“It is clear nominee has a passion for national parks but … will
she value our wildlands and wildlife in the face of endless pressure by
industry to drill…” ─ Center for Biological Diversity
Re-reporting, editing by
Carolyn Bennett
 |
| BP Oil Spill |
In “Big Oil’s in Good Hands with Obama’s New Interior
Secretary,” Stephen Lendman first recalls the anti-environmental stewardship of
the previous secretary.
 |
| BP Oil Spill |
Outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Supported BP’s Deepwater Horizon
operation
Ignored environmental risks
 |
| BP Oil Spill |
Approved BP’s exploration plan with
no environmental analysis
Permitted Gulf of Mexico disaster
Granted ‘categorical exemptions,’ after
BP’s rig exploded, to expand offshore drilling
Surpassed the previous government’s
anti-environmental policies
Shared anti-environmental culpability
(with the current government) in having backed dangerous nuclear expansion and remained
beholden to oil and gas interests, continued an official drill-drill-drill policy, paid lip service without progressive action on environmental concerns
Lendman said Kenneth Lee Salazar came into the office with a history of
anti-environmentalism. As junior senator from Colorado, he opposed fuel
efficiency, supported unrestricted oil and gas drilling on federal lands. He voted
against Gulf of Mexico drilling protections and fought them as Interior Secretary.
On resigning from Interior, he leaves “a deplorable environmental record,”
Lendman said.
And he seemed in lockstep with his president, as indicated in comments by former
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit, quoted by Lendman:
So far under [President Barack]
Obama, industry has been winning the race as it obtains more and more land for
oil and gas.
Over the past four years, the
industry has leased more than 6 million acres, compared with only 2.6 million
acres permanently protected.
|
A
|
n appeal from a broad spectrum of groups concerned with the environment
and related issues was sent to the U.S. President last month urging him to
nominate a qualified person to head the Department of the Interior.
“The selection of the
next Interior Secretary … is an important moment to place renewed emphasis and
urgency on some of the most critical issues of our age, including climate
change, the protection of endangered species and preservation of water and wild
lands,” the letter said. The opening of the position following the resignation
of Secretary Salazar offers “an opportunity to continue a great American
tradition of expanding parks and wildlife protection,” the letter said.
 |
| Cheetah |
“Congressman Grijalva is the right person to oversee tribal
relations in a way that is respectful and beneficial both to our Native
American communities and the country as a whole.”
Signed by a broad coalition of 260 conservation, Hispanic,
recreation, animal welfare, religious, labor, youth, business and women’s
groups, the letter urged President Obama to nominate Rep. Raúl Grijalva, currently
the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and
Public Lands, and a leading Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.
|
“
|
As ranking member and former chairman of the House
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands,” the letter said, “Congressman
Grijalva has been a tireless and effective leader on conservation and land
management issues faced by the Department of the Interior. Congressman Grijalva
has unparalleled expertise with Native Americans and Indian tribes, a strong understanding of border issues, a well‐established and pragmatic conservation ethic, and valuable experience with a wide variety of funding challenges.…
 |
| Biodiversity North Bengal |
“We strongly believe Congressman Grijalva exemplifies the
modern and forward thinking vision of the Department of the Interior.”
|
T
|
he President effectively ignored the recommendation and nominated
a sports equipment seller and a shady-business-practices banker for the
position of U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Lendman reported in “Big Oil’s in Good Hands with Obama’s
New Interior Secretary Sally Jewell” that in the years 1996 to 2000, Jewell had
been “president of the Washington Mutual (WaMu) commercial banking group,” a
concern that, before it collapsed, had been “the nation’s largest mortgage
lender and “rife with fraud.” An investigation by the U.S. Senate, he said, “had
discovered gross deception: loan officers receiving bonuses for speedy subprime
mortgage closures, overcharging, and levying stiff prepayment penalties.”
 |
| Sally Jewell |
Salazar’s successor
Incoming Interior Secretary Sally Jewell
In his February 8 article at Global Research, Stephen
Lendman assessed the chances of getting new, progressive leadership at Interior
and said Sally Jewell “was not chosen to be a friend of the earth. Responsible
stewardship,” he said, “is excluded from her mandate.
She’ll be low key and soft spoken.
She’ll conceal official policy.
She is Big Oil’s woman in Washington
Whatever Big Oil wants it gets.
|
T
|
he Keystone XL Pipeline System construction to carry “one of
the world’s dirtiest fuels (tar sands oil) … to double America’s dirty tar
sands oil supply and increase environmental toxicity exponentially”; on a route,
likely “to devastate ecosystems, pollute water sources, jeopardize public
health” ─ Sally Jewell, he said, will give the full backing of the U.S. Department
of Interior.
The Keystone Pipeline System is a
pipeline system to transport synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen (‘dilbit’)
from the Athabasca oil sands region in northeastern Alberta, Canada, to
multiple destinations in the United States, which include refineries in
Illinois, the Cushing oil distribution hub in Oklahoma, and proposed
connections to refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. [Wikipedia note]
“She will oversee oil and gas production and give free rein
to industry,” Lendman said. “No matter the stakes, Big Oil wants it, so do
Republicans, many Democrats, and President Obama; and Jewell will support it as
part of her mandate at Interior. She won’t disappoint.”
Issues warning
 |
| Destinies linked Biodiversity |
Friends of life concerned, guarded, strangely hopeful
Following the president’s public lauding of his sports equipment/shady
banking candidate for Interior, the Center for Biological Diversity last
Wednesday responded, dejectedly, it seemed, as they too had urged the
appointment of Congressman Grijalva to the post. Executive Secretary, Kierán
Suckling said, “America’s public lands and endangered species are in dire need
of visionary leadership. We hope Sally Jewell brings the same determination and
transparency to running the Department of the Interior as she did to REI.”
[Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), President and CEO Sally
Jewell sells outdoor gear and sporting goods through dozens of U.S. retail
outlets, sales approaching $2 billion annually (Lendman reports)].
“The next Interior secretary will face monumental tasks in
protecting species, preserving public lands, safeguarding clean air and water
and preserving a healthy climate for future generations,” the Center for
Biological Diversity’s Executive Secretary said.|
“I
|
t’s vital that our oceans, forests, deserts and rivers are
protected and preserved and not turned over to big businesses looking to make a
profit from our publicly owned resources.
We hope that Sally Jewell shows brave
leadership in finally addressing the climate crisis, reversing the tide of
species extinctions and protecting wild lands that are vital to wildlife and
people alike.
 |
| Sally Jewell |
“It is clear the secretary of the Interior nominee has a
passion for national parks. But the challenge is whether she will value our
wildlands and wildlife in the face of endless pressure by industry to drill for
fossil fuels in areas within Interior’s jurisdiction.
If she can stand strong
against bad ideas such as Arctic oil drilling and fracking (hydraulic
fracturing) on public lands, then she will likely be a success.
“Nature needs a true champion at this point in history.”
|
A
|
t the website for Center for Biological Diversity, its
mission is rooted in the belief “that the welfare of human beings is deeply
linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild
animals and plants.
Because diversity has intrinsic
value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future
for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.
We do so through science, law and
creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that
species need to survive.
We want those who come after us to
inherit a world where the wild is still alive.
Sources and notes
“Big Oil’s in Good Hands with Obama’s New Interior Secretary
Sally Jewell” (by Stephen Lendman), Global Research, February 8, 2013, http://www.globalresearch.ca/big-oils-in-good-hands-with-obamas-new-interior-secretary-sally-jewell/5322305
Author and broadcaster Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. His
latest book is Banker Occupation: Waging
Financial War on Humanity.”
His blog site: sjlendman.blogspot.com, his broadcasts at the
Progressive Radio News Hour, the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US
Central time, Saturdays and Sundays at noon. Discussions archived, http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour.
See also http://www.dailycensored.com/big-oils-in-good-hands-with-sally-jewell/
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Statement released February 6, 2013, by the Center for
Biological Diversity on the nomination of Sally Jewell for Interior Secretary ─
Executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity Kierán Suckling:
“Center for Biological Diversity Statement on Nomination of
Sally Jewell for Interior Secretary,” February 6, 2013, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2013/jewell-02-06-2013.html
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit
conservation organization with more than 450,000 members and online activists
dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/index.html
Letter December 10, 2012, to President Barack Obama
Re: Secretary of the Interior, http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/pdfs/obama_interior_2012_grijalva.pdf
Also at Friends of the Earth, http://www.foe.org/news/news-releases/2013-01-massive-coalition-calls-on-president-obama-to-nomina
“Massive coalition calls on President Obama to nominate Rep.
Raúl Grijalva as interior secretary,” posted January 16, 2013 (Adam Russell)
Signers of the letter to President Obama recommending Rep.
Raúl Grijalva of Arizona for Secretary of Interior included: Latinos Go Green,
Latina Lista, Ciudadanos Del Karso, Vegabajenos Impulsando Ambiental
Sustentable, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Women
Food and Agriculture Network, Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network,
American Forests, Labor Network for Sustainability, Federation of Western
Outdoor Clubs, Christians Caring for Creation, Public Citizen, Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility, Food and Water Watch, New Mexico Wilderness
Alliance, Committee on Idaho's High Desert, Southwest Montana Wildlands
Association, Washington Wild, Wild Utah Project, Wildlife Alliance of Maine,
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, South Florida Wildlands Association,
Tennessee Environmental Council, the Wisconsin Resource Protection Council, the
Arizona Wilderness Coalition, Desert Protective Council, Friends of Animals,
Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Green Delaware, Kentucky Heartwood, Kids vs.
Global Warming, United Church of Christ Network for Environmental &
Economic Responsibility, Rocky Mountain Wild, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Tucson
Audubon, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, West Virginia Highlands
Conservancy, West North Carolina Alliance, Wild Idaho Rising and WildWest
Institute.
Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a
rock layer by a pressurized fluid.
Induced hydraulic fracturing or hydro-fracturing (commonly
known as fracing, fraccing or fracking) is a technique used to release
petroleum, natural gas (including shale gas, tight gas, and coal seam gas), or
other substances for extraction. This type of fracturing creates fractures from
a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations.
Some hydraulic fractures form naturally—certain veins or
dikes are examples—and can create conduits along which gas and petroleum from
source rocks may migrate to reservoir rocks.
Opponents of hydraulic fracturing point to potential effects
on the environment: contamination of ground water, risks to air quality, the
migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing chemicals to the surface, surface
contamination from spills and flow back and related health effects. For these
reasons hydraulic fracturing has come under scrutiny internationally, with some
countries suspending or banning it.
Proponents of hydraulic fracturing point to the economic
benefits from vast amounts of formerly inaccessible hydrocarbons the process
can extract. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing
Keystone XL (Wikipedia note continued)
The Keystone Pipeline System consists of the operational ‘Keystone
Pipeline and ‘Keystone-Cushing Extension’, and two proposed pipeline expansion
segments, referred to as Keystone XL Pipeline and the Gulf Coast Project. After
the Keystone XL pipeline segments are completed, American crude oil would enter
the XL pipelines at Baker, Montana and Cushing, Oklahoma.
The Keystone XL has faced lawsuits from oil refineries and
criticism from environmentalists and some members of the United States
Congress.
In January 2012, President Obama rejected the application
amid protests about the pipeline’s impact on Nebraska’s environmentally
sensitive Sand Hills region.
On March 22 Obama endorsed the building of its southern half
that begins in Cushing, Oklahoma.
On March 22, the President said in Cushing: ‘Today, I’m
directing my administration to cut through the red tape, break through the
bureaucratic hurdles, and make this project a priority, to go ahead and get it
done.’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Pipeline
_____________________________________________
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