And now: The stealth Obama ocean grab
For the past few months, I’ve been spotlighting the Obama administration’s War on the West, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s War on Jobs,
and the White House land lock-up (Part 1, Part 2). Today’s column exposes the next Obama environmental power grab — into the sea.
***
And now: The Stealth Obama Ocean Grab
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2010
It’s not enough that the White House is moving to lock up hundreds of millions of acres of land in the name of environmental protection. The Obama administration’s neon green radicals are also training their sights on the deep blue seas. The president’s grabby-handed bureaucrats have been empowered through executive order to seize unprecedented control from states and localities over “conservation, economic activity, user conflict and sustainable use of the ocean, our coasts and the Great Lakes.”_
Democrats have tried and failed to pass “comprehensive” federal oceans management legislation five years in a row. The so-called “Oceans 21″ bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Sam Farr of California, went nowhere fast. Among the top reasons: bipartisan concerns about the economic impact of closing off widespread access to recreational fishing. The bill also would have handed environmentalists another punitive litigation weapon under the guise of “ecosystem management.” Instead of accepting defeat, the green lobby simply circumvented the legislative process altogether.
In late July, President Obama established a behemoth 27-member “National Ocean Council” with the stroke of a pen. Farr gloated: “We already have a Clean Air Act and a Clean Water Act. With today’s executive order, President Obama in effect creates a Clean Ocean Act.” And not a single hearing needed to be held. Not a single amendment considered. Not a single vote cast. Who gives a flying fish about transparency and the deliberative process? The oceans are dying!
The panel will have the power to implement “coastal and marine spatial plans” and to ensure that all executive agencies, departments and offices abide by their determinations. The panel has also been granted authority to establish regional advisory committees that overlap with existing regional and local authorities governing marine and coastal planning.
No wonder the anti-growth, anti-development, anti-jobs zealots are cheering. The National Ocean Council is co-chaired by wackadoodle science czar John Holdren (notorious for his cheerful musings about eugenics, mass sterilization and forced abortions to protect Mother Earth and for hyping weather catastrophes and demographic disasters in the 1970s with his population control freak pals Paul and Anne Ehrlich) and White House Council on Environmental Quality head Nancy Sutley (best known as the immediate boss of disgraced green jobs czar/self-avowed communist Van Jones).
Also on the new ocean panel:
– Socialista and energy/climate change czar Carol Browner, last seen bullying auto company execs to “put nothing in writing, ever” and threatening to push massive cap-and-trade tax hikes during the upcoming congressional lame duck session.
– Dr. Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a former high-ranking official at the left-wing Environmental Defense Fund, which has long championed drastic reductions of commercial fishing fleets and recreational fishing activity in favor of centralized control.
– Attorney General Eric Holder, who will no doubt use his stonewalling expertise to shield the ocean council’s inner workings from public scrutiny.
– Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who apparently doesn’t have enough to do destroying jobs through his offshore drilling moratorium, blocking onshore development and wreaking havoc on the energy industry.
Given Salazar’s fraudulent book-cooking in support of the administration’s offshore drilling moratorium (Remember: Obama’s own appointed scientists blasted the Interior Secretary for unilaterally contradicting and misrepresenting their conclusions.), his comments on the new ocean grab are more threat than promise: “With two billion acres we help oversee on the Outer Continental Shelf, Interior is a proud partner in this initiative, and we look forward to helping coordinate the science, policies and management of how we use, conserve and protect these public treasures.”
“Helping coordinate the science,” as interpreted by Obama’s Chicago-on-the-Potomac heavies, means doctoring, massaging and ramming through whatever eco-data is necessary “to reduce conflicts among uses, reduce environmental impacts, facilitate compatible uses, and preserve critical ecosystem services to meet economic, environmental, security and social objectives.” Translation: drastically limiting human activity from coastal areas to seabeds to achieve the “social objective” of appeasing the enviros and their deep-pocketed philanthropic funders.
Even New York Sen. Charles Schumer slammed the administration’s junk science-based fishing limits at a meeting this week between NOAA’s Lubchenco and Long Island recreational fishermen. Draconian regulations, he said, according to the New York Post, “put the industry on death’s door.” Now, the same forces behind such job destroyers will have free reign over a national ocean policy established by administrative fiat. Viva la Summer of Wreckovery.
***
Laura Curtis at Hot Air has more on the consequences of this stealth ocean grab:
The formation of this new Council is a signal that offshore drilling will likely be regulated into nonexistence. The Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will also participate in the National Ocean Council. The Council is also specifically tasked to cede our maritime sovereignty to the United Nations via the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea; if this is ratified, the International Seabed Authority will be able to restrict or limit our access to undersea “solid, liquid or gaseous mineral resources” if it so chooses.
Obama sees skyrocketing energy costs as a feature, not a bug, of his energy policies. If you recall he even said so before the election. He does not have the support of all Democrats. Mary Landrieu is fighting against the unnecessary and costly moratorium which is fueling the perfect economic storm Obama is inflicting on Louisiana. As she pointed out, this will cost us tens of thousands of jobs, and actually expose us to more environmental risks.
See also: What the NOC means for anglers
And Mike Johnson at the American Thinker: Wealth, Jobs, the Fishing Industry, and Obama
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when this guy is out of office- will they be able to overturn all of his exec orders and get rid of these czars?
If pelosi can strip land from the military, then the states should be able to get all the land/water grabs back from the gov. States need to stand up and claim 10th amendment rights. States have abdicated their responsibilities. We citizens have been sold out by all the gov levels.
My suggestion is the next conservative president use the Obama lesson, put czars in charge of all agencies with instructions to downgrade all at least 50%, and some 99%. No confirmation hearings of the agency secretaries, no one responsible to anyone but the president, and since these agencies are all under the Executive branch, easily downsized by one pres with stones.
One has to wonder where these deep-pocketed philanthropists got all of their money. I didn’t realize there was so much profit in “saving the earth”.
Interesting, and maybe if we have enough seats in the house and senate, the (next conservative) President’s choice could actually be confirmed anyway. Only appoint a CZAR when you don’t think they could be confirmed.Thereby heading the MSM off at the pass by having less CZARS than BHO had.
This bho and team has our land, air, water, food, banks, healthcare, auto, oil, gas, coal, and taxes. It seems there is nothing we will have for ourselves when this bunch gets finished.
We have just got to stop this come Nov.!
L
I fear that far too much damage is being done by these crooks and clowns. Some of that damage will go unnoticed for years after we rid ourselves of OBambi, et al.
I consider these people as enemy infiltrators and collaborators. Remember the Special Forces Wehrmacht troops posing as US soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge? They need to be tried and shot as traitors, then laid out on planks and photographed – just like Wild West outlaws.
What does Congress do again?
Enrich members and political supporters, I can’t think of much.
Put “Other than…” in front of the above.
If they seize the continental shelf and coastlines, you can forget about any oil drilling, fishing and nuclear power plants (that discharge cooling water into the adjacent ocean).
Why appoint czars when recess appointments are available?
While the next president is overturning executive orders, might as well overturn Kennedy’s that allowed government employees to unionize.
As an environmental scientist who has published many times, let me just say that all we really need are the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.
We don’t need more legislation to make Farr and Obama feel and look good to their voters in an election year.
Something is dying, but it’s not sea life. It’s occurring on dry land and you find it in the courts and legislative bodies in places like DC, Sydney, Ottawa, Tokyo, and Brussels. It’s called liberalism and it’s the philosophy that sinks civilizations, if you’ll pardon the expression.
Until we start meeting fire with fire this will continue. Checks and balances and the willingness to use them is the antidote, IMHO.
For example, if the President wants to issue and executive order fine over the objections of the American people and the Congress, fine; go for it.
When Obama does that the Congress should immediately defind the agency that impliments that order.
Those with the gold, make the rules.
If Obama spends money on something that gets defunded by Congress he can be impeached. “Let’s party.”
Reason, 4,238 for the Dems to lose their majority in Congress.
So, we can’t drill for our own oil, we can’t build nuclear power plants, soon we won’t be able to fish or mine for coal. What does that mean, exactly? It means we will be back in the 18th century, except worse because the progressives won’t even allow us to use kerosene in our lamps…kerosene leaves a carbon footprint, don’tcha know.
When did the environmental wackos start to steal this country from its people? And when will we take it back? This is war and I fear it will not end well. We can’t continue to allow them to steal everything from us without retaliating. It just cannot be tolerated.
If some of the states that have the oil stood up to this, would that help? What if they left the union? What about Alaska? Texas? Where are state’s rights in all of this? Why aren’t the states fighting these horrible acts?
Another scary thought…there is a certain percentage of the population that doesn’t even know that the health bill was passed. So those fools will be no use to anyone in the coming struggle. They are part of the problem.
Well, how’s the Mess-iah going to turn back the rising oceans unless he claims authority over them? Appointment of the Obamic Ocean Czar forthcoming.
Meanwhile, Cuba plans seven test wells within the next two years. Some of the blocks Cuba owns are going to be developed by Petrobras. Who’s involved in Petrobras? George Soros, of course. Barry’s buddies always seem to make out like, uh, bandits, don’t they.
***
Cheer up! Yes–there are a lot of “useful fool” greenie supporters who don’t have a clue as to how an economy works and generates jobs. Lots of them are in our Comrade Obama (PBUH) Regime, and a lot are so busy in their own lives that they don’t notice what is being taken away from us wide awake peons now.
***
But with continuing 10 to 20 percent unemployment, far higher taxes and energy costs–it will become clear to the peons in 2011 and 2012. The emperor has no clothes–and even the dumbest clod will get the message when they get their health care premium bills and when they do their 2011 tax year 1040′s.
***
Playing great music on the Titanic only worked for a little while. When your feet get wet you have problems believing everything is O.K.
***
REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER–choose wisely!
***
John Bibb
***
Its not hard to imagine the media outrage if another President did the opposite or dared to use common sense multi use policies versus the insane liberal ideologue approach.
When you see the American way of life as “extravagant” and believe that we unjustly use a disproportionate amount of the world’s oil supply — as Hope-a-Dope surely does — then our energy policy becomes just one more thing to be razed to the ground before it can be “transformed” into a Euro-socialist way of doing things (e.g., $6 for a gallon of gas).
Rush Limbaugh said it best when he observed that nobody does the things that this administration does to our economy with the purpose of fostering a recovery. He has some other objective in mind.
In a slightly related story…
Martha’s Vineyard is closed to swimming
Correct me if I am wrong, but aren’t the health authorities supposed to announce the closure after the t*rd is found in the water. He hasn’t even gotten in the surf there yet.
Even if we cannot get Congress to negate him next year, our next president can make it go away just easily with the stroke of a pen.
Let’s make certain whoever that is, he or she swears to undoing BHO’s damage as a prerequisite for nomination.
Oh, Lord…I needed that laugh this a.m.!! Thanks!
This isn’t about fish…it’s about blocking any offshore drilling. Period.
Sportsmen know that oil rigs are excellent fish habitat, so fish will be helped, not harmed.
These people, the meglomaniacal left, are predisposed to lie about everything. Their cowardly leaders included. Control…they must control everything, including thought, because they are just so much smarter than everyone else. Humph!
If intelligence was their strong suit, they would be able to make a compelling argument in their own favor without resorting to distortions, prevarication, and deceit.
This is the last type of “concerned” citizen’s we need in public office…their concern is for their own power, wealth, and fame. Narcissisim…well, that’s another issue.
Funny and sad!
The OLD liberal Democrats are being out socialized by the young progressive Marxists!
Wonder if Chucky is regretting his evil alliance???
Reminder ~ Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, survivor of the Kileen, Tx Luby’s massacre, reminded Schumer and other Senators the REAL reason for the 2nd Amendment.
Minute 4:45! Timeless!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhozRN87VRA
Our Republic must be saved!
1
It’s a good thing you didn’t say, “tar ball”, or you’d be accused of RACISM!
Executive orders = immediate results but short lived.
I hope the opposition to BHO’s admin can explain to voters that executive orders are short lived and superficial methods to appease. It’s an insult to the groups that support the issue contained in the executive order.
anything done can be undone, one way or the other. The rules need to be changed to make sure this kind of crap cannot happen again without declaring America an unconstitutional Republic. If that was to happen we all should know what will follow.
This is purely amazing America got so fat, dumb and happy these lazy bastards let the freedoms of this once great country go to the Marxist, commie bastards they have.
I knew of an EPA study of fecal pollution of the Rockaway beaches. In order to study the effects of the pollution causing infections, the beaches needed to be open. Part of the study was used to prosecute barge companies who were dumping NYC sewage short of the assigned dumping ground and causing the sewage to get pushed back to shore.
And Soros is involved in oil off Brazil with a company that got billions of your tax dollars – interest free, from Obama – to drill and line Soros’ pockets. But America can’t be bothered with the crook in the White House – we have to find out what Lindsay Lohan is eating in rehab.
Neon emits red light when excited. Not green.
It’s pretty hard to take the rest of the article seriously when it starts off with bombast followed hard upon by fundamental misunderstandings of the real world.
Are you the Rainbow Lady in your spare time?
It just seems to me that our side and the side of reason and freedom doesn’t seem serious or willing to take on Obama’s executive orders before they solidify into the mainstream like concrete. I should see Conservative or Republican task forces up and running to challenge these things but the only groups that seem to have the balls and guts to are NRA and Tea Party. Can’t anyone enlighten me on a counter executive order group I can support?
James Greenidge
Queens NY
Anal much?
Speaking of Obama, the oceans, and crap…
Obama vacation threatened by fecal matter off Martha’s Vineyard.
Let me get this strait.
Obama has now put a person that has written about POISONING the water supply, John Holdren, in CHARGE of the water?
What could possibly go wrong?
Headline for November 3, 2010:
“Despite claims by the propaganda arm of the dem party, (also known as the mainstream media) that the election was fixed, an attempted socialist coup was finally put down after two years, as Republicans gained a majority in the House of Representatives, and came within one Senate seat of a majority in that chamber. The new legislative alignment means that the socialist agenda of the Obama administration, aimed at the destruction of the United States as it had existed for over two centuries, will be permanently stalled. The last fragments of this coup are expected to be voted out of power in the 2012 election, when Americans begin to slowly undo the damage done to the Country by the anti-American policies of the democrat party”.
I think the oceans and the rest of the environment should be protected in effective, reasonable, and efficient ways. I don’t care for overly broad and unnecessary federal control – particularly of oil well drilling. I believe that wells should be close enough to shore so that they may be plugged quickly if they fail, and that proper training of the Coast Guard and other agencies that would be involved in a well problem should be properly trained, and that safety standards be fully enforced.
The worst aspect is the lack of Congressional approval. It frightens me that the federal government can enact such a program without that approval. Our last hope is the Supreme Court: hopefully the non-liberal judges will remain until we have a Republican president again.
Note to incoming Congress-
Recognize the danger of the big green gun the Gore’s and Obama’s of the world have placed against America’s temple.
Disarm it. Leaving it in place is sure to be suicidal.
2013 will go down in history as the year of repeals.
And now, the UN unveils it’s latest attempt at global government via WHO.
Apparently, it’s going to take two flu vaccines every year, one for the domestic flu, and one for the latest annual UN “end of humanity” flu. Why is their flu never the main one locals are fighting?
The Incredible Mr. Limpet “Part Deux”.
Drudge headline as BHO vacations:
NO SWIMMING: Martha’s Vineyard waters contaminated with fecal bacteria…
No comment needed.
This is wonderful news. Now almost 2 years into the “New Western Caliphate”, the Great One is finally putting all the pieces together. I am sure that Obama has found that once you hear that catchy little tune, you just can’t get it out of your head:
“* So though we are in danger, we do not despair
For wherever there is danger he’ll be there
He’ll be there, on the land, on the sea, in the air!
* We’re not worrying at all
We’re just listening for his call
“Here I come to save the day!”
That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!”