Save the Planet

October 19, 2008

It is not merely a slogan. A grim reality dismissed as a “myth” by extreme political factions.

What is a slogan?

“Drill baby Drill, Drill now, Drill here” … until there is nothing left and the entire species vanish in a “black hole.”

This far outweighs the speculation of such outcome from “The Large Hadron Collider” as the “Big Bang” experiment, conducted to unravel the mysteries of the origin of the universe across the border between France and Switzerland.

The nation, as the “pioneer” in virtually most frontiers of humanitarian needs is advancing towards the dangerous zone with policies like “offshore” oil and gas drilling… rejecting the real consequences to the environment.
Political “rhetoric” to satisfy the humanity’s insatiable appetite for energy demands is sweeping across the nation without any rationale or logic.
In the process, the moderate thinkers in the political aisle are forfeiting their commitments to the environmental cause and denying the call from the reasoning faculties within.
The electoral process is a mechanism to promote “irrational” ideologies to justify victory by any means.
Even, if such radical platform is detrimental to the existence and survival of self and other species on the planet.
It makes one wonder! What is the driving force behind the extremism preventing the political power from exercising “judgment” for the benefit of “all” inhabitants on the planet?
The simple response is — the “Special interests” or the “lobbyists”, the active and most successful operatives in every election.
Their argument as purveyors of the elections from congressional to “Presidential” is, electoral process is an investment vehicle to promote “Corporate” agenda based on profiteering at all expense.
In essence, “Corporations” determined to maximize personal gains against all odds run the government, supposedly “democratic”.
The real authority behind the entire management of elections especially in the United States is the “Conglomerate” operating across the Atlantic and thus far highly successful in the nomination of their choice of “Presidential candidate” to advance the personal agenda and devious modus operandi worldwide.
That is why, the recent fear mongering tactics… against a candidate in opposition to such policies, is stigmatized a “Socialist” and cast as a threat to “Capitalism”.
It is common knowledge that the “free market” or “Capitalism” is always healthier for the enrichment of ideas and competitiveness to benefit consumer based economies provided,
The monetary gains and welfare are widespread among the investors and consumers alike including the “work force” / “human Capital”, the most important resource for “Capitalism” to succeed.
Therefore, a threshold is necessary to define the role of “Capitalism” in a democracy.
Both extremes — the extensive “Corporate” role in the legislation and government intervention in the micromanagement of “free market” system undermine the success of democratic “market” economies.
In the environmental front, there are serious challenges confronting the global community.
The solutions to the problems created by none other than “human force” for various economic reasons are within the realm of “people” power.
Every individual can make a difference in resolving the current environmental crises. The first and foremost strategy is to reflect on the “cause” and “effect” factor.
Simple actions like recycling, supply and purchase of environmental friendly products and services, cutting back on carbon emissions and recreating lifestyle would greatly contribute to the cause.
The lifestyle by an average household with modified energy consumption could help the humanity in general.
The recent article shed light on the impact of global warming on other living species.
Government declares beluga whale endangered
By DAN JOLING Associated Press Writer – Thank you.
Article Launched: 10/17/2008 07:38:33 AM PDT

Qannik, a 6-year-old beluga whale, swims in a tank at his new home at…

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—First, there were the polar bears. Now, beluga whales. Washington and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin just don’t see eye to eye on wildlife protection.
The beluga whales of Alaska’s Cook Inlet are endangered and require additional protection to survive, the government declared Friday, contradicting Gov. Sarah Palin who has questioned whether the distinctive white whales are actually declining.
It was the Republican vice presidential candidate’s second environmental slap from Washington this year. She has asked federal courts to overturn an Interior Department decision declaring polar bears threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The government on Friday put a portion of the whales on the endangered list, rejecting Palin’s argument that it lacked scientific evidence to do so. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that a decade-long recovery program had failed to ensure the whales’ survival.
“In spite of protections already in place, Cook Inlet beluga whales are not recovering,” said James Balsiger, NOAA acting assistant administrator.
The decision means that before federal agencies can issue a variety of commercial permits, they must first consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine if there are potential harmful effects on the whales.
That has the potential to affect major Alaska projects including an expansion of the Port of Anchorage, additional offshore oil and gas drilling, a proposed $600 million bridge connecting Anchorage to Palin’s hometown of Wasilla and a massive coal mine 45 miles south of Anchorage.
The state does have serious concerns about the low population of beluga whales in Cook Inlet and has had those concerns for many years, Palin said in a statement. “However, we believe that this endangered listing is premature,” she said.
Palin in April successfully lobbied for a six-month delay in a listing decision until a count of the whales this summer could be included in deliberations. That count showed no increase over 2007 numbers—375 whales, compared with a high of 653 in 1995.
Federal regulators and conservation groups said further delay would be harmful.
NOAA said Friday the Cook Inlet population declined by 50 percent between 1994 and 1998 and “is still not recovering” despite restrictions on the number of whales that Alaska’s native population can kill for subsistence. It said recovery has been hindered by development and a range of economic and industrial activities including those related to oil and gas exploration.
The National Marine Fisheries Service “will identify habitat essential for the conservation of the Cook Inlet belugas in a separate rule-making within a year,” the agency said.
The federal decision pleased environmentalists.
“We can finally focus now not on whether the belugas are endangered, but what we can do to protect them,” said Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that petitioned for the listing.
Cook Inlet stretches 180 miles from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage. It is named for Capt. James Cook, the British explorer who sailed into the inlet in 1778 on a quest to find the Northwest Passage.
Beluga whales feed on salmon and smaller fish. They can also eat crab, shrimp, squid and clams. During summers, the whales, which reach a length of up to 15 feet, often can be spotted from the highways leading away from Anchorage, gathered at river mouths, chasing salmon that have schooled before a run to spawning grounds.
Beluga whales’ natural enemies are killer whales, but something else has been keeping their numbers down in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
Craig Matkin, an independent biologist who has worked in south central Alaska for 25 years, said the delay in the listing had held up a comprehensive research plan to find out why the population had not recovered after subsistence hunting was curtailed.
The concern is not just in numbers, he said, but in distribution. Whales in recent years have been staying in northern Cook Inlet near Anchorage.
“They’re just gone from these areas,” he said of his own home near in Homer, near the tip of the Kenai Peninsula and about 100 miles from Anchorage. “Why they aren’t coming down into this habitat is a question I’d like to answer.”
Future development won’t be helpful to the recovery, Cummings said, starting with the noise and pollution associated with industrialization of the inlet, which includes oil rigs off the Kenai Peninsula.
Global warming, changing ocean conditions and higher temperatures in salmon streams may be another factor, Cummings said.
The Port of Anchorage, helped by congressional earmarks secured by Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, has embarked on a $500 million project to double the port’s size and replace its aging docks.
Environmental groups also have expressed concern about a planned coal mine 45 miles from Anchorage across Cook Inlet, where developers propose to mine 300 million metric tons of sub-bituminous coal, roughly equal to the energy of a billion barrels of oil, over 25 years. That would mean noise and boat traffic associated with building and operating a mine, a potential effect on salmon streams and more warming.
The Cook Inlet beluga whales are one of five populations in Alaska waters and the only one endangered. Other beluga populations off Alaska inhabit Bristol Bay, the eastern Bering Sea, the eastern Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea.
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Reality Check: Gov. Sarah Palin — Welcome to the National Political Arena!
Your performance at SNL last night may well be the cause for celebration as an “anti-environmentalist.”
Even though, your judgment or the lack thereof, in the environmental matter is analogous to the “rhetoric” on your campaign trail invoking fear and “Anti-American” euphemism against your opponent, the Democratic Presidential Candidate, Senator Barack Obama.
As one of many advocates for the voiceless and defenseless species, I am obligated to pose the following questions to you:
1. What exactly is the issue you don’t understand about the environmental crises?
2. As a self proclaimed “maverick”, how do you propose to sustain the ecological balance, crucial for your present survival… against the cavalier “offshore” oil and gas exploration and other projects?
3. Please, explain to the American electorate your bizarre stance in the pivotal issues —
A. Your personal claim, highlighting the foreign policy experience equivalent to the panoramic view of the residence of Russian Prime Minister, Mr. Vladimir Putin from the convenience of your porch while,
B. You choose to remain oblivious to “SOS” from the native species of your home state Alaska.
Perhaps, this could be a revelation for you —
Global warming is real due to reckless policies and irresponsible human behavior.
“Save the Planet,” for “Life matter.”
Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

Written by Padmini Arhant · Filed Under Environment 

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