J-Dub!

Hold on, Ike

I usually like Ike, but I'm a little disappointed with his latest stance on energy.  Take a look at this carefully worded press release.  While I can appreciate his caution when it comes to powers assigned to government agencies, it sure looks like it's his intent to prevent much needed steps for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.  He's aligned himself with energy coops, which are opposed to any changes that would impose additional costs on their industry.

Maybe his office can clarify his position, but the truth is that energy will cost us more at some point.  Business as usual is no longer a viable option.  Until we account for the true cost of burning fossil fuels, there will be no change in the status quo - right up until the point it all falls apart. 

Tough talk

Well, no one wants to be like Tiger anymore. At first, when it was just a domestic dispute, advertisers and supporters were sticking by the world's greatest golfer.  But now that porn stars and baristas around the country are coming clean about their affair, Tiger has become toxic.  Infidelity is probably the most common human problem, but no one wants to aspire to that.  He's a philanderer, and it's likely his run as a role model has gone the way of Kobe.   

Living with consequences can be a tough thing - and it's hard to really admit the costs on the other side of the transaction.  Here are a couple of great articles about the true cost of our love affair with oil.  Tom Whipple points out the climate progress will be slow and probably futile, but the decline of available energy will do enough damage to our economy, so we don't have to.  JMG follows it up with his excellent analysis of why we make poor decisions, and will continue to do so. 

And here's a little longer read full of all out slams on our president (and us.)  You see, we're really good at ignoring the truth so we can do what we want.  Even when we think we're doing some good, we're really just tucking toys into closets and slapping some new paint on the old jalopy.  Hey, it's all good - until our mistress decides she's had enough.  When Gaia comes looking for us, she'll be swinging something more substantial than a golf club. 

Sun, earth, wind and rain

I've done a little online sparring over global warming and energy of late.  There was some "big news" last weekend when some hacked emails between climate scientists surfaced.  Deniers have been trying to claim it's the "smoking gun" that proves climate scientists are pulling a hoax on all of us.  Yeah, not really.  What it shows is healthy debate and careful consideration of data to make it as clear as possible for lay people.  You see, that's what reasonable people do - listen to all sides of a problem and look for the best explanation. 

Still, people are clinging to the idea that since the planet has not warmed much of late, it proves that global warming is false.  Again, not exactly.  They continue the argument into energy - cap and trade is a boondoggle designed to destroy business.  They say we'll tax ourselves and drive more industry to India and China.  So would they have us outsource leadership too?  I don't know enough about the proposed legislation, but the idea behind policy is to create an environment that rewards business for desired behavior - in this case, reducing pollution.  Somehow that's a bad thing?   

I don't think we have a clear picture yet as to everything that's happening to our planet.  It's a combination of a lot of different things, all interacting and reacting in a constant flow.  We may only fully understand it in review, but I agree with the concept of earth as a living organism.  We have to respect that all of our actions have an impact on the system. 

What it comes down to is protecting the status quo - those who denounce the need simply want things to remain as they are.  When you really crunch the numbers - that may be the most costly path of all.  Most of our big problems stem from the fact that we are bumping up against the natural limit of resources on our planet.  Even if there is no thing as anthropogenic global warming, we still have issues with population, transportation, rampant energy use and a vulnerable food system.  The lesson we should take from climate change is that we should strive to make our relationship with the planet more sustainable.  And that's why it's so hard to take deniers very seriously - we all know we need to get a little closer to the earth.   

It reminds of that old saying we heard so many times - If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too? 

This guy is good

Michael T. Klare is really good at telling it like it is. 

going nuclear

There seems to be a lot of consensus that nuclear energy has to be part of our stable in solving global warming and the energy crisis.  (by the way, new evidence suggests the ice caps are melting faster and serious trouble awaits in scant decades)  I'm not entirely convinced.  For one, building a nuke plant isn't exactly cheap, nor do we have plans to deal with the waste.  Not to mention that uranium isn't any more available than our current finite supplies of fossil fuels. 

Now, there is probably some improvements in re-purposing spent fuel that can eek more life out of the stuff that is currently sitting in cooling plants on-site of every nuclear power plant.  But let's be honest - it will take decades to build out the needed infrastructure, and even then, won't solve all our problems.  I'm not opposed to having nuclear as part of our solution, but it has to be a part of a wide range of answers.  While we're at it, let's conserve more, develop mass transit, invest in renewable energy, and continue to look for alternatives to destroying our planet with waste. 

the hard part

I bitch because I care.  Lots of people are bitching that Obama has failed us.  Forgive me for pointing out that our current distress was handed to him.  What we're doing now is cleaning up the mess, and it won't be easily done. 

We got drunk on easy money and removed all the safeguards put in place after the last meltdown.  That won't get fixed in two months, or even two years.  If you're knowledgeable about energy, we may be looking at more price spikes as soon as we start to recover. 

Amazingly, some people still believe that climate change is a myth and we just need access to more oil and nuclear to keep the party going.  This is not realistic.  All of these problems are related.  Energy independence and correcting climate problems will not happen by pursuing more oil as the answer.  Only renewable power supplies and a more sustainable living arrangement will solve these long term problems for future generations. 

Of course, that means we all have to admit we have a problem, and do something about it. 

CWIP

I find this argument of Ameren interesting.  They are asking for the repeal of CWIP so they can build a new nuclear power plant, or something like that.  I think they want to increase our bills to help finance part of the construction.  I don't know why it's not profitable to build new energy, but whatever.  They are going to get us now or later.  What I don't know is why I can't install solar panels on my roof and sell electricity back to Ameren.  That requires cooperation with your energy provider to install metering and accept excess power. 

There appear to be some legitimate questions in legislative hearings on the subject.  Ultimately I care less about when they gouge me for something than whether or not they are pursuing alternative sources of electricity simultaneously.  The Public Service Commission serves to look out for pocketbook.  Citizens voted for renewable power standards and the last time I checked, uranium isn't renewable.  A million sunlit rooftops should be. 

Energy

This is a fantastic article about oil by Michael Klare from Tom Dispatch.  If you have questions about the price of oil or it's future, this is a must read. 

Follow that up with a little Tom Whipple on cars. 

I just hope the collapse holds off long enough for me to go on tour with Phish this summer. 

Higher gas tax

While some are worried about what the Obama administration's energy policy will do to energy prices, others, myself included, have argued for a higher gas tax.  While raising taxes is never popular, especially in a weak economy, a higher gas tax would encourage the kind of behavior we need in the near future.  It would encourage citizens and car manufacturers to buy and make more efficient cars, and provide money for funding a transportation system that does a better job of moving people and goods through a diverse array of more energy efficient methods. 

I sit on a advisory board for MoDOT and I'm encouraged by what I've been seeing from them.  They are toting their green practices like recycling asphalt, pushing for increased multi-modal funding, and Director Pete Rahn has been recruited to write about transportation issues for the National Journal.  To keep throwing money at building highways is not the best planning.  Although gas is cheap now, the future must be greener to protect us from dependence on foreign oil, rising costs and pollution.  Raising the gas tax is the most sensible way to get there. 

Crisp and clean

Reading this about Obama's picks for energy is like a breath of fresh air!  Seriously, do you know how nice it's going to be to have smart, capable people leading our government?!  There's hope for us yet.