Arkansas Blog

This is criminal.

When's the hearing on the coal plant?

Where do we find out who is on this commission? (Eh, nm on this count, I'll google it.)

Oh beautiful for spacious skies....cough, cough, cough..For genetically modified, pesticide ladden fields of grain.

Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission website:
http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/commission/default.htm

------
MEMBERS

Thomas Schueck- Chair

William Thompson - Vice Chair

Lawrence Bengal
Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (Director)

Scott Henderson
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
(Director)

Darwin Hendrix

Charles McGrew
Arkansas Department of Health

Dana Samples

John T. Shannon
Arkansas Forestry Commission
(Director)

Lynn Sickel

John Simpson

Ephrain Valdez

Bekki White
Arkansas Geological Commission
(Director)

Randy Young
Arkansas Natural Resource Commission
(Director)

There are two that Beebe could replace in 2009. I believe that the Governor could encourage some to retire from the commission (serve at the pleasure of the Governor) and appoint more forward-thinking members. I he had the will to do so. In the meantime, you can let the commissioners know your concerns.

http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/commission/

Commission Members:

Thomas Schueck- Chair Term Expires: 3/29/2009
Appointed: 1997- Reappointed: 2001
(501) 490-4200
Fax: (501) 490-4411
Little Rock, AR

William Thompson - Vice Chair - Term Expires: March 29, 2011
- Appointed: 2001- Reappointed: 2007
(501) 982-3746
Fax: (501) 982-7799
North Little Rock, AR

Lawrence Bengal, Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (Director)
(501) 683-5814
Fax: (501) 683-5818
Little Rock, AR

Scott Henderson, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (Director)
(501) 223-6305
Fax: (501) 223-6448
Little Rock, AR

Darwin Hendrix - Term Expires: 8/1/2011
Appointed: 10/17/2007
(870) 887-2661
Fax: (870) 887-6409
Antoine, AR

Charles McGrew, Arkansas Department of Health
(501) 661-2111
Fax: (501) 671-1450
Little Rock, AR

Dana Samples Term Expires: 3/29/2009
Appointed: 3/28/05
(479) 750-8830
Fax: (479) 750-8829
Huntsville, AR

John T. Shannon, Arkansas Forestry Commission (Director)
(501) 296-1940
Fax: (501) 296-1949
Little Rock, AR

Lynn Sickel - Term Expires: 3/29/2010
Appointed: 1998 - Reappointed: 03/16/06
(870) 255-4689
Fax: (870) 255-3375
DeValls Bluff, AR

John Simpson - Appointed: 4/16/07
(501) 321-9292
Fax: (501) 623-5541
Hot Springs, AR

Ephrain Valdez - Term Expires: 3/29/2010
Appointed: 2002 - Reappointed: 03/16/06
(501) 804-2187
Fax: (501) 378-2249
Conway, AR

Bekki White, Arkansas Geological Commission (Director)
(501) 296-1877
Fax: (501) 663-7360
Little Rock, AR

Randy Young, Arkansas Natural Resource Commission (Director)
(501) 682-1611
Fax: (501) 682-3991
Little Rock, AR

Hasn't old Randy had enough yet? He's been there since 1971. How many years must you do at State of Ark before retirement benefits kick in ?

Mini-Biography #1

----------------------
Thomas Schueck, chairman

He owns Lexicon Inc (http://www.lexicon-inc.com/), a company that has the "unique capability of fabrication, erection, and mechanical installation services." Lexicon Inc has several subsidiaries, including:

Schueck Steel
http://www.schueck.com/
501-490-4200

L-Con Constructors
http://www.l-con.com/
281-484-5266

Prospect Steel
http://www.prospectsteel.com/
501-490-2300

L-Con Engineers and Constructors
http://www.l-coneandc.com/
281-484-5266

Custom Metals
http://www.custom-metals.com/
501-490-4400

Heritage Links
http://www.heritage-links.com/
281-866-0909

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I hardly see what qualifies him to be on the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.

Is it possible he will financially benefit from the construction of the coal plants w/ all his contracting services?

Sorry if I am missing the obvious.. what was the official reasoning behind PCEC dropping it without so much as a vote?

How farcical will the legislation from the Governor's Commission on Global Warming be, do you think?
a)Half-ass show of effort; nonbinding
b)Nevermind this session, we'll put something out in 2011 that requires action by 2016
c)Purely cynical industry-written death document thumbs nose at human health

It's Friday, so I'm going out on a crazy limb here.

Assume that Mike Beebe, despite almost every action his administration has taken so far, really cares about the environment in Arkansas. Let's assume all the bad things I've ever said about him were spoken in hyperbole and he really is just a good ole boy who wants to do right by the state.

If he was this kind of guy, I'd officially like to request (via the AT Blog, which I know gets read over there) that he appoint ROD BRYAN to one of these slots when they come open. Rod may be a bit to the left (although he's usually right) of most folks, but if you want a true community representative who will take the time to research the issue and won't be sold off to the highest bidder, I think Rod would the perfect choice for one of these spots.

Whatcha think Decample? Any comment on that one?

i love that crazy weekly. Where else do you get a "my bad" from the editor when stories go wrong?

I second calmwriter's recommendation to our Guv. I think Rod would be a voice of sanity in the quickening madness called progress. But, I won't be holding my breath for Beebe to discover his
inner-Green

Sorry if I am missing the obvious.. what was the official reasoning behind PCEC dropping it without so much as a vote?<<

Surely you jest my friend. There is no "official reasoning" in Arkansas' official Commissions. All that's necessary is they get on the same page. Sometimes, papers like this one, occasionally the DOG and rarely TMN will find the page.

ARK. BLOG: The reasoning, such as it is, is in the PCE order, which I've linked. It was written by the polluters' lawyer.

Global warming and carbon dioxide may be the only thing helping to put off the next ice age.

*************************************************

George Carlin on the Environment

"The Planet Is Fine"

We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these fucking people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the fucking planet?

I'm getting tired of that shit. Tired of that shit. I'm tired of fucking Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world save for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a shit about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are fucked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your shit, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, "Why are we here?" Plastic...asshole.

ARK. BLOG: The reasoning, such as it is, is in the PCE order, which I've linked. It was written by the polluters' lawyer.

<<<<

Thanks Max.. I looked briefly, just missed it along the way.

Makes one wonder if that might have been the sole purpose/intent of the "polluters lawyer" all along.

Servus,

You do know that George Carlin was employing satire and commenting on how idiot humans are killing themselves off by polluting the only planet we have to live on.

Your normal posts tend not to be pro earth, and anti pollution so I am supposing you missed Carlins point. Sort of a people don't kill the planet, people kill people off take of the NRA's motto.

Big corporate polluters calling themselves the Arkansas Environmental Federation...what's next, hookers incorporating as Society for the Preservation of Chastity?

A COMMENT FROM SOMEONE WHO CAN'T PIERCE TYPEKEY:

While the speculators may have driven up the prices in the short term, Bush's war being fought on a Chinese Express credit card has lowered the value of the dollar and affected everything we buy that comes from overseas, including oil.

We can thank Bush and his policies for 15-20% of the run up of oil prices. Anything that any of these jokers do that involves spending money that we don't have is just showing their hatred for the middle class.

No more war funding or stimulus packages unless they are paid for totally. Income tax surcharge or whatever, we must get spending underway WITHOUT affecting the safety net. Otherwise, it will be pitchforks to the streets.

-- Fed Up to Here

How in the world does Schueck continue to serve on the PC&E Commission? He has air and water permits and yet he votes and participates in commission rulings and procedures. He thinks and acts like he is serving the public good and doing volunteer work, but the truth appears to be that he is serving himself and watching out for his own interests and companies. Have you ever seen him conduct a commission meeting? He comes off as pompous and ego tistical and contempous of anyone else's opinion. And for crying out, he serves at the pleasure of the Gov. I wonder what his campaign contributions were and to whom? I bet you money he works both sides of the street.

Edit:

Correct title: Pollution Permission Commission (PPC).

After that, everything else makes sense.

Thanks, Jim and JD for the Commission's contact names and info.

In answer to your question about Schueck, JD: Is it possible the Pope's Catholic?

And much grass, Severus, for George Carlin's routine. The guy was amazing.

BTW, Citizen Home, does Severus HAVE a "normal" post? Or is he just another Chasv alias?

Just askin'.

Thanks, Jim and JD for the Commission's contact names and info.

In answer to your question about Schueck, JD: Is it possible the Pope's Catholic?

And much grass, Severus, for George Carlin's routine. The guy was amazing.

BTW, Citizen Home, does Severus HAVE a "normal" post? Or is he just another Chasv alias?

Just askin'.

Ugh.

Well Norma, I ain't all that learned in the law'n'stuff, but couldn't some impropriety issues be raised and prosecuted through the law? Or sumthin'?

This is incredibly embarrassing.

There are a solid handful of articles on global warming in all the major newspapers--NYT, WashPost, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, etc---coming out every single day. It's beyond ridiculous that a freakin' state commission on pollution would refuse to add CO2 as a pollutant when virtually every peer reviewed scientifc article in the past 20 years has showed the same.

And people wonder why Arkansas is viewed as backwards? Really? Jesus, every university in the top tier has plans to go carbon neutral. My school has a vice chancellor whose sole title is "Environmental Sustainability." I'm in the MD area and basically every freakin' city of note has some sort of sustainability (e.g., carbon neutral) plan. Two years ago, the Association for the Advancement of Environmental Sustainbility in Higher Education, made up of universities, had some 30 odd members--now it has over 500.

The zeitgeist, or thoughts of the people, is moving towards environmental sustainability. It's the future. Period. Let me repeat: environmental sustainability the future. Ten years from now, everything--EVERYTHING--will be more environmentally sustainable to combat global warming. Rupert Murdoch plans on taking his slew of media, including Fox News, carbon neutral by 2010. 2 years from now! Now, obviously judging from his publications, Murdoch is a right winger, but he's shrewd too, and he knows that environmental sustainability is a permanent waypoint on the human history timeline. It ain't a fad, and Murdoch is simply adjusting to the times, like a tree adjusts to the seasons.

And here we are, little ole' Arky straggling along, some of our top officials still don't "believe" in global warming--as if it's a choice not weighted in massive evidence or anything

This is reprehensible, and it just feeds in to the reasons why qualified people leave this state: archaic modes of thought. As if Arkansas is on some isolated island from the American and international communities of scientists and that we just have no way of knowing that, yes, massive amounts of CO2 worsen global warming.

I remember a few years ago, a certain governor speaking to bright students of a good high school, urging them to stay in Arkansas. His commitment to the state, as Bill Clinton's, Wes Clark's, and others, was admirable. But I at least know a lot of the state's brightest, and often times part of their personas are defined by abnegating the "Arkansan" mindset: putting down the state in the presence of cosmopolitan guests, differentiating themselves from the "Arkansan" mindset. Sure it's not always right, but really, items like this give them ample fodder to do so.

Now, I don't want to demonize the governor or others and polarize debates because that's usually counterproductive. And I'd like to think the governor truly wants Arkansas to be at the forefront of the 21st century and help the environment--and it's not all rhetorical flourish. And I'd like to think he knows its bloody obvious that when not a single peer reviewed scientific article has come out against human-catalyzed-global warming and loads and loads of articles support it, well then by golly, it must be true.

But, the governor and all else involved have made a monumentally uninformed decision. They need to be talked to and reasoned with. (And clearly many groups have tried.) If that doesn't bring about any solutions, such as admitting what every mainstream scientist who hasn't been paid off by Exxon (look it up) says about CO2, then tougher measures should be taken: each and everyone of these committee members should have their backhistories meticulously researched, and it should be presented to the public somehow so that they are held accountable. I'm very thankful what Audubon, Sierra Club, and others are doing in this regard.

I know, I know, I should stop yapping and start doing.

P.S. I 'preciate AT's coverage.

Today's DemGaz article on the Pollution Permission Commission's CO2 decision yesterday led with a quote from the Arkansas Director of the Game and Fish Commission...."let's not put the cart before the horse...." in essence do nothing until the gov's commission on global warming or the Legislature or the EPA does something.....The GFC Director had a second opportunity to help the environment when the vote came up to approve or deny an ill-conceived plan from El Dorado to pump treated sewage 18 miles to the Ouachita River and Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge to avoid building a modern sewage treatment plant. Well, as of this morning, the Director is zero for two to protect the environment! But we got deer!

serveus, here is a link to the George Carlin bit you quoted. Video is much better than reading it. Agree or not, he meant what he said despite what CH claims.