May 01, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY

ANOTHER REASON TO END OIL DEPENDENCY

There is real irony here. The war in Iraq was launched in large part to get control of the oil reserves there. A new Pentagon study shows the military's reliance on oil puts our military security at risk. Oil is a finite resource likely to disappear in the next few decades. Its scarcity and the skyrocketing prices dictate an all out effort to find alternative energy sources. This article by Bryan Bender is at www.boston.com:

A new study ordered by the Pentagon warns that the rising cost and dwindling supply of oil -- the lifeblood of fighter jets, warships, and tanks -- will make the US military's ability to respond to hot spots around the world "unsustainable in the long term."

The study, produced by a defense consulting firm, concludes that all four branches of the military must "fundamentally transform" their assumptions about energy, including taking immediate steps toward fielding weapons systems and aircraft that run on alternative and renewable fuels. It is "imperative" that the Department of Defense "apply new energy technologies that address alternative supply sources and efficient consumption across all aspects of military operations," according to the report, which was provided to the Globe.

DEBUNKING RIGHT WING GLOBAL WARMING MYTH

Years ago the tobacco lobby and its apologists did not want to admit that cigarette smoking caused cancer. No way, no how, they claimed. We know those people were wrong. How many people rejected the evidence and died horrible deaths from cancer as a result? These days right-wingers just don't want to believe in global warming. It's a result of cyclical changes in the earth's climate, they claim. Or they claim that the sun is hotter now and, ergo, the earth is warmer. Even Mars is warmer, so it must be the sun, you see, and nothing humans are doing. This astronomer rebuts that claim. This commentary is at www.huffingtonpost.com:

The usual crowd, along with many others, are taking this idea and running with it, saying that if other planets are warming up, obviously the warming on Earth is not man-made. But there's a small problem with this: it's wrong (for a more detailed analysis of this, see my blog post at Bad Astronomy).

The idea is that evidence shows that Mars, Jupiter, Neptune's moon Triton, and even tiny, distant Pluto are warming up. The only thing these objects have in common is the Sun-- so therefore the Sun must be the culprit, and we -- the polluting, self-absorbed humans -- are off the hook.

However, as an astronomer and a skeptic, I did something most ditto-heads don't do: I actually did some research. What I found is that first of all, the evidence that Mars is warming up is tentative; basically, the southern ice cap appears to be shrinking, and along with other evidence this indicates that there is some sort of climate change going on. However, the change may very well be local, confined to the southern region. Plus, we already know that other factors, like the shape of the orbit of Mars, contribute to climate change there. Looking to the Sun as the source of this is unwarranted.

April 04, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY

DENYING GLOBAL WARMING

There are a few traits that define conservatives. Callousness is one of those traits. Ignorance is another. Greed may be the most observable trait of all. And greed is a large part of the reason right-wingers don't acknowledge the reality of global warming. There's profit in those hydrocarbons, at least in the short term. Something, the Deity, or technology, will bail us out in a few years. In the meantime, pollute, emit, and be merry. This column by Jon Carroll is at www.sfgate.com:

One of the stranger things to happen in recent political discourse -- and this is a crowded field -- is the morphing of global warming into a left-wing plot, a conspiracy by godless scientists to ... well, it's not clear what benefit the scientists get from spreading lies about global warming. Maybe they just want research money to study this nonexistent warming thing.

I have a pretty good idea where that meme started. If you believe that global warming is man-made, then you believe that greenhouse gases are a bad thing. If you believe they're a bad thing, you believe they should be reduced. And reducing greenhouse gases would mean using less petroleum, in all its myriad forms. And since the current administration is dedicated to the protection of petroleum companies, it is only natural that it would try to convince its base that somehow global warming is being promoted by the same people who approve of gay marriage, abortion and secular schools.

The idea that global warming is a liberal plot is a lunatic notion, but it's surprising how closely it maps with public opinion. It's an extremely successful con job, and it's bought the oil companies at least a decade of profits and indolence. It's not clear why evangelical Christians -- or that portion of them that are die-hard supporters of George Bush -- should be so interested in the financial well-being of oil companies. It's not as if they're getting anything out of it.

AUTHORITARIAN CREATIONISTS

It's probably safe to say that most religions are authoritarian, and especially fundamentalist religions. They are the people who are absolutely certain they are God's chosen few. It's their way or no way at all. We see that in issues like abortion and we see it in the creation vs. evolution debate. If you look at the evidence, there's no denying the reality of evolution. Religious doctrine, on the other hand, can quickly be shot full of holes. This commentary by Philip Slater is at www.huffingtonpost.com:

Creationists don't believe in democracy--don't believe that a complex system can arise spontaneously, without a dictator. One wonders why they are so virulently anti-communist, since they share the same deep commitment to centralized power. Creationism says order cannot evolve from interaction among equals.

The great visionary Mary Parker Follett called democracy a form of self-creating coherence, and this tendency toward spontaneous integration by living things is fundamental in nature. It's also a deeply spiritual concept for many people, but anathema to most mainstream religions, which are, at their core, deeply authoritarian.

February 16, 2007


IMPEACH BUSH


IMPEACH CHENEY

"AMERICA HATER"

If you don't buy into the demented "logic" of right-wingers, you're an "America hater." If you detest the policies of George W. Bush, it's not because you hate the policies; it's because you hate Bush. That's the recurrent theme in letters to the editor in The Fresno Bee from the right-wingers in the Central Valley. Today's letter was about global climate change, which our man doesn't believe is real, of course. You see, someone gave him a book years ago predicting bad things by the 1990's. Didn't happen, he said, so that proves you don't have to worry now. He didn't cite the scientific credentials of the author, or the specific predictions. Probably just an oversight.

What is truly amazing is how these cretins think the effort to stop global warming is a diabolical plot against the United States. This guy said the United States had done a lot to improve the environment. The Bush administration didn't even agree to the Kyoto accords. Bush and company keep subverting the legitimate science that proves global warming. The oil companies buy off people who could tell us the truth and effect policy changes so we'll keep using their oil.

Even if you could dismiss global climate change, oil is a finite resource. It's going to run out. It's prudent to look for alternative energy sources now. Oil was the energy of the industrial age. We are leaving the industrial age for something new. The people who claim that global climate change isn't a concern are the same people who once claimed the earth is flat. They are the same people who believed demons caused people to get sick. They should be given their meds and put in a safe place where they can't hurt themselves or anyone else.

EVEN EXXON-MOBIL ADMITS GLOBAL WARMING

I wonder if the wingnut I mentioned above will read the story about Exxon-Mobil's chairman admitting that global warming is a reality. Rex Tillerson said "there is no question" that the world is getting warmer. I wonder if Mr. Tillerson is an America hater. This story by Dan Piller is at www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/16689019.htm:

Exxon Mobil Chairman Rex Tillerson told a world energy conference today that "there is no question that the world's climate is getting warmer," and said that technological advances and a global strategy will be needed to combat the rise in carbon emissions.

"It is foolish for individual countries to engage in their own actions because it won't do much more than make them feel good," Tillerson said. "It is particularly important for the emerging economies of the Pacific Rim, where the biggest increases in carbon emissions will occur, to take part in the discussions."

Tillerson's remarks, to the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference, marked a continuation of Exxon Mobil's growing strategy to make itself part of the global climate debate rather than denying that the problem exists. More than 2,000 people from 44 countries are attending the CERA conference.

Tillerson also said Exxon doesn't feel threatened by the rising interest in alternative or renewable energy.