McCain Lies & Pope Goes Green

No Renewable Energy- As I have written in the past it seems that Congress will not pass incentives for renewable energies due to a stalemate. After yesterday’s debacle of missing leadership with the financial bailout it is no wonder something requiring long- term innovative thinking is stalled. Groups as disparate as the National Association of Home Builders, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Sierra Club have come together to urge Congress to pass and expand these clean energy incentives. Unfortunately, in this case the peril lies in the fact that these tax credits are lumped into basket full of unrelated tax incentives that overlap between business and personal. Of course, Republicans (our favorite Drill Baby Drill party) are concerned the incentives offer to much in offsets to these solar and wind companies. Now if only it were oil they would have no objections. It is imperative that these incentives for clean energy be extended and expanded asap. I ask all of you to monitor this and contact your own representatives in Congress.


McCain, Palin & Energy Flubs

In an interview with ABC Channel 6 in Columbus, Ohio, last night, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, said that "the world’s largest oil reserves are in the United States of America.”
The correct order: Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Venezuela, Russia, Libya, Nigeria, Angola, and THEN the U.S. The McCain campaign says that the candidate meant to say that the world's largest COAL reserves are in the U.S.
And that's true -- the Energy Information Administration says that the U.S. "has the world's largest known coal reserves, about 263.8 billion short tons. This is enough coal to last approximately 225 years at today's level of use. "
What's odd about this, though, is that McCain has made energy independence the domestic centerpiece of his campaign ("Drill, baby, drill!") not to mention a major reason for picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. (McCain said Palin “knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America.”)
And yet, even with these credentials, the McCain-Palin team has been criticized for getting some basic facts about energy wrong.
Palin told ABC News' Charlie Gibson that "a credential that I do bring to this table" deal "with the energy independence that I've been working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy…"
McCain in a separate interview told Gibson that Palin has "been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply."
As Factcheck.org has pointed out, Alaska produces closer to 3.5 percent of the U.S. domestic energy supply.
What about oil? Maybe they meant the U.S. domestic supply of oil?
Actually, Alaskan production accounts for less than 5 percent of the crude oil and petroleum products supplied to the U.S. in 2007 -- including imports from other nations.
The only way this makes sense is if McCain and Palin meant to say that Alaska produces 14 percent (instead of 20) of the oil (not energy) produced entirely in the U.S. (not the entire supply), and that excludes all oil imports and any other form of power.
People make mistakes, but when the McCain-Palin team makes gaffes about their No. 1 domestic issue, they risk stepping on their message.

-Jake Tapper ABC News’ senior national correspondent on Politico.com

Pope Goes Green- 2700 solar panels were installed today on the Paul VI auditorium roof in Vatican City. These panels will provide enough power to light, heat or cool the 6,000 -seat hall. To Pope Benedict XVI’s credit he has been an advocate of alternative power and the unbalanced use of energy in the world. The panels valued at $1.5 million were donated by Solar World of Bonn, Germany.

Largest LEED Platinum-certified Building

California Academy of Sciences Museum- The Renzo Piano designed science museum located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, opened to the public this past weekend. This structure supposedly becomes the largest LEED Platinum certified building in the US. It houses many of its past exhibits along with an updated planetarium and sustainable dining from chefs like Charles Phan and Loretta Keller.

The structure has a living roof covered with 1.7 million native plants. Piano took great effort to design the roof to be representative of San Francisco’s rolling hills. In addition to the roofs natural habitat this design actually reduces by 10 degrees the buildings temperature. The roof’s cistern system captures 90-98 percent of the rainwater, with nearly 3.5 million gallons of rainwater being captured. I can not wait to visit this museum, read more here.

Redirect the Bailout to the Green Economy

“In my experience, never before in the history of capitalism has so much money been asked from so many people, to help so few that screwed up so badly”. – Robert Reich

ET- Thomas Friedman’s column in today’s NY Times ponders what results would be reaped if a similar $1 trillion bailout was directed toward the new clean economy versus the old school broken financial segment. In redirecting this money to the green economy, we could expect it to return benefits and jobs to this economy in extraordinary numbers. Definitely a must read.

Sanyo Salem- As proof of the above Sanyo announced it has chosen Salem, Oregon to construct a solar plant. The $80 million plant will employ 200 and be online by 2010. The State of Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Program will provide credits and subsidies for 50% of the plants costs.

Green Jobs Now! A Day To Build The New Economy

With a reeling economy, soaring gas prices and rising fears of a global climate crisis, more than 100,000 people rallied at events across the country to urge leaders to jump start the clean energy economy. The events, "Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy," urged policy makers to think beyond the short-sighted distraction of drilling and, instead, create real energy solutions that build a new green economy strong enough to create millions of green jobs and lift people out of poverty.
"We can't drill and burn our way out of this economic crisis. We can -- and must -- invest and invent our way out," said Van Jones, founder and president of Green For All. "600,000 jobs have been lost this year alone. We need to free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil, and instead invest in jobs in sustainable industries -- wind and solar, among others. Only then will we be able to fight poverty and pollution at the same time."
With over 650 events and well over 100,000 participants in all 50 states, the events represented one of the largest and most diverse days of citizen action focused on economic issues and global warming in American history.
"With over 650 communities, spanning every state in this country, rising up to say they are ready for bold solutions to the economic, energy and climate crises, it's time for our leaders to step up to the plate and tackle these challenges head on," said Gillian Caldwell campaign director of 1Sky.
"America is ready for the green jobs that a commitment to 100% clean electricity within 10 years will bring -- jobs that can't be outsourced, jobs that reassert America's commitment to opportunity, innovation, and environmental protection for all," said Alliance for Climate Protection CEO Cathy Zoi. "This is what it means to Repower America."
Rally participants from across the country were urged to sign the Green Jobs Now (www.greenjobsnow.org) petition to send the message to political leaders. The petition states:
I'm ready for green jobs now. I urge our elected officials to invest in creating millions of green jobs and a Clean Energy Corps. We can't drill and burn our way out of the current crisis. We can invest and invent our way out. We can create new pathways out of poverty and curb global warming at the same time. We will do this by retooling our factories, rebuilding our communities, and repowering America with 100% clean and renewable electricity. It's time to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.
Source: PR Newswire

Who Really Won The Debate? Ralph Nader

The Not So Great Debate- Today I hope some of my friends here share their comments on last night’s debate in Oxford. Overall the entire event was a snorefest and Jim Lehrer, for whom I have enormous respect, was beyond annoying. Any one that reads this knows I am hardly a fan of John McCain, but it seems like he more than held his own and dare I say won this first debate. Mind you, I have not listened or read even one pundit or critic’s view of what occurred last night. Senator Obama just seemed so flat. Even a novice could see the many times he could have held John McCain accountable and let them slide by. McCain proved more passionate and even more specific. Believe me I am no fan of his energy thesis, “solar, wind, biofuels and other alternative energy sources, but what we really need is more offshore drilling and nuclear plants”. It feels, in contrast to Obama, that we are back in 1978 with the McCain energy plan, which is hardly alternative or clean. At least Obama last night made the strong point of what this new clean technology means to the economy. All McCain could say was that his new drilling and nuclear policy would add 700,000 new jobs. Doing precisely what-- mopping up oil spills and trying to figure out what to do with the barrels of nuclear waste? I read just yesterday that hospitals in the country cannot even figure how to dispose of their current small quantities of nuclear waste that are rapidly piling up. So, I say the spoils go to that great debate avoider McCain and Obama better draw some blood the next time the two meet. After eight years of this administration how hard can it be to tar and feather their candidate? Time to pin the tail on the donkey or as the case may be, the elephant.

Go Republicans!- Yes, again I commit treason as I applaud the House Republicans for actually finding a spine to oppose a blank check bailout to these Wall Street financial institutions. I admit they acted kind of in the 11th hour, which opened suspicions as to the timing and the introduction of John McCain as savior, but overall this group is right. Something of this size and scope cannot be slammed down our throats like many of Bush’s past crisis, without a thorough vetting and debate. John Boehner claiming he “wouldn’t be rolled” by the White House was classic. Once again, this proves that the checks and balances system still works on occasion. Call me the libertarian of the week!

Nader- I caught a brief glimpse of Ralph Nader last night on Bill Maher’s show and have to say other than his flailing delivery this guy makes excellent arguments. Including that capitalism has basically eaten itself much like Karl Marx had written. Nader made the point that “true capitalism” is only practiced by small businesses and entrepreneurs and not large corporations, which have become subsidized socialism for the rich. Additionally, he insisted both parties have become so beholden to these corporations that no one, not even Obamessiah, stand for peace and real homeland security. Additionally, he went after Obama for insisting he would go into Pakistan and accused Obama of being “insensitive” to Third World nations where he was raised. I am definitely paying closer attention to Nader’s speeches the rest of this election cycle.

RESPECT-Legendary Humanitarian Paul Newman(1925-2008)

Decline of Empire

“Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. We have trade missions back and forth. We — we do — it’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America,
where — where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border.”- Governor & Genius Sarah Palin on CBS News


The Real End of Empire?- Two wars draining the coffers and now this financial meltdown accompanied with the largest bank failure in history, Washington Mutual. The President cannot even direct & control his own party’s House Republicans. Despair is at the door as we witness the near end of Empire. The President just uttered a whole 6-7 sentences in an attempt to calm the markets, beyond surreal. Folks the time has come to roll up the carpets as we are through being the world’s dominant player. In a mere 8 years all has been squandered. The Republican mantra that government is “not the answer” has now been fully manifested. The only possible silver lining is now all attention needs to be paid on domestic policy and infrastructure; this will allow the US to suspend our dominance on sovereign nations throughout the world.

Less Baggage- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc today committed to reduce its global plastic shopping bag waste by an average of 33 percent per store by 2013. This is expected to eliminate more than 135 million pounds of plastic waste globally. To help reach this goal, Wal-Mart will reduce the number of bags given out by its stores, encourage the use of reusable bags and give customers the ability to continue recycling plastic shopping bags. The announcement was made at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.
"By reducing the number of plastic bags our customers use, increasing the availability and affordability of reusable bags and providing recycling solutions, we think we can eliminate plastic waste equivalent to 9 billion plastic bags per year from our existing stores alone," said Matt Kistler, senior vice president for sustainability of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "If we can encourage consumers to change their behavior, just one bag at a time, we believe real progress can be made toward our goal of creating zero waste."
Wal-Mart's comprehensive bag reduction strategy is being developed in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). This goal could have far-reaching environmental and economic benefits. It is estimated that roughly 60-80 percent of all marine debris is plastic. Reducing plastic shopping bag waste could also help reduce government expenditures. For example, the state of California spends approximately $25 million per year to discard plastic bags into landfills. (PR Newswire)

Peril & Hope

Wall Street Scam- The financial sector bailout soap opera kicked into high gear yesterday. Some highlights: McShame taking his ball and going home after suspending his campaign…House Republicans doing in their own President’s plan…Comrade Bernanke stating we can not pay “fire sale prices” for Wall Street’s toxic junk being purchased by taxpayers, meanwhile Warren Buffet gets Grade A shares of Goldman Sachs and a 10% dividend on his investments.

Green Economy & Jobs- The United Nations Environment Programme in association with The Worldwatch Institute and Cornell University Global Labour Institute issued a report on “green” jobs in a new clean energy world. I will render my comments once I have had the time to read thoroughly, but you can read for yourself here:

The report “Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World” produced in the framework of the UNEP/ILO/IOE/ITUC Green Jobs Initiative assembles evidence - quantitative and conceptual - on existing green jobs.

The report Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World is the first comprehensive and authoritative report which provides an overview of the complexity and policy relevance of global environmental challenges —climate change— and employment.

It gathers data on employment on different sectors —renewable energy, energy efficiency in buildings, sustainable transportation, and organic agriculture— and draws conclusions and recommendations for policy makers, business and industry, workers and trade unions in the context of the transition towards a low-carbon economy, which may yield a real potential, and yet is faced with formidable challenges

The pace of green job creation is likely to accelerate in the years ahead. A global transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy can create large numbers of green jobs across many sectors of the economy, and indeed can become an engine of development. Current green job creation is taking place in both the rich countries and in some of the major developing economies.

The report emphasizes the need for increased investment to create green jobs, facilitate the just transition from traditional to low-carbon economy, and further analyses the major shifts in employments and skills patterns

The Report makes an important contribution to the wider economic, social and environmental research communities and NGOs and others, including local authorities interested in these issues.

Green Gym- A new gym in Portland, Oregon has some of it's cardio equipment, which includes remanufactured machines hooked up to a generator so you create your own energy in powering a LCD TV, laptop and the gym's stereo. Entreprenuer Adam Boesel opened the Green Microgym last month. Additionally, the club will be installing wall-mounted solar panels and claims its best feature is being a neighborhood gym where none of its customers drive.
Source: NY Times

Clean, Green Ink

Clarity- Nice story by Jad Mouawad exploring the future of hydrogen-powered vehicles in today’s NY Times. Looks as though big oil is once again hardly cooperating. The cluster concept for rolling out hydrogen fuel stations near high-density cities definitely has merit.

Green Business- The NY Times seems to have embraced clean energy technologies as it rolls out a Business of Green section and blog. There were as many as 10 stories alone today regarding the environment and new clean technologies. Included were stories on solar, electricity generated from cow manure, a possible wind farm proposal to be located 10 miles of the coast of Long Island. Reading all of these stories as a compiled work clearly makes the case for clean energy as leading our future economy.

Ebay Green- Auction giant Ebay has created a sister site, WorldofGood.com to sell goods produced with social and environmental goals in mind. Ebay is looking to create “ethical supply chains” and the prices on this site will be fixed as opposed to auction. Ebay knows good business when it sees it. The Natural Marketing Institute estimates that by 2010, the environmentally friendly goods market, will grow to $420 billion.

Portland rules

Most Sustainable City- Portland, Oregon has captured the top spot for the fourth year in a row as most sustainable of the top 50 largest US cities. The rankings by Sustainlane.com take 16 factors into consideration, which the organization summarizes as “ which cities are most self sufficient, prepared for the unexpected, and taking steps toward preserving and enhancing their quality of life”. Here’s the top 10:

1. Portland
2. San Francisco
3. Seattle
4. Chicago
5. New York City
6. Boston
7. Minneapolis
8. Philadelphia
9. Oakland
10. Baltimore

I was happy to see so many East coast cities slugging it out with the West. Bottom of the list went to cities like: Mesa, Las Vegas, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis and Nashville.

Podcar City: Ithaca- Ithaca, NY is by all means a small bucolic college town (Cornell, Ithaca College, etc) so, traffic congestion should be low on its priority list, but just last week it hosted the Sustainable Transportation Conference. Sponsored by Swedish Institute for Sustainable Transportation the conference focused on something called the Podcar. The Podcar model is cool as it runs on an elevated track and for the most part you have a more private car versus the subway model. The efficiency is built into the notion that there is no idling in traffic and it provides a direct path to common points in a city. Basically, a commuter can summon the car to their stop, program in their destination and all for the cost of anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 per trip. Ithaca is being considered as a test market in America due to the size of the Cornell College population estimated at 30,000 students, professors and staff. Additionally, it has a well-educated population and the developers are curious how well the system would work in snow. Curious idea that also includes a serious price tag, but forward thinking requires some risk.

Rocking the Casbah with Komissar Paulson

Words Of The Week- Treasury Commissar Hank Paulson unleashed the term of the week “illiquid assets”. Illiquid is defined by Merriam-Webster as 1 : not being cash or readily convertible to cash 2 ; deficient in liquid assets. Another interesting term attributed to the bailout program is “clawback-provision” which ascertains that the Commissar would have the powers to force companies to recoup previous payments to executives of the companies involved in the government bailout. It is definitely proving to be a Safire week as we try to comprehend the “official speak” and word choices of this latest bailout. Commissar Paulson insisting on a “clean” bill being passed by Congress; “clean” in this context pretty much meaning no strings attached. What is beginning to happen to this 3-page bailout bill, is full on lobbying by the finance industry. Initially, it was to bailout only bad mortgage debts, but somewhere during the weekend “all financial instruments” were added. Additionally, this program was to only rescue US firms since it is funded by taxpayer dollars, but now any financial firm can be added. So American taxpayers could very well be bailing out foreign-owned firms. I ask all of you to pay close attention as Commissar Paulson continues to consolidate the means of production into the government’s hands while trying to jam through this 3-page document with no provisos for oversight of how he intends to spend nearly a trillion dollars of taxpayer’s monies.

F**k Ford & Chicago Plan

No Fiesta In USA- Our fine friends at Ford have no plans to sell the 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic model here in the US. The sporty subcompact only gets an astounding 65 miles to the gallon. The model is to be sold beginning this November and will only be available in Europe and priced at USD$25,700. The problem my friends is this car runs on diesel and Americans still have a notion that diesel fuel is too dirty. Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Honda all plan to introduce diesel models in 2010, so get used to it. So while Ford refuses to the market this car in the US, they are proudly trumpeting their new Ford F-150 pickup that gets a whole….get ready for this, 21 miles a gallon in highway driving, 15 miles in city driving! Wow! Lucky American consumers! The new Ford F-150 SFE (Superior Fuel Economy), yes you read that right, will be 8% more fuel efficient than the last model. Good luck to the American consumer in trying to find a fuel-efficient auto manufactured by an American company on our soil.
Source: BusinessWeek, NY Times Additional reporting: David Wray

Windy Green City- Mayor Richard M. Daley announced yesterday an aggressive plan to reduce heat-trapping gases in Chicago. The plan would include changes in the city’s building codes to promote energy efficiency and installing huge solar panel systems on municipal buildings. The plan received guidance from the Union of Concerned Scientists. It calls for reducing emissions by 25% by the year 2020. Included in the plan were models that actually presented how Chicago’s climate could change with global warming. It concluded by the end of the century Chicago would enjoy the same climate as East Texas. Congrats to Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago for putting forth such a serious effort that we hope will be a model for other cities.
Source: NY Times

Live Earth- Al Gore announced the next Live Earth concert will be headlined by Bon Jovi and be held in Mumbai, India on December 7, 2008. I am still trying to understand these concerts, as after expenses there is little to donate to environmental groups. Seems like a mistaken notion to stage such large events, use so much energy without a clear mission.

Republicans Abandon Free Market In Droves: Principles Disappear Quicker Than Investment Banks

“I fear the government has passed the point of no return, we have the irony of a free-market administration doing things that the most liberal Democratic administration would never have been doing in its wildest dreams.”- Ron Chernow, financial historian-New York Times 9/18/08

Bailout Bonanza Detroit- Seems like Mssr. Wagoner, Mulally and Nardelli have been charming the pants of members of Congress the past two days. Lawmakers seem to be swayed into agreeing to $25 billion in subsidies for automakers. Nancy Pelosi gushed: “We see this as a way to strengthen the technological base of America,” “We consider this a major investment in innovation”. Allen Mulally, the chief executive of Ford, had this to say: “It was a great day.” When asked about the perception of the bailout Mulally replied gleefully, “I would characterize it as an enabler.” Wow, he got that right. He is the enablee of the enabler. Presidential election years continue to prove just too grand.
Source: New York Times

344:1- This is the current ration of CEO pay to worker pay. Nick Kristoff’s column in today’s NY Times perfectly lays out the reason any new government regulation after this weeks mess, needs to begin with CEO compensation. This is a must read column for all us worker bees.

Respect- Phillip E. Clapp 1954-2008

Bailout Bonanza

Help Us Build Stupid Vehicles- Bailout fever has hit all industries not just finance. Our good friends, Rick Wagoner of GM and Bill Ford of Ford descended on Washington yesterday to play the Taxpayers Please Subsidize Us game. Unlike, 1979 when Chrysler received a mere $1.2 billion, these guys are hoping for at least $25 billion upwards to maybe $50 billion. First off, it can be very much argued that ultimately the Chrysler bailout of 29 years ago hardly set the industry on the correct course. Now these pigs (in Wagoner’s case a $15.5 billion dollar loss in one quarter this year) come gleefully to the trough to plead how green they have become. I don’t mean to sound like a Heritage Foundation member, but these companies should receive zero subsidies. Each knowingly has a Euro division that builds small, fuel-efficient autos; these divisions remain quite profitable. They continued to sucker the American public in marketing SUV’s with bigger profit margins. To now claim that they need this money to retrofit plants and bring new green technology is a bit much, a bit too late. When the Japanese companies like Toyota have an entire seven-story building staffed with employees working solely on powertrain and battery technology, how will these clowns ever catch up. I realize just yesterday I was trumpeting the new Chevy Volt but at what cost to American consumers and taxpayers. These guys have fought higher mileage standards with every lobbyist penny available and now they demand money to produce higher mileage vehicles from taxpayers? Throw these bums out of DC and Detroit and turn car manufacturing over to the Silicon Valley. No taxpayer subsidies for old dirty fossil fuel technology losers.


Drill Baby Drill- The House yesterday approved the Democrats' sponsored bill to lift the longtime ban on offshore drilling 236-189. The Bill now goes to the Senate for deliberation, though Congress is in short session in order to be home for the elections, so one shouldn’t expect any progress. This Bill, though sad, as politics remains the cause for the offshore drilling backslide, does encompass some new alternative energy benefits. Oil companies would lose some tax benefits and utilities would be required to 15% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2020. The Grand Oil Party (GOP) is still unhappy (176 GOP congressman voted against it) that this plan didn’t go far enough in providing more dirty fossil fuels. In reality the whole thing is a political sham to get voters off Congress-peoples asses for still developing no formal cohesive energy policy.


OZONE- Scientists reported this week that the Stratospheric Ozone layer continues to show signs of depletion. Additionally, it was reported the Artic ice shelf has the second least coverage since tracking began in 1979. So, not a exceptionally good week for Planet Earth.

Holy Crap, Wall Street is burning!

Electric Car- GM will reveal the new Chevy Volt this morning and with it, perhaps its own future. The Volt, which is a bit of a hybrid-electric car can travel 40 miles on only an electric charge. The Volt’s design, at least in concept form, was receiving many accolades. Unauthorized pictures of the production version however, have been very disappointing, showing a boxy typically ugly American sedan. GM claims this unauthorized photos are not the actual production version of Volt. Another concern is pricing with rumors this car will cost upwards of $40,000. Why can Honda price the new Insight hybrid at under $20,000 and American manufacturers need to price their model at twice as much? New picture of production version just posted. Have to say it actually looks kind of cool.


RGGI- The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is to launch in less than 10 days. Ten states from Maryland to Maine in the Northeast are members in this program to tackle climate change by putting limits on carbon emissions of utilities and making them pay for each ton of pollutants. 233 plants will fall under this program that in a sense rewards them financially to reduce such emissions. The shear number of states participating, ten, indicates this is most ambitious attempt at capping these emissions in the U.S. It will also create a carbon cap and trade market that will auction off carbon futures. Emissions in the Northeast have already seen somewhat of a decline, but RGGI will be am interesting experiment in trying to reward cleaner energy production.
Source: New York Times

Oh, the French- According to Le Figaro, France is considering taxing any non-recyclable throwaway plates and cutlery, in a move to encourage consumers to purchase more environmentally favorable products. Le Figaro also announced a list of other products the government was considering adding to this program including; refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, batteries and wooden furniture. Viva Le France!

Fraud Environmentalists

Palinocrity Environmentalist- Once again Sarah Palin is caught editing her past. Palin in an interview with ABC News Charlie Gibson now concurs that humans have contributed to climate change. Reminded of her earlier comments such as, “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. ... I'm not one, though, who would attribute it to being man-made." and this ditty, "I'm not an Al Gore, doom-and-gloom environmentalist blaming the changes in our climate on human activity." In the current interview she challenges Gibson to “Show me where I have ever said that there is absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had an effect on climate change. I have not said that.” This one is turning into one slippery character. The media needs to come out of its trance like state and start researching this woman’s past statements and actions. In my opinion there is no way to paint her as anything near concerned with the environment. She should take a trip up to the North Slope of Alaska and watch as her state continues to collapse into the ocean.


Pelosi’s Gamble- Nancy Pelosi is taking a risk in scheduling a vote that in exchange for allowing offshore oil drilling 50 miles off the US coastline will be coupled with Democratic supported energy initiatives. In allowing for this initiative to come to a vote, Pelosi is seeking such things as renewable tax incentives to be paid for by repealing the federal oil industry subsidies, new alternative fuel requirements for utility companies, new natural gas programs and home and office energy efficiency measures. Democrats claim that the 50 mile barrier is better than what oil companies and Republicans want which would put oil rigs within 3 miles of the coastline. The Republicans are so far up oils ass indications are they will not support the bill due to the 50 mile ban and wanting more dirty fossil fuels explored. The Republicans continue to impede any progress on clean energy initiatives. I hope everyone keeps this in mind as the Republican ticket continues to trumpet its green friendliness.


Back In the Saddle- Honda is revamping the Insight which was the first hybrid on the road back in 1999. The new 2010 model Insight is much improved and has a Prius-like design profile. This hybrid rides on an all new platform and will be available on Earth Day, April 22nd. Pricing starts at $19,000 which seems like a lot of value. Honda plans to expand several other model lines to hybrid versions and has hopes of selling 500,000 annually by 2015.

Drill, Baby, Drill-Part 2

Sex, Drugs & Oil- The timing could not be more perfect as Congress considers lifting the ban on off shore drilling and the Interior Department displays total malfeasance. Something deemed “a culture of ethical failure” has overridden the Minerals Management Service, which oversees $10 billion in collected royalties. Supposedly, there has been a total free-for-all in both the Denver office and DC with gift taking, drugs and sex. The reports portray a dysfunctional organization riddled with conflicts of interest during the entirety of the Bush administration. The reports also site “a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity”. Who knew if you wanted hedonism in the workplace that the Interior Department would beat out rock n’ roll?

In light of the above, find below letter from Albert Gore:

I need your help. Will you make a call?



Congress will consider energy legislation this week. Of course, the oil industry is pushing its "drill, drill" slogan with all its might -- and some are hoping to use this for political advantage. 



Meanwhile, tax credits for investments in renewables have not been extended, and the growing renewables business that just made America the largest producer of wind power in the world, is on the verge of shutting down huge planned projects all over the country.



Billions in private investment, thousands of megawatts of new, clean energy, and more than 100,000 new jobs expected for 2009 will be lost.

We face a stark choice: subsidize old, dirty energy or invest in new, clean energy. This should be easy, but the influence of the oil lobby is deep -- they've already spent more than $100 million in lobbying and advertising this year. Please call your members of Congress now and tell them to pass legislation that will Repower America.


Washington is being diverted by all the political noise around "drill, drill" away from what really will make a difference -- building a new, clean energy future. Projects in the pipeline that will power millions of homes will be canceled, setting us back for years, if Congress doesn't do the right thing now. Congress needs to hear from all of us.

Click here to make a quick call today.



Thank you so much,

Al Gore



Predicting Sea Change- A new draft report from the United States' top intelligence analyst forecasts future security threats to the U.S. and other nations from climate change, as well as declining influence of the U.S. on world affairs. The report is intended to brief the new U.S. president early next year on the security outlook for the next 15 years, and parts of the assessment may sound familiar to environmentalists and other climate watchers since the U.S. intelligence community is apparently up on its climate science. The report predicts that climate change will cause drought and food shortages and exacerbate freshwater supplies around the globe; it will also likely cause dustbowl conditions in the U.S. Southwest making the area hostile to agriculture. For developing countries, climate change "could be the straw that breaks the camel's back," leading to political and humanitarian crises and spurring mass migrations, said report author Thomas Fingar.- Washington Post & Grist.org


Matthew Timothy O’Mahoney (1962-2001)- It’s been seven years since my friend Matthew was murdered while at work at Cantor Fitzgerald located at 1 World Trade Center. On this day I even do the cornball thing and watch as his name is read at the memorial service. Matt was always the guiding light and social leader. When I was being a recluse up in the country Matt would bring the city to the small town of Hudson. Nights out on the town, dinner parties with the locals, Matt was like the mayor. We were not friends for many years, but it felt like forever and his memory will always remain with me.

Drill, Baby, Drill! Pleasuredome St.Paul

Shock and Awe or Shuck and Jive and the Kitchen Sunk- Wow, what a spectacle the Pleasuredome in St. Paul turned out to be. Rudy Giuliani leading the audience in mantras of “drill, baby, drill” while speaking afloat on imagery of the Hudson River? Rudy walking on water? Convention organizers should have just superimposed oil derricks onto the image of the Hudson with NYC in the background, as this was their stated energy goal all evening. Governor Palinocrity in her speech continued to keep all things energy in the fossil fuel category, “offshore drilling, nuclear (well this is one clean idea, with lots of waste), clean-coal” (really?) only as a small footnote is wind & solar mentioned. Think about it, this convention did nothing to really address new clean technologies as being the future. Additionally, Palinocrity even made the bold statement that when the McShame ticket arrives in Washington (hasn’t one of them lived there for 30 years?) they would pass an energy policy for the future. If this is the case, then why was the Senator at the top of the ticket absent from 8 votes on the investment tax credit extension for clean energy investments? Think about it, have you ever witnessed a more shameless attempt of saying one thing and doing another. At times I am naïve, as one must realize shameless is the key adjective that defines one a politician.

New York Wind- In New York State, the Public Service Commission granted permission, in a unanimous vote to allow Spanish energy company Iberdrola, S.A. to acquire Energy East which has operations in 5 states. Iberdrola claims to want to invest as much as $2 billion in wind turbines across upstate New York. Some of the commissions own regulators were opposed due to putting too much energy production in one company’s hands. But the commission still voted for the merger based on Iberdrola obeying strict rules that would mitigate any potential price manipulation. This plan would double New York’s wind power output to 2000 megawatts in a few years time.

Peter Gabriel-Humanitarian

Peter Gabriel, Humanitarian- Twenty Years ago today the Human Rights Now!Tour played its first gig with Peter Gabriel leading the charge along with Bruce Springsteen and Sting. So it's quite fitting today that Art for Amnesty announced that Peter Gabriel is the recipient of the Amnesty International ‘Ambassador of Conscience Award’ 2008. The presentation to Peter Gabriel will take place during a ceremony at the Hard Rock Cafe in London, on September 10th, 2008.

Peter Gabriel is a long time campaigner for human rights around the world, having first worked with Amnesty during the Conspiracy of Hope Tour in 1986 and then on the ground breaking Human Rights Now! Tour in 1988. Gabriel went on to found Witness, a video community campaigning for Human Rights and more recently The Elders a private alliance of senior global figures to launch diplomatic assaults on the globe's most intractable problems.

"Peter has been at the vanguard of the struggle for human rights and justice around the world for nearly a quarter of a century" said Bill Shipsey of Art for Amnesty, “all of his wonderful work, not just with Amnesty, could justify his selection as an 'Ambassador of Conscience”.

The Ambassador of Conscience Award, now in its sixth year, recognizes exceptional individual leadership and witness in the fight to protect and promote human rights. The award, inspired by a poem written for Amnesty International by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, aims to promote the work of Amnesty International by association with the life, work and example of its 'Ambassadors' who have done so much to inspire and uplift. Former recipients include: Nelson Mandela, U2, Mary Robinson and Vaclav Havel.

The Ambassador of Conscience Award will be presented to Peter Gabriel by The Edge (guitarist with U2). A previous recipient of the award, The Edge (along with band mate Bono) has been credited by Peter Gabriel with recruiting him to Amnesty International.

The event will also mark the launch of Amnesty International's global Small Places Tour 2008 the organization’s most ambitious global music and human rights project since the Human Rights Now!
Tour in 1988. Details of the tour and the artists participating will be announced following the award presentation to Peter Gabriel.


Green Vote- Thomas Friedman’s column in today’s New York Times makes the case that voters, especially first time college students, have only one choice in this election. He basically points out that at this juncture and with all the science you would think both candidates would embrace the green movement and issues. As it turns out this is disappointingly not the reality of the upcoming election. In my mind, this is the issue of our time and I ask all of you to seriously examine the candidate’s positions on clean technologies and innovations.

Green Tennis Balls

US Open – Attended the US Open yesterday and was able to view first hand more of what hasn’t been done, then done in the tournament’s attempt to “green” practices. The only real green here seemed to be the tennis balls. First off, there were more plastic beverage bottles available than a Coca Cola plant. Evian, which turns out is a tournament sponsor, did strategically locate a couple dozen recycle bins throughout the grounds. Additionally, all food items served seemed to be in plastic and more plastic that all went straight into trash bins. One piece of good news I did experience, was the fight over one squeezable bottle of mustard that the waitress in one food court kept needing for other tables (guess this is better than tons of plastic mustard containers or whatever those packets are made from). Lexus is another official sponsor of the tournament and their contribution to touting their hybrid vehicles was to pass out thousands of plastic hand fans with the Lexus logo. These pieces of crap had to end up scattered everywhere in the facility by the end of the day as no one would cart these home. I think the best thing the US Open could provide in the future is shade. The grounds have way too much exposed surface (Yes, I realize it’s a tennis center) and the common spaces and food court could use a serious planting of trees. I suggest the USTA contact Mayor Bloomberg’s office which should be able to direct them to trees. It’s like a vicious cycle at this facility as the lack of any shade or coverage feeds into the need for drinks coming in plastic vessels. So I guess overall, I was hardly impressed. I appreciate the fact the USTA bought some wind offsets, but it seems they could do a hell of a lot more in their immediate zone of influence.

Kids & Tennis- When Flavia Pennetta, who is ranked 19th in women’s tennis, continually needed to glare at the stands in Louis Armstrong Stadium in annoyance to the crying, screaming babies throughout her match yesterday, then something should be done about this. I am convinced some important game serves were blown due to this issue. What parent in his/her right mind would bring mere infants to a game like tennis, where silent spectators are the norm? Additionally, it was 85 degrees with zero shelter I was bummed by that, let alone a 12 month old kid. Parents please use common sense and enjoy a day out as a couple and leave the kids behind.

Green Campuses: According to Princeton Review’s green rating in ranking of the best colleges the below colleges scored 99 out of 100, base on how “environmental friendly, responsible and committed the universities are”:

Arizona State University, Tempe (Really? In a desert?)
Bates College
Binghamton University
College of the Atlantic
Emory University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
University of New Hampshire
University of Oregon
University of Washington
Yale University

London, Alice & Tennis

Green Boris- London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled a plan last week to help deal with the challenge of climate change in his city. It’s estimated that 15% of London is susceptible to flooding due to global warming. At stake is the protection of $293 billion in assets in London proper and all along the Thames. The goal is to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2025. Included in the plan is urban planning to incorporate more planting of trees and attempts at urban design for a city thats temperatures are increasing. Additionally, improvements on London’s ancient drainage system and compulsory water metering are part of the plan. It’s encouraging that local governments continue to lead the way in preparation and actions in dealing with this crisis.

Alice Rules- The ever great Alice Waters has formed an organization called FoodDeclaration.org. They are calling for a radical approach in food and agriculture. Below find the main principles:

We believe that the following twelve principles should frame food and agriculture policy, to ensure that it will contribute to the health and wealth of the nation and the world. A healthy food and agriculture policy:
1) Forms the foundation of secure and prosperous societies, healthy communities, and healthy people.
2) Provides access to affordable, nutritious food to everyone.
3) Prevents the exploitation of farmers, workers, and natural resources; the domination of genomes and markets; and the cruel treatment of animals, by any nation, corporation or individual.
4) Upholds the dignity, safety, and quality of life for all who work to feed us.
5) Commits resources to teach children the skills and knowledge essential to food production, preparation, nutrition, and enjoyment.
6) Protects the finite resources of productive soils, fresh water, and biological diversity.
7) Strives to remove fossil fuel from every link in the food chain and replace it with renewable resources and energy.
8) Originates from a biological rather than an industrial framework.
9) Fosters diversity in all its relevant forms: diversity of domestic and wild species; diversity of foods, flavors and traditions; diversity of ownership.
10) Requires a national dialog concerning technologies used in production, and allows regions to adopt their own respective guidelines on such matters.
11) Enforces transparency so that citizens know how their food is produced, where it comes from, and what it contains.
12) Promotes economic structures and supports programs to nurture the development of just and sustainable regional farm and food networks.


US Open- I am fortunate enough to be attending some sessions of the US Open Tennis Tournament today in Flushing, Queens. I am looking forward to personally observing the efforts of the USTA and the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in lowering their carbon footprint. Some of these efforts include: increased recycling, environmentally-sustainable product sourcing, green outreach to fans and purchasing carbon offset wind credits. Also, the more tennis-orientated efforts include recycling tennis ball cans and donating used tennis balls to youth tennis programs. I will be considerably disappointed if all I see is plastic water bottles everywhere though. Having player transport provided by Lexus with a fleet only 20% hybrid is a huge disappointment too. I will be taking mass transit of course.