Get Kevin's Law moving through Congress

For those of you who aren't aware, here's the reader's digest version on Kevin's Law as it's currently stated in Wikipedia.

Kevin's Law was nicknamed in memory of two-year-old Kevin Kowalcyk of Colorado, who died in 2001 after eating a hamburger contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. It was formally known as the Meat and Poultry Pathogen Reduction and Enforcement Act of 2003.

The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, as H.R. 3160, in the 109th Congress.^{[3] [4]} This bill never became law, as it was referred to committee but never reported on by committee nor voted on. Versions of the bill have been introduced in each subsequent Congress, but as of April 2010 have never been reported out of committee.

Kevin's Law would strengthen the U.S. government's ability to prevent contaminated meat and poultry from entering the food supply by:
- Requiring the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to identify the pathogens that threaten human health (e.g. Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes).
- Requiring the USDA to establish performance standards to reduce the presence of these pathogens in meat and poultry.
- Confirming that the USDA has the authority to enforce its own standards by shutting down plants that continually breach basic health standards. Courts have held that the USDA does not have this authority in the absence of explicit authorizing legislation.

Corporate meat processors have lobbied against Kevin's Law, arguing that it would increase the cost of food and is unnecessary.

That last part is complete b.s. of course, when we're talking about human lives and what most of the general public consumes on a daily basis.  The issue of e-coli in our food is an alarming one, cases seem to be increasing with consistency in the news, and much of the corporate food industry tries to mask it with stuff like ammonia filler in hamburger meat to kill the bacteria.


...and you wonder why friends you might know (yours truly included) are starting to go fully organic and vegan.  There doesn't seem to be much left in the world in the way of food to eat that isn't polluted with a potpourri of horrible crap.

It comes as no surprise that companies like Monsanto (the uber evil Death Star of the food industry, you'd be amazed at some of the twisted stuff they do...bad, bad, bad...more on them another time) don't want this bill to pass.  

This issue of Kevin's Law doesn't seem to be very well known by the general public, and definitely represents an uphill battle to become law.  With many of these issues intentionally hidden from the public, and with the corporate food industry being as big as it is lobbying Capitol Hill, it seems like a seismic shift with public opinion and food-eating habits would be the only way to start bringing attention to the issue.

Here's a link to more information about Kevin's Law for those who are interested.  More on this issue and the massive tentacles of its effects later.  Kevin's Law is merely a symptom of a massively larger problem with the food industry, and the health of Americans, that weighs in on questions about societal issues like birth defects and possibly even the emerging pattern we've seen with things like autism and ADD.

It goes without saying that you can't put a price on your health.

Oh that looks yummy!

Yum yum...when can I get myself a mouthful of this?

Thanks BP

Thank you BP, for the wonderful decimated shoreline our children will inherit along the Louisiana coastline.  Thanks for propelling our messed up environmental future into our faces...I'll drink an oil slick milkshake in your honor, Daniel Day Lewis style.

Environmental Heresy in the Gulf

Here it is, America.  The path you put yourself on, which resulted in nothing but a polluted, oily, messy future.

Our most vital marshes and wetlands on the Gulf Coast are being destroyed right in front of our eyes...by the greedy subhumans who are (or are part of) Big SpOil.

I hope BP gets sued by EVERYONE on the Gulf Coast.  Sue the oily swine out of existence.

We desperately need to get a grip on our energy future, and real quick.  We need to determine whether the future of America is going to go green in earnest, or continue on a path that sets itself up for calamities like this.

May our children, grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren find it in their hearts to forgive us.

Meanwhile, God help us.

Bush pulling another fast one...again.

While we were voting on Election Day this year, Bush was trying to seal the fate of terra firma adjacent to some of our most pristine areas straight down the river.

Luckily NRDC is all over it...go to their site to find out more.

Here's an article from Robert Redford on the issue.

Part of the change Americans just voted for in overwhelming numbers was to move away from the failed energy philosophy of "drill, baby, drill" to a more farsighted strategy, emphasized by Barack Obama, based on clean, renewable energy and efficiency. Yet on the very day that we raised our voices for change, the Bush administration dragged us in the opposite direction.

The Bureau of Land Management cynically chose November 4 to announce a last-minute plan to lease huge swaths of majestic wilderness in eastern Utah for oil and gas extraction one month before President-elect Obama takes office.

As its clock runs out, the Bush administration also is trying to open-up drilling all over the Rockies and Alaska, to green-light oil shale leasing, and to weaken the Endangered Species Act. Though sad, it's no surprise, coming as it does from the same crowd that designed a misguided national energy policy in secret meetings with the oil, gas and coal industries.

The BLM didn't just try to slip the audacious Utah lease maneuver past the American people on an historic election day, it actually hid the ball from its sister agency, the National Park Service, and then rejected the Service's request for more time to review the scheme.

Among the 360,000 acres to be auctioned for industrial development is pristine land near Canyonlands National Park, adjacent to Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument. This Christmas gift to the dirty fuel industry includes parts of Desolation Canyon, named in 1869 by the explorer John Wesley Powell, which has been proposed for national park status. In fact, the BLM itself described Desolation Canyon nine years ago as "a place where a visitor can experience true solitude -- where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape."

Words alone cannot do justice to the beauty of these places, but they do capture the absurdity of the Bush plan. Oil and gas drilling in Desolation Canyon? Industrial development along the meandering Green River? The thought makes one wince.

The Obama transition team already has signaled its opposition to the leases, and said that once in office the Obama administration will try to reverse them. Let's hope that's possible. Utah's eastern expanse is one of America's few remaining wilderness treasures. It's our land, it's our legacy, but will it still be here for our children and grandchildren? We made our wishes about that known loudly and clearly on election day.

We voted to take control of our own destiny by breaking our addiction to dirty fuels. We voted to re-power America with clean energy from wind, solar and geothermal power. We voted to use of our greatest resource, American ingenuity, to build economic, energy and climate security, and to preserve our natural heritage. Yes we did. And yes we can.

------

Robert Redford, an actor, director and environmental activist, is a Trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council and is the founder of Sundance, in Utah.

Sarah Palin, our illustrious environmental steward...NOT!

Here's an interesting read regarding the record of environmental stewardship for our new GOP Veep: Sarah Palin On The Environment.

Good information to have...before her being cast into the national spotlight in the last few days, I'd only heard about "the Alaskan governor who supported drilling in the ANWR."

...so here's the poop...not just more of the same from the GOP. This one is worse than the status quo, folks. S

Houston's air quality CAN improve

I've been in Houston for 4 days now, and I'm leaving for Austin today... and not a moment too soon, as the air quality here leaves much to be desired...

I feel what seems like chemicals searing through my nostrils... and I've been told that it's due to the refinery and chemical plants located in areas such as Pasadena and Texas City. It's a shockingly vast expanse of industry, as I noted it from the buildings as I was touring a medical complex in town here on my visit.

Lackadaisical environmental regulation from the Bush Administration and the lack of EPA enforcements contributes to this problem.

...but it doesn't have to be that way. The citizens in Houston can choose to NOT TOLERATE their city and air being awash in the toxic soup spewed forth by this industry. They can demand accountability from industry and better air quality.

Folks protest and bring to the attention of the world-at-large the behavior of what I refer to as "eco-saboteurs" everyday. Environmentalists in Oregon strap themselves to trees to battle insane policy on the management on our national forests and unreasonable practices by the logging industry. Also in the Pacific Northwest, similar groups organize and find solutions to preserve and enhance river habitat to further healthy salmon spawning runs. Native American tribes and the populous of Arizona and Colorado keep mining industry at bay to make sure they behave and are accountable to the damage they have created with their practices.

It's all about choices... we all have the choice to decide what we are going to stand up for, or if we're going to accept the status quo. The citizens of Houston and Texas can choose to not tolerate the status quo...

Frankly, I don't understand why they do. I simply don't get it. S

THE POCKET PISSER -- NASCAR: I don’t get it...even a little.

As a series similar to The Bozo Bus, The Pocket Pisser targets groups or institutions whose behavior, policies, and /or principles are in need of review and critique (opposed to an individual Bozo). That's not to say that any group in question doesn't have Bozos in it; they more than likely do. We can only hope that The Bozo Bus will get around to them eventually, but the clowns have a regimented schedule to adhere to (no scoffing now, snooty peeps---many of the clowns wear ties to work just like the rest of you).

So today we’re pissing in the pockets of the NASCAR world, because I just don’t understand what in God’s name is appealing about this sport. Is it an adrenaline junkie thing? Moreover, it tends to attract the uneducated hicks, snaggletoothed lowlifes and degenerates of the world; even a few notches below that of hardcore NFL football fans… and as I just wrote that, in my universe I can’t think of a greater insult in the “sports world,” if NASCAR even qualifies as one in the first place. This all begs even more questions…

The sport seems to require zero brains cells to watch. If I’m ever flipping through the channels and bump into it, I move on. If I stay on the channel for even a few seconds (usually by mistake), or in the rare occasion I find myself trapped in a sports bar watching it, I can only take a few minutes of it at most. I simply go away feeling more stupid than before watching it. After witnessing the images on the screen going around on a track, my head starts to get dizzy and the thoughts about the excessive gas consumption and environmental impact disgust me. The noise and smoke from the emissions seem unbearable, but perhaps the folks in the crowd are immune to it by now. To that effect, when I see the television cameras scanning over the crowd, honing in on some of the folks, I say to myself “Oooooookaaaaaay” and try desparately to escape so I can move onto something else. I realize that's a blanket judgment of sorts, but let's be real---there's a reason this sport was bred out of the South, along with plenty of other cultural attributes we can all be proud of as Americans (excuse me, I just choked on my torpedo of King Cobra).

I once worked with a guy who was a big fan of NASCAR, who said he lived for it every weekend while it was on—he just couldn’t wait for the weekend races to occur. First, I’ll say with certainty that this man did not graduate from Harvard. I don't claim to be any brainiac myself, but maybe the education factor bears some weight here. So we had a discussion and I posed my questions to him, essentially trying to figure out how you could even classify NASCAR as a sport. I explained that my definition of a sport contains some sort of athletic movement of the body on a court or field, but his definition was more expanded. He argued that NASCAR involved the skill of driving, and while I responded in agreement, my caveat was: “However, if that were the case, my commute to work every day would then officially need to be labeled a sport.”

Just for shits and giggles, let’s see what the Free Dictionary by Farlex has to say about the definition of a sport:

sport (spôrt, sprt)

n.

1.

a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

b. A particular form of this activity.

2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

3. An active pastime; recreation.

So maybe part 3 of the definition then answers one of my questions, and while it barely qualifies it, it seems that it technically qualifies NASCAR as an official sport. So there ya go good ‘ol boys, enjoy your fuel consuming, noise nuisance low level brain hum on yer weekends. Miller High Life hath shall flow unending.

Moving on, I’d like to peer into another room and highlight for a moment the environmental end of this sport. Wikipedia has the following to say about the environmental impacts of NASCAR.

According to NASCAR, about 6,000 US gallons of fuel are consumed during a typical NEXTEL Cup weekend. ^[12] For the 2006 season, which includes 36 points races, the total for the season would be 216,000 US gallons. One environmental critic recently estimated NASCAR's total fuel consumption across all series at 2 million US gallons (7.57 million liters) of gas for one season; ^[13] however, the methodology used has been a point of dispute.

At race speeds, NEXTEL Cup cars get 2 to 5 miles per gallon. ^{[14] [15] [16]} Consumption under caution can be estimated at 14-18 mpg, based on comparable engines generally available to the public. Interestingly, the rate of fuel consumption tends to be the same regardless of the actual speeds of the cars, as teams change gear ratios for each race to ensure that the engine always operates in its optimum power band; however, the fuel mileage will vary for each race, depending on the maximum speeds attained.

The consumption figures above provide no insight on environmental impact in terms of emissions. NASCAR vehicles are generally unregulated by the EPA, and in particular, they have no mufflers, catalytic converters or other emissions control devices. However, some local short tracks which run under NASCAR sanction require certain emissions control devices. Many short tracks run mufflers in compliance with noise ordinances at some tracks; in the early years of the Craftsman Truck Series, some races were held at venues which required mufflers, a requirement still used in some Busch East, AutoZone West, and Whelen Modified races.

NASCAR continued to use lead additives in its race gasoline until the 2007 Daytona 500, which led to concerns about the health of those exposed to the fumes of the cars (fans and residents living near the race tracks). Lead is a well-known environmental risk, but the performance needs of race engines (in particular, the high compression ratios) once made it difficult to switch to unleaded fuel.

So there you have it, and nothing I read here surprises me, as I would never expect anyone involved in this "sport" to even consider the environmental impact. It simply has no place in their brain capacity.

So, in conclusion, my only real intention here was to simply bring the topic to bear and expose my thoughts and observations on this corner of the universe. It looks like the whole western United States needs to drink a gallon of King Cobra (or Old Engish 800, or even water, take your pick) and venture into the South... we have LOTS of pockets to piss in!

All zippers down please and wait for my signal. S

The global agenda: stewardship vs. stalling

This editorial appeared in the Seattle Times this morning. I'd been planning on writing something on Kyoto in the near future, but this beat me to the punch. A good update of basic information.

President George W. Bush is not fooling any of his G-8 colleagues in Germany with his belated call to set long-term goals reducing emissions related to global warming. The same is true here at home.

In the absence of leadership on climate change from the White House, remarkable movements are under way in statehouses, boardrooms and places of worship. A coherent federal plan is needed, but no one is waiting while the incumbent stalls. Six years ago, the president announced the United States would ignore the Kyoto Protocol and its mandatory emissions goals for industrialized nations.

In advance of today's gathering of the world's eight leading economies, Bush said he wanted to convene meetings that formulate a plan by the end of next of year.

The timing is too clever by half. That is when Kyoto expires, along with his presidential term. European nations are all but rolling their eyes.

Others in the United States are not waiting. A coalition of major corporations and environmental groups formed the United States Climate Action Partnership in January to push the federal government to get involved in global-warming issues.

At the state level, California is trying again for an exemption from the federal Clean Air Act so it can put in place its own strict controls on auto emissions. Washington and nine other states have a stake in the outcome, each having adopted similar standards.

All this was spurred on by an April Supreme Court ruling that said the federal government could regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from cars. If the feds will not act, California and other states are eager to step in.

The extent to which climate change is becoming part of a much broader discussion in society was amply demonstrated by a four-day interfaith gathering last Friday through Monday in Seattle.

Religious leaders from Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions around the country explored the role of their faiths in caring for the Earth and all creation. The Faith & Environment Festival was held in four locations: Town Hall, Seattle First Baptist Church, Temple De Hirsch Sinai and St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral.

Being stewards of the environment is a theme crossing civic, business and theological traditions and organizational lines. Stalling politicians will be evermore irrelevant as others step forward to do the work and work around them.

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

Okay, who’s this ass writing in our blog? What a yawner! These editorials piss me off—they can be so damn boring! Yes, the goal of reporting was accomplished. However, come on, buddy, give us something interesting to read about, don’t just report because it’s your fucking job.

For example, tally the number of times Bush stuttered, dropped food on his shirt, or at least give us an account of the numerous European customary or cultural faux pas that occurred, such as farting at the dinner table (that’s probably what the Euros were rolling their eyes over—oh, excuse me, that’s a custom over there).

These are the moments where I realize I got into the wrong profession. S