Comments on: So, how do MPs handle hookers? http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers Hourann’s illogical blog Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:56:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Thia http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers/comment-page-1#comment-13573 Thia Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:08:54 +0000 http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers#comment-13573 Yeah, the government does have to compromise and with the way our society operates, it's usually on an economic basis. (Anyone else notice that it was the Stern report, which put climate change in terms of econimic cost, that bounced cc into the main arena? Because most people seem to ahve forgotten that it ever wasn't, or remember it in a "ye olden dayes" kind of way.) And that nice surplus our state budget has? would be largely based on those mine things. Yeah, the government does have to compromise and with the way our society operates, it’s usually on an economic basis. (Anyone else notice that it was the Stern report, which put climate change in terms of econimic cost, that bounced cc into the main arena? Because most people seem to ahve forgotten that it ever wasn’t, or remember it in a “ye olden dayes” kind of way.) And that nice surplus our state budget has? would be largely based on those mine things.

]]> By: azza-bazoo http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers/comment-page-1#comment-13572 azza-bazoo Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:10:00 +0000 http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers#comment-13572 (delayed comment responding for the win!) I confess that my imaginary ideal EPA would be a fearless campaigner for preserving the environment at any economic cost, but of course there's no way a government bureaucracy could do that. Also, in the Rio case there is a strong argument that better surveying is needed to figure out exactly which species across WA are endangered, and it's not really fair to ask miners to do it all. Nevertheless, on the question of how much money the miners should spend on mitigating their environmental impact, I do fear that they haven't been pushed far enough. But I suppose that's descending into a shades-of-grey kind of argument. (delayed comment responding for the win!)

I confess that my imaginary ideal EPA would be a fearless campaigner for preserving the environment at any economic cost, but of course there’s no way a government bureaucracy could do that. Also, in the Rio case there is a strong argument that better surveying is needed to figure out exactly which species across WA are endangered, and it’s not really fair to ask miners to do it all.

Nevertheless, on the question of how much money the miners should spend on mitigating their environmental impact, I do fear that they haven’t been pushed far enough. But I suppose that’s descending into a shades-of-grey kind of argument.

]]> By: Thia http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers/comment-page-1#comment-13562 Thia Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:15:21 +0000 http://hourann.com/blog/2007/09/23/so-how-do-mps-handle-hookers#comment-13562 One of the major problems with the EPA stuff is that new developments means more money for the government, so the government doesn't actually tend to want things to not go ahead on environmental grounds. (I could be cynical and say that for that to happen you'd need to have a ridiculously low number of a ridiculously charismatic creature, found only in the exact spot where they want to dig the No. 2 shaft, and you'd also need a host of paparazzi to tell the world about it. State paper wouldn't be enough. But that would be cynical.) The other thing with the Barrow Island is, well, gas. And we're going to be needing gas. Well, we already need gas. So as long as Chevron can say they'll do this, that and the other to satisfy the needs of the turtles and produce enough paperwork saying that there will still be turtles when they finish, they will get the go-ahead. Ditto Rio and troglobitic things. "the company has come back, it's changed its mine plan and it has done some more research to show that the troglobitic fauna can live underneath the mine site even after the mining." They said it right there. And while it is tempting to comment on a company's own research coming out in its favour, the fact is that there is no way that Rio wants to have production stopped or prevented because they didn't do their environmental groundwork properly, so they will have been fsirly thorough. One of the major problems with the EPA stuff is that new developments means more money for the government, so the government doesn’t actually tend to want things to not go ahead on environmental grounds. (I could be cynical and say that for that to happen you’d need to have a ridiculously low number of a ridiculously charismatic creature, found only in the exact spot where they want to dig the No. 2 shaft, and you’d also need a host of paparazzi to tell the world about it. State paper wouldn’t be enough. But that would be cynical.) The other thing with the Barrow Island is, well, gas. And we’re going to be needing gas. Well, we already need gas. So as long as Chevron can say they’ll do this, that and the other to satisfy the needs of the turtles and produce enough paperwork saying that there will still be turtles when they finish, they will get the go-ahead. Ditto Rio and troglobitic things.

“the company has come back, it’s changed its mine plan and it has done some more research to show that the troglobitic fauna can live underneath the mine site even after the mining.”

They said it right there. And while it is tempting to comment on a company’s own research coming out in its favour, the fact is that there is no way that Rio wants to have production stopped or prevented because they didn’t do their environmental groundwork properly, so they will have been fsirly thorough.

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