Just Wow. I’m ashamed to share a state with this weasel Fred Upton. First time I’ve seen him on video.
A long, but interesting and well-researched story in the Los Angeles Times chronicles the rise of the Koch brothers’ influence on the GOP. The story suggests Upton has changed his stance on climate change: “Until recently, Upton would have been an unlikely champion of that view.”
“Perhaps the Kochs’ most surprising and important ally on the committee is its new chairman, Rep. Fred Upton. The Republican from Michigan, who was once criticized by conservatives for his middle-of-the-road approach to environmental issues, is now leading the effort to rein in the EPA.
“Upton received $20,000 in donations from Koch employees in 2010, making them among his top 10 donors in that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
“In recent months the congressman has made a point of publicly aligning himself with the Koch-backed advocacy group, calling for an end to the ‘EPA chokehold.'”
Mother Jones magazine takes a similar view of Upton’s climate change position in a recent story:
“In the past, Upton — the incoming chair of the House energy and commerce committee — has advocated taking action on global warming. ‘I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions,’ he once stated on his website. But that statement recently vanished from his site — along with, it seems, his concern about global warming.”
Peter,
You are focusing on the wrong Upton! You need to stop thinking and start oogling. Remember,,, before Google, there Was Oogle!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012_swimsuit/models/kate-upton/
The UK may have its knocked-up-and-looking-for-sympathy Kate, but she’s not nearly as much of a strip tease for America’s future as Fred’s nice nobbed niece!
Like Potter Stewart before me, I know pornography when I see it. And that Fox News interview with Fred Upton is pure porn for the petro people. I assure you.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/03/06/207636/fred-upton-public-health-threat-carbon-pollution-myth/
Upton: “So let’s dispel a myth: air quality and public health will not be harmed or affected in any way by efforts to slow and then stop EPA’s expansive global warming agenda under the Clean Air Act. . . . . So we can stop the EPA from imposing cap and tax and the Clean Air Act will continue to make our families and communities healthier places. So let’s listen to the facts: this issue is not about air quality and public health, it’s about jobs.”
http://maplight.org/us-congress/legislator/499-fred-upton
He says no other country has tax on co2. Think again! The cost of petrol in sweden is 2 dollar per liter
peter,
You’d have to sew up the lips of Republicans like Upton to get them to stop lying out loud. Then they’d simply take up the pen to keep on prevaricating.
Me? I’d rather be lying next to Kate. Even if her nobs may be pneumatic.
“For people who don’t quite understand what a carbon tax is, producers of things that go up in the sky will have to pay extra.”
Haha, that is an amusing explanation.
I think an appropriate prefix to the “carbon tax” would be “revenue neutral carbon tax”.
In any case, let’s get a campaign finance reform amendment in place to stop these guys from getting bought out for their political positions.
Otter17, Glad I saw this before including the same quote in a comment. Doocy was the perfect guy for the interview.
Another way the fossil fuel industry should view is pay up now or pay more later. If they successfully lobby for a carbon tax to cover the externalities they’ll have a better case against future liability.
Slate.com has the storY:
“Why Climate Change Denial Is Just Hot Air”
http://tinyurl.com/a78wy4v
QUOTE:
?So let this be clear: There is no scientific controversy over this. Climate change denial is purely, 100 percent made-up political and corporate-sponsored crap. When the loudest voices are fossil-fuel funded think tanks, when they don’t publish in journals but instead write error-laden op-eds in partisan venues, when they have to manipulate the data to support their point, then what they’re doing isn’t science.
It’s nonsense. And worse, it’s dangerous nonsense. Because they’re fiddling with the data while the world burns.
The Mississippi River: “Oh, that sinking feeling” OR “Not coming soon to a port near you…”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-12/barge-captain-steers-rocky-course-as-mississippi-shrinks.html