Unconventional Sources

Gathering from multiple sources, the Skeptical Introduction to Congress doesn’t seem to be enjoying what it’s finding so far.

A Green Party candidate who may be teetering even before his campaign has begun; John Conyers talking tough with no action on FBI Spying; Congressman Zach Space having a fundraiser held for him by a nuclear energy company — these are not the stories that a satisfied citizen would have heard. For that reason, it’s important that we do hear them.

Thanks to this Skeptic – and keep the survey going.

Almost right away, I’m getting pulled away from my pursuit of everyday bicycling sources right into politics. I’ve discovered, with mixed feelings, the National Bike Summit.

It’s taking place March 10, 11 and 12 in Washington D.C., and it will be much, much more than just a bunch of bicyclists talking about how great it is to be bicyclists. The National Bike Summit is a serious conference that includes meetings between attendees and their U.S. representatives and senators to talk about new transportation policy that emphasizes an integrated role for bicycling as a real, important, sustainable way for Americans to get around. Some members of Congress, such as bike-pin wearing enthusiast Earl Blumenauer, will even be speaking at the conference.

And I have to say that I wish I could go, but the earlybird rate for attending is $455 – and you need to pay that by February 7th if you want that discount. That, plus the prospect of travelling hundreds of miles by bike in the not-so-hospitable month of March has me feeling more like staying at home.

Oh well. Maybe next year.

When we think about how far our society is willing to go in fueling its rollocking good time disposable material culture, this ought to be an icon in everyone’s memory: A mountain gone where once it stood, and the land all around laid to waste. Mountains are supposed to be eternal – at least in the scope of human imagination. Now, they’re regarded as just more resources for corporations to exploit.

This is not a mythological fantasy imagined by Lorax-mimicking tree huggers. It’s a reality, and it’s been documented by a dedicated non-profit organization: Appalachian Voices.

Recently, they’ve teamed up with Oil Change International to produce the database behind the following widget, which you can use to see how much dirty coal money your congressional representative in Washington has taken.

(I find that incoming U.S. Senator from New York Kirsten Gillibrand has taken $1,000 in dirty coal money from Entergy Corporation, for example.)

U.S. Senators and Congressional representatives have accepted $40,404,519 from the coal industry since 2000.
Enter your zipcode to see how dirty your congresspeople are: