Buffalo Boy's Blog
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We Are Losing on Renewable Energy
While our tea party/repuke party in this country creates distractions and keeps limiting the ability of the democrats to function as the majority party we are losing. We are losing ground in the renewable energy sector. Instead of leading the way and creating opportunity to be a leader and export our ideas overseas we can now sit back and watch as countries like Brazil who has been energy independent for years, they don't use any imported oil, China is making huge progress in solar and wind technology and we can now add the UK to the list.
The UK has created 250,000 jobs in a deal that will do no more than insulate homes....what a novel idea. Could you imagine that right now in the middle of this economy if our president came out and said tomorrow I am introducing a bill to the congress and the senate that will CREATE 250,000 jobs to promote energy efficiency? How could the republicans turn that down?
Say what you want about Al Gore, but the guy has been bringing up ideas to decrease our dependence on foreign oil and energy and god for-friggin-bid to reduce our need to do what was done in the gulf this past summer and the right wing and frankly enough independents think hes some lunatic. Global warming or not, insulating homes decreases energy, creates jobs and saves me, you and every other person who owns/rents a home MONEY. Who doesn't want to save money?
Add to that, the UK has built and opened the worlds largest offshore wind farm. The argument I always hear is...well wind is unreliable....anyone who has ever gone to the beach...what is always happening weather wise at the beach? WIND. Right now I am sitting in my office at home and I have my window open, there is nary a breeze, but I guarantee if I go to the shore of Lake Erie or Lake Ontario there will be some breeze coming in off those respective bodies of water. Go to the ocean, any ocean, and that breeze turns into WIND. This wind farm they built created JOBS and will power 200,000 homes. Thats a pretty big chunk of England and takes a pretty big bite out of their goal to create 15% of their energy from renewable sources and decreases what they buy/import from foreign sources. Folks, the US is losing in this respect, we are losing on a lot of fronts, but you want to increase jobs, decrease dependence on foreign oil and help save people money? This is the way to go and we can't get out of our own way because the repukes and right wing wackos in this country are doing nothing but distracting us from our real needs/goals. The manufacturing base in this country would be revitalized with any progress toward renewable energy. Anyone on the right would say the private sector will take care of itself, well I'm waiting and if we keep that line of thought up we will be waiting a long time for anything to take shape on that kind of scale. The government would make its investment back on the fact that people would be put back to work implementing these projects. Its time to start catching up with the times and getting our heads out of our asses. This kind of stuff should be front page news to show that it can and is being done, just not here. The so called greatest nation in the world....except when we continue to fall behind in areas such as this .....we are far from the greatest nation, we are lagging and missing incredible opportunities to turn this ship around. President Eisenhower funded the interstate system we all enjoy driving on so don't tell me our government can't stimulate a large scale project such as what the UK has done.Big Stinking, Oily Mess
What the hell is wrong with this country? First of all, if you saw the CEO of BP talking about the spill stating that they would be responsible for cleaning up the oil but not for the accident and it didn't make your head spin and green vomit come out of your mouth after hearing him then you are not an American.
First of all, I don't care if you were drilling of your wifes left tit and it was too floppy to hold up all the black sludge you guys were claiming for BP's profit, the fact is you knew what you were getting into when you sent your people onto the rig, you knew what safety devices it had or in this case did not have therefore you are cleaning it up and re-imbursing the people of the gulf coast of the United States of America with your British pounds if it means that BP fails.
Thats right, if BP has to go under to pay this thing off, to make sure that each and every person who loses their job over this, the tourist industry, the environment that suffers over this that needs to be cleaned up, BP will pay the bill.
If person A takes my car and goes and plows into someone at an intersection its not my fault, its the jackass who took my car, especially if I told him about the blind spots.
Why aren't some of our politicians not making more of a stink about this? Lets get one thing out of the way on the political side of this, the Obama Administration has done everything right to this point, if anything he hasn't been tough enough with demanding BP forks over every dollar they have to this and insuring the people of this country that they will get reimbursed for this. Lets face it, directly or indirectly, whether you live in Seattle or New Orleans, this thing is going to have lasting impacts. BP has fucked this country up for not years but DECADES.
Don't believe it? Take a look at the most recent video of the Exxon Valdez mess from 1989: Lives were ruined and the environment is still suffering 21 years later. The biggest difference is that the Gulf is highly populated and there are even more lives to ruin from this. So what really up this catastrophe? These oil companies are cheap. They made record profits yet were too cheap to install or make sure the proper safety devices were in place. Dick Cheney and George W. Bush helped them do that. They deregulated the oil industry allowing them take shortcuts on safety features that could have prevented the whole thing. Want more? Check out who actually leased this rig to BP and what their involvement is in this, Big Ed Schultz hits on all cylinders on this on the Ed Show and he was talking about it on his radio show. I respect the hell out of him because he doens't hold back and neither should we, BP doesn't care about cleaning this up anymore than they do about reimbursing this country for the damage they did, pay attention for who Trans Ocean is in this clip:Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Yeah, Trans Ocean, the biggest oil drilling company in the world, home office in Houston, Texas and they DON"T PAY TAXES. It doesn't matter who pays for this mess as long as who ever does A) isn't us, the American Tax Payer and B) They pay for not only the oil clean up but the long term environmental costs/cleanup and reimburse everyone who is damaged financially by this mess. If it means this Trans Ocean or BP or both go under and never return then so be it. Ed is right, its time we listened and followed finally, what this man said years ago now and actually mean it, no more oil!:Category: Energy | News | Politics | environment
Palin Strikes Again
Sarah Palin just keeps popping her head into the political spotlight and this time its a decision that affects her state and its people/business. She turned down federal stimulus funds to promote energy efficiency..
For a state that has some of the highest energy costs its citizens and businesses ought to be demanding answers as to why she turned it down.
The answer she gave?
"Alaskans and our communities have a long history of independence and opposing many mandates from Washington, D.C."
A long history of independence and opposition from mandates from Washington? How are stimulus funds a mandate? What is it mandating other than people in your state would recieve funds to become more energy efficient and save some money on energy costs over the long haul.
As far as Alaska's independence...anyone who is a Palin supporter stay there, anyone who is not...you can leave now and if Sarah and her followers up there really want their independence you can take your state and secede from the union and we will keep your stimulus funds for ourselves. Bye!
To get the Alaskan citizens perspective US Senator Mark Begich had this to say
"nearly a third of the requests sent to his office from state communities and nonprofits were related to energy reduction."
"With Alaskans facing the highest energy prices in the nation, it's disappointing that our governor is turning thumbs down on federal funding that could help our families and communities reduce their energy bills,"
With decisions like that, Palin won't have to worry about 2012, she will have to worry about being governor still.
Taxing My Mileage?
They can't be serious. The way our governments waste money and then the state of Oregon comes up with the biggest bone headed idea on the face of the planet. Taxing motorists based on miles driven.
Oregon lawmakers are worried that with less gasoline being purchased due to lower demand because of hybrid cars and increased fuel efficiency that they won't be able to raise enough money to pay for roads and infrastructure with the current gas tax system.
Tax American's based on how much we drive, based on mileage. I am as big of a green guy as they get. I get the idea. Taxing people on mileage would generate income, everyone drives. Installing GPS on vehicles to do it too.....I get it...But its the worst idea ever concieved. Thats fine though. Lets start the program with every single local, county, state and federal employee and politician first. For real. For the first five years of the program we will try it out on our politicians first and see how they like it.
Lets see how they like the American people seeing how much they drive, how much they waste and how much it would cost them first. We put the GPS on their private limos, their personal cars, their family members cars, anyone related to politicians or civil service workers on up the chain to the federal level.
After five years of them paying out of their pockets for this program, if they like it, then the rest of the country can adopt it. If they don't, we scrap the idea.
The talk is in Oregon that they could tax a premium rate for rush hour. Thats a great way to promote business and to stimulate the Oregon and for that matter the US economy. Tax us for driving to and from work everyday. What a dumb ass idea. You would get most workers waiting at work until the premium rate for the evening commute is up and probably showing up late or leaving extremely early to avoid the premium rate.
I do homecare, I travel all day long, That shoots me right in the foot. Why bother working. One proposal had a quarter cent per mile to make up for the gas tax. Bull shit. Right now I drive 50+ miles in a day. I have to. I have to or I can't do my work. Every day I would have to pay at least 12.5 cents. Thats 62.5 cents a week. Thats unecessary. That doesn't include weekend driving. In addition to that I pay a toll both ways going over Grand Island.
If they want to do that and New York follows suit, thats fine, then every single toll barrier in this state needs to be torn down. That includes Grand Island and the New York State Tolls and the Customs tolls. Tear down the tolls at the state and federal level on all major thruways in the country. Immediately repeal any federal, state and county gas tax as well.
In addition, if the states want to do this, they have to pay for the GPS that is going in my car. That is not going to be an out of pocket expenditure for any American.
A better idea than the GPS would be every year for inspection they record your mileage and tax you accordingly. And an even better idea than that, make the inspection itself free. If you're going to hit us with the mileage tax, do a little work as our political leaders and look for ways to save money on things that the gas tax goes to.
The best idea is to scrap it all together and leave things be. We can never catch a break in this country without some crappy tax. Enough. Figure out a way to live without the gas tax revenue. Let the American people enjoy better gas mileage in their cars and less cost of owning a car. Nothing can ever go without some bullshit tax in this country and if this takes effect we will have Oregon to thank for thinking it. Oregon. What the hell is there in Oregon anyway besides a shitty basketball team?
I may be an environmentalist at heart, but that doesn't mean that I don't believe in our right to drive our cars where we want to without being taxed for driving too many miles. Let us take advantage of new fuel economy standards and hybrid cars and let us have the freedom to drive them as we need to without having to worry about another tax.
We Need To Be Free From Foreign Oil
Regardless of how this auto bailout goes or how the economy does in the short term, we need to make concerted efforts to get off the black sludge called oil.
Maybe speculators aren't manipulating prices as much these days but OPEC can and will manipulate the price we pay at the pump directly by decreasing their output, which is exactly what they are planning on doing. Not the best medicine for a global economy that is struggling at best.
Our leaders need to get off their collected asses, get this bailout thing done and address energy efficiency near term and then energy alternatives long term. By long term I don't mean 20-30 years from now, I mean 5-10 years. Short term is like 1-2 years. OPEC has stated in recent months that they want oil at $100 a barrel. Screw OPEC, we need to keep working on ways to use less. Whether its turning off lights you don't need on because they will burn more oil/gas at the power plant, turning your oil fueled heater down a degree or two, driving less, purchasing a more fuel efficient car. Regardless, OPEC controls the energy ship until we get our asses in gear and so far, we have had way too many distractions since prices were $4.20 a gallon and if there is one thing about this country, our memory is very short term.Category: Energy
Still Over $2
Okay, yesterday, oil dipped to a 4 year low and could go under $40 a barrel. What is wrong with the WNY gas price scenario? I do think that we haven't seen the last of $4 gas and beyond because there has been some disturbing news of declining production in some key countries like Mexico and in the Middle East but thats beside the point.
Gasoline futures due to the decline in oil are currently at $1.01 a gallon. So, is that then to say that we here in WNY pay over $1.20 in taxes on a gallon of gas? I don't think we pay 120% in tax on gas. So why are we still seeing $2.25-2.35 a gallon where ever you go? I saw a $2.19 yesterday and that is the lowest I have seen so far.
We should be under $2.00. We should be way under $2 and if we are not under that by Christmas, questions need to start being answered and fast. This is pathetic that we, one of the more economically depressed areas even before the recession, are hit with the highest prices in the country, by far. Just about every where you look, gas has gone well below $2.
It would be nice to get a break with prices around $1.50 a gallon for a while. The oil companies, traders and the industry as a whole owe that to the consumer after the huge price spikes of this past year. They will make their profits still, it just won't be in the billions of dollars.
Category: Energy
Who Killed The Electric Car
GM had themselves set up in the mid to late 90's but they screwed it all up. They went for the Hummer instead of the EV1. They had an electric car that got 100 miles to a charge made and people waiting in line to buy it. Instead they and the oil companies crushed the thing.
Category: Energy | Miscellaneous
Don't Let The Lower Prices Fool You
The International Energy Agency, despite the economic crisis we are in at the moment is calling for $26.3 trillion worth of investment in new and sustainable fuels in order to keep pace with growing demand. World demand is still growing despite the economics due to India and China.
$26.3 trillion sounds like a lot, but globally over the next 20 + years is not that much. Its a small investment given the fact that people will be put to work to install new energy infrastructure to support things such as natural gas, solar and wind power.
Oil, despite the drop off in prices is not going to be cheap for long. They are predicting prices to average $100 again soon. That would bring gasoline back up between $3.50-$4.00 a gallon consistently.
"Future sources of oil, the cost of producing it and the price consumers will have to pay for it are extremely uncertain, the IEA said."
Probably not the news we want to hear but really, if we don't invest in new infrastructure and energy sources like solar and wind, we are asking for even bigger problems than coughing up the money now. Of course the oil companies if they truly consider themselves "energy" companies should be forking over a good chunk of that $26.3 trillion considering the obscene profits they take in.
The fact is, due to the down turn of credit markets, there have been little if any new investments in energy lately and when the economy does turn, there are going to be supply problems.
Category: Energy
The Picken's Plan
T. Boone Pickens has a better energy plan than anyone in our current government could possibly come up with. How can you not like what he has come up with. He is undoubtedly being sincere in his proposal, its well researched, it speaks of specific funding needed, and he being an oil man himself is ready to admit that oil is not the answer.
Who ever is elected Tuesday has big problems, one less problem could be energy if they take the Pickens Plan and funds it. Yes its a $700 billion investment up front, but unlike the bailout, we know where we are spending this investment and know that it will allow us to put people to work here, and spend money here, and ultimately keep money in this country over the long term.
Until someone comes out with a better plan, T. Boone may be the guy to get this policy on track. I wonder if Obama has plans to make T. Boone his energy secretary?
Category: Energy
My Solution To Our Energy Independence
Someone out there has got to be smart enough to figure this one out and if you are, we split the profits okay, I get a cut for coming up with the idea.
I was walking through the clinic and watching someone on the fan bike it gave me the idea that we, us, our own muscle energy could power the electric grid in the US. We by exercising could theoretically power our country to energy independence.
If there is a way, (and there is always a way), we hook up every piece of exercise equipment including nautilus, stationary bikes, treadmills (they would have to be non-electrically powered treadmills), stair masters (again without the power), rowing machines, elipticals and any other piece of moving gym equipment in every physical therapys, sports medicine, high school/college gym and health/fitness club and hook them up to the electrical grid.
Thats right, make those machines into exercise equipment that generates power by human exercise. The more you exercise the cheaper your memebership and our co-pay gets and if you exercise beyond that, the fitness center or therapy clinic pays you to come there.
We could solve three issues in the country by doing that: 1. Our foreign oil dependency 2. Our national obesity issues and ultimately by becoming healthier as a country we decrease healthcare costs (so technically a fourth solved issue) and finally 3. Our economic woes would potentially improve because we could be getting paid to work out.
Move over T. Boone I just came up with a better energy plan and I bet it would cost substantially less than even the $700 billion yours would cost because minus the wiring and hooking things up, the infrastructure (health clubs/fitness factilities and therapy clinics) are already in place with the exercise equipment there.
So, if anyone out there is reading this and has the wherewithall to do this.....give me my cut when you do.
Category: Energy
