Get Energy Smart! NOW!

In my neck of the woods, the local Republicans are showing a real green thumb (actually, perhaps green hammer) as there is green sprouting all over. Green signs with a gas pump are appearing with the words “Drill Now! Pay Less! Vote GOP!”

Now, other than the direct linkage of a gas pump and the Republican Party (the Grand Oil Party), it is hard to see any honesty in this poster. It is a continuation of the concerted Republican efforts to mislead and lie to the American people about critical energy issues. It is, in fact, impressive that this sign can be deceptive and simply dishonest on so many levels at the same time.

[UPDATED from Taking Deception to Extremes: “Drill Now! Pay Less! Vote GOP!

1. A green sign? A green sign associated with a gas pump, drilling, and the Republican Party? Am I the only one to see the irony of this? And, well, this greenwashing cannot be considered accidental. No, this is part and parcel of a systematic attempt to greenwash the McCain campaign and Republicans into something that they are not.

2. Drill Now? Reality is that new drilling doesn’t happen overnight in newly opened areas and, in any event, the world does not have the drilling rigs to expand offshore drilling in the near term. Opening up new lands (ashore or at sea) to drilling, as the Republicans are demanding, will not lead to more drilling for at least five more years (and probably more than than in any notable amount) and not significant amounts of production for well over a decade (eg, the 2020s) … at the minimum. That additional production from offshore drilling: about 200-250 thousand barrels per day or about 1 percent of US and 0.25 percent of current global consumption.

3. Pay Less? Okay, the Department of Energy analysis suggests that opening up drilling would contribute to a to about a 1.2 cent reduction in gasoline prices … twenty years from now.

4. Vote GOP? If you want “green”, if you want to be “paying less” for your (overall) energy, it is clear that voting for the GOP won’t get you there. And, as noted above, they can’t deliver drilling now. Oops, perhaps this isn’t fully dishonest, as it is the Graft-ridden Grand Oil Party, after all.

So, at least four major truthiness elements in one sign with six words. Unlikely to be a record in stretching credularity and creating confusion, but this sign is definitely in competition for the most misleading elements with so few words as the Republicans continue to press forward with Drillusion.

A Draft LTE …

Here is a draft letter to the editor that I will send to my local newspapers. Please provide comments, thoughts, reactions below. And, when (not if) these sorts of signs start appearing in your neighborhood, listen to the Boy Scouts, and Be Prepared …

A deceptive sign is sprouting up like mushrooms around our neighborhoods. This green sign reads “Drill Now! Pay Less! Vote GOP!”

Some facts from the Department of Energy:

Drilling “Now” is not a possibility in any newly opened drilling areas. Drilling would not occur for years and notable production would not occur until the 2020s.

New offshore drilling would add about 200,000 barrels per day to the world supply … in 2030. (Note that, in the past year, US consumption has dropped almost 1,000,000 barrels per day due to increased energy efficiency and conservation moves.) In 2030, this increased production would help lower prices … about 1.2 cents per gallon.

And, can anyone not see the utter deception of coloring a pro-drilling, pro-fossil fuel sign green?

The only element not dishonest here: encouraging votes for the Grand Oil Party.

We need real solutions to problems, not empty and misleading slogans.

Does that work? Let’s go through the list:

And, as a reprise, some words from the Words of Mass Deception from the 2004 RNC …