Sarah Palin Wants to Drill, Drill, Drill, With A Smile

Sarah Palin on Energy:

You’ve got to admit! Sarah Palin is good. The woman can sell anything, even the devil. This is what makes her so dangerous

See Grist’s rebuttal, including roundup of Palin’s environmental record below:

• Opposed a statewide ballot initiative to prohibit or restrict new mining operations that could affect salmon in the state’s streams and rivers
• Has pushed to build a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope
• Got the state legislature to pass a bill to provide each Alaskan $1,200 to help with energy costs
• Sued the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species
• Has proposed eliminating Alaska’s gas tax
• Has pushed to open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling
• Has created a committee to forge Alaska’s climate-change strategy, and has made Alaska an observer (but not a member) of the Western Climate Initiative
• Opposes a windfall profits tax on oil companies
• Was the ethics commissioner of the Alaska Gas and Oil Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004
• Lifelong angler and hunter
• Husband is an oil production operator for BP on Alaska’s North Slope
• Started Alaska’s Petroleum Systems Integrity Office, an oversight and maintenance agency for the state’s oil and gas equipment, facilities, and infrastructure
• Chairs the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate panel “that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment”
• Believes intelligent design should be taught along with evolution in science classes

Last, but not least, Sarah Palin‘s quote on global warming:

“I’m not one though who would attribute [global warming] to being man-made.”

SCARY!!!!!

Read Full Post »

Obama Shows Flexibility and Strength in Energy Policy Speech

Today, Barack Obama, delivered his most comprehensive Energy Policy Speech to date.

I am pleased, and here’s why. For a change, here is a candidate who proposes a realistic plan to address the complex challenges of energy dependence and climate change. A candidate who is taking into account political realities and the need to compromise sometimes. A candidate who is incorporating all the good solutions that are available so far. A candidate who embraces Tom Friedman‘s view of a Green Revolution. A candidate who knows Americans have it in them to weather the storm. A candidate who is not afraid to confront our addiction to oil. 

Yes, he did change his mind on offshore drilling and tapping into oil reserves. Some say, Obama does not know what he wants. To which I respond, great policy is an organic process that requires constant adjustment to circumstances and people. What matters is that the vision, and the leadership remain constant. 

Read Full Post »

Yes, We Can Be an Energy Efficient Country

On our way to Honolulu. Hubby has business there, and the condo needs some TLC. Once a year, I give in and forsake my moratorium on non essential plane trips, to pay a visit. 

Amazed at the speed with which we made it through San Jose Airport. Americans really have it down, in terms of organization, and efficiency. This was especially striking during my last trip to Europe when I got to experience three airports in one day. Pisa, in Italy, was a complete disaster. Our early morning flight to Paris was canceled, and the Italians did not seem to care that we had another plane to catch. Once in Paris CDG, we witnessed a crippled man drag himself on his hands and knees, literally, for lack of a wheel chair. Finally, a passing airport official took pity on him, and tended to the matter. New York JFK was a welcomed relief. People there, seemed to know what to do, no matter what. 

Imagine if the same organizational skills  set was applied to our national resource efficiency challenge. Systems in place to shut down lights and electricity in public buildings and infrastructures, when not needed. More frequent trains, new bus routes, car sharing stations, free bikes in cities. Carbon reducing incentives for utility companies. Food waste management programs. Turning unemployed blue workers into green ones. Electric car national networks. Imagine . . . 

Of course, this presupposes leadership at the top, and the will to commit to new priorities. But one thing is clear, we can do it. 

Read Full Post »

C-Word Absent From Gore’s Moon Shot Challenge

Last night, during his interview with the Associated Press, Al Gore challenged the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly sources within 10 years, an audacious goal he hopes the next president will embrace. And made it clear that the people have to play a part, through their support of politicians for such energy policy. Barack Obama, and to a lesser extent John McCain may be “way ahead” – Al Gore’s words – but they will not go very far without the popular vote, our vote. Now, consider this:

According to a recent Rasmussen survey:

• 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states.
• 64% of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that gas prices will go down if offshore oil drilling is allowed

Similarly, June 2008 Pew Opinion Survey concluded:

Amid record gas prices, public support for greater energy exploration is spiking. Compared with just a few months ago, many more Americans are giving higher priority to more energy exploration, rather than more conservation. An increasing proportion also says that developing new sources of energy – rather than protecting the environment – is the more important national priority.

Al, it’s not going to be easy convincing your fellow American citizens . . . Also, what happened to conservation? How come the ‘C-word’ does not appear even once in your interview? Did I miss something?

Read Full Post »

Hooked on KrisCan’s Green Sex and Green Humor

Courtesy, Kyle at Green With a Gun, here is another sexy peak oil video, this time from KrisCan:

Maybe not as popular as Cassandra‘s, or at least not yet, but a lot better in my opinion. Kris shows us that humor and sex can go a long way towards engaging regular folks on otherwise serious issues, such as peak oil and global warming. It certainly worked with me. I watched every single one of Kris‘s videos.

In the same category of smart, sexy, playful green shorts, I need to mention Isabella‘s Green Porno series. It is no coincidence, and another validation of the power of sex to sell, that the top post on this blog is the one with ‘Green Porno‘ in its title. 10,457 views in three months, not bad.

Read Full Post »

From Spending Our Resources, To Investing in Our Future

We are failing to invest in critical energy and agriculture research. We are letting our infrastructure fall apart. We are spending as if there is no tomorrow. We continue to drive as if there was no global warming. We are gorging ourselves despite warnings from our doctors. We focus on quarterly earnings at the expense of the long term health of our businesses . . . The pattern is clear. Like La Fontaine’s grasshopper, we are so focused on immediate rewards, that we are failing to prepare for our future. 

The price to pay for such carelessness is too high for us to ignore. Hence, it becomes important to examine the root causes of such behavior, and ways to fix it. The image of my maternal grandmother comes up. Meme Marie was more like the ant in La Fontaine’s fable. She lived frugally, and made sure she had enough money saved up for her old days. She also drew much comfort from knowing that her nest egg and her farm would go to her children after she died. Her brother, on the other hand was a completely different story. Always broke, and borrowing from my grandmother, until the day when she got fed up, and told him no more. Americans are like my granduncle and La Fontaine’s grasshopper. Overindulged children with no sense of limits, and a dangerous sense of entitlement. This precarious lifestyle breeds anxiety about the very real possibility of sad endings.

The first step is to recognize the problem. Next, is to regain control of our lives and our future. We all secretly want it. We just need permission from the media, and from our leaders. Building, not wasting.

Read Full Post »

Here Comes Manodo

It was featured in engadget, ecogeek, treehugger, and gizmodo. The Manodo Display comes to us from Sweden where it is currently in beta testing with fifteen households. What it is: a smart home device that keeps track of your green-ness in real time, down to the details of your CO2 emissions for each daily activity. The Manodo also gives information about the next train or bus near you.

And if you are good, you get a smiley!

Read Full Post »

Playing the Money Game with Big Oil

I was catching up on my reading, going through last weekend’s Sunday New York Times, when the following ad caught my eye:

My mind still fresh from the recent media frenzy around rising gas prices, and still pondering what to do about James Hansen‘s call to action, I was not about to let this one go. And went on the Energy Tomorrow‘s website, for more. As I browsed through the site, I couldn’t help but think, boy these guys are good! The Big Oil guys are masters at twisting the truth, and washing their dirty secrets into bright green. That they are swimming in cash does not hurt either. Slick campaigns, slick website, great copy, seductive images, multimedia blitz, nothing is spared.

Of course, the first step is to expose their lies to as many people as possible, as in writing this post for instance. Next is to take concrete action, to get at them where it hurts the most, in this case the value of their companies. This is where it gets very interesting. Those tens of millions of Americans with a stake in the oil and natural gas industry, that the ad talks to, . . . imagine a campaign asking them to switch to ‘less risky stocks’, stocks that bank on the bright future of renewable energies for instance.

What do you think?

Read Full Post »

Special Fossil Fuel Interests Blocking Progress On Climate

In the process of doing research for the 350 campaign, I came across an AFP press release from a few weeks ago, that is too important to be ignored:

Global warming has plunged the planet into a crisis and the fossil fuel industries are trying to hide the extent of the problem from the public, NASA’s top climate scientist says.

“We’ve already reached the dangerous level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” James Hansen, 67, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, told AFP here.

“But there are ways to solve the problem” of heat-trapping greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which Hansen said has reached the “tipping point” of 385 parts per million.

In a paper he was submitting to Science magazine on Monday, Hansen calls for phasing out all coal-fired plants by 2030, taxing their emissions until then, and banning the building of new plants unless they are designed to trap and segregate the carbon dioxide they emit.

The major obstacle to saving the planet from its inhabitants is not technology, insisted Hansen, named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2006 by Time magazine.

“The problem is that 90 percent of energy is fossil fuels. And that is such a huge business, it has permeated our government,” he maintained.

“What’s become clear to me in the past several years is that both the executive branch and the legislative branch are strongly influenced by special fossil fuel interests,” he said, referring to the providers of coal, oil and natural gas and the energy industry that burns them.

In a recent survey of what concerns people, global warming ranked 25th.

“The industry is misleading the public and policy makers about the cause of climate change. And that is analogous to what the cigarette manufacturers did. They knew smoking caused cancer, but they hired scientists who said that was not the case.”

Hansen says that with an administration and legislature that he believes are “well oiled, our best hope is the judicial branch.”

Last year Hansen testified before the US Congress that “interference with communication of science to the public has been greater during the current administration than at any time in my career.“

Government public relations officials, he said, filter the facts in science reports to reduce “concern about the relation of climate change to human-made greenhouse gas emissions.”

While he recognizes that he has stepped outside the traditional role of scientists as researchers rather than as public policy advocates, he says he does so because “in this particular situation we’ve reached a crisis.”

The policy makers, “the people who need to know are ignorant of the actual status of the matter, and the gravity of the matter, and most important, the urgency of the matter,” he charged.

“It’s analogous to an engineer who sees that there’s a flaw in the space shuttle before it is to be launched. You don’t have any choice. You have to say something. That’s really all that I’m doing,” he explained.

On my end, I am going to contact NRDC and E2 to get their counsel, and see what kind of actions can be taken to address Mr. Hansen‘s concerns. I would love to get your ideas as well.

Read Full Post »

It’s the New Year, And There’s a Power Out(r)age

The morning started out sweet. Lingering in bed, reminiscing about our joyful celebration the night before. Then, my usual dash to the computer, to scan the news, respond to readers’ comments, and read my favorite blogs.

Prad had just brought me my tea – I love that small gesture of his every morning – and I was right in the middle of answering Kyle‘s comment, when I heard Prad in the kitchen, ‘Whats wrong with the microwave?’ It did not take long to figure out. ‘No power’, was the problem. That meant no more hot tea for Prad. I took the news in stride.

Until a few minutes later. I tried to click on ‘Post’ to publish my answer to Kyle. No luck. Soon, I figured out we did not have an Internet connection, either. Of course! I saved my comment on Word for a later publication. Never mind, I thought, I can do other stuff. If I hurried, I could finish the executive summary I was working on, using the bit of charge left on my computer. I also needed to call my mother in France, to wish her a Happy New Year. I couldn’t use my cell phone for that. And our home line was down. I would have to wait. Not too long, hopefully, or I would have to miss her altogether, because of the nine hours time difference.

Charlotte came in. She wanted to go out for coffee. We wondered if the coffee shop would have power. We were willing to walk there and see. I went to wash my face. The water was lukewarm at best. Oh! yes, the water heater does depend on electricity. By that time, I was getting more and more annoyed. Was there anything I could do, that did not depend on power?

Read Full Post »