From:

By Kevin G. Hall
Knight Ridder Newspapers

"WASHINGTON - One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally...."

full story here:

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwash...n/13767738.htm

related stories here:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/...ess/energy.php

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...WS02/602020405

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...200894_pf.html

 

Flip-flop

 

And they say John Kerry flip flops...lol.kevin

 

I don't see how switching to an ethanol society will help because we would need volumes more than gasoline, as ethanol has less "energy" per volume than gasoline. It's just another band-aid. Besides, why burn it when you can drink it. We will still need crude for all of our other chemical needs, plastics etc...

What we really need is for each new home built to be energy "independent" from oil, the power grid, etc.. A windmill for every house, solar panels, solar shingles, passive solar heating, geothermal, whatever it takes. This technology has existed for many decades. Shudda been done 30 years ago. If just 50% of all US homes did this, think of the energy savings in petroleum products.

My cousin has a solar water heating system here in the NE. On the coldest of sunny winter days, the water temp in the tank is 180F+. And it doesn't have to be a perfectly sunny day to work.

But alas, getting the gov't and people to change is akin to trying to deflect a 100 mile wide asteroid from hitting the earth...hopeless..

 

Faux Cowboy probably flip-flopped on the "oil addiction" speech because he thinks everyone's attention span is as short as his.

Well... that was a cheap shot, but what the heck.

The truth is probably this: Bush was bought in full by Big Oil the moment he announced his candicy in 1999. He can only represent the people who handed him briefcases full of campaign cash.

 

You just never give up, do you? Bill Clinton is the one who was bought and paid for, that's why Clinton lobbied hard to never let the EPA raise the CAFE limits even though they've been wanting to for years. It didn't get much press because he wanted to maintain his image as a sincere environmentalist, but the reality is that it wasn't until Bush came in office that the EPA was allowed to reclassify SUV's and do anything to help reduce oil consumption.

 

You're right! I *never* give up! If you're ever interested, you can read my ten-point outline that explains the (many) reasons why Faux Cowboy needs an early retirement via impeachment procedure. (www.gaianar.com and then click "commentary").

Actually, the *best* way to get GWB to push ethanol and hybrid tech for *real* would be if representatives from Toyota, Honda, and the Agricultural industry dropped a few suitcases of cash in Bush's lap while at the same time professing to be Born-Again Christians who have sworn off reading books forever.

That's only a *mild* exaggeration, given how this administration behaves.

 

I definitely think it's possible to have this discussion focus on energy and not general politics. I resent the implication that Evangencal Christians are in that "pay-to-play" camp. Relax and breath slowly, please....

 

Sorry about that. Evengelical Christianity is just a *real* sore spot for me, and it makes me shoot my mouth off sometimes. As a Christian who also happens to be homosexual, I've come to really resent the demonization people like me have had to endure from the fundamentalists. According to the Fundies, gays are evil, sex-crazed, AIDS-spreading, godless, America-hating child molesters that want to outlaw straight marriage. That's a load of s***, but it hasn't stopped Bush, Pat Robertson, Limbaugh, and the rest of the Fundies from saying often enough for people to start believing the lies.

Personally, I can attest that my properly never got vandalized when Clinton called the shots. Now, I've had to put up with something petty and mean happening almost every month. And it's not exactly a great witness for the Christian faith when a Fundie rolls down his window and shouts "Fu**ing ******!" at me or my partner, and see the "Bush" and "Jesus Saves" stickers on the back of the offending car/truck (usually a truck).

But if I've offended you, it was unintentional. I'm just sick of this administration and its allies portraying gay couples as the villans of the piece. Bush uses it as a *distraction* from our country's *real* problems: Energy, environment, deficit, this war, and terrorism.

 

No single effort will solve the problem. Oil consumed to convert energy from one form to another (heat, mechanical energy, electricity...etc.) is only a part of our consumption. Hundreds, probably thousand of daily products consume oil: Pharmaceuticals, Ag chemicals, plastics, printing ink, zip lock sandwich bags, paint, numerous cleaning products...and so it goes.

IMHO what is really needed is a comprehensive plan, with vision and conviction to see it through. Part of this plan, I believe, should be leadership and motivation to cause all of us to change our behaviors, even just a little. From that humble beginning can be gained the momentum for even greater achievements.