Deserving of praise: Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Democrat Nick Rahall of West Virginia and other congressmen say wolves still endangered...
Five congressmen from the House Natural Resources Committee want to delay a plan to remove gray wolves in the Northern Rockies from the federal endangered species list.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, the congressmen wrote that states "hostile to wolf conservation" could reduce today's 1,500 wolves to "as few as 300" if the predators lose protected status.
Deserving of even more praise: Rahall working to make Matewan Massacre site be part of parks service...
"Matewan stands as an important landmark in the heritage of the American miner and the history of the American labor movement," said Rahall. "In that old coal mining town are found the remnants of a struggle that shaped our nation's workplace values and ensured generations of miners a better life."
Making the battle site a component of the National Park Service, Rahall said, "will ensure future generations will understand and appreciate West Virginia's role in America's historic fight for industrial democracy and workers' rights."
Um, not so much so: Rahall continues to blur the issues of addressing global climate change and the goal of domestic energy independence. From Fred Pace at the Register-Herald in Beckley, W.Va....
Rahall, D-W.Va., says energy bills passed by Congress in the past focused on renewable standards and other standards for the automobile industry. He says the new global climate change legislation must have more incentives for coal-to-liquid technologies and processes.
"I stand firmly behind the coal-to-liquid process, not only because of its importance to West Virginia but also for importance to national security," Rahall said last week during an interview with The Register-Herald's editorial board. "The country must continue to move away from its dependence on foreign oil and also continue to develop more domestic sources of energy."
Coal-to-liquid is not a viable domestic energy source that also addresses global warming. There is no proven large-scale carbon sequestration technology. Yes, we will be using coal for decades to come, but "doubling down" on coal is a recipe for global warming disaster (not to mention the increased social and environmental pressures of mountain top removal).
Does Rahall acknowledge any other options? (Negawatts, alternative fuels, or, even, nuclear?) Well, there is this quote (empahsis mine) from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph...
Rahall also remains a strong advocate of coal-to-liquid technologies, and believes the creation of new clean coal technologies is absolutely vital to the nation's future, and the country's ability to be "weaned away from foreign oil."
However, Rahall warns the coal industry is under attack.
"Coal is definitely coming under attack these days," Rahall said. "It's not just the environmentalists. Coal is coming under attack by other domestic oil sources. I'm not against gas. So natural gas should not be against coal."
Well, ain't karma a bitch. Rahall will have a lot more credibility on this issue when he starts talking about wind, solar and biomass as equally valuable domestic energy sources.
I'm not against underground coal mining, so why should Rep. Nick Rahall be against wind, solar and biomass? |
