For the past three days scientists have measured 250 small earthquakes in Yellowstone National Park, and are keeping a close watch to see if more activity is on the way.  While sesimic activity is normal for the area and the Park assures there’s no reason to worry, experts are still startled by the sudden increase in rumblings.  I’m certainly going to hold off on my plans to visit the park, at least temporarily.  The AP reports that Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah remarked:

They’re certainly not normal…we haven’t had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years.

Hopefully there is no serious cause for alarm, but it is certainly critical that we keep tabs on sudden shifts in the planets rhythyms.

takepart by learning how to keep your pulse on the planet and help solve the climate crisis.

Related: Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Photo:  orkybash’s Flickr Photostream (Creative Commons)

With only a few weeks remaining in Bush’s final term, you would assume that you could finally take a breath, relax and enjoy the waning days of his disastrous terms. However, Bush and his cronies are a bit sneakier than that and are trying to ram through some dreadful 11th hour policies that would have detrimental long-term consequences.  Bush has signaled to oil companies that they can do their Christmas shopping on our treasured national lands.

Bush’s plan will open up the Redrock Wildnerness Area in Utah to mining. This pristine land is near American jewels such as Canyonlands, Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument. On December 19th, an auction will be held to the highest oil and gas bidders to sell off leases to 160,000 acres of this land for drilling.

We must stop the Bush Administration’s 11th hour attempts to inflict their final disastrous environmental policies on the American public.  takepart today to sign the Natural Resources Defense Council’s petition to stop this land grab.

In another upsetting, but not entirely shocking move, the Bush Administration has overturned a 25 year old ban on carrying concealed, loaded guns in national parks.  A farewell bow to the pressure of lobbyists, incuding the NRA, the relaxed restriction will likely prove more of a threat to the saftey of visitors to parks and wildlife refuges, rather than protect anyone, as the supporters argue.  I mean really, what are these people doing in parks that they really feel the need to be packin’ heat?!  Did a possum steal their trailmix?!  The risks associated with carrying a loaded firearm, far out weigh any supposed safety claim.   The Administration doesn’t have to look far to realize the potential hazzards of accidental shootings.  But Cheney jokes aside, national parks should be places for peace and relaxation, not target practice for 2nd Amendment zealots.

The rule, soon to be in place, will be difficult to undo, as MSNBC reports:

The park rule will be published in the Federal Register early next week and take effect 30 days later, well before Obama takes office Jan. 20. Overturning the rule could take months or even years, since it would require the new administration to restart the lengthy rule-making process.

Hopefully Obama will find a swift way to repeal this and other last minute lame duck legislation.

takepart by getting involved with the Brady Campaign to prevent gun violence and fight for stricter gun laws.  And here’s Lewis Black to share his thoughts on gun control:

Read the rest of this entry »

I know lame duck Presidents like to sweep dirty things under the rug when they think no one is looking, but by allowing coal mining companies to dump debris into rivers and valleys, Bush has reached a new filthy low. While I’m not entirely surprised Bush and his team would continue to protect their industry friends at the expense of environmental degradation and human health, but I’m dumbfounded once again that the Environmental Protection Agency scurries behind them.  The New York Times reports:

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to finish work on a rule that would make it easier for utilities to put coal-fired generating stations near national parks. It is working on another rule that would allow utility companies to modify coal-fired power plants and increase their emissions without installing new pollution-control equipment.

As if there aren’t enough messes for President-Elect Obama to clean up when he steps into office, Bush (despite claiming otherwise) wants to make sure that the air, water and sky are blackened thoroughly so no one will see him run for the hills.  Unfortunately for him, those hills will be leveled for coal mining.  Oy.
takepart by telling your representative to not to reverse protections against dirty coal tricks.

Related: Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Although it’s twilight for the Bush Administration, the president and his cronies aren’t savoring their final hours by propping up their cowboy boots tipping back their gallon hats while they toast each other to all of the havoc their policies have wreaked on the world. No, they’re still busy and there’s a lot of dirty, ugly stuff the Bush Administration is ramming through in its final days. We can’t lose our focus on stopping some of their final nasty 11^th hour regulations and rollbacks that will be a final Bush imprint on our air, water, public lands, wildlife and consumer policies. The Administration is being extra clever by trying to get these regulations in place by November 22^nd, which would make it even more difficult for the Obama Administration to undo them. I’ve already written about a couple of these lovely proposals, but there are 90 total, so here are some highlights along with organizations fighting these new regulations. Takepart today with the organizations listed with each item to stop Bush’s final onslaught.

1. Grand Canyon. Yes, one of our nation’s treasured goals is under assault as the current Administration has allowed uranium mining within three miles of the park. Takepart with Environmental Working Group
2. Mountaintop Mining Removal. If mining wasn’t already a highly polluting exercise to retrieve an energy source, the Bush Administration seems to want to up the ante to make it an even greater source of pollution by giving waivers to mining companies to directly dump their mountaintop waste directly into nearby rivers and streams. Takepart with the Sierra Club.
3. Power plants. Again, the Bush Administration seems to just love these pollution emitters and wants energy companies to dictate our air standards. Their proposals would allow for plants to be built near national parks and wilderness areas. And, they would like to establish a loophole so that older plants will not be required to add pollution-control technology if they increase their emissions (as currently required under the Clean Air Act). Takepart with NRDC.
4. Logging. As I already wrote, Bush and his cronies want to open up protected areas in western Oregon to logging. Takepart with the Wilderness Society.
5. Endangered Species Act. The Administration would remove the required approval by scientists about the impact of a policy or law on an endangered species. Takepart today with the National Wildlife Federation.
6. Truck Drivers. A dangerous new regulation would allow them to drive 10% more without a break, placing themselves and other vehicles on the road at increased risk. Takepart with OMB Watch.
7. Endangered Species Act. This historic Act could be weakened if the Administration allows for changes to the normal approval process by not requiring the executive branch to consult with an independent agency to determine whether a project could endanger a species. Takepart today with the National Wildlife Federation.
8. Individuals with Disabilities. Bush is proposing to water down the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act by weakening accessibility standards and reducing access enforcement. This would amount to discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Takepart with United Cerebal Palsy.
9. Medicaid benefits to be reduced. The amount of out-patient hospital services provided to low-income people through Medicaid’s would be cut. Takepart with OMB Watch.
10. Family Planning. The Administration is threatening to cut funding to health facilities and organizations that refuse to hire people who refuse to provide birth control. The proposal could define some types of birth control as abortion. takepart with the National Women’s Law Center.

(photo by Storm Crypt)

Let’s say you’re the outgoing administration, and you’re pretty sure that the new guys coming in are going to try and undo everything you’ve done on environmental policy, in part by replacing the people that made these policies.  What do you do to try to cement your policy, keep these people in jobs, and make it slightly harder for the next administration to do their thing?  The Washington Post has one idea, and it’s called burrowing:

Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department’s top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies — including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions — into senior civil service posts.

This means that some key jobs which were Bush appointments now are civil service jobs, which obviously do not roll over every new president.  Now, to be fair, this is certainly not new.  The Post states that, “In its last 12 months, the Clinton administration approved 47 such moves, including seven at the senior executive level.”

It’s interesting that so many of these shifts, though, are happening where environmental policy are made.  It seems that the Bush people think they’ve hit on some pretty good rules concerning taking care of nature.

Read the rest of this entry »

Adding to the list of irreparable damages left for a legacy, President Bush and his cronies are now set to open 10,000 acres of public land in eastern Utah, to allow for drilling of natural gas and oil.  The Bureau of Land Management plans to auction off the tracts of land, which border three national parks, conveniently one month before Bush leaves office, making it difficult for the next administration to reverse the plan.  According to the New York Times:

National Park Service officials say that the decision to open lands close to Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument and within eyeshot of Canyonlands National Park was made without the kind of consultation that had previously been routine.

This is a lasting impression we can’t afford to let Bush leave behind.

takepart by supporting the National Parks Conservation Association and help protect these natural treasures.

Related:  Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Photo: Arches National Park, NYTimes

I didn’t know that this was actually possible, but conservation groups have failed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency to force the agency to clean up the pollution that is spilling into America’s “national parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges,” according to the Associated Press (via The Seattle Times).   From the article:

Earthjustice attorney Jennifer Chavez says the EPA has not met deadlines set by the Clean Air Act to get a plan from every state for cleaning up the haze that plagues places like Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mountains national parks.

Now, I know that the EPA is tasked with regulating air quality, but I’m not sure the law is going to hold that they’re literally responsible for air quality.   I don’t know if groups can actually sue the EPA about this.   So I asked a lawyer.

Read the rest of this entry »

A couple weeks back, our Inconvenient Truth of the Day was that a judge overturned a Bush Administration proposal to allow up to 540 snowmobiles a day in Yellowstone National Park, citing the adverse effects to the health of the park and its visitors.   Unfortunately, it turns out this decision could severly hinder the park’s winter operations, and could shut down much of the park.

Yellowstone officials have now announced they are fast-tracking a plan to allow for some snowmobiles and snow coaches to be used in the park.   The plan should be ready by early next month, and will be followed by a fifteen-day comment period.   If approved, the plan would thus be ready by the start of the official winter season at Yellowstone, December 15.  The Los Angeles Times announces that conservation groups are cautiously optimistic for the plan.

Read the rest of this entry »

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

Participant Media Takes Burning Man by Blair Golson

Hurricane Gustav: Photo Update by Joshua Tremblay

* * *

Nicole Hughes:

Top 5 Tips for Biking to Work

Obama Acceptance Speech: Green Energy Highlights

* * *

Andy Kondrat:

A Survey of the Top 10 Greenest Presidents

HP Designs Laptop for Wal-Mart, Reduces 97% of Packaging

* * *

Jon Popham:

Open Mic Reveals Right-Leaning Journalists’ Real Views

Comcast Appeals FCC Net Neutrality Decision

* * *

Giulia Rozzi:

Getting What You Want

Female Amputee Competes in Beijing Olympics

* * *

Gina Telaroli:

Heart Not Happy with Sarah “Barracuda” Palin

Top 10 Cancer Movies That’ll Make You Stand Up