Republican Bill Would Shut Down Down Weather Satellites – The Republican-controlled Congress took steps to eliminate $700 million in funding for NOAA’s satellite program in its bill to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year (until October 2011). Though that bill is still being negotiated, the three-week continuing resolution that keeps the government open until April 8 also contained cuts to NOAA’s vital satellites. Making these short-sighted cuts now will force taxpayers to spend three to five times as much to buy exactly the same equipment 18-months down the road—a delay extremely likely to leave the nation without coverage since our current satellites are approaching the end of their projected service lives.
If Congress refuses to fund new environmental monitoring satellites to replace aging spacecraft that could fail at any time, it will undoubtedly expose Americans to increased risk from storms, floods, blizzards, and hurricanes.
Without the satellite data, NOAA’s forecasts lose as much as 50 percent of their accuracy. Failing to maintain our satellite network, according to NOAA, would reduce future flood preparedness time from days to mere hours, putting human lives at risk.
Meanwhile, more and more science is emerging that strengthens the link between unprecedented weather phenomena and human-caused global climate change.
(Oh, maybe that’s why Republicans want to shut down the satellites: Left side of mouth: We need more science before taking action. Right side of mouth: Shut down science before it shows any more facts! – JLV)
Republican Budget Proposal for Texas Will Result in 335,244 More Lost Jobs – Yesterday, the LBB came out with a report that told the truth about the disastrous cost of the Texas Republicans’ slash-and-burn budget— 271,746 jobs lost in 2012, and 63,498 more jobs lost in 2013.
As Paul Burka noted in his report at Texas Monthly, the projected job losses are devastating and “testify to human misery, and to the empty, self-congratulatory boastfulness of Texas’s leaders over the past decade.†Burka further said, “Perry, Dewhurst, Craddick, and yes, Straus—they have proven that they are so wed to their ideology, they will let the state go down the drain rather than take responsibility for the carnage that their policies have produced.â€
When faced with the truth about the budget shortfall, the Republicans instead engaged in denial about the budgetary realities needed to prevent these massive job losses. Texas Democrats urged their Republican colleagues to wake up and face reality about the major job losses that they’ll cause with the current budget.
With all this bad news, maybe it’s not surprising Perry had to get away from it all for a few days. He’s off to sunny California again, the land he loves to hate, for meetings and political speeches. But the myth of Texas’ economic superiority continues to crumble. With news like the jobs report from the LBB, pretty soon Perry is going to be all out of talking points.
Rick Perry Appointment Helps Buddy Make Millions – The man selected to run one of Gov. Perry’s economic development funds got rich off of private deals while running the fund for more than four years. A Texas Ranger investigation found that Perry appointee Alan Kirchhoff worked with one of the Fund’s advisory committee members to set up deals with companies seeking awards. Using his inside connections, Kirchhoff was able to turn his life from bankruptcies and failed businesses to become a millionaire.
Texas Generates 38 Percent of all Hazardous Waste in the Entire United States – Well folks, here is yet another interesting factoid on why Texas should continue to be regarded as the bright and shining light of rampant, unfettered capitalism; the state is freaking aglow in hazardous wastes. Just keep it a secret and do not tell anyone, it might scare the newcomers and tourists off.
According to 2009 data from the EPA, Texas alone, generates 38.1 percent of all hazardous waste in the entire United States. Yes, you read that correctly, nearly 40 percent of all hazardous waste in our entire country is created by just one state! Texas produces three times more hazardous waste than second place Georgia and more than 46 other states combined. Welcome to Perryland, where regulation doesn’t get in the way of profit.
The largest hazardous waste generator in Texas in 2009 was Solutia, Inc. of Alvin with 3,595,422 tons. Number two was BP in Texas City with 2,094,240 tons.
Regards,
Jim
Andy Hailey