Today Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s speech to Congress. In it he poked at the recently-passed stimulus package which contains, in his words,
$140 million for something called “volcano monitoring.”
Never mind that the $140 million is actually for more than volcano monitoring, I’d just like to say that as someone who lives on an active volcano, Bobby Jindal can go fuck himself.
I want the USGS to monitor volcanoes. I want them to give warnings when a volcano is going to erupt. I want them to monitor gas output. I want them to monitor earthquakes.
I’ll bet I’m not alone. I’m sure people in Washington would like to know if Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, or Mount St. Helens are going to erupt. I’m sure people in Oregon would like to know if Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, Newberry Volcano, and Crater Lake are going to erupt. I’m sure people in Northern California would like to know if Medicine Lake volcano, Mount Shasta, and Lassen Peak are going to erupt. I’m sure people in Alaska would like to know if any number of volcanoes are going to erupt, particularly Mount Redoubt. I’m sure people in Hawaii would like to know if Mauna Loa is going to erupt. I’m sure people in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho would like to know if Yellowstone is going to erupt.
Besides, it’s not just for volcano monitoring! One of the other things this money’s going towards is replacement and upgrades of stream gages. It might be nice knowing if a stream or river is rising. Useful to know if you need to prepare for flooding.
And he shrugs it off. “Volcano monitoring.” Pfft. Who needs to look at volcanoes?
Fuck you Bobby Jindal.
