Monday, October 12, 2009
Legislature / Politics / Woods Legislature's Cave Men Demand to be Recognized as Friends of the Environment
Posted by Jeff Woods on Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 8:11 AM
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Here's a really hilarious story to brighten your Monday morning: The legislature's many environmental Neanderthals are shocked and outraged because the Tennessee Conservation Voters gave them bad grades on their annual scorecard. Imagine that!
Among the legislature's worst enemies of the environment are Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, and Reps. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, Mike Bell, R-Riceville, Chad Faulkner, R-Luttrell, Susan Lynn, R-Mount Juliet, and Joe McCord, R-Maryville. The real belly laugh? Southerland and McCord chair the legislature's environmental committees. Ha ha.
"I think it's political," Southerland fumes. "This is intended to help Democrats and hurt Republicans."
"The people who give these ratings are paid environmentalists," Niceley says. "I was an environmentalist before most of these boys were born."
That Niceley, he's a real joker. These are the cave men who made it easier in this year's session for road-builders and real-estate developers to pave over Tennessee's streams. Under the fabulous new law they rammed through the legislature, here's how we'll deal with pesky burbling brooks interfering with development plans: The developer only has to hire a "consultant" to write a report concluding that the stream isn't a stream at all. No, it's merely a "wet-weather conveyance" and therefore unworthy of any protections under environmental law.
"It authorizes anyone who gets this determination to essentially do what they want to do, and that'll have drastic ramifications to our water supply, at least potentially. I think this presents a threat to our environment," Rep. Henry Fincher, D-Cookeville, said during the debate.
And that's just one of the environmental degradations brought to Tennessee by these lawmakers. Once again, they also managed to kill legislation to prohibit coal companies from blowing the tops of our mountains. Thanks to them, they'll soon have to sing "Rocky Top-less" at Neyland Stadium on Saturdays.
McCord fell only one vote short of a majority for his bill to weaken standards for the amount of selenium that coal mines may release into Tennessee streams. Critics warned it could cause massive fish and wildlife kills and jeopardize human health, too. But McCord assured everyone that selenium is perfectly safe. It's so good for you they put it in vitamin pills! You need "your daily dose of selenium," McCord said. Oh well, there's always next year.
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Republican voters in TN will apply these low scores as badges of honor. As one of the articles comments said, "The lower the score, the more likely I will vote for that candidate."
And then there's this:
"Dunn said he has not researched partisanship in the ratings and does not know whether it exists. But he said there is no inherent conflict in being a conservative Republican and an environmentalist.
"Conserve is the root word of conservative," Dunn said."
No, there shouldn't be a conflict, but obviously there is.
Posted by
Marvin
on October 12, 2009 at 10:18 AM
