Diary of a Mad Voter
Commentary: Joan McCarter
Bottled Water? Just Say No
It seems the nation's thirst for fossil fuels is matched only by their actual thirst. And we quench that just as irrationally as the former. Yeah, those little plastic bottles that everyone is so addicted to, and that people like me try to make them feel guilty about. I admit it--I'm a anti-bottled water zealot. Seeing cases of the stuff in people's Costco carts drives me almost as insane as the vision I saw last fall in Phoenix--sprinklers running on bright green lawns, in the middle of the day, water gushing down the gutter. But bottled water has a special place in my scold's heart. [more]
Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen
Building A New House Of CardsIn a stunningly foolish act, a nonprofit board that has authority over public companies’ accounting standards on Friday quietly got rid of a rule that requires banks to value their assets at what they’re currently worth. Instead, banks can now boost their books by valuing their assets at what they estimate they will be worth when the economy gets better. [more]
Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen
Richardson Should Sign Open-Meetings Bill
N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson has every reason in the world to sign a bill that would open conference committees and many other legislative meetings to the public, and no reason to veto it -- if the public’s interest is his motive.
If he has ulterior motives -- such as using a public-policy proposal he has endorsed for years as a bargaining chip with powerful lawmakers who would like to see it die -- that’s a different story.
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Political Commentary: Joan McCarter
Oil or Water?A little closer to home, the Western Resource Advocates have already made their contribution to the general water discussion by cataloging "all the water rights that have been acquired by oil shale interests, or could be used by them, to develop oil shale on a commercial scale." A perusal of their resulting report (available at this link), justifies their general conclusion: "The volume of both water and rights is staggering," and that the six energy companies involved have "cornered the market" on northwestern Colorado's water. [more]
Diary of a Mad Voter: Heath Haussamen
Pushing The Darkness To The FringesThe New Mexico Legislature has taken two important steps toward increasing transparency and changing its own culture this session -- steps that will make it more difficult for any ethically challenged lawmakers to abuse power in the future. [more]
Political Commentary: Joan McCarter
If Not Yucca Mountain, Where?
I'm not faulting the Obama administration for putting the kibosh on Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste dump, which it did in releasing its budget a few weeks ago. The Yucca repository was defunded, which wasn't a huge surprise, since Obama campaigned in Nevada on that promise.
It also wasn't a bad idea based on the science of the place. Geologists have learned that water flows through the mountain much faster than was believed when Yucca was settled on as the site. Because of the high volume of water flowing through, the water table in this area just 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas stands a much greater chance of being poisoned than anyone previously knew. Of course, when Yucca was decided upon, back in 1987, science didn't really play any part of it. The politicians just decided it was "out there" far enough in the desert, and Nevada was weak enough politically, that it might as well go there.
And speaking of politically weak, here's one of the main problems with the decision to scrap Yucca--what about Idaho?
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Diary of a Mad Voter: Heath Haussamen
Bet on Richardson Signing Death Penalty Repeal
I have nothing more than a gut feeling, but my money is on Gov. Bill Richardson opting to sign a bill that would make New Mexico the 15th state to repeal the death penalty. For the politically savvy and embattled governor, there’s nearly every reason in the world to sign the bill -- from a political standpoint -- and few to veto it. [more]
Diary of a Mad Voter: Joan McCarter
Stegner’s West, The “Geography of Hope”
On February 18th, too few in the literary (and political, and conservation) world remarked upon the anniversary of the birth of one of the most significant and influential westerners, Wallace Stegner. [more]
Political Commentary: Joan McCarter
Can a Westerner Bring Back Republican Sanity?
When I wrote about Jon Huntsman last week, the likelihood that the governor of Utah, especially one that was bucking the current GOP talking points, would be heard above the din seemed slim. He sure wasn't at CPAC last week, but his absence seems to have actually raised his profile. [more]
Diary of a Mad Voter: Heath Haussamen
Transparency? We Don’t Need Transparency…Would you believe that the House Appropriations and Finance Committee actually had the gall on Wednesday to table a bill that would open legislative conference committees and some other currently closed-door meetings to the public?
That even in these times, when the Richardson administration is dogged by pay-to-play allegations, when the former Senate president has admitted to using the legislative process to help steal millions of dollars in taxpayer money, when scandal after scandal after scandal is further jading an already skeptical public, the majority of members of the committee voted to shelve a proposal that would increase transparency and public confidence in the Legislature?
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