Shame on Alaska Rep. Mike Doogan

I was very disturbed to read yesterday that Alaska Rep. Mike Doogan had taken it upon himself to “out” the anonymous blogger, AK Muckraker, publishing the formerly anonymous blogger’s name in his legislative newsletter.

So I guess this is what elected officials do in Alaska, run down vindictive personal vendettas against anyone who opposes them. How Boss Tweed of him. AKM has only ever posted personal opinion and facts. But it seems this is a bad thing to do, in Mike Doogan’s eyes. He didn’t sue for slander, or libel, or defamation of character, or anything else. No, this was just to try to hurt AKM because apparently that’s the kind of guy he is. Forget freedom of the press, forget freedom of expression. Many, if not most, of the bloggers I’ve read are anonymous, and for good reason. Apart from cyber-stalking, there is real-world stalking. Let’s hope Rep. Doogan is still above anything like that, but frankly any integrity he may have had is demolished in my eyes.

By shining a light on the political machinations up there, AKM garnered a whole lot of attention for what has been the wittiest, best-written political blog I’ve ever read. Let us hope this is not an end to it.

NOTE: from Library Grape: New facebook group started to call out Mike Doogan for his shameful actions: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=82564017994 .

Cleaner Climate, Better Transportation

I prefer to post these things here, rather than e-mail them to friends and acquaintances. This way you don’t have to pretend you didn’t get the e-mail, or ignore me outright.

	March 2009

Act Now Cleaner climate, better transportation This will almost certainly be the year that Congress finally passes global warming legislation. But when they do, they’ll be leaving out a huge chunk of the problem if they don’t include a plan to reduce emissions from transportation – the source of roughly one-third of all carbon emissions in the U.S. A proposal now in Congress called CLEAN-TEA would help clean up transportation by directing money raised through global warming legislation to the kinds of smart transportation investments that will lower emissions. It would direct funding to clean transportation investments – like public transportation and passenger rail, affordable neighborhoods around transit stops, and neighborhood improvements that increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians. Help us make sure CLEAN-TEA makes it into the climate bill this year. Send a letter to the Chair of the Energy Committee today! Make a difference today. Take Action

Tell Secretary Salazar to Act Now to Stop Off-Shore Drilling in the Arctic

It appears we learned nothing from Valdez. When are they going to make a serious effort to wean the world off oil? Please join me in opposing off-shore drilling in the Artic. Herewith: Another Wavemaker activism alert from Jim Ayers of Oceana:

As I write this on the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, more than 70 million acres of the U.S. Arctic Ocean are slated to again be offered for sale to oil companies, which would threaten local cultures and put already stressed ecosystems in further danger. Oceana recently celebrated the decision to prevent commercial fishing from entering the Arctic. Please help us score another win for the Arctic by telling the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, that offshore drilling in the region is not the answer to our energy woes and that we need a science-based precautionary approach to protect the Arctic Ocean.

Say No to Offshore Drilling in the Arctic »

Oil leases have already been sold in the Arctic’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas, and if we do not change course, the peoples and animals of the Arctic may soon be forced to share their home with oil platforms and huge tankers.

The choices to make these areas available were made without adequate science or public process, but we now have a chance to make our voices heard.

Thousands of Arctic peoples rely on Arctic Ocean ecosystems as central to local economies, nutrition and a subsistence way of life that has existed for millennia. The Arctic Ocean is also home to some of the world’s iconic animals species, including polar bears, walruses, and whales. Meanwhile, the region is at the forefront of climate change – sea ice is rapidly melting, putting ecosystems under great stress.

The rush to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean is an incredibly risky proposition. As we learned from Exxon Valdez, oil has dire long-term impacts on marine ecosystems. It is nearly impossible to effectively clean up oil in the oceans, particularly in icy Arctic waters, and the icebreakers, pipelines, and other infrastructure necessary for oil development would further stress our oceans.

Also, offshore oil drilling would have little if any impact on gas prices. Figures from the U.S. Energy Information Agency show that even at peak production, increased drilling offshore would produce less than one percent of the current energy demand in the U.S.

Please join us in calling for the immediate halt of all oil and gas activities in the Arctic until a science-based, precautionary approach is put in place.

For the oceans,
Jim Ayers
Vice President, Pacific
Oceana

Bike Tax being shot down

I was relieved to read that this proposed bike tax is not likely to become a reality any time soon. Cyclists (probably 90% at least) also own cars, and therefore pay registration fees already, and put less wear and tear on the roads by using bikes instead of cars for some (if not most) trips. And as far as ‘adding bike lanes’ goes, it mostly just consists of painting the bike symbol in the existing road shoulders, as far as I can see. There sure aren’t any specially designed bike lanes out here in the ‘burbs, or out in the country where I ride and drive. Do we tax bus riders extra for using bus stops? I bet we all pay for the construction of bus stops out of our taxes. We all paid extra taxes for the MAX, whether we are riders of that system or not. If we’re going to start playing this game, let’s let the SUV drivers start paying their fair share for the extra pollution their vehicles create (they’re not held to the same standard as passenger cars), the extra wear on the roads caused by the bloated size and weight of these monster vehicles, and so on.

Riding Season Beginneth

I got out for my second bike ride of 2009 yesterday, just under 14 miles, in a little over an hour.  First ride was February 7.

Didn’t seem to matter which direction I was headed in yesterday, it was into a headwind the whole time. I guess March was getting a jump-start on coming in like a lion. Not too strong of a wind, but enough to feel it. I’ve definitely got a ways to go before I start the bike commute to work again once it’s light enough in the mornings. And warm enough. I’m still not really outfitted for riding in the 20s and 30s and days typically start off in the 20s at the time I’d be leaving my house. Forties I can probably survive, although yesterday it was 50-ish, and even with the arm warmers under the windproof shell I was never overly warm.  The muscles are definitely out of tune, I am so not ready for those hills I have to face on the commute. I’m still jogging with my friend at work which I’m sure helps to a degree, but it’s really different muscles that are called upon. Guess I’m paying the price for being a slug all winter. But it did feel good to be out there, nonetheless.

We’re expecting rain most of this coming week so I don’t expect I’ll be able to get out there again until next weekend. Even if I had fenders on it I’m still too protective of my pretty bike to want to muck it up riding in the rain! My cycling mentor at work keeps asking when I’m going to start riding again. :/ He’ll ride in all kinds of weather, all year round. Even yesterday, he was planning to head out for a “quick 25-mile ride” before catching a plane to Sedona, AZ for the week later in the day. He didn’t mention what his wife thought of that.