Well, Nouriel, anyway:
“Greece is only the tip of the iceberg, the canary in the coalmine…”
Mike Milken actually thinks the most comparable period is the ’73-’77 period, which wasn’t a complete disaster.
Click through to watch. WARNING: It’s 81 minutes long (Nouriel and Mike start at 9:00)
Join the conversation about this story »
Following the LaCrosse and brand-new, not-even-quite-on-sale-yet Regal, Buick is planning a slew of new products, far more than ever before. On the recent Regal launch—which, incidentally, involved flying to China to witness its impressive presence there and then on to Germany, where the car was developed—we got the Buick team to talk a bit about future product (hey, we had plenty of time, after all). According to Buick marketing director Craig Bierley, the goal going forward is the “timeless proposition of understated luxury.” This means Lexus-like interiors and execution with Acura-grade driving dynamics. Well, with “a little less harshness” than Acura, says Bierley.
First on the list is a compact sedan, ostensibly built on the Chevy Cruze platform, although the Buick guys promise unique styling and a different powertrain, as well. Bierley promises that “you’d be hard pressed to know they’re on the same architecture.” We’ve heard this kind of talk before and have been thoroughly underwhelmed by the subsequent badge-engineering, but we hope he’s right. It will also receive an all-new name, not one from the brand’s past (Skylark was considered, we’re told, but the last one was so ugly and forgettable that the company is hesitant to employ the name again). Bierley also states—and we agree—that the LaCrosse is skewed more towards ride while the Regal leans toward handling, and continues by saying that the new small sedan will be even more sporty and handling-oriented. Call us intrigued, particularly considering how competent the Regal is. Expect Buick’s third sedan to be on sale sometime next year.
Next is a compact crossover, likely due in 2012. Less was divulged about the SUV, but it will be smaller than, and will therefore not share a platform with, the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. Buick points out that its current lineup of two large sedans (Lucerne and LaCrosse) and a large SUV (Enclave) technically only competes with 14 percent of the new-car market in the U.S. By 2012, after the mid-size Regal and the new compact sedan and crossover, they estimate that Buick will compete with 46 percent of the market. Then, in the 2014–2015 timeframe, after various other unnamed products are launched, Buick expects to be present in some 60 percent of segments by sales.
Related posts:
United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and President Barack Obama
After much ado in the United States government over the whole Toyota situation, U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood will meet to discuss the situation with Japan’s top transportation official today. Seiji Maehara, Japan’s transport minister, has commented on Toyota’s delayed reactions to safety issues. Mr. Maehara will be spending two days in Washington, meeting with LaHood, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., and will be discussing the Toyota situation, and high-speed rail technology.
Though this trip will be a brief one for Maehara, the dialogue between the countries will not be; LaHood is set to visit Japan next month with NHTSA administrator David Strickland and plans to meet with Toyota officials.
Problems continue for the former top selling automaker in America, as stability control issues forced a recall yesterday of 50,000 2003 Toyota Sequoias. In addition to yesterday’s recall, 609,400 Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been recalled in the last 10 days alone.
LaHood had previously mentioned to Detroit News that he was displeased with the treatment received by top NHTSA official Ron Medford during his Dec. visit to Japan, and that he expects a better reception for the American delegation this time around.
About the picture: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican member of the Cabinet, feigns being a blocking back for President Barack Obama as he arrives backstage to meet with GOP House leaders before speaking to their issues conference at the Renaissance Baltimore Harbor Place Hotel in Baltimore, Md., Jan. 29, 2010.
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: Detroit News
Image Source: Flickr – White House
by Jonathan Hiskes
Downtown ChicagoPhoto: Chicago Man via FlickrBusinesses ought to
consider locating in walkable, culturally diverse city centers because that’s
where young workers want to be, according to some liberal commie rag printed on
recycled draft cards. No, scratch that, this argument comes from the Harvard Business Review.
An article in the May
issue opens with the news that United Airlines is moving its headquarters to
downtown Chicago from the outer-ring suburb Elk Grove, while Quicken Loans
plans to build headquarters in downtown Detroit.
“These companies are
getting a jump on a major cultural and demographic shift away from suburban
sprawl,” writes Assistant Editor Ania Wieckowski. “The change is imminent, and
businesses that don’t understand and plan for it may suffer in the long run.”
She finds that both
young workers and retiring baby boomers want neighborhoods that offer shops,
parks, schools, arts centers, and the like. The same preference holds for
compact suburban cores, so it’s not as if every business in Chicago needs to
find space in the downtown Loop. There’s data behind this: In the last U.S.
census, 64 percent of college-educated 25- to 34-year-olds said they searched
for a job after choosing the city
where they wanted to live.
It’s not just a matter
of taste. There are a lot of real
problems associated with auto-dependent living, says Wieckowski.
“Studies in 2003 by the
American Journal of Public
Health and the American Journal of
Health Promotion linked sprawl to rising obesity rates,” she writes. “…
Research by behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman and his team shows that out of
a number of daily activities, commuting has the most negative effect on
people’s moods. And economists Bruno S. Frey and Alois Stutzer have found that
commuters who live an hour away from work would need to earn 40% more money
than they currently do to be as satisfied with their lives as noncommuters.”
Wieckowski quotes
Robert Fishman, a University of Michigan urban planning professor: “In the
1950s, suburbs were the future. The city was then seen as a dingy environment.
But today it’s these urban neighborhoods that are exciting and diverse and
exploding with growth.”
This is great stuff, and not just because it comes from a respected, clean-cut
publication. Urban-minded employees can only do so much if their jobs require
them to commute to the outskirts. Successful city centers require more than
condos and retail shops-they need major employers.
My one-time hometown of
Grand Rapids, Mich. (metro population 770,000), is a perfect case study. There’s
a fair bit of urban redevelopment and it’s got loads of creative types building
civic culture through things like the public contest ArtPrize.
Yet all of the region’s largest businesses-which include Amway, Wolverine, and the
furniture maker Steelcase—are headquartered on the suburban fringe. The only
large employers downtown are the government buildings. If more executives locate
their companies downtown to attract new talent, as HBR advises, they can
provide a major boost for compact urban designs, and all the social benefits they
bring.
Related Links:
Gulf of Mexico: from magnificent resource to industrial sacrifice zone
The story of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill [PHOTOS]
Louisiana shrimpers file lawsuit over U.S. oil spill
MocoSpace, the mobile equivalent of MySpace who dormantly registered more than 11 million, released a report surveying their users to reveal people are twice as likely to buy an iPhone and Android phone however Android traffic is up nearly 40% in the first quarter 2010. Key take-aways from data like this shows the market is shifting from a desktop computing world to a mobile computing world.
“Our Mobile Social Graph report demonstrates the rise of Android and iPhone as central social-networking devices,” says Justin Siegel, MocoSpace CEO. “Our data confirms that smartphones encourage longer sessions and also increased purchasing of virtual currency.”
Just last week Garmin and T-Mobile announced the Android-based T-Mobile exclusive Garminphone, with planned availability later this Spring. Only a week or so later, Garmin and Asus are bringing you the next Android device in their lineup, the Garmin-Asus A10, a pedestrian-friendly phone that will help you navigate the world one step at a time.
The A10 comes equipped with Android (no details on version), 3.2-inch multitouch-ready HVGA touchscreen, 1500mAh battery, WebKit browser, 5MP camera with auto-focus and image geotagging, accelerometer, and of course access to all your favorite Android apps. One of the features Garmin-Asus are boasting about on this device is the pre-loaded maps. The A10 comes prepared to travel with or without connection to a cellular network. All you need is a clear sky and your A10 will take you where you need to go on foot or behind the wheel, including turn-by-turn directions that will not get interrupted if you lose signal. The device also comes with a “powered audio mount that magnifies the volume of the device’s voice commands.”
The A10 will be available mid-2010 in the Europe and Asia-Pacific markets, with no time frame or indication of whether it will ever navigate (har har) its way to the US. Pricing and carrier availability is also yet to be announced.
Via Engadget
Garmin-Asus Announces Newest Android Smartphone with Garmin Navigation
A10 Focuses on Pedestrian-Friendly Features and Navigation for Europe and Asia-Pacific
CAYMAN ISLANDS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Garmin-Asus, a co-branded alliance between Garmin® Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), and ASUSTeK® Computer Inc. (TAIEX: 2357), today announced the Garmin-Asus A10, a touchscreen smartphone running on the Android™ platform that is optimized for pedestrian navigation. The A10 is expected to be available in mid-2010 in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
For those times when walking is the best way to go, the A10 is ideal for city navigation because of its bright, 3.2-inch HVGA touch screen, electronic compass and long-lasting 1500mAh battery. As with other Garmin-Asus Android-powered devices, the A10’s GPS capabilities are optimized to ensure that customers have the best location and navigation experience a smartphone can offer. Detailed maps are preloaded on the A10 so that users do not have to pay and wait for third party maps to download from a server, nor will they lose their turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation if they are out of cell phone coverage. In addition to pedestrian navigation, the A10 is ready for use in an automobile out-of-the-box, and it comes with a powered audio mount that magnifies the volume of the device’s voice commands.
The A10 is a full-featured smartphone on the Android platform that integrates Google™ Mobile Services with one-click access to Google Maps™, Gmail™, YouTube™, calendar, contacts and Android Market™, where users can find more than 30,000 applications to expand and personalize their phone to fit their lifestyle. Android applications that include location-centric content are also able to utilize the A10’s enhanced GPS capability.
To optimize a user’s ability to stay in touch with family, friends and business contacts, the A10 is compatible with Microsoft Exchange server and will wirelessly synchronize contacts, calendar and enterprise email. Account setup is quick and easy, and in a few simple steps users will have their contacts, calendar and email ready to go.
Additional A10 smartphone features include a powerful WebKit browser with multi-touch, five mega-pixel camera including auto-focus capability that automatically geotags images with an exact location reference. The built-in accelerometer will quickly change the display so that screens may be viewed in portrait or landscape mode.
The A10 also supports optional cityXplorer™ maps, which makes it possible to plan and use routes that include public transit options such as bus, tramway, metro and suburban rail systems.
The Garmin-Asus A10 is expected to be available in mid-2010 in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Additional information about Garmin-Asus products is available at www.GarminAsus.com.
This augmented reality billboard in the Netherlands involuntarily pulls passersby into a scene depicting the brutal beating of a paramedic. As the shock wears off, the billboard delivers a brief message regarding the citizens’ role in prevention/cessation of violence. [PopSci] More »
Paul Rodriguez has accomplished a lot in his skateboarding career. He was the 2002 Trans World Skating Rookie of the Year, won an X-Games Gold medal in Street Skating in 2005 and also became the first pro-skater to be sponsored by Nike. Combine all of these things with the fact that his father is famous comedian Paul Rodriguez, Sr. and it is not surprising that P-Rod is branching out to areas beyond grinding rails and landing kick-flips. Enter Incase and the Paul Rodriguez Signature Collection. Started in 2008, the current line features a new version of his signature skate pack that can accommodate up to a 17” MacBook Pro. Featuring a reinforced notebook compartment, a dedicated iPod pocket with headphone port, a concealed back panel zippered pocket to secure important documents and heavy-duty, water-resistant YKK zipper pulls with closed-seam construction the P-Rod Skate Pack ensures that whatever you put inside it will be protected from most anything that you or any inevitable multiple-crashes can throw at it.
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Looking to go out for a romantic dinner date with a special someone? Family in town, and you want to take them to a popular bistro downtown? OpenTable has just what you’re looking for. With access to hundreds of local eateries, OpenTable allows you to conveniently make, change, or cancel reservations from the convenience of your Android device.
So how well does OpenTable work? Pretty darn well actually. Just this past week, I made reservations at a popular restaurant in downtown Minneapolis at 5pm to surprise my wife before going to see a play. Realizing I was running slightly late at work, I was able to change the reservation from 5 to 5:30 all while stopped at a stoplight on the drive home. I was also able to click on the address in the app to get directions via Google Maps.
The interface for OpenTable is simple and pleasant. It first prompts you to either grant it access to your location via GPS or to select a metro area. Once it’s found your location, simply enter a date and time, the number of people in your party, and the maximum number of restaurants you’d like to see. OpenTable will do the rest. Once you pick a restaurant, the app shows the location, a brief description and available reservation times. What’s great about OpenTable is that reservations are confirmed almost instantaneously via an email to your email address on file (registration is required). A main drawback is the lack of ability/intuitiveness of the search function. You can only search for a restaurant you’re looking for after you’ve drilled into the restaurant list..
The Good
What I’d like to see in a future release
Final Verdict:
This is a nice-to-have app for the avid or casual restaurant-goer. My wife and I go to restaurants once per month or so, and have found this app extremely useful for making reservations and even finding new restaurants that we might not have tried otherwise.
OpenTable is currently in version 1.1 and can be downloaded for free on the Android Market. More information on the app and OpenTable can be found at http://www.opentable.com/page.aspx?pageid=11&ref=5920
Note: This review was submitted by Anthony Domanico as part of our app review contest.
GUANTANAMO BAY — The prosecution in Omar Khadr’s pre-trial hearing screened what may be its trump card when the actual trial portion of the military commission gets underway in July: a 25-minute video captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan showing a 15-year old Omar Khadr in a compound with people making and emplacing roadside bombs. The older men on the tape, believed to be from 2002, talk openly about intending to use them on Americans. Only the tape doesn’t show Khadr emplacing the bombs, and only briefly shows him handling a part believed to be for an improvised explosive device.
Khadr, a Canadian citizen, followed his family to Afghanistan, particularly his parents, who appear to be well-connected to al-Qaeda. In the video, it’s not clear if his father is present. But Khadr is shown with a number of adult men who specifically talk about attacking Americans in Afghanistan. (In a different shot, one fans himself and says, “As for the jihad against the heat, it is the hardest.” They sit on a carpet with wires and what appear to be circular Italian VS 2.2 anti-tank mines. At one point, Khadr — chubby-cheeked, with bushy hair and a wispy mustache — handles a piece of equipment that appears to be related to the bomb construction.
The video is amateur — several voices ask if the camera is on or working properly — and it repeatedly and abruptly splices together random footage. Some of it shows men horsing around, calling each other names. Other parts show a fat man eating a mango and wiping his fingers with pink toilet paper. An odd shot shows a reclining, shirtless man balancing a piece of machinery on his chest and occasionally trying to lick it. Khadr briefly appears, lit by green night vision, giggling in a close up of his face while appearing to still be in the compound, checking to see if the camera works.
It cuts out, and several minutes pass before the camera captures an extended nighttime scene of men digging into the road to emplant an improvised explosive device. There is briefly sound of a “young male’s voice,” as FBI Special Agent Robert Fuller testified. The picture is dark, and it does not clearly show anyone who looks like Khadr.
There are other shots of Khadr on the tape. In one, he sits on a carpet, fanning himself, complaining of the Afghan heat and expressing thanks to his hosts for the fruit juice they gave him. There is an AK-47 in the background, but Khadr does not touch it in the frame. At one point he tells a disembodied voice, “You look like a teddy bear.”
Portions of the tape have aired on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” (I couldn’t immediately find it on YouTube.) To the best of my knowledge, the version of the tape we watched in court has previously been aired in a different Guantanamo hearing for Khadr, but not outside of a courtroom.
Khadr’s attorney, Kobie Flowers, objected to the airing of the tape, calling it irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial. Flowers argued that the hearing is to determine the voluntariness of Khadr’s statements to interrogators and the place for images that speak to the overall merits of the prosecution’s case against Khadr is the full hearing. (Although Flowers said yesterday he would seek to exclude the video for trial.)
But the prosecution won out. The statements on the video “show the maturity and the sophistication and the intellect of the accused,” Navy Capt. John Murphy said. “Although the statements themselves are going to be elements at trial, they’re supportive of the fact that they’re both voluntarily provided and reliable.”
The video, it should be said, does not include anything relevant to the murder charge against Khadr.
[JURIST] Two lawsuits were filed Tuesday challenging Arizona’s new immigration law, which makes it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant and requires police to question anyone whose immigration status appears suspect. Arizona police officer Martin Escobar filed suit in the US District Court for the District of Arizona, alleging that SB 1070 is unconstitutional and could hamper police investigations. A second suit was filed by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC), which argues that the legislation is preempted by federal law. Also Thursday, several advocacy groups, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) formally announced their intention to challenge the bill.
The bill, signed into law last week by Governor Jan Brewer, has caused intense controversy. Earlier this week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon strongly criticized Arizona’s new immigration law, claiming that the measure opens the door to intolerance and hatred. US President Barack Obama has also criticized the law, calling for federal immigration reform. Under the law, it is designated a crime to be in the country illegally, and immigrants unable to verify their legal status could be arrested and jailed for six months and fined $2,500.
Now that Sony’s moving the regular updates to Tuesday, this would be the last time that you’ll be reading the PlayStation Store update on a Thursday. Let’s see what they have for us today.
Reader Allnitecp says:
I saw this at Target, and knew I had to send it in.
Its funny that when they run out of bathroom scales they think that a mirror is a good substitute….
I got a good chuckle out of it.
And when they run out of mirrors do they suggest “that one pair of jeans you bought right after you had swine flu?”
Republican Linda McMahon says she will not accept a paycheck if she is elected to the U.S. Senate.
Rank-and-file members of Congress currently receive $174,000 per year and are free to turn down a pay increase or a pay check.
“Linda just doesn’t believe politics ought to be a cushy job that turns into a profession,” said McMahon’s spokesman, Shawn McCoy. “There’s an enormous amount of work that needs to be done to get this country back on track beginning with job creation and tightening of government’s fiscal belt. Her refusal to take a salary, I think, is an important symbolic gesture that underscores her principles on this.”
McMahon is running against Rob Simmons and Peter Schiff for the Republican nomination. They could not be reached for comment
by Eric de Place
Yesterday was a good day for an energy policy reality check. Because we are in a place where the environmentally responsible choice is lighting a giant oil slick on fire.
And that really is the best option available to us right now. That’s how bad the situation in the Gulf of Mexico is. It is yet another horrifying example of the broken—and I would say morally bankrupt—energy system that Americans remain shackled to thanks to republicans and democrats alike.
As a reminder, here’s what President Obama had to say one month ago when he announced expanded offshore oil drilling:
…we need to move beyond the tired debates of the left and the right, between business leaders and environmentalists, between those who would claim drilling is a cure all and those who would claim it has no place.
Can someone please remind me why exactly do we need to move beyond the “tired” debates?
I’m not tired of those debates at all. In fact, I think we’re just getting started!
Eight days ago the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded. Eleven people are missing, presumed dead. The rig is hemorrhaging 42,000 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the Gulf. The resulting slick is 40 miles wide and 80 miles long. And it’s moving toward a wildlife refuge, people’s homes, and a lucrative shellfishery. All of which means that the best option we have—the best option for the environment, I mean—is lighting an oil slick on fire.
Super. Just as long as we move beyond the tired debates.
This post originally appeared on Sightline Daily.
Related Links:
The Climate Post: Mighty winds a-blowin’
Gulf of Mexico: from magnificent resource to industrial sacrifice zone
Tragic oil spill = smarter climate bill?
President Obama is now a part of the nightlife in China. The Obama Club opened in Shanghai on Monday — although several club staffers say they’ve heard of the hotspot’s all-powerful namesake.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
The nightclub is lavish with two stone lion statues and an enormous outdoor fountain that operates in time with a piano ballad, according to AOL.com, which posted photos of the club’s grand opening this week. The club has state-of-the-art audio and video entertainment systems, dancers, hostesses, and a rooftop garden.
Guests are greeted inside by a strobe light, fog machines and six big screens that display graphics that “look as though they might have been borrowed from an iTunes audio visualizer.” It boasts a capacity of 2,000, making it one of the largest entertainment venues in Shanghai.
The club is using Obama’s campaign platform for “Change” to build its clientele.
“Because Obama has mentioned “change” during his election campaign, so in truth we also hoped that this nightclub, a pinnacle of culture and entertainment, can be an instrument of change,” says Dragon Chiang, vice chairman for Shanghai Yahe Investment. “We no longer want people to think of nightclubs as a certain kind of venue. We hope that under our leadership, this nightclub can have a fresh way of operating.”
Let’s try a little thought experiment here. Think about a new cell phone: it’s shiny, has a touch screen, and even a QWERTY keyboard. What else comes to mind when you think about that phone? What do you feel like doing?
If your answer to that last question was “play dodgeball”, then congratulations! You’re insane exactly the type of person Samsung is looking for!
To commemorate the launch of their Reality handset on Verizon, Samsung is attempting to set the Guinness record for the world’s largest game of dodgeball at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York. Over 1,500 potential dodgeball champions will square off, all for the glory of receiving a new phone (oh, and some gift cards). Having played with the feature phone already, it seems like this whole event is poised to be much cooler than the device it was meant to hype, but I’m sure that was the point. If you want in on the ball-slinging fun (unlike me, who was that one kid in gym class who pretended to sprain his ankle to avoid doing things), make haste to their Facebook page and sign up.
Ah, who am I kidding? I secretly hope a bunch of tech bloggers sign up, just to settle the score once and for all.
A rendering of 'Country Living' magazine's 2010 House of the Year. (Photo: PRNewsFoto/Country Living)
From Green Right Now Reports
Country Living magazine today announced it will go energy-conscious with its 2010 House of the Year building project ”Home Green Home.”
Developed by New World Home and designed by the Country Living editors, the house will showcase “green” products and features for every room. The magazine said the house will be built and temporarily set in New York City at the World Financial Center.
Country Living said it will host an event unveiling the House of the Year on June 3, and will open its doors to the public June 4th.
Earlier this year, Hearst Brand Development partnered with New World Home to introduce the Country Living Collection, a collection of historically inspired modular homes featuring USGBC LEED Certification. The collection is aimed offering consumers attainable green living coupled with classic country style. The 2010 House of the Year, aptly named the “Hudson” cottage as it will be built on the shores of the Hudson River near New York Harbor, will be available for any Country Living reader to purchase across the country, an option that has never been available to readers before, the magazine said.
The 1,600 square foot “Hudson” cottage will be featured in the November 2010 issue of Country Living magazine. All of the interior and exterior details were selected by the magazine’s editors. Interior designer Katie Ridder will decorate the home with green furnishings and an emphasis on bold color. With 2 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths, the home features a 1,100-square-foot wrap-around porch and an open floor plan that fully integrates the greenest products and practices available today.
Country Living’s 2010 House of the Year will be open to the public June 4th-June 16th, Monday-Friday 11-5, Saturday and Sunday 9-6 and Thursday June 17th 10-2 at The World Financial Center. Tickets are free. Following the open house the home will move to Crystal Springs Resort near Vernon, N.J. where it will become a permanent Country Living Green Modular Home design center.
Country Living said it will donate $5,000 to benefit National Parks off the New York Harbor Conservancy.
Filed under: SUV, Recalls, Safety, Lexus, Luxury
Sixteen days after the Lexus GX 460 landed on Consumer Reports “Do Not Buy” list and Toyota issued a stop-sale on the luxury ‘ute, Lexus has developed a fix for the stability control issue discovered by CR and has begun rolling out the fix.
In a statement issued by Mark Templin, the Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager says that the automaker’s engineers were able to recognize and develop a remedy for the stability control system which CR deemed unsafe during its “Throttle Lift Off” test.
In addition to resuming sales, dealers began contacting customers yesterday to start issuing the software update and Lexus owners can expect their GXs to be reprogrammed within a week. For owners who still don’t wish to drive their affected SUV, Lexus will continue to offer a courtesy vehicle free of charge. Full details in the press release after the jump.
Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Lexus GX460
Continue reading Lexus resumes sales of GX 460, software update available to owners
Lexus resumes sales of GX 460, software update available to owners originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Keith Harrington
Several weeks before President Obama made the tragic decision to approve expanded offshore drilling, ten costal-state senators wrote a letter [PDF] to their colleagues John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) pressing the trio to keep expanded offshore drilling out of their now floundering climate and energy package.
In the letter, the senators warned about the serious threats such drilling posed to their states’ coastlines:
While technological advances have attempted to lower the environmental and economic risks of drilling, experience has shown that no technology is foolproof. Since 1964 offshore operators have had 40 spills of greater than 42,000 gallons … Far from being a thing of the past spills occur with alarming frequency … Drilling near our coasts poses a severe risk to our states’ coastlines and in turn to our coastal communities.
As up to 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) of crude oil a day rise from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig and make their way toward the Louisiana coast, the concerns expressed in that letter look more prescient than ever. As this spill drives home with frightening clarity, offshore oil drilling remains a dirty and catastrophically dangerous business—despite cynical and self-serving claims from Washington and the oil industry. The type of nightmare the senators warned of has tragically come to pass once again, with 11 workers killed and disastrous consequences for communities and ecosystems along a coastline already beset by the destructive forces unleashed by the burning of fossil fuels.
The incident also highlights the major flaws of the KGL approach to climate policy making. In order to build support for a bill that is supposed to protect the climate, they’ve had to give away the store to the very dirty energy interests whose products are destroying it. In order to stop the damage being done by fossil fuels, the senators are pushing for an expansion of their production. If it sounds kind of crazy, that’s because it is.
While it may be difficult and distasteful to see anything positive in a tragedy like this, the truth is this inevitable disaster couldn’t have happened at a more politically critical time—just as lawmakers were moving to codify the condemnation of our coastlines. In the same way that the Big Branch mining disaster caused elected officials to take a hard look at mining safety, one can only hope that the Deepwater Horizon spill will serve as the powerful wake-up call the president and Congress need to reverse the foolhardy course they have chosen regarding offshore drilling.
To make sure this happens, we need our coastal-state senators to be the voice of reason once again, and reiterate their critique of the unreason of the KGL-Obama approach to climate policy:
… we cannot support legislation that will mitigate one risk only to put our coasts at greater peril from another source.
Perhaps now there’s a chance the president and the Senate leadership will actually listen.
Related Links:
The Climate Post: Mighty winds a-blowin’
Something’s wrong when our best option is burning an oil slick
Louisiana shrimpers file lawsuit over U.S. oil spill
