Jim Willis
Editor & Publisher, Marcellus Drilling News (MDN)
…
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals goes full childish, full infantile, with a ridiculous “speak for the trees” decision against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
The U.S. Fourth Circuit (i.e. Circus) Court of Appeals has bungled another decision regarding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). The court has vacated a permit issued by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) that allows ACP to cross beneath the Appalachian Trail and 21 miles of national forest land in Virginia and West Virginia.
The Fourth Circuit is apparently a bunch of clowns. How else do you explain the judge quoting from The Lorax, a fictional children’s book written by Dr. Seuss, as part of the decision issued yesterday. The so-called decision is straight out of Alice in Wonderland. Bizarre.
What’s next? Will we be treated to Youtube clips from the Captain Planet cartoon in future decisions? This faulty decision is already being appealed by Dominion Energy. It’s pretty easy to predict the decision will get overturned on appeal–by adult, non-clown judges in the next court up.
All work is already stopped for ACP due to the same clown judges overturning a different permit last week issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that allows the pipeline to get built through areas with so-called endangered and threatened species (see 4th Circus Blocks Permit, Stops All Work on Atlantic Coast Pipe).
A “judge” quoting from The Lorax. Ya think maybe there’s a tad bit of judicial bias going on here? Perhaps even judicial incompetence? We call for an immediate investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into the judge, to see whether or not the judge donates or belongs to the Sierra Club or any of the other radical Big Green groups that brought the lawsuit in the first place.
Something is really off here. Really smelly. Check out these excerpts from this story in the Charleston Gazette-Mail:
In an opinion made public Thursday, a panel of judges vacated the Forest Service’s Special Use Permit and Record of Decision, both required to construct the pipeline through the George Washington and Monongahela national forests. The panel also said the Forest Service didn’t have the authority to allow construction across the Appalachian Trail.
The 60-page opinion includes a reference to Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax,” a cautionary tale about the perils of corporate greed and environmental harm, told in a children’s book.
“We trust the United States Forest Service to ‘speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues,’” the opinion, written by Judge Stephanie Thacker, said. Chief Judge Rogery Gregory and Judge James Wynn joined…
Fourth Circuit goes full childish?
Atlantic Coast Pipeline voluntarily halted construction along the project’s path last week, when the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement. It’s one of many permits that have been battled over in federal court.
But Atlantic Coast Pipeline plans to appeal Thursday’s decision, Aaron Ruby, a spokesman for the project, said in a statement. The decision “severely” harms consumers and energy security, he said.
“With this decision, the Fourth Circuit has now undermined the judgment of the dedicated, career professionals at nearly every federal agency that has reviewed this project,” he said.
A spokesman for the Forest Service said the agency was reviewing the decision, but didn’t comment further.
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thank goodness, some caring sanity remains in our country.
Thank you, Judges for this humane and compassionate decision.
This decision will only harm the profits of corporate greed that puts profits over people and nature and environment and life.
You can call those who disagree with you names like clowns and childish and infantile.
Wonderful the Judges can speak for the trees and all the people who have protested this pipeline.
As Jesus said, “unless you come as little children, you can not enter Kingdom of heaven”…
here is a translation:
New International Version And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Good news about this judicial decision.
You’re an atheist, Vera, and yet you are you quoting Jesus?
Yet it is ok to clear cut forest to put in huge solar farms! I saw one such gigantic solar farm recently in Florida. It was so large I could not tell where it ended over the horizon. It was built in an area that would normally be covered with either forest of open grassland. It was also a very cloudy, rainy day, so I’m sure that huge array of solar panels was not generating much power. Whose corporate greed do you credit this to?
that’s your incorrect and libelous declaration; I’ve never said I’m an atheist. I meet with people of all kinds of beliefs and I am on the board of the Unity Church in Binghamton and am very spiritual…
I’ve studied the Bible since a pre-teen and learned it very well.
The Citizens fight for their right to be safe and not polluted and not the rich and elitists as you claim.
Most of us are not connected with any foundations or get foundation money.
And you get monies from the gas industry and their supporters….should we call you an elitist that wants to destroy land so, that gas and oil companies can eventually buy the lands and take over the whole counties…?
Very careful wording there, Vera. You were mentioned in a MeetUp of Binghamton Atheists, weren’t you? Regardless, if you’re now a Unitarian, so be it.
Solar Farms do not travel for hundreds of miles like pipelines and cross watersheds, waterways, people’s private property and do eminent domain.
and they don’t leak pollutants and they don’t explode and they don’t leak oil and gas….
Quite a different situation.
They destroy massive amounts of woodland for miniscule energy return, though, don’t they?
The power lines from the solar farms do travel for hundreds of miles, cross mountains, watersheds, private property and use eminent domain, where necessary. The right of ways for power lines are typically much larger than those for much smaller pipelines and the area around the power lines requires much more maintenance than those for pipelines. Power transformers can explode, spewing pollution and cause fires. Power lines themselves can arc causing fires. Just ask the victims of wildfires in California, where the electric utility is often sued for billions in damages for wildfire losses. I am not anti-solar or wind power, just want you and all of those anti-fossil fuel folks to face the realities of the alternatives, which they so conveniently ignore, just because they are totally against fossil fuel. We are very far from being able to totally get away from fossil fuels and in the meantime, natural gas is enabling much quicker reduction in CO2 and other emissions, than alternatives.
Au contraire..your ignorance is showing, Vera. Think about all that potential suitable bat and raptor habit will be destroyed and more fossil fuels will be used to construct and maintain the infrastructure and right of way connected to these new facilities. With overall populations being depleted and/or displaced additional reliance on pesticides will increase the chance that even more runoff would pollute valuable water resources.
My point exactly Ken. Article 10 of the NY PSL essentially bypasses SEQRA so a judge in NY with similar ideals will be laughed at.
Vera,. Article X of the NYS PSL essentially bypasses SEQRA so even trees being cut down for renewable power transmission lines will have no voice. Why should trees in any other state have more standing? Even Neil Peart of HOF band Rush, who wrote the classic song “The Trees” cleverly noted ”
”
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
They say, “The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light.”
Now there’s no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.
“
Zero impact on the App Trail. Build it.
How can you quote Jesus and advocate some of the things you do?
As for the Unitarian Church where you’re a board member… lol Vera…it seems to me they worship the cause of the day.
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