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Friday, July 15
The Glass Ceiling and Iowa Politics
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 15 Jul 2005 02:19 PM CDT
 The Glass Ceiling and Iowa Politics
by Megan Strader, Mason City, Iowa (KIMT)
[Blog for Iowa editorial comments appear in RED.]
Iowa has
a reputation as a political powerhouse. That's mostly due to being the
host of the nation's first Presidential Caucus. And that distinction is
one reason why some local female lawmakers are surprised that the state
has never seen a female governor or elected a woman to the US House or
Senate.
Iowa Senator Amanda Ragan tells KIMT Newschannel Three, "They [they?] have just as good of a grasp on issues, health care, education and jobs. I mean, there's nothing that women can't do." [Except *** standing up, which is of course, why women are not qualified to hold high office in Iowa.]
The same thought is echoing through the thoughts of other women who help shape our state.
Iowa
Representative Linda Upmeyer adds, "Ideally you'd like to have about
the same balance you have in the general population which would be
around half." [Yeah, and Bush will be impeached for treason before Iowa will see THAT kind of balance of power.]
And the
shock of the statistic isn't only being felt by lawmakers. We talked to
many people in the area today and all had the same thing to say; they
can't believe Iowa has never produced a high ranking female politician.
[No, but we can produce a DLC chair - don't forget that little claim to shame.]
Richard
Paxson tells KIMT Newschannel Three, "I think we have a strong
tradition in Iowa of valuing contributions from persons regardless of
whether they're male or female." [But especially if they're male.]
Bonnie
Ames adds, "We have some very competent women in the lower government
offices and we really need women to run for these [higher]
offices." [Well,
you know, over here in the "Great" 5th District, we had a fabulous
woman by the name of Joyce Schulte run for Congress against that
shameful, embarrassing neo-con, Steve King. Joyce is completely
qualified and is a great people person to boot . . . and the
"man" still won.]
But everyone we spoke with is also confident that an Iowa woman will eventually get her turn. [When?
In 2050? I'll bet Hillary will be president before Iowa gets a
woman in Washington. That's sort of like hell freezing over,
isn't it?]
Senator
Ragan notes, "I think that if a lot of women could see that they can
make a difference, they would make that step." [I
think a lot of women ARE making a difference - it's just not in the
cushy, good-paying, high-profile jobs. It's in the jobs
where the work actually gets done, as usual.]
A step in a politically progressive direction. [Sigh.]
(Click here to read the source article.)
Help Fight Toxic Mercury Pollution
by
Caroline Vernon
on Fri 15 Jul 2005 04:00 AM CDT
 Help Fight Toxic Mercury Pollution
To find out which industries in your area are responsible for mercury emissions, go to www.scorecard.org and enter your zip code. You may be shocked at what you find!
Send Flawed Mercury Rules Back
www.environmentaldefense.org
What the Rules Will Do:
Last March, the Bush administration finalized two rules that do too
little, too late to reduce mercury pollution from power plants, the
largest man-made source of mercury emissions in the U.S.
The
first rule (the "delisting rule") takes power plants off the list for
strict controls on their emissions of mercury and other toxic air
pollutants. This paves the way for the second rule, an industry-favored
"cap-and-trade" plan that lets power plants buy and sell the right to
pollute mercury. Such a trading scheme increases the risk of mercury
"hot spots" around plants that choose to buy mercury credits rather
than reduce their pollution. Environmental Defense along with a number
of other leading environmental groups has recently filed lawsuits
against both of these rules.
These new rules will:
- Allow overall mercury pollution levels in the western United States to rise until 2018;
- Permit
mercury pollution to increase above current levels between now and 2018
in the following western states: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, North
Dakota, and South Dakota; and
- Exempt
coal-fired power plants from protections under the Clean Air Act that
require each plant to lower mercury pollution by the maximum amount
achievable.
- Increase the risk of “hot spots” of high mercury pollution in waterways and air near power plants.
Mercury Pollution on Your Dinner Plate:
Coal-fired
power plants account for about 41% of mercury pollution in the United
States and are the nation’s largest man-made source of mercury. Mercury
vented from power plant smokestacks can end up in lakes, rivers and the
ocean. Once there, it accumulates in the food chain. Larger predator
fish like tuna, sharks and swordfish usually have the highest mercury
concentrations. People who eat these fish can be exposed to unhealthy
levels of mercury. (See a list of fish known to be high in mercury or
other toxins.)
The
problem of mercury-contaminated fish is widespread and growing worse.
According to the EPA's National Listing of Fish and Wildlife
Advisories, mercury advisories increased 163% between 1993 and 2003
(from 899 to 2,362). The number of states that have issued mercury
advisories has risen steadily from 27 in 1993 to 45 in 2003. As of
2003, more than 13 million lake acres and almost 800,000 river miles
were covered by some type of mercury advisory.
The Dangers of Mercury:
Mercury
is a toxic heavy metal that threatens developing fetuses and children
and contributes to the risk of heart disease. More than 600,000
newborns are at risk of brain toxicity and learning disabilities every
year in the U.S. because their mothers were exposed to mercury
pollution.
One
study, by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, estimated that reducing
power plant mercury emissions by about 60% could result in up to $5
billion in annual health benefits from heart attacks prevented. The
study assumes that the cardiovascular effects of mercury observed in
males who consume non-fatty fish are experienced by the whole U.S.
population. A second study, by doctors at the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine’s Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, estimated
the annual health costs of the neurotoxic effects on children from U.S.
power plants to be 1.3 billion dollars.
Take action!
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have introduced
a bipartisan resolution to reject these rules and send the
administration back to the drawing board. Tell your senators to
protect the public from toxic mercury pollution.
Click here to email your senators now!
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