Get Energy Smart! NOW!

Every day it seems gas prices are edging higher. For almost a year,
oil prices have increased by one percent per week. A year ago, $100
barrel seemed a nightmare fantasy to many. Today, oil at that price
is viewed almost nostalgically — as the good old days. In the face of
growing price pressures during an election year, the Democratic and
Republican parties have radically different answers, radically
different approaches to the challenge. At the end of the day, neither
is dealing with the fundamental challenges facing humanity with full
honesty. One party seems caught in confusion and disarray, the other
is providing direct answers to the challenge based on fundamental
dishonesty — answers that will aggravate, rather than solve, our
problems.
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After the fold is a listing of the 10 nations with the most expensive gasoline prices and the ten nations with the cheapest gasoline. And, a simple question, with a thought: Which list would you want to live in? And, what does that suggest?
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Peak Oil. Gas Prices. Global Warming.

There are real problems and real threats with terrifying implications that merit response.  

Yet, threat and crisis creates opportunity.

We have, before us (and the US), an opportunity for transformation.

For responding to threat and handling crisis to create something better, to turn to a better path.

And, well, the question becomes how to frame and describe that opportunity.  

How about this?

Objective 2050:  A Propserous and Climate-Friendly Society

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Amid skyrocketing oil, gasoline, coal, and electricity (coming to a neighborhood near you) prices, 2008 offers Americans quite serious and stark choices between knowledgeable, impassioned, and thoughtful candidates when it comes to finding paths toward a prosperous 21st century economy, on the one side, and Fossil-Fool candidates focused on tightening our shackles to the ever-more costly (pollution, financial, otherwise) and archaic oil-coal based energy system.

One of these stark choices comes in Nebraska , where Scott Kleeb is facing down with Mike Johanns.

Scott was an easy choice for membership in the ranks of the Energy Smart Act Blue page. Join me after the fold for some indications as to why.

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Sometimes those of who focus on energy and global warming issues seem to screaming into the wind, with little attention from others in the community. Netroots Nation‘s announcement for the 2009 put those emotions to the side. The Netroots Nation staff worked hard to find a site and location that meets the types of standards that are hoped to from us.

To be held at the nation’s leading edge LEED Green convention center,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is close to major US cities, with a good rail network providing options to get there from New York, Washington, DC, and Chicago.

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Mañana.

Sigh.

Procrastination is a disease that inflicts many of us (certainly not excluding this author) and The US.

It seems that there is nary a chore, nary a challenge whose solution can’t be put off to tomorrow or, preferably, the day after.

The time has passed. It is time to change our habits. We must start doing our chores.

We must stop making a mess. We must fight to clean up our collective messes.

We, together, can solve tomorrow’s problems. Today.

Al Gore gave a speech Thursday (video) in Washington, DC, one that set a major objective before us, a path toward clean up our biggest mess, the dumping of carbon and other pollutants into our atmosphere and waters. He set a path for us to begin to Solve Tomorrow’s Problems, Today. And, he gave another speech earlier today in Austin, Texas, at Netroots Nation that raised, not just Global Warming, other serious problems in our society and democracy. He laid out problems, but, at the core, stated: Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Work together, fight to Solve Tomorrow’s Problems. Today!

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Mitch McConnell (R-Tenn) has used his power as Minority Leader (and, previously Majority Leader) to use deceit and parliamentary rules to defeat any moves for sensible energy policy. Truth seems irrelevant to Energy Dumber Mitch.

These lies and pursuit of horrific energy policies create high expectations for his Democratic Party opponent Bruce Lunsford. Sadly, those expectations were stained a bit today. As part of a fundraising letter to supporters, Lunsford included the following reason to vote for him:

McConnell opposes a gas tax holiday to offer immediate relief to Kentuckians.

Bruce:

The gas tax was Energy Dumb when McCain proposed it.

It was Energy Dumb when Hillary supported it.

And, it remains Energy Dumb right now.

The problems with the phony gas tax holiday are well-known. Little of the money (and very little money) would reach average citizens, with most going into increased profits for the oil sector. It would exacerbate our energy problems, not solve them. It would defund transfortation funding and cost jobs. It …

Carpe Diem: Seize the Day. Bruce Lunsford, after what was otherwise a quite reasonable letter, rather than pursuing Energy Smart concepts, chose the Energy Dumb path.

Sigh …

Do you really want to make it a choose between Energy Dumb Bruce and Energy Dumber Mitch?

Bruce, it is time to Get Energy Smart! NOW!!!

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Al Gore has set a challenge: 100% clean electricity, 100%!

Get us (the US, and eventually, all the globe) off coal.

And, determine to do this within a decade.

People are going to scream that this is impossible. They will be wrong.  This is possible, difficult to do in the timeline perhaps, but absolutely possible.  They are wrong.

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Al Gore has set a challenge: 100% clean electricity, 100%! Get us (the US, and eventually, all the globe) off coal. And, determine to do this within a decade.

People are going to scream that this is impossible. They will be wrong.  This is possible, difficult to do in the timeline perhaps, but possible.

They will, as with the very mediocre Associated Press story, focus on the cost to buy the infrastructure, rather the overall benefits and the cost to own a renewable electrical system.  By doing so, they will be wrong. This is doing a cost-benefit discussion with only mentioning cost, and not the benefits, the huge benefits from electricity to reduced pollution to improved health to improved security. 

Al Gore is setting a target. Do I agree with 100% of his words? No, not necessarily.

But, let us think about something for a second. We should think of objectives at two levels:

Threshhold: What is a minimal acceptable level of capability and achievement that is acceptable.

Al Gore has sent a target, an objective target: 100% renewable electricity in a decade. This is possible, even though a very serious objective level target. We should have this objective in our mind. It is achievable, even if with difficult.

We should set the objective target but we should also understand what is the absolute minimum threshhold target for renewable electricity generation?

We might quibble about the dates and exact priorities, but at the core:

This is possible

This is necessary

This is security, economy, health, opportunity … rolled into one.

 

Americans should remember that we are, together, Bob the Builder:  “Can we do it?  Yes, WE CAN!”

NOTE: This speech will be discussed widely in the days, weeks, months ahead. Wonkroom had a good brief heads-up discussion.

Americans United for Change has launched a campaign to Free Our Oil! While an interesting response to the Republican focus on lying to support drilling, I challenged this campaign, stating that this effort supports a quite dangerous framing of the problems and solutions.

If we make this just about gas prices, we are caught into a very dangerous framing. “Lowering” gas prices gets people thinking back to cheaper energy unit costs days. We need people, the nation thinking about enery as a system, as a “cost to own” rather than “cost to buy”. We (the nation) should foster upfront investment (help it) that will lower total “cost to own” by reducing wasteful use of polluting energy. While difficult in a robocall, every single message (I would argue) should avoid getting captured in messaging that fosters thinking that we can go back to days of cheaper gasoline. Over the long term (and likely short term), it isn’t going to happen.

In response, I was asked the following question:

Say, for example, you were on TV today as a representative of the Democratic Party. The interviewer asks, “A, what is the Democratic Party doing in Congress to help lower oil/gas costs for Americans who are hurting?” What’s your answer?

The GOP has an answer – gas tax holiday and drilling offshore. You and I know that these are two options that won’t do anything significant in the short-term, and we they do nothing to change the culture of oil that we live in. However, they are ideas and Americans want to hear ideas, be them good or bad.

What can the Dems do right now to bring down costs, without sacrificing their long-term message of changing the way we think about oil. OR, given our foreign policy and the world as it is today. is $4/5/6/gallon just the new reality and we need to suck it up?

For my off-the-top of the head (basically unedited) response, follow me after the fold.
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