The Joke's On Us

This humo(u)r's funny for the Brits cause they actually understand the concept of saving energy.



For a hearty dose of seriously smart energy talk for us Americans check out Mortimer Zuckerman's "Stop the Energy Insanity" article. Though I credit left-wing environmental/energy nuts for helping to get the energy discussion out into the public forum, real progress will come from energy "straight-talk" (not an endorsement of McCain) like Zuckerman's.

Note: The August issue of GQ features a fantastic guide to making smart energy/environmental decisions without seeming like a goof doing it. It's well worth a read, but sadly the article is not available online.

Bothersome

In case you didn't know, Chevron is behind the new website WillYouJoinUs.com. Not only is the name of the website crafty in its implication that an oil company is leading the way in exploring alternative energies and alleviating America's oil addiction (their business!), but the website is full of little games and tools that make it seem like Chevron is open to a number of options for America's energy future. Take for example their fancy little game called Energyville (click the name to play!) in which players get to choose which energy sources their futuristic city will rely on.


Despite my ability to fulfill 85% of my city's energy needs with a combination of solar, wind, and hydroelectic power, I wasn't surprised to discover it's impossible to complete level 1 without constructing a giant petroleum platform.

The "Your City Needs Petroleum!" message didn't disappoint me as much as some of the scenarios for the future that Chevron assumes in this cute little game. The fact of the matter is that cities today DO need petroleum to fuel cars, power plants, and other critical parts of our infrastructure, but Chevron takes the petroleum assumption too far by inserting petroleum into the energy equation long after it needs to be phased out.

For example, consider the "Breakthrough!" alert that popped up in year 2020 of the game:


Let's face it, oil supplies are finite and it's unlikely (to be generous with my words) technology can fix that. However, Chevron would like us to believe that with more research, more government funding, more tax breaks, and more time that they can discover ways to essentially create oil from thin air.

If you have a few minutes on your hands, give Energyville a shot. Even if the game isn't too "gamey," it's certainly fun to realize it's all a bunch of oil industry propaganda!

Looking Cross-eyed at Two Energy Policies

To be fair, Tommy Thompson is an intelligent man with significant experience in politics, and it would be misleading to believe his entire plan for energy and the environment is as short as it appears on his website (see above). But as the signs of serious harm being done to our earth are visible all around us, America (and the world) can't afford four more years of neglect to our environmental problems.

Tommy Thompson throws his three sentences of policy at the very bottom of the issues page on his website, below "marriage," "abortion," and "Second Amendment." I've been hyping Chris Dodd a lot recently, but for good reason. Anyone serious about running for president needs to have a plan for all the big issues--George Bush has shown us that deferring policy decisions to your best friend appointees is more harmful than having to read a dense 16-paragraph energy plan.

Vice Presidential Option #1: Chris Dodd

Chris Dodd had a busy day yesterday--two house parties, a major policy speech, a mural painting, and a volunteer action day event. I joined a number of others at the home of New Hampshire State Senator Lou D'Allesandro for a uniquely New Hampshire candidate lawn party to have a chance to meet him. The youthful organizers of this event and the Dodd NH people were some of the most cheerful and attentive campaign staff of any of the candidates I've seen so far and the crowd that assembled to hear the Senator from Connecticut was diverse, concerned, motivated, and knowledgeable.

Dodd's speech covered his initiatives for solving the challenges posed by global warming as well as his new proposal for increasing national service in America. The latter being a continuation of the speech he gave earlier in the day in Nashua. Dodd's proposal lays out 6 ways of increasing service such as a mandatory 100 hours of community service for every high school student, a doubling of the Peace Corps, and a Senior Heroes Program which rewards senior citizens who volunteer in schools with a small payment towards the cost of education for their grandchildren or relatives. The proposal that stuck me as being one of the best was Dodd's idea of a Rapid Response Corp of citizens to assist in emergency and disaster response--a role that used to be played by the National Guard before they became active duty combat troops under the current administration.

It's these types of ideas that set Dodd apart from the rest of the Democratic presidential field. Dodd's proposals for ending the Iraq war and solving the energy crisis and dealing with global warming were well thought-out and were soon imitated or followed by the other candidates. Similar to what he said in his speech, don't you think they'll follow him on his national service proposal as well?

To be fair, bits and pieces of Dodd's proposals have been taken up by the current Congress. For instance, increases in the fuel standards for American automobiles. But none of these proposals have taken into account all of the factors that contribute to the many difficulties posed by changes to the current energy policies. Some of these difficulties include the cost of researching alternative energy technologies and the high cost of paying for new energy sources for all Americans. Dodd uses the idea of a carbon tax to provide for billions of dollars in funding for technology research as well as tax incentives for families and companies that invest in new energy sources.

Chris Dodd made the point that John F. Kennedy, the man that inspired him to serve his country in the Peace Corps, spoke on the same steps in Nashua where Dodd spoke yesterday. While Dodd's ideas provide for significant changes in the field of national service, Dodd's personality is less dynamic than Kennedy's. Vice presidents are often the figures that quietly churn out brilliant ideas before passing them on to the president to act on them, but they need not be the most poignant and persuasive characters of their time. Dodd's poll numbers suggest an almost impossible road ahead in terms of the presidential primaries, but his creative solutions and sensible leadership are desperately needed in America, and we'd be lucky to have someone like him on the Democratic ticket as a vice president.

(all photos: © 2007 by Luke N. Vargas. All Rights Reserved.)