electricity and vehicles, but also their impacts on global warming, human health, energy security, water supply, space requirements, wildlife, water pollution, reliability and sustainability. His findings indicate that the options that are getting the most attention are between 25 to 1,000 times more polluting than the best available options.]

The best ways to improve energy security, mitigate global warming and reduce the number of deaths caused by air pollution are blowing in the wind and rippling in the water, not growing on prairies or glowing inside nuclear power plants, says Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford.

Mark Jacobson recommends against nuclear, coal with carbon capture and sequestration, corn ethanol and cellulosic ethanol, which is made of prairie grass. In fact, he found cellulosic ethanol was worse than corn ethanol because it results in more air pollution, requires more land to produce and causes more damage to wildlife.

Best to worst vehicle options according to Jacobson's calculations:

1. Wind-BEVs (battery electric vehicles) 2. wind-HFCVs (hydrogen fuel cell vehicles) 3.CSP-BEVs 4. geothermal-BEVs 5. tidal-BEVs 6. solar PV-BEVs 7. Wave-BEVs 8.hydroelectric-BEVs 9. a tie between nuclear- BEVs and coal-CCS-BEVs 11. corn-E85 12.cellulosic-E85.

See ~

WIND, WATER, AND SUN BEATS OUT BIOFUEL, NUCLEAR, AND COAL
http://www.precaution.org/lib/prn_solar_wind_beat_coal_nu ...On New energy chief's enthusiasm for cellulosic ethanol makes me uncomfortable posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 61 Responses

Secretary of Agriculture - NO to Vilsack

Ten thousand organic consumers signed OCA's petition last week to Barack Obama, asking him to take a clear position in support of organic agriculture. Thanks to all who joined in to deliver this resounding message to the incoming administration. Unfortunately, it is now being widely reported that former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is being considered for the Secretary of Agriculture position in the Obama Administration. Vilsack is a notorious cheerleader for genetically engineered crops and chemical and energy-intensive industrial agriculture--certainly no friend of organic food and farming. Tom Vilsack's appointment would represent a major disappointment for the Organic Consumers Association and its members. But there is still time to make your voice heard.

Please sign the letter below and pass this message along to friends and colleagues.

Dear President-Elect Obama,

We, the undersigned, are urging you not to appoint former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture or any other position in your new administration.

-Vilsack has been an ardent supporter of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, especially pharmaceutical corn. These crops pose huge risks to human health and the environment.

Vilsack is a noted proponent of unsustainable and dangerous genetically engineered crops. Even the biggest biotechnology industry group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, named Vilsack Governor of the Year. He was also the founder and former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership. Organic farming does not allow for the use of genetically engineered crops. The Organic Consumers Association is opposed to genetic engineering and supports mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods.

-Vilsack has fought strongly to limit states' rights to regulate seed, GE crops, pharma crops and other proactive measures. We believe that municipalities and states have the right to enact laws that protect their welfare, health and the environment.

-Vilsack has a glowing reputation as being a shill for agribusiness biotech giants like Monsanto. Corporations like Monsanto are inherently undemocratic and threaten human health and sustainable agriculture with their toxic products.

-Vilsack is an ardent supporter of corn and soy based biofuels, which use as much or more fossil energy to produce as they generate, while driving up world food prices and literally starving the poor.

We urge you to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture that will support the expansion of organic food and farming, while remaining accountable to citizens and not to corporations.

Sincerely,

To sign the letter, click here:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/petition.jsp?pet ...

Further information

Iowa has the worst record for enforcing pollution regulations.

An Iowa Sierra Club document says that rivers all over Iowa are turning
into cesspools from corporate animal factories (3,000 CAFO's). Iowa is
the 2nd largest livestock state with 3,023,800 pigs and 3,950,000 cattle
amongst 2,982,000 people.

The Iowa River is one of the Most Endangered Rivers in America for 2007.

Vilsack could have but did not draw up stricter  state  pollution regulations
of  CAFO's  than EPA regs.  Vilsack sided with polluters against public health.

A 2002 study by the University of Iowa and Iowa State University
said Iowa Dept of Natural Resources needed to act to approve protections
of  public health near confined animal factories (CAFO's).

He  lowered the recommended air quality standards allowing twice
as much health-threatening levels of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, particulates
and odors emitted from animal factory sewage lagoons, confinement houses
and the fields manure is spread on.

As governor, Vilsack set a weaker standard than  the surrounding states.

Vilsack is a poor choice for Agriculture Secretary.

December McSherry
On New research demonstrates that higher infant mortality rates surround CAFOs posted 1 year ago 3 Responses

'Oh dear,' is right

This is lifted from the Obama-Biden NEW ENERGY FOR AMERICA section of their campaign website.

• Mandate All New Vehicles are Flexible Fuel Vehicles. Sustainably‐produced biofuels can create jobs, protect the environment and help end oil addiction - but only if Americans drive cars that will take such fuels. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work with Congress and auto companies to ensure that all new vehicles have FFV capability - the capability by the end of his first term in office.

• Develop the Next Generation of Sustainable Biofuels and Infrastructure. Advances in biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, biobutenol and other new technologies that produce synthetic petroleum from sustainable feedstocks offer tremendous potential to break our addiction to oil. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work to ensure that these clean alternative fuels are developed and incorporated into our national supply as soon as possible. They will require at least 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels by 2030.

Dexter, Grant & Roy

Murderer Dexter Morgan is working on the population problem in South Florida.

Florida leftneck Grant Peeples sings about the environmental wreckage that is Florida

San Franciscan Roy Zimmerman sings about the disasters that befall him after hugging a tree.

They're all funny.  Have a go ~

Come On Down To The Sunshine State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDgHSVYiq4M

To Be A Liberal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3qgiNPVpSM

'Dexter'on Showtime
http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/home.doOn King of the Hill takes on green posted 1 year, 1 month ago 16 Responses

Know Who You're Dealing With

(a Continuum of Types of Organizations Affecting Environmental Matters)

This chart of environmental organizations shows the degree to which they're compromised by their funders.  
 http://www.corporations.org/system/envirogrouptypes.pdf

The chart was made before the Sierra Club-Clorox deal.  In light of the Sierra Club's Clorox deal, 'Project Removal,' 'homegrown biofuel' promotions, etc., the chart should be updated - moving Sierra Club from the 'moderately compromised' column to the 'highly compromised' column.

The Traverse Group of the Michigan Sierra Club recently resigned over the National Sierra Club-Clorox partnership.  The Traverse Group fought Clorox pollution for years.

This AP article has appeared all over - from the local Traverse City paper to the International Herald-Tribune.  In case you haven't read it, here it is:

'Sierra Club's Clorox deal feels dirty to members'
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/20/B ...

Also see 'Bleached Out/Why We Quit the Sierra Club' by Monica Evans, chairwoman of the former Traverse Group of the Sierra Club
http://www.northernexpress.com/editorial/features.asp?id= ...

Some of you might recall that the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club was 'suspended' due in part to it's opposition to the National Sierra Club-Clorox partnership.

'The Clorox Coup" by Betsy Roberts, chairwoman of the former Florida Chapter, and Karen Orr, Political Chairwoman of the Former Florida Chapter
http://www.counterpunch.org/orr03312008.htmlOn Has EDF spun out of environmentalism? posted 1 year, 4 months ago 19 Responses

Shut Down the Tar Sands

To find out more about tar sands, read "Buying the Green Movement: Scouring Scum and Tar from the Bottom of the Pit" by Peter Cizek
http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2006/07/07/557/

From the Oil Sands Truth website ~

Oil Sands Truth exists to disseminate information regarding the environmental, social and economic impacts of tar sands development projects being proposed and currently in progress.

Oilsandstruth.org holds the view that nothing short of a full shut down of all related projects in all corners of North America can realistically tackle climate change and environmental devastation.
http://oilsandstruth.org/
On Tar sands are hardly 'environmentally responsible' posted 1 year, 7 months ago 5 Responses

Earth's carrying capacity has reached its' apex

In his 4/23/08 article for Natural News titled, "The Biofuels Scam, Food Shortages and the Coming Collapse of the Human Population," Mike Adams touches upon the human population issue.

Excerpt:

The carrying capacity of planet Earth has reached its apex

The truth about all this, folks, is that the resources on our planet can only support a limited population, and I think we've over-populated the planet to a point where we're wiping out non-renewable resources at an alarming rate. This means a population correction is due. When there are too many people consuming too much food, using up too much water and burning too much oil, you can get away with a rapid expansion for a little while (a few decades, perhaps), but eventually reality kicks in and there's a global population correction that brings the population size back down to levels that can be sustained on the planet.

It's not a pretty picture. We're talking about the loss of a billion human lives, perhaps more. This is what's coming. It's as predictable as the laws of gravity. When you over-populate a planet and use up all the resources, the population eventually finds itself in a resource panic, and mass death ensues. You can observe the same thing with colonies of bacteria on a nutrient-rich petri dish: They will expand at an accelerating rate, multiplying their numbers until there's no more food left in the petri dish, and then they will experience a massive die-off. You might say that human beings are smarter than bacteria, and that's true, but as current events are clearly demonstrating, they're not much wiser! They still doom themselves to the same stupid fate by refusing to look at the long-term implications of their actions.

Humans are really good at making babies and eating food, but they're terrible at thinking even ten years ahead about the implications of their present-day decisions. That's why the global population control masterminds call people "feeders and breeders," by the way. Those are the two things human beings do extremely well: Fornicate and clean their plate. (Not necessarily in that order, though...)

The economies of our world have, sadly, been based on economic models that strongly encourage this kind of consumption and growth. We live in a "throwaway economy," where people are encouraged to consume and expend as much as possible. No corporation makes money teaching people how to use less. And so we've pushed for aggressive expansion since about the 1950's: Build more, eat more, consume more. We've turned farm lands into housing tracts, and rainforests into biofuel fields. We've over-fished the oceans, over-farmed the soils and over-extended ourselves to the point where a population correction is inevitable. We, the human race, have painted ourselves into a desperate corner, and the simple fact of the matter is that unless we quickly discover some new energy technology that provides the world with cheap, plentiful energy, we are headed straight towards a global population implosion that will leave a billion or more people dead.

And biofuels, of course, are no answer for this problem. You cannot grow enough corn to solve the problems of an expansionist, imperialistic race of beings (that's us humans) who have taken over the planet like a cancer tumor, wiped out countless species, destroyed huge swaths of natural rainforests, poisoned the oceans and rivers, polluted the skies and, at every opportunity, betrayed the very Earth that has given us a home in the first place. Humans can betray Mother Nature for a while, but in the end, we will pay a dear price for our own arrogance, greed and lack of vision. The human race is being sent back to kindergarten, where it needs to learn some basic lessons about living in harmony with the planet. Lessons like: Don't use up all the resources in a few generations. Don't think you're smarter than nature. And never forget how much Mother Nature does for us all for free! (Like pollinating the crops, producing oxygen, cleaning the air, water, etc. Read the book Mycelium Running to learn more...)

In time, we will either learn these lessons, or we will perish. It's really as simple as that. And all these suddenly-popular "save the planet" efforts we've seen by corporations recently are just a joke. We can't save the planet. The planet will be fine after we're gone, folks. What we're trying to save here is human civilization. The very idea that we think we can "save the planet" is arrogant all by itself. All we can do is respect the planet and find ways to live with it as polite guests living on a generous host.

Whether humans survive the next hundred years or not, planet Earth certainly will. And frankly, the planet will do much better without us. With humans gone, the Earth would quickly be restored to a vibrant, pristine state, full of life and abundance. The Earth doesn't need us, folks. But we, of course, certainly need the Earth. The real question is this: Can we learn to play nice and treat the Earth with respect? If not, we won't be around much longer to worry about it.

Snip

Complete article at Natural News
http://www.naturalnews.com/023091.html On Let's raze more Amazon rainforest! posted 1 year, 7 months ago 24 Responses

Come on Down to the Sunshine State

You're welcome, Canis.  John Prine is just wonderful.

Grant Peeples has recently come back on the music scene in Florida.  Grant submitted his rollicking song, "Come on Down to the Sunshine State" to the New State Song of Florida Contest.  Some thought Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home" wasn't quite the ticket anymore.

Way down upon the  Swanee River.....
http://www.flheritage.com/KIDS/symbol.cfm?page=2&id=1 ...

Well, Grant didn't win the state song competition and we might be keeping 'Swanee River" after all.  Read about it here:
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080418/GUARDIAN/8 ...

You can see Grant perform his Sunshine State Song and read about Grant on his website:
http://www.grantpeeples.com/

Here are the lyrics to Grant's New State of Florida Song ~

Sunshine State

In the middle of the winter when you need a vacation, come where the sun and sand are waiting, right down here at the bottom of the nation, I'm talking about Florida.

Yea, come on down to the Sunshine State. Bring your money, check out the place.
Chances are you'll decide to stay Hell, everybody else does

Yea there's a thousand new residents coming down everyday, they're all moving in and buying up the place, filling in the swamps and making more space, cause man we're starting to need it

We got snake farms and alligator wrestlers, more state executions than anywhere but Texas, plus shuffleboard and wet T-shirt concessions, man, ya gotta see it to believe it

Come on down to the Sunshine State. Bring your money, check out the place.
Chances are you'll decide to stay Hell, everybody else does

We're number one is lightning strikes, snake bites, alligator and shark attacks. With a million illegal alliens to sack the trash, clean toilets, wash dishes and cut the grass, I'm telling you: its heaven

We feature one golf course for every man, woman and child. When we cut down the trees you can see for miles. Don't it seem like a place you could kick back a while? Dude! It just don't get no better!

Come on down to the sunshine State. Bring your money, check out the place.
Chances are you'll decide to stay Hell, everybody else does

There's federally subsidized sugar plantations, bigger and richer than most European nations. They own the politicians and hire all the Haitians........Its what you call a sweat deal

Everybody thought it was some kinda joke. When we said it ain't over till your brother counts the votes, but eight years later they're still blowing smoke, its what you call a State Steal

Come on down to the sunshine State. Bring your money check out the place.
Chances are you'll decide to stay Hell, everybody else does

Our school system rates higher than Mississippi and Louisiana, and though we're not quite up there with Arkansas and Alabama, 10 percent of our `chiren' spend time in the slammer, and that's gotta count for SOMEthing

You see we ain't go not state income tax, but we just screw the tourists to make up for that, oh its a service-based economy that keeps us fat, well yea that and a lotta fried mullet!

Come on down to the sunshine State. Bring your money check out the place.
Chances are you'll just stay Hell, everybody else does
------------------------------------------------------

To the question of the scent of snakes ~

John Grassy investigated the smell of snakes after being asked, "Do copperhead snakes smell like cucumbers?"  Some say they do.  Some say they don't.  Some say they have a musky smell.  Others say they have no smell but the great northern watersnake does.  You can read about John Grassy's olefactory odyssey here:
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/wildlife/expert/exp082 ...On Songs about the enemy of the human race posted 1 year, 7 months ago 30 Responses