With his singular style, Tom Toles tackles the complex issues of the day. This Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist skillfully targets political, economic and social concerns — in particular complicated environmental issues — with a clear-eyed precision that hits the mark every time.
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Clark Kent said, 3 months ago
Ya load 16 tons, what do you get,
Another day older and deeper in debt,
Saint Peter don’t you call me ‘cause I cain’t go,
I owe my soul to the company store.
…………………………………………………….
Workin’ in a coal mine goin’ on down down,
Workin’ in a coal mine worried about the trip down.
…………………………………………………….
The smoke and gas belched out of that mine,
And everybody knew it was the end of the line,
For big John.
Michael wme said, 3 months ago
As the New York Times columnist Joe Nocera writes, the world MUST remain on fossil fuels. Fortunately, there is an unlimited supply, we just have to try harder, drill more, exploit formerly inaccessible sources, etc. As a New York Times columnist, he is required to believe that fossil fuels cause climate change, but, he says, a world ten or twenty degrees warmer is MUCH better than the alternative of Americans having to live with even a tiny bit less fossil fuel consumption.
And that’s the view from the mainstream Left.
saywhatwhat said, 3 months ago
@Michael wme
Those who think the “mainstream media” is “Left”, understand neither left nor the mainstream. There is “media” on the left, but it doesn’t belong to corporate interests and certainly doesn’t include the NY Times. At most they are center right and Joe Nocera is the Opt ed business columnist.
Robert Landers said, 3 months ago
@Michael wme And Rush Limbaugh and other ultra conservative commentators would totally agree with him. Taking one commentator from the left and stating that this opinion is the general opinion of all on the left is just as bad as taking one commentator on the right and stating that all such commentators agree with that right wing commentator. That is not a valid argument.
In the first place it is not the hydrocarbon fuels themselves that are the real evil here, it is the burning up of them into our limited world atmosphere that is the real evil. Let me attempt to explain.
There are many valid reasons why such burning up of fossil fuels is bad for the US (or the rest of the world for that matter).
One: For the US in particular, one such evil is the dependency upon such totally unstable areas of the world as the Middle East, with its fanatical religious idiocy!
Two: The commentator from the Times was correct in one particular, and that is that these fissile fuels are the very stuff of the existence of our modern civilization. Oil is the major lubricant in every piece of our moving machinery. It is used extensively in the cutting of metals by our machine tools. It is the entire material upon which our plastics industry is based upon. It is used in everything from medicines to food. Get the picture here? This material is far too precious to be just burned up into the atmosphere for energy or transportation!
Three: When so burned up into the atmosphere it creates a choking pollution that is literally killing missions of our fellow Americans with various lung disorders. And thus is one of the major factors that not only contributes to untold of human misery, but also is a major factor in the heavily rising cost of medical care. If you could tell me that air pollution is good for human beings, (as well as other breathing creatures) then I would withdraw reason three, but if you are honest, then I do not think that you can do that!!
And all of this is totally without the very real threat of Rapid Global Climate Change brought about by the increase in human generated Greenhouse gases.
Somewhat sorry about the length of this post, but this is NOT a sound bite issue by any means!!
richardelguru
said, 3 months ago
Michael wme
Are you trying to capture the heady days of Swift’s A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick?
masterskrain said, 3 months ago
And anyone who believes that we have an “Unlimited Supply” of ANYTHING is an idiot!
Oil, coal, fresh air, water, whatever…
The Earth is a CLOSED ECOSYSTEM! There is a finite amount of everything! The only possible exception is solar radiation, and eventually even THAT will end. Granted, it will be several Billion years down the road, but eventually it WILL end.
Paul Harvey
said, 3 months ago
@Michael wme
Yup, it’s just too bad that we have had no warming for the last 10+ years. Even with the warmest March ’12 we still did not set any high temp records for Apr, May, Jun, July or Aug.
Paul Harvey
said, 3 months ago
@Robert Landers
The level of CO2 has been higher than now many times over the life of the planet. Check the summer of ’92 coolest for a very, very time, why, Mt Pinatubo went off in the summer of ’91, that was not man-made.
Kylie2112 said, 3 months ago
@Paul Harvey
Michael wme is the best troll here. He and NeoConMan, anyways. Pros at ironic prose.
edinbaltimore said, 3 months ago
Best true bumper sticker I ever saw: Where Are We Going, and Why Am I in This Handbasket?
edinbaltimore said, 3 months ago
And again Paul wants to cherry pick the figures.
Chillbilly
said, 3 months ago
Politics and science are incompatible in capitalism.
zoidknight said, 3 months ago
@Chillbilly
Since politics has very little connection to reality or science, no matter that many think or at least are told to think be the left, what is your point?
Respectful Troll said, 3 months ago
Climate change is real, and whether one believes it is man made or part of a cycle, science shows there are things to be done that can slow and even reverse it. With education, innovation, and experimentation, the USA can lead the world in this effort and create jobs and improve lives while doing so. Droughts effecting over 50% of America’s farmland and the growing severity of storms, tornadoes, etc. are going to continue to have negative effects on the economy even if one doesn’t care to consider the toll it takes on human and animal lives.
The frog is in the water and the water is getting hot and the frog doesn’t know its in danger.
Feelin’ froggy,
C.
Lynne B
said, 3 months ago
@Michael wme
“And that’s the view from the mainstream Left.”
Er, no. That’s the view from one grossly undereducated journalist, who (as others here are pointing out) is not representative of the Left in general.