Election Blues

It only takes a drop to cause a ripple, your vote can make a difference.

I will be glad when this mid-term election is over. The mud-slinging was pretty bad this year, much different from the "HOPE" and "Yes We Can!" campagn of 2008. It appears that the Democrats will be taking a beating and the GOP is salivating at the prospect of gaining a majority in the House. This of course sickens me to no end. Picturing Karl Rove and Dick Cheney rubbing their evil little hands together and belting out the deepest and most evil laugh is a picture hard to dig out of my psyche.

That's why we need to get out and VOTE!!! Vote against the hate and bigotry out there. Vote for a candidate that believes in global warming and is not a climate change denier. Vote for a candidate that says corporations should pay their fair share of taxes, just like everybody else, and should not get away with gouging natural resources at the expense of human life and our environment.

That is why I am leaving my little "blue" light on and letting it shine. I hope you do too.

There's my little drop: "Plunk!"

Clean Water for Everyone!

Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on a single day – October 15.

Last year, more than 13,000 bloggers participated from 152 countries. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion about an important issue that impacts people around the world.

In order to participate, all you need to do is write a single post on your blog about the issue of water on October 15th. If you’re not sure what to write about, don’t worry – we have a great list of suggestions for possible topics that we’ll send you.

Register your blog to the right. We'll add a link to your blog and your post will appear on the Blog Action Day site on October 15. http://blogactionday.change.org/register

Sign the Petition



There's something about water. It is the most basic element for life on our planet. Our bodies are composed mostly of it, the planet is literally awashed in it. It falls from the sky and floats as vaporous clouds in myriad shapes.

We take it for granted.

For most of us in the United States, we simply turn on or open the faucet and water freely gushes out.

But as I get older, or shall we say more mature, the more I understand how water works in larger ways: in ecosystems and watersheds. In the city where I was born there were very few places where you could see how water worked in springs or streams. Our urban area paved over most of these water sources a hundred years ago thinking that is was healthier to do so. But at the same time we as a society were dumping our waste into the streams and rivers, literally using them as toilets.

I think we know better now.

We know the importance of keeping our local water sources clean, and where we can, clean it and put it back. We know what industrial waste can do to harm an aquatic ecosystem to the point where no wildlife is sustainable. We know better how wetlands work to clean polluted ground water runoff. We know that what we throw in urban streets ends up in sewer systems and that water must be cleaned by the limited resources of our sewage treatment plants otherwise it stays in the environmment and doesn't just disappear.

Speak Truth to Power

I have been becoming more deeply concerned with the fossil fuel industry (oil, coal & gas) and the increasing evidence of its finacial power to influence the public and politicians. As in the previous post, I noted a massive increase in PR spending by the industry, as evidenced by a multi-media blitz of television, radio and internet advertising touting the virtues of natural gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale region of the Appalachian mountain range in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York. It's no coincidence that this upswing comes as the election heats up for its culmination in November.

What's most disturbing to me is a conservative Republican running for PA govenor who is claiming to be an "environmental" candidate as he has "done more" to protect the environment than any other candidate. The psychological gymnastics are astounding!

I'm personally endorsing PA Democrat Dan Onorato as closer in line with more progressive values. Though not perfect, he doesn't put up with the nonsense of a conservative anti-tax candidate. But even Mr. Onorato seems to be bowing to the potential billions in profits by an industry with a horrendous track record when it comes to basic values of clean air and water.

We have seen what happens when industry is unregulated. Conservatives appear to want to "trust" the industry and only take action after clear violations of the law have been documented. We have seen those results. A true environmental candidate would take pre-emptive action to prevent air and water pollution by industry regulation up front, not after the fact. Conservatives therefore tend to place the environment more at risk. Because we know the best way to protect an ecosystem is to not pollute it in the first place. We should not have had to deal with the BP oil rig explosion and subsequent oil spill which devastated the lives of millions on the Gulf coast, not to mention the outright killing of 11 men. We should not have had to deal with the coal mine explosion in West Virgina killing 29 men. And we should not have had to deal with the death of men from exploding gas wells in the Marcellus Shale region. Clearly, the financial and political influence of the industry weakened our (federal and state government's) ability to enforce any regulations at all. Without a more powerful government to hold billion-dollar industries (like fossil fuels, as well as finance) accountable, we are all at risk of losing whatever we have been able to save through our own hard work. We have no future, unless we hold these larger entities accountable.

How are we to compete with million-dollar PR budgets? Vote, and encourage your friends to vote. We will never outspend fear-mongering billion-dollar corporations and those who support them. But we can support those who refuse to place profits over safety and human lives. Whoever you vote for, vote for a candidate who supports critical thinking skills in educating our children to be leaders rather than blindly following irresponsible corporate action like de-regulation and anti-tax positions. Your children and grandchildren will thank you for it.