Tag Archives: Environment

Why Global Warming Isn't About Rising Temperatures

Posted on December 18, 2009 | Leave a comment

For the last several days I have been considering global warming.  Trying to see it from both sides.  I really am trying to understand what is driving the debate and how it is constructed.  My conclusion kinda surprised me.  I don’t think that the whole Global Warming “movement” is about “climate change”.

I do think that there are people that feel:

  1. The world is warming
  2. That man is contributing to this warming
  3. That we can do something to reduce this man-made impact
  4. And that we should do that thing

However, I don’t think that those people make up the majority of this movement.  And to the extent that they are in this movement, they are being hijacked into something much much larger than they realize.

On the other “side”, I see very few people whom I would describe as “Deniers”.  That is, a group of people who either:

  1. Deny the world is warming
  2. Deny that man contributes to warming, if it exists

Instead, what I find are “skeptics”.  And I think the term “skeptic” applies more to the “extent and mitigation” rather than to the whole, “are we warming at all” side of the debate.  I happen to fall into this “skeptic” camp.  That is, I am willing to accept that the planet is warming, that man contributes [in a couple of ways-more on that] and that I remain unconvinced the mitigating solutions are required.

Be that as it may, during my contemplation I found it unimaginable that something like global warming should fall along party lines.  Taxes?  Sure.  War?  Sure.  Education?  Sure.  But this?  No way.  There are simply too many gun loving, huntin-hikin-campin conservatives out there that LOVE the world we live in to make it so.  Clearly, then, there is SOMETHING else in this debate that is driving the divide.  And maybe it took Copenhagen to make it clear to me.

This isn’t about warming and cooling.  Finding solutions to either or proving the data.  This is about:

Socialism, the other spectre Karl Marx spoke about, which walks here too, rather it is like a counter-spectre. Socialism, this is the direction, this is the path to save the planet, I don’t have the least doubt. Capitalism is the road to hell, to the destruction of the world. We say this from Venezuela, which because of socialism faces threats from the U.S. Empire.

From the countries that comprise ALBA, the Bolivarian Alliance, we call, and I want to, with respect, but from my soul, call in the name of many on this planet, we say to governments and peoples of the Earth, to paraphrase Simón Bolívar, the Liberator: If the destructive nature of capitalism opposes us, let’s fight against it and make it obey us, let’s not wait idly by for the death of humanity.

History calls on us to unite and to fight.

If capitalism resists, we are obliged to take up a battle against capitalism and open the way for the salvation of the human species. It’s up to us, raising the banners of Christ, Mohammed, equality, love, justice, humanity, the true and most profound humanism. If we don’t do it, the most wonderful creation of the universe, the human being, will disappear, it will disappear.

This isn’t about the climate.  This is about something much much more insidious than that.

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When MSNBC is Bashing the Leftists…..

Posted on December 16, 2009 | Leave a comment

In a sign that the shine is wearing off I am beginning to see a change of tone in the selection of stories on some major news outlets.  For about 2 years, the only things we saw on such leftist sites as msnbc were stories that painted the liberal agenda.

However, in the last few months I have started to see more stories that are less than complimentary of the left.  This one included:

Automakers are promising that affordable plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be available in the next couple of years, but a new report contends that it will be decades before the fuel savings and lower emissions make up for the high cost of batteries.

In their eternal quest to regulate, the left continually misses the boat on larger picture issues.

I mean, how do you miss the obvious:

The per-mile cost of running an electric vehicle has been estimated at about a quarter of the equivalent cost for gasoline, which has led some experts and consumers to see plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs, as the cure for what ails America’s energy economy.

The research council’s report, however, estimates that it could be 2028 or later before the fuel savings outweigh the additional up-front cost for plug-in vehicles.

When it comes to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, the report said regular hybrid vehicles such as the present-day Prius might well be more environmentally friendly — unless power companies start phasing out the use of coal and other fossil fuels for electricity generation.

Slow down.  Take your time.  Get it right.

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Posted in Global Warming, Politics: National

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Hope and Change

Posted on July 13, 2009 | Leave a comment

Look, by now you should know that I am no fan of Obama.  However, I am a BIG fan of me.  And when it comes to me, I like to apply the concept of “value” in my life.  In fact, I was describing just such a concept to my 1st grader this afternoon.  We were discussing haircuts and price.  See, I don’t like to spend money on haircuts AND I don’t like crappy haircuts.  So, this means that I often times don’t get haircuts even when I need ’em.  Further, because I will only purchase cheap haircuts, Ii have to drive to where they further reducing how often I get them.  Anyway, we priced a trim right next door to the grocery today and we began discussing value.

Back to the point–energy.  Look, I am a market believer AND I am a environment believer.  I enjoy both.  And so it is that I don’t like to pollute and destroy the nature that we live in [at the same time that I have a decent sized piece of property in rural Wake county that maybe isn’t very environmentally sound] AND I enjoy low energy bills.  What this means is that I like to spend less on gas and electricity than I do spending more.  And, according to almost everyone, you can’t have both.

See, we are stuck in the new “Don’t Pollute” meme.  In the past, you had the Indian riding the horse with a tear in his eye as he surveyed the land around him being destroyed.  Now, now you have the polar bear floating away on melting ice as he becomes extinct.  And I wonder how it works that these things are bought into every time.  I don’t know–maybe it’s because the young watch more tv and are more vocal than the elders?  Not sure.

But here ya have it.  Because of global warming, we have to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.  And, and if that doesn’t work, then we have to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels because we import oil from countries that hate us.  And, again, if that doesn’t work, then we have to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels because we’ll run out.  Wow.  It’s tiring.

I guess the point of all of this is this story by WRAL:

Imagine your power bill going up by $200 a month.

Progress Energy spokesman Mike Hughes said Thursday that it’s a possibility under President Barack Obama’s energy plan that narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

The bill, which Obama has said will reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and clean the air, calls for a reduction of carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2020, and for 20 percent of the nation’s energy to be renewable – such as wind and solar – by 2020.

In the end, Liberals are not so much about doing much of anything on their own, they are more interested in dictating to others who they should spend THEIR money.  As such, I don’t suspect that this will actually come to fruition, but if it does, can you imagine what the impact would be on our economy?

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Posted in Global Warming, Politics: North Carolina

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Global Warming – Local Take

Posted on January 18, 2009 | 2 comments

Turns out that just around the corner, we have work to do.  Here, Butner Blogspot is talking about clean coal and how it’s not so clean.

In reality, there is no such thing as “clean” coal in America today. Coal cannot be called ‘clean’ until its CO2 emissions are captured and stored safely.

So, using this same definition for all things, I am guessing that there is no such thing as ‘clean’ trees?  Or ‘clean’, say, people, or squirrels and such?

Butner continues:

Today, coal power plants emit carbon dioxide (CO2), the pollutant causing the climate crisis. A third of the America’s carbon pollution now comes from about 600 coal-fired power plants.

I guess we are skipping the whole science part, or that the alarmist science might be wrong, or tampered with or any other misguided side affect of the Global Warming scare.

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Posted in Energy, Global Warming

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Promises

Posted on January 12, 2009 | 1 comment

So, the good Gov’na has made many many promises over the course of her campaign.  And, according to reports, those promises have been removed from her website.  This seems to be a popular politician’s trick as we have seen the same shenanigans over at Obama’s website.  I’ll comment on each in the coming days and then we’ll follow up on the Govna’s progress from time to time.
Thanks to the Raleigh News and Observer who was able to capture those promises and then publish them in today’s edition.  They are:
EDUCATION

  • Expand and better coordinate the Smart Start and More-at-Four pre-kindergarten programs.
  • Build a volunteer corps to tutor students in math and reading.
  • Require all troubled high schools to comply with research-backed restructuring.
  • Ensure that high schools across the state are equipped to offer online college-level coursework.
  • Establish the “College Promise” program to guarantee free or affordable college for students who graduate from high school, stay out of trouble and perform community service. The program would expand a state scholarship program known as EARN and increase the scholarships from two years to four.
  • Waive tuition to all students who graduate from high school and then enter a community college full time.

ARTS

  • Support sustainable resources for community arts councils and organizations. Help them get support from the private sector.
  • Protect and develop cultural heritage sites.
  • Support arts education and expand arts programs in public schools.

WATER

  • Assist local governments with moving toward a tiered water billing system that would charge a higher rate to customers who use the most water.
  • Help small cities and towns install better meters, build connections between regional water systems and repair leaking pipes.
  • Establish water conservation standards for all new homes, businesses and state government buildings.
  • Adopt tax incentives for business to improve water conservation standards in existing buildings.

CRIME

  • Give law enforcement agencies equipment they need and fix funding gaps for high-crime communities.
  • Boost the number of district attorneys, judges, magistrates and clerks. Increase pay for those positions.
  • Toughen anti-gang laws, and attack gangs as organized-crime organizations.
  • Enact harsher penalties for crimes involving guns and drugs.
  • Give more money to law enforcement agencies participating in a federal program that allows local agencies to pursue immigration charges against illegal aliens.
  • Make sure sentences for violent criminals are strong and long.

ECONOMY

  • Dramatically expand and transform a state program that helps small towns and cities preserve and revitalize downtowns. Allow cities and towns to choose which economic development ideas best fit their needs.
  • Support an $18 million tax reform plan to exempt small businesses from the first $15,000 of their income.
  • Expand to $10 million a year a state fund that provides matching grants to start-up companies that win certain research or technology grants.
  • Make the state a leader in biofuels, solar energy and other green technology industries.
  • Increase the state’s investment in an N.C. State University partnership that fosters manufacturing businesses.

HEALTH

  • Provide health insurance coverage for all North Carolina children by giving more money to N.C. Kids Care to expand who is covered. Create a system for families to buy insurance for uninsured or uninsurable children. Expand public outreach to ensure that all children who are eligible are enrolled in Medicaid and Health Choice.
  • Encourage businesses to offer employees affordable health insurance through tax incentives. Establish an affordable small business-coverage policy that would be funded equally by the employer, the employee and the state.
  • Support stem cell research using adult, cord blood or embryonic sources. The N.C. Biotechnology Center will oversee and manage the awarding of stem cell research grants.
  • Every person served by the mental health system should have strong, effective case management.
  • Establish “mental health courts” to link at-risk and minor offenders with mental illnesses to get them treatment before they spiral into a life of crime.
  • Punish swiftly and fully those who abuse or neglect mental health patients.

GOVERNMENT REFORM

  • Make government transparent: “I’m going to open the windows wide on the state capitol, and we’re going to let the sunshine in.”
  • Create a Google-type search engine for scrutinizing all state contracts.
  • Establish an independent budget-reform panel whose recommendations must be voted up or down by the legislature without amendment.
  • Tighten controls to stop officials leaving state service from immediately going to work for businesses they were working with in their state jobs.
  • Prohibit legislators from asking lobbyists to contribute to charities.
  • Make unannounced, on-site inspections of state agencies. Meet with employees without managers present.
  • Work in Charlotte three or four days each month.
  • Change state policy to require that all e-mail messages be kept until the state develops a plan for long-term retention.

ACCESSIBILITY

  • Field questions from the news media every week.
  • Share her public schedules and prohibit staff from deleting e-mail messages.
  • Hold at least four live town hall meetings during her 4-year term. Hold an online town hall meeting once a month.

TRANSPORTATION

  • Strip most specific road-building decisions from the Board of Transportation. Convert the panel into an advisory board of directors.
  • Road building and other transportation decisions will be based on data and need.

ENERGY

  • Rely on scientific and environmental information to determine whether to allow oil drilling off the state’s coastline. North Carolina should share in the profits of any oil discovered.

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Posted in Economy, Education, Energy, Politics: North Carolina

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