Progressive Opinion

thenation.com — It was not very long ago that America seemed headed on a path of reduced dependence on fossil fuels—oil, coal and natural gas—and greater reliance on renewable forms of energy, such as wind and solar. “Our addiction to fossil fuels is one of the most serious threats to our national security in the twenty-first century,” Barack Obama declared while campaigning for president in 2008. Not only does the consumption of these fuels contribute to global warming, he argued; it also finances anti-American tyrants and terrorists. Upon entering the White House, Obama announced a series of programs aimed at promoting the transition from fossil fuels to climate-friendly renewables, and his 2009 economic stimulus package provided billions of dollars for green energy projects. But Obama’s commitment to renewables has wavered in the face of relentless attacks from Republicans in Congress and the economic realities of energy production.

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creators.com — For Rep. Allen West, the skyrocketing price of gasoline is not just a policy matter, it's a personal pocketbook issue. The Florida tea-party Republican (who, of course, blames President Obama for the increase) recently posted a message on Facebook wailing that it's now costing him $70 to fill his Hummer H3. It's hard to feel the pain of a whining, $174,000-a-year congress-critter, but millions of regular Americans really are feeling pain at the pump — especially truck drivers, cabbies, farmer, commuters and others whose livelihoods are tethered to the whims of Big Oil. It's an especially cynical political stunt, then, for congressional Republicans, GOP presidential wannabes and a chorus of right-wing mouthpieces to use gas price pain as a whip for lashing out at Obama's January decision to reject the infamous Keystone XL pipeline.

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washingtonpost.com — Congress isn’t planning to tackle climate change anytime soon, which means the Environmental Protection Agency is now the last line of defense. But could the EPA’s new rules on carbon pollution get tossed out by the courts? We’re about to find out. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear two days of oral arguments from industry groups that are challenging the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide. Way back in 2007, recall, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA could regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act if it found that those gases posed a risk to human health (which, most scientists agree, they do). The EPA made that determination in 2009 and moved ahead with crafting new fuel-economy standards for cars and light trucks. Power plants and oil refineries are next on the list. Unless, that is, the EPA gets bogged down by lawsuits.

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slate.com — Several months’ worth of strong labor market data have put a crimp in Republican plans to run against Barack Obama as the second coming of Herbert Hoover. Fortunately for GOP candidates — if not for most Americans — gasoline prices are up about 29 cents a gallon since December, offering a bounteous new economic issue to complain about. Rick Santorum says we can blame the president’s “radical environmental policies” for the pain at the pump. The White House is pushing out news stories about increased oil production to try to counter that narrative, but Newt Gingrich has upped the ante with a promise to bring gas prices down to $2.50 a gallon. John Boehner is urging members of his caucus to wield gas prices as a weapon, field-testing the line that “gas prices have more than doubled since the president took office.” A good rule of thumb is that if politicians are talking about the price of gas, they’re talking nonsense. This week is no exception.

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progressive.org — What I continue to miss in our political discourse is the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all things. Santorum, Romney, and Gingrich speak of not only American exceptionalism but the specialness of man, himself—and I mean “man,” not woman or child, plant or animal, or ecosystem. One inequality creates another because the system is never viewed as a whole. We need “a qualitative shift of imagination,” Gregory Bateson says in his masterpiece, :Steps to an Ecology of Mind." We need a collective mind capable of looking outward with humility and empathy as we see ourselves belonging to part of something much larger than ourselves. Call it Earth or call it God, what would have to happen for Mr. Santorum to see this creative impulse as the same thing?

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consortiumnews.com — On “Face the Nation” last Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of embracing a “phony ideal” of environmental theology that puts protection of the Earth above man’s desire to extract its resources, while grabbing more power for the government. “When you have a worldview that elevates the Earth above man and says we can’t take those resources because we’re going to harm the Earth …  it’s just all an attempt to centralize power, to give more power to the government,” the former Pennsylvania senator said. There are so many things wrong with this statement, it’s hard to know where to begin.

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thinkprogress.org — Every day, countless organizations spread misinformation aimed at delaying the action needed to avoid destroying a livable climate, which will cause billions to suffer — and needlessly, since every major independent study makes clear that the cost of action is incredibly low. Many of the disinformers routinely attack and smear climate scientists. Some routinely publish their e-mails, encouraging their readers to cyber-bully scientists who are doing nothing more than trying to inform the world of the consequences of its untenable choices.  But we have become inured to it — heck, there’s all whole TV network devoted to spreading lies — yawn, let’s change the channel to something we like.

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thinkprogress.org — President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget invests in clean energy to help power the engine of economic growth. The budget would direct funds to efficiency and renewable electricity technologies to create jobs and boost domestic manufacturing, and would also make manufacturing more efficient. The cleaner energy that will result from these investments will reduce pollution and protect public health. In addition, the budget would make taxes fairer by eliminating $40 billion in unnecessary breaks for Big Oil companies, which made record profits in 2011. This clean energy vision would benefit middle-class Americans and the rest of the 99 percent. It is a stark contrast to the “drill, baby, drill” policies promoted by the American Petroleum Institute and other Big Oil allies.

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thinkprogress.org — President Obama’s proposed fiscal year 2013 budget would make taxes fairer by, among other things, eliminating $40 billion in tax breaks over 10 years for oil and gas companies. About one-fourth of the savings would be invested in domestic manufacturing, which would create jobs.
Oil and gas companies are raking in record profits and clearly do not need these tax breaks. The big five oil companies made a combined profit of $137 billion in 2011. This beats their previous 21st century record of $136 billion in 2008. Despite these humongous earnings, however, the American Petroleum Institute — Big Oil’s political arm — will likely trot out its tired excuses about why hugely profitable oil companies need $40 billion in tax breaks while middle-class Americans are paying higher gasoline prices. Let’s review their arguments for keeping these unfair tax breaks.

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huffingtonpost.com — Every once in a while an opportunity comes along for all of us to be the solution. This is one of those times. We're collecting a half million messages to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in the next 24 hours. This dirty, dangerous tar sands pipeline is not in the national interest. It's that simple. And the United States Senate, officials of both parties, need to hear that message loud and clear and fast because some of them are threatening to push a bill as soon as Tuesday, to approve it.

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