The View From Across the Potomac River

Opinion – June 01, 2009
Posted by Dorothy Cutting

I thought it might be interesting for WCCE readers to know that the Republican Members of the US House of Representatives have prepared 450 amendments to the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. See the article, And the Guerrilla War Begins… from the Washington Independent.  As of now, the Waxman-Markey bill has passed out of committee and will be working its way through Congress during the months to come. Even as it stands now, it will fall far short of action needed by the US Government to assure a strong and effective conclusion to the UN Copenhagen Climate Conference in December. WCCE published an analysis of this legislation in the post prior to this one, and I recommend reading it so you can understand the strong emotions that prompted to me write the following:

How can we imagine the conservative climate change deniers, in both parties, who appear to have an inordinate influence in the US Congress and are intent on crippling the Waxman-Markey bill?

Given all the alarming scientific evidence now available concerning the impending global climate crisis, their actions can only be described as lunatic. They have taken the flawed Waxman-Markey bill calling for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and plan to rip it to tatters.

Bonobo Pair, by Frans de Waal "My Family Album" U Cal Press 2003

They might as well be behaving like aberrant Chimpanzees, running around the Capitol building, skidding on the marble floors, thumping their chests and screaming, tipping over desks, hitting each other over the head with microphones and chewing up bills.

In the Republic of the Congo there exists another species of ape, the Bonobos, very similar to the Chimpanzees except that they’re peaceful and mostly vegetarian, with a matriarchal society.

Many of us progressives today, from across the Potomac River, are looking upon the antics in the US Congress with the same feelings of amazement, consternation and disgust as well might the altruistic, socially-conscious Bonobos. If you were a Bonobo in the wild, and you gave it some thought, you might be relieved to have the Congo River to protect you from your more aggressive cousins.

Tragically, however, the ridiculous and unreasonable behaviour of Congressional climate change deniers will affect everyone, everywhere on our planet. The Potomac River won’t protect us.

Note: No insult is intended to either Chimpanzees or Bonobos by comparing them to Members of the United States Congress. 

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Here’s just a sample of amendments drafted by Republican Representatives to the Waxman-Markey bill:

#30: “Suspends the act should more than 1,000 jobs in Indiana be lost due to the implementation of this Act.”
#31: “Suspends the act should more than 2,000 jobs in Indiana be lost due to the implementation of this Act.”
#32: “Suspends the act should more than 5,000 jobs in Indiana be lost due to the implementation of this Act.”
#33: “Suspends the act should more than 10,000 jobs in Indiana be lost due to the implementation of Bthis Act.”
#34: “Suspends the act should more than 50,000 jobs in Indiana be lost due to the implementation of this Act.”

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Editor’s note: This article does not necessarily represent the views of the majority of the Members of the Board of West Coast Climate Equity.