The Many Colors of the Gulf of Mexico and Congressman Don Young... by gimleteye

Congressman Don Young is another of Alaska's gifts from the GOP. When readers wonder why I'm not tougher on the Obama administration and its appointees on the response to the Gulf Oil catastrophe, all I have to do is recall that during the Bush terms and GOP majority in Congress, Don Young was the powerful chair of the House Natural Resources Committee who stood in the way of environmental regulations like the ten foot stuffed Kodiak bear that reared at visitors to his office. The Huffington Post reports, "Don't worry about the oil spilling into the Gulf, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) says, because the worst spill in U.S. history is "not an environmental disaster," just nature taking its course." What does Young think about the fact that 20 years after the Exxon Valdez in Alaska waters, the environment and income of thousands has still not recovered "We will lose some birds, we will lose some fixed sealife, but overall it will recover," Young said, dismissing the Gulf disaster.

(Model provided by National Center for Atmospheric Research)
Young has close ties to the Florida GOP Congressional delegation. In 2006, The Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated Young for earmarking $10 million dollars for a construction project that threatened Everglades wetlands in exchange for campaign donations. In 2005, while in Florida to discuss upcoming transportation projects, Rep. Young attended a fundraiser held by Daniel Aronoff, a land developer who stood to gain financially from the passage of an Interstate 75 expansion. The fundraiser brought in $40,000 for Rep. Young and Mr. Aranoff personally donated a total of $3,000 to Rep. Young’s campaign committee and PAC. Shortly after his Florida trip, Rep. Young earmarked $10 million in the fiscal year 2006 transportation bill for I-75 improvements. After the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to block the interchange, Rep. Young threatened to revoke the money entirely. In 2008, both the House and Senate voted to direct the DOJ to launch an investigation into the 2005 earmark for the interchange at Coconut Road. After the calls for the inquiry, Rep. Young admitted that he sponsored the earmark and that his staff “corrected” an already enrolled bill by inserting the earmark shortly before the bill went to the White House to be signed by the president.