Las Vegas: Question Of Existence & Importance

Today a package containig the deadly poison ricin was found at the Las Vegas Extended Stay America Hotel. The discovery is being treated as a possible act of terrorism by the local authorities and the F.B.I.

Las Vegas is an unreal creation. Springing up in the middle of a desert, it sucks water from contiguous states to sustain its population including the flushing of toilets for the mostly losers that visit. The mighty Colorado River once emptied into the Sea Of Cortez and created an unbelievably rich estuary as a byproduct. It sustained fish, wildlife and water fowl. But Las Vegas has contributed to the river becoming only being a trickle of its former self at the largely dried up estuary.

Here's a question? If Las Vegas disappeared for any reason including a terrorist act would the U.S. and the environment be better off ? Personally I would not defend Las Vegas from any threat to its existence.

Pollution And The Book Of Genesis

The Bibles Book of Genesis, Chapter I, Verse 27-28, " And God created man to his own image, to the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. And God blessed them saying increase and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the air and all creatures that move upon the earth".

Indeed. And man did do these things. But so effectively was mans zeal that 80% of ocean fish stocks have disappeared. Certain U.S. domestic bird populations have plummeted a similar 80%. And creatures that move upon the earth have lost their habitat, have been killed off for fun , have been run over in haste, have been poisoned by mercury from mans fossil fuel addiction, ad nauseum.

Genesis, Chapter I, verse 31, further states, " And God saw all the things that he had made and they were very good". Oh really. How about Three Gorges Dam becoming the worlds largest cesspool? How about the slaughter of dolphins and whales in Japan? How about pollution being created by the hand of God?

Personally I want peace with nature and I want the other creatures to have peace also. It wasn't only people of the Book that followed Gods counseling and polluted the earth but they did make pollution part of their religion. People of the Book should read other books.

Pat Buchanan: Strutting Against U.N. Law Of Sea Treaty

Pat Buchanan's op-ed piece today scolds Bush and key members of the Senate for supporting the ratification of the U.N.'s Law Of The Sea . The treaty would bring comprehensive protection to 70% of the worlds surface that is covered by water. The evidence of declining fish stocks, marine pollution and destructive seabed mining procedures is acknowledged by the treaty and steps to mitigate it are codified.

That's on one side. On the other side, Buchanan invokes the conservative legacies of Teddy Roosevelt, Bob Taft, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. Buchanan says that they bristled at treaties that compromised U.S. sovereignty and the implied strutting rights over the worlds resources , no matter who owns them. But Buchanan fails to put those past war horses philosophies in the context of todays realities. The fact is that 25-80 years ago the environmental degregation of the seas were not as apparant as today.

Wake up Buchanan and smell the fresh sea air. It may clear out old, out- of- date, stale attitudes.

A Prayer For Too Tall Buildings In San Francisco

The Transbay Authority is about to adopt the recommendation of it's advisory jury and allow the building of a 1200 foot tower high-rise at First and Mission Streets. The objective of the new Transbay Terminal and office complex is primarily to accomodate and in fact nurture an increaase of traffic through the downtown area of the city. You know, "If we build it they will come". So there will be more cars, mores buses, more trains, more people, more noise, more pollution.

Eight hundred of the 1200 foot tower will be new office space. So that will add to the demand of our incresingly limited water supplies and sewage treatment facilities. The builders are throwing in a 5.4 acre elevated park as a chump change tip to the eco-crowd. Let's see, app. 250,000 sq.foot park subtracted from 1.8 million sq.foot project doesn't qualify the project as anything but a eco-disaster.

It will probably get built. But I predict one day it will fall because of the unstable land and the hubris of it's height irresistibly temtps nature. Hopefully the jerks that built it are in the building at the time.

Blackstone Group: Wall St. Alchemists Vs. World's Resources

The long-awaited initial public offering of Blackstone Group ( symbol, BX ) is history. The IPO price of 31 was a bargain as brisk, subsequent open-market trading saw the issue rise another 20% to app. $38. That price values the entire company at app. $40 billion.

What real world effect does that alchemical Wall St phenomenon have? Well it creates $ 40 billion of new wealth in a blink of geological time so frivolous monkeys can borrow against or spend in the world's irreplaceable natural resource bazaar. Wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy for forests, lakes, pollution-free air to be created?