This blog is to help me keep track of what I want to protest. I may as well use it to help me track what actions I took.
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March 5 - Attended an activist meeting. I am not alone in my quest for protection of our Earth.
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February 27, 2017
What I learned today: The House and the Senate office buildings each have their own ZIP code! The House is 20515. The Senate is 20510.
2/28/17 Mailing Great Horned Owl postcard to Rep. Lamborn.
The Honorable Doug Lamborn
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington DC 20515
Dear Mr. Lamborn,
Please protect your constituents by protecting the EPA. We are all dependent on our environment. Allowing a few industries to profit while damaging our land and poisoning our air and water is corporate welfare.
Please oppose HR 958, 637, and 861.
Protect your people.
Strengthen the EPA.
Thank you.
signed and stickered with a return address label.
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2/27/17 - Called Lamborn's office to Oppose HR 637. Let the EPA regulate greenhouse gasses. Even if climate change isn't a real problem, greenhouse gasses aren't any good to breathe anyway.
Actually, I babbled something a lot less coherent than that. But I did clearly state, Oppose HR 637.
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2/14/17 - Called Lamborn to oppose HR 958. "Protect your people by keeping the EPA strong."
2/14/17 - Called Sen. Gardner to oppose Scott Pruitt for EPA chief. Please delay the confirmation until the investigations can be completed. He may not be the right man for the job.
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2/7/17 - Voice Mail for Sen. Gardner: Please oppose Betsy DeVos for Sec. of Ed.
2/7/17 - Called Lamborn to oppose HJ Res. 38 and 46.
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I also made donations to Sierra Club, Greenpeace (Resist!) and PBS (a politically motivated way to access this season of Poldark.) I'd already donated to ACLU and the Red Owl Water Protector Legal Collective last fall to oppose DAPL.
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I have no idea if any of my actions will make even the slightest difference. But I have reached the point where I have to try.
US Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Monday, February 27, 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017
An Attempt to Deregulate Greenhouse Gasses
H.R. 637: Stopping
EPA Overreach Act of 2017
An Attempt to Deregulate Greenhouse Gasses
This bill is trying to “stop the EPA from overreaching its
congressional mandate”. The EPA
accepted that greenhouse gasses are
pollutants, and should therefore be regulated.
House bill 637 states that the EPA is wrong. Greenhouse gasses are not pollutants. Greenhouse gasses should not be
regulated.
“The term air pollutant does not include carbon dioxide,
water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or
sulfur hexafluoride,” ie: the greenhouse gasses.
Here’s a basic elementary level explanation of greenhouse
effects. Greenhouse gasses act kind of
like a window. You’re sitting in your
car in the summer. The sun beats down,
heating the inside of your car. But the
heat can’t escape. So you get really
hot.
With the greenhouse gasses, visible and ultraviolet light
pass through the gasses without problem.
The energy hits Earth, and warms it up.
The surface re-emits the energy as infrared. The longer wavelength infrared can’t pass
through the greenhouse gasses. So the
heat bounces off, returns to Earth’s surface and heats it some more.
Energy comes in. Some
of it leaves. Some stays. If too much leaves, Earth cools down. If too much stays, Earth warms up.
This is a VERY GOOD THING at the right levels. Without greenhouse gasses, we humans wouldn’t
exist because Earth would be very, VERY COLD.
Like Goldilocks, we were at the “just right” stage. But now we’re not. Earth is getting warmer.
When the greenhouse gas levels are too high, the energy is
trapped and Earth gets too hot. Our
sister planet, Venus, is an uninhabitable wasteland. Its atmosphere is made up of lots of
greenhouse gasses. The Sun’s energy goes
in. It converts to infrared. It can’t escape so bounces around between
clouds and surface boiling everything.
The Earth is warming.
Greenhouse gasses do cause warming.
Human activities are releasing greenhouse gasses. These are facts. There is no controversy here. The only controversy is how much of the
warming is caused by human activities.
And what can we do about it.
It’s much easier to say, “not our fault. Nothing we can do” than it is to spend the
money to change the way we do business.
H.R. 637 is an attempt to excuse industry. If we’re not releasing enough gas to be the
real problem – global climate change is a natural process - then greenhouse
gasses are not a pollutant. And our
businesses shouldn’t have to pay money to deal with it.
Unfortunately, the release of greenhouse gasses through
industry and lifestyles choices is very real.
The current build-up of greenhouse gasses is human caused. The speed of climate change is a direct
result of our actions.
Greenhouse gasses are a pollutant. They must be regulated before we turn Earth
into Venus. Oppose HR 637. Protect our food supply and our very lives by
regulating greenhouse gasses.
Colorado Senators:
Michael Bennett – Dem – 202-224-5852
Cory Gardner
- Rep - 202-224-5941
Sunday, February 19, 2017
The Speed of Legislation
The Speed of Legislation
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111
White House Comment Line: (202) 456-1111
U.S. Capitol Switchboard:
(202) 224-3121. Ask for the Senator or Representative from your district.
I always thought politics moved slowly. Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill” states,
“It’s a long, long wait.”
On Thursday, 2/16/17,
President Trump signed H.J.Res. 38, “Disapproving the rule submitted by the
Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule. “ Representative Johnson (R-OH) introduced it
on January 30. The House passed it on
Feb. 1, and the Senate less than 24 hours later. I had no idea they could move that fast! POTUS signed it on 2/16 creating Public Law
No: 115-5.
Mines can once again legally dump their waste into nearby
streams.
On the same day, 1/30/17, Rep. Gosar (R-AZ), introduced
H.R.Res. 46 “Providing for congressional disapproval of the final rule of the
National Park Service relating to “General Provisions and Non-Federal Oil and
Gas Rights’.” This one’s even
scarier. This says that Congress approves
of mining and drilling in national parks, even against the park’s best interest.
In this country, you probably do not own the mineral rights
under your house. A bunch of the newer
Park Service units do not own their mineral rights. This bill says that the owner of those rights
can barge in and start drilling. The
original “Non-Federal Oil and Gas Rights” law allowed parks to demand a
comprehensive environmental and public protection plan, and if the plan wasn’t
adequate, to deny any industry trying to operate within their borders.
This resolution says:
Nope. Oil, gas and mineral
extraction take precedence over pristine views, clean air, quiet, and public
health.
How can they do this?
Well, in 1996, Congress created the “Congressional Review Act” which
allows them to kill a new law if both chambers and the president agree. It’s only been used once before – Congress
and Mr. Bush dismantled one of Mr. Clinton’s final rules. Any actions performed in the previous
president’s final six months can be overturned.
Bills that took years to draft, analyze and approve can be exterminated
within days, with no recourse and no way to revive them.
Contact your Senators and Representatives and encourage them
to oppose H.J.Res. 46. (House Joint
Resolution 46). Let’s protect OUR
National Parks! Defeat H.J.Res 46.
Friday, February 17, 2017
Political Protest 101
Political Protest 101
I’ve spent my entire life avoiding politics. It always seemed pointless and hopeless. Political power swings around, but the general trends are consistent. Our American lives gradually improve while our environment gradually withers. Yes, your life is better than your great-grandparents. You get fresh fruit year-round. You don’t have to break the ice on the bucket before you wash your face. And you probably don’t even know anyone with polio, much less cholera or typhus.
But the gradual decay of our environment accelerated abruptly on January 20, 2017. Our new president and both houses seem determined to sacrifice the very land we live on so they can make easy money with their industrial friends.
I am now officially angry.
I am angry enough to write and call both senators and my representative.
I am angry enough to wade through the jargon and tedium of www.congress.gov.
I am angry enough to read some of the proposed legislation.
For the first time in my life, I am angry enough to become Politically Active.
Now, I need a place to store and organize this new information.
I created Aveline’s Odyssey as a practice blog, and a casual attempt at travel writing. It was mostly an experiment. Since it exists, I’m now turning it into my political page. At heart, both topics are about my love for our land and water, our animals, and our skies.
The info I’ve gleaned on protesting:
1) Call your Representative and both of your Senators. That’s 3 phone calls. Here in Colorado, I can trust Senator Bennett to act to protect the land, so it’s not as important for me to call him as often.
2) Keep your call short. The longer you talk, the less time there is for someone else to call in.
3) Give them (the aide, intern or answering machine) your name, your ZIP code, and what you want your representative to support or oppose.
4) According to other sources on the internet, your opinion will be tallied. If there are enough marks, your rep may change his vote. (Yes, "his". I know there 104 women currently serving. But the other 431 members identify as “He”).
5) Call on one issue, state the bill designation, and state your position. Keep it simple and short.
6) When your representatives are home, go to the meetings and speak up. Multiple sources agree that we the people don’t usually bother. Most legislation has so little public input that your voice is clearly heard.
That’s it for Protest 101 – Call. Keep it simple. Give them your ZIP code.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Colorado
Senator Michael Bennett (Democrat) (202) 224-5852
Senator Cory Gardner (Republican) (202) 224-5941
Representative Doug Lamborn (Republican. Colorado Springs-Buena Vista) (202) 225-4422
I’ve spent my entire life avoiding politics. It always seemed pointless and hopeless. Political power swings around, but the general trends are consistent. Our American lives gradually improve while our environment gradually withers. Yes, your life is better than your great-grandparents. You get fresh fruit year-round. You don’t have to break the ice on the bucket before you wash your face. And you probably don’t even know anyone with polio, much less cholera or typhus.
But the gradual decay of our environment accelerated abruptly on January 20, 2017. Our new president and both houses seem determined to sacrifice the very land we live on so they can make easy money with their industrial friends.
I am now officially angry.
I am angry enough to write and call both senators and my representative.
I am angry enough to wade through the jargon and tedium of www.congress.gov.
I am angry enough to read some of the proposed legislation.
For the first time in my life, I am angry enough to become Politically Active.
Now, I need a place to store and organize this new information.
I created Aveline’s Odyssey as a practice blog, and a casual attempt at travel writing. It was mostly an experiment. Since it exists, I’m now turning it into my political page. At heart, both topics are about my love for our land and water, our animals, and our skies.
The info I’ve gleaned on protesting:
1) Call your Representative and both of your Senators. That’s 3 phone calls. Here in Colorado, I can trust Senator Bennett to act to protect the land, so it’s not as important for me to call him as often.
2) Keep your call short. The longer you talk, the less time there is for someone else to call in.
3) Give them (the aide, intern or answering machine) your name, your ZIP code, and what you want your representative to support or oppose.
4) According to other sources on the internet, your opinion will be tallied. If there are enough marks, your rep may change his vote. (Yes, "his". I know there 104 women currently serving. But the other 431 members identify as “He”).
5) Call on one issue, state the bill designation, and state your position. Keep it simple and short.
6) When your representatives are home, go to the meetings and speak up. Multiple sources agree that we the people don’t usually bother. Most legislation has so little public input that your voice is clearly heard.
That’s it for Protest 101 – Call. Keep it simple. Give them your ZIP code.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Colorado
Senator Michael Bennett (Democrat) (202) 224-5852
Senator Cory Gardner (Republican) (202) 224-5941
Representative Doug Lamborn (Republican. Colorado Springs-Buena Vista) (202) 225-4422
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