Is it hot in here, or is is just me?

I'm still trying to decide what I thought about a lecture tonight: "What are the Health Impacts of Global Warming?" (subtitled "How could the 17 proposed coal fired plants affect our health?")

The primary speaker was Dr Catherine Thomasson, incoming director of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). Oftentimes when I listen to emotional presentations - on either end of the political spectrum - I secretly wish for "the other side" to be speaking to me through an earbud, ala the commentator at a golf tournament.

"The quote she just made was taken out of context, from a 1983 report on the impact of strontium-90 on three ferret-eating albinos in Alabama."

or

"What she says is true, but it would require raising taxes, and there's not a politician alive who has the cajones to do that, because they'd be diselectrified in the next election"

Don't get me wrong: there were lots of seemingly valid data points in her preso (to be posted to the Oregon PSR website later this week (look for "Energy Independence Texas")

Examples:

• Much of the bad air we breathe here in Dallas comes from coal-fired power plants in west Texas ("The Dallas-Fort Worth area had the biggest health impacts of Texas metro areas, with 290 early deaths, 476 nonfatal heart attacks and 10,263 asthma attacks annually")
• Texas is the 7th largest CO2 producer in the world, if it were counted as a separate country (in comparison, the USA produces 25% of global CO2)
• 16 of the world's 23 largest cities are on coasts, thus susceptible to rising sea levels caused by global warming
• Texas' 17 coal power plants contribute 10% of USA's particulates
• watch for a press release Real Soon Now from the "Texas Mayors for Climate Action" (yeah, right .. I'll hold my breath for that one)

Related website pointers:

• Oregon's Department of Energy
• Architecture 2030 standard
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IGCC)
• Carbonfund.org
• Public Citizen's Climate Action Committee will meet later this month at the Dallas Central Library
• The Sierra Club's Cool Cities campaign
• LEED standards

As I was leaving, I noticed 3 Toyota Prius parked in the lot. One sported an Expose Exxon bumper sticker. I wonder what that's all about?

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Unrelated #43.6: MoveOn reports that Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (quote) "was the deciding vote against Internet freedom voting to give corporations like AT&T more control of what you see and do online. Your senator voted to let companies like AT&T put tollbooths on the Internet and gain more control over what you see and do online. The fight to preserve the free and open Internet now moves to the full Senate."

Gee, what a surprise that my Radical Rightwing Senatress (who gave women the right to vote, anyway?) is out of touch with Her constituents! She, along with our other Senator - John Corningware (or something like that) - would be better served as workers at the Whataburger drive-thru window.