I was so busy complaining about Thomas Friedman's endless sabbatical that I didn't even notice it ended! And his first column, last week, says exactly what I've been mulling about for weeks. In fact, it's the one thing that actually is beginning to change my mind in the election, despite every attempt to stay uninformed and neutral until the general election.
Here's what he has to say. The rest of the article is great too -- he goes on to talk about how upside down our energy policy is -- that we encourage negative behavior and discourage change and alternatives. It's called Dumb As We Want To Be. Link
It is great to see that we finally have some national unity on energy policy. Unfortunately, the unifying idea is so ridiculous, so unworthy of the people aspiring to lead our nation, it takes your breath away. Hillary Clinton has decided to line up with John McCain in pushing to suspend the federal excise tax on gasoline, 18.4 cents a gallon, for this summer’s travel season. This is not an energy policy. This is money laundering: we borrow money from China and ship it to Saudi Arabia and take a little cut for ourselves as it goes through our gas tanks. What a way to build our country.
When the summer is over, we will have increased our debt to China, increased our transfer of wealth to Saudi Arabia and increased our contribution to global warming for our kids to inherit.
No, no, no, we’ll just get the money by taxing Big Oil, says Mrs. Clinton. Even if you could do that, what a terrible way to spend precious tax dollars — burning it up on the way to the beach rather than on innovation?
The McCain-Clinton gas holiday proposal is a perfect example of what energy expert Peter Schwartz of Global Business Network describes as the true American energy policy today: “Maximize demand, minimize supply and buy the rest from the people who hate us the most.”
Good for Barack Obama for resisting this shameful pandering.
Showing posts with label washington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label washington. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The First Family of Oil
Okay, I admit it. Until I learned it today, I did not know that John D. Rockefeller was the founder of Standard Oil.
The Rockefeller name is synonymous with wealth and power and America. Of course it's oil.
On NPR this week, Rockefeller great-grand daughter, Neva Rockefeller Goodwin talked about how many members of the family are wanting to push the company -- now Exxon -- to "go green." Goodwin is an economist and professor at Tufts -- she's pushing for changes in the board and in practice.
"There are some pretty scary things happening in the world," she said. "We worry about corporations who don't seem to get it -- we have a particular interest in this corporation because we are so closely allied with it ... it is a major contributor to the income of our family."
"To some extent we feel responsible ... we feel close to it; we care about it."
Well ... yeah. On the other hand, we are all really close to it. Every one of us.
In Washington, John D. Rockefeller IV, Jay, is also pushing for change...
This from a Thursday press release on his website:
Rockefeller’s legislation to provide temporary, immediate relief is modeled after the successful Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which has helped working families and seniors cope with home heating costs. Rockefeller’s bill would give grants to states to provide checks to people who drive 30 miles a day (or an average of 150 miles a week) for work, education, or scheduled routine health care. Eligible families who meet income guidelines similar to those in LIHEAP (in West Virginia, it’s up to 130% of poverty or $26,845 annual income for a family of four) would receive monthly checks of $100 to $165 to help cover gas costs.
...
As Rockefeller noted, “These companies are making huge, unconscionable profits off the hard-working people in my state, and it must be stopped.”
The Rockefeller name is synonymous with wealth and power and America. Of course it's oil.
On NPR this week, Rockefeller great-grand daughter, Neva Rockefeller Goodwin talked about how many members of the family are wanting to push the company -- now Exxon -- to "go green." Goodwin is an economist and professor at Tufts -- she's pushing for changes in the board and in practice.
"There are some pretty scary things happening in the world," she said. "We worry about corporations who don't seem to get it -- we have a particular interest in this corporation because we are so closely allied with it ... it is a major contributor to the income of our family."
"To some extent we feel responsible ... we feel close to it; we care about it."
Well ... yeah. On the other hand, we are all really close to it. Every one of us.
In Washington, John D. Rockefeller IV, Jay, is also pushing for change...
This from a Thursday press release on his website:
Rockefeller’s legislation to provide temporary, immediate relief is modeled after the successful Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which has helped working families and seniors cope with home heating costs. Rockefeller’s bill would give grants to states to provide checks to people who drive 30 miles a day (or an average of 150 miles a week) for work, education, or scheduled routine health care. Eligible families who meet income guidelines similar to those in LIHEAP (in West Virginia, it’s up to 130% of poverty or $26,845 annual income for a family of four) would receive monthly checks of $100 to $165 to help cover gas costs.
...
As Rockefeller noted, “These companies are making huge, unconscionable profits off the hard-working people in my state, and it must be stopped.”
Saturday, May 3, 2008
No Comment
''My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East,'' McCain said.
The expected GOP nominee sought to clarify his comments later, after his campaign plane landed in Phoenix. He said he didn't mean the U.S. went to war in Iraq five years ago over oil.
''No, no, I was talking about that we had fought the Gulf War for several reasons,'' McCain told reporters.
One reason was Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, he said. ''But also we didn't want him to have control over the oil, and that part of the world is critical to us because of our dependency on foreign oil, and it's more important than any other part of the world,'' he said.
''If the word `again' was misconstrued, I want us to remove our dependency on foreign oil for national security reasons, and that's all I mean,'' McCain said.
''The Congressional Record is very clear: I said we went to war in Iraq because of weapons of mass destruction,'' he said.
AP story in the NY TimesMonday, April 7, 2008
More Fight, Less Fuel
Just now I've been reading the "Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on DoD Energy Strategy, subtitled, "More Fight Less Fuel."
The thing goes on and on -- 150 and lots of fancy seals. It's a little dry...
Finding #3: The Department lacks the strategy, policies, metrics, information or governance structure to properly manage its energy risks.
"There is currently no unifying vision, strategy, metrics or governance structure with enterprise-wide energy in its portfolio. DoD efforts to manage energy are limited to complying with executive orders, legislation and regulations ..."
I wound up at this report through a link on an AP article.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Think you're being gouged by Big Oil? U.S. troops in Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its oil reserves.Military units pay an average of $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, some $88 a day per service member in Iraq, according to an Associated Press review and interviews with defense officials. A penny or two increase in the price of fuel can add millions of dollars to U.S. costs.
The article goes on to say:
"Overall, the military consumes about 1.2 million barrels, or more than 50 million gallons of fuel, each month in Iraq at an average $127.68 a barrel. That works out to about $153 million a month.
They have to say that? The American Military is consuming so much oil fighting in Iraq it is important to note they are not disrupting world energy flow...
"More Fight Less Fuel."
more fuel more fight
more fuel less fight
less fight less fuel
The thing goes on and on -- 150 and lots of fancy seals. It's a little dry...
Finding #3: The Department lacks the strategy, policies, metrics, information or governance structure to properly manage its energy risks.
"There is currently no unifying vision, strategy, metrics or governance structure with enterprise-wide energy in its portfolio. DoD efforts to manage energy are limited to complying with executive orders, legislation and regulations ..."
I wound up at this report through a link on an AP article.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Think you're being gouged by Big Oil? U.S. troops in Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its oil reserves.Military units pay an average of $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, some $88 a day per service member in Iraq, according to an Associated Press review and interviews with defense officials. A penny or two increase in the price of fuel can add millions of dollars to U.S. costs.
The article goes on to say:
"Overall, the military consumes about 1.2 million barrels, or more than 50 million gallons of fuel, each month in Iraq at an average $127.68 a barrel. That works out to about $153 million a month.
Historically, these figures are astounding. In World War II, the average fuel consumption per soldier or Marine was about 1.67 gallons a day; in Iraq, it's 27.3 gallons, according to briefing slides prepared by a Pentagon task force established to review consumption."
The article is careful to say that this is a drop in the bucket compared to world oil consumption...They have to say that? The American Military is consuming so much oil fighting in Iraq it is important to note they are not disrupting world energy flow...
"More Fight Less Fuel."
more fuel more fight
more fuel less fight
less fight less fuel
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Singled Out
WASHINGTON (AP) — Big Oil is once again being called on the carpet. Senior executives of the five largest U.S. oil companies were to appear before a congressional committee Tuesday where they were likely to find frustrated lawmakers in no mood for small talk.
This article was filed an hour ago.
First off, I love tenses. Here, the future is not certain. "Were to appear." Because it will have happened (or not) by the time this article is read by most, but hasn't yet, and can't be counted on. My children were to have gotten up. My class was to have been taught. It's a little dizzying, too, isn't it. The sun was to have arisen... And refreshing -- the polar bears were to become extinct... It lends the option of reading in the present tense what didn't happen... also the reality that whatever we think could be wrong.
Anyway --
The oil companies are being called in to defend their government subsidies.
I always believed that -- that gas prices stayed low because of subsidies. But what if that's not true -- what if gas prices in this country are low because that's the nature of supply and demand -- we have a really big country, and people have to cover a lot of distances -- if the price of gas were a lot higher maybe there would have been a push for public transportation years ago. Just as the technology for the 100 mpg car exists -- and the electric car...
Maybe it's not the pocket change billions the oil companies are fighting for, but keeping the money out of the research of alternative fuels...
It's all speculation. I'm feeling speculative today.
In the article, Bush says that oil companies shouldn't be singled out.
Bush says he'll veto the bill whatever the outcome.
This article was filed an hour ago.
First off, I love tenses. Here, the future is not certain. "Were to appear." Because it will have happened (or not) by the time this article is read by most, but hasn't yet, and can't be counted on. My children were to have gotten up. My class was to have been taught. It's a little dizzying, too, isn't it. The sun was to have arisen... And refreshing -- the polar bears were to become extinct... It lends the option of reading in the present tense what didn't happen... also the reality that whatever we think could be wrong.
Anyway --
The oil companies are being called in to defend their government subsidies.
"The lawmakers were scheduled to hear from top executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, which together earned about $123 billion last year because of soaring oil and gasoline prices.
Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, said he wants to know why, with such profits, the oil industry is steadfastly fighting to keep $18 billion in tax breaks, stretched over 10 years."
Industry leaders say the tax breaks are needed to continue exploration and development. Also, of course, it is said implied that the price of gas will skyrocket if the breaks are lifted...I always believed that -- that gas prices stayed low because of subsidies. But what if that's not true -- what if gas prices in this country are low because that's the nature of supply and demand -- we have a really big country, and people have to cover a lot of distances -- if the price of gas were a lot higher maybe there would have been a push for public transportation years ago. Just as the technology for the 100 mpg car exists -- and the electric car...
Maybe it's not the pocket change billions the oil companies are fighting for, but keeping the money out of the research of alternative fuels...
It's all speculation. I'm feeling speculative today.
In the article, Bush says that oil companies shouldn't be singled out.
Bush says he'll veto the bill whatever the outcome.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Dots... Conecting The
From The Washington Post this morning:
(in the interest of full disclosure, unrelated and unbeknown to me, one of the images from this site, "iRaq" not shown here, will appear in the next issue of Tuesday; An Art Project."
Another image on the site was this:
This Image from the NYTimes a few weeks ago, under the headline "Struggling but Grateful, Liberia Welcomes Bush."
photo by Lawrence Jackson, AP
“It’s easier to tear a country down than it is to rebuild a country,” Mr. Bush said in a speech at the Barclay Training Center, where the United States is helping to train soldiers so Liberia can replace United Nations peacekeepers with its own army. “And the people of this good country must understand the United States will stand with you as you rebuild your country.”
The last time I wrote about Africa Elisa, who works for Care, sent me to a website called "Pambazuka News, a weekly forum for social justice in Africa." I was writing about the praise for Bush in Africa, and how it concerned me. Them too.
"The Bush Administration's fixation on security and the "war on terror" is already escalating the militarization of U.S. policy in Africa in 2008. In his last year in office, President George W. Bush will no doubt duplicitously continue to promote economic policies that exacerbate inequalities while seeking to salvage his legacy as a compassionate conservative with rhetorical support for addressing human rights challenges including conflict in Sudan and continued promotion of his unilateral HIV/AIDS initiative. The third prong of U.S.-Africa policy in 2008 will be the contin- ued and relentless pursuit of African resources, especially oil, with clear implications for U.S. mili- tary and economic policy."
Just a connect the dots project today. What more is there to say...
"There is no single conspiracy theory about why the Bush administration allegedly waged this "war for oil." Here are two.
Version one: Bush, former Texas oilman, and Vice President Cheney, former chief executive of the contracting and oil-services firm Halliburton, wanted to help their friends in the oil world. They sought to install a pro-Western government that would invite the major oil companies back into Iraq. "Exxon was in the kitchen with Dick Cheney when the Iraq war was being cooked up," says the Web site of a group called Consumers for Peace.
Version two: As laid out in an April 2003 article in Le Monde Diplomatique, "The war against Saddam is about guaranteeing American hegemony rather than about increasing the profits of Exxon." Yahya Sadowski, an associate professor at the American University of Beirut, argues that "the neo-conservative cabal" had a "grand plan" to ramp up Iraqi production, "flood the world market with Iraqi oil" and drive the price down to $15 a barrel. That would stimulate the U.S. economy, "finally destroy" OPEC, wreck the economies of "rogue states" such as Iran and Venezuela, and "create more opportunities for 'regime change.' ""
That article prints the following images from this website:
(in the interest of full disclosure, unrelated and unbeknown to me, one of the images from this site, "iRaq" not shown here, will appear in the next issue of Tuesday; An Art Project."
Another image on the site was this:
This Image from the NYTimes a few weeks ago, under the headline "Struggling but Grateful, Liberia Welcomes Bush."
photo by Lawrence Jackson, AP
“It’s easier to tear a country down than it is to rebuild a country,” Mr. Bush said in a speech at the Barclay Training Center, where the United States is helping to train soldiers so Liberia can replace United Nations peacekeepers with its own army. “And the people of this good country must understand the United States will stand with you as you rebuild your country.”
The last time I wrote about Africa Elisa, who works for Care, sent me to a website called "Pambazuka News, a weekly forum for social justice in Africa." I was writing about the praise for Bush in Africa, and how it concerned me. Them too.
"The Bush Administration's fixation on security and the "war on terror" is already escalating the militarization of U.S. policy in Africa in 2008. In his last year in office, President George W. Bush will no doubt duplicitously continue to promote economic policies that exacerbate inequalities while seeking to salvage his legacy as a compassionate conservative with rhetorical support for addressing human rights challenges including conflict in Sudan and continued promotion of his unilateral HIV/AIDS initiative. The third prong of U.S.-Africa policy in 2008 will be the contin- ued and relentless pursuit of African resources, especially oil, with clear implications for U.S. mili- tary and economic policy."
Just a connect the dots project today. What more is there to say...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
A Woman's Name
I did not know that Condoleezza Rice had had an oil tanker named after her in 1991, while employed as an aid to the president.
I therefore, too, did not know it was renamed that same year. It just didn't look good.
In November, Chevron settled a court case and will pay $30 million dollars in fines to settle charges of illegal dealings in Iraq. According to a November AP story:
"The oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was created to help Iraqis meet some basic needs under the United Nations sanctions imposed after Saadam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The program let the Iraqi government sell oil primarily to buy humanitarian goods. It was later found that the program was often used as a means to funnel kickbacks."
This is on their website under the ethics section:
"Chevron is committed to doing business with the highest ethical standards.
I don't know -- the ties to the Bush administration -- they bother me. A lot. But you know what else is troubling me today --
-- this idea of Condeleezza Rice being named --
I don't know -- there's something about the way that it points to her being a woman -- and underscores the way that woman are seen -- and the role that even the future Secretary of State of the USA is seen in the eyes of the corporate, political and public eye --
She is not the captain of a ship, she's the mascot. The emblem. The lady to come home for. All that is feminine -- the ship the sea the earth. Those things explored, conquered, braved in the name of...
I picture her tied to the front of the bow in a white and blue flowy dress with her bossom falling out...
Furthermore, I think this may be the first time a woman's name has come up in this whole project.
I therefore, too, did not know it was renamed that same year. It just didn't look good.
In November, Chevron settled a court case and will pay $30 million dollars in fines to settle charges of illegal dealings in Iraq. According to a November AP story:
"The oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was created to help Iraqis meet some basic needs under the United Nations sanctions imposed after Saadam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The program let the Iraqi government sell oil primarily to buy humanitarian goods. It was later found that the program was often used as a means to funnel kickbacks."
This is on their website under the ethics section:
"Chevron is committed to doing business with the highest ethical standards.
Operating in a responsible and ethical manner lies at the heart of our value system and, combined with superior technology and world-class execution, underpins our success.
That responsibility starts at the top — with Dave O'Reilly, our chairman, and Peter Robertson, our vice-chairman — and is the work of every Chevron employee.
Our standards are guided by The Chevron Way, which explains who we are, what we do, what we believe and how we conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner. And we depend on our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Business Conduct and Ethics Code to help us make the right decisions."
Chevron is one of the 6 largest energy companies in the world; the second largest in the US. According to their website: Chevron conducts business in approximately 180 countries; they spent $16.6 billion dollars looking for energy last year; their revenues in 2006 were about $205 billion; you can buy a chevron gift card with an image from the movie Cars as a present.I don't know -- the ties to the Bush administration -- they bother me. A lot. But you know what else is troubling me today --
-- this idea of Condeleezza Rice being named --
I don't know -- there's something about the way that it points to her being a woman -- and underscores the way that woman are seen -- and the role that even the future Secretary of State of the USA is seen in the eyes of the corporate, political and public eye --
She is not the captain of a ship, she's the mascot. The emblem. The lady to come home for. All that is feminine -- the ship the sea the earth. Those things explored, conquered, braved in the name of...
I picture her tied to the front of the bow in a white and blue flowy dress with her bossom falling out...
Furthermore, I think this may be the first time a woman's name has come up in this whole project.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Back to the Future
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal's Environmental blog "Environmental Capital" ran a post discussing a new type of vehicle featured at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show in January. "Flex-fuel." As the name would imply, these cars can run on either ethanol, petroleum or a mix, I believe. According to the blog, GM hopes to make half of its production "flex-fuel" by 2012.
2012. I find myself asking again what the future will look like...
Who will be running for re-election; will there still be snow storms like the one we had last night...
As a total aside, I was watching "Meet the Robinsons" last night with my kids. It's such a sweet movie -- one of the best parts of it is the idea of a rejected orphan looking into the future and seeing huge happy playful family. May our futures be happy... At any rate, I started wondering how much of my theory of time -- of how everything in time is linked inexorably and every tiny thing leads to the present -- a theory that gives me much peace -- I wonder how much of my philosophy of time and faith in the past has to do with growing up with shows like "Star Trek" and "The Twilight Zone" I watched with my dad when I was really little -- and later movies like "Back to the Future" and "Groundhog Day..." Charles Dickens must have really shocked people in his day.
I digress.
First of all -- "Flex-fuel" cars fulfill all requirements of being a hybrid vehicle despite the fact that they need never run on anything but petroleum. Loophole much?
Also necessary -- Right now, ethanol isn't widely available enough to count on. Jane Huckabee owns a "Flex-fuel" car -- but can't find corn oil anywhere...
Furthermore, when you do find ethanol, the $.40 or so savings per gallon is canceled out by a possible mpg reduction of over 25%, according to a December story in the Times.
Some of this argument has to do with the pursuit of ethanol as a monetary relief. $1/gallon ethanol is shimmering on the lips of the future...
And then there are the environmental warnings... in the last year many stories have been written about the environmental dangers of growing corn enough for real fuel consumption -- and the pressure on food production -- of ethanol.
Even if we give car companies the most sympathetic of motives -- that they really do want to be part of the solution and are trying to be flexible moving forward to adapt to changes as they might arise... even then we've got issues.
Maybe part of it is that groups with different motivations coming at one problem for entirely different reasons are linked in an unnatural way...
Money and the environment.
If some people are looking for an alternative to petroleum based solely on price -- and others are looking for an alternative based on the environmental situation the use of petroleum worsens -- can those people really work together without the needs of one group ultimately outweighing the other.
Does investment on future promise eliminate our being able to really look around to see what's not working as we go -- do we get into a track we can't find our way out of through momentum...
If the only real purpose of finding a new energy source is to save money we need a time machine to look at that future... the air, the water, the fields...
The Twilight Zone Gallery at SCIFI.com
2012. I find myself asking again what the future will look like...
Who will be running for re-election; will there still be snow storms like the one we had last night...
As a total aside, I was watching "Meet the Robinsons" last night with my kids. It's such a sweet movie -- one of the best parts of it is the idea of a rejected orphan looking into the future and seeing huge happy playful family. May our futures be happy... At any rate, I started wondering how much of my theory of time -- of how everything in time is linked inexorably and every tiny thing leads to the present -- a theory that gives me much peace -- I wonder how much of my philosophy of time and faith in the past has to do with growing up with shows like "Star Trek" and "The Twilight Zone" I watched with my dad when I was really little -- and later movies like "Back to the Future" and "Groundhog Day..." Charles Dickens must have really shocked people in his day.
I digress.
First of all -- "Flex-fuel" cars fulfill all requirements of being a hybrid vehicle despite the fact that they need never run on anything but petroleum. Loophole much?
Also necessary -- Right now, ethanol isn't widely available enough to count on. Jane Huckabee owns a "Flex-fuel" car -- but can't find corn oil anywhere...
Furthermore, when you do find ethanol, the $.40 or so savings per gallon is canceled out by a possible mpg reduction of over 25%, according to a December story in the Times.
Some of this argument has to do with the pursuit of ethanol as a monetary relief. $1/gallon ethanol is shimmering on the lips of the future...
And then there are the environmental warnings... in the last year many stories have been written about the environmental dangers of growing corn enough for real fuel consumption -- and the pressure on food production -- of ethanol.
Even if we give car companies the most sympathetic of motives -- that they really do want to be part of the solution and are trying to be flexible moving forward to adapt to changes as they might arise... even then we've got issues.
Maybe part of it is that groups with different motivations coming at one problem for entirely different reasons are linked in an unnatural way...
Money and the environment.
If some people are looking for an alternative to petroleum based solely on price -- and others are looking for an alternative based on the environmental situation the use of petroleum worsens -- can those people really work together without the needs of one group ultimately outweighing the other.
Does investment on future promise eliminate our being able to really look around to see what's not working as we go -- do we get into a track we can't find our way out of through momentum...
If the only real purpose of finding a new energy source is to save money we need a time machine to look at that future... the air, the water, the fields...
The Twilight Zone Gallery at SCIFI.com
Friday, February 22, 2008
Unwearied In That Service
I used to be really cynical -- it was kind of my thing.
I get less so in spurts, and sometimes I'm downright optimistic these days... faith in humanity, love, poems -- Yesterday a student asked me what was the point of understanding literature... I think I might have really said because literature can save you -- or someone you care about. "To see into the life of things..."
Art too. Me, every day.
Ansel Adams
To say I don't learn anything through any story I write about ... that's the most cynical thing I've said through this project, and it's almost like opening a pipeline...
On the other hand...
Yesterday evening Ted Stevens said he would run for his 7th term as Alaska's senior senator. He's 86 years old. The Washington Post story said:
He told reporters he decided to run again to battle Alaska's high unemployment and energy costs. He said he thinks the state's development has been stymied by "extreme environmentalists."
Stevens is currently under investigation for accepting kick backs from the oil industry. Last summer his house was raided and the government seized a bunch of stuff... Steven's denies allegations of wrong doing.
Bill Allen, the former head of VECO Corp., an oil field service company, who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators, testified in trials that he oversaw extensive renovations at the home and sent VECO employees to work on it.
Stevens also made a slightly infamous speech I've listened to on youtube this morning railing against the internet...
I think the internet is pretty amazing. Researching this post, sitting on my green velvet couch, I read articles in the Times, the AP, The Washington Post and The Anchorage Daily News. Somewhere there was a small sidebar box that linked to "other stories about corruption in Alaska."
Former Alaskan Speaker of the House Pete Kott was sentenced in December to 6 years in prison "for his role in a corrupt scheme to push an industry-backed oil tax."
"He said he thinks the state's development has been stymied by "extreme environmentalists."
The Alaskan indigenous tribes? The protectors of the polar bears and walrus and albatross...The Alaskan explorations?
Ansel Adams?
Mary Shelly?
We could call Wordsworth an "Extreme Environmentalist," couldn't we?
from:
COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY, ON REVISITING THE BANKS OF THE WYE DURING A TOUR. JULY 13, 1798
If I should be where I no more can hear
Thy voice, nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams
Of past existence--wilt thou then forget
That on the banks of this delightful stream
We stood together; and that I, so long
A worshipper of Nature, hither came
Unwearied in that service: rather say
With warmer love--oh! with far deeper zeal
Of holier love. Nor wilt thou then forget,
That after many wanderings, many years
Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,
And this green pastoral landscape, were to me
More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!
I get less so in spurts, and sometimes I'm downright optimistic these days... faith in humanity, love, poems -- Yesterday a student asked me what was the point of understanding literature... I think I might have really said because literature can save you -- or someone you care about. "To see into the life of things..."
Art too. Me, every day.
Ansel Adams
To say I don't learn anything through any story I write about ... that's the most cynical thing I've said through this project, and it's almost like opening a pipeline...
On the other hand...
Yesterday evening Ted Stevens said he would run for his 7th term as Alaska's senior senator. He's 86 years old. The Washington Post story said:
He told reporters he decided to run again to battle Alaska's high unemployment and energy costs. He said he thinks the state's development has been stymied by "extreme environmentalists."
Stevens is currently under investigation for accepting kick backs from the oil industry. Last summer his house was raided and the government seized a bunch of stuff... Steven's denies allegations of wrong doing.
Bill Allen, the former head of VECO Corp., an oil field service company, who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators, testified in trials that he oversaw extensive renovations at the home and sent VECO employees to work on it.
Stevens also made a slightly infamous speech I've listened to on youtube this morning railing against the internet...
I think the internet is pretty amazing. Researching this post, sitting on my green velvet couch, I read articles in the Times, the AP, The Washington Post and The Anchorage Daily News. Somewhere there was a small sidebar box that linked to "other stories about corruption in Alaska."
Former Alaskan Speaker of the House Pete Kott was sentenced in December to 6 years in prison "for his role in a corrupt scheme to push an industry-backed oil tax."
A federal jury in September convicted Kott, 58, of bribery, conspiracy and extortion for his role in advocating an oil tax pushed by Veco Corp. executives and favored by North Slope oil producers. He received nearly $9,000, a political poll for his re-election campaign and the promise of a lobbying job, all from Veco executives, according to testimony.
The stakes in Juneau during the 2006 legislative session were huge. Kott and other Veco allies were trying to keep the proposed new oil tax on profits at 20 percent, as the industry wanted. But others were pushing for a higher rate. Even a 1 percent change in the tax rate meant tens of millions to the state, if not even more.
Just to repeat..."He said he thinks the state's development has been stymied by "extreme environmentalists."
The Alaskan indigenous tribes? The protectors of the polar bears and walrus and albatross...The Alaskan explorations?
Ansel Adams?
Mary Shelly?
We could call Wordsworth an "Extreme Environmentalist," couldn't we?
from:
COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY, ON REVISITING THE BANKS OF THE WYE DURING A TOUR. JULY 13, 1798
If I should be where I no more can hear
Thy voice, nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams
Of past existence--wilt thou then forget
That on the banks of this delightful stream
We stood together; and that I, so long
A worshipper of Nature, hither came
Unwearied in that service: rather say
With warmer love--oh! with far deeper zeal
Of holier love. Nor wilt thou then forget,
That after many wanderings, many years
Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,
And this green pastoral landscape, were to me
More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
There's no place like now
A few days ago I wrote that I was playing a bit of an energy game -- one that projected future fuel requirements based on the current state of affairs.
It seems I'm not the only one...
played out where, you might ask -- in a basement while mom fixes a snack and a group of 12 year old boys take turns with a joystick? Oil Shockwave...
as a policy-making exercise here on Thursday by a group of former top government officials.
Far into the future?
2009.
The ignition for the game was $150 a barrel oil.
Oil yesterday closed above $100. It had hit $100 but hadn't closed there before.
The factors in the game included sanctions against Iran, instability in Central Asia and the political situation in Venezuela. I don't know what the Story in central Asia is -- guess I should figure that out tomorrow.
The group was led by the national security adviser, played by Robert E. Rubin, secretary of the Treasury during much of the Clinton administration. At one point, weighing a variety of unpleasant options, Mr. Rubin said in near despair, “This wouldn’t be this big a problem if the political system a few years ago had dealt with these issues.”
In the game, now is foregone...
Thursday’s exercise, the organizers acknowledge, was a bit of a stunt to publicize the issues and nudge Congress and the presidential candidates.
A few minutes ago, my alarm went off. I was downstairs and it went off loudly with an annoying rock song and scared the life out of my 7 year old daughter who had climbed into my bed for protection. I wonder what the world will look like for her.
I wrote a a friend I was feeling vulnerable yesterday...
Vulnerablity is a funny thing -- we can feel it and strong at the same time -- regard and disregard concern at the same time.
He didn't answer.
I don't know -- maybe I want to give someone in Washington a pair of ruby slippers:
There's no place like now; there's no place like now; there's no place like now.
It seems I'm not the only one...
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 — War in Iran. Gasoline rationing, at $5 a gallon. A military draft. A Chinese takeover of Taiwan. Double-digit inflation and unemployment. The draining of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
This is where current energy policy is leading us, according to a nightmare scenario played outplayed out where, you might ask -- in a basement while mom fixes a snack and a group of 12 year old boys take turns with a joystick? Oil Shockwave...
as a policy-making exercise here on Thursday by a group of former top government officials.
Far into the future?
2009.
The ignition for the game was $150 a barrel oil.
Oil yesterday closed above $100. It had hit $100 but hadn't closed there before.
The factors in the game included sanctions against Iran, instability in Central Asia and the political situation in Venezuela. I don't know what the Story in central Asia is -- guess I should figure that out tomorrow.
The group was led by the national security adviser, played by Robert E. Rubin, secretary of the Treasury during much of the Clinton administration. At one point, weighing a variety of unpleasant options, Mr. Rubin said in near despair, “This wouldn’t be this big a problem if the political system a few years ago had dealt with these issues.”
Carol M. Browner, the Democratic former head of the Environmental Protection Agency who played the secretary of energy, chimed in, “Year in and year out, it has been difficult to get a serious energy policy.” She and others noted that previous Congresses failed to act on auto mileage standards, efficiency measures and steps to replace foreign sources of oil. Michael D. McCurry, President Clinton’s former press secretary, who played a senior counselor to the fictional new president, said that energy issues were barely discussed in the 2008 campaign.
I'm not sure what piece is so alarming -- the proximity of the panic date -- the extreme and yet entirely plausible circumstances -- or, more than all that, the fact that private companies and retired government officials are enacting awful scenarios simply to try to get some attention -- and that the answers over and over revolve, in the future, of someone saying no one did anything now.In the game, now is foregone...
Thursday’s exercise, the organizers acknowledge, was a bit of a stunt to publicize the issues and nudge Congress and the presidential candidates.
A few minutes ago, my alarm went off. I was downstairs and it went off loudly with an annoying rock song and scared the life out of my 7 year old daughter who had climbed into my bed for protection. I wonder what the world will look like for her.
I wrote a a friend I was feeling vulnerable yesterday...
Vulnerablity is a funny thing -- we can feel it and strong at the same time -- regard and disregard concern at the same time.
He didn't answer.
I don't know -- maybe I want to give someone in Washington a pair of ruby slippers:
There's no place like now; there's no place like now; there's no place like now.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Cross Sections
I've been meaning to get around to figuring out where the candidates stand on these issues -- though I have to say I've been somewhat removed from the whole election thing this time around -- as much as I feel it is an ultimately everything changing event that is about to happen.
Instead I have been reading a very interesting article from the Yale Climate Forum about why the environment and global warming are not an issue in this election.
Because the globe's warming climate is driving long-term changes and many of them are incremental, the story is difficult and often tedious for the news media to track, said Richard Somerville, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a coordinating lead author for the latest series of IPCC Reports.
Another report I've been reading this morning was a roundup of a number of different polls from around the country regarding issues of import for this election. In many of these polls the environment wasn't even an issue. Still the war in Iraq and the price of oil were consistently among the top issues weighing on people's minds. Hurricane relief, health care, homeland security.
All of these things, it seems to me, have oil at their core.
We are so fragmented in the information we obtain; we are so compartmentalized in the way we look at our lives. Moment to moment, task to task, thought to thought.
POLL:
Lately I feel like I've been taking some liberties -- writing about coal once or twice -- writing about wildlife or the environment without specifically having oil itself as my topic. I've allowed this to enter in because I don't think that compartmentalizing works. Coal is an issue because of peak oil. The pending extinction of many animals is due to oil exploration, refining, burning. The fact that yesterday felt like spring -- that tornadoes and hurricanes are multiplying...
Oil.
My real fear in the election though is that it's about to get really ugly. I fear that whichever democrat wins is about to feel wrath the size of a sunami, and that when the American public sees either candidate in the lead of a white male vice president, they haven't a chance in an oil refinery of winning.
That when it comes down to it, people only think about what they see, what they are afraid of and what is easy -- the rest falls into the realms of forgotten.
Instead I have been reading a very interesting article from the Yale Climate Forum about why the environment and global warming are not an issue in this election.
A Gallup Poll in November had asked Americans to list the top ten issues that were most important to them - and environmental issues ranked 10th.
In its analysis, Gallup wrote:
"On the prominent global warming issue, most Americans take it seriously as a problem. At the same time, only about 4 in 10 Americans believe that immediate, drastic action is needed to deal with global warming, and just 28 percent say there will be 'extreme' impact of global warming in 50 years if efforts to address the problem are not increased."
That, in a nutshell, may explain why the climate change issue has not received sustained attention by reporters and editorial writers covering the presidential election, or from the candidates themselves.
One of the major goals of this project was to begin to fill out a picture that we usually only glimpse in tiny pieces. To try to understand how different ideas cross -- cross sections of the newspaper, cross sections of society -- cross sections of our daily lives.Because the globe's warming climate is driving long-term changes and many of them are incremental, the story is difficult and often tedious for the news media to track, said Richard Somerville, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a coordinating lead author for the latest series of IPCC Reports.
Another report I've been reading this morning was a roundup of a number of different polls from around the country regarding issues of import for this election. In many of these polls the environment wasn't even an issue. Still the war in Iraq and the price of oil were consistently among the top issues weighing on people's minds. Hurricane relief, health care, homeland security.
All of these things, it seems to me, have oil at their core.
We are so fragmented in the information we obtain; we are so compartmentalized in the way we look at our lives. Moment to moment, task to task, thought to thought.
POLL:
"Now I'm going to read to you a list of issues that the U.S. Congress may address. Which one of the following issues do you think should be the top priority for the U.S. Congress to address: [see below]?" If "All": "If you absolutely had to choose, which one issue would you say should be the top priority?" | ||||
. | ||||
| % | ||||
| War in Iraq | 26 | |||
| Health care | 13 | |||
| Immigration | 9 | |||
| Economy/Jobs/Unemployment | 9 | |||
| Social Security/Medicare | 8 | |||
| Terrorism/Homeland security | 8 | |||
| Education | 6 | |||
| Gas prices | 4 | |||
| The actions of the executive branch/the President | 3 | |||
| The environment | 1 | |||
| All of the above (vol.) | 13 | |||
| Unsure | 1 | |||
Lately I feel like I've been taking some liberties -- writing about coal once or twice -- writing about wildlife or the environment without specifically having oil itself as my topic. I've allowed this to enter in because I don't think that compartmentalizing works. Coal is an issue because of peak oil. The pending extinction of many animals is due to oil exploration, refining, burning. The fact that yesterday felt like spring -- that tornadoes and hurricanes are multiplying...
Oil.
My real fear in the election though is that it's about to get really ugly. I fear that whichever democrat wins is about to feel wrath the size of a sunami, and that when the American public sees either candidate in the lead of a white male vice president, they haven't a chance in an oil refinery of winning.
That when it comes down to it, people only think about what they see, what they are afraid of and what is easy -- the rest falls into the realms of forgotten.
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