The Environment
We are happy – but hardly overjoyed – at the signing of a bipartisan effort by the House of Representatives who just passed the Save Our Seas (SOS) Act. According to The Nature Conservatory,
“The SOS Act begins to address the marine debris problem by reauthorizing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program. This program is the “tip of the spear” for the U.S. government in confronting the ocean plastic waste problem, both at home and abroad. Reauthorization of the program will help ensure the stability of funding in the Federal budget process.
The bill also calls on the Administration to get the State Department more fully engaged in international efforts to address this global problem. With more than half of the estimated eight million metric tons of plastic entering our ocean each year coming from a handful of developing countries in southeast Asia, we simply cannot solve the marine debris crisis alone.
The overwhelming bipartisan support for the SOS Act in the House (and the Senate, too!) is a rare triumph for Congress. It would not have been possible without the incredible leadership of Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), the co-chairs of the House Oceans Caucus. Coupled with the similar efforts in the Senate by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and many others, Congress has taken a modest but very important step forward in tackling this problem.”
But if you were looking for leadership or inspiration or even a modicum of decency or understanding about this huge global issue, you most certainly didn’t find it with our so-called president. In his typical negative, accusatory tone, Trump criticized Japan, China and other countries for dumping a massive amount of garbage that has drifted ashore on the U.S. West Coast.
“Every year, over 8 million tons of garbage is dumped into our beautiful oceans by many countries of the world. That includes China, that includes Japan, that includes many, many countries” Trump said a “vast,” “tremendous” and “unthinkable” amount of garbage is floating to the West Coast, causing a “very unfair situation” as the United States is charged with cleaning it up.
Only this vile xenophobe would blame and attack other countries, while acting as if the US wasn’t completely complicit in this environmental disaster.
For once, could this son of a bitch simply pretend that he has a shred of humanity? Pathetically, I think we all know the answer. Read more about this bill here.
And of course there is a thread.
