Tag: Environmentalism

Tom’s World – 07JUL2026 – Atlanta Road Rage – Part 2

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TomD

Below from Google AI in response to a search. You can see elements of prejudice in the framing of the intended traffic mitigation efforts in terms of “sprawl” and civil rights.

Did it ever come to light who was spearheadding the successful opposition by federal lawsuit to Atlanta metro traffic inittiaves circa 2002?

The prominent federal lawsuits that successfully disrupted and reshaped Atlanta metro traffic and highway initiatives circa 1999–2002 were spearheaded by a coalition of environmental and civil rights organizations, most notably led by the Sierra Club, Georgians for Transportation Alternatives (GTA), and the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice. [1, 2]
The primary public figures and legal minds anchoring this push included:

Context of the Legal Battle
The litigation (most notably Georgians for Transportation Alternatives v. Shackelford and Sierra Club v. Atlanta Regional Commission) alleged that Atlanta’s multi-billion dollar, highway-expanding Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) violated the federal Clean Air Act. Because metro Atlanta chronically failed to meet federal ground-level ozone and smog safety deadlines, the lawsuits successfully froze federal funding and forced a historic out-of-court settlement. [1, 2, 4]

The Outcome
Rather than stopping transit outright, the opposition successfully weaponized federal law to force a massive pivot away from sprawl. The settlement required state and regional planners to scrap dozens of major road-widening projects, reallocate roughly 40% of regional funding directly into mass transit, and heavily analyze the civil rights impact of traffic planning on low-income and minority neighborhoods. [1, 3]

Tom’s World – 04JUL2026 – Atlanta Road Rage

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TomD

 

My knowledge from both a personal and professional level indicate that the Georgia DOT is well funded, efficient and competent. Lord only knows the crisis level if that were not the case. Pure traffic density is the issue.

The density problem was significantly purposefully created by supposed “environmental” groups. The effects of the rapidly developing increasing traffic density has been easily extrapolated for decades. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s a number of projects were proposed to head it off to a significant degree. But, each project was sued into non-existence in Federal court , one by one. Every suit was brought and financed by non-regional environmental groups ultimately financed by, nobody knows. The Sierra Club was the front group for several suits. Whatever the ultimate purpose of the suits was it did not include the well being of the citizens

The biggest hit was an outer perimeter to route non-local traffic, both E-W and N-S entirely bypassing metro Atlanta. I75, I85, & I20 all intersect in the middle of Atlanta constituting a large portion of the total. But noooo. Several other major projects were killed.

You would not believe the competency the GDOT call on to plan and execute MAJOR infrastructure projects. This bunch in FDOT District 3, not so much. They make what would be a 4-5 month project in Atlanta Metro last for literally years. And in the face of rapidly increasing traffic density, the local FDOT’s traffic light timing and coordination is absurdly bad.

I was “involved” with the industry for some time and before I retired couldn’t open my mouth publically.

Picture below: Ga 400 entering Buckhead area of the city on a Sunday morning. Buckhead was the area in the news a couple of years ago that tried to secede from Atlanta due to non-protection from the APD from the hoards of inner city predators.

<a data-flickr-embed=”true” href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomd77/21935250858/in/datetaken/” title=”Into the belly of the beast”><img src=”” width=”2048″ height=”1477″ alt=”Into the belly of the beast”/></a><script async src=”//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Prancing Hippies Found Liable for $667 Million to Pipeline Company

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Greenpeace that ever annoying coalition of environmental dunderheads and nihilists has been found liable for their part in fomenting violent, destructive activities associated with a pipeline that was being constructed in North Dakota.

Add this enormous fine on top of the disruption to access to taxpayer money that DOGE is currently providing and it sounds to me that a lot of grimy, smelly hippies will be quite a bit poorer and disorganized for the foreseeable future.

Whales, polar bears and penguins, better start watching your backs.  You’re on your own.  The eco-terrorists have lost their piggybank.

Stamp Out the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Once and for All!

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The latest EPA scam to prevent energy production employs a favorite old ploy.  Namely, create a full species out of a small slightly differentiated population of some animal (in this case lizards) and then claim this new species is endangered because there are so few of them.  And the difference between the two populations can be almost non-existent.  A different number of scales on their chins or a slightly smaller overall average length or whatever.  Now the truth of this is that every species with a large enough range develops slight regional variation.  And things like color will vary in order to blend with local conditions.  Even over short time spans moths have been known to genetically select for darker or lighter color based upon the advantage in blending into backgrounds that had more or less coal dust in different parts of London in the 20th century.

So here comes the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) a small drab creature that is part of a family that includes 114 so-called species that extend from New York State to California and from the Canadian border to Panama.  And even more pathetic, until very recently (1972) the arenicolus was considered just a subspecies of the sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus graciosus) which is in no way endangered.  Now government funded biologists live to produce new species in order to have a reason to apply for a government fund to study this new endangered species.  And as you’ll read in this article, the dunes sagebrush lizard is disappearing because oil and gas are being extracted from its home range.

My thought is, “Too damn bad!”

Let’s suppose that what they say is true.  Oil and gas extraction is bad for the very important lizard and if extraction is expanded then the very important lizard will go extinct.  Dead, gone, buried, finished.  Well, guess what.  In twenty years, the sagebrush lizards on the other side of the dune will begin moving into that territory left vacant by the demise of the dunes sagebrush lizards that were just too delicate to make it.  And in a hundred years they will adapt to the exact climate in that dune environment and guess what?  They will look and actually be indistinguishable from the extinct dunes sagebrush lizard cousins they replaced.  Hooray for evolution!

So, my advice to President Trump is to have his EPA not only delete the dunes sagebrush lizard from the endangered species list but also reclassify it as a subspecies of the sagebrush lizard and forget about it forever.  And while they’re at it do a review of all the other endangered species to see how many of them are subspecies with tiny ranges that have been elevated to full species rank just so that their range can be excluded from useful human activities like building houses and fishing in lakes and drilling for oil.

In the same way that Democrats use the USAID as a piggy bank to fund their wish list of stupid causes, the National Science Foundation is a source for endless grant money for things like inventing endangered species and spending whole careers walking around studying these unimportant populations of common species for no meaningful reason.  Being the champion and greatest living authority on the dunes sagebrush lizard should be a badge of shame.  And at the very least should be a pursuit unfunded by the United States federal government (in my opinion).

Guest Contributor – TomD – 11JAN2025 – California Wildfires

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TomD

I live on the Florida panhandle, the population isn’t nearly as dense as central and south Florida. There are extensive farmlands and 10’s of thousands of acres covered in trees, mostly pines.

Except hot and dry spells, you will commonly see large smoke plumes here and there on the horizon. That is called “controlled burning”. That is to burn off the underbrush and dead branches, dry pine straw, etc., but not kill the trees. That reduces the kindling and fast fuel that a major fire needs to get started. It works. This method is common across the US in forested areas.

It is illegal in California.

In the meantime, the LA fire dept has spent the last 4 years hiring mostly lesbians as firefighters with no qualifications other than being lesbians.

In the meantime, California has created no new reservoirs since 1979 despite a near doubling of population since.

In the meantime, California passed a $7.5 billion bill to ensure adequate water supply but not a cent has been spent to that purpose. Some of it was used to destroy 4 then existing dams and reservoirs.

A number of years ago, someone ventured that California was rich enough to be stupid. I’m not sure that is the case any more.

Another interesting point: LA, and California in general, has long been famous for the difficulty and time required to get a building permit. We’re talking years for a house. How do you think the 10’s of thousands of people affected by the burning show up to get permits to rebuild their homes and businesses only to be told that they first need an environmental study and permission from 17 different agencies? Do you think there will be hangings? Hopefully.

It Seems Portugal Didn’t Get the Memo About Climate Protests

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In Germany the idiots sit in their cars like … idiots.  Apparently in Portugal they get out of their cars and drag the smug, self-important idiots by their arms, legs or hair depending on circumstances.  I wonder how many have lost a goodly amount of flesh when someone drags their super-glued hands off the asphalt.

There are a lot of people who are pretty tired of Gaia and her retarded minions.  It looks like patience is wearing thin.

The ZMan Explains How Gaia Hates Plastic Bags

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The ZMan tells the story of how his local Wegman’s has compelled him to honor Gaia and stop using plastic bags.  This amusing tale is the green revolution writ small.  And honestly it’s probably the least crazy part of the whole movement.  Plastic has become so ubiquitous in our lives that we no longer even think about it.  Paper bags or even reusable bags might make sense.  But square this with the behavior that occurred during the COVID crisis when reusable anything was suspected of killing old people.

It’s obvious that “science” is not what’s going on with these decisions.  We’re being ruled by cultists who don’t understand the reality behind the narratives.  But read the story for ZMan’s trademark humor and bile.

The Paper Bag Test

Energy Equates to Wealth

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Something that Environmentalists don’t want to admit is that fossil fuel has produced the modern world.  Without coal, oil and gas as fuels (and much, much else) we would still be living like the peasants in medieval Europe did in the 1300’s.  Coal was the fuel that made steam power possible which produced locomotives and steam ships.  Oil became the default fuel for electrical generation, automobiles, modern trains and also the basis for the myriad petrochemical products that make possible everything from pharmaceuticals and clothing to building materials and every other thing that’s made of what we call polymers.  Natural gas is the fuel for most of the modern electrical generation installations built in the United States over the last forty years or more.  And it heats a large percentage of homes and businesses.   Without these fuels we would literally be poor, cold, hungry and sitting in the dark.

And the Left knows that.  Now Jeff Bezos and the rest of the plutocrats are fine with this.  They know that they would still be able to reap the benefits of energy even if they denied it to the rest of us.  Bezos could have his own private solar collecting system and wind turbines with battery back-ups that could allow him to enjoy all of the modern comforts that would be denied to us.  His jet and helicopter and cars would mysteriously be able to use fuel while we would only be able to purchase a battery car that could only go a short distance and would be hard pressed to recharge by the next morning when we had to commute back to work.  Impoverishing and disenfranchising us is actually the goal of this whole exercise.  A new feudalism would replace a free country and the aristocracy and their minions would lord it over the rest of us deplorables.

Of course, we may not be happy about letting them do this.  Right now, $3.50/gallon gas and the inflation that causes in our economy is making Dementia Joe awfully unpopular.  When it reaches $5.00/gallon he may get tarred and feathered.  And that would be a wonderful thing.  Impoverishing the American people should be considered treason.  So hopefully the environmental insanity being pushed should create a strong reaction to the progressive agenda.  That would be a good outcome.

But there is something that needs to be faced.  There is a finite amount of hydrocarbon fuels in the Earth.  I’m not saying we’re close to the end.  I’m only saying there is an end.  And now is the time to be doing the basic research to find the next energy source for the modern world.  Maybe it’ll be nuclear fission plants, safer versions of the ones currently in place, maybe it’ll be better applications of solar power, perhaps solar collectors outside the atmosphere beaming microwave energy down to collection stations on earth.  Maybe it’ll be geothermal hot spots.

An inexhaustible energy supply solves one of our problems.  With it we can produce electricity to run our factories and if it is truly inexhaustible, we can even heat our homes with it.  But whatever it turns out to be we will still need a fuel for our cars and planes.

Airplanes will never be able to run on batteries.  The power density is too low.  And as we’ve seen battery powered cars are very limited in their range.  Unless there are large gains to be made in battery technology which is unlikely, the best solution is a synthetic fuel.

Maybe it will be hydrogen.  Hydrogen is highly energetic and when it is burned with oxygen its  combustion product is water.  It doesn’t get cleaner than that.  But hydrogen is a small molecule gas and it leaks easily and it blows up mightily.  So extremely fail-safe equipment will be a necessity if it becomes the fuel, we run our automobiles and planes on.  But hydrogen is not the only option.  With unlimited electrical energy engineers could very easily produce synthetic methane (natural gas).  Or with a little more work they could make longer hydrocarbons.  Octane is the optimal component of gasoline.  That could be the main product we produce as our global fuel.  Of course, we would be using water and carbon dioxide as our starting materials so at that point we would have a carbon neutral effect on the environment which unfortunately would make the environmentalists happy.  I wouldn’t feel so good about that but I guess it will have to be.

So, the exhaustion of supplies of natural hydrocarbon fuels is something we should be anticipating.  But instead of giving up the modern lifestyle we’ve gained from these energy treasures we need to use our ingenuity to invent replacements that enhance our ability to control our environment and improve our way of life.  And that’s my version of following the science.