President Bush opened Alaska’s Bristol Bay (seen above) for oil drilling. What does he think he will accomplish?
Congress protected this area over a decade ago and now, because of greed, laziness or both, the area may be developed while contributing to the burning of fossil fuels.
Here’s the reference article.
I found this Newsweek article on Digg. It makes a very good case for coal being the next major energy source in the U.S. and possibly the world.
Not only would a car run 30% cleaner on CTL (Coal to Liquid) fuel, but they can capture C02 emissions during the manufacturing process to clean that up too. The U.S., India and China could all sustain their own transportation needs with the coal they have in their respective countries which makes for greater national energy security and less reliance on foreign oil sources.
Oh. And it would be about 25% cheaper than oil.
Check it out. It’s a quick, good read.
I just realized it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything green. For shame! Fret not dear readers I’m still doin’ the green thing.
A while back I set some goals for myself. So far I’m batting about 500. Sure enough, I take TRAX to work which has affected me in three ways. First, it’s cutting my C02 output dramatically. Second, I’m saving a ton of money on gas. Third, as a result of saving so much money I’ve noticed I don’t care nearly as much about gas prices as I did before. (Hey, any stress I can eliminate from life is welcome.) Of course, when I do drive I take it easy on the accelerating and always carpool when it’s an option.
As for off-setting our electricity consumption with wind power, well, I had to be a little flexible on that one since it’s not just my money going out the door, savvy? Oh, and CFL’s? They’ll make great stocking stuffers this year.
Other things I’ve done include buying a Nalgene bottle instead of using disposable water bottles. Our new computer is not only less noisy, but the new processors use significantly less energy than the dual G4 chips I had in my last Mac. We now live in a ground-floor apartment which means better insulation and lower energy bills thanks to a non-vaulted ceiling.
I was given a Happy Hat for my birthday which I put on instead of turning up the furnace. At work I’m able to work on a project for a local utility that’s encouraging people to make their homes more energy efficient. While I personally think the campaign should have more of a green twist to it, I’m still happy to be working on something good for the environment, even if the motivation for people to participate is financial.
This article from Popular Mechanics talks about a man who gets about 100 mpg on road trips. He put some solar panels on the roof of his Prius to keep the batteries charged and…ta-da. The article asks, “If this guy can to it in his back yard, why can’t automakers?”
Perhaps it’s the conspiracy theorist in me, but I think the question isn’t why CAN’T automakers do it, but why WON’T automakers do it. Which brings me to another irksome question. Right now, the gas prices in Utah are well above average. All throughout the press you read about how gas prices are falling. Twelve cents here, five cents there. The prices in Utah? Down maybe two or three cents. The explanation? Three of the five oil refineries in Utah (that refine the oil we use in Utah) are shut down for repairs, so output is still low while demand remains the same. My question is, if we’re getting our oil refined here in Utah, why did our prices skyrocket after Katrina hit? I think the whole thing is an unregulated mess, and I lean toward the opinion that if Bush weren’t in office with all his oil company backing, maybe things would be different.
It looks like GM’s whole “Live Green, Go Yellow” campaign centered around their flex fuel vehicles is a bit of a sham. The fuel itself is nearly impossible to come by, even in the corn-rich Midwest. So these supposed environmentally friendly machines are chugging along on the same amount of gas they always have been.
Why the big push by GM to promote these vehicles that, in most circumstances, aren’t any different than a regular gas-guzzling SUV? According to TreeHugger, “It turns out that the Government gives GM a bonus in the average fuel economy standards, whether or not the pickup truck or SUV ever sees a drop of the stuff. Some purchasers don’t even know they are driving flex-fuel vehicles.”
What? Corporate America treating environmental reform as no more than a PR stunt? Sounds familiar. And the U.S. auto industry wonders why they’re slowly going under. Here’s a tip: do something good, for the right reason, and you’ll come out ahead.
