Gore on the Government Shutdown and Climate Change: Congress is Pathetic

Former Vice-President Al Gore appeared on Pivot's late night talk show TakePart Live on October 22nd, to discuss the 24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon event and his on-going fight for worldwide climate issues and environmental awareness. The former Vice President also responded to questions about the government shutdown.

When asked about his thoughts on the recent government shutdown Mr. Gore replied:

"Congress is pathetic right now. There are some awful good people in Congress trapped in a bad system. The truth is our democracy has been hacked, big money now calls the shots. That my sound like a radical statement but less and less to people who have been paying attention to what's been going on there."

Government Shutdown: Environmental Impacts and Republican Extortion

Republicans held America hostage for 16 days and undermined efforts to protect America's air, water, food and natural resources.  They unsuccessfully sought to extort a ransom in the form a number of anti-environment riders.

This circus would be comical if the impacts were not so serious. Only at the eleventh hour was legislation passed that enabled the government to reopen and avert a debt default. However, these are temporary fixes and the same issues will have to be dealt with again early in 2014. 

The Koch Brothers and the Government Shutdown

After 16 days at a cost of 24 billion dollars Congress finally came to their senses. Now that Congress has passed legislation that reopens government until January 15, 2014 and extends the credit ceiling until February 7, 2014, many are asking questions about the forces behind this insane game of political chicken. Others are wondering if it will happen again in the new year. This article, written one week ago (October 9, 2013), explores the role played by the Koch brothers.
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Charles and David Koch are oil barons who have been accused of being behind efforts to shutdown government.  In a bid to keep America from transitioning away from fossil fuels the Koch brothers are leading a powerful cadre of conservatives in a coordinated strategy designed to subvert democracy. They have cultivated very close relationships with Republicans including GOP presidential candidates and they employ sophisticated methods of legislative control like ALEC. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to misinform the public and influence politicians. They have demonstrated considerable skill in the art of control and subterfuge.  One of their greatest accomplishments is their role in the creation of the “grassroots” movement known as the Tea Party.

Government Shutdown Adversely Impacts the Environment, Energy and Climate Research

In addition to being harmful to the economy, the government shutdown has a wide range of impacts on the environment, energy and climate research.

A number of departments are being prevented from doing their jobs including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the Department of the Interior and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Almost all of the EPA's 16,000 employees have been furloughed. The small number of staff who will stay on the job are funded outside the appropriations process. A few others will remain to ensure “the safety of human life and the protection of property,” as stipulated in the EPA contingency plan.

Government Shutdown Threatens America's Natural Resources

According to Michelle, a writer who works for the US Fish and Wildlife Services, the government shutdown is having deleterious impacts on America’s natural resources. The Department of Interior is no longer overseeing the complex web of ecosystems and habitats. America's National parks are not being cared for, habitats are being harmed and threatened species are at risk.

As Michelle explains, the biologists, civil engineers, educators, and regulators that are employed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are being prevented from doing their work protecting a vast number of species and habitats. This group is already being forced to work overtime to manage staff reductions as a consequence of the sequester earlier this year. Now they are being furloughed while they wait for Republicans to come to their senses. Sadly, it might be a very long wait.

Republicans Shut Down Government Again Impacting the Economy and the Environment

As of midnight last night the fiscal year expired and the US government began shutting down. House Republicans are being intransigent and their attempt to tie the budget to Obamacare amounts to extortion. Led by the Tea Party extremists, the GOP has been steadfast in their refusal to pass the 2014 federal budget by the end of the fiscal year. Republicans are trying to derail the implementation of health care reform, even though US lawmakers voted for it in 2010 and the American people expressed their support when given the choice in 2012.

Republicans are Playing Scrooge this Christmas

Republicans in the House are looking more and more like Ebenezer Scrooge. The GOP is well known for its anti-environmental ambitions and now through their refusal to support the payroll tax cut extension, they are launching an assault on average Americans. Although many in the GOP signed a pledge refusing to increase taxes, it would appear this only applies to the tax increases for the wealthy.

Republicans Use Blackmail to Gain Support for the Keystone XL Pipeline

Republicans appear oblivious to both environmental issues and the economic difficulties of Americans. On Friday December 16, Republicans in Congress decided to play a game of chicken with America by linking the passage of the social security payroll tax-cut extension and employment benefits to the Keystone XL pipeline.

Republicans are also pressuring the President to make a decision about the pipeline in just 60 days. However, the State Department has indicated that 60 days is not enough time to explore the issues involved and make a responsible decision.

The Foxes in the Henhouse: Republicans in Charge of Climate and Energy Committees

Republican midterm gains in Congress have resulted in a shift that has empowered the GOP and crushed hopes for climate and energy legislation. In the House of Representatives, Republicans are getting ready to take control of several powerful committees that have a direct impact on energy and the environment.

Five Republicans stand to gain in particular: Fred Upton, Joe Barton, Doc Hastings, Darrell Issa and Jim Sensenbrenner.

Fred Upton (R-Michigan) is by far the most rational of these five Republicans on the environment. Upton is one of the frontrunners to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee in 2011.

Unlike some of his peers, Upton acknowledges that global warming is real. He told the energy committee early last year: "I have said at nearly every climate change hearing that for me I don't dispute the science. Right or wrong, the debate over the modelling and science appears to be over." He was an architect of the incandescent light bulb ban, and he has cast votes in opposition to oil and gas production from offshore areas. However, Upton can be expected to try to limit the powers of the Environmental Protect Agency (EPA).

Joe Barton (R-Texas) also wants to lead the Energy and Commerce Committee but he needs a waiver to bypass GOP committee term-limit rules to become chairman. He won notoriety this summer when he apologised to BP for the White House deal establishing a $20bn oil clean-up fund. Barton called the fund a "shakedown".

If denied the energy and commerce committee, Barton could be a contender to head the science committee, which would provide him with a platform to preach his climate science denial. He also has his sights set on reducing the power of the EPA.

In a letter welcoming the winning Republicans to the House, Barton congratulated them on their "well-deserved victory," and he foreshadowed his leadership when he wrote, "When I am chairman, you won't find any Democrats applauding."

Doc Hastings (R -Washington), is currently in the Natural Resources Committee, he will likely serve as its chairman in the 112th Congress. His pro-energy record on energy production will likely translate to more fossil fuel developments on federal lands, both onshore and offshore.

Darrell Issa (R-California) is a high school drop-out who was arrested in his youth for auto theft, it is more than a bit ironic that he will have far-ranging subpoena power in the new Congress.

Issa is now poised to become chairman of the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee. As chairman of the most powerful oversight committee in the new Republican House, Issa will have enormous power.

Despite thousands of independent studies that support climate change, Issa says it is time to take yet another look at the science. "That doesn't mean that global warming isn't happening," Issa conceded, but he wants to buy more time by saying the issue of climate change requires more study. (This is a common Republican strategy designed to indefinitely forestall action on climate change).

Even though the so called "climategate" scientists were cleared by five seperate inquiries, Issa recently told POLITICO that he would use his panel to conduct further inquiries into the stolen “climategate” e-mails. And he also plans to keep a close watch on the EPA. Issa has indicated that he would like to kill the committe on energy independence and global warming.

Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), is on the select committee on energy independence and global warming, he wants to keep the Committee alive so it can investigate climate science and police President Barack Obama’s green policies. Sensenbrenner would like to take over that committee, even though he thinks global warming is an international conspiracy.

Sensenbrenner is a climate denier of the first order. At the height of the controversy over hacked emails from East Anglia last year, he warned of "a massive international scientific fraud" and science "fascism." On his web site, Sensenbrenner indicates that he believes the Obama administration is part of a global climate conspiracy.


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Democrats the Environment and Green Jobs

Over the last couple of years the Democrats have passed legislation that staved off economic calamity. Contrary to the Republican attacks ads, the President's stimulus package has helped to create jobs and is poised to do more in the next couple of years.

A January 2010 report by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers found the clean energy provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had already saved or created 63000 jobs and they are expected to create more than 700,000 green jobs by 2012.

Green careers could play an important role in the ongoing recovery of the US economy and they are crucial to future job growth. Green holds more potential for real economic growth than any other industry.

Clean energy is a national security issue and an issue of global competitiveness. President Obama wants to advance green industry so that the US can be a competitive leader.

Many Democrats understand that we do not need to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. The President and many Democrats seek to create green jobs by promoting clean technologies, for this generation and future generations.

A recent Pew Research Centre poll showed just 16% of Republicans say the earth is warming because of human activity, compared to 53% for Democrats.


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Election 2010 Midterm Predictions

Forecasts for the midterm elections vary but everyone seems to agree that there will be almost 100 close races.

The House of Representatives currently has 255 Democrats and 178 Republicans, but it is not certain who will have control after November. Democrats now control the Senate 59-41, but there are 37 races at stake.

Election Projections is forecasting widespread Republican victories. According to their assessments, Republicans will gain 7 seats in the Senate giving the Democrats 50 seats and the Republicans 48 and they also expect to see Republicans gain 53 seats in the House which will give the Democrats 202 seats and the Republicans 232. They are further predicting that in the gubernatorial race, Republicans will gain 5 states giving the Democrats 21 states and Republicans 29.

Stu Rothenberg thinks there are 100 potential battlegrounds, with 91 now held by the Democrats. Charlie Cook, pegs the number at 97, with 90 held by Democrats.

Joe Gaylord predicted that Republicans will pick up between 59 and 63 seats, far more than the 39 they need to gain control of the House.

A Washington Post poll of 96 competitive House districts (86 of which are held by Democrats) show that in 53 of the most competitive districts now held by Democrats, Republicans are narrowly ahead. However, Democrats have gained some ground in those districts since a similar poll in June.

The 2010 Scorecard, NPR`s midterm predictions for the House of Representatives gives 216 seats to Democrats and 197 to Republicans. In the Senate, they predict 49 Democrats and 45 Republicans.


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