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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUNBELIEVABLE: A Bill in Kansas to Outlaw Sustainability
Kansas's Self-Destruct Button: A Bill to Outlaw SustainabilityBy Tom Randall Apr 9, 2013 8:10 AM ET
A Vortex 2 rotating supercell severe thunderstorm near Dodge City, Kansas. Photographer: Ryan McGinnis
SNIP
...Now the states Committee on Energy and Environment is proposing a law that would prohibit spending on anything that wont set Kansas on a course to self-destruction. House Bill No. 2366 would ban all state and municipal funds for anything related to sustainable development, which it defines as: development in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come."
SNIP
...Kansas is the eighth biggest oil-and-gas producing state in the U.S., and fossil fuels will remain a big part of the economy for decades to come. Ask Dennis Hedke. Hes the geophysicist who does contract work for oil and gas companies and is chairman of the committee that wants to ban sustainability in Kansas...
SNIP
...For the record, Hedke said House Bill No. 2366 shouldnt affect the wind industry, because Kansas already doesnt support wind development with public funds. In fact, he says, we dont have laws in Kansas right now that relate to sustainable development. Its more about preventing sustainable development in the future...
SNIP
...Kansas has the wind-energy potential of 3,102 terawatt hours a year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Thats about 80 percent of the annual electricity consumption of the entire United States. If Kansas developed just a tiny fraction of that -- 7,158 megawatts -- by 2030, it would provide economic benefits of about $7.8 billion for the state, according to the Energy Departments National Renewable Energy Lab. And it would do so without contributing to the global warming thats frying the states wheat and corn and pushing Americas breadbasket north...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-09/kansas-s-self-destruct-button-a-bill-to-outlaw-sustainability.html
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)going to get worse in years to come.
GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)warrior1
(12,325 posts)morons at of office?
RKP5637
(67,031 posts)Even moderate republicans are now a rare breed in Kansas.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)Stay Far Away Land for me
RKP5637
(67,031 posts)people in the world is to make the rest of the US just like what they have done to Kansas. And they have made significant inroads into universities across the US through donations of millions to influence the schools of business into a combination of John Birch and Ayn Rand philosophies.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Ironically, I am watching Ken Burns' The Dust Bowl.
Maybe their legislators ought to watch it, too.
Arkansas Granny
(31,483 posts)It didn't happen in a vacuum.
LonePirate
(13,386 posts)The most conservative tea bagger, corporate, religious types now win all of the Republican primaries and the voters in the general elections vote for any idiot with an R next to their name on the ballot. According to the sheep around here, the worst R is still better than the best possible D.
The national Democratic party needs to spend a lot of time and money here educating the people here.
RKP5637
(67,031 posts)was here, he said this area isn't republican enough, like WTF. Kansans are way too naive ... they vote in the worst sh** they can find and then say, ain't they wonderful. The way KS is headed, it'll be a return the the dust bowl. Thump the bible, talk no taxes and feed them any sh** one wants and they've got the seat ... anyone with a R behind their name will do.
RKP5637
(67,031 posts)upaloopa
(11,417 posts)Salviati
(6,002 posts)More proof that the republican party is just becoming a suicide cult.
timdog44
(1,388 posts)If Kansas developed wind energy to their potential and made it state owned, they would be head and shoulders above all other states financially. Insanity. But nothing surprises me coming from Kansas anymore.
formercia
(18,479 posts)..But the Wind in Kansas, will blow forever, even after the Human Race becomes extinct.
Apophis
(1,407 posts)Ugh. This country is getting so damn frustrating.
egold2604
(369 posts)I say let them pass this law. I am a strong believer in the law of unintended consequences. Let's see what the ultimate effect of this stupidity will be. They really believe that when all their resources are gone, Jeebus will create a new planet for them to exploit.
Boomerproud
(7,889 posts)the consequences of their stupidity. Their god is just smiting them for being in amongst the evildoers.
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)adieu
(1,009 posts)cutting their faces to spite the nose.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)They know that Big Fossil's hegemony is liable to end a lot sooner than they'd like it to. Obama's first renewables initiatives, by all indications, are just the beginning.
Lucky Luciano
(11,242 posts)You posted a Bloomberg link instead of The Onion link.
FourScore
(9,704 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 13, 2013, 07:17 PM - Edit history (1)
You got me!
Lucky Luciano
(11,242 posts)n2doc
(47,953 posts)The bad ones can go to hell. And in fact, Climate change is going to make that happen. I hope enough of them live long enough to regret it.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)Maineman
(854 posts)No, I cannot explain the voters. I think the wind must blow in one ear and vacate the contents out the other ear.
randome
(34,845 posts)gollygee
(22,336 posts)That's crazy! So if a municipal building somewhere wanted to put a few solar cells up, they wouldn't be able to?
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)stick in major punishment for anyone in government who suggests such a thing. Maybe they'll stone them to death with glee.
lordsummerisle
(4,649 posts)that it wasn't a headline from The Onion, it sure could be...
PA Democrat
(13,225 posts)Gee, I wonder who owns all of the politicians in Kansas?
TheKentuckian
(24,943 posts)Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)..sustainability on them.
we could call it..
agenda..
.22
99Forever
(14,524 posts)Have you ever visited Kansas? Although there are some nice, smart, thoughtful, and progressive folks there, they are vastly outnumbered by Republicans with the all of the common sense of a dirt clod. They are too freaking stupid to vote in their own best interests.
G_j
(40,366 posts)happening across the land'
TheProgressive
(1,656 posts)Agenda 21 has 'sustainable development' in it. But, you see, Glen Beck and
others like him saw an opportunity to capitalize on it. He and others write
books on how Agenda 21 will allow the 'government to take your property' and
other crap like that.
The Tea Party and republicans in general, being who they are (highly propagandized and conned
out of their money) invade state, city, and county legislators to enact anti-agenda 21 laws.
It is total bull.
They tried this in my heavy-republican county but the supervisors did not go for it!
magellan
(13,257 posts)...people spouting such irrational nonsense would have been laughed at, not elected. Now it's firmly entrenched in the Republican Party. I gave up trying to figure out which of them really believes their own nuttery and which are just making money off it with a straight face. My sense is that more nuttery is being added to the mix all the time.
The rw clown car must be like a Tardis inside.
Occulus
(20,599 posts)Google it for legal evidence as to how NAIVE AND WRONG you are.
Hint: judge in PA.
You're fucking welcome.
TheProgressive
(1,656 posts)Are you saying that I am naive and wrong about the rightwing obsession with Agenda 21?
Occulus
(20,599 posts)A judge in PA is serving time now because he was getting kickbacks from a prison (I believe it was a private prison) for sending kids from school to jail.
It is beyond dangerous to privatize things like prisons, the military, police forces, and fire departments. It's a horrible idea, full stop, and the UN doesn't have anything at all to do with it.
TheProgressive
(1,656 posts)You called me naive and wrong about Kansas and sustainable development. I mention it was a
rightwing un adenda 21 obsession.
So what is the connection to the prison industry?
Berlum
(7,044 posts)For Republicans, it's all about hate, fear and death.
PDJane
(10,103 posts)We desperately need some kind of education or something there; why the hell would you do this?
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Do people snack on lead paint chips in Kansas? (Excluding Kansas DUers, of course)
napoleon_in_rags
(3,991 posts)I'm glad that Kansas is stepping up to do it. I think their bottom lines will reflect the good choices they're making.
The problem here in WA as in other states is that there are so many damn lazy hippies. For instance, we have this - dirt. Dirty - dirt, from a place called the Hanford facility. The hippies are just too damn lazy to clean it. But since Kansas has taken these bold steps to put economy first, I propose we outsource the work, and send all our dirty dirt to Kansas to store it. We'd be happy to pay a fee, if the people of Kansas were willing to take it!
Seriously, environmental issues ARE economic issues in the long term. I wish we had investment tools to really reflect this, money would be pulled out of a state that's throwing $7.8 billion in the trash to make a point.
For now, I say send the benefits to Colorado! The wind pours over the foothills, out onto the eastern planes at great speed.
WillyT
(72,631 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)caballojm
(270 posts)is trying to challenge our crown in AZ for having the stupidest legislators in the country. As a proud Arizonan, I say bring it on!
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)State legislators in North Carolina and my home state of Arkansas are working overtime to give Arizona and Kansas a run for their money.
formercia
(18,479 posts)This way, the Koch brothers get a free rein to develop it themselves, with no competition from the Taxpayer. Kansans will be spending a lot more for Power in the future.
The Koch Brothers know that Wind power is the next fortune to be made and they want it all.
byeya
(2,842 posts)business as usual for the Fundicans.
Let 'em dry up and blow away.
DFW
(54,051 posts)A song mocking his short-lived presidential campaign of 2008.
Crap, I never intended for it to become his goddam State Anthem!!!!
dogknob
(2,431 posts)...a fence around the entire state to prevent people from leaving.
Kennah
(14,115 posts)patrice
(47,992 posts)here.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)If we keep an eye on them, we can observe how it is possible for humans to make themselves extinct == a microcosm of self-destruction.
The Koch Brothers and the Republicans seem to be a force of devolution in progress.
Solly Mack
(90,740 posts)Damn
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)then they will outlaw the wind, cuz you know nature listens to lawmakers.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Greedy, even as they fashion their own noose.
baldguy
(36,649 posts)Of course, in the 21st century you buy your GM seed corn from Monsanto after you get that loan from some Wall Street banker, so that analogy may not sink in.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,152 posts)When I posted a thread about this a couple of months ago, it got 2 replies and no recs: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022414163
FourScore
(9,704 posts)I always try not to take it personally.