Monday, March 3, 2008

? for President? Political Wire: "A new SurveyUSA poll in Texas shows the race between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton effectively tied, 49% to 48%, 'with Obama's momentum now slowed, and possibly stalled.'" Political Wire: "A new SurveyUSA poll in Ohio shows Sen. Hillary Clinton 'appears to stop the momentum' of Sen. Barack Obama and now leads 54% to 44%. 'Three weeks ago, Clinton led by 17. Two weeks ago, Clinton led by 9. One week ago, Clinton led by 6. Today: Clinton stops sliding.' Key finding: 'The 16 minutes that Clinton spent arguing with Obama about health care at this week's NBC News debate appears to have paid off. Slightly more voters now name health care as the most important issue, and among those who do, Clinton today leads by 24 points, up from a 7-point lead last week.'" Political Wire: "The final Public Policy Polling survey in Texas shows Sen. Hillary Clinton taking a six point lead over Sen. Barack Obama, 50% to 44%. Key finding: 'The Hispanic vote saved Hillary Clinton in California, and now it looks like it might do the same in Texas. She is getting almost as much of the Hispanic vote as Obama is of the black vote and that's propelled her to the lead in the state.'" Political Wire: "The final Public Policy Polling survey in Ohio shows Sen. Hillary Clinton expanding her lead over Sen. Barack Obama from 4 points in our poll last weekend to 9 points, 51% to 42%." Political Wire: "Sen. Hillary Clinton's margin over Sen. Barack Obama among Ohio likely Democratic primary voters has shrunk to just 4 points, 49% to 45%, on the eve of the state's primary, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. On Feburary 14, Clinton held a 21 point lead; on February 25 she was 11 points ahead." Political Wire: "The Democratic presidential primaries in Texas and Ohio remain too close to call between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, 'with momentum sloshing back and forth,' according to a new Zogby/Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle tracking poll. In Texas, Obama leads Clinton, 47% to 44%, within the survey's 3.7% margin of error...In Ohio, Obama leads Clinton, 47% to 45%, within the survey's 3.6% margin of error." Political Wire: "The Cleveland Plain Dealer: 'A major winter storm -- wielding weather weapons of ice, freezing, rain snow and high winds -- is roaring west-to-east across the United States and will hit Ohio just as the two senators renew their battle for the Buckeye State.'" Political Wire: "A new Belo Texas Tracking Poll shows the race between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama deadlocked, 46% to 46%. 'At this point in the Democratic battle for Texas, it comes down to the basics, Campaigning 101 -- getting out the vote. Where then should the campaigns focus their respective efforts to make the most of their remaining resources? Generally, they will want to focus the most resources where they can generate the greatest yield. From the standpoint of the popular vote, they will want to focus on the largest voting blocks where they have the biggest leads. Once again, that means Hispanics for Hillary Clinton and African Americans for Barack Obama.'" Political Wire: "A new University of Cincinnati poll in Ohio shows Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama, 51% to 42%. The margin of error is +/- 3.9%. Meanwhile, a new Suffolk University poll in Ohio also shows Clinton leading Obama, 52% to 40%." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:13:33 PM

Climate Change: The earth is a beautifully complex system From Island of Doubt: "An unlikely trio has just made available the results of their quasi-scientific survey of climatologists, who were asked how much they agreed with the latest report from the IPCC. It makes for fascinating reading, even if its response rate of less than 10 % is a bit disappointing. Despite attempts from some quarters at spinning the results to suggest the climate change 'consensus' is weaker than often described, the survey actually finds remarkably strong support for the notion that we are headed for trouble." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 5:54:52 PM

H.R. 2262, The Hard Rock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 Here's a look at the General Mining Act of 1872 and the need for its replacement, H.R. 2262 The Hard Rock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007, from The Denver Post. They write: The toxic drainage that threatens Leadville is a story that could easily be repeated in other towns across the West. While Leadville's toxic threat comes from a facility built 60 years ago, the law that governs mining in the West today is more than twice as old. Failure by Congress to change this historic law could lead to environmental problems of historic proportions. The law signed by President Ulysses S. Grant encouraged prospectors to develop the West, offering them the chance to take gold and other precious metals from public lands in unlimited amounts. Mining was done with picks and pans, and towns were few and far between, so mining was given priority on most public lands over almost everything else. But today, a law that gives global companies basically free reign to mine on millions of acres of Western public lands with few restrictions no longer makes sense. Places like Gunnison County, which is more than 80 percent federal land, are particularly vulnerable to the law's effects. Our main source of income, recreational tourism, is dependent upon clean water, clean air and pristine landscapes. Yet we still live with a law that allows hardrock (metal) mining, one of the nation's most toxic industries, to proceed without effective water quality or other conservation safeguards. What's more, local governments and civic-minded groups have little say about the location of mines that could impact their environmental and economic future. When it comes to protecting our residents from the impacts of mining, the county and town's hands are tied. U.S. Energy and Kobex Resources Ltd., a Canadian company, are now moving forward with a mine less than 3 miles outside of Crested Butte. Unfortunately, a federal court has ruled that under the 1872 law that local communities like ours have no voice in critical decisions about deeding public land over to private mining interests. But help could be on the way. Last fall, the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation that would allow communities to petition for special lands to be withdrawn from mining and to ensure that mines are well bonded and meet water quality standards. The issue is now under consideration by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where Colorado's Sen. Ken Salazar is expected to play a key role. Time is short. According to a recent analysis of government data by the nonpartisan Environmental Working Group, claims on Colorado federal lands jumped 239 percent from their 2003 levels. Let's learn from Leadville. It's a story we don't want to repeat. Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:32:56 AM

Water policy Here's an interview with Maude Barlow from AlterNet. Read the whole thing. Here are a couple of excerpts: PATRICK McCULLY: We're treating the water resources of the planet with contempt, which is just so stupid, because we depend on them. We need water to live. We will only survive for a day or two if we don't have water. WILLIAM E. MARKS: Scientists, through decades of study and millions and millions of pieces of data, now recognize the fact that we're on the brink of the sixth great mass extinction ever to be experienced on the face of the earth. The fifth mass extinction was the dinosaur age. MAUDE BARLOW: You know those movies where there's the comet coming at the earth, and all of a sudden the governments of the world say, "Gee, we're not -- our differences aren't so big anymore, because we're about to all die." That's really where we are. There is a comet coming at us. It's called water shortage... MAUDE BARLOW: There are private corporate interests that have decided that water is going to be put on the open market for sale. It's going to be commodified and treated as any other saleable good... MAUDE BARLOW: The market is amoral, and it's going to lead you to taking advantage of pollution and scarcity, frankly. It's going to lead you to selling it to those who can buy it but not to those who need it. Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:05:45 AM

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