Sunday, June 27, 2010

Markey: Why's BP Still Getting Away With Heavy Dispersant Use?

| Thu Jun. 24, 2010 12:56 PM PDT

BP has not been meeting the directive from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard to slash dispersant use in the Gulf, as David and I reported Wednesday. On Thursday, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) pressed the EPA and the Coast Guard on why the company is being allowed to violate their orders.
Markey points out that BP has not eliminated surface application of the chemicals. While they've cut them, "volumes hover around 10,000 gallons” every day. And on several days, BP has surpassed the 15,000 gallon limit on undersea application at the spill source.
“Million of gallons of chemical dispersant have been added to the Gulf waters, contributing to a toxic stew of chemicals, oil and gas with impacts that are not well understood,” wrote Markey. Markey has also been pressing BP on the issue of undersea plumes of oil, which is likely caused by these dispersants.
Meanwhile, the EPA has not yet concluded its own tests on both Corexit, BP's dispersant of choice, and alternatives. Markey acknowledged that "this type of scientific evaluation takes time to accomplish," but argued that the federal government should at least be pushing BP to meet the goal of reducing the use of Corexit as they finalize those tests.

Obama ditches press at G8 summit

By Eric Zimmermann - 06/26/10 01:37 PM ET

President Obama spent some time away from the traveling press corps last night, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Obama is always accompanied by a "pool" reporter when he travels, who notes the president's movements and reports back to the rest of the White House reporters. But last night, with the President in Muskoka, Ontario for the G-8 summit, the White House sent the pooler away.
From WSJ:

Last night, the White House sent the press corps — which by agreement stays close to the president in order to report on any incident — back to Toronto, leaving the president 150 miles behind. In the wee hours of this morning, the crew of a dozen or so reporters and photographers in the press corps got back on a bus and returned to Muskoka for the day’s events.

Obama caused a bit of a stir when he previously left the pool behind to attend his daughter's soccer game in DC.

G20 Looks to Weaken Fossil Fuel Subsidy Agreement

— By Kate Sheppard

| Thu Jun. 24, 2010 10:06 AM PDT

At a largely disappointing G20 summit last September, one of the few bright spots was the agreement that member nations would phase out fossil fuel subsidies. But as G20 prepares to meet this week in Toronto, it looks like that commitment will be substantially watered down.
Leaked draft language (PDF) obtained by ClimateWire indicates that leaders may weaken the language on fossil fuels, suggesting that commitments will be "voluntary" and "member specific":

We reviewed progress made to date in identifying inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and we agree to continue working to develop voluntary, member-specific approaches for the rationalization and phase out of such measures.

"This is quite worrisome," said Steve Kretzman, head of Oil Change International, a group advocating for the subsidy cuts. "This amounts to saying they may phase out fossil fuel subsidies if they feel like it."
It's not yet known which G20 member(s) are responsible for the less-ambitious language. It might not be the US this time, despite America's reputation when it comes to international agreements. Obama's 2011 budget called for the elimination of 12 tax breaks for oil, gas, and coal companies, which is expected to raise $39 billion in the next 10 years. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and several other senators have drafted a bill that would follow through on that, which looks likely to be included in the Senate's energy, oil spill, and (possibly) climate legislation next month.
The G20 meeting starts Sunday in Toronto.

Pensacola Beach Closed Due to Oil Spill

David Knowles

Posted:

06/24/10

It came ashore on Wednesday, and by Thursday it had caused the state of Florida to officially close Pensacola Beach.

In a development that no one wanted to see, thick toxic oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon spill blackened the famous beach and sent clean-up crews into overdrive.

Touring Pensacola Beach on Wednesday, Gov. Charlie Crist called the sight of the oil "disgusting." The Pensacola News Journal, meanwhile, reacted with bitterness to the fouling of the city's central tourist attraction:

The sign at Pensacola Beach Properties boasted "Always has been, always will be -- the most beautiful beaches in the world."

Not on Wednesday.

Because surely, there's a white sand beach somewhere in the world that doesn't look like it was vomited on by Big Oil.

In addition to the beach closures, a health advisory has also been issued for surrounding Escambia County.

Until Wednesday, only stray tar balls had made it to Pensacola Beach.

Obama tells senators to 'vote their conscience' on Kagan

By Sam Youngman - 06/27/10 06:58 PM ET

President Barack Obama said Sunday that efforts to oppose Solicitor General Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court are composed of "pretty thin gruel," and he is confident the Senate will come to find her as well qualified.

With Kagan's confirmation hearings set to begin this week, Obama, speaking at a press conference at the conclusion of the G-20 in Toronto, said that senators "should pay attention" to Kagan's record and testimony and then "vote their conscience."

The president said he expects his former colleagues in the Senate from both sides of the aisle to ask his nominee "tough questions," but he said he is confident that a "fair reading" of Kagan's record and testimony will result in Senate confirmation.

The president praised Kagan as "somebody with an extraordinary intellect, somebody with good judgment" and someone who understands how the law impacts the lives of average Americans.

Kristol, Liz Cheney praise Obama on Afghanistan

By Eric Zimmermann - 06/27/10 01:36 PM ET

President Obama received some unlikely praise Sunday from two of his fiercest critics.
Liz Cheney and the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol both said on Fox News Sunday that Obama did the right thing by replacing Gen. Stanley McChrystal with Gen. David Petraeus.
"The president did the right thing and he deserves praise for accepting General McChrystal's resignation, which was necessary, I think, appointing David Petraeus to take over command of the war in Afghanistan," Kristol said.
But Kristol went even farther, praising Obama for creating some wiggle room on the July 2011 date for the beginning of troop withdrawal.
"I think he's basically going to move as far as he can, without explicitly sort of contradicting himself, to take that burden off the back of General Petraeus as he attempts to win the war," Kristol said.
Like Kristol, Cheney gave Obama points for a swift decision on replacing his top general in Afghanistan, but also called on Obama to "completely and explicitly repudiate the July 2011 deadline."
"I think that Bill is right that the president did the right thing and that the president deserves credit," she said. "And I did think the president's speech announcing the change was a good speech."

Intelligence Committee chairwoman open to delaying Afghan deadline

By Eric Zimmermann - 06/27/10 02:32 PM ET

The chairwoman of the Select Intelligence Committee said she is "absolutely" open to delaying the July 2011 date for a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on Fox News Sunday this morning that if Gen. David Petraeus wants more time in Afghanistan, she'd support him.
"I would say give it to him, absolutely," she said. "Now, let's talk about the deadline. This is a transition point toward the beginning of a withdrawal or a draw down, as Petraeus said in his transcript before the armed services."
Feinstein suggested that in the course of such a long war, an extra six months--the time period she was asked about--wouldn't be that long.
"I think [Petraeus] has flexibility, realistically. Ten years is a long time to fight a war, particularly with what happened before the 10 years," she said. "And so we need to understand that to get the military trained, get the government online, secure and stabilize and, I think, do away with the drugs to a great extent -- because the drugs are now fueling the Taliban."
Senate Armed Services chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said this morning that Petraeus supports the July 2011 date.

Join Rep. Barbara Lee for a Peace Party!

Feinstein: Kagan would be 'mainstream breath' on Supreme Court

By Bridget Johnson - 06/27/10 10:44 AM ET

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday that Elena Kagan would be a "mainstream breath" on the Supreme Court.

"It will not be far right. It will not be far left. It will be in the middle," the Judiciary Committee member said on "Fox News Sunday."
But fellow Judiciary panel member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), while acknowledging that President Barack Obama would nominate a liberal to the court, said that he would have to be convinced in the hearings that start Monday that Kagan will not bring judicial activism to the bench.
"She'll have to convince me that all of this liberalism that she's lived with all her life can be put in a proper place and when she gets to be a judge she'll be left of center but within the mainstream of judging," Graham said.
Both senators agreed that Kagan was highly qualified to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, but Graham said there were questions about Kagan that needed to be answered.
"When it comes to the Supreme Court, we're going to have a challenging hearing, and I think she'll do well, but she's going to have to earn her way onto the court," he said.
"I believe the drift net has been out to find some disqualifying factor and it hasn't been found," Feinstein said.

President Barack Obama to Complete Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

June 26, 2010

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Applauds Announcement by President Barack Obama to Complete Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement

(WASHINGTON, DC)– Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-6), Senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Financial Services Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade, applauded President Obama’s announcement at the G-20 today to launch an initiative to complete the Korean-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). Completing KORUS allows the U.S. to compete in one of the world’s important markets and as a result would help to create jobs at a time when they are desperately needed.

“This announcement by President Obama comes at a critical time when the U.S. economy is rebuilding after being hard hit by one of our country’s greatest recessions. Completing KORUS will not only benefit the U.S. by creating additional jobs here at home, it will also serve to further deepen ties between the U.S. and South Korea. There is no question that greater U.S. access South Korea, the 14th largest economy in the world, will be good for American producers and service providers,” stated Congress Meeks.
Without a ratified agreement in place the U.S. is in danger of seeing a further unfavorable imbalance in the U.S.-Korea import market share, and the U.S. risks losing advantage to the prospect of agreements between South Korea and several countries including Europe and Canada. Completing the KORUS would give the U.S. the ability to compete in the market without the many tariff and non-tariff barriers that currently stand in the way of market access in South Korea.
USTR Ambassador, Ron Kirk, will be working closely with Congress to ensure that proposals developed will adequately address the concerns of the U.S. and would ideally be completed for President Obama’s next visit at the G-20 meeting in November.

Congressman Meeks added, “As a senior member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Financial Services Committee I plan to work closely with President Obama and USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk to ensure that this partnership between the U.S. and our important ally South Korea will become a reality in the near future. We need the new jobs it will generate and cannot afford to lose current jobs that we would not retain if we lose what studies estimate could be $30 billion in exports without this deal. ”

Now serving in his sixth full-term, Meeks was elected to the House on February 3, 1998. Representing New York's Sixth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, Meeks' district covers all towns of Southeast Queens, Far Rockaway and Howard Beach. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Congressman Meeks is the Chairman of the International Monetary Policy & Trade Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. He is a Member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), New Democrats Coalition and the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He serves as the Co-chair of the Malaysia Caucus, Services Caucus, Dialogue Caucus, OAS Caucus and the Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus.

Chairman Levin Statement on Korea FTA

June 26, 2010

By Matthew Beck (202) 225-8933 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin (D-MI) issued the following statement in response to the Obama Administration's announcement today on the U.S. - South Korea Free Trade Agreement:
"The long standing problem with the U.S.-South Korea FTA as negotiated by the Bush Administration is that it does not effectively address the regulatory and tax barriers that have led to one way trade and hurt our industrial sector as well as kept out our beef. Until recently, South Korea was unwilling to discuss changes to address these vital issues in the industrial sector so they may be incorporated in the FTA along with the existing provisions for U.S. trade in agriculture and services.
"Congress expects to be consulted actively in these negotiations, and the date targeted by the President can be met only if the outstanding issues are fully addressed with enforceable commitments."

###

Politics - what I see and what I do not understand

Pages