Point Reyes Light - January 26, 2006 Somewhat Logically By John Hulls If you don’t support the Grass Roots get the heck off the lawn The entire public domain, of which much of West Marin is a part, is taking a beating at the hands of the current Congress. A friend and former colleague of mine decided to do something about it so he is running for Congress in California’s 11th District, home to Congressman Pombo. (More about Pombo later) Jerry McNerney and I worked together years ago on a National Renewable Energy Labs wind energy project, and as a mathematician and energy consultant, he brings a considered, balanced view of the environment. The very expression, "the public domain," or all things owned in common by a country’s citizens, has an origin worth considering. The expression first came into general use with the US Geological Survey in 1879, when the USGS was formed to survey all of the land, mineral, timber, water and other resources of the entire United States and make the information accessible to everybody. The USGS website at: <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1127/chapter9.pdf> is a great example how the USGS continues to help us understand the geology and resources even in our own back yard. The survey attracted the very best scientists and surveyors, including senior Harvard and University of California professors, who clamored to be included in this great national endeavor. As the participants in the survey would be in possession of hugely valuable information about natural resources, the ethical standards of those hired were of the highest level. For the most part, the modern USGS has continued this tradition and supported conservation and use of the public resources for the public good, trying to level out the boom and bust cycles of the oil and mining industry, and provided much of the scientific, geological and topographic backing for President Teddy Roosevelt’s national conservation programs. Yet, there have been repeated attempts to privately exploit the work of the USGS in measuring and defining our national resources and a large part of Jerry’s campaign is devoted to making sure that the public interest is protected. The current Congress is unprecedented in its willingness to pillage the public domain at the behest of campaign contributors. One of the ringleaders of this group is Republican Congressman Pombo of California’s 11th District. As head of the House Resource Committee, Pombo has proposed selling off National Parks and public lands at bargain basement prices even to foreign companies, tried to gut the Endangered Species Act, and made the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government’s "13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress List" and that’s just for starters. Check out <www.votepomboout.org/>. The DeLay/Abramoff and other bribery scandals have already ensnared two of Pombo’s cohorts on the list, California Congressman Cunningham, who resigned in disgrace after taking bribes, and Ohio Congressman Ney, forced to step down from his House Administration committee chairmanship. The LA Times reports how the DeLay/Pombo/Doolittle axis helped Texas financier Hurwitz escape from surrendering his ill-gotten virgin redwoods to pay off his saving and loan scandal obligations at <www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010806Y.shtml>. All environmentalists can surely agree that, for the sake of the public domain, Pombo has to go. Perhaps West Marin environmentalists could get together and seed a national program like EMILY’s List, which stands for "Early Money is Like Yeast" to make sure that the true protectors of the public interest (not just party hacks) get through the primary process and end up in office. (EMILY’s List helps pro-Choice Democratic women candidates at <www.emilyslist.org/about/who-is-emily.html >.) In the meantime, please look at Jerry’s web site at: <www.jerrymcnerney.org/>. Do whatever you can to promote candidates that protect the public domain for, as EMILY shows, it’s the early donations that make all the difference in bringing about true change. |