The grim reaper strikes Texas again, thanks to the Texas Republican Party’s reckless, downright dangerous and corrupted stand on climate change.
A mere day after Christmas, several tornados dealt a devastating and lethal blow to residents in Dallas and Collin counties in North Texas. Eleven people have lost their lives, including a newborn infant. Entire communities have been leveled. Hundreds are left without homes.
Texas has had more than its fair share of extreme and destructive weather events in the past decade. We’ve had droughts, wild fires, recent tornadoes such as the ones above and overwhelming flooding. The 2015 Memorial Day weekend flood hammered the S.W. section of Houston. My neighborhood barely dodged the bullet. Over 700 homes in one neighborhood west of mine took in water. Some of which included raw sewage. Dangerous, destructive conditions forced residents to evacuate and find other places to live. Other residents were not so lucky as they did not have the means to temporarily relocate.
Meanwhile the Texas GOP climate change deniers and science bashers continue to bury their heads into the pockets of the Koch boys and other interest groups that bribe politicians to vote against all measures that would address the devastating impact of climate change. The politician’s heads are so hopelessly inserted into the lobbyists’ trousers and panty hose that their lips have become superglued to derrieres. Their political dissembling has grown very long noses that are the deepest hues of brown.
Now, I might not be a native Texan but I’ve lived here for a long time and have been politically active enough to know what makes these Texas Republican boys and girls tick. My native Texas friends such as TX Sharon, a deeply committed environmental activist and expert in N. Texas, helps to keep transplants like me informed. And fellow Houston area Kossack Blood keeps us up to speed on Texas confederate history (it’s still a confederate state) while Pdiddie, another Houston area Kossack, educates us in a manner in which only Pdiddie can, on local, state and national politics.
This is merely a small sampling of Texas progressive, liberal, democratic bloggers and activists. The tea party people, our crook of an Attorney General and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s Texas Taliban may get all of the attention while we “libtards” “Obummerbots” and evil doers on the left constantly chip away at the pure BS, greed, bigotry and madness we witness on a daily basis. We know the Texas GOP is doing what it does on behalf of making themselves and their cronies richer. Among other self-serving motivations whether based on religious extremism or on pure bigotry and misogyny.
In a previous diary Blood reminded me that Texas has sued the EPA over 20 times. Of course we can always count on our Republican “representatives” to throw their constituents’ health and safety under the bus any time a dollar is waved in their faces. Remember these are the same boys and girls who are sending some of us to an early death because of their stubborn refusal to accept federally expanded Medicaid in this state. That and the GOP recent open carry law will certainly help to trim the population here. I am sure the GOP good old boys are secretly hopeful that feminists, people of color, immigrants, gay, transgender people and progressive truth tellers are among those whose ranks are trimmed. Remember, our Republican “leaders” listen to and are influenced by right wing hate talk radio. Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and Houston’s Michael Berry rule their days.
Meanwhile, indicted felon, Attorney General Ken Paxton, has most recently sued the Environmental Protection Agency for its recent smog rule. Now, as Houston is the home to the oil refining business it’s a given that our air is more than a little dirty. I remember when my son played sports as a child and later as a teenager how so many of his teammates routinely brought inhalers to practices and games. Not to mention the frequency of residents here who suffer from upper respiratory conditions. On certain days I see a number of residents wearing masks over their noses and mouths while in public places. But don’t count on the crew embedded in the trousers of oil and gas lobbyists to do a thing to help neighbors who can barely breathe.
Texas joins eight other states in challenging the new rule on ground-level ozone, which is linked to asthma and respiratory illnesses. The EPA on Oct. 1 tightened the existing cap on the highest ozone levels from 75 parts per billion to 70 parts per billion. Meeting the smog rule requires states to craft plans that slash pollution from industrial sources and vehicles.
Critics of the tighter limits, including Republican lawmakers and business groups, have argued the original rules were sufficient to protect public health without choking the economy. The opponents say the 70 parts-per-billion cap will force factories to close and result in steep penalties for local governments that can't comply with the rules.
Republican Texas has alway balked against regulation of any sort. Indeed, the Chamber of Commerce, in which business interests rank first and foremost, weighs in.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers said Dec. 23 they would also mount legal challenges to the ozone requirements. The two groups separately said they have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for a review. Murray Energy Corp., a large U.S. coal company, is suing the EPA over both its ozone rules and the Clean Power Plan, finalized this year, which will curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Maybe if we focused more on renewable and green energy we wouldn’t have to file so many lawsuits. Dirty, toxic energy is very expensive on so many levels. But this is GOP, oil driven Texas. We are ruled by a party that strives 24/7 to cling to the past instead of moving forward into the future.
The EPA has defended the new ozone limits as critical to Americans' health. Officials said the tougher cap will reduce people's exposure to harmful air pollution and result in billions of dollars of public health benefits, including fewer asthma attacks and emergency room visits.
"Our job is to set science-backed standards that protect the health of the American people," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in an Oct. 1 statement. Setting tougher standards "is one of the most important measures we can take for improving public health.”
I am not very hopeful about the future here if we don’t have a major paradigm shift in addressing the environmental devastation wrought by climate change. A paradigm shift includes voting for politicians that are reasonable, those who care about the future, are well-educated and those who are not blinded by money, greed and bigotry. This is a rather daunting task and very tough row to hoe in a solid right wing Confederate state.
Until a political shift occurs, Texans had better batten down the hatches and be prepared for more extreme weather events. There will be more disastrous droughts, fires, tornadoes and floods. If nothing is done, be prepared to lose loved ones, your homes and cherished possessions as in the case of the recent tragic tornadoes in N. Texas. Also plan on paying higher health, home owner, wind and flood insurance premiums. Insurance companies are going to shift their financial burdens to policy holders.
Do yourselves a favor and wrap your head around the fact that our duly elected “representatives” will not lift a finger to address the desolating impact of climate change to our environment. For all are hopelessly addicted to money and power. And all will throw you and me under the bus in order to get their daily fix.
Of course, we could reverse courses by holding our elected officials accountable. Give ‘em hell and vote ‘em out of office. It might be a good idea to start with U.S. Representative Lamar Smith. His nose is among the longest and the brownest while his science IQ is willfully moronic.
If you are not registered to vote please check with your local county’s Democratic party headquarters or Battleground Texas. If you have recently moved please update your status at your county clerks’ office. Sometimes one can easily do this online.
If you are a new resident and don’t know who represents you, please check here. If there is a R behind your so-called representatives’ names, they don’t represent you. Trust me.
Please vote accordingly.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Texas is missing one of its hateful creeps.
#TedCruz.
Voting matters.