Bush State of the Union speach - Nod to Alternative Energy??

[Karlin]

I was surprised to hear Bush say that the USA should wean itself off oil.

That might have rankled his supporters, the ones with the deep pockets who depend on the USA's continued protection and huge amounts of "corporate welfare" , the oil execs.

But they know he didn't mean it. They know that by taking the lead on this issues, Bush can stall and delay and fudge. The Fossil Fools will have free reign over energy for awhile yet. Another 10 or 20 years is all they need to be assured of, and then they can use another tactic.

Keep on building big cars, that will ensure the "need" for gasoline and diesel for about 20 years. Consumers who don't realise they were misled about Global Warming will snap up these large gas guzzlers and operate them without realising THEY are the cause of their biggest problem [by 2020 , extreme weather will be everyone's biggest problem].

The role of our mass media has been essential to quelling the tide of resistance to destruction of the earth's wonderfully stable climate. NASA's chief scientist has been trying to get a few words over the airwaves to us, but was stopped by Bush's White House and their control over media.

Bush lies and lies, we could easily grab some hope about the environment from last nights speach, but that would be folly. We WANT to believe he will do those things,but we know he won't.

As for alternative energy, here is a group ["not in our name"] that also, like me, sees something fishy in Bush's declaration of alternative energy -
"Not in Our Name"
http://tinyurl.com/bhfgw [quote...resist it. That sound reasonable. Karlin

 

[Alberta'sfinest]

RE: Bush State of the Uni

I think the real problem everyone always misses when dealing with pollution and alternative energies is that our current energies are intrinsically tied with the stability of our economies. The real problem with oil is that there is no profitable replacement. This is also the same problem that every other resource that is commonly used to produce the goods that allow our consumer driven economies to thrive will experience. We can currently produce all the electricity that we'll ever need, but oil isn't used for that, the majority isn't even used for transportation. The majority of oil is to produce useless crap, but the production of useless crap employs more than 75% of the population on this planet. Even most of the fuel is used to ship the useless crap. Once we get to the point where resources are scarce, and the prices of them soar, 75% or more of the world will be without jobs for the mere reason that their is nothing to make anything from that would produce an affordable product. Our societies have become consumer junkies, and were blowing through are only resources the same way a coke head blows through his pay check. In the end your left with nothing, and desperation kicks in. This event of resource hyperinflation will happen within 50 years, and we'll most likely see the early stages within 10, even as little as 5 years, and the precursors are already present. Once this happens, we'll be left with what some call useless mouth syndrome.

Usless mouth syndrome occours when production recesses, but the population that grew with demand when the products were cheap, remains. When this happens within the next 50 years, we will have 4-5 billion people that will still need to consume energy through food, but perform no work with that energy. As a result, this innefficiency will have to be rectified purposely, or it will solve it's own problem. Either way it's not going to be pretty.

 

[tawker]

RE: Bush State of the Uni

What is wrong with tidal energy, wind energy and solar energy again. Nice cheap sources of power and save the oil for making plastics.

 

[Karlin]

Re: RE: Bush State of the Uni

I think the real problem everyone always misses when dealing with pollution and alternative energies is that our current energies are intrinsically tied with the stability of our economies. The real problem with oil is that there is no profitable replacement. \

The majority of oil is to produce useless crap, but the production of useless crap employs more than 75% of the population on this planet. Even most of the fuel is used to ship the useless crap.

Ab's finest, you have swallowed the corporate line whole.
As Clinton expressed so well last week, the economic fear-mongering for replacing oil with alternatives is pure hooey, in fact alternative energy has many economic upsides.

You are right in saying oil is used for transporation - 75% of the USA crude is used for vehicles. This is the obvious place to start changes, as this article suggest in step one of twelve he lists. Its just corporate profits that keep car efficiency at less than it was 100 years ago....and consumers who swallowed the lies about global warming - they may have made different choices had they been told the truth.

So here is a link to what must be done, and it also tell us that Bush's alternative energy comments were pure hooey too, he doesn't plan to do any of these "most promising steps" to saving our economy and reducing the damage from climate change:

http://tinyurl.com/9teg3

America's stubborn dependence on oil erodes our bedrock values. For it, we will go to war, support unstable and undemocratic regimes, destabilize our climate, decimate our forests and parks, threaten the health of our children, and weaken our economy.

- and how to stop!!