There Goes The Neighborhood
Instead of looking for ways to spur national interest in innovation, the House has bent over for Bush again by allowing drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness. Where once we were the inventors, the country that pushed technology forward into uncharted territory, now we do nothing but sit back on our lazy asses and take take take.
Instead of taking the opportunity to encourage education in science and researching alternative fuel sources, which would help the environment in several ways and free us from dependence on oil from the Middle East, we're just moving forward to wreck the house even more.
That's just fantastic.
Goddammit I hate this administration.
Instead of taking the opportunity to encourage education in science and researching alternative fuel sources, which would help the environment in several ways and free us from dependence on oil from the Middle East, we're just moving forward to wreck the house even more.
That's just fantastic.
Goddammit I hate this administration.
12 Comments:
I don't think anyone would argue that it is important to preserve our environment. The ANWR is a unique ecosystem that serves as home to caribou, polar bear, and whales, and their habitats should be left intact.
We have to come to grips with some other items as well:
- We are a nation dependent on oil, period. It costs more when we have to import it from other regions (like the Middle East). When we produce more domestic fuels, we can positively impact costs, which directly affects your wallet. Since the U.S. doesn't appear likely to limit its dependence on oil, then we should work to limit our dependence on FOREIGN oil.
- Oil is a finite resource. We need to continue to shift our focus toward renewable sources of energy, and the technologies that make them cost-effective to implement. See my previous post on bio-diesel fuel, and do some research on it as well. You might do well to invest in areas that promote and use alternative energy sources.
- If we're going to continue to demand a finite resource while also demanding reasonable prices, we are going to have to look for other places to find said finite resource. We can do so, while taking precautions that preserve our environment. The bottom line is that we have to strike a balance, or be prepared for high prices.
It will be important for oil companies to leave as small a footprint as possible (as they have tried to do in nearby Prudhoe Bay), and keep safeguards in place to protect the wildlife refuge.
We need energy, plain and simple. The cleaner, the cheaper, the more renewable, the better.
Off Topic -- NCLB Law Suit Filed by NEA (finally!!!)
Actual smart people saw this as an unfunded mandate when it was proposed as BushCo's platform issue in 2000. Well at least people are waking up to the fact that he just speaks and never really follows through, and never means to, on anything, ever. Never.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-nclb21.html
Chicago Sun Times:
Suit rips No Child Left Behind funding
April 21, 2005
BY KATE N. GROSSMAN Education Reporter
The nation's largest teachers union and its Illinois affiliate filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the U.S. secretary of education of failing to fully fund the federal No Child Left Behind law by several billion dollars and forcing states to make up the difference by diverting funds from gifted programs, efforts to cut class size and other initiatives.
Language in the law itself says schools can't be required to do things Washington doesn't pay for, the complaint alleges.
"Reform without resources is a cruel hoax," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, which is leading the way in the first national suit against NCLB.
"If in fact you're going to be responsible for mandating certain kinds of programs, you have to be responsible for paying for them.".
21 states act to change law
The NEA wants the courts to tell the feds they can't take away NCLB funds from states that don't use local money to implement the federal law. Other plaintiffs include NEA affiliates in several states, including Indiana and Michigan, and school districts in Michigan, Vermont and Texas.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Wednesday, is the latest in a string of attacks on President Bush's signature education initiative.
In all, 21 states have introduced legislation or taken other action to change NCLB. The law seeks to have all students performing at grade level by 2014, requires annual testing and mandates the use of only "highly qualified" teachers.
(the rest is snipped, click link above to read all)
Agreed, it's a short term solution to a long term problem and could easily be avoided with only slightly tighter fuel economy standards. Sickening.
Can't anyone see through this charade? W, Rove and Co. are working to get more cash into the hands of their friends and contributors. It's all about the 8 billion or so in tax breaks for the already wealthy...not about getting you a cheeper price for a gallon of gas:
http://educationalwhisper.blogspot.com/2005/04/more-tax-breaks-for-already-rich.html#comments
It seems obvious to me that alternative fuel sources are essential, and it's long overdue for the US to lead the way for it. Our dependence on oil will never stop, but we can certainly make an enormous dent in it by finding a way just to power vehicles differently.
http://www.energybulletin.net/5021.html
Windspike is right...it's all about who's lining who's pockets and assuaging special interests.
Alternative fuels already exist and are currently in use. This article details how the Brazillian government drastically reduced it's dependency on foreign oil by ensuring nearly half of all new cars sold this year will run on mix-fuel, specifically ethanol & oil, and that nearly 20% currently run on strictly ethanol.
The article states:
In addition, Brazil is beginning to use biodiesel — diesel made out of vegetable oils — for its trucks and buses. Last week, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva dedicated a biodiesel plant in Minas Gerais state, which will produce 12 million liters a year of this fuel.
“We are telling the world that it is absolutely possible to produce fuel from renewable resources,” Lula said at the dedication ceremony. The plant will produce fuel made from sunflower oil, soybeans and African palm. Peasants who sell these products to diesel refineries will get tax breaks ranging from 32 percent to 100 percent.
[Tax breaks for peasants?? How un-American!]
The article goes on to say:
As part of its plan, Brazil wants to sell its ethanol to the United States, arguing that it’s cheaper than U.S. corn-made ethanol.
“The United States would have a lot to gain by exporting its corn to Asia for human or animal consumption, and importing our ethanol for fuel,” Brazil’s Ambassador Roberto Abdenur says. “We could be of great help to reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.”
U.S. oil experts say it will be a hard sell. The U.S. government subsidizes U.S. corn producers, who would be up in arms if Washington lifts barriers to Brazilian ethanol. Also, the Bush administration’s pet alternative fuel program is based on hydrogen, rather than ethanol.
Be patient, U.S. officials say. If oil prices continue rising, sales of hybrid cars — powered by electricity and oil — will boom. And the Bush administration has asked Congress for $360 million for its “Freedomcar” hydrogen-powered-car research program in 2006.
Cutting off our nose to spite our face...now that's American.
Hydrogen, ethanol. Sound great, but how do we produce these products? It takes tremendous energy to produce both these products. It takes more BTU's to produce hydrogen and ethanol than to refine petroleum. So, overall, petroleum is, with current technology, petroleum is "better" for the environment. This is not to say that pushing manufacturers to research alternative fuels is a bad thing, but petroleum is not necessarily the evil here. How do you heat your home, fuel oil? natural gas? propane? All petrol products. What about electricity? How is that produced? In addition to "alternative" fuels, there needs to be education reform. We, I mean consumers, need to learn to conserve resources, no matter what they are.
And BushCo and their policies (pick one, any one) frighten me, as well as the apparent free reign Congress is affording them. How can we even consider tapping ANWR's resources? Shameful
I agree, Nedhead - I'm no scientist, and as such do not have the answer for an alternative fuel that is easy and non-harmful to the environment to produce. I DO know that we used to be a nation that invented things, and a better educational system, tax breaks or funding for companies doing research into these areas and encouragement to get creative again will get things moving in the right direction.
I do not understand why this is so hard to do. We DESPERATELY need someone with vision in the White House. Not this pompous asshole.
I fear this is a hopeless case. Are you aware that the federal government is offering tax breaks to people who buy gas/electric hybrid cars and some states are imposing taxes for doing the same thing? Apparently, you would be penalized for not buying enough gas. So, like the gas guzzler tax, this would be a gas sipper tax. This is what happens when you let Jethro Clampett live in the White House.
Hopeless case, double standards, taxing irregularities....
Yep, sounds like the piss-poor excuse of an administration that we're forced to call our own.
Hey Moxie, I hate them too!
I'm reading a lotta hate for Bush & Co, but not much substance as to why.
For example, Piksea said: "Are you aware that the federal government is offering tax breaks to people who buy gas/electric hybrid cars and some states are imposing taxes for doing the same thing?"
Hrmm, the Federal govt (e.g. Bush & Co) is offering tax breaks for hybrid cars, eh? That sounds to me like the President is putting your money where your mouth is in regards to encouraging innovation. It's the STATES that are penalizing folks. The good old local beaurocrats on both sides of the political aisle who are protecting big automakers and oil companies. That's not Bush's fault.
Finidng innovative ways to power an automobile and other ways to fuel our technology is a noble goal, and one we should continue to go after. But it'll take a long time to produce. In the meantime, something must be done to increase the supply of oil to drive down price. And Bush is doing something about it. If he wasn't, I'm sure there would be bitching about him not caring about average people, etc. i thought ATN had some good things to say at the beginning of the comments.
Just admit you don't like the man because he's of a different political party than you. And because you've swallowed too much anti-Bush propaganda and actually believe that he's some kind of moron. You can believe what you wanna believe, but the facts don't bear you out.
From: reverse_vampyr
"I'm reading a lotta hate for Bush & Co, but not much substance as to why.
For example, Piksea said: "Are you aware that the federal government is offering tax breaks to people who buy gas/electric hybrid cars and some states are imposing taxes for doing the same thing?"
Hrmm, the Federal govt (e.g. Bush & Co) is offering tax breaks for hybrid cars, eh? That sounds to me like the President is putting your money where your mouth is in regards to encouraging innovation. It's the STATES that are penalizing folks. The good old local beaurocrats on both sides of the political aisle who are protecting big automakers and oil companies. That's not Bush's fault."
** First, I believe Piksea may have been mistaken, since I can find no reference to George W. Bush being the driving force behind the tax incentives for hybrid car buyers and in fact I found that many states offer additional incentives or special incentives (http://www.hybridcars.com/incentives.html). I can find no information on states that are PENALIZING hybrid car owners, but feel free to send me the source if you find something. Additionally, I found that "Last year’s stalled energy bill would have provided tax credits for fuel-efficient vehicles ranging from $250 to about $3,000. Let's hope that Congress offers some kind of legislation to bump up the hybrid car tax deductions." (http://www.hybridcars.com/tax-deductions.html)... I assume that would be an energy bill handled by a Republican-heavy group of people, right?
"Finidng innovative ways to power an automobile and other ways to fuel our technology is a noble goal, and one we should continue to go after. But it'll take a long time to produce. In the meantime, something must be done to increase the supply of oil to drive down price. And Bush is doing something about it. If he wasn't, I'm sure there would be bitching about him not caring about average people, etc. i thought ATN had some good things to say at the beginning of the comments."
** So you think having a chat with the Saudis is going to drive prices down? Honey, he's making fat cash off the increase in oil prices. He doesn't give a fuck about you or me or anyone other than himself and his high powered friends. You think tapping oil in the Alaskan wilderness is going to solve the problem? At what cost? Not like you can send Earl up there with a bucket and a shovel - aside form the environmental issues, how much does building and maintaining oil pipelines cost?
"Just admit you don't like the man because he's of a different political party than you. And because you've swallowed too much anti-Bush propaganda and actually believe that he's some kind of moron. You can believe what you wanna believe, but the facts don't bear you out. --"
** No, I won't admit I don't like the man because he's from a different political party than I am, because that wouldn't be correct. I used to respect Rudy Giuliani IMMENSELY for all that he did for NYC during 9/11 - quite frankly, had things been different and he could have run for prez in 2002, I would have voted for him. I haven't been too pleased with him in recent times, but he was more of a leader than Bush was during 9/11 and I'll always have a soft spot for him there. I also really liked John McCain, especially when he called Bush to the carpet for his dirty campaigning against him. Again, he's had to play too nicely with Republicans in recent times, but overall I actually believe he has the average American's interest in his mind much more than most politicians out there. Do I think Bush is a moron? Sometimes. Most of the time I just think he is the worst America has to offer. He's slimy, self-rightous, holier-than-thou, greedy and the worst example of a politician ever. He's The Smiler, and we don't need him running our country into the ground. If you'd care to peruse my site further, I think you'll find an awful lot of articles that contain an awful lot of facts that bear me out.
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