Texas Gov. Rick Perry: Sarah Palin With A Penis And A Drawl.

Texas Governor Rick Perry remains divorced from reality.

From Politico:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Monday offered a stern warning against halting oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of a massive oil leak, and he raised the question of whether the explosion was an “act of God.”
The Republican governor, speaking at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington, warned against a “a knee-jerk reaction” to the spill and said the government doesn’t know what caused the leak, which took 11 lives and threatens the Gulf coast’s vast fishing industry.
“We don’t know what the event that has allowed for this massive oil to be released,” Perry said alongside several other governors on a panel Monday. “And until we know that, I hope we don’t see a knee-jerk reaction across this country that says we’re going to shut down drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, because the cost to this country will be staggering.”
Perry questioned whether the spill was “just an act of God that occurred” and said that any “politically driven” decisions could put the U.S. in further economic peril.
“From time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented,” Perry said.

Schwarzenegger Terminates One Of His Bad Ideas.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, citing the damage caused to the environment by the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast, said Monday he is yanking from his state budget plan proposed new drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara.
The governor had been a proponent of the Tranquillon Ridge project, which he'd said could generate $140 million for the upcoming budget year to help prevent cutbacks in state parks. Despite the governor's support, the project has stalled amid opposition from lawmakers and the state Lands Commission, which has jurisdiction over such oil leases.
Schwarzenegger said Monday he will not include the project in his revised budget plan, to be unveiled May 14. He said the environmental risk is too great.
"My support for the T-Ridge project here in California was based on numerous studies and making me feel that it was safe to drill," he said. "All of you have seen when you turn on the television the devastation in the Gulf. And I'm sure that they also were assured that it is safe to drill. I see on TV the birds drenched in oil, the fishermen out of work, the massive oil spill, oil slick destroying our precious ecosystem. It will not happen here in California."

Great news. Too bad it took the BP nightmare along the Gulf Coast for Arnie to come to his senses.

Here's an environmental history lesson from Paul Krugman.

Oil Is Dirty Business: Gulf Spill Five Times Worse Than Originally Estimated.

Dear Big Oil: Keep your drilling asses off the California coast.

An AP report via HuffPo on the Gulf mess is here.

Just Say No.

From the Los Angeles Times, this account of an awful idea that won't do a goddamn thing to make us energy independent and is yet another doomed attempt to get a drooling band of GOP Confederates to play nice:

President Obama, after delaying and deliberating for a year, unveiled a controversial offshore drilling plan Wednesday that was driven largely by the politics of his agenda on energy and climate change -- not by hopes of changing the nation's energy supply.
As a presidential candidate, Obama was attacked by Republicans for not supporting all-out expansion of offshore drilling. And one of his administration's first acts after he took office last year was to cancel the long-term offshore plans President George W. Bush had released at the end of his tenure.
But now, the White House sees its new drilling plan as a way to curry favor with Republicans and moderate Democrats whose support will be critical if Obama is to steer his energy and climate change legislation through Congress.

Add this to Obama's recent trial balloons regarding nuclear energy and "clean" coal and I've got to ask: what's up with that bipartisanship fetish and where's the green?

More here.

Just Secede Already, Will Ya?

From Reuters:

Texas and several national industry groups on Tuesday filed separate petitions in federal court challenging the government's authority to regulate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Texas, which leads U.S. states in carbon dioxide emissions due to its heavy concentration of oil refining and other industries, will see a major impact if U.S. mandatory emissions reductions take effect.

In December, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide endanger human health, opening the door for the agency to issue mandatory regulations to reduce them.

Texas said it had filed a petition for review challenging the EPA's "endangerment finding" with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Texas has also asked the EPA to reconsider its ruling.

"The EPA's misguided plan paints a big target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers and the hundreds of thousands of Texans they employ," Texas Gov. Rick Perry said.

The National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association also said on Tuesday they filed a petition challenging the EPA in federal appeals court.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. iron and steel makers have also signaled they would file lawsuits.

Environmental groups said Texas should focus on building cleaner energy sources instead of filing lawsuits.

"Governor Perry should win an Olympic medal for taking the environment downhill," said Luke Metzger at Environment Texas. "Global warming is the greatest environmental threat facing Texas and the planet and Governor Perry's obstructionism puts the state at great risk."