Many of us have been…let’s just say “irritated” at Sen. Mark Warner recently for his misguided emphasis on austerity, as well as his votes on issues ranging from guns (he voted the right way on watered-down background checks, but the wrong way on several other important gun issues) to energy/environment (the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline disaster, first and foremost). So, it was much to my surprise – and pleasure – to see this morning’s editorial by Sen. Warner in Politico, entitled “Reboot Earth Day.”

Frankly, when I saw the title and who wrote it, I was thinking it was going to be a Warner’s usual drivel about how we needed an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, even as the science tells that we need to sharply slash fossil fuel consumption, starting ASAP, and drastically ramp up clean energy, including the biggest bang for the buck – energy efficiency. But then…that’s not what he wrote at all. Check this out.

So, how do we save and move Earth Day into the 21st century?

For starters, we need to get smarter about our governing policies, and create cross-industry standards that support the environment, promote clean energy, and drive economic growth. It’s critical that we recognize stewardship and growth not as mutually exclusive, but as complementary goals.

Exactly! Now THIS is the Mark Warner I used to believe “got it” on energy and environmental issues, in this case debunking the commonly-heard, but utterly false, meme that protecting our planet is somehow antithetical to economic “growth” (whatever that means, exactly). Even better, Warner starts sounding like, well, ME of all people, extolling the virtues of energy efficiency (he calls it “energy productivity,” which actually might be an even better description of what we’re talking about here), and even encouraging policies with that goal in mind. Here’s Warner:

Every utility across the U.S. should connect with their customers and communities by better encouraging energy productivity. Meeting that challenge nationwide could add another 1.3 million jobs, cut carbon emissions and oil and gas imports by a third, boost GDP by 2 percent, and eliminate waste equal to the nation’s entire household credit card debt.

That’s exactly right, so why aren’t utilities – including the abysmal Dominion Virginia Power (unofficial slogan: “Global Warming Starts HERE!”) doing that? Warner clearly “gets it” there too, noting that the “antiquated regulatory paradigm that ties utility profits to generating and selling more energy is actually encouraging waste and stalling investment and innovation.”

Clearly, that needs to change, in large part via “decoupling” utility profits from how much power they produce. We could also provide enormous incentives for consumers to save energy by putting a realistic price on the “externalities” – pollution, damages to human health, national security costs – that result from our fossil fuel addiction. Warner doesn’t talk about any of those in this editorial, nor does he mention the obvious answer – a carbon tax, the revenues from which are returned to the American people and/or used to pay down the debt (Warner, with his debt fixation, should LOVE that one!). Still, Warner’s editorial nails it on energy efficiency, or as he calls it “energy productivity,” and that’s worth praising.

The question is, can Warner and other Senators turn this understanding into actual legislation, in a Congress that appears incapable of seriously addressing any of our nation’s most pressing issues?  We’ll see, but for the moment I’m just glad – and somewhat shocked, to be blunt – to see that Warner and I are in strong agreement for a change. Now, if he’d just ditch the “all-of-the-above” nonsense (note: the reason it’s nonsense is global warming, period end – if we burn all that fossil fuel, we’re f***ed), and start focusing all his energies on how to transition our country to a clean, sustainable energy economy as quickly as possible, we might really be getting somewhere…

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Monday, April 22. Also, check out the video of yesterday’s Antares launch from Wallops Flight Center. Very cool.

*Sen. Mark Warner and Tom King: Reboot Earth Day (“First, policy makers should rethink how we regulate our energy market.The antiquated regulatory paradigm that ties utility profits to generating and selling more energy is actually encouraging waste and stalling investment and innovation. While Thomas Edison may not have envisioned a world in which we ‘pay’ utilities to encourage customers to turn their lights off, it’s common sense. Simply put, reducing demand is cheaper than building new power plants.”)

*Paul Krugman: The Jobless Trap (“Our exaggerated fear of debt is, in short, creating a slow-motion catastrophe. It’s ruining many lives, and at the same time making us poorer and weaker in every way. And the longer we persist in this folly, the greater the damage will be.”)

*Doubts arise over Boston suspect’s ability to speak

*Top Democrat Slams GOP’s Islamophobia After Boston Bombing

*Top Conservatives Admit Boston Bombing Suspect Cannot Be Tried In Military Tribunal

*The traditional media’s shoddy reporting on the Keystone XL pipeline is no surprise

*Shad Planking becoming one-party affair

*Boysko Outraises Opponent

*First Phase 2 Rail-to-Dulles Bid Comes in Below Estimates

*Few Metro board members commute on system daily

*Successful launch for rocket Antares at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

*State tax agency shutters criminal unit (“Investigative services to become purviewof prosecutors’ offices”)

*A sluggish recovery casts new worries on Va. budget

*Nibbling away at the future (“The new Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute is being squeezed by the first wave of sequester cuts.”)

*Who can help stop river killers? Homeowners (with some guidance) (“Environmentalists trying to restore the Elizabeth River have known for years that without help from homeowners, they’re dead. So they’re offering suggestions”)

*Agency nears decision on fracking in George Washington National Forest

*Prince William’s potential cut to jail drug treatment program draws backlash

*Student population at Thomas Jefferson shifts significantly

*D.C. area forecast: Cooler than normal week ahead, with a few shower chances

*Washington Nationals fall to New York Mets, extending early struggles

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, April 21.

*Republicans want Boston bombing suspect treated as enemy combatant, sparking Miranda debate (Did Republicans call for Timothy McVeigh to be treated as an “enemy combatant?” How about abortion clinic bombers? No? Hmmmm.)

*Bill Daley: The Senate betrayed me (“Most Americans want tighter gun control.” Yep, 90% or so in the case of background checks. Yet the Senate did nothing. #DemocracyFAIL)

*Residents near the Texas fertilizer plant explosion site are allowed access to homes (OK, media, it’s time to focus your attention on the industrial disaster in Texas. And when you do, make sure you put as much effort into investing the CAUSES of this “accident” as you’re doing with the brothers Tsarnaev. Thanks.)

*Texas plant explosion: Worst-case scenario? (“The right response is simple: Make companies comprehensively assess the risks they and those around their facilities face. Then they can take reasonable steps to guard against those risks and plan what to do when everything goes wrong”)

*Virginia’s senators don’t see eye to eye on guns (Tim Kaine is right. Mark Warner is wrong.)

*The cost of political conquest (“Would that every penny given this year to Virginia political candidates or spent on their behalf were invested in a meaningful discussion of the commonwealth’s future challenges and opportunities.”)

*Schapiro: The perils of hanging out with cool kids (“Now, there is the naïve, cocooned arriviste – the newcomer to celebrity and influence, pining to become one of the wealthy, seemingly posh people with whom he hangs out at the Executive Mansion, dropping names and perhaps borrowing the keys to the Ferrari.”)

*Ken Cuccinelli, Terry McAuliffe off to negative start in Virginia governor’s race

*Cuccinelli sees no need to investigate his own possible conflict (Funny how that works, huh?)

*McDonnell’s top energy adviser takes post at CNU (Given the quality, or lack thereof, of McDonnell’s ideas on energy, this departure sounds like no loss for Virginia, and no gain for CNU.)

*The risks of BRAC to Hampton Roads (“Threaten a military base realignment and see the looks of panic and dread on the faces of the Hampton Roads leaders who were here in 2005.”)

*Loss of federal funds likely means higher fares for light-rail riders

*Antares rocket launch scheduled for Sunday

*Arlington homeowners to see tax hike (Cue the outrage from Arlington’s few, but vocal, Republicans. Many of them hang out on ArlNow if you’re curious. Heh.)

*Capitals close in on division title (“Alex Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer each score twice as Washington dismantles Montreal to stretch its slim lead in the Southeast Division to three points over Winnipeg, the Caps’ next opponent.”)

*Harper rakes as Nationals escape

The Virginia Young Democrats are meeting today for their 2013 convention in Norfolk. The results for president were just announced, with 518 votes going to Gonzalo Aida and 276 votes to Matt Bell. Congratulations to “Gonzi” on his election as new VAYD president. Also, congrats to the following new VAYD officers:

*Mid-Atlantic regional director: Gordon  Simonett

*Executive VP: Jamie Nolan

*Membership director: Danielle Simms

*Public affairs director: Jimmy Lewis

*Finance director: Michael Phillips

*Secretary: Eve Nealon

*National committee team: Isaac Sarver & Shaunica Pridgen

*Treasurer: Morgan Jamison

*Political director: Jarrod Nagurka

*Campaign director: Charles Bright

*Outreach Chair: Jamal Gunn

Among other terrible stuff that happened this past week, the worst in terms of death and destruction wasn’t in Boston – as bad and horrifying as that was – but in West, Texas.

At least 13 people, including firefighters and emergency medical workers, were killed and about 200 more injured in the massive explosion and fire at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, according to officials.

The number of deaths and injuries could still grow as search and recovery efforts continue at the site of the plant, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

The explosion rocked the rural Texas town Wednesday night, flattening buildings for blocks around the fertilizer plant. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Why was the destruction and carnage from this accident so bad? As Kos points out – and this is almost impossible to believe if you think about it for 2 seconds – “There were actually houses across the street from this plant, and not just houses, but two of the town’s three school.”

Who in their right mind would approve putting a plant that deals with highly explosive materials (as Kos notes, “Fertilizer is a well-known component of homemade bombs for a reason – it’s extremely explosive) right next to houses, schools, and a nursing home? Simple: “Texas being Texas, apparently the ‘freedom’ to set up shop next to a bomb trumps everything else-including the lives and properties of far too many in West.” That, of course, is the “libertarian” economic worldview to a “t” – let industry do its thing with minimal, if any, government regulation, and the all-knowing market will take care of the rest. Obviously, you can see how that worked out in West, Texas. But of course it’s not just confined to Texas; it’s in many other states as well, and increasingly in the country as a whole, as Republicans push their “let industry do ANYTHING and if the public suffers, oh well” agenda. Same thing with “fracking” (which threatens public health and water supplies, also is driving demand for potentially explosive ammonia factories) and many other industrial activities…

Meanwhile, the Washington Post quotes a resident of West, TX as saying, “You can’t really blame anyone…Only God knows why this happened.”

Except for one thing: of course there’s blame to go around here, and it’s not a mystery knowable only to a deity. To the stark contrary, this was a man-made disaster all the way, from the crazy zoning that Kos talked about, to the fact that the last inspection of that plant by OSHA was in 1985 – nearly 30 years ago! – at which time the planned received a whopping “$30 fine for a serious violation for storage of anhydrous ammonia.” Wow. More recently, in 2011, the plant was inspsected by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which “issued a fine of $10,100 [later lowered to $5,250] for missing placards and ‘not having a security plan’ in violation of Hazardous Materials Regulations.” Hmmmm.

Sadly, this is pretty much par for the course in our country, even as Republicans scream that there’s too MUCH regulation of industry. It’s the same argument they make all the time, such as with the coal industry, and in that case they were catastrophically wrong in the April 2010 Massey Energy Upper Big Branch mine disaster. An independent investigation found that this accident was – are you sitting down? – “man-made and could have been prevented.” Once again, this may not be a shocker, but it’s still a disgrace that should anger all of us.

By the way, the top comments on the Washington Post story about the West, TX disaster are brilliant. Here are a few that jumped out at me:

*”God had nothing to do with this tragedy. The citizens of West Texas need to move beyond prayer and lay the blame where it belongs – on corporate indifference.”

*”This wasn’t God’s will. The plant had been cited several times for safety issues and it was resolved with their payment of meager, watered down fines. So much so, that poor safety was just a cost of doing business and maximizing profits.”

*”This happened because the company that owned the fertilizer depot lied–that is, lied after it chose to fail to implement the necessary safety measures needed–lied to increase profits–and then caused the deaths and injuries that resulted. The owners should be charged with murder and jailed.”

*”What can you expect from a state where the culture is anti-regulatory, anti-anything that suggests there is something called the common good that requires cooperation for the common safety.”

*”The why of this tragedy is not hard to determine. Texas is a state that is notoriously lax on enforcing safety regulation on large industrial facilities…”

*”…Business unbound from regulations. A conservative utopia where you can build this bomb in the middle of a residential neighborhood with out fear of any inspections or expectations of working safety. Protected from lawsuits by corporate friendly laws. The next step in this catastrophe is to declare the corporation bankrupt and start the next venture.”

And that, my friends, is the vision held by crony capitalist “conservatives” like Ken Cuccinelli, who spends ungodly amounts of time and taxpayer resources on wild goose chases, but who can’t bestir himself to exert an iota’s worth of effort to protect workers, communities, the environment, or anything else that really matters. Priorities, priorities, don’t ya know?