Greed Be With You!

As my dear friend forever Kermit once sang, “It's not easy being Green”, especially when the green word meaning is so easily misappropriated by a simple subtraction and addition manipulation, replacing the “n” of this word with a dreaded “d”. Call it the Green verses the Greed – a.k.a. “Capitalism” when the green is mistaken for $$$. And across America, from sea to shining sea, we see that it is the dreaded Greed element winning out. When the “Green Machine” started its movement, the board room mentality of corporations making dough on the escalating price of energy found a somewhat laissez-faire “so what” attitude - it won't hurt profits. Take Ken Lay's ENRON for instance, embracing the stand that it had already raped the energy consumers above and beyond decency and would continue to make humongous profits by simply providing essential services, like electricity to cool one's brew. But the momentum behind the “Green” movement was a little bit more then what the profit margins could withstand, as the “movement” was starting to whittle away at Goliath's foundation – the buck was buckling! With every tower erected to hold a wind turbine, with every solar panel installed to harness sunlight, it meant less dependency on those trying to reign in control upon our freedom of choice. So there came a remedy. Really, when is enough truly enough? Since the inception of the alternative energy age craze and forward on a scale of magnitude that started to inflict hardship on a CEO's salary and bonus incentives, well there came solutions. Something that seems rather odd, but it is coming to a utility near you. SIDEBAR: I don't know why the conservatives take shots at existing “regulations and oversight”, as there is no such thing anymore, as the “regulators” have been shot dead in their tracks to provide any meaningful oversight. Take Alaska for another example of a Sean Hannity insanity moment, having so-called “regulations” on the books but nobody watching what flows overboard. When “Her Governess” Sarah Palin said “Drill Baby Drill”, it was a word of warning to the state regulators, don't interfere at any expense or else. That is why we hear the bad news of “blowouts” on the slope, and workers coming home in a box! The only available open door policy is an open door to doom and destruction, just like that which occurred at Pioneer's Oooguruk drill site, when one day out of the blue two 50-gallon drums filled with chemicals came barreling out of an open door of the Nabor's 19E rig, some five stories high – kabang! And when that Haliburton worker had the opportunity to film a destructive ice sheet ready to raise havoc on a man-made island not designed to handle such acts of God, well once he sent it on the airwaves, on YouTube, was removed from his job. And to make sure it remained silent, the company's corporate security sent a spy to the site, to get rid of all evidence – destroying the official security footage of Mother Nature at work. Had the “regulators” not been asleep at the wheel, this island would have been deemed unfit for occupancy. When I spoke out about it, with evidence that the original calculations were flawed, the PHD paid to not make mistakes, well he revised his estimates in favor of the company continuing to use the island for human habitation. It's not safe, but what the hell, it's just a bunch of rig workers – a dime a dozen mentality! There was at one time “whistle-blower” protection acts, so concerned workers could speak up, out and against ridiculous behavior. Don young was instrumental in gutting any worker protection clauses, as he shares the same IQ as Scott Walker. I hope when Don loses his House seat this time around, due his corruption and affiliation with Ted & Bill, that he has to take a job as a teacher – under the NEA union. And in Alaska, and most likely the same sentiment across this nation, the EPA is alive and well only in namesake and budget – for example, the snail crawling and corporate roadblocks behind “Frac” regulations wherein it is required to list what hazardous chemicals are being injected into the earth's underground. Sure we see it coming, the disclosures, but it may be too little too late, as the aquifer is under attack. Look, these chemicals are not natural additives for what goes on thousands of feet below ground “zero”, so there is the excuse to escape incarceration, and the easiest way to “freedom” is through a conduit in the aquifer. Over time, it is inevitable that this hazard will surface! And with no retroactive legislation to place blame, the Haliburtons will forever be off the hook for any malfeasance. But probably the worst case of “regulatory oversight missing in action” comes about through a defense upon the “Green” movement. It is a pathetic show of just how far out-of-touch we are when it comes to the evils of Capitalism. When the “Renewable & Alternative Energy” movement started to find a niche that cut into the long established profits garnished by the energy suppliers, it worried the bottom-line of many energy conglomerates. Not the EXXON's or the other “Big Oil” conglomerates, but the coop's that you are most likely a member of – the entities that provide natural gas, water and waste-water services to your home. Many once municipality owned utilities have opted out and sold their souls to “privatized” corporations, and here is where it gets “greedy”. When the “green energy” started to hurt the profits, low and behold, the lawyers that a “privatized utility” retains for one and only one reason - to direct how the future of rape should be orchestrated - they found a very interesting way to deceive, to capture back any lost profits. In one particular case in Fairbanks, Alaska, where energy costs hover at 211% above the national average, just the fact that people started to conserve by using less through a concerted effort, the fact that the the utilities started to see less sales which equates to less revenue, the goons used the excuse that it was “conservation” that was hurting their historical profits and the state regulators sided with this lameness and allowed one particular utility to raise the rates. So we are being fined by trying to “conserve”? It is a new and accepted trend, look out, as it is like a cancer and you will be the victim! If this ain't greed, then I missed the boat, so what, as it was but a ship of fools. But why should the conservation effort be a burden, it just doesn't make sense? It is simple, and is but another pathetic reasoning behind the “greed” factor. Many of these “privatized” utilities are owned by shareholder, like is the case in Alaska - in the interior. Shareholders today demand “blood out of a turnip”. And in this one particular case, the shareholder is a “private” investment firm that operates out of Canada! They don't give a rat's ass except for one particular motive, it is called profit through greed, the Capitalistic creed. So Kermit, listen to what Joni sings, “It don't snow here, it stays pretty green. I'm gonna make a lot of money, then I'm gonna quit this crazy scene”!