October 1, 2013
The US Government Partially Shuts Down
In the wake of the IPCC meeting in Stockholm last week we idly wondered:
When will the world's policymakers stop spouting hot air and start taking practical measures to mitigate the inevitable climate change that we all must now face.
The answer seems to be "not just yet", because in the United States the Democrat and Republican parties are still at loggerheads in Congress over "Obamacare", and as a result many "non-essential" services have been shut down, and getting on for a million US government workers have been told to stay at home. Here's a video report from Al Jazeera on the current state of the nation in the land of the free:
Al Jazeera point out that:
Almost all of the National Space Agency's workers have been told not to come to work. Just 7% of the Environmental Protection Agency's employees will report to work, which will affect the EPA's ability to take legal action against polluters, and the Food and Drug Administration will have to stop some of its food safety inspections.
whilst President Obama said that:
Congress generally has to stop governing by crisis. They have to break this habit. It is a drag on the economy.
Perhaps in a roundabout sort of a way all this is good news for the environment? Much less commuting to work means much less carbon dioxide pumped out of tailpipes. Or maybe Al Jazeera are right, and with nobody keeping watch polluters will pollute even more?
Watch this space for more news, but don't hold your breath. If you can manage it, don't breathe or eat whilst doing so.
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Comments on The US Government Partially Shuts Down »
Jim @ 12:24 pm
I tried to access the NASA web site today. It told me this:
I followed the suggested link to USA.gov, which told me this: