In the Pipeline: 7/25/13

Tough to tell whether they are cocky or just plain stupid. But the good news is that no one can keep pretending about the agenda of the bad guys anymore. They mean to stop the production and use of all affordable and reliable energy in the United States as soon as they can. The Center for American Progress (7/24/13) reports: “The impacts of climate change are already occurring: There were 25 climate-related extreme weather events in the United States in the period from 2011 to 2012 that each caused at least $1 billion in damages. Fortunately, U.S. carbon pollution from energy consumption is at its lowest point since 1994, in part because electricity generation by natural gas is replacing electricity generation by coal. The modern fuel-economy standards issued by the Obama administration have reduced emissions as well. Nonetheless, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, predicts that U.S. carbon pollution will begin to rise again by the end of this decade.”

The Keystone Delay strategy, writ large. Happy anniversary. North Country Public Radio (7/24/13) reports: “New York today enters into the sixth year of a de facto moratorium on whether to allow hydrofracking in the state. Business and industry groups are expressing dismay over what they say is too long a delay. In the summer of 2008, then-Governor David Paterson and the legislature imposed an actual moratorium in New York on the gas drilling process known as hydrofracking. After it expired, Governor Cuomo’s environmental agency began an extended review. That study has never been completed.”

So let’s review. Your job is to destroy America’s enemies and keep the country safe. Now, thanks to some PR desk jockey, it needs to spend some chunk of its mindshare on worrying about whether it does so in an environmentally friendly way. The Daily Caller (7/25/13) reports: “The U.S. Army is taking the expression “get the lead out” quite literally and switching to lead-free, environmentally-friendly bullets. The Army’s Picatinny Arsenal is working on a “green” version of the M80A1 7.62 mm bullet, which troops are supposed to start being issued in 2014, according to an Army press release. The Army has been looking to “green” small caliber ammo for some time now. In 2010, the Army began switched to the greener 5.56 mm M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round.”

This just in, from the most transparent administration ever. The Washington Free Beacon (7/24/13) reports: “Energy Department officials prohibited subordinates from speaking with congressional investigators about their probe into illicit hiring practices and related whistleblower retaliation allegations, according to the lead investigator. Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, revealed in a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon that the deputy secretary of energy issued the gag order following a scathing inspector general report last week. The report revealed that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a division of the Department of Energy (DOE), had violated DOE hiring guidelines in ways that disadvantaged military veterans.”

If the House Republicans were smart, they might give Mr. Holt’s colleagues a chance to vote on whether they agree with him. The Daily Mail (7/24/13) reports: “’Climate change is real, and humans are to blame,’ warns New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rush Holt in a 90-second YouTube campaign ad releasedMonday. And without a carbon tax, he warns in a shorter 15-second ad, ‘millions will die.’ Holt is running in an August Democratic primary, leading up to a U.S. Senate special election ordered by Gov. Chris Christie following the June death of long-time Sen. Frank Lautenberg. On his campaign website the eight-term congressman, one of two physicists in the House of Representatives, blames global warming on ‘the assault that corporate interests are waging on our planet.’”