Missourians--You do realize they want to put the Keystone XL pipeline across our state, right?

And what the KXL it is and what it involves:



Is this what you want for our state and our state's future?

It's a pipeline.  It will inevitably, inevitably leak.

Surely not.

Links:  Say No to Keystone XL - BiologicalDiversity.org‎

Against Keystone XL Pipeline‎

Against Keystone Pipeline - Over 100 Million Visitors

Stop Keystone Pipeline - SierraClub.org

Cheapest gas in the State?

I shot this today at exit 29 on I-44, just outside Joplin.

Very likely the cheapest gasoline in the nation now

And you've got it, Joplin, Missouri. Shot yesterday:

Quote of the day -- on science and common sense

Get ready for gasoline prices to spike, Mr. and Mrs. America

Breaking:

Four nations urge U.S. gas exports amid Ukraine crisis

What's this? GOOD news coming out of Jefferson City?

Holy cow.

It CAN happen:

Clean Energy 4, Koch Brothers 0

MAY 20, 2013

The Koch brothers got more bad news over the weekend as the Missouri legislature joined the growing list of states to reject the Koch's proposal to weaken or eliminate state standards requiring the use of renewable energy sources.

Already Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado and New York have voted to keep or -- in the case of Colorado -- strengthen their renewable energy standards. However, there are proposals in another dozen states still being considered, so now is not the time to relax.

Working through a lobbying front group called the American Legal Exchange Council, the Koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry have proposed laws for more than a dozen states that would reverse the movement toward renewable energy.

Renewable energy standards have been passed in many to require public utilities to use a specific percentage of renewable energy sources to produce power. Most of those standards are being phased in over the next decade.

The people ARE standing up and doing the right thing, even in the state legislature.

Go, us!

 Click here to sign our petition telling state lawmakers across the nation that Americans support clean, green energy and don't want states to cave to the wishes of the fossil fuel industry.

On nature, the planet and what we need to do

Great questions

Is this the country we want? Is this the people we want to be?

Gas prices headed nowhere good

 

We've seen it, in the last few days, those pesky gas prices, having gone down and somewhat, maybe, spoiling us for a bit, are once again on the rise.  This from the Star today:

Gas prices rise overnight

And the thing is, if they're rising now, in the middle of winter, we all pretty well know where they'll be headed this Summer, right? It seems as though, between that annual Summer rise in prices and a possible economic recovery, if one, in fact, hopefully takes place, it seems clear we'll be at--and likely above--$4.00 a gallon for gasoline this year.

Yahoo.

Hoping to end all "fossil fuel" tax subsidies

Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont) has introduced a bill today to end all fossil fuel subsidies.

This bill would save taxpayers more than $113 billion over the next 10 years, for starters.

In addition, it would take these tax subsidies away from "Big Oil", one of the most profitable industries and some of the most profitable companies in the nation and the world.

Another benefit would be to not any longer support companies and an industry that

--has us in the Middle East, fighting centuries-old wars and

--has us polluting the air

--has us adding yet more CO2 into the atmosphere, possibly (likely?) contributing heavily and mightily to global warming/climate change.

--adds some water pollution, at least, if not a great deal, before, during and after oil drilling but also makes for the obscene oil spills with tankers or oil rig blowouts or whatever.

And all those are just the minimum negative attributes.

It is long overdue that we end these ridiculous tax subsidies for all the reasons listed above, at least. The country needs it. We need the tax revenue, too. Giving wealthy people and companies tax deductions is just wrong, if not crazy.

If you would, please add and show your support by signing the petition today: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/end-polluter-welfare/

The Future and Green Energy

"Clean energy was a $260 billion investment flow in 2011. Europe has now more than one million new renewable jobs. The big winner is Germany. They have more solar workers than America has steel workers. [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel bet that it would be smarter to send their energy money to their own engineers, manufacturers, and installers than to keep paying it to [Russia’s] Gazprom. She’s right, and it was a winning bet." --Amory Lovins, Chairman, chief scientist at Rocky Mountain Institute (www.rmi.org) and author of "Reinventing Fire." Links: http://www.alternet.org/environment/154222/renewables_are_a_reality%3A_how_to_get_our_clean_energy_future_without_any_help_from_congress?page=1

Kansas representative is no. 2 on "most money received from 'Big Oil'"

None other than Kansas' own Representative Mike Pompeo (Republican, Wichita, Ks) is the number two recipient/beneficiary of the most money from "Big Oil." Mr. Pompeo took home $333,156 in the last two years from the oil and gas lobby--more than anyone else but one person. That honor goes to Representative Steven Pearce of New Mexico, also, of course, a Republican. In fact, of the top then beneficiaries on the list, 9 out of the 10 are Republicans. No surprise, that. Nearly needless to say, Mr. Pompeo won't be supporting any "clean" or "green", sustainable fuel sources or technology any time soon, no doubt, not even if it can help the nation get cleaner air, more jobs and free of independence from Middle East oil, nosirree. Links: http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/01/11/402533/oil-dollars-members-of-congress-pushing-keystone-xl-decision/?mobile=nc; http://maplight.org/content/72909

Imagine: A replacement solution for power plants and energy

As John Lennon said, let's imagine:

--Imagine there is a solution for getting away from burning coal, digging and mining for it

--Imagine there is a way to get away from power plants

--Imagine there's a way to cut down on our pollution

--Imagine there's a way to stop paying a monthly price for power

--Imagine there's a way to use our current office buildings and houses windows to create the electrical power we need

--Imagine, further, that we could use the windows on our cars to do the same--to generate the electricity to run our clean, electric cars

It may be here sooner than we think:

Green: Transparent Photovoltaic Cells Turn Windows Into Solar Panels

Off fossil fuels: We can do this

I am fully, completely and utterly convinced that we--humankind--has the technology and capability, already, to wean ourselves off oil and fossil fuels far quicker than is widely believed.  I don't think we have enough desire and motivation, more than anything, to get it done.

I think that, given the advances in solar power, photovoltaic cells and battery technology, even now, already, up to this point, we are far closer to using the sun and all the clean energy that could and would supply than we acknowledge or use yet.

Same with wind power--we're much farther along with it and it has much more capability to supply clean energy than we are using.

It was announced yesterday that Google is financing wind power technology off the East coast for power that could soon come online.  (See link below).

Now, check this out:

 KRISTIANSTAD, Sweden — When this city vowed a decade ago to wean itself from fossil fuels, it was a lofty aspiration, like zero deaths from traffic accidents or the elimination of childhood obesity.



But Kristianstad has already crossed a crucial threshold: the city and surrounding county, with a population of 80,000, essentially use no oil, natural gas or coal to heat homes and businesses, even during the long frigid winters. It is a complete reversal from 20 years ago, when all of their heat came from fossil fuels.



But this area in southern Sweden, best known as the home of Absolut vodka, has not generally substituted solar panels or wind turbines for the traditional fuels it has forsaken. Instead, as befits a region that is an epicenter of farming and food processing, it generates energy from a motley assortment of ingredients like potato peels, manure, used cooking oil, stale cookies and pig intestines.

 A hulking 10-year-old plant on the outskirts of Kristianstad uses a biological process to transform the detritus into biogas, a form of methane. That gas is burned to create heat and electricity, or is refined as a fuel for cars.



Once the city fathers got into the habit of harnessing power locally, they saw fuel everywhere: Kristianstad also burns gas emanating from an old landfill and sewage ponds, as well as wood waste from flooring factories and tree prunings.
Think of it--an entire city no longer running on fossil fuels.  No more unused, stupid, wasteful garbage dumps maybe.  How terrific.

It's happening.  We can do this.

And, oh, yeah, we could also spend less, as governments and societies:

Kristianstad now spends about $3.2 million each year to heat its municipal buildings rather than the $7 million it would spend if it still relied on oil and electricity. It fuels its municipal cars, buses and trucks with biogas fuel, avoiding the need to purchase nearly half a million gallons of diesel or gas each year.

We just have to get "Big Oil" out of our government, along with their lobbyists and all their money, so we can get off oil and coal, once and for all.

Then, we could get out of the Middle East.  We could get out of Iraq.  And Iran.  And so many other countries.  And stop sacrificing our American soldiers lives.  And stop wasting all those millions and billions of dollars on war and wars and bombs and weapons we would no longer need.

We could pollute less.  We could contribute less to global climate change.

And we could mind more of our own business.

I repeat, we can do this.

The question doesn't seem to be "Should we do this?" but "Why aren't we doing this already?"
Links:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/science/earth/12wind.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/12/google-wind-power-project_n_759208.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/science/earth/11fossil.html

Forget climate change, then

Don't believe in climate change?

Fine.

The fact is, we need to get out of the Middle East.

We need to wean ourselves off the use of oil and fossil fuels.

The connection between terrorists, terrorism and oil from the Middle East is too direct.

Let's pass a Clean Energy bill so we can get and keep our troops out of the Middle East and their interminable wars.

It's the right thing to do for them, if not for reducing greenhouse gasses, too.

Please go to this website and sign the petition to get a Clean Energy Bill:

www.billiondollarsaday.org

Let's, for the love of pete, get out of the Middle East, once and for all and as soon as possible.

Fossil fuels, climate change, our American Troops and terrorism

From Senator John Kerry :

The Pentagon recently released their quadrennial defense review, and they included the instability from climate change as a factor that could cost the lives of the men and women who serve in our armed forces.

The Center for Naval Analysis brought together a blue-ribbon panel of generals and admirals who concluded that "climate change is a serious national security threat." And General Anthony Zinni said flatly that if we don't deal with climate change now, "we will pay the price later in military terms. And that will involve human lives."

And these veterans know it already does.

The politicians don't have it tough. The troops do. End of story. Now the Senate needs to do its job -- for them.

------------------------
Conclusions:

We need out of the Middle East.

We need to reduce, dramatically and quickly, our use of fossil fuels.

We need to pass a comprehensive, effective Clean Energy bill in Congress.

All, at minimum.

Insanity, defined

There is an article out right now on the internet, at alternet.org, asking the question of whether or not it makes sense for California to switch to ethanol for fuel, instead of using so much oil.

Far from it.

Back in the 70's, when I was in college, my professor pointed out that it was insane--and he's right, think about it--to tie a country's food supply (corn, whatever) as an energy source.

Once you do, guess what happens?

Two things, really: 1) the price of that food crop goes up, at minimum, and people don't want that--hell, can't afford it and 2) if/when there is ever a drought--and there invariably are droughts, if we wait long enough, we know that--people starve.

Not go hungry.

People starve. As in no food.

Ethanol is insane.

Using corn to create fuel for cars is in no way a good, intelligent, useful answer.

Ironically, too, ethanol also doesn't solve our problems because you're still burning things--in this case corn and/or corn stalks--to create the energy so it's both polluting and adding to possible climate change. It also doesn't solve anything because the scientists have shown that ethanol doesn't put out as much energy as it takes to create it. Finally, if those 2 points aren't enough, if you haven't seen or read anything online, on TV or in a newspaper or magazine lately, we are running out of water, folks. Ethanol adds to that use of and reduction in water supplies.

Let me say one more time--the only thing that makes sense as a replacement for oil is solar power through photovoltaic cells.

It solves all the problems and answers all the questions.

It's nearly infinitely renewable (until the sun disappears), it's almost completely clean in that it doesn't pollute and doesn't emit carbon dioxide so it doesn't contribute to either pollution or climate change, we don't get it from the Middle East so it doesn't contribute to the insanity that is the Middle East war, lo these thousands of years and, finally, it stops the transfer of wealth from here--the US and the West--to that backwards, ignorant, mostly fundamentalist region of the world.

Ethanol is decidedly not the answer.

Solar power isn't perfect but it comes darned close.

Link to story:
http://www.alternet.org/environment/137578/will_california_say_no_to_ethanol/?cID=1195532#c1195532

President Big Oil

As if we needed any more proof that this is the President of, by and for "Big Oil", there's plenty more fresh proof this week.

For starters, the past week saw the 4 big American Oil companies get back oil contracts for and in Iraq. Yeah, no kidding. And they're still going to pretend that this wasn't a war for oil.

Those 4 oil firms haven't been in that country since--get this--1972. Unbelievable. It's almost as though Georgey had a pact and promise with them, that if they helped him steal one or two elections with all their money, that he'd get 'em back in Iraq.

Well, 4,000-plus American soldiers, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and untold billions of dollars later and they're getting their payday. Congratulations all around, boys. You got your big gift.

That and $142.00/barrel oil.

The other thing that's happening just now is that this Administration's lowly Bureau of Land Management--you know, the one that usually just messes up the lives of the Native American Indians--is shutting down the possibility of ANY solar power projects in the country for 2 full years because--get this, this is rich--they're going to do environmental studies on what this could mean to the Southwest.

Isn't that great? It just doesn't get any more ironic and twisted than this.

The Bush Administration is concerned about the environment, for pity's sake. They've "gottn religion" about the environmnet.

If you believe that, I have some swamp land for you to consider.

Let me add--with facts--to the irony and contradiction.

The same BLM is, right now, ADDING STAFF. Seriously.

They're gearing up for--are you ready for this?--all the oil and gas lease applications they've been getting from the same oil companies across this great land of ours.

So they're shutting out the possibility of solar power studies for 2 years but expanding so they can allow firms to look further for FOSSIL FUELS.

Let me point out some obvious sidepoints, like the fact that fossil fuels are what are getting us further into trouble in the Middle East and war and with both Mother Nature and global climate change.

Insane.

So that's where we are. Anyone who tries to tell me this President, his party and this administration didn't go into Iraq for oil has loads of hard facts and proof going against them. It is and always was a war for oil.

You'd think this President would be embarassed, wouldn't you?, by all ths evidence and information that's out there about what he does and what he wants and what he believes in. You'd think he'd even be ashamed but no, not this guy. Money is money and he'll do virtually anything for him and his pals to load up on it.


Post Script:

12 hours after posting the above, I just received the following, from Truthout.org, saying much the same thing:

t r u t h o u t | 06.28

Bill Moyers and Michael Winship | It Was Oil, All Along

http://www.truthout.org/article/it-was-oil-all-along

For Truthout, Bill Moyers and Michael Winship write: "Oh, no, they told us, Iraq isn't a war about oil. That's cynical and simplistic, they said. It's about terror and al-Qaeda and toppling a dictator and spreading democracy and protecting ourselves from weapons of mass destruction. But one by one, these concocted rationales went up in smoke, fire and ashes. And now the bottom line turns out to be ... the bottom line. It is about oil."

(If I even begin to think that I think remotely close to Bill Moyers, I may pass out).

Post, Post Script (bear with me).

My partner sent me this article a couple days ago. It seems we could be on the verge of some terrific and important breakthroughs on and in solar power, if only we can keep "pushing the envelope" of technology and our government will stay out of the way:

Sol Focus: All That Silicon Valley Alternative Energy Investment Bears Some Fruit
Posted by: Carl Alviani on Thursday, June 26 2008
We've been hearing about the boom in alternative energy research in Silicon Valley for a while now, but not so much in terms of actual marketable products. That may be changing, though, if Mountain View based Sol Focus is any indication.

Looking at the history of solar power, one of the biggest obstacles to its broad acceptance and application has been the high cost of manufacturing photovoltaic cells, and the relatively low output. Sol Focus has a solution that they think could revolutionize the industry, and it's so obvious you have to wonder why it took so long. Rather than make a large panel of pricey semi-conductors, they use comparatively cheap aluminum and glass mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a tiny chip of photovoltaic, both reducing the cost of the unit, and increasing the efficiency of electricity production.

According to the company's website, these dished panels use 1/1000th the active material of a conventional panel, and will produce power as cheaply as conventional (fossil fuel) sources by 2010. As an added bonus, they also look much, much cooler than the typical shiny black slab, offering a gleaming sci-fi gorgeousness that we wouldn't mind on our rooftop one bit.

See the original site here:
http://www.core77.com/blog/technology/sol_focus_all_that_silicon_valley_alternative_energy_investment_bears_some_fruit_10308.asp

Have a great weekend, y'all...

Simple, elegant solutions to 4 of the world's biggest problems

Yes, that's what I said.

There are, in fact, simple and elegant solutions to 4 of our world's largest problems and the list isn't long. The problems I'm speaking of are:

1) Dependency on fossil fuels
2) Global climate change
3) War in the Middle East
4) Pollution

The 2 solutions to these "Big 4" problems are to invest in solar technologies--as I've said here before--and LED lighting. These 2 changes alone would do the following:

1) Reduce--and eventually, possibly quickly, eliminate--our use of oil for transportation, a huge help to mankind around the world;
2) Reduce--and, again, eventially eliminate--our use of hydro-electric power--and power companies--around the world. This would have the added benefit of returning our world's waterways to their natural states, in short order, so the plants and animals that grow from them could and would thrive again. Like salmon? Like fish? The world need them. This would help them return to healthier states;
3) Reduce pollution. 'Nuff said;
4) Reduce carbon that is put into our environment,thus reducing our "carbon footprint", globally, and therefore, decrease our forced changes in the environment;
5) Take the United States and, indeed, the world, out of the Middle East and it's archaic, millenia-old religious wars.

Solar power, both through passive solar collectors and photovoltaic cells are truly, completely non-polluting and so, absolutely green and non-polluting. Once you've gotten over the price of purchasing the cells, there is almost no other cost for them or for electric generation from then on, unless and until they should need to be replaced. Unlike nuclear power--which drives me crazy--we don't have to concern oursleves or worry about where we're going to store the radioactive waste for thousands of years, at huge cost, financially, and the additonal cost--which we ignore--of the possible threat to our ecology, should the radiation in some way effect underground waterways or other aspects of nature.

LED lights, alone, use tiny amounts of power and have, already, if you saw the CBS Sunday Morning show today, shown to be used with solar collectors so there is NO EXPENSE at creating light. The technology already exists. It's available now. The only prohibition, so far, is cost, and this is reported to be going down at a rate of 20% per year now. If we throw financial, tax incentives at the problem, it could go lower than that.

Solar power could, in fact, power our transportation. The big obstacle here is our battery technology. It is too cumbersome and expensive. It works already, though, so this is not a "pie in the sky" offer at a solution. With tax incentives and a push for better technologies, perhaps this revolution could come about quicker than it would otherwise. I feel sure that history, technology and need shows that it would.

If we could make this happen sooner, can you imagine how much improved our lives would be? So much less pollution. The emphasis of the Middle East, with all it's thousands of year old tensions and animosities could be left in the desert, to be ignored.

There are so many technologies, like these, that make the way we've always assumed the way the world works, obsolete.

We should stop printig newspapers on paper. Yes, let's read them, online.

We should stop paying power companies to create electricity--we'd be making our own, on our rooftops, with photovoltaic cells.

We should abandon the internal combustion engine. It's killing us.

We can do this. As a people. As a world.

We can do it. We have to. We already have the capabilities. We already have the solutions and they are simple, elegant and, frankly, obvious. We just have to make these changes.

And the sooner the better.

It's enough to give a person hope.



And ending, side note: Did you see today where the President is loosening Clean Air Act rules again? It's your government, folks.