Dingell’s Message Loud and Clear, Everyone Will Contribute
Representative Dingell’s meeting with the Big 3 and some foreign automakers in Washington established his position as one that comes with the acumen from years of experience. By that, I mean it is an intelligent, fair position, and one with insight. He evidently believes we are all in this together also. If legislation for cuts and restrictions are made to help the environment, then they will apply for all industries across the board. The auto industry should not exclusively bear the brunt of excessive CO2 emissions. They only account for 1/5th of it.
Rep. Dingell is fair in his appraisal, but Republicans of late with their slurry of anti-environmental jabs and insinuations of propaganda again purport to divide the country. How can the environment be a partisan issue when we breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat the same food as everyone else? There is something inherently wrong with a mass of people that choose to deride someone like Al Gore who is simply trying to state we have a growing problem that will affects us, sometimes with dire consequences, and maybe we should start to do something now to avert it. Do all nominees for Nobel prizes go through bashing first? Is it a right of passage? Anybody out there know someone who has loss everything to the increasingly severe weather we’ve been fortunate enough to miss? Ask them about suffering from Mother Nature’s wrath.
Even so, I find something inherently wrong with people who would “want” to continue to create and dump pollution into the environment but not clean it up whether it affects the weather or not. Isn’t cleaning up after ourselves part of the responsibilities we learn or should learn growing up? This latest move by Republicans to cause yet another rift in our unity in what is referred to as “United” States, in order to cast doubt once again on global warming looks more like a ploy to stop progress toward an oil free nation. There is no proof environmentalism will cause the ruination of our economy. In fact there are plenty of American companies poised to make even more money from their billion dollar investments into the “green” like Dupont, GE, and BP. Even the banking industry has seen the light. “One of the world’s leading investment banks concedes there are real financial costs to ignoring the environment — and they don’t intend to get stuck paying them,” http://alternet.org/envirohealth/29901.
If our free market system, that Republicans like to laud, was working properly than companies should be able to make millions from a new industry here and in short order. Average people like you or I, who missed the boat buying tried and true stocks the first time around, would have a second chance to see our investments grow with this evolution into the green. But some greedy industries choose to use their wealth and clout to keep progress into cleaning up our mess at a standstill. Think about it. These industries have plenty of money to invest in environmental endeavors also, and stand to be part of an emerging new market that could reap them billions again but purposely choose to use their money and clout to stop progress instead. Sound familiar?
Throughout history there have been naysayers preceding great waves of change whether for the good or bad. More than likely those naysayers were the greedy who didn’t have a vision outside of the box, and didn’t want to give up a dime of profits for exploration into something new. Like a bully, they chose to use their clout to cloud the issues, perpetrate doubt, and cling to their fortune. I’m sorry but that appears to be evil and relative to the environmental movement this time around is pretty much like exchanging money for nature as we know it. So many varieties of life, even our own lives possibly, are destined for extinction if our trash and pollution continues unchecked. It’s a matter of math.
Poo poo the poor polar bear, but what we do to animals not exactly knowing what they do acknowledge or feel is treading on nature far too deeply to go unnoticed by our Maker. We will someday pay the price for destroying what was given us in exchange for the almighty dollar. It is more evident than ever these days that “the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” Timothy 6:10. Another one for Jerry Falwell to chew on since he stated “he sees Satan in the new environmental myth.” Like the commercial “What’s in your pocket,” it’s more like “Who’s in your pocket” for those who protest for pollution and not against it, especially while quoting God or His antithesis in the same sentence
March 15th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hi Valeria- Could not find an email address for you. So I opted for a “comment.” Please check out Republicans for Environmental Protection (www.rep.org). We are making progress. On Tuesday, March 20th, I am speaking in DC at the Climate Crisis Action Day, along with the Democrats and Hollywood types. I am speaking in my capacity as Mayor of the City of Sturgis (Republican mayor!).
Best wishes,
Rob
March 16th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Rob that is great news. Any new movement like environmentalism that involves big efforts across the country needs a team. The parties in American have been at odds far too long and for every little thing. The United States could use some good united causes. Environmentalism is an opportunity and should be viewed as that. Sooner or later climate changes and consequences of our pollution will affect all of us. We’re in this together. Good luck with your progress and thanks for your efforts.
March 19th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Hi Ria,
What’s really concerning to me is that saving the Environment should not be specific to Republicans or to Democrats - it is a human existence problem that should be everybody’s priority.
I am ashamed to say that I have friends that do not believe that the Earth is in serious jeopardy of self destructing. They poo-poo global warming and rationalize it as a normal - saying it happens every thousand years or so. I’ve encouraged them to watch “The Inconvenient Truth” and they won’t even discuss it.
Thank you and all serious environmentalists who fight the fight and try to get everyone to wake up and view the destruction!
March 21st, 2007 at 5:15 am
While watching GMA this morning, there is another 500,000 citizens that were willing to sign postcards for the environment. Al Gore is taking them with him to Washington.
For people that don’t want to hear about global warming, then what about cleaning up after ourselves? The consequences of answering that question wrong might be to appear as a pig and sloven, because there is no reason for it. Besides, the industries that are polluting for profit are getting those profits through control of our needs and therefore, us. I’m all for breaking up that control and that $7500.00 per minute net profit one of them made last year.
I decided to do this blog because the average person does not have time to put strings of logic together. They get blurbs of news and that distracting little RSS feed at the bottom of news programs that give you a blip. They’re busy trying to stay afloat, raise kids, end up eating poorly on the fly, become ill, become dependent on prescription drugs and bingo, controlled again by something else. An example: witness Katrina victims in need of insulin. This is the kind of connect the dots I’m trying to accomplish. I can go on and on wondering who perpetrates these acts to control us. It appears to be an over all evil sometimes doesn’t it?