A response from US Senator Barbara Boxer

Dear Ms. Patrizzi:
Thank you for writing to me to express your opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project, which would transport crude oil from Canada to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.  I appreciate hearing from you.
I am pleased to report that on January 18, 2012, President Obama denied TransCanada’s permit application to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline.  As Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I had previously written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to express my serious concerns about the Keystone Project and its potential impacts on public health and the environment.  Given the many questions that remain unanswered about the proposal, I applaud the Administration’s decision.
As you may know, the Keystone XL pipeline proposal had been under review by the U.S. State Department, which delayed its decision on the application because of concerns over the submitted pipeline’s route through the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of Nebraska.  However, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives forced an expedited decision from the Administration on the project by inserting a 60-day deadline in the payroll tax cut extension enacted late last year.
I believe it is imperative that we have thorough and objective environmental assessments so that the public can fully understand the impacts of proposed projects.  Without the appropriate amount of time to properly review the Keystone project, the Obama Administration made the right decision to reject the pipeline.
 
Again, thank you for contacting me.  Please know that I will work to ensure that any future proposals are subject to a rigorous and independent review that will ensure the health and the safety of the American people.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Please do not respond to this message. If you would like to comment on legislation, please visit my website and use the correspondence form at https://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/policycomments.cfm.

The Grand Poobas

Reblogged from Lolcats - Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?:

The Grand Poobas of the Brotherhood of the Noodle are ready to have the new pledges brought before them.

bewayr der noodlee powurz!

Speaking of Central Park… uh, New York

Look, I’ve got a floor to lay and some walls to paint in my dungeon. I’ll be brief. This morning I went over to the golf course because somebody told me that Vivendi and Disney were pitching a development deal in the Rose Bowl.

I had no idea what that meant until I got there. It wasn’t for a movie or a TV show… maybe a theme park? Mademoiselle is not sure. The term “ecotourism” was only brought up by an audience member (one of about 30 people).

The City of Pasadena was given a Christmas Gift Certificate to Urban Land Institute for a free pile of demands I mean, recommendations of what the city can do to generate more income from the Arroyo Seco. No mention of the 3 gray geese, two Arroyo toads or the partridge in the willow tree that are users of the space too– only the disposable income of human “birders” was of interest. Apparently, birders are fabulously wealthy.

The Arroyo Seco is a river that runs through parts of Pasadena. Its the only good thing the city has according to this out-of-towner group of consultants. Nonprofit ULI.org Governors were doing this service for free but they sure seemed like serious gold miners. It’s the model of New York’s Central Park Conservancy that brought them to Pasadena to suggest the formation of the Arroyo Seco Conservancy.

This isn’t a bowl of run-of-the-mill bean counters. Clearly, these gentlemen chirp on the side of their beak where the dollars meet the 1% elite. Here are some stills from the meeting this morning:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/havisham/sets/72157629150421187/

The Urban Land Institute mainly talked about the central Arroyo but did mention connecting a habitat corridor with the upper Arroyo (Hahamongna). It was pretty obvious, these guys were not from around here and kept calling the Arroyo Seco a flood channel and a drainage ditch. Even though they had some good ideas, they kept wrapping them up in stinky packages.

A slide show of a parking lot covering with enormous, heavy old style solar panels on it was supposed to represent innovative thinking. It better resembled the current dialog of every salesman in this country. Then, there was the worn-out suggestion that Caltech students could design the photovoltaics and Art Center students could figure out the aesthetics.

—-no exploitation going on here—–move along—-

Open space is depleted by covered parking. The Rose Bowl has tons of parking now that is also open space because it’s mostly grass and mulch. Solar panels do not make up for that loss, no matter how “green” the pavement or how water use efficient the reinforced turf (“Plastics” -The Graduate 1967)… is.

Lots more parking is needed for this phantasmagorical outside Rose Bowl experiencia. I was waiting to hear about the underground hydraulic lift premium parking for the high-rollers that doubles as a re-creation of the ancient cave gallery Werner Hertzog filmed in his latest 3D documentary somewhere in France. They didn’t get to it today, maybe next week.

—-no talking about environmental crap or pesticides or gas a bunny/gas a gopher, pave a hole——

Pay parking. Pay admission. Pay to play. Play pay pay play, got it? Ok.

Here is the full audio. I’m really too freaked out by this whole thing to be a good reporter. Listen for yourself. You decide.