BP apologist “Smokey” Joe Barton and Michael Burgess co-signed a letter to EPA head Lisa Jackson asking her to let Texas air polluters off the hook and keep Texas Toxic.
Excerpts from a Clean Air Watch email:
Please note the letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson from Barton and his Texas Republican colleague Rep. Michael Burgess.
The topic is EPA upcoming national health standards for ozone, or smog.
You may recall the brief history: in 2008, the Bush EPA ignored the unanimous recommendations of the agency’s science advisers and set smog standards that were too weak. The Obama EPA is reconsidering that decision, and has proposed tougher requirements in line with the recommendations of the scientists. A final decision is due by late August.
We are at the point when key decisions on this issue start to get made. And so Barton has weighed in on the side of big polluters.
Barton and Burgess complain in the letter that the new standards “appear to be extraordinarily expensive and unworkable.” (As if we are not paying a heavy price right now because of the health damage caused by smog!)
Barton and Burgess want EPA to ignore the science. We hope EPA will stick to its guns, and set science-based standards that protect people’s health.
Toxic releases: Texas is most toxic state
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Aside from the fact that Burgess is a blithering idiot- I made this decision after meeting with him several weeks ago- the man simply doesn't get it. As a Doctor and asthma sufferer, he was completely unaware that 25% of the children who live on the Barnett have asthma compared to a national average of 7%.
He drives a Prius and refuses to drink water out of plastic bottles fearing poisoning from PBA.
He was the second politician to call for an investigation of the TCEQ, as he was embarrassed at one of his own Town Halls by members of the Industry who attended and (shockingly) gave him false and misleading information. Within two days, he changed his mind and decided that the TCEQ is capable of investigating themselves. I think someone in his party gently reminded him that he's up for re-election, and in a year where the long tenured goats are having their asses handed to them, replaced by new folks who have yet to be tainted by the special interest groups. I think he was also reminded that being in what is probably the most conservative district in Texas, if not the U.S., Big Energy can ill afford to lose him to someone who will not kneel to their king, Gas and Oil.
Now that Barton has embarrassed not only himself and his party, but the entire country for apologizing to a foreign corporation who sees us as 'Small People', Burgess decides to pair up with him of all politicians.
It's time for the good doctor to go. Maybe Chesapeake has a job for him. He can drive his Prius around the Shale telling everyone how friggin' great it is.
Obama got more campaign money from BP than these guys.Feds make money off oil, 33% royalty on every barrel produced in federal water and on federal lands,lease auctions etc.Plus 8 cents tax on every barrel for oil spill clean-up.Don't be fooled by dog and pony show.
How true Anonomous 9:43. We've (us peasants who live on the land) problems with our Gov. at all levels.
The Democrats still bash Bush for his relationship with Big Oil, and some continue to blame him for everything related. The Republicans bash Obama and his policies, and frequently criticize the fact that he accepted plenty of cash from the energy companies as well.
If you only look to the politicians, we'll never see any middle ground. I've said this a thousand times- very few people are totally opposed to drilling altogether. The overwhelming majority of us support drilling, but there doesn't seem to be that many who are calling for responsible drilling, at least not defining that. As if it can't be done. The energy companies and supportive politicians make it seem like if there are any more regulations or restrictions placed on them, tens of thousands of jobs will be lost and the Texas economy will go bust. When someone like me says an operator needs to install a filter on their engines to help reduce emissions, I'm painted as a radical and just another anti-drilling nut.
Why is it so hard to find some middle ground? I'm not saying don't drill, I'm saying don't drill near homes, schools and parks and other places where people gather because of the dangers. The energy companies and politicans like Burgess only heard the first two words-don't drill- before screaming about job loss.
DRILL RIGHT.
We CAN find middle ground! Many of us HAVE found middle ground. We are not all that far apart as you and I have learned but the politicians, the system and the mouthpieces who distort, twist and spin make it seem that we are that far apart.
People listen to the boob tube and let it tell them what to think. Watch Jon Stewart. He makes fun of everyone on all sides and give us some perspective. He is truly brilliant.
Unbelievably, most people are still not tuned in.
Don't drill in those places you mentioned AND where you do drill, Drill-Right even if it's in the middle of nowhere.