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)

MoveOn.Org
VICTORY!
Last night, together, we made history.

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NARAL Pro-Choice America
Victory for Choice!
We did it!

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IAVA
Congratulations on your victory. Both you and Senator McCain are true patriots, and you each ran a remarkable campaign. While I’m sure you’re relieved that the election is over, now is the time to bring all Americans together, get to work, and focus on the next four years of governing.
We look forward to working with you and the new Congress to support Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families.

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Yesterday I gave you a little rundown of the whale/Navy fight that was to be presented to the Supreme Court.  Well, arguments were presented to the justices yesterday, and wouldn’t you know it, it seems like they’re divided along ideological lines.  Weird.  Reuters reports that, not surprisingly, 

The four liberal justices expressed concern over the administration’s failure to do an environmental impact statement before sonar training exercises began off the southern California coast.
During the arguments, the conservative justices appeared supportive of the administration’s argument that judges should defer to the judgment of the Navy and Bush, and allow the submarine-hunting exercises.

However, in some excerpts of some of the dialogue posted on NPR’s site, it becomes pretty clear that the brunt of the Court’s aggression was reserved for the conservationists.

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I think we’re all pretty familiar with corporate greenwashing, in which toxic companies attempt to downplay their destructive habits by touting any little green effort they can muster.   But as we move towards a green economy, we must be wary of businesses that try to pass of their pollution-based operations as beneficial for the planet.   One such effort is underway from the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry front group that has spent $1.3 million in ads leading up to this year’s presidential election, which suggest that using coal power is “environmentally responsible”.  Despite this ruse, and efforts to create “clean” coal technology, the reality is that this dirty, destructive, and limited resource is not the answer to our worlds energy needs, and definitely not the solution to climate change.

As John Grant writes in his book, The Green Marketing Manifesto:

You can’t put a lettuce in the window of a butcher’s shop and declare that you are now ‘turning vegetarian’.

And for a good laugh, check out NRDC’s parody of the coal industry.
takepart by joining the Stop Global Warming Virtual March.

You may not be intimately familiar with the Kingston Trio, a folk group that originated in then 1950’s, probably best known for their reinterpration of “Tom Dooley,” or their original, “The MTA.”  In case you are aware of the group, then you’ll also find it sad that Nick Reynolds, a founding member of the trio, passed away on Wednesday in San Diego.

In celebration of the man and the group, here’s a video of the group in its heyday performing the classic “The MTA,” with Mr. Reynolds on vocals.

A sad event, indeed.   In reading the obituary on the Trio’s website, I noticed that in lieu of flowers, “Nick’s family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Natural Resources Defense Council.”  I can’t think of a better time than now to do so, in the memory of a great musician.   So takepart and visit the website for the NRDC, and give if you can.   And here’s another classic Trio track.

Beekeepers in the United Kingdom are asking for £8 million ($16 million) to fund research into identifying and eliminating threats to the country’s honeybee population, which they say could be wiped out in the next 10 years. Still struggling to ward off the colony destroying effects of the Varroa Destructor, an aptly named mite, the British Beekeeping Association hopes to avoid large-scale Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which is threatening hives around the world.

While the causes of CCD are not entirely understood, the disappearance of bees is considered a major threat to the world’s food supply. There are three major theories about the cause of CCD: Pesticides, Parasites, and Pressure (stress caused by poor nutrition, nectar scarcity, contaminated or limited water supplies, overcrowding and excessive migratory demands). Many small-scale beekeeping operations have reported no signs of CCD, most likely because the stresses on the bees are far fewer and the apiarist is able to keep a much closer watch on the health of the hive.

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David Orr went on to moderate the next panel titled, Climate Problems and Solutions; Local to Global with Bill Becker , Executive Director of the Presidential Climate Action Project; Robert Kennedy Jr, Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and President of Waterkeeper Alliance; and Michelle Wyman, Executive Director for the US Office of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

Darryl Hannah, who looked stunning in person, introduced the panel. She was extremely well versed on the subject and seemed to speak from the heart when introducing the panel.

But, it was Robert Kennedy Jr. who stole the show. Wow. I don’t know if it’s his lineage, good looks or political savvy but he was all that and more. He made a strong argument for using federal funds to build out infrastructure to transmit clean energy. There is enough energy in the barren northwest to power the whole country, we just lack the means to get it where it needs to go. He also talked about the importance of creating a free market driven by clean energy where innovators are incentivized and inefficiency is punished. So instead of trillion dollar subsidies to oil companies, the wind farmer in Texas would finally be styling!

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I always look forward to receiving my Harpers Magazine when it arrives snuggly stuffed in my narrow apartment mailbox, and when it does, I usually go straight to the Index. The Harper’s Index, for those not in the know, is a list of fun and fascinating figures and statistics that will make you seem really smart and interesting if you can rattle a few off at cocktail parties. Today’s featured fact: the estimated amount by which per-gallon gas prices would change if the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were drilled is a whopping 4 cents (some figures are as low as 2 cents). In other words, if we let oil companies have free reign to scourge one of America’s most important onshore habitats for millions of species, I’ll spend $67.40 instead of $68.00 to fill my gas tank. Worth it? I don’t think so.

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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!

Katie Halper:

Necklacing Returns to South Africa, Tutu Calls for Peace, and History Repeats Itself

Ted Kennedy’s Malignant Brain Tumor: Sad News, But the Work Goes On

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Nicole Hughes:

Bush’s Food Aid Package Promotes Use of GMOs

Gas Prices Exceed Those of 1973 Oil Crisis

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Andy Kondrat:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Cost US 38 Trillion Annually

USDA Budget Squeeze Forces Agency to Stop Tracking Pesticide Use

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Jon Popham:

Brooklyn Bridge Birthday Celebration!

Smokey the Bear: Environmental Icon

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Giulia Rozzi:

Suicide Tourism in New York City

Kristin Davis and Her Solar Powered Home

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Gina Telaroli:

Media That Matters Film Festival Premieres on May 28th

Top 10 Ways Indiana Jones Saved the World: Part #1

A new study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Tufts University warns that if the United States fails to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically and quickly, the nation might have to spend $3.8 trillion annually due to the effects of climate change.

The Austin American-Statesmen reports the multi-trillion dollar price tag that comes with inaction would be due to “higher energy and water costs, real estate losses from hurricanes, rising sea levels and other problems.”

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