Goodbye to 'Eco-Nightmare' Dick Pombo

[one...two...tree 2,762]

By David Roberts, Grist Magazine.

Rep. Richard '#######' Pombo is a Rep. no more.

We bring you a special Grist tribute to the man who dreamt at night of shoving oil drills down the throats of endangered species.

[Tune to "The Way We Were" rises in background ...]

Ah, #######. Remember when you tried to sell off drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to fund transportation pork? That was insane funny. You always did have a sense of humor.

Who could forget your Ahabian quest to gut the Endangered Species Act? You were like the bad guy from a cheap horror movie, springing to life again and again. Points for persistence!

Then there was the time you put out a report saying mercury's not really so bad for you after all. Again, batshit insane completely hilarious. You cracked us up, #######.

You also found your Will to Drill unduly restrained by NEPA, the nation's cornerstone environmental law, so you tried to gut that too. That was when you convened those Potemkin, hand-picked "task forces" -- no greens allowed! Good times, good times.

Speaking of drilling: when you couldn't get your tumescent drill into the Arctic Refuge, you turned to the nation's sloppy seconds -- offshore coastal areas. You were like some horny middle-aged businessman, drunk in a bar on a business trip -- you just couldn't keep your hands to yourself.

We always had to keep an eye on you, you scamp! Remember when you snuck in that provision altering some obscure mining provision? Oopsie -- there go tens of millions of acres of public lands!

From the beginning, you never really believed that anyone would seriously challenge you for your seat in the House. A good ol' boy like you? Look at those boots! Why, it was unthinkable. You laughed it off, and barely deigned to campaign or speak to the press for the past year. Even when Jerry McNerney -- a guy you thought you could steamroll without breaking a sweat -- started nipping at your heels, you refused to engage. Woops.

You embodied the cozy corruption, utter fealty to big industry, and mendacious faux conservatism of the 109th Congress. And now? Now you're gone.

Bye, #######. You won't be missed.

[Scott & Lai 12]

I really don't see the problem with having a domestic oil supply

[cmartyn 0]

Nice..

I got an idea, how about we dump 15000 gallons of diesel fuel in your back yard.

You might see the issue then. As long as it 2000 miles away in the snow you don't give a rats ###?

Do you throw ####### out of your car windows too?

Put down your gun, put your muffler and Catalytic converters back on your car and shut up. Some of us are trying to live in a sustainable manner.

[Carol&Marc 0]

Nice..

I got an idea, how about we dump 15000 gallons of diesel fuel in your back yard.

You might see the issue then. As long as it 2000 miles away in the snow you don't give a rats ###?

Do you throw ####### out of your car windows too?

Put down your gun, put your muffler and Catalytic converters back on your car and shut up. Some of us are trying to live in a sustainable manner.

What do you drive?

[Scott & Lai 12]

Nice..

I got an idea, how about we dump 15000 gallons of diesel fuel in your back yard.

You might see the issue then. As long as it 2000 miles away in the snow you don't give a rats ###?

Do you throw ####### out of your car windows too?

Put down your gun, put your muffler and Catalytic converters back on your car and shut up. Some of us are trying to live in a sustainable manner.

Oooh, brilliant debating technique you've got there, telling people to "shut up." I thought Dems believed in free-speech?

So, as long as oil is pumped on the other side of the world, you don't give a rat's ###? Until we are able to find realistic alternatives for oil, we have to get it from somewhere. I'd prefer not to be dependent on getting it from totalitarian, anti-U.S. nations.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

So, S&L, are you prepared to deal with Harper and help to develop Alberta's tarsands on terms set by him and Klein--for which you may have to pay somewhat more at pump (but hey, Harper is non-totalitarian and Canada is close by).

Edited November 9, 2006 by CherryXS

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I really don't see the problem with having a domestic oil supply

We have to consider the impact on the environment and whether or not that impact is justifiable for the amount of oil we can harvest.

We should lower our dependency on foreign oil, but it's hard to believe in any noble pursuit of domestic sources unless we are agressively working towards reducing our consumption (higher fuel effeciency standards for automakers, investing in alternative fuels, public transportation).

[peejay 327]

I really don't see the problem with having a domestic oil supply

Unfortunately we don't, can't, and never will have a sustainable domestic oil supply at current usage levels. America hit peak oil in the 1970's and has been importing over half of our consumption for quite a while now. We cannot drill our way out of this dilemma. At best we can soften the blow through sane national policies that recognize reality.

God help us when we finally hit world oil peak in the near future. After that...where can the world (and the USA) import more oil from? Mars or Uranus?

Irregardless of future world oil peak...the fact that the USA imports roughly 60% of our oil needs (often from countries and cultures hostile to us) should give most Americans a reality check. Our sprawling suburbs and oil dependent economy is like a sword hanging over our heads. Here is an interesting chart that shows where America compares with the rest of the world.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/topworldtables3_4.html

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move..._im0_mbbl_m.htm

Does anyone really think that increasing our population by another 100 million (to 400 million) in the next 40 years is going to help our situation? Our present oil based economy and massive immigration is not sustainable.