WolfeNotes.com

[see update below]

I just read the news coverage of the criticism of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) by environmentalists for releasing revised draft fracking regulations.

As I wrote previously, these regulations are likely to be approved at the November 21 DRBC meeting, to be held at Trenton’s War Memorial (an apt venue, given the thousands of protesters likely to converge on the hearing).

But it seems to me that the news coverage – and the ENGO’s arguments – are misfocused and missing the two essential points, which are:

1) approval of the DRBC regulations would lift the current moratorium on fracking in the Delaware watershed and open the floodgates to 20,000 gas wells; and

2) the current MORATORIUM on fracking is not some tree hugger’s dream, it was imposed by the DRBC itself, and for good reasons: i.e.

• federal environmental laws were riddled with “Haliburton loopholes” and could not protect the DRBC four state region from water and air pollution impacts
• existing DRBC and state level gas drilling, land use, and water resource regulations could not protect critical resources from the huge planned expansion of an unknown and unproven new fracking technology; and
• the science concerning the risks posed by the new fracking technology and required to support sound regional planning, environmental regulation, and best management practices was not available or keeping pace with industry expansion.

Those are the issues that must be front and center in this debate and all these issues were ignored!

It’s the moratorium, stupid!

EPA is currently conducting scientific research on the risks of fracking technology to drinking water and other environmental and public health features and evaluating the adequacy of current regulatory frameworks at state, regional and nation levels (including cumulative impacts and inter-state issues).

That scientific and engineering research and those technology and regulatory assessments will not be completed and ready to support policy, regional planning, and regulatory decisions for several years.

On that basis alone, the current moratorium must be extended.

Congress has yet to close the “Haliburton loopholes” that exempt fracking form major federal environmental laws, like the Safe Drinking Water Act. State laws are not adequate due to: a) inter-state issues; b) States lack expertise and resources; c) States are captured by the oil & gas industry economics; and d) global warming and energy policies of national significance.

On that basis alone, the current moratorium must remain in place.

The DRBC compact States (NY, NJ, Pa, and De.) have not yet adopted protective state level regulations and their reckless policy in support of fracking is being driven by short term economic considerations and industry lobying.

On that basis alone, the current moratorium must remain in place.

ENGO’s and activists opposing fracking should be highlighting the current moratorium and demanding that the current moratorium remain in place until the above 3 fatal flaws are resolved.

I suspect that this would take 4-6 years, at a minimum.

So, here’s some strategic advice from a guy who’s been there and done that:

focus on extending the moratorium until science and safeguards are in place – don’t waste your bullets in the weeds on the technical and process issues.

[Update: Ah, I should have known better. Fracking disgusting.

Why is it that even Josh Fox (Gasland filmmaker) and 350.Org action alert don’t seem to know of our focus on the DRBC moratorium either?

Could it be that they too simply don’t know about it? Or do they think it is not important to emphasize? And if so, why?

On a related issue, I’m getting bombarded with “huge victory” emails.

So could Bill McKibben and leaders of 350.Org really feel they won a victory in President Obama’s cynical political decision to postpone the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2012 election?

I understand the need to keep activists positive, pumped up, and motivated, but am not willing to bend the truth or pull punches to do so.(e.g. falsely praise politicians and/or deny what we’re up against:

This is the true purpose of the gathering: providing a forum for die-hard denialists to collect the rhetorical baseball bats with which they will club environmentalists and climate scientists in the weeks and months to come. The talking points first tested here will jam the comment sections beneath every article and YouTube video that contains the phrase “climate change” or “global warming”.

I sense that that a similar dynamic is at play in fracking and Keystone activism – i.e. a dysfunctional combination of denial, false praise of politicians, low expectations and an inflated sense of accomplishments accompanied by a deflated assessment of the ideological nature, political power, and raw persistence of the opposition).

Or, more clearly, as Naomi Kline argues:

Half of the problem is that progressives, their hands full with soaring unemployment and multiple wars tend to assume that the big green groups have the climate issue covered. The other half is that many of those big green groups have avoided, with phobic precision, any serious debate on the blindingly obvious roots of the climate crisis: globalization, deregulation and contemporary capitalism’s quest for perpetual growth (the same forces that are responsible for the destruction of the rest of the economy). The result is that those taking on the failures of capitalism and those fighting for climate action remain two solitudes, with the small but valiant climate justice movement drawing the connections between racism, inequality and environmental vulnerability stringing up a few swaying bridges between them.

So, my sense is that failure to focus on the DRBC moratorium wasn’t inadvertent – for similar reasons that the Keystone decision delay was praised.

You see, the big national beltway enviro’s didn’t want to put too much pressure on their friend President Obama (see “Obama Backs the Frack“) (or a Democratic Congress) or make real aggressive demands, like a national moratorium on EPA permits and closing the numerous regulatory loopholes before any more federal permits are approved.

So they merely asked for an Executive Order!

(for many of the same reasons I outline above).

Ah, the terror of diminishing and low expectations!

Randy Rivera takes it to the street (Edison, NJ – 11/10/11)

On the way home today from the OWS March, I drove past this man with the sign above.

So, I stopped and asked him what his story was.

My regular readers know that I am not a military supporter, but this story seems deeply unjust.

Randy Rivera, a former EMT for Edison Township, claims he was suspended in March 2009 and then fired in December 2009 for two episodes of insubordination after his supervisor refused to grant approval for his absence to re-enlist in the National Guard and to attend a subsequent training event in Alabama.

I expressed sympathy and did some Googling on him when I got home.

There doesn’t seem to be any press reports on his firing, but his suspension story was reported on June 29, 2009 by NJ.com – it is so outrageous that I print it in its entirety.

This case demands investigation by press and public officials – it looks like Rivera prevailed in a US Department of labor hearing on his suspension. It also looks like personal free speech was involved in the Facebook posting episode.

EDISON EMT CHALLENGES SUSPENSION ISSUED OVER ‘MILITARY STATUS MISREPRESENTATION’

NJ.COM – June 29, 2009 – A township emergency medical technician is challenging a three-and-a-half-month suspension he was issued for insubordination, unauthorized absence and misrepresentation of military status.

In March, the township denied Randy Rivera’s request for 13 hours off that he said he needed for military service.

Rivera took the unauthorized day off on March 13 and went to the Army National Guard office in Woodbridge to re-enlist, which took a few hours in the morning, he said.

“I asked for 13 hours” one full day’s leave” because I didn’t know how long it would take, when it was done in few hours, I called and took the second half off as a personal day,” Rivera said.

The township paid him for that day

.

Shortly after, the township suspended Rivera ” with pay” on March 18 until the conclusion of a disciplinary hearing, when Rivera was charged with insubordination, unauthorized absence and misrepresentation of military status.

He was then suspended for 60 days without pay.

The township said Rivera was suspended because “he misrepresented what he was going for and how much time it would take.”

Fire Chief Norman Jensen explained that Rivera told them he needed 13 hours off to go to Fort Dix, when actually he was just going to Woodbridge to re-enlist.

“We always support the military and give our employees time off for that,” Jensen said Friday. The township is obligated to pay up to eight hours of time, or the difference the individual doesn’t get paid for eight hours of time served in the military that day.

Rivera later filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, claiming a violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a letter to the township on April 29 advising that the township “take action to withdraw the suspension, reemploy Mr. Rivera and restore any lost wages or benefits due to him.”

Jensen said the township’s lawyers got in touch with the Department of Labor after getting the letter and have explained the reasons for Rivera’s suspension. He said he hasn’t heard back from the federal agency.

Rivera said the case is currently with the U.S. Attorney General’s office.

David Houle, regional administrator at the U.S. Department of Labor, confirmed “the case is still open with the U.S. Attorney General’s office,” and therefore declined comment.

Also considered in the disciplinary hearing before the suspension was an exhibit of Rivera’s Facebook page, which said “(Expletive) the Chief,” and other derogatory things about the fire chief. According to a transcript of the hearing, Rivera admitted to the content of his Facebook page but added that he was certain he did it while on his personal time.

He has since deleted his Facebook account, he said.

Rivera earns $34,000 from his Edison job. He also does part-time work with other municipal agencies, he said.

Rivera’s suspension ends today.

OWS March on DC - Rahway, NJ (11/10/11)

It’s funny how stuff goes down sometimes (and I just finished “The Road” (1907) by Jack London).

I ventured out after lunch today, in hopes of finding the OWS DC March, which I figured would be somewhere near New Brunswick.

It took about 12 miles travel up Rt. 27, but I finally located them in Rahway.

As if by magic or serendipity, I met them and their police escort directly across the street from the “Roosevelt School” (as in FDR and New Deal, for you youngsters out there). Boooya!

Roosevelt School, Rahway, NJ

I again offered support, but I think the protesters think I’m a cop.

Anyway, after walking with them for a 1/2 mile or so, I went back to the car and moseyed on down the road (Rt. 27) towards New Brunswick, when I came across a hot dog stand.

I stopped for a dog, and the  owner, Betsy, and I struck up a conversation – she gave my puppy a hot dog treat!

I told Betsy that OWS March would pass by in a half hour or so – she got excited, said she supported OWS and wanted to help.

But she quickly became bummed because she realized that she had to leave early to get to a concert in NYC.

But, to hell with the concert – she ended up staying, waiting, and treating the marchers to some hot dogs and vegetable soup! So, if you’re in the area, drop by and visit Betsy! (just north of the intersection of Rt 27 and Oak tree Road in Iselin).

OWS folks enjoy dogs and soup, courtesy of Betsy!

I suspect that lots of random acts of kindness will be practiced along the OWS March Road to DC.

Tomorrow, the March hits Trenton – be there and support these brave and committed activists!

Christie Pushes Privatization of Drinking Water, State Parks, & Toxic Site Cleanup

Companies put profits before people, public health, and sound public policy.

[Update 2: 11/18/11 – The NY Times reports that Connecticut Gov. Malloy basically forced the power Co. CEO out over failed storm  response, see: Connecticut utility chief quits after delays in restoring power.

Most of the time, you have to read between the lines to figure out what’s really going on. But once in a while, the door opens a crack, just wide enough to see what’s going on. One thing I found particularly of interest in that regard was the reporting on the underlying economic and political influences and their concerns. It no longer seems necessary too mask the exercise of raw Wall Street economic power on policy decisions – I guess things have gotten so bad that it’s OK to report these things openly. Check this out:

” … although Mr. Butler’s sudden departure might placate some of the company’s critics, the upheaval was likely to unsettle investors just as the company is trying to complete a merger with Nstar, a utility in Massachusetts.

Now who would have thought that Wall Street investors influence an electric utility’s emergency response planning? What investor interest could that be related to? – end update]

Update 1: 11/13/11 – Star Ledger story attempts to drill down on reasons why response was so poor – audit shows JCP& reduced spending on maintenance. But, as usual, they ignore the policy elephants in the room.

The abysmal JCP&L response to the snowstorm power outages produced at least one benefit.[Update: aside from providing another example of more frequent and intense storms that will result from global warming].

It shown a bright light on what happens when government abdicates its essential responsibility and allows a private corporation to make life and death decisions based on profits.

• JCP&L was allowed to decide how many repair crews to deploy, where to deploy them, and when to deploy them.
• JCP&L alone decided how to balance response costs with restoring service.
• JCP&L was allowed to consider their costs and their profits in deciding how and when to respond.

As a result, thousands of homes were without power far longer than necessary –  many for over a week – people died, and businesses lost millions of dollars.

And to add insult to injury, JCP&L will recoup all their costs and even profit from this disaster, as consumers pay for the response in electric bills.

No one at JCP&L was held accountable for their miserable performance – how do you as a utility customer hold JCP&L’s corporate CEO accountable?

These are the kind of things that happen when essential government functions are deregulated and privatized.

But while the storm power outages put these issues front and center, few people realize that the same abuses are happening with public drinking water, parks and toxic site cleanups:

Private companies are being allowed – even encouraged – to put private profits before people, public health, and sound public policy.

Two stories in today’s news perfectly illustrate this set of problems:

First, the NY Times reports that the Coca Cola Corporation – using influence obtained by parks contributions and concessions – blocked a plan to ban bottles at Grand Canyon National Park – see: Parks Chief Blocked Plan for Grand Canyon Bottle Ban:

Stephen P. Martin, the architect of the plan and the top parks official at the Grand Canyon, said his superiors told him two weeks before its Jan. 1 start date that Coca-Cola, which distributes water under the Dasani brand and has donated more than $13 million to the parks, had registered its concerns about the bottle ban through the foundation, and that the project was being tabled.

Coke thought a ban might adversely impact profits and could become a model for many other places.

Instead of a bottle ban, the taxpayers picked up a $300,000 tab as the National Parks Service installed a bottle “filling station”:

In preparation, the park and its contracted concessionaires installed more water “filling stations” for reusable bottles at a cost of about $300,000, according to information provided by the park service to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

So there it is – this is what we get when we allow corporate interests to dictate public policy: more litter, lower quality park experience, taxpayer costs, and higher corporate profits.

Yet despite these kind of obvious problems, Governor Christie’s recently announced Parks Funding Strategy calls for more private concessions in state parks! (we wrote about some of those issues here)

Second, Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight reports that the Christie Administration just approved a scheme to allow private water companies to increase rates and profits for infrastructure investments without regulatory review. (see: Water Utilities to Get Paid Faster for Fixing Infrastructure – New mechanism lets utilities pass along costs of routine upgrades to customers — without regualtory review

We wrote about why that fatally flawed policy will fail here: Christie Administration Dodges Water Infrastructure Deficits, Blames Regulatory Oversight

Aside from the financial issues of profits and infrastructure deficits, there are significant public health issues involved that are being ignored.

DEP’s own data show that millions of people drink water polluted by hundreds of toxic chemicals.(see: Filter the Chemical Soup in NJ’s Drinking Water – Available Treatment Could Screen Hundreds of Unregulated Compounds from Taps

Private water companies have under-invested in treatment and maintenance to increase profits.

Private water companies decide where to make investment decisions based on profits, not need or public health impacts.

Installing new water lines to serve new development and upgrading water lines to large populations can be more profitable than installing treatment, repairing old water lines, or maintaining lines to places where population density is low.

Private companies make these life and death decisions – with absolutely no accountability.

You don’t vote on the CEO.

The Corprorate Board rooms where these decisions are made are not transparent and are not open for public participation.

And then there is the privatization of the toxic site cleanup program (see: Mercenaries now fully in charge of toxic site cleanup in New Jersey).

All this stuff is not as visible as a power outage – but what you can’t see can kill you.

OWS crosses Hudson and arrives in Jersey City, NJ (11/9/11)

[Update 11/10/11: Star Ledger writes a good story, with excellent video – read and watch then join the March!

The Occupy Wall Street March on Washington DC began today, with a successful land invasion of Jersey City.

The protestors were welcomed warmly and professionally by the Jersey City police.

Police were helpful in providing route advice and gave the approximately 30 marchers a safe police escort out of town along some congested and potentially dangerous urban roads.

police help provide local knowledge to the Google Maps

Marchers are headed to Elizabeth for the night, then on to New Brunswick (Thursday) and Trenton (Friday) (see route and schedule).

I’ll make just one brief observation before posting photos:

The main stream media (MSM) and many of the “Very Serious People” in media and government circles have criticized OWS for failure to focus on issues and governing institutions, and to articulate a set of credible policy demands.

I will note that the focus of this March is not only DC, but that it was timed to coincide with the release of the Obama created deficit “SuperCommittee” Report (AKA “The Catfood Commission”).

The march is being organized by a few of us here at OWS. We will be in DC by Nov 23 for the Congressional Super Committee meeting. This committee has the power to keep the Bush tax cuts (that only benefit the top 1%) or let them expire. We want to be there to fight for the 99%! We will also be connecting with Occupy Philly and Occupy Baltimore along the route, and, of course, Occupy DC!

So, will the MSM now report on OWS’s views on the outrageously unfair issues in the Catfood Commission Report? Like tax burdens for the 1% and slashing social security and medicare/medicaid for the 99%?

Nothing good can come out of that Commission (Krugman called it Obama’s “self inflicted wound”) so I took time to thank the OWS protestors for conducting this historic march on DC.

I pledged to provide logistical support for the March while its in NJ – it will likely grow as people join along the way. I urge you to get out and walk with them in support!

Maybe this march can serve as a version of the civil rights marches and the Poor People’s Campaign and the planned “Poor People’s March on Washington” that Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr was planning at the time he was assassinated.

Now, that would be a massive accomplishment!

protesters march up Grand Street, with police escort