Solve 4 Biggies
  ~  by reducing income taxes & increasing energy taxes

                          
   
New entries Wednesday &
Sunday evenings
  (& sometimes in between)

- Contribute to this online
  public conversation -





   1 - Global warming

   2 - Dependence on
        foreign energy

   3 - Trade deficit

   4 - Pollution from non-
        renewable fuels

Living on less energy

It's possible to live on less energy and there are even advantages.

When we (in the U.S.) start to pay the external costs of our energy use at the time we use it......we'll have the incentive needed to conserve energy.  The best way to move in this direction is a phased-in, federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy.  An added benefit will be the economic stimulus this shift will provide for the renewable energy industry.  Not a new idea, but and idea whose time has come.

Here's an article on The Huffington Post on living on less energy.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 7/20/2008 10:05 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
350.org

A valiant, worldwide effort to reach agreement on the need to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentration below 350 ppm -
www.350.org.  Per Bill McKibben on Truthout.org, late last year we were at 383 ppm

Once at the 350.org site, click on "About 350" to get the details.  Excerpts:

    "
350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million,.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 7/16/2008 10:21 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
'Climate migrants' and 45 trillion more reasons to act now

The sooner we take significant action to reduce greenhouse gases, increase energy conservation and stimulate the renewable energy industry the better.  A phased-in, federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy is the best action we can take.

From the Los Angeles Times a couple of weeks ago - Climate change likely to trigger global destabilization, report says  Excerpts:

    "Global warming is likely to have a series of destabilizing effects around the world, causing humanitarian crises as well as surges in ethnic violence and illegal immigration, according to an assessment released Wednesday by U.S. intelligence agencies.

    Overall,.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 7/13/2008 11:11 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Last nail in the coffin for ethanol?

Widening recognition of the ethanol/food price crisis connection will hopefully lead to an end of subsidies and quotas for ethanol.  There can be debate about the size of current impact, but there is no question that it is immoral to be in our current position and increase U.S. ethanol production quotas (which is exactly what we've done).

From the BBC News:....... 
...
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 7/9/2008 11:15 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
FRONTLINE video: Global warming affecting millions today

From FRONTLINE: a 16 minute video - Asia and Africa: Living on the Edge

Excerpts:

    "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that 80 percent of all Himalayan glacier ice will be gone by 2035.

    ....glaciers are the world's natural water towers.'They kind of store water in the wet season and they disperse it during the dry season. And they do that for free,'
 
    Half of the global population, Smith reports....."
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 7/6/2008 10:52 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
"The generational equivalent of child abuse"

Sen. John McCain said a couple of weeks ago that we should build 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030.  We have 104 now.  Nuclear power is not the answer to our energy and environmental problems.  In an AP article in the San Francisco Chronicle on McCain's announcement, there were only two references to what we'd do with nuclear waste:.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 7/2/2008 10:26 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Energy Secy Bodman defines his place in history

Oil is of course a finite resource.  What are we doing to prepare for it's depletion?  Very little.  The sooner we act, the smaller the consequences.

Some day we'll thank OPEC for not completely "opening up the spigots."  This would lead to an even bigger economic crash some day.  The economic discomfort we're feeling now will benefit us in the long run.  Comparing our actions and OPEC's: they care more about the long-term health of our economy than we do.  The sooner we start using less oil, the better off we'll be.

Then there's that pesky problem of global warming.  OPEC is.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/29/2008 7:37 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Global warming largely ignored in oil debate

Drill offshore?  Drill in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)?

These are two of the primary suggestions to try and reduce skyrocketing oil prices.  What about the effects of these 'solutions' on greenhouse gas emissions?

According to James Hansen, one of the earliest to warn us about global warming, "this is the last chance."
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/25/2008 10:23 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
What Global Warming Looks Like

by ABC News - September 14, 2007

"
New Report Visualizes Impact of Sea Level Rise on U.S. Coastal Cities"

Click on the photos on the left hand side.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Time to act.  The sooner we start paying the external costs of our energy use at the time we use it, ...../font>
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/24/2008 8:32 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Here we are

Here we are and still no significant action.  Unbelievable.

 > On National Public Radio on June 17, 2008 - As Beaches Creep In, Ownership Disputes Erupt  Excerpt:
    "Global warming is raising the ocean level and moving shorelines landward. With seaside communities at risk of inundation, some scientists say America needs to plan an orderly retreat from the coast. But if you think such a retreat will be easy, consider the saga of one home on the Gulf of Mexico."

 > UW scientist: Sea level changes a driving force in mass extinctions  Excerpts:
    "Watch out for.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/22/2008 10:14 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Really wrong.... until the end

From the Wall Street Journal Online two weeks ago - The Coming Oil Investment Boom.

Some really bad ideas and points until the end when he points out that what's needed are "carbon taxes as a de facto consumption tax."  Other excerpts with my comments:

    "....it's working. Money is pouring into Canada's massive tar sands."  [and, Canada is wrestling with balancing oil from tar sands with greenhouse gas emissions.]

    "If today's towering price of oil reflects some speculator's bet on a long-term scarcity of liquid motor fuels, this will prove the misguided bet of a lifetime."  [Wrongo. Oil prices.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/16/2008 4:39 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Article of the year (maybe the decade)

Concise.  Powerful in its truth.  By Charles Krauthammer on washingtonpost.com - At $4, Everybody Gets Rational

The excerpts I love (my bold) -

    "America's sudden change in car-buying habits makes suitable mockery of that absurd debate Congress put on last December on fuel efficiency standards....  You want more fuel-efficient cars? Don't regulate. Don't mandate. Don't scold. Don't appeal to the better angels of our nature. Do one thing: Hike the cost of gas until you find the price point.

    Unfortunately, instead of hiking the price ourselves by means of a gasoline tax that could be instantly refunded.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/11/2008 9:56 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Avoidance

[Solve4Biggies hits:  56,000.

Thanks for reading, commenting and forwarding........ a federal tax shift is not going to happen from the top, down.]

    ^     ^     ^     ^

From the New York Times - States Get In on Calls for a Gas Tax Holiday.  Excerpt (my comments in square brackets):

    - Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida has been fighting to cut 10 cents from the state’s gasoline tax for two weeks in July. Lawmakers in Missouri, New York and Texas have also proposed a summer break from state gas ...
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/8/2008 10:55 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
The 'burning platform' of climate change

From the AP on May 29, 2008 - White House issues climate report 4 years late.  Excerpts including the 'Big 6' problems coming at us (my bold):

     "Andrew Weaver, a Canadian climate scientist who was not involved in the effort called it 'a litany of bad news in store for the U.S.'

     1_ Increased heat deaths and deaths from climate-worsened smog. In Los Angeles alone yearly heat fatalities could increase by more than 1,000 by 2080, and the Midwest and Northeast are most.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/4/2008 9:52 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Eggs and the cap & trade basket

Read the proposals for changes to U.S. energy policy and it's all cap and trade centric (here's Rep. Markey's iCAP).  There are problems with Cap and Trade; for example, it's needlessly complex and Europe has had issues including 'what should a ton of CO2 cost?'  A few Solve4Biggies entries on cap and trade problems:

   - The International Monetary Fund weighs in
   - Cap and trade woes
   - The "Don't worry, be happy" crowd


Now Canada is experiencing problems -- from Reuters:  Problems plague Canada's emissions trading plans.  Excerpts:

     "Just as Canada is set to launch.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 6/1/2008 9:55 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Leadership and an "unpleasant talk"

The last entry contained a link to President Carter's often derided energy policy speech in April 1977.  What a much better place we would be in if we had listened to him and acted....

Some key statements:

    - The most important thing about these proposals is that the alternative may be a national catastrophe. Further delay can affect our strength and our power as a nation.  Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the "moral equivalent of.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/28/2008 10:42 PM | View Comments (6) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
"You want courage? Are you willing to support it?"

The title of this entry is from a Larisa Alexandrovna article on Huffingtonpost.com - You Want Courage? Are You Willing to Support It?  Her article is about the new movie War Inc. by John Cusack.  She cites evidence of "a distinct stench of blacklisting."

There are parallels between the lack of a sustainable U.S. energy policy and the statement -- You Want Courage?  Are you willing to support it?

Back in the 1970's President Jimmy Carter recognized and communicated the need for the U.S. to create a sustainable energy policy.  Excerpts from his televised energy policy speech on April 18, 1977:.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/25/2008 9:26 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Disingenuous theater - take 2

The same crap keeps playing out.  This time I put much more of the fault with our elected representatives instead of the Big Oil executives.  Fault for: 1) wasted congressional, executive and media time; 2) misplaced 'wrath' that does no-thing to solve our energy policy problems.

About a month and a half ago, House leaders 'summoned' oil executives to Capitol Hill:  Disingenuous theater - congress and big oil.

Today our senators decided to look foolish.  From the AP - Big Oil defends profits before irate senators.  Excerpts (my comments in brackets):

    "On a day oil prices leaped to unheard-of highs [$133 a barrel], senators lined up Big Oil's biggest executives and pummeled them with.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/21/2008 9:39 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Arrogance and inaction in the Executive Branch

May 14, 2008 (U.S. Dept. of the Interior news release):  Secretary Kempthorne Announces Decision to Protect Polar Bears under Endangered Species Act.  OK, good - it's well documented that Polar Bears are in serious trouble as a result of global warming.  Seems that this would also be a prime opportunity to recognize the U.S. contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and do something to reduce them.  (maybe save ourselves and future generations from some serious problems too)

No.  "In making the announcement today, Secretary Kempthorne reiterated President Bush’s statement last month that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/18/2008 11:00 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
"Why didn't someone tell us?"

Even with oil at well over $120 per barrel, we still need a phased-in, federal tax shift from income to non-renewable energy.  We need to create a sustainable energy future.

It was inevitable that the price of oil and gas would increase.  It wasn't inevitable that Americans would, for example, be driving vehicles that cost $60-$100 to fill up (much more in some cases).  What are we going to learn and APPLY from the situation we're in now?

A week ago Amitai Etzioni penned this article on The Huffington Post - Economic Suicide.  I think his "time machine" perspective won't be far from reality.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/15/2008 11:16 AM | View Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Some notables recognize ethanol not an answer


Ethanol is not an answer to our energy and environmental woes (past Solve4Biggies entries):

  -  Haitians eating dirt - wasteful U.S. ways partly responsible 
  - 
Fill-up your tank ONCE or feed a child for a year?
  -  It is time to stop the madness
  -  With ethanol we are feeding the pig

   --  --  --  -- 

From an AFP article two days ago on Yahoo! Green - Biofuels backlash in US as food costs hit home   Excerpts:

   "Members of Bush's own Republican party are turning on him, including Senator.....

MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/11/2008 10:20 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
The Stabilization Triangle - a helpful tool

Princeton University has been sponsored by BP and Ford since 2000 to "develop solutions to the greenhouse problem."  Named the Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI), one of the most valuable products of the venture is the Stabilization Triangle - comparing carbon emitted on our current path to that of a 0% increase (flat path) between 2005 and 2055 creates a triangle.  If we can stay on the flat path, and then reduce carbon emissions after 2055, "we can steer a safer course."

Particularly valuable is how they break this triangle into eight wedges of one billion tons.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/7/2008 8:58 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
"...WorldNetDaily is rewarding children for 'debunking' global warming."

(note: see Tax Shift Presentation below -- link to Channel 12's recording added)
---------------------------------------------

Quote in entry title from Thinkprogress.org.

Right-wing organization paying kids for denying global warming


Unbelievable.

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 5/4/2008 11:11 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Obama strong on gas tax holiday

Senator Obama has the right answer to Senator Clinton's backing of John McCain's summer gas tax holiday proposal - it's ridiculous/asinine.

I have one question for Senators Clinton and McCain -

   Right now, is it best for us to use more oil or less?

        (Please - someone ask them this question.)


People are smarter than Senators McCain and Clinton give them credit for.  Here are two articles on Senator Obama's denunciation of a gas tax holiday and Senator Clinton's support for it.  

Salon.com - The gas tax battle continues  Excerpts:

  Some experts even support an increase in the gas tax, arguing that.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/30/2008 11:35 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Tax Shift Presentation

Madison's City Channel 12 recorded the April 30, 2008 Rotary Club of Madison presentation -

If you don't have "Realplayer" (a free download) - click on the blue and yellow icon.  Then scroll down to "streaming video: special presentations" and the last item under "April 2008".  The tax shift presentation starts after 12 1/2 minutes.  (PowerPoint is below)

Innovative Solutions to Energy-Related Challenges

Overview -.....

MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/29/2008 10:42 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
We're terribly vulnerable

As mentioned a week ago in the entry Been living under a Popsicle stick?, "...we are terribly vulnerable economically as we continue to import over 60% of our daily oil."  For natural gas, in 2006 we imported 19% up from 16% in 2002.

We learned from Hurricane Katrina how a disruption in oil supply and gasoline refining caused gasoline prices to increase; reserves are low, there's little leeway.  From an FTC Statement to the U.S. Senate in September 2005 - Market Forces, Competitive Dynamics, and Gasoline Prices -

     "In the recent weeks since Hurricane Katrina, gasoline prices rose sharply to.....

MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/27/2008 11:30 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
An open letter to FRONTLINE

What is the media’s role/responsibility in finding solutions to huge problems such as global warming and U.S. dependence on foreign oil?  I’d say it’s to present information on differing views and generate debate.

Don’t see much on tax shifting in the main stream media - why not?

Let’s try FRONTLINE.  A shorter version of the letter below was forwarded electronically.

********************** 

Dear FRONTLINE producers,

Your Hot Politics segment was invaluable -- fascinating, informative and sobering.  Thanks.

What's next for you on the issue of global warming and energy issues?  Please do a show on potential solutions to.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/23/2008 8:42 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Frontline's "Hot Politics" on Global Warming

Watch this:  Hot Politics

The political history, players, drama, attempts, obfuscation, deceit and failures surrounding U.S. inaction on global warming.  It's fascinating, informative and sobering.  Many have tried to create federal action to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

(Produced in April 2007  --  just under one hour  --  click on "Watch the Full Program Online" on the right side)

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/22/2008 10:06 PM | View Comments (2) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Been living under a Popsicle stick?

Enact a tax shift?.......  raise non-renewable energy prices now?!


Oil was over $116 a barrel last week, we're in the midst of a credit and housing crisis, the number of jobs has decreased, we're seeing inflationary pressure, and most economists agree there's a recession ahead.

Paul, have you been living under a Popsicle stick?

********************

No.  Our energy use and mix are not sustainable.  So, it's simple -- we can pay now or pay a lot more later.  But, the "pay now" is not higher taxes: the recommended federal tax shift will be revenue-neutral for the government, families and individuals.  The "pay now" will add.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/20/2008 11:23 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Rubbish - Senator McCain proposes a gasoline tax holiday

Last week Senator John McCain proposed a federal gasoline tax holiday for the upcoming summer months; motorists would not pay the 18.4 cents/gallon tax.  MSNBC article here.

Some big problems this proposal creates:
  - more greenhouse gas emissions;
  - increased dependency on foreign energy;
  - more air pollution;
  - a larger trade deficit.

The best argument for a federal tax shift that lowers income taxes and raises non-renewable energy taxes may be seeing the problems an energy tax reduction causes.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/19/2008 9:42 PM | View Comments (5) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
A Russian-led natural gas cartel?

It's being kicked around.

Here's an article by a professor at the US Army War College on www.eurasianet.orgRUSSIA TAKES A STEP TOWARD THE FORMATION OF A NATURAL GAS CARTEL (May 2007).

An OPEC for natural gas; from another article Analysis: Future natural gas cartel? (August 2007) on www.earthtimes.org:
 
     "Natural gas accounts for about 23 percent of global energy use."


Seems obvious -- we NEED to reduce our dependence on foreign energy.  Do we want to retain control of key U.S. economic inputs and therefore our economy?  When/if a "crash" occurs due to our inaction, we won't be able to say there weren't signals.......
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/16/2008 10:36 PM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
3.65 billion barrel U.S. find not a big deal

The new 3.65 billion barrel of oil Bakken formation estimate in North Dakota and Montana is not a big deal.  To make a difference a new find/estimate would need to be larger and, more importantly, we'd need a nationwide commitment to use it well.  Meaning that when it's used up:
   - we are not sad that we found it because of the increase in greenhouse gases/global warming;
   - we used it to create a sustainable energy future.

3.65 billion barrels (mean value within the 3.0 - 4.3 billion estimate) is a 17% percent increase in U.S. reserves and represents a whopping 2 YEARS OF ADDITIONAL U.S.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/13/2008 11:54 PM | View Comments (9) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
The International Monetary Fund weighs in

It's nice to have the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggest much of what's on this blog.  On February 22, 2008 the IMF released The Fiscal Implications of Climate Change.

Excerpts (my comments in parentheses):

   Climate change
   The potential fiscal implications are immediate as well as lasting, and liable to affect—in differing forms and degree—all Fund members.  Climate change is a global externality problem, calling for some degree of international fiscal cooperation…  (yes, we need to be paying the external costs of our energy use at the time we use it.)

   Energy taxes vs. cap and trade.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/9/2008 8:36 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Our energy legacy, clotheslines, and sidewalks

History will ask,

     "How did the people living between 1950 and 2020 use the earth's finite oil supplies? (see oil history graph below)   Did they use it to ensure future generations would have sustainable energy sources?"

Here are two examples and a fossil fuel efficiency quiz.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/6/2008 10:33 PM | View Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Disingenuous theater - congress and big oil

A sad spectacle.  Both sides largely playing the game --> "....we go through this, it's not pretty, but then we get to go back to our comfy and powerful lives with very little (if anything) changing for the good of the U.S."

I'm referring to Congressional questioning of Big Oil executives this week about why oil company profits are so high and why oil companies should continue to receive billions in tax breaks.  Now, of course, subsidies for energy companies are a bad idea so one part of the theater is good.

First: the questions are ludicrous.  In the absence of breaking any laws.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 4/2/2008 10:42 PM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Superhero Henry Waxman and coal-to-fuel

Thank goodness. House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is taking a real stand against increasing greenhouse gas emissions (GGE's).

As described in an AP article on LiveScience.com - Air Force Prod Aids Coal-To-Fuel Plans - gasoline, diesel and jet fuel can be made from coal.  The problem (from the article): "Without emissions controls, experts say coal-to-liquids plants could churn out double the greenhouse gases as oil."

The Air Force has an admirable goal: "...wean itself from foreign oil..."  Unfortunately, our dependence on foreign energy is not our only huge energy-related problem - global warming is too. We need an energy policy that addresses both.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/30/2008 11:55 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Cap and trade woes

Cap and trade is not the answer to our global warming dilemma - it's complex, risky for markets and costly for everyone (except for those that run the carbon markets).

From an article two weeks ago in The Wall Street Journal online - Economist Strikes Gold In Climate-Change Fight.  Excerpts:

     Yesterday, Climate Exchange's stock jumped 16% after the firm reported a tripling in 2007 revenue to £13.6 million, or about $27 million. That gives the company, which handles about 90% of the trading on carbon exchanges, a market capitalization of roughly $1.31 billion. Mr. Sandor's 20% stake is worth more than.....


P.S. - Participate in Earth Hour on Saturday March 29, 2008 at 8pm and spread the word!: http://www.earthhour.org
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/26/2008 10:02 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Wars

The worst two things: war  and  making large parts of our environment, where people are living, uninhabitable.

Every day we're doing both and it's likely to get worse, much worse.

     There never was a good war or bad peace.
                              
                                 Benjamin Franklin

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

From an Associated Press article (October 2007):

     "...the stresses of a changing global environment may heighten the 'danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.'"  Norwegian committee of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

     "'Climate change is and will be a significant threat to our national security and in a larger sense to life on Earth as we know it to be' retired General Gordon R. Sullivan,....."
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/23/2008 10:15 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Pelosi backs begging

Not to be outdone by the Bush Administration, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Vice President Cheney last week encouraging begging for oil as a cornerstone of U.S. energy policy.  In fairness, she also has led on legislation to end subsidies for non-renewable energy.  But, begging OPEC members to 'open the spigots' flies in the face of a sustainable energy policy AND contradicts the very goals outlined in her letter.  Excerpts:

    ".....our growing dependence on foreign oil have caused great hardship
for American families and businesses struggling to make ends meet in this economic downturn."
Yes

    ".....your upcoming trip to the Middle East provides an opportunity .....

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

P.S. - page views were over 1,500 last week. A new high. Thanks for reading.
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/19/2008 7:42 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Tax shift presentation

A few organizations have asked for presentations on tax shifting to solve our environmental and energy problems.  Here it is:

    The collision of capitalism, global warming and peak oil   PowerPoint (1 MB ) 

    .pdf version (665 KB ) (need Adobe Reader)
    For best on-screen viewing: right-click on the presentation, then --> "Rotate Clockwise"; click the down arrow next to the Zoom % box and select "Fit Height"; use the Page Up and Down keys.

There's no Copyright; in fact there's a "CopyPlease."  Please copy and share!

Suggestions/thoughts welcome.

Best,
Paul

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/15/2008 10:18 PM | View Comments (4) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Bush-Cheney: deciders to beggars

When, according to the ABC News article - Bush Asks Saudi King to Open Oil Spigots, our President publicly asks Saudi Arabia's oil minister to increase OPEC oil output, that's asking.  When he's told no and then asks the King privately, that's begging.  Excerpt from the article:

     "One hour after his plea for more Saudi oil was publicly rejected by the kingdom's oil minister, President Bush made a private visit to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to again ask him to open the spigots."   (he got a second 'no')

It's a sad (and criminal) story - especially given the lives lost in this Iraq War.

    ~       ~       ~       ~

A)  In 1999, then Haliburton CEO Dick Cheney stated:

     By some estimates, there will be an average of two-percent annual growth in global oil demand over the years ahead, along with,.....
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/12/2008 11:12 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
The big, obvious U.S. consequences begin

Global warming is an external cost of our fossil fuel use.  It's only the tip of the iceberg, but here's a specific example -

Recent New York Times and Salon.com articles on an Alaskan village that is suing 20 companies over global warming.  From the NYT - Flooded Village Files Suit, Citing Corporate Link to Climate Change.   Excerpt:

     - “There has been a long campaign by power, coal and oil companies to mislead the public about the science of global warming,” the suit says. The campaign, it says, contributed "to the ...
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/9/2008 10:50 PM | View Comments (7) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
A list of global warming deniers

A phased-in, federal tax from income to non-renewable energy is only going to be enacted when people believe it is needed.

Unfortunately, based on progress so far, it's going to take catastrophic events larger than the ones we're experiencing now.  For example, our war for oil in Iraq (I just heard on the radio that the Iraq government just agreed to allow Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell to pump Iraqi oil out of the ground for them; they'll be paid, of course, in oil -- what a surprise) and severe weather, floods and drought being experienced around the world ...
MORE >>
Posted by Paul Riehemann at 3/5/2008 11:09 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
How much of a tax shift? - take 2

In May 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winning scientists, said that up to a dollar per gallon over the next 10 years was needed "to avoid the worst effects of global warming." (quote from the Washington Post)