Tag: energy

There are many greenwashing efforts for gas guzzling McSUVs, seeking to put a green shine on polluting behemoths.  Normally, these come from well-paid hacks and company publicity machines.  Sometimes, however, you have to ask yourself, “What were they thinking?”  

This is truly the case with the naming of the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid as the Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year.  Amid the overall absurdity of naming a 20 mpg, 5500 pound, $50,000+ light-duty vehicle that will mainly end up in suburban drive-ways (typically with just one person in them when driven) somehow green, one has to wonder at the “names” associated with the award. These include Carl Pope, Sierra Club’s executive director; Christopher Flavin (Worldwatch Institute), Jonathan Lash (World Resources Institute), and Jean-Michel Cousteau (Ocean Futures Society).  

Let’s be clear, the Tahoe Hybrid is less bad for the environment and less problemmatic for America’s oil addiction than the traditional Tahoe behemoth, but ‘less bad’ doesn’t mean “green”.

Barack Obama is speaking of the necessity to move toward a better energy future, of energy efficiency, and the potential for a green stimulus package creating 2.5 million jobs. Congress is looking toward working in the two weeks between their swearing in and President Barack Obama’s inauguration.  One thing to expect in those two weeks: Legislation to green the nation’s schools.

Taking aggressive action to green schools is about one of the smartest steps the nation can take, action that should go beyond bipartisanship to true unity of action as it is a win-win-win-win strategy along so many paths:

And, well, other benefits.

When faced with such an opportunity, “The Bush White House threatened a veto, saying it was wrong for the federal government to launch a costly new school-building program.

For much of this year, the US Chamber of Commerce has been engaged in a public campaign related to energy issues.   Early in the year, the Chamber aligned themselves with the National Association of Manufacturing in battling against any meaningful action on global warming, including running ads against action strongly reminiscent of the infamous Harry and Louise anti-health care advertising.  In mid-2008, the Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, under the direction of General James Jones, USMC (retired) began to take a more prominent role in energy discussions.

To put it simply, the USCOC’s 21st Century Energy’s work lays out a path and recommendations that are recklessly dangerous in the face of the energy, financial, and global warming perfect storm.

That might as well be the title of the Wall Street Journal article Surprise Drop in Power Use Delivers Jolt to Utilities.  

An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn’t a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry.

OH NO!!!! Americans using less electricity and this might be something permanent rather than simply a lousy economy.

Now, as for the ‘lousy economy’, as we have yet to hit bottom and have a long way to go, hard to assert (yet) that it is not economic distress that is driving reduced energy use.  Perhaps people are ‘turning off lights’ to save pennies in the face of economic distress. And, patterns begun in economic turmoil could become life’s new patterns.  Thus, unlike what the WSJ‘s coverage might suggest, there is much to hope for as to a start in a shifting of American culture toward more energy efficient patterns.  

This afternoon, newly minted Senator-Elect Energy Smart Jeff Merkley (D-OR) took the time to reach out to the netroots with a blogger conference call.  “The Netroots were critical to my election … It is 40 years since an incumbent lost in Oregon and only the second time in 100 years that a Republican incumbent lost … the Netroots put the campaign over the top.”  

But, more important than any plaudits for bloggers (“Netroots Nation was one of the best things that I did during the campaign.”) and promises to remain engage for the future, was Merkley’s evaluation as to the election’s mandate and visions for moving forward.

We have a very strong mandate for a progressive agenda. We have had two cycles in a row with winning six [at least] seats in the Senate.

Bush claimed a mandate when he didn’t even win the popular vote.

We absolutely have a mandate and we should not be shy in anyway in claiming it.

If not now, when?  Our people need us, our planet needs us …

For ever so long, the energy and environmental community have been working to communicate the dishonesty, truthiness, deceptiveness of John McCain’s claims when it comes to renewable energy and global warming.  Sadly, the McBlurring McSame McCain has worked all too well.  The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has just released a great video that shines a new light to unblur the situation.

A few days ago, Jill Richardson brought us news to pay attention to with the question “Can Organics Save Us from Global Warming?”  Jill excitedly brought news of a new study from the Rodale Institute entitled Regenerative Organic Farming: A Solution to Global Warming.  After now having taken the time to read this report, it seems worth seconded Jill’s excitement … even if perhaps seeking to dampen it a little bit.

Paul Krugman, the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics, penned an article a few months ago: “Know-Nothing Politics“.  

the debate on energy policy has helped me find the words for something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Republicans, once hailed as the “party of ideas,” have become the party of stupid.

For Krugman, the Republican embrace and promotion of Drillusion exemplified how “know-nothingism” had become revered within the Republican Party.  “The party’s de facto slogan has become: “Real men don’t think things through.”” ANd, “In the case of oil, this takes the form of pretending that more drilling would produce fast relief at the gas pump.”  

Krugman called the Republican leadership to task for promoting a policy that flew in the face of facts and expert knowledge.  His real fear was the power of this “dumb” approach to energy when it came to potentially swaying votes. Looking at this debate and the difference between lying and confusion, Krugman came to this generalized conclusion:

In any case, remember this the next time someone calls for an end to partisanship, for working together to solve the country’s problems. It’s not going to happen – not as long as one of America’s two great parties believes that when it comes to politics, stupidity is the best policy.

The ‘town hall’ debate actually merits a kudo, amid its problems: there were actually serious questions about energy and global warming, including a direction mention of green jobs.  

In the debate, Barack Obama consistently reiterated that energy is a top-tier issue, linking it to financial, environmental, and international security challenges.  Obama spoke of energy in holistic terms, speaking from individuals to nation/globe, about producing power and seeking energy efficiency, about … Obama sounded like he understood what he was talking about and that he has a plan for solving multiple problems at the same time when it comes to energy.

John McCain also emphasized energy, but his comments were filled with incomplete, disingenuous, and non-truthful elements continuing a sad tradition by both John McCain and Sarah Palin.