Get Energy Smart! NOW!

This year could be a breakthrough year to truly change the nature of dialogue and action in Washington, DC, and nationwide. On the tip of the tongue: will there be a super majority in the Senate (59 Democratic Party, One Socialist (Sanders), and the only Connecticut for Lieberman Senator)? Once a seemingly near-impossible, very long-shot, now truly competitive race that could help achieve this change: the race for Alaska’s next Senator.

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One of the joys of 2008: there are too many good races, too many viable opportunities to turn Red districts Blue on the electoral map. Sadly, on Kos’ latest map of the Western US, one of the opportunities that we all should be banding together to make a reality remains red. In CA-46, we have a true progressive, Debbie Cook, is facing a die-hard troglodyte, global-warming denying, immigrant bashing, etc … Dana Rohrabacher who might be “the biggest blithering idiot” on the Hill.

In the past few weeks, this race has tightened. We are talking within measure of error. Debbie doesn’t have DCCC behind her but she does have us. A few $XX.01s could help to flip a district which would, in this case, shift from deep (corrupt) red representation to truly a “better Democrat”.

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After stridently supporting the Wall Street bailout, this morning’s Washington Post’s lead editorial launched a broadside against the bailout plan for the automobile industry. Amid this uneven editorial, which both raises legitimate questions and displays an impressive tone-deafness when contrasted with supporting bailouts for financial ‘tycoons’, is this paragraph:

Congress approved $7,500 tax credits for purchasers of GM’s much-touted plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, built to run 40 miles on a single electric charge. That would knock the net cost of the four-seat Volt, due out in late 2010, down to $32,500 — not much less than a basic Cadillac CTS costs now. Even then, it could take a decade of Volt driving to recoup the difference in purchase prices between it and the far cheaper Toyota Prius. Assuming a few well-heeled drivers take that deal, why should poorer people be taxed to enable them?

This paragraph provides a window on a stunning level of ignorance and shallow-thinking in the Post‘s editorial team when it comes to energy, technological innovation, business and other issues.

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Bit by bit, certainly in time for the election, people are seeing through the McBlurring of the McCain-Pain disastrous concepts for a darker energy future. From a poll yesterday:

The IL Sen. has opened up a sizeable lead on who would best manage U.S. energy policies. Obama leads 51-36%; one week ago, he led 45-40%. Obama’s 15% margin is his largest lead on energy since the survey completed 10/10.

Hmmm … Does that 36% represent those who are chanting Drill, Baby, Drill?

Vampires are among us. When you aren’t looking (or, when you are looking but not seeing), when you are sleeping, when you aren’t paying attention, Vampires are sucking up vital juices, threatening our very existence.

Vampire Power: Treehugger TV is one video that, amid all the political videos, merits going viral.

A video to educate about the importance of Slaying Vampires.

About the need to Get Energy Smart! NOW!!!

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Arriving in the park’sparking lot, the stomach turns with that green “H” and racing stripe “hybrid” on the massive Yukon looming over me. Yes, greenwashing is probably too polite a term for plastering Hybrid all over that 20 miles per gallon monstrocity. Greenwashing monstrous vehicles is clearly an industry norm, with Toyota using its street creds from the Prius remain clean while pushing the Tundra.

The later addition to the greenwashing crowd (at least for me): Mercedes-Benz and the BlueTEC SUVs. According to advertising in the Washington POst

Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC SUVs offer incredible driving range and a remarkable 20-30% better fuel economy than comparable gasoline models. …

Wow. 20-30%! Hold it, what is the baseline? Evidently around 21, since the claimed fuel economy (not EPA) is 27.5 or 27.8 miles per gallon. Sigh, while that is good compared to the Yukon tank, this isn’t efficiency preformance that will help solve the serious problems we face.

What is the banner?

Drive farther. Save Fuel. Help Environment.
Check, check, and check.

While the “drive farther” clearly related to the enormity of the fuel tank, consider the words. Doesn’t this imply an encouragement of driving farther? Doesn’t this suggest, implicity, that “drive farther” is achieved even while saving fuel? In short, “drive farther” won’t save fuel and won’t help the environment.

This diary will be a relative short and sweet one. For once, no links with the supporting evidence and material …

Just a very simply outline of how the United States could, without Herculean efforts, eliminate coal-fired electricity from the electrical system by 2030.

And, do so while improving the economy.

Very simply, 50% of US electricity comes from coal at this time. This is a serious portion of the overall US carbon load. It is also a major source of mercury and other pollutants worsening our lives. And, just remember, clean coal is like dry water — it simply doesn’t exist other than in advertising slogans. In another slogan, the United States is referred to as the “Saudi Arabia of Coal”.

So, how can we eliminate the US dependency on coal-fired electricity while improving the economy and not increasing dependency on foreign energy sources?

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Tomorrow night, Frontline will broadcast Heat, a result of some 18 months of work …

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Architecture2030 is a tremendous group, with concepts that should be seized and acted upon as part and parcel of moving forward toward an Energy Smart future. Recently, they’ve made a bit of a name for themselves with excellent graphics that call out just how sensible John McCain’s energy policy proposals are for changing the nation toward a better path forward.

Today, they just released the graphic to the right.

Yes, according to their work, 20 years from now, John McCain’s 45 nuclear power plants would provide just over two percent of business-as-usual electricity generation.

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The spin machines work long and hard and fast nowadays. Email boxes around the country are filled with “fact sheets” and other material from campaigns during presidential debates and in the hours afterwards. Among other things, the Obama campaign produced “John McCain’s 26 Lies Tonight“. Lie #16:

RENEWABLE ENERGY: McCain claimed to support renewable energies, but his record shows otherwise. He has voted 23 times against investing in renewable energies and opposed a bipartisan effort to remove tax breaks for oil companies in order to invest in renewable energy.

23 times? Wow, that seems pretty bad … except that the real story is worse than that. On at least 50 occasions, John McCain voted against clean energy or (14 times) simply didn’t bother to show up.

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