Rules for Living 3

Looking for an elegant way of saying this:  Prepare for the unexpected/prepare multiple contingency plans and then prepare for those plans to not go as expected.

Rules for Living, 2 - Inspiration

Ben Franklin's 13 Virtues:

1. "Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
2. "Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
3. "Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
4. "Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
5. "Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
6. "Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
7. "Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
8. "Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
9. "Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
10. "Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
11. "Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
12. "Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
13. "Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates."

See also the discussion in this ask.metafilter.com thread.  

Miyamoto Musashi's 9 rules (from the Book of Five Rings):

1. Do not think dishonestly.

2. The Way is in training.

3. Become acquainted with every art.

4. Know the Ways of all professions.

5. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.

6. Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everything.

7. Perceive those things which cannot be seen.

8. Pay attention even to trifles.

9. Do nothing which is of no use.

Rules for Living - 1

Since this is ostensibly a journal, I figured I'd use for the entirely personal purpose of cataloging the rules for living that I've evolved over the years, as well as the new rules I come up with as I experience new things.

The first rule to be thus chronicled is:

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

New Tumblr for me

I've started a new blog on Tumblr.  I'll still be posting the long wordy stuff here, but Tumblr is much easier for posting quick links and photos.  I've been thinking of abandoning facebook (although I probably never will) , and tumblr looks like a good, easy to use substitute for quick sharing.

How the Media Can Distort Your Message

How the media can distort your message.  Exhibit One

I'm not sure how much longer the video will be up but if you can watch it you'll see that they made the entire story about Hydrofracking.  This is interesting - because I wasn't there to talk about hydrofracking at all.

Below is the statement that I prepared for the media.  Note that I am a better writer than public speaker.  Note also the number of times I mentioned hydrofracking.  In fact, I'm don't even remember saying "hydrofracking" in the interview, but there I am on the tube, saying it.

I don't think the reporter intended to distort anything.  But I am a little sad that the news coverage barely scrapes the surface of the story.

Hi, I'm William Wilson, representing United Mountain Defense. We called this press conference today because we feel like TDEC has ignored the public.

Back in the spring there were 2 public hearings on oil and gas regulations. My organization and others worked hard to turn out nearly 200 people to these hearings. Practically every single one of the speakers at those hearings asked for stronger regulations on oil and gas drilling.

Today the Oil and Gas board is going to vote on the regulations that we commented on in those hearings. Most of our requests were ignored by TDEC. I have provided a list of some examples in the press packet.

The regulations that we have are seriously lacking. The revised regulations, which the Oil and Gas Board will vote on today, are a slight improvement but still not enough to protect Tennesseans.

Let me give you just one example of the complete inadequacy of these regulations: land application of produced water.

Produced water is the water that comes up from the well along with the oil and gas. This water can contain benzene, xylene, toluene, and other toxic chemicals. It can contain heavy metals like selenium, arsenic, lead, mercury – and this is before they add the chemicals they use for fracking.

I have been told by industry reps and by TDEC inspectors that the current preferred method for disposing of produced water is land application - they spray it around with a garden hose and say they disposed of it. Where do you imagine that benzene and arsenic is going to end up if you spray it onto the ground?

So, the regulations are weak. But the industry is still going to show up today and protest them. They are going to say that they can't afford more regulations.  

They will be lying.

Tenngasco just posted a million dollar profit for the past quarter.

Scott Boruff, the CEO of Miller Energy, recently paid 9 million dollars to buy Villa Collina, one of the most expensive mansions in Knoxville. It has two swimming pools, one indoor and one outdoors. It has an elevator, a 7 car garage, and a 3000 square foot wine cellar.

I'll bet you 5 bucks someone from Miller Energy will be in there today, protesting these regulations and saying they can't afford to pay more for stronger protections.

Listen. The industry should bear the costs of safe operation in Tennessee. If they can't afford to do business safely in Tennessee, they should not be operating in Tennessee. The public should not pay for more regulation. That is the industry's responsibility.

Now, I'm not going to make any more bets or predictions about what is going to happen in here today.  But let me tell you a few things about the people who are going to be voting on these regulations.

The Oil and Gas Board is made up of 6 members. 3 of those members are appointed by the Governor.  Sitting on the board is Jim Washburn. Jim is a geologist and a consultant to the oil and gas industry. He is also the President of the Tennessee Oil and Gas Association which has been fighting increased regulations every step of the way.

Derek Gernt was recently also appointed to the board. He serves to represent land owners. I
believe that Derek is associated with the Allardt Land Company and the Estate of Bruno Gernt. These companies are not small land owners. They are land companies that make money from oil and gas drilling on their property.

Now, I want to be crystal clear right now. I am not questioning the character of these men. I am not accusing them of anything. I've met Jim a few times and he's a nice, reasonable and intelligent guy. .

But it seems like a kindergartner could see that people who are actively involved in making money from gas drilling shouldn't be regulating it.

I am told that Betsy Child, former commissioner of TDEC, once said that the industry is TDEC's client.  Not the public. The industry.

That doesn't surprise me given what I have seen from TDEC this past year. TDEC actually reached out to the industry and asked them to write these new rules - I have something in the press packet about that. But when the public spoke up this spring and asked for stronger regulations, they were all but ignored.

I hope I've given you some things to think about. I invite you to go inside at 9 o'clock and observe how this meeting goes today.

Let me leave you with three things.

1. The existing regulations on Oil and Gas activity in Tennessee are severely lacking in protections for Tennessee's communities and environment.

2. The makeup and authority of the Oil and Gas board is questionable at best. I would like to see some regular folks get some representation.

3. The operators should pay the costs of safety and environmental protection. If they want to make a profit, they need to operate safely - period.

Thank you for coming out.

I learned some lessons from this event.  For one thing, I wrote a statement that was to be delivered orally, but it would really be better as a written statement (I think).  I also learned to prepare for anything when it comes to the media - I actually intended to read this statement and didn't, instead doing an informal Q&A with the reporters who came out.  I was able to get out my three main points, but I hadn't prepared specifically for that scenario and I missed a few things.

Finally I think I learned that the media needs one big thing that they can lock onto.  Three main points is too many main points.  That's sad, because there's a lot of stuff going on.

Zombies, Bureaucrats, Democracy, and Effective Action

A few things have happened over the past week.

First: A friend came down from a 30 day treesit in West Virginia to stop a surface coal mine at Coal River Mountain.

MacDougal explains that the apparent ineffectiveness of other strategies for citizens to have their concerns with strip mining taken seriously motivated her to take direct action: “I have written letters, tried to educate others, lobbied and volunteered. Yet throughout all of these things, I have felt the frustration of being up against the outrageous power of the coal industry. We do not live within a democracy but within a plutocracy—a government increasingly controlled by economic interests, by state and multi-national corporations.”  Indeed, the results of a poll conducted by  Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research & Consulting and released earlier this week found that West Virginians actually oppose mountaintop removal mining by a margin of 45:31. ¹  

Second: The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) released revised regulations governing oil and gas drilling in the state.  This has been a big part of my life for the past 10 months.  TDEC actually went on a weekend retreat with the Tennessee Oil and Gas Association (the Industry's lobbying group) to write the regulations.  At two public hearings about the regulations, United Mountain Defense and several other environmental groups worked hard to turn out nearly 200 people - all of whom spoke in favor of increased regulation.

After reviewing the comments, TDEC actually weakened the proposed rules.

Third:  The Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electric power to much of the Southeast, voted to begin working on a nuclear plant in Alabama, Bellefonte, which was started and then abandoned in the 1970s.  Public opposition made not a dent.

3 days before the board meeting (which was today) TVA declared that they would not allow protesters wearing costumes into the meeting.  This was a reaction to two public protests in Chattanooga, TN, and Knoxville, TN in which protesters dressed up like zombies to protest the resurrection of this "zombie reactor".

Well.  Of course United Mountain Defense went out in costume and got turned away.  The press ate it up.

The question of the day is, what does successful activism look like?  Take a look at the comments in this news article.

I'll repost my own reply in the comments section below:

The only people who are taken seriously in our system are the people with money. If you don't have money, it doesn't matter how nicely you dress, you are just an obstacle to the bureaucrats and pencil pushers.

TVA wanted to restart Bellefonte. A whole bunch of folks dressed nicely and commented at their board meetings to express their opposition. TVA thanked them for their comments, then wadded them up and threw them in the trash and voted to restart Bellefonte.

Don't deceive yourself. No amount of public protest was going to stop TVA from doing this, whether the protesters were dressed in suits and ties or kinky leather lingerie.

What the zombies *did* achieve was to get a lot of press, which is about the best you can hope for this day and age if you aren't one of the 1 percenters.

Power is the key.  Money = power.

Those who have no power have to either subvert the power structure, or find their own ways to build power.

Deepak Chopra on the End of the World

Thinking About the End