Rick and Earl, sitting in a tree...

Today gave us a cute little article the Herald headlined with "Pomeroy, Berg pledge to fight for state’s energy interests". In it we get a view of how both Rick Berg and Earl Pomeroy see the climate and environment are merely nuisance concepts that get in the way of making money.

Most people are probably familiar with the rhyme to which I allude with this post title. The picture that paints though is far from perfect. Ol' Rick & Earl would not be sitting in a tree, they would be rushing hand-in-hand to rip it out of the ground to allow easier digging for coal or drilling for oil. And obviously ol' Rick & Earl would not be K-I-S-S-I-N-G each other, but they (along with article writer Kristen Daum) are puckering up to put big wet ones on the energy industry. We see that to Berg and Pomeroy (and Daum), whatever the energy industry wants equals milk and honey, while attempts to maintain a livable climate equals unfair burdens and killing of jobs. The token support for "clean coal" is clearly not for any environmental benefit but out of the coal industry hope of gain. It is the same as the reason to support renewable energy to the extent they do - there is a buck to be made while environmental benefit is a non-issue to our esteemed candidates.

But can we really count on Berg or Pomeroy to follow through on their stance to mortgage the future to pinch some pennies today? The answer is almost certainly yes. It would though really help reassure people that ol' Rick & Earl would not go turncoat and actually care about the future if they would come out with similar stances on other issues. Healthier citizens would mean fewer high-paying jobs for doctors and other medical professionals, so Berg and Pomeroy should support cancer and heart disease, right? And considering the military presence in North Dakota it would only make sense for Berg and Pomeroy to also support a continuing, if not increasing, threat of terrorism. A peaceful world would mean a need for less troops, and that would mean less money and jobs flowing to North Dakota due to the military, so keep bringing on the wars, right? Have to fight for the state's interests!