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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2533 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Louisiana's Governor Declares State Of Emergency Over Disappearing Coastline

    "I don't think there's any doubt that the climate is changing. The degree to which human conduct is impacting that change, I think, is somewhat debatable," (Louisiana governor) Edwards said.

choad.





user-inactivated  ·  2531 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I wanted to respond with something super snarky like "This quote brought to you by the fine sponsors of BP" but felt like it wasn't really productive. I've been thinking about this the past few days and while I disagree with his statement, I can at least sympathize that he's probably in a hard spot. Offshore drilling probably brings Louisiana a good chunk of change in terms of both wages and hopefully tax dollars (though I know big companies often get crazy tax breaks). I'd like to think and hope that maybe his comment reflects that he's sensitive to the economic realities of his state.

kleinbl00  ·  2531 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It takes no (zero - none - zilch ) bravery for a Louisiana governor to talk about the environmental responsibilities of oil and gas companies in a world post-Deepwater Horizon.

Hurricane Katrina cost New Orleans at least $100bln. The Deepwater Horizon spill is at $37 billion so far. Louisiana's GDP is only $216bln, of which less than ten percent comes from oil and gas. Deepwater cost Louisiana more than the oil and gas industry makes for Louisiana in two years.

Know what big, conservative industry first declared global warming real? the reinsurance industry. The guys who underwrite all the other insurance companies, the ones at the top of the risk chain. And they ran their numbers, and they ran their models, and they said "it's going to cost everybody more to live on the coasts" not because they're bleeding-heart liberals but because they're businesspeople.

There comes a time when businesspeople need to recognize that the future New Orleans is pointed at is Chittagong and unless they want "cajun" to be synonymous with "Stygian poverty" they're going to have to face the reality of geography.

He's a leader. His job is to lead.

user-inactivated  ·  2529 days ago  ·  link  ·  

So, I'm just gonna throw a few random things out there. I really feel what you're saying, I do, and I agree with you on an emotional level. Though, also emotionally speaking, a large part of me wants to believe it's a lot more nuanced than that because I have a hard time believing government leaders everywhere are making "bad choices" on what should be "easy decisions."

With Hurricane Katrina, if I remember correctly, the problem of the flooding was both the result of disappearing wetlands that act like a coastal buffer as well as the failing levies due to a neglected infrastructure. So while global warming was partly to blame for it, a huge part of the blame lies on the shoulders of local and regional governments and organizations who have been neglecting their responsibilities to oversee upkeep. This does tie into taxes because the funding for upkeep has to come from somewhere. While I don't like the idea of corporations skirting their responsibilities to pay their fair share of taxes, you have to admit that 10% of a state's income is pretty significant. Those numbers add up and if that money went away, it'd be even harder to pay for the levies and roads and bridges and on and on.

I think another part of the problem is that political leaders depend on public perception to get elected. When your future employment rests on whether or not people think you're doing a good job, it can be easy to fuck up, and even if you make the right decision, not everyone is gonna believe that's the case. I can point to a lot of times in my city and state politics where people had to make easy decisions that were unpopular because they were expensive or ran counter to public opinion and got absolutely creamed come the next election. Louisiana is a primarily red state and while I try not to stereotype, denying human causes in climate change and giving corporations a lot of leeway are very common Republican talking points. That's a rock and a hard place right there.

I've heard the picture for Louisiana is pretty bleak, for infrastructure and schools and healthcare and all sorts of things and I heard they were bad before Jindal came in and made it all worse. If I had to imagine being governer of that state now, Republican or Democrat, I'd be looking at money like water in a drought that needs to be collected and rationed. Something tells me that keeping the needs of the public in mind and trying to keep as much money coming into the state as possible as doing a dance on a knife's edge. If oil companies were even 5% of my state's income, I'd dance around that rhetoric pretty cautiously myself.

kleinbl00  ·  2529 days ago  ·  link  ·  

1) He's a democrat. Here's the Democratic Party platform on the environment.

2) The majority of Louisiana's oil and gas revenues come from off-shore drilling rigs which are already built.

3) You are honestly and earnestly saying "it's tough for a politician to tell the truth because he might not get elected." He's a LEADER. He's supposed to LEAD. Here, hold my beer:

"Louisiana has become the energy leader it is through our close partnership with energy companies and our continued stewardship of our natural resources. In a changing world, we shall partner with those same energy companies to ensure our continued prosperity through technological innovation and improvement of legacy industry practices."

That was fucking realtime. You could have put me in front of a hot mic and I would have been able to whip that shit out. If you'd like a better take, try Royal Dutch Shell's:

    We welcome efforts made by governments to cooperatively reach the global climate agreement and support long-term climate goals that balance environmental pressures with development opportunities. We particularly welcomed the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change, which came into force on November 4, 2016. The agreement seeks to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius by managing climate and environmental pressures while ensuring economic development.

    Today, Shell is still primarily an oil and gas company, but we have a long tradition of innovation. We know that long-term success depends on our ability to anticipate the types of energy and fuels people will need in the future and remain commercially competitive and environmentally relevant.

California was a red state in the '80s. Huey Long was a Democrat. If you honestly think that I'm somehow out of line by calling a choad a choad, do the world a favor and don't vote. At a bare minimum, shiftless hypocrites need to be exposed as shiftless hypocrites.

user-inactivated  ·  2528 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    If you honestly think that I'm somehow out of line by calling a choad a choad, do the world a favor and don't vote.

Woah. Hey. I thought we were just having a friendly conversation here. I mean, come on, this is the internet. If I was in anyway concerned about how people felt about politicians you'd see me making a post saying, "OMG HUBSKI! Can you believe the horrible things they're saying over in r/politics?!?"

That said, if I ever need a PR team, I'm calling you and goobster to head it.

kleinbl00  ·  2528 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I know. Sorry. I'm just sayin' we got where we are in no small part because people are willing to say "c'mon, you have to lie a little bit when you're a politician" but somehow, only when it applies to southerners or Republicans.

user-inactivated  ·  2530 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Brutal. Let me mull over this for a few days and come back to it.