Last week, I went to fill up my gas tank. The station I pulled into had plastic bags over the "regular" pumps and over the "mid-quality" pumps. I was stuck buying the "premium" gas. It was $3.99 per gallon, which was what regular was at in July and August, so I wasn’t that upset. But around the office, I have … Read More
Effect of Global Warming On Polar Bears
Bad and sad: The best known consequence of disappearing sea ice in the Arctic is the loss of the polar bear habitat. "The Arctic sea ice melt is a disaster for the polar bears," according to Kassie Siegel, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. "They are dependent on the Arctic sea ice for all of their essential behaviors, … Read More
And As If Things Aren’t Bad Enough…
…the price of oil, which has been going down steadily for the past two months, just jumped up $25 per barrel. It was down to $100 per barrel, down from its all-time high (in July) of $147.27. Now it’s trading in the 125 dollar range.
Well, Now She’s Just Out And Out Lying
On global warming, this time: MORE PALIN FUN — AP reports: Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin told Gibson, "They’re our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." Riiiight. And I can look up and see the stars and moon. … Read More
All You Need To Know About “Drill, Baby, Drill”
That’s right. It’s only going to end up a comparative drop in the bucket…. by 2030!!! So says the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
I Think It’s Safe To Say Obama Won The “Tire Gauge” Battle
Obama, yesterday, in Berea, Ohio: "Let me make a point about efficiency, because my Republican opponents – they don’t like to talk about efficiency…" "You know the other day I was in a town hall meeting and I laid out my plans for investing $15 billion a year in energy efficient cars and a new electricity grid and somebody said, … Read More
This Tire Gauge Thing Depresses Me
To summarize, Obama mentioned to voters in Missouri that there are things individuals can do to help conserve energy, including bringing their cars in for regular tune ups, and keeping their tires properly inflated. He added that the amount of energy to be saved by routine auto maintenance is comparable to the savings we’d get from the GOP’s coastal drilling … Read More
The New McCain Ad Against Obama Is Staggeringly Dishonest On So Many Levels
McCain’s new TV ad, "Pump", blames Obama for rising gas prices. On its face, it is silly. Obama has been a one-term senator. How can one man be responsible for rising gas prices? Here are some very worthwhile critisicms of the ad: Daily Kos‘ BarbinMD: "John McCain has often said that he would run a respectful campaign, but he never … Read More
Pat Boone vs. The Apes (The Loser? Comedy)
I can’t tell if Pat Boone is (a) trying to be funny and failing; or (b) being totally serious and failing. Anyway, the crooner is on his (white) soapbox about — I am not making this up — "ape rights". Judge for yourself: Well, if it weren’t for the close quarters and the sad deterioration of his bones and other … Read More
The EPA Has ADD
News today: Climate change will pose "substantial" threats to human health in the coming decades, the Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday — issuing its warnings about heat waves, hurricanes and pathogens just days after the agency declined to regulate the pollutants blamed for warming. That’s reassuring, coming from the federal government. Unfortunately, the EPA was saying something else only last … Read More
Al Gore, Plagerist, Offers A Convenient Truth
Me, on July 15, 2008, on this very blog, saying how it was possible to remove ourselves from being addicted to oil and gas energy, if we only had the gonads to make such a commitment: "We put a man on the moon in less than ten years. When Kennedy proposed doing it in 1960, the materials and technology to … Read More
Jimmy Carter Stole My Solution Retroactively
This afternoon, I wrote a lengthy post about the gas crisis, and I proposed that the best solution to get us out of this mess would be a concerted national effort to ween ourselves off of oil and gas. I wrote: If a President were to annouce a serious national effort to develop new (and hopefully clean) technology for running … Read More
Why Are Gas Prices So High? (In Which I Solve The Problem)
Okay, since I’ve been on an economy/energy blogging tirade today, I think I’ll answer the question on every person’s mind: Why are gas prices so high? I’ve wondered this myself. Energy and economic aren’t my forte, but I’ve done a lot of reading on it lately, and I think I can boil it down to (admittedly oversimplified) layman’s terms. The … Read More
Inflation, Recession, Energy and Ecology Woes, Dogs Mating With Cats….
Inflation grows at fastest pace in 27 years Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices are up 9.2%, the largest year-over-year surge since June 1981. Gas and food prices are to blame, since "core inflation", the economic indicator which excludes energy and food, was better behaved in June, rising by just 0.2%. The main culprit is gas, I would think, … Read More
President A-Hole
You know, it’s not just that he’s wrong; it’s that he’s arrogantly wrong. Proud of it. Read this: President George Bush signed off with a defiant farewell over his refusal to accept global climate change targets at his last G8 summit. As he prepared to fly out from Japan, he told his fellow leaders: "Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter." … Read More