SNOWBLOWN

treading lightly since 2002

Imagine the effect of sending these two angry elephants through a crowded nursery-school playground.

Our Valiant Leader Thursday opened Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks to snowmobiles by reversing a gradual ban on the vehicles enacted a decade ago.   This initial ban was an attempt to prevent devastating environmental effects in the National Parks.  Treads tear up land, fumes taint the air, oil spoils the soil, and the general cacophony greatly disturbs wildlife (not to mention is a terrible nuisance).

Imagine opening a protected estuary to jet skiing. This is no different.  National Forests are set up for such "use" (skiing, logging, etc.), but the National Parks are meant solely to preserve wilderness.

The U.S. president has authority over National Parks as long as he can get approval through the courts (that's no obstacle for this administration).  This, by the way,  was in response to pressure from lawyers in the International Snowmobile Manufacturers' Association, who lobbied heavily last year to lift the ban.  No kidding.  I can think of no other reasons besides money and biz that Bush would be interested in nature preserves (i.e. drilling oil out of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge).

(The ISMA website claims that "snowmobilers are friends of the forest", so maybe we're okay after all.)

I saw a sign once that is truer now than ever: 

BUSH IS THE BITCH OF BIG BUSINESS. 

I also saw this T-shirt at the SF rally:

UNFUCK THE WORLD. 

It's going to take decades to unfuck what this administration has done in just two years.

Have a nice day.  Sorry I'm not so chipper; this stuff just hits too close to home for me.