The Conservation Report

ANIMAL WELFARE: Houston Zoo elephant Mac, 2, dies of viral illness

ARCTIC MELTING: Arctic Ice Melt Sparks Plankton Blooms

AUTO INDUSTRY: Ford Scion Looks Beyond Bailout to Green Agenda

BIOFUELS: US Dept of Energy and Brazil to Commercialize Biofuels

BIOLOGY: Top 10 Useless Limbs (and Other Vestigial Organs)

BIOMASS: New Biomass Plants Called For in Obama’s Green Agenda

CAMPAIGN 2008: Challenged ballots: You be the judge

CHINA: China tells rich polluting nations to change lifestyle

CLIMATE CHANGE: Nike, Starbucks Demand Congress To Act On Climate Change, An historic summit of state and provincial governors from around the world convened this week in California to advance national and worldwide efforts to fight climate change — and The Nature Conservancy played a key role in the summit’s success.

CORAL REEFS: Pacific Shipwrecks Potentially Toxic Timebombs, Scientists try to revive Japan’s biggest coral reef: Scientists are in an unprecedented project to restore Japan’s largest coral reef by planting thousands of baby corals growing on tiny ceramic beds.

DEFORESTATION: 3,000 Person Mob Attacks Govt. Offices to Protest Crackdown on Illegal Amazon Logging

DEREGULATION: Bush Aides Rush to Enact a Safety Rule Obama Opposes

DRILL BABY DRILL: Court Says Shell Can’t Drill Near Alaska: A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked Royal Dutch Shell from drilling oil wells off Alaska’s North Slope after finding that the Interior Department had failed to conduct an environmental study before issuing the company’s drilling permit.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: New electric version of MINI Cooper offers MINI fun with zero emissions.

ENERGY: Phone Makers Monitor Charger Energy Consumption, Dutch homes get warm water from disused coal mine

ENVIRONMENT: Dumb eco-questions you were afraid to ask

EVOLUTION: “Smile” Octopus Spawned Many Species

FAIRTRADE: Starbucks to use Fairtrade coffee in every drink sold in Britain: Starbucks is to use Fairtrade coffee in every drink it sells in Britain, the company has announced.

FAST FOOD: Fast Food Made Up Mostly of Corn

FOOD: Tyson Foods Injects Chickens with Antibiotics Before They Hatch to Claim “Raised without Antibiotics”

FORESTS: Bark Beetles Kill Millions of Acres of Trees in West

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: Once Thought Invasive, Some Galápagos Plants Can Call the Place Home: For years, conservationists have been concerned about the impact of invasive plant species in the Galápagos Islands. Hundreds of species have been identified as nonnative, introduced through human contact. The idea was to remove these plants to help keep the archipelago ecologically pristine.

GENETICS: Lizards, Birds Have Hair Genes

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: Raser Technologies Gives Utah a New Geothermal Plant to Power Homes

GLACIAL MELTING: Baby Chimp Rescued From Congo Army

GLOBAL WARMING: New Ice Age Predicted — But Averted by Global Warming?

GREAT APES: Tibetan Glaciers Melting at Stunning Rate

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Kulongoski lobbies to bring China’s new hybrid car to Oregon, LA 2008: Honda shows off Insight’s Eco Assist dashboard

INVASIVE SPECIES: Beetle Invasion to Dim New England Fall Colors?, More cockroaches expected in Florida

LANDFILLS: Israel Turns 2,000 Acre Trash Dump into One of World’s Largest Parks

MARINE MAMMALS: Why Do Dolphins Rub Flippers?

NASA: Going Out On A Limb With A Tree-Person Ratio: Who knew that NASA, charged with looking deep into space, also looks backward at us? For years, NASA satellites have been snapping photos of our oceans, mountains and forests, and sharing them with ecologists and biologists.

NATURAL GAS: Drill for Natural Gas, Pollute Water: In July a hydrologist dropped a plastic sampling pipe 300 feet down a water well in rural Sublette County, Wy. and pulled up a load of brown oily water with a foul smell. Tests showed it contained benzene, a chemical believed to cause aplastic anemia and leukemia, in a concentration 1,500 times the level safe for people.

NATURE: Debate: Which is the world’s most invaluable species?: Plankton, bats, primates, fungi and bees - which species would have the greatest impact on our planet if it were lost? Five experts set out their case public debate in London next Thursday

NEW SPECIES: Penguin, Now Extinct, Discovered in New Zealand: Researchers studying a rare and endangered species of penguin have uncovered a previously unknown species that disappeared about 500 years ago.

NONRENEWABLE ENERGY: U.S. Moves Ahead on Oil, Gas Leases on Public Land: Decision Could Pose Problem for Obama

PALM OIL: The slippery business of palm oil: Palm oil is used in a third of all groceries. But can it ever be produced without causing environmental devastation as some big companies are promising?

PLASMA GASIFICATION PLANT: Plasma Plants Will Vaporize Trash While Generating Energy

PRIUS: BossDowner’s 2010 Prius Commercial - PriusChat.com, BossDowner’s 2010 Prius Commercial #2 - PriusChat.com

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Ocean currents can power the world, say scientists: A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim., Plumbing the oceans could bring limitless clean energy, Britain’s water mills given role in clean energy generation, EPA Coal Decision Levels Playing Field for Wind, Solar

RECYCLING: Why California Recycled 80% of Glass and the Rest of the U.S. 30%

REDISCOVERED SPECIES: “Extinct” Primate Found in Indonesia

SEA LEVEL RISE: Schwarzenegger Orders California to Prepare for Sea-Level Rise

SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY: Boulder, Colo.: America’s First ‘Smart Grid City’: Some Homes Can Remotely Control All Aspects of Their Energy-Saving Features, Report Calls for Overhaul of Power Grid to Handle Sun and Wind Power

SOLAR: Solar Panels Are Vanishing, Only to Reappear on the Internet, Solar at Sea: Chinese Cargo Ships Will Have Solar Sails, Solar-Powered Plane to Perform Test Flight

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Cuba Gets Green Cred: Cuba is the only country that meets the criteria for sustainable development from the conservation group WWF. But concern persists for once thriving Caribbean marine turtles.

WATER AVAILABILITY: The eco machine that can magic water out of thin air, Cow Sh*t to Clean Water

WHALING: Japanese Whalers Set Sail, Say Witnesses

WILD HORSES: U.S. Won’t Kill Wild Horses — For Now

WIND POWER: Giving Turbines a Boost With Curves, 360 Wind Powered Wal-Mart Stores by April 2009, Mega Wind Farms Could Steer Storms, Offshore Wind Power Could Alter Ocean Currents: “Whether or not this is a good thing is a matter of debate,” Brostrom said. Though he stressed that the goal for any man-made object should be to minimize environmental impact, he added: “I’m an optimist; I think this could be beneficial to local fisheries.”, Don’t Call it a Wind Farm, It’s an EcoPower Centre: Canada’s Largest Wind Project (200 MW) Opens

WTF?: Levelling the lingerie playing field: An online shop in Japan has seen an extraordinary demand for its newest product: bras for men. More than 300 have been snapped up in two weeks

“Environmental News Picks” are made possible with help from Kevin.

—
Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

IMAGE: Former President Jimmy Carter with his infamous White House solar panels

BREAK

The U.S. military’s consumption of energy makes the U.S. government the largest consumer of energy, so the government can certainly be doing a lot to improve consumption, offset unsustainable consumption, or promote sustainable consumption. Former President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the roof of the White House, but Former President Ronald Reagan took them down. Perhaps Obama will once again integrate solar energy into the White House. It’s important to lead by example, and Obama has said before that he wants to modernize the government auto fleet by using more hybrid, PHEV, and fuel-efficient cars. From The Associated Press:

President-elect Barack Obama says he wants to make the White House “green.” In an interview with Barbara Walters, Obama said he plans to sit down with the chief usher for the presidential mansion and do an evaluation of its energy efficiency.

He says part of what he wants to do is show the American people that it’s not that hard to go green.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Andrew Sullivan believes that Ronald Bailey has exposed a food miles farce, but you can’t compare bananas to apples without considering the reality of unsustainable consumption and the unsustainability of industrial agriculture.

Bailey argues that using food miles—the distance food travels to get to your plate—as a factor for sustainability isn’t realistic. He gives several examples in an attempt to discredit the food miles argument, but these examples aren’t strong enough to discredit the argument. For example, he cited a study that found the “cold storage of British apples produced more carbon dioxide than shipping New Zealand apples by sea to London.” However in many parts of the world like Michigan, it is certainly unsustainable to purchase apples from a Michigan supermarket that came from New Zealand when locally grown organic Michigan apples can be purchased in a local Michigan farmer’s market. Furthermore, the energy or fuel used to transport New Zealand apples to Michigan is very high.

I understand what Bailey is trying to argue, but he isn’t considering all the factors. For example, he argues “It is possible to grow bananas in Iceland, but Costa Rica really has the better climate for that activity.” Certainly, bananas should be purchased and transported from the best place possible, but there are other factors in addition to climate or suitability that should be taken into consideration when determining the best place possible such as distance, infrastructure used to produce the food, fuel costs, in addition to the impact on the local environment and markets.

I don’t believe consumers shopping locally in Michigan expect to buy bananas grown in Michigan, but if the closest and best place is Costa Rica, then Costa Rica is reasonable. On the other hand, I believe that some consumers have a problem with purchasing apples from New Zealand or blueberries from Chile, when the same produce can be purchased locally.  To my knowledge, New Zealand apples don’t offer anything substantially different than apples grown in the United States, so purchasing apples grown in New Zealand seems silly or unreasonable.  Furthermore, if consumers known as locavores decide to purchase produce from within a 50- or 100-miles radius, then that’s their choice, and their choice saves a lot of energy.

Ultimately, I believe Bailey’s assessment is lacking because it seeks to discredit the food miles argument when the food miles factor is still a very important factor in determining sustainability. He says, “Food miles advocates fail to grasp the simple idea that food should be grown where it is most economically advantageous to do so,” but he fails to take into consideration rising fuel consumption and rising fuel prices. More than ever, it is important to conserve resources where possible. Furthermore, climate change policy is seeking to cut out unnecessary carbon where it exists.

Personally, I believe the consumer has a moral responsibility to purchase food packaged in materials that can be recycled or food that can be locally or organically grown in order to force industry to make more sustainable decisions. Of course, not all people have the luxury of making sustainable decisions because they may not have the knowledge or resources to do so, but many Americans are in the position to make better choices to some degree, and there are several ways to contribute to sustainability. For example, you can: (1) focus on purchasing produce grown within a 100-mile radius, (2) commit to purchasing a portion of your food from a local farmer’s market during the summer, (3) make a good faith attempt to purchase sustainable seafood, (4) commit to some type of vegetarianism, or (5) purchase food that comes in reduced and recyclable packaging. I agree with Marc at In One Ear… Out the Other:

Yet despite the versatility of such crops, we still rely on far away industrialized agriculture to provide most of our diet, and the reason is that the historically low price of fuel has allowed us to concentrate and specialize our agriculture to certain regions. Most of our cereals in this country are produced in the plains states, our vegetables in California and poultry and pork to the South, and those products are then shipped across the country from those locations because of the benefit of cheap fuel. The system reinforces itself too, cheap Plains states cereals are shipped to the South to feed chickens. Guano is collected from Southern chicken farms and used for fertilizers out West, and etc.. The system works and works well, economically speaking, to the extent that we have cheap fuels for transportation.

Cheap fuels, however, are not likely to continue to be a reality. Grains grown in South Dakota fall at the same latitude and growing season as grains to be grown in New York, yet most New Yorkers still rely on Western grains. To drive through Western New York and it becomes immediately evident that those crops can and are grown successfully there; there are fields and fields of corn, yet hardly any are intended for human consumption. The majority is “field corn” or corn grown to supplement cow feed for local dairy production. However, besides for the economics of cheap fuel, there is no real reason not to diversify.

So while carbon emissions from food transport may represent a small part of overall emissions, its important to the extent that its an unsustainable and soon to be economically irrelevant portion. Also, when we’re talking about reducing carbon emissions globally by a certain date by 10%, 20%, 40% - that 1% becomes all the more significant.

—
Photo source for attribution. The author or licensor of this image does not endorse my work or me and their image is protected under an attribution license.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

These solar panels on the Vatican roof will reportedly offset “210 tons of carbon dioxide and this is the equivalent to 70 tons of oil.” From the International Herald Tribune:

Workers began putting photovoltaic cells on the roof of the hall to convert sunlight into electricity. In sunny Rome, engineers say the cells will produce enough electricity to illuminate, heat or cool the hall.

The hall is used for weekly papal audiences during winter and other times of year when the weather is bad.

Pope Benedict XVI’s has made conserving resources an important concern of his papacy.

Video from the BBC NEWS:

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

More information regarding this video can be found at The Huffington Post and here on The Conservation Report.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Obama’s energy plan is common sense, since part of his energy plan tackles the federal government. As a former federal government contractor, I noticed a lot of waste—especially how government vehicles are used. Certainly, a large portion of government travel can use either smaller, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Furthermore, he is calling for conservation, and there is nothing wrong with conservation if it promotes reasonable consumption.

An energy plan using electric, hybrid, and PHEVs is far superior to T. Boone Pickens’s plan to put a lot of energy and money to develop the infrastructure for natural gas-powered vehicles. Natural gas is another fossil fuel, but it produces less energy. Personally, I don’t believe we need new coal power plants, and clean coal doesn’t exist. Other highlights of Obama’s energy plan include: (1) developing America’s renewable energy infrastructure thus (2) create green jobs, (3) using cap-and-trade programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and (4) eliminate or reduce our energy imports. Obama also wants to promote energy conservation and efficiency by updating our current electrical grid to smart grid technology. From MarketWatch:

According to President-elect Obama’s website (www.barackobama.com), the Obama-Biden plan aims to “make the U.S. a leader on climate change” and to “put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars — cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon — on the road by 2015.” Other goals of the Obama-Biden plan include:

– Invest $150 billion over 10 years to accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), commercial scale renewable energy, low emissions coal plants, the next generation of fuel infrastructure and the transition to a new digital electricity grid

– Convert the entire White House fleet to plug-ins within Obama’s first year of office

– Ensure that half of all cars purchased by the federal government be PHEVs or EVs by 2012

– Provide a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles as well as conversion tax credits

– Require 10% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2012

Hat tip to Kevin.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Cuba recently announced a discovery of 20 billion barrels of offshore oil. Certainly, the energy discovery is transformational for Cuba, since the government can use the new found wealth to provide for the people and the country’s infrastructure, which was recently devastated by tropical storms. Unlike the United States, which consumes much more energy than Cuba, the offshore oil discovery is significant, since it can result in Cuban energy independence. However, the discovery hasn’t been confirmed. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the discovery plays out with U.S.-Cuban relations—especially since the U.S. is one of the world’s greatest consumers, and there is pressure to find new sources of energy. Personally, I believe that Cuba should convert this newly discovered nonrenewable energy wealth into a strong renewable infrastructure. From The Guardian:

Havana based its dramatically higher estimate mainly on comparisons with oil output from similar geological structures off the coasts of Mexico and the US. Cuba’s undersea geology was “very similar” to Mexico’s giant Cantarell oil field in the Bay of Campeche, said Tenreyro.

A consortium of companies led by Spain’s Repsol had tested wells and were expected to begin drilling the first production well in mid-2009, and possibly several more later in the year, he said.

Cuba currently produces about 60,000 barrels of oil daily, covering almost half of its needs, and imports the rest from Venezuela in return for Cuban doctors and sports instructors. Even that barter system puts a strain on an impoverished economy in which Cubans earn an average monthly salary of $20.

Subsidised grocery staples, health care and education help make ends meet but an old joke - that the three biggest failings of the revolution are breakfast, lunch and dinner - still does the rounds. Last month hardships were compounded by tropical storms that shredded crops and devastated coastal towns.

.       .       .

However there is little prospect of Cuba becoming a communist version of Kuwait. Its oil is more than a mile deep under the ocean and difficult and expensive to extract. The four-decade-old US economic embargo prevents several of Cuba’s potential oil partners - notably Brazil, Norway and Spain - from using valuable first-generation technology.

.       .       .

Cuba’s unexpected arrival into the big oil league could increase pressure on the next administration to loosen the embargo to let US oil companies participate in the bonanza and reduce US dependency on the middle east, said Jones. “Up until now the embargo did not really impact on us in a substantive, strategic way. Oil is different. It’s something we need and want.”

I think, the new president has to realize that the world looks to America for leadership, and so we have to show leadership on some issues that the world is expecting us to, whether it’s energy, global warming and the environment. And I think we have to do a lot more with respect to poverty alleviation and helping the needy people of the world. We need to increase the amount of resources we put into our development programs to help the rest of the world. Because when you help the poorest in the world, you start to move them up an economic and social ladder, and they’re not going to be moving toward violence or terrorism of the kind that we worry about.

- General Colin Powell

Colin Powell gets it: Environmental degradation (deforestation, desertification, drought, erosion and over hunting) results in a lack of natural resources (decreased water availability, biodiversity, farmable soil, and timber) and poverty; therefore, poverty leads to frustration, violence, and terrorism. Another consequence of environmental degradation is poor health.

Certainly, building a more sustainable energy infrastructure, which includes renewable energy sources like solar will create new jobs. Kate Galbraith suggests that Joe the plumber will one day be “Joe the solar guy”:

If nothing else, the dialog suggests that “Joe the Plumber,” the Everyman voter who became a totem and a talking point for both candidates last night, might one day be “Joe the solar guy.”

American consumption is decreasing, and consequently, oil prices and the trade deficit are falling. Personally, I believe the best thing any American should have done to prepare for the current financial crisis, and can do now, is save.

Energy is supposed to be Sarah Palin’s one area of strength, but she seems to either misunderstand basic energy policy regarding the use of Alaska’s natural energy reserves, or she deliberately lied in order to avoid a confrontation in a recent Wisconsin town hall meeting. From the Associated Press:

A questioner at a town hall-style meeting in Wisconsin said he had heard that at least 75 percent of the oil drilled in Alaska was being sold to China and said, if true, he would like to know why.

“No. It’s not 75 percent of our oil being exported,” Palin said, suggesting some of Alaska’s oil, in fact, may be going abroad but not that much.

“In fact,” she added, “Congress is pretty strict on, um, export bans of oil and gas especially.”

No Alaska oil has been exported since 2004, and little if any since 2000, according to the Energy Information Administration and the Congressional Research Service.

And Congress has never imposed outright bans on oil exports. Congress prohibited exports of Alaska oil in 1973 when the Alaska oil pipeline was built. But that ban was lifted in 1996 when there were large volumes of Alaska oil coming down from the North Slope and U.S. demand was soft.

The Alaska ban has never been reinstated.

AGRICULTURE: SCIENTIST AT WORK | NORMAN T. UPHOFF: Food Revolution That Starts With Rice

ANIMAL WELFARE: Boy fed zoo reptiles to crocodile: A seven-year-old boy has been filmed going on the rampage at a popular zoo in Australia, killing rare reptiles and feeding live ones to a crocodile

ARCTIC MELTING: Arctic Ice in “Death Spiral,” Is Near Record Low

AUTO INDUSTRY: No “Revolting” the Volt: Chevy Battery Does Not Recharge While Driving

BUSHMEAT: Bush-Meat Ban Would Devastate Africa’s Animals, Poor?

CARBON: Heat Hinders Ground’s Ability to Absorb CO2

E-WASTE: 7 Hurdles to Electronics Recycling

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 19 Electric Car Players Pitch San Francisco, 30 electric cars companies ready to take over the road, China Planning Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

ENERGY: Researchers Developing the “Internet for Energy”, New Energy Project Will Be Even Larger than the Pickens Plan: Move over, T. Boone Pickens. You’re about to be overshadowed by Babcock and Brown

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Croc Hunter’s ‘Bum-Breathing’ Turtle Faces Extinction

EVOLUTION: Scientists Discover Fish in Act of Evolution in Africa’s Greatest Lake, From the Onion: Dolphins Evolve Opposable Thumbs ‘Oh, Shit,’ Says Humanity

FUEL CELLS: First Fuel Cell-Powered Plane Presented in Germany

GOOGLE: Google search finds seafaring solution

GREEN CONSTRUCTION: 15 Inspiring Glimpses into the Future of Green Housing, The First LEED Platinum Skyscraper Nearly Completed, Lost middle-class tribe’s ’secret’ eco-village in Wales spotted in aerial photograph taken by plane, Paint it white: Cool roofs save cash and carbon, New experimental homes will heat themselves

HIV/AIDS: Colonial clue to the rise of HIV: The arrival of colonial cities in sub-Saharan Africa at the dawn of the 20th Century may have sparked the spread of HIV

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Honda Takes on the Hybrid Motorcycle, Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHYBRID unveiled

HYDROGEN FUEL: Scientists Reach Hydrogen Storage Milestone

INVASIVE SPECIES: State wildlife commission seeks tougher rules for owning pet snakes, Stop slithering intruders: Asian swamp eels are an invasive foreign species that is dangerously prolific and adaptive, threatening fish and other native creatures

NATURAL GAS-POWERED VEHICLES: Pickens Overlooks Existing Natural Gas Cars in Energy Plan: Reality Check

NEW SPECIES: New Iguana Species Revealed

OFFSHORE WIND POWER: Huge Offshore Wind Farm Wins Approval, Offshore Wind To Supply 15% of Rhode Island Electricity

PHEV: Plug-In Hybrids Aren’t Coming — They’re Here, Houses passes bill with $5k Volt tax-credit, mandatory alternative fuel pumps

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: California’s 220 MPH High-Speed Train Will Be Emissions-Free

RECOMMENDED IMAGE(S): Earth From Above comes to NYC, Yup, still a pig, Monk Seal

RECOMMENDED MAP: USA National Gas Temperature Map

RECOMMENDED YOUTUBE: SOUTH CENTRAL FARM - PART 1, The End of Suburbia - 52 minute documentary on oil, McCain’s YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare, Sarah Palin Gibberish

REDISCOVERED SPECIES: Rare Plant Thought Extinct Re-discovered in Upstate New York

SCIENCE: Sciencedebate2008: Presidential answers to the top 14 science questions facing America, Japanese Scientists Plan to Build Space Elevator

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Indiana will get $227 million waste to fuel plant

WATER AVAILABILITY: When Will Los Angeles Run Out of Water? Sooner Than You Think, Cactus Goo Makes Water Safe: The slimy ooze inside prickly pear cactuses that helps the plants store water in the desert can also be used for scouring arsenic, bacteria and cloudiness out of rural drinking water, according to research at the University of South Florida in Tampa

WATER CONSERVATION: Harvesting Rainwater by Not Letting It Go to Waste

WTF?: Cheney: Wildlife Conservation Has Been A ‘High Priority’ Of Bush Administration

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: Yellowstone seeks to balance nature, cell phones, Judge refuses to let snowmobiles roam Yellowstone

ZOONOTIC DISEASES: Hamsters, Exotic Pets May Put Young Children At Risk, Doctors Say

What happened? We have been on notice regarding the threats of peaking nonrenewable resources for over 30 years, but what did we learn?

Domestically, the United States has 2 or 3% of the world’s oil supply. However, we consume “19.6 million barrels per day, of oil, which is more than 25% of the world’s total.” Undoubtedly, Americans consume too much, or we consume unsustainably. Given the gross disproportion of what we have on reserve versus what we actually use or spend, why should we compromise our national security by commodifying our final untapped domestic oil reserves into the international market by drilling offshore? Offshore drilling is a dangerous and stupid policy, because it compromises our national security. We need aggressive long-term solutions that aren’t saturated with politics.

Despite criticisms, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was on the right track, but his successor, former President Ronald Reagan, dismantled Carter’s policies to make America energy independent, including the famous solar panels Carter placed on the White House roof. It’s amazing how a few decisions can result in big changes. As a result, I wonder how different the world would be if we continued with Carter’s energy policies.

Image Found Here

Sarah Palin misrepresents (or lies if you prefer) Alaska’s role in America’s domestic energy supply in a very rare interview with the press. From the transcript:

GIBSON: But this is not just reforming a government. This is also running a government on the huge international stage in a very dangerous world. When I asked John McCain about your national security credentials, he cited the fact that you have commanded the Alaskan National Guard and that Alaska is close to Russia. Are those sufficient credentials?

PALIN: But it is about reform of government and it’s about putting government back on the side of the people, and that has much to do with foreign policy and national security issues Let me speak specifically about a credential that I do bring to this table, Charlie, and that’s with the energy independence that I’ve been working on for these years as the governor of this state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy, that I worked on as chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, overseeing the oil and gas development in our state to produce more for the United States

FactCheck.org corrects Palin:

Palin claims Alaska “produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy.” That’s not true.

Alaska did produce 14 percent of all the oil from U.S. wells last year, but that’s a far cry from all the “energy” produced in the U.S.

Alaska’s share of domestic energy production was 3.5 percent, according to the official figures kept by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

And if by “supply” Palin meant all the energy consumed in the U.S., and not just produced here, then Alaska’s production accounted for only 2.4 percent.

Andrew Sullivan is keeping tabs with Palin’s lies or “relentless vetting” her at The Daily Dish:

1. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin XI: Asking The Girls?
2. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin X: The Teleprompter
3. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin IX: Alaska’s Energy Contribution
4. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin VIII: Habeas Corpus
5. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin VII: Climate Change
6. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin VI: Gays
7. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin V: The Oil Pipeline
8. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin IV: Endangered Species
9. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin III: Firing Stambaugh
10. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin II: The Bridge To Nowhere
11. The Odd Lies Of Sarah Palin I: Firing Monegan

I love this commercial. From YouTube:

EPURON GmbH, a subsidiary of Conergy AG, won the top honor for best film advertising spot at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes. The “Power of Wind” ad was recognized as the best tv ad from Germany at Cannes. It was created by Nordpol+ Hamburg.

On the Net: WIND POWER: Cape Wind is needed
On the Net: RE: CAPE WIND
On the Net: CAPE WIND: Support for Cape Wind is increasing amongst residents with support in the majority
On the Net: WIND POWER: The United States lags Europe in wind energy production

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::