Bush's 'Schrodinger's Email'

EPA Determines that Carbon Pollution Threatens Health

Historic Step Will Allow Agency to Address Cause of Global Warming

WASHINGTON (December 7, 2009) -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson is expected to announce a final determination today that carbon pollution, which causes global warming, is a danger to public health and welfare. This will enable the EPA to move forward with implementing the 2007 Supreme Court ruling, which found that carbon pollution can be curbed under the Clean Air Act.

Following is a statement by David Doniger, Policy Director of the Climate Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“This is a concrete sign that we need to address the rising impact of carbon pollution, which threatens our health -- and is causing glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise and more extreme weather to occur. Today’s announcement shows that the U.S. government is serious about tackling this problem and putting limits on the largest sources of carbon pollution, including vehicles and coal-fired plants. The Obama administration is prepared to use existing laws, even as it works with Congress on new ones, to move our country toward cleaner energy that will protect the health of people and of future generations."
“As world leaders gather in Copenhagen, this action is an important piece of the puzzle that will move the nation -- and the world -- toward a cleaner future.” NRDC Press Release

We could have had a year to work on this, had our last president not decided to apply whatever twisted lesson he might have learned regarding the Schrodinger's Cat theory to the quandary of whether or not to open an email containing this very information in 2008.

White House Refused to Open Pollutants E-Mail
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: June 25, 2008

The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.

The document, which ended up in e-mail limbo, without official status, was the E.P.A.’s answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that required it to determine whether greenhouse gases represent a danger to health or the environment, the officials said.

This week, more than six months later, the E.P.A. is set to respond to that order by releasing a watered-down version of the original proposal that offers no conclusion. Instead, the document reviews the legal and economic issues presented by declaring greenhouse gases a pollutant. Read the whole story Here.

Controversial Bush-Era EPA E-mail Released WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2009

Message Buried by Bush Administration Because of Its Conclusions on Global Warming Surfaces

(AP) A controversial e-mail message buried by the Bush administration because of its conclusions on global warming surfaced Tuesday, nearly two years after it was first sent to the White House and never opened.The e-mail and the 28-page document attached to it, released Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency, show that back in December of 2007 the agency concluded that six gases linked to global warming pose dangers to public welfare, and wanted to take steps to regulate their release from automobiles and the burning of gasoline.

Adora Andy, a spokeswoman for EPA administrator Lisa Jackson, said Tuesday that the science in 2007 was as clear as it is today. "The conclusions reached then by the EPA scientists should have been made public and should have been considered," she said. Read the whole story Here.

Boom Boom! Out Go the Lights! Earth Hour 2009

The power plant pictured below, planned to go online from a near downtown location, no longer has to thanks to an equal amount of energy SAVED through conservation alone. No noise or pollution, no resources wasted, no energy burned. Click the image to get the details, then be sure to share them with your city, county and state officials.

Earth Hour 2009 - What Will YOU Be Doing In the Dark?

Earth Hour's Myspace


Earth Hour's Twitter


Earth Hour's Facebook


Earth Hour's Flickr Show


Google's Earth Hour '08 Tribute

Obama Speaks to America on the Economy

The above image, created by Paul Rosenberg at Open Left, shows figures that combine data from Moody's Economy.com and Dean Baker's Center for Economic Policy and Research. It shows the return on investment for different stimulus options. The takeaway? Food stamps, unemployment benefits, and infrastructure investment put the most money back into the economy for every dollar spent on them. Tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy do the least. (A payroll tax holiday, which is essentially a tax break for poor people, isn't so bad.) Job creation maps similarly.


So when conservatives tell you that FDR's public investment programs made the depression worse and that we need to hold fast to the conservative economic principles that created the current mess, shoot them this link. Perhaps President Obama should use that snazzy new BlackBerry of his to email it to his Republican opponents in Congress. http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11354



In the video below, commonly asked questions regarding the stimulus package are answered in clear, easy to understand terms.







Solid cutting edge infrastructure has been the secret weapon of every successful country/kingdom/empire. Our (US) interstate highway system is one of relatively few key reasons for our success. Without it we wouldn't have been able to transport goods (metals during the war, food always) across our vast country quickly and efficiently. We took one giant step forward after WWII, and it was because we put building a national infrastructure for transportation, water, power and food as well as communications on a double-step fast track. We are still working with that infrastructure in all parts of the country today, and more places than you would think still run entirely on that old system.

It is my belief that it is time to close up the foreign lending shop for a while, hang out an 'Under Construction' sign and get to work re-working our workings! We have the information and technology, the manpower the money and most of all the WILL to remake our systems into more efficient, longer lasting, safer systems that will once again throw us headlong over the goal post of expectations just as we have done in the past.

Internet communications lends itself to working from home or local 'communal' office spaces, lends itself to fewer flights, fewer buildings spewing carbon, fewer drivers, fewer accidents. The technology noted above is only a fraction of what is available.

There are still going to be jobs to be done, but new and different jobs. There will still be things to be sold, but different things. Business will not come to an end, it will just change. I think this will lead to more businesses ending up in the hands of the small business owners, the local communities. Working, shopping and eating local.

A Tough Week For Coal - No Clean Coal

A Tough Week for Coal

February 4, 2009, 8:44 am — Updated: 12:34 pm -->
By Tom Zeller Jr.





Protesters chained themselves to an excavator at a coal operation in West Virginia on Tuesday. (Photo: West Virginia Blue/Flickr)


The coal industry, which suffers from an image problem to begin with, has had a particularly rough few days. Without additional interpretation, we present a selection of articles, published over just the last 48 hours, from around the Web:



THE GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE
A Bad Week for Coal Plants in North-Central MontanaLast Thursday, the Air Force announced that it had rejected proposals to build a large coal-to-liquid-fuels plant at or near Malmstrom Air Force Base. Tuesday, Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission announced it is giving up on a proposed coal-fired power plant northeast of the city, at least for now.



THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE
Anti-Coal Activists Chain Themselves to Equipment at Massey OperationFourteen people were cited by State Police today in two separate protests against Massey Energy’s mountaintop removal operations in southern West Virginia.


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
W.Va. Towns With Bad Well Water Sue Coal Companies About 250 people with orange and black water in their taps are suing eight coal companies they believe poisoned wells in two southern West Virginia communities.

Click Here to read the remaining "Bad Coal Day" Headlines from the NYTimes.


Just as a reminder, There Is No Clean Coal.

The Myth of Clean Coal
The coal industry and its allies are spending more than $60 million to promote the notion that coal is clean. But so far, “clean coal” is little more than an advertising slogan.

Collapse of the Clean Coal Myth
More broadly, the authority’s recent travails may help persuade the public that coal is nowhere near as “clean” as a high-priced industry advertising campaign makes it out to be.

Even Obama has been duped,
I hope his promise to listen more to science than corporations is one he intends to keep.

Kilowatt Ours - Yours and Mine

Energy conservation. There are 3 schools of thought, generally.

• 1) Why should I give up the good life


• 2) My efforts won't contribute enough to matter


• 3) I'll do what it takes to conserve

Thanks to the 3rd group, for 30+ years of effort in designing, engineering and implementing the ideas and tools available to us today, groups 1 and 2 now have what it takes to join the effort with no reservations.

Facing energy shortages, the city of Austin purchased land at the edge of town to build a new power plant. It was necessarily close, posing health issues. It was going to be quite expensive and take longer to finish than they really had time to wait. So with research and experience from the treehuggers, nerds, geeks, enviros and offgridders the city came up with a plan. They would build a power plant that required no land clearing, no construction, no pollution. They set out to build a Conservation Power Plant. Their goal was simple in thought, logistically daunting and unprecedented. Conserve as much power through community effort as would be produced by building a new power plant. Click on the image below to see the results of their effort.

The above clip is part of a longer program, Kilowatt Ours; A Plan to Re-Energize America which aired on PBS stations over the last few months, and tonight here in the Seattle area. The documentary highlights what is hard for most Americans to grasp. There are 301 million Americans. If just one room in every home in America were lit by Energy Star lighting, it would be like removing 1 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
31,500,000 kWh could be saved every year if every exit sign in America were upgraded to LED bulb. There are A LOT OF US, when each of us does a small thing it turns into huge thing, a never been done before thing. During the drought and subsequent energy shortage in California in 2001, there wasn't enough time to build new power plants to avoid the crisis. So much like other leaders before him in the face of such a crisis, the Governor asked his citizens to pitch in. Raise the thermostat to 78, unscrew 1 in 4 light bulbs... and they did. What they accomplished that summer broke world records, and set them on the path leading our country to energy independence. Below is a short clip from the program;

Some quick facts:

• In the fall of 2000 over 300 million gallons of coal slurry were spilled into the Big Sandy River in Martin County, KY. Although this ecological disaster was 30 times greater than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, very few people outside of Kentucky hear about it.
• Visibility in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has declined 60% over the last 60 years. (We need plants to breath, eat and drink. Plants need sunlight to grow) 83% of the visibility-reducing haze in Smoky Mountains National Park is from sulfate particulates from coal-burning power plants. The American Lung Association listed 10 southern cities in the Southeast among the top 25 most air-polluted cities in America. The EPA estimates that 33 million Americans in the Southeast alone live in bad-air areas.
• 40 of 50 states post statewide mercury advisories warning that fish are unsafe to eat.
• The Centers for Disease Control say that 1 in 10 women of childbearing age carry unsafe levels of mercury in their tissues.

• Compact fluorescent light bulbs use 20% as much electricity as a 100-watt incandescent bulb and last years longer too.

• New energy-efficient refrigerators are 40% more efficient than they were just two years ago.

• If just one room in every home in America were lit by Energy Star lighting, it would be like removing 1 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

• A typical washing machine uses 1,000 kWh per year of electricity. An energy-efficient frontloading washer uses only 280 kWh.

• The city of Birmingham, Alabama, now saves $220,000 after upgrading all 700 street
intersections with LED traffic signals.

• When the Sumner County School System in Tennessee found that geothermal heating and cooling in a new school helped them save $5,000 per month on energy, they decided to retrofit every school in the county with this cost-cutting technology.

• Smith Middle School in North Carolina uses a technique called “daylighting” to flood classrooms with natural light.

• The Sullivan County School System in Tennessee finances their $24 million energy upgrade with the $1 million they save on energy every year.

• 31,500,000 kWh could be saved every year if every exit sign in America were upgraded to LED bulb.

So please, visit http://www.kilowattours.org/ and see what our efforts can accomplish. Sign up with their program to do your small part in a world changing effort, and save money along the way. Purchase the DVD or find the program airing on a local station and take the time to watch it. Contact your representatives http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml and tell them you want to see these sorts of money saving, job providing, clean earth policies in YOUR town and be sure to tell them to watch Kilowatt Ours - A Plan to Re-Energize America. For your wallet, for your health and for our security and independence, demand a Conservation Power Plant in every town across America.

Cheap Drills - Deception to Triumph?

Update: Here is the link to contact your representatives, originally to be included at the end of the posting. http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml 091208

"The American News Project has put together a great video highlighting how little drilling would do to lower gas prices, as well as the amount of money the oil industry has given to Republican candidates. It features regular Grist contributor Joe Romm, and provides some good insight into the current energy debate on the Hill:"





Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other Democratic leaders in the House have outlined a new energy plan that proposes allowing drilling 100 miles off the Atlantic coast and Florida's Gulf coast. The buffer zone could be reduced to 50 miles if a state's governor and legislature consent (which is a big "if"). The plan, which hasn't yet been formally released, also contains increased funding for renewable energy. They're calling it the "Comprehensive American Energy Security & Taxpayer Protection Act," and it includes a number of measures that have stalled previously -- curbing energy speculators, establishing a renewable electricity standard, and repealing subsidies to Big Oil.

Continue reading at Grist


It has become very, very clear that unless you personally and directly profit from the increased cost of gas or oil, such as stockholder, then opening up sensitive areas for drilling and decreasing the current regulations in place to keep us safe would not benefit you at all. By the time the pennies worth of savings trickle down to you (if they do) they won't be worth what it took to get them there. Our belief in this lie will keep the funding from flowing into alternative, locally produced, clean energy that will truly free us of our dependence on foreign powers. At the price oil is selling for today, the fact that our oil industries still receive the subsidies and special tax incentives they do, and the millions they spend lobbying to keep them, is disgusting as well as standing in the way of our energy independence. The oil companies couldn't have gotten where they are are today, an embedded part of our infrastructure, without that public support and neither can Alternative Energy. When you have a leg to stand on, when you are on the side of the science and the people, you don't resort to propaganda and lies. That's what big oil has done, and are still doing. The time to stop them is now.

Below find just a few of the thousands of articles and blogs, scientists and professionals from all walks screaming and waving flags in the air in an attempt to warn you and I. This is a VERY important, time sensitive issue, please schedule some time to review and consider them carefully. Further down, you will find links to contact your elected officials, and ideas about what to say to convey what you feel and what you've learned and how you would like them to represent you on the matter.

Drill here, drill now: a pipe dream
12,954 Nuclear Power Plants - That's how many nuclear plants the world would need to build to replace its current fossil-fuel-based energy.

Newt Gingrich-led 527 group behind 'drill baby drill'
The slogan “Drill here. Drill now. Pay less.” is fueling Gingrich’s American Solutions for Winning the Future, a so-called 527 group not subject to federal campaign finance law and its limits on donations. So far this election cycle, it has raised $13.1 million.

Study links oil prices to investor speculation
"We have clear evidence the fund flow pushed prices up and the fund flow pushed prices down," said Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management. (perhaps you remember Michael Masters from a previous posting of his testimony before congress on the matter ,"McCain Not Helping". here's the link to the testimony)

Exposing the Big Oil Lie
The Center for Economic and Policy Research found that the news media has mindlessly amplified that lie. The hundreds of broadcasts on “proposed drilling for oil in environmentally sensitive zones in the United States” almost completely ignored the EIA report.

Drill drill drill, then sell to Japan
Dear Secretary Bodman,
On June 3, 2008 and July 30, 2008 respectively, your Department issued and affirmed an order pursuant to Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act that will allow two major integrated oil companies – ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil – to export 98.1 billion cubic feet of Alaskan natural gas to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries. This order, which will allow the export of as much natural gas as is used by 1.4 million American families in a year, comes at a time when the President had demanded that the moratoria on oil and gas drilling along our environmentally-sensitive coastal areas be lifted and Americans are being warned that their winter heating bills are going to be dramatically higher.

Pimping for Oil
Currently the crisis is energy, and with the Bush administration’s expenses on military security topping 500 billion dollars this year only 1 percent is being spent on energy security. The grim prospect of Thomas Fingar who is the top US Intelligence analyst predicts military strength will be the least important goal compared to the acquisition of water, food and energy.

Prices are Down, not due to drilling
There are arguments that much of the price movement is due to speculation. But the driving public also forced gasoline prices down all by themselves, and they did it in quick fashion. They did it by reducing their demand for gasoline. They simply drove less; they took public transportation; they shared car pools and yes, they inflated their tires. And where they had a choice, they chose more fuel efficient vehicles and got rid of their gas guzzlers (or used them less)

Alaska drilling will have little effect on Prices
The opening of the ANWR 1002 Area to oil and natural gas development is projected to increase domestic crude oil production starting in 2018. In the mean ANWR oil resource case, additional oil production resulting from the opening of ANWR reaches 780,000 barrels per day in 2027 and then declines to 710,000 barrels per day in 2030. (we use 21 million barrels per day currently, according to this same site)

Drill baby drill is a Lie

• It'll take 10 years at a minimum to get outer continental shelf (OCS) oil to market.
• there’s not enough deep sea drilling rigs to punch more holes in the OCS for something like 5 years.
• A RAND Corporation study says that the savings from making shale-based oil available is only 3-5% and that it’ll be 2020 at the earliest before any oil could be available. And More....

Exxonmobil Spent Nearly $16 Million to Fund Skeptic Groups, Create Confusion.
Honestly, if you want to boil it all down to business, does a corporation spend this kind of cash to fund skeptics and risk bad press and shareholder backlash (they did, actually, get pummeled by their investors) if they had science and environmental groups behind them for free?

You can re-visit my other postings by clicking on any of the pertinent tags below, or along the right side of the blog for further study before you reach out to your representatives and local media.

You will want to keep your messages brief and to the point, but clear. For recorded messages on answering systems, think along these lines:

"Hi, my name is xxx xxx, I live in Xcounty, State (or other area designation, so they know you are their constituent) and continuing the current ban on drilling is important to me. I have looked into the details and am convinced it will not result in enough of a benefit in the long or short term and considering our current level of technology, combined with the current global energy situation. Please vote to continue restrictions on drilling, and stand firm in your vote to support funding and incentives for alternative energy. Thank you, xxx."

You can use a form of this, personalized of course, in email and written correspondence. In emails, include links to the postings that made the most impressions on you. In my case, the governments own EIA website, Micheal Masters testimony to congress and the report from the union of concerned scientists regarding the money spent by Exxon to confuse us really stand out. When sending written correspondence, include a page for each bit of information you find critical and remember not to send a book that will simply be set aside. If you can make the time, try to schedule an appointment with your local representatives. Get your family involved, give them each a piece of the information and let them work out a bit to say on it. It will make a strong statement to your representative and be a fabulous community action activity for your family. The same goes for your friends, co-workers and neighbors. A well thought out, well planned, informative, respectful presentation will be well appreciated and your concerns will be heard even more loudly than in email. Dropping a line to local media advising them of your appointment and the topic of your meeting may garner you some publicity and further support.

One Week Left to Stop One of Bush's Worst Environmental Attacks

A simple redefinition of terms will destroy the Endangered Species Act in less than a week if we don't act now.

Bring up this page, or print out the following to have it available when you follow the link below to document your position on this matter when and where it counts. After that, visit http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml and tell your local representatives in Washington the same thing in email, voice mail and regular mail.

• You are against the proposed rule changes because they weaken the Endangered Species Act nearly to the point of nonexistence.
• Environmental systems mostly work by systemic causation, with many indirect causes, not by "essential causation." The change to "essential causation" opens the door to an indefinitely large number of projects that can jointly put endangered species in jeopardy.
• The change in "consultation" rules will de facto eliminate the gathering of information relevant to protecting species.

Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=09000064806df423
To see the proposed changes, click on "Views". Click on "Add Comments" to write your comment.
Note that plain e-mails will not be considered. This is another way public input is being limited.

Write your comments before September 15, 2008.

Together, We Can Repower America

Repower America

We must rebuild our economy, lower fuel costs, free ourselves from our addiction to oil, and save ourselves from the climate crisis. To do this, we need to demand that we Repower America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years. Meeting this ambitious goal would create millions of new jobs, lead to lower energy costs for families and help America lead the fight against global warming.More than a million people are standing up for solutions.

Please join them and sign our petition today: “To our leaders: We demand 100% clean electricity in 10 years.” Click here to sign and send this petition along with more than a million others.

Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil's Tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Science

Oil Company Spent Nearly $16 Million to Fund Skeptic Groups, Create Confusion

ExxonMobil Report
Full Report (PDF)
Appendix C (hi-resolution PDFs)
Part 1 (hi-resolution PDF)
Part 2 (hi-resolution PDF)
Part 3 (hi-resolution PDF)

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 3–A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science.
"ExxonMobil has manufactured uncertainty about the human causes of global warming just as tobacco companies denied their product caused lung cancer," said Alden Meyer, the Union of Concerned Scientists' Director of Strategy & Policy. "A modest but effective investment has allowed the oil giant to fuel doubt about global warming to delay government action just as Big Tobacco did for over 40 years."

Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco's Tactics to "Manufacture Uncertainty" on Climate Change details how the oil company, like the tobacco industry in previous decades, has :

• raised doubts about even the most indisputable scientific evidence
• funded an array of front organizations to create the appearance of a broad platform for a tight-knit group of vocal climate change contrarians who misrepresent peer-reviewed scientific findings
• attempted to portray its opposition to action as a positive quest for "sound science" rather than business self-interest
• used its access to the Bush administration to block federal policies and shape government communications on global warming

Click here to continue reading original article

McCain Not Helping Solve It - We Can!

"McCain's hoping to use gas prices as a wedge issue to win the election. That's why it's so critical that we keep spreading the message that McCain's been heavily influenced by the oil companies.When people think of Bush, they think 'oil,' but that's not true of McCain yet—even though his energy policy is almost identical to Bush's and his campaign is literally run by oil lobbyists! Check out this video from our friends at Progressive Accountability. Once you've watched, pass it on! And then please consider a donation (below) to help us spread the word."
MoveOn.org Political Action: Democracy in Action

Below is are a few things I've read on the matter:

"The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Total domestic production of crude oil from 2012 through 2030 in the OCS access case is projected to be 1.6 percent higher than in the reference case, and 3 percent higher in 2030 alone, at 5.6 million barrels per day. For the lower 48 OCS, annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher—2.4 million barrels per day in the OCS access case compared with 2.2 million barrels per day in the reference case (Figure 20). Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant." http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html

Mccain's campaign also says it will do no good; http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/18/top-mccain-adviser-offshore-drilling-will-have-no-immediate-effect-on-gas-prices/

No expert will back the BushCain claim; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/23/impossible-finding-expert_n_108692.html

They are relying on skewed polling data based on biased questions to proclaim more Americans are for drilling: http://solveclimate.com/blog/20080728/poll-truth-clean-energy-solutions-topple-drilling and http://wilderness.org/Library/Documents/upload/BRS-Omnibus-Poll_07-22-08.pdf

The Saudi's will pump more this year at our President's request than the entire drilling venture would contribute; http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/24/151852/447

And here's why they are so under informed; http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/25/10526/4230.

The simple reality is, drilling just will never, ever do what McCain and Bush think it will.
Here's why
http://www.theseminal.com/2008/06/18/drilling-is-a-fraud/

John McCain's Connection to Big Oil & The Enron Loopholehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdRbuUQNcxw

and http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/30/62830/1353

On MSNBC Live, Andrea Mitchell discussed Sen. John McCain's call to end the moratorium on offshore oil drilling with RNC deputy chairman Frank Donatelli, but did not mention that Donatelli was a registered lobbyist for energy sector clients ExxonMobil and Dominion Resources before joining the RNC. Click here to read more... http://mediamatters.org/items/200806180004

Suppose we raised average fuel efficiency to 40 MPG by 2030; this would save us more than 5 million barrels of oil per day, 25 times as much as we would get from Senator McCain's offshore drilling. Since many cars sold today already get more than 40 MPG, this is hardly an unrealistic target. Americans drove 11 billion fewer miles in '07 http://www.dot.gov/affairs/fhwa1108.htm.

Wherever we set our targets, the simple arithmetic shows that it is far easier to have an impact on oil markets through conservation than drilling in environmentally sensitive areas.
http://www.truthout.org/article/john-mccain-wants-drill-your-toilet

An EPA email that the white house refused to open, in an attempt to stall enacting the measures recommended within, found danger to human health caused by climate change. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072403423.html?hpid=sec-health

and http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/white-house-wont-open-emails-pt2.php

Robert Kaufmann, director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Boston University, talks about the realities of offshore oil drilling, including how much oil there might be, when it would be available and what the consequences could be. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92677194

Alaska's longtime senator, Republican Ted Stevens, has been indicted by a federal grand jury as part of a continuing investigation of corruption in Alaska politics. The indictment accuses Stevens of filing false disclosure reports about his personal finances for 2001-2006, concealing more than $250,000 in home renovations that a private company paid for. That company was VECO, a multinational oil services company that has been at the center of the feds' corruption investigation since it was made public in 2007. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/07/feds-indict-alaska-sen-stevens.html

Testimony before Senate by Michael W Masters:

I have been successfully managing a long-short equity hedge fund for over 12 years and I have extensive contacts on Wall Street and within the hedge fund community. Itʼs important that you know that I am not currently involved in trading the commodities futures markets. I am not representing any corporate, financial, or lobby organizations. I am speaking with you today as a concerned citizen whose professional background has given me insight into a situation that I believe is negatively affecting the U.S. economy.While some in my profession might be disappointed that I am presenting this testimony to Congress, I feel that it is the right thing to do.You have asked the question “Are Institutional Investors contributing to food and energy price inflation?” And my unequivocal answer is “YES.” http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/052008Masters.pdf

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The government charged an oil trading firm Thursday with manipulating oil prices in the first complaint to be announced since the regulators began a new investigation into wrongdoings in the energy markets. http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/24/markets/cftc/

H. R. 6604
Bill to amend the Commodity Exchange Act to bring greater transparency and accountability to commodity markets, and for other purposes http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-6604

Please join more than one million others who know it will take all of us coming together to solve the climate crisis. http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/s/challengeremix

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - Arabs and Jews Making Musical Connections

Winner of the prestigious Wolf Prize at the Knesset and Conductor of the Arab Israeli youth orchestra West-Eastern Divan, Mr.Daniel Barenboim in a speech before the President an audience and member of the Wolf Foundation, relates that when he was 10 years old in 1952 four years after Israel's declaration of independence his parents and he immigrated. The declaration of independence, to him, was a source of inspiration. The declaration expressed an obligation he quotes:

"The State of Israel will dedicate itself to the development of this country to the benefit of all it's people. It will be founded on the principles of liberty, justice and the welfare of all its people guided by the visions of the prophets of Israel. Regardless of the differences of faith, race or sex, it will guarantee all its citizens equal social and political rights. It pledges the assurance of freedom of religion, opinion, language, education and culture. On behalf of all, the signatories of the declaration of independence vow their allegiance to: 'Peace and Good Neighborly Relations will all bordering states and their peoples.' With profound distress I'm asking today: 'Does the occupation of another state and rule over its people accord with the declaration of independence? Is there any sense in the independence of one country at the expense of the fundamental rights of another? Can the Jewish people, whose history is one of persistent suffering and persecution, allow itself to be indifferent to the basic rights and the sufferings of a neighboring state? Can the state of Israel permit itself to indulge in the unrealistic dream of an ideological end to the conflict, instead of striving for a pragmatic, humanitarian solution based on social justice? I have always believed that there can be no military solution to the conflict, neither on moral nor on strategic grounds. Now that is has become apparent that a solution has to be found, I ask myself: Why should I wait until such a solution materializes? This is why, together with my late, lamented friend, Edward Said, I have established a workshop for young musicians from all the countries of the Middle East, Jews and Arabs alike. By its very nature, music can elevate the feelings and the imagination of Israelis and Palestinians to new unimaginable spheres. Accordingly, I have decided to donate the monies that come with this award to the musical education activities in Israel and Ramallah. Thank You!"

He was promptly chastised by the chair of the Wolf Foundation and minister of education culture and sport Limor Livnat for using the arena and podium to what she called, "Attack the state of Israel". The relatively small crowd came to life at this point, some cheers some boos and a small sign that said "Music makes you free" held by an elderly gray haired man. Explaining that it was a difficult decision for her to take part in the ceremony and give Daniel Barenboim the award and it was not only difficult for her. She goes on to say that she was unable to dissuade the chairman of the Knesset who had elected not to be present, and she believed it was not right. She thought she would be able to conduct the ceremony without offense and outrage. Linvat says she respected the decision of the jury and hoped that her audience would respect her view also. She expressed sorrow that Mr. Barenboim had decided differently and immediately left the podium to retake her seat.

Again Mr. Barenboim takes the podium, looking a little startled and slightly confused, He asked to be allowed for one minute to remind the minister of education Limor Livnat that she has recalled the fact that freedom exists here, thus giving him the opportunity to say what he had said. "But I should also like to point out that I have not attacked the state of Israel, I have taken the liberty of quoting from the declaration of independence, and asking some rhetorical questions. Madam minister, it is your undisputed right to give different answers to them. Thank you."

The man holding the sign, the design which was found to be hanging over the gate at Auschwitz, was Menahem Alexenberg, member of the Wolf Foundation Council. "I held it up after Barrenboim started talking about the arts, he made a political speech. The idea that you can completely ignore the political situation here and think that you can make peace with people who want to kill you. The Arab and Islamic world trying to destroy Israel as an independent Jewish state" He goes on to say Mr. Barenboim is a party to that. The next scene is of the Arab and Israeli youth from the orchestra, made possible by Mr. Barenboim, swimming and playing together in a swimming pool looking very much like teenage friends or family members at a summer gathering here in America.

People take what they want from words and experiences, sometimes what they want is a surprise to them. I found it hard to understand the anger from Limor Livnat and Mr. Alexenberg completely confused me with how he could hold that sign after listening to the music made by an orchestra of Arab and Israeli youth, and then listening to the man that made it possible quote liberty, justice, equality, freedom of religion and thought, Peace and Good neighborly relations from the Israeli declaration of independence, his own declaration of independence, then accuse him of being a party to the process of "the Arab and Islamic world trying to destroy Israel as an independent Jewish state".

The entire program was shown today on OVTV, but I don't see it scheduled anywhere again on TV. Here is a link for the speech noted above: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CTpf_jUXHyI

Here is the link for the windows media center trailer: http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=455&ar=4401&ak=null

Here is the link for the windows media player firefox player: http://www.israelifilms.co.il/40420/4401

EPA Dangerous Until Bush is Gone

EPA Plans to Loosen Air-quality Rules near National Parks
Posted at 11:45 AM on 16 May 2008 - Grist

"Call us crazy, but rewriting the Clean Air Act to ease the way for new coal plants near national parks seems to fly in the face of that whole 'clean air' thing. But sure enough, the U.S. EPA plans to make a change allowing the government to calculate the average annual emissions of power plants near parks and wilderness areas, instead of tracking (and potentially punishing) the spikes in pollution spewed during peak energy times. 'It's like if you're pulled over by a cop for going 75 miles per hour in a 55 miles-per-hour zone, and you say, 'If you look at how I've driven all year, I've averaged 55 miles per hour,'' explains Mark Wenzler of the National Parks Conservation Association. The NPCA estimates that the rule change will ease construction of 28 new coal plants within 186 miles of 10 national parks. And those parks are hazy enough as it is, laments one National Park Service engineer: 'It would really be a setback in trying to make progress.' "
sources: The Washington Post, Reuters
straight to the NPCA report: Dark Horizons

I've been keeping a lazy eye on the news when it comes to some of the agencies that are supposed to protect us, commenting on articles when necessary and a blog here and there; EPA Missing in Action - and FEC and FHA and . The damage this administration is causing as it high tails it out the back door is massive, far reaching and in some cases, irreversible.

See also: Auto Industry Takes Over Federal Auto Safety Agency

Obama Believes (in make believe clean kentucky coal)

"As Kentucky resident Erik Reese reported in Grist, studies in the state have found that children there suffer from 'an alarmingly high rate of nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and shortness of breath -- symptoms of something called blue baby syndrome -- that can all be traced back to sedimentation and dissolved minerals that have drained from mine sites into nearby streams. Long-term effects may include liver, kidney, and spleen failure, bone damage, and cancers of the digestive tract.'" Posted by Kate Sheppard at 4:32 AM on 06 May 2008

Obama Believes in Clean Kentucky Coal

"Clean coal" typically refers to coal burned in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants with operational carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities to bury the plant's greenhouse-gas emissions underground. There are no IGCC plants in Kentucky, and no operational CCS facilities. Technically, there is no "clean Kentucky coal." Kate Sheppard

Obama Believes in Clean Kentucky Coal

"The Obama campaign has made it clear that they want no new coal plants in the meantime. Jason Grumet, a top Obama energy adviser, told Grist that "the policies we have already articulated make [coal plants without CCS] economically unrealistic."Kate Sheppard

Obama Believes in Clean Kentucky Coal

"[Obama] is confident... that his carbon cap program ... will make it absolutely ludicrous to even contemplate any type of coal, new coal, that is not 100 percent sequestered. ... if he is unable to get that carbon policy in place quickly, that he will do whatever is necessary to prevent the siting of a new generation of pulverized coal facilities, including setting [emission] standards that would be essentially a moratorium ... "Kate Sheppard

Obama Believes in Clean Kentucky Coal

Do YOU believe anything Obama says?

• NAFTA bad - To Americans, NAFTA good - To Canadians .
• Questionable relationship with Rezko verified but denied or forgotten
• His Spiritual leader, supporter of Wrights Church - until Wright hits Media, then disagrees with him and eventually disowns him.
• Tells rich white women poor folk in small towns only cling to guns and religion out of frustration, tells poor small town folk he used poor words/phrasing.
• Tells everyone 'no new coal' 'no dirty coal', then when primary hits says he is for coal despite there being none and little future for any.
  

We don't know enough about this man or the choices and decisions he would make to risk, in this current place in time, placing him in the highest office in the land. He has done nothing so far to relate that he is any different than any other politician, combine that with inexperience and it's a wonder he is on the ballot at all. In a small corner of my mind, the DNC knew this would be a blockbuster year for the D's, knew Clinton would be running, knew their key positions and most all other positions would be safe for the next term and so didn't do much more to foster other more experienced candidates. In this same corner lives the idea that the R's were just as aware of the blockbuster years coming for the D's, and so failed to foster any real candidate of their own instead choosing to try to hold the positions they had and work deals to keep some influence through the next administration.

• Do you want to stop coal until the technology is there?
• Do you want to fund solar power, with NO emissions?
• Do you want to decrease personal income tax (20-50% currently) and increase capital gains tax (10-18% currently)?
• Do you want to bust up the corporate headlock on our government?
• Do you want support to go into our government agencies and have TRUTH and FACTS and JUSTICE come out?
• Do you want to use negotiators and treaties with foreign governments and use the military to protect us AT HOME?
• Do you want penalties on US companies that ship jobs to other countries?
• Do you want warrantless searches and unlawful detainment ended?
• Do you want food, water and products to be inspected and safe?

There is only one way to ensure these things happen, and that is to vote for the man who has been trying to make these things happen for most of his life, virtually on his own. With Lincolnesque determination he has stood against lawsuits, name calling, media slander and 'The Man' and still he stands to fight the good fight. Really.

Now WE Need You, Join us on the Couch

The next step in thecampaign will be arriving in your TV box this week. It's a logical next step, but a difficult one. In furthering my efforts to try to find good from relative bad, I'll go ahead and say that with record gas prices, record food prices and no end in sight to either, if there is ever going to be a time when this 'meeting on the couch' will work I believe it is now. I need to believe the time is now.

Rep. Leonard Boswell Forced to State the Obvious

Today Rep. Leonard Boswell of Iowa was forced to state the obvious in response to a statement from Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who complains that proposed changes to the small business innovative research (SBIR) and the small business technology transfer (SBTT) programs will make meaningful research into drilling for oil on American soil tougher for the multi billion dollar oil companies. Mr. Young goes on to say that not enough power is produced by alternative energies to handle demand, and that if they'd had the backing they needed they would have the systems in place so that OPEC couldn't raise the rates as they are doing now. He admits that people want wind and solar power, and agrees he wants them too, but immediately moves back to our dependence on fossil fuels (oil) and says small business can only go forth by abandoning 'pie in the sky' ideas (alternative energy, presumably) because 'the oil is there'. According to him, the power to run small business will not be available because 'we have not kept up the power in other areas'. He blames this on our not developing nuclear, which he advocates. We haven't developed hydro (which he also advocates). He also mentions in a small voice 'a little wind and a little solar' but says we have to address reasonable price power and calls on representatives from both sides of the isle (oil) wherever there are fossil fuels to end the restrictions and begin processing cheap energy.
Rep Nydia Velazquez returns for a moment to comment on Mr. Young's statements, taking the time to remind him that when he had the opportunity to vote against price gouging he voted no, and when he had a chance to vote about long term alternative energy and conservation he also voted no. After refocusing our attention on the matter, HR5819, and thanking the members who contributed to it's efforts Rep. Velazquez yields back her remaining time on the floor.
Rep. Boswell rises to address issues related to his proposed amendment with Rep. Sutton of Ohio. This amendment will steer monies from the SBIR and SBBT programs to areas that have (or will) lose jobs from closing factories and manufacturing plants. "These programs will help small business in these areas create new, high quality jobs in areas hard hit by pressures of globalization and current trade policies." He cites Maytag as an example, while the Newton economy has not yet recovered from this blow, part of the former Maytag building is in the process of being occupied by a new company that makes components for wind turbines, he says.

"This is a step toward more energy, in response to the gentleman from Alaska. This amendment will help revitalize economies of communities like Newton and thousands of others across the United States."

The point I think, and it may be too 'un-political' to state it quite so obviously, Is that A) The oil and other major fossil fuel companies have known of our predicament for quite some time, have known the direction the country and in fact the world has been taking over the past 2 decades with regards to oil and fossil fuel and alternative energies and have chosen to not move themselves in our direction. B) The time to defend the subsidies, special tax designations and research & development grants is long over. The public funding opportunities to these giant corporations, NOW to try and fund oil friendly technology, is very definitely over.
If a free market is what you want, then you have your answer. We want wind, solar, bio-diesel from non-food crops and anything else you can think of besides oil. We were willing to fund your research for new, clean technologies to locate, pump, refine and deliver oil. In 20 years and countless millions (billions?) of public dollars there is still not a clean ,safe enough plan to convince us that destroying a unique and priceless wilderness is worth it. We are no longer willing to hear your pleas in this area, there are companies waiting in line to take our money for a product we approve of. They will provide new jobs for our workers, new power for our cities and a new pride for our country.

I'd like to provide another example to the Representative from Alaska:
Wind Power Produces 123% of Residential Energy Demand in Rock Port, Missouri

Yes, that means the town produces ALL of it's required power AND sells 23% of it back at a profit.