Clean Energy Payola

How Obama spread your $$ around to his "Green" buddies, in a convenient poster...

[h/t - Doug Ross]

For Whom the Bulb Tolls

As Instapundit is more than happy to point out, you can still get old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs over on Amazon...

But if you want to find them, don't try looking in new childrens books.  In a perfectly unoffensive book that I recently purchased, we find a main character who suddenly has an idea.  What appears above her head?  This? 

No....this:

For over a century the incandescent light bulb has been the symbol of ideas that have come instantly to mind.  Now I guess this "new & improved" politically correct image will be the symbol of ideas that take a few minutes to actually reach their full brightness....  

But this is what we should expect in our future lives in a European-style social democracy.  Things that are not quite as quick, efficient, or enjoyable as they used to be...but it will all be for the common good. 

Big Stink By The Bay

I must admit a certain amount of schadenfreude when two liberal causes do battle, when the consequences of one impact upon the other. It is even more fun when both are environmental causes...

The most recent example happens in San Francisco (of course!):

"San Francisco's big push for low-flow toilets has turned into a multimillion-dollar plumbing stink.

Skimping on toilet water has resulted in more sludge backing up inside the sewer pipes, said Tyrone Jue, spokesman for the city Public Utilities Commission. That has created a rotten-egg stench near AT&T Park and elsewhere, especially during the dry summer months.

The city has already spent $100 million over the past five years to upgrade its sewer system and sewage plants, in part to combat the odor problem."

Ahhhh, unintended consequences...the best part of environmental schadenfreude! Low flow and no-water toilets were supposed to save money (water bills) and save the environment. Well, $100 million later we know they don't save money. How about the environment? Not so much....

"Now officials are stocking up on a $14 million, three-year supply of highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite - better known as bleach - to act as an odor eater and to disinfect the city's treated water before it's dumped into the bay. It will also be used to sanitize drinking water.

That translates into 8.5 million pounds of bleach either being poured down city drains or into the drinking water supply every year.

Not everybody thinks it's a good idea.

A Don't Bleach Our Bay alert has just gone out from eco-blogger Adam Lowry who argues the city would be much better off using a disinfectant like hydrogen peroxide - or better yet, a solution that would naturally break down the bacteria.

As for whether the supposedly environmentally friendly, low-flow toilets are worth the trouble? Well, according to Jue, they have helped trim San Francisco's annual water consumption by about 20 million gallons."

So SF uses less water, but pays millions more for infrastructure, and will end up pouring poisonous bleach into the sewers. I guess the best you can say was that some enviros had a good feeling in their soul for at least a little while.

But in hindsight perhaps it would have cost less and been better for the environment if the city had just kept it's regular toilets....

Global Warming Snow Job

It was reported today that Lake Erie has complete frozen over for the first time in 14 years:

Following a cold snap in the Northeast, Lake Erie's surface is virtually frozen over for the first time in about 14 years.

The ice ranges in thickness between paper thin along the northern shore and several inches along the southern shore, where many people are ice skating.

GoErie.com reports that the lake hasn't completely frozen since the winter of 1995-1996.

[…..]


Lake Erie, with an average depth of 62 feet, is the most shallow of the five Great Lakes, which is why it is the only one that completely freezes over.

Since lake-effect snow depends on warmer lake temperatures compared to the air, the frozen lake will deter large amounts of snowfall to the lee of the lake.

The current cold snap will keep the lake mostly, if not completely, frozen for at least the rest of the month.

Hmmmm…. This is concerning.

Cold air has led to a frozen-over lake, which will in-turn cause less snowfall, which we all know is an indication of Global Warming®.

Ergo…colder temperatures are a positive indicator of Global Warming®!

Of course this is somewhat in conflict with the other current meme that *more* snow is caused by Global Warming®. But who wants to quibble over such minor details when there is leftist policy to be pushed (and $$ to be made!).

As the Heritage Institute aptly put it using their best Homer Simpson impression, "Global Warming – Is There Anything It Can’t Do?"

No snow, too much snow. It does not matter to the enviroleft crowd. For them, global warming always is to blame. That is the whole reason the movement made a deliberate decision earlier this decade to stop calling it “global warming” and start calling it “climate change.” That way they could expand the universe of terrible things they could plausibly blame on global warming.

And it is that continuing overreach that will make the "Green Movement" the butt of more and more ridicule....

® - The term 'Global Warming' is owned in perpetuity by Al Gore. All Rights Reserved.

Green Police Crackdown

This is a new Audi commercial to run during the Super Bowl.



Note the message is that you will not be considered a criminal if you buy the correct things. Not just the holder of an incorrect opinion, but a criminal. Also note that there is no irony in the presentation of this fact by Audi. They are not trying to produce yet another funny Super Bowl commercial, they are trying to sell us a 'Green' product, by using the message that if you aren't green, you are worthy of arrest by a SWAT team. Nice....

This is our future if the liberals continue to rule and keep driving us down the road towards the full-time Nanny State.

[Hat Tip: Jammie Wearing Fool]

Doomsday Clock Confusion

Apparently the 'Doomsday Clock' will be getting an update tomorrow...

The timepiece in New York conveys how close humanity is to catastrophic destruction, which is represented by midnight.

In order to keep the suspense going, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is not telling which direction the clock will move.....closer to midnight (Doomsday) or further away (Utopia?).

However, given the immediate calming presence of President Obama on all things bad in the world, I am sure it will be moving backward towards nirvana.

However I am confused about one small thing. The 'time' on the clock of doom is determined by several things, including the recent addition, Global Warming.

A spokesman said: 'Factors influencing the latest Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.'

So, the 'expansion of civilian nuclear power' and 'climate change' are both a negative? I thought one was supposed to help solve the other?

To be fair, BAS looks at the civilian nuclear power as an illicit source for nuclear weapons production.

But with the world's "immense and growing demand for electricity", if the BAS is serious about climate change, they would support the 'expansion of civilian nuclear power'. Especially when that expansion doesn't have to mean the proliferation of the bad things they seek to combat.

The expansion of new civilian nuclear technology can help save the planet! But it is hard to convince the devout that they need to adjust their religious beliefs.....

[Hat Tip on Green Nukes: Instapundit]

Lefty Mouthbreathers Bad for the Environment!

#hhrs #tcot #rs #sgp
This morning Instapundit said the following in relation to lefty environmentalists saying they are out to save the planet, but then ignoring/blocking the very types of solutions they say they want:

If you’re going to tell me that carbon dioxide is an unparalleled catastrophe for this planet, you’ve got to be willing to demonstrate your sincerity by, you know, endorsing other forms of energy. Otherwise, I’m inclined to think you’re a lying opportunist or something.

This is a very good point, but when it comes to Carbon Dioxide, I think he is missing a better counter-argument. I word re-word that statement as such:

If you’re going to tell me that carbon dioxide is an unparalleled catastrophe for this planet, you’ve got to be willing to demonstrate your sincerity by, you know, boycotting the breathing process. Otherwise, I’m inclined to think you’re a lying opportunist or something.

Of course the ultimate point is that CO2 is not a pollutant, but is a by-product of life on this planet, even the non-human, or even non-animal, kind....

But of course having every one stop breathing to prevent Global Warming is just not practical. I mean if we did we would have to change the movement slogan from "GO GREEN" to "GO BLUE"....and we have already printed up the signs and banners for the school propaganda campaigns....

Global Warming Keystone Cops

If I happened to be a believer in Anthropogenic Global Warming, and a proponent of what is being bandied about in Copenhagen, right now I would be screaming, "For the love of Pete you idiots! Why don't you plan these conferences for the summer?!?!?"

I mean, what could be worse when you are trying to convince a non-plussed American public that Global Warming is a problem that requires immediate action and immediate infusions of American tax dollars, and then to battle the following headlines:

GLOBAL WARMING 'AGREEMENT' OBAMA RACES HOME FOR BLIZZARD

DC snowstorm forces Pelosi to cut short her global warming trip

NYC Expecting Up to 10 Inches of Snow

Up to 20-inches in DC

Alaska sees record snow: Five feet, 8 inches deep!

What with all the self-appointed smartest people in the world meeting in Denmark, you would think at least some of them could have figured out that it might make better propaganda if they could show their delegates sweating in un-air conditioned meeting rooms while working out an agreement.

Instead heretics like me get to cackle when Global Warming protests get snowed out, winters get worse, or they are forced to break out the shovels in Copenhagen....

I mean, how hard could it be for someone to think "We should do this in Vegas in July!"

Debauchery AND triple-digit temperatures. What could be better for the UN technocrat trying to make a point to us knuckle dragging layabouts without the threat of snow drifts distracting from the message.

Too hard apparently....but it doesn't bother me....

Going Green with Cap & Trade!

Great Video for the weekend from the Tax Foundation!



Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt

Now *that* is Climate Justice

Back in mid-December, some lefty green group called for a massive rally in DC:

Make Climate Justice History - Mass civil disobedience March 2nd, 2009 in DC

At that time Greg Pollowitz at NRO's Planet Gore went out on a limb and said:

Anyone want to bet on a snowstorm hitting D.C. on March 2, 2009?

Today's Washington Post:

Snow Blankets Washington Area
Region Braces for What Could Be Largest Winter Storm in Three Years

Guess all you global warming protestors had better bundle up!

(Hat Tip: Mark Hemingway)

UPDATE: Powerline had this great photo, so I will steal it...


Thanks to commenter Keyboard Jockey for links as well....who has a great update of his own...

We Get What We Vote For - Part II

Ken Salazar will be Obama's selection to head up the Department of the Interior.

"Mr. Salazar’s most urgent task will be to remove the influence of politics and ideology from decisions that are best left to science."

Funny, but I doubt that the Obama administration will be bringing 'science' to Interior. I think that they will probably be bringing religion instead....

Praise Gaia and pass the the carbon credits....

Capitalism Saves the Planet?

For years, we have been told that our rampant obsession with Capitalism and a consumer society was leading to the demise of the planet.

Ironically enough, the recent economic downturn has sent the critically important (or so we have ben told) recycling biz into a nosedive. Turns out, no one wants to buy recycled materials if there is no market to use them to make other products.

Just months after riding an incredible high, the recycling market has tanked almost in lockstep with the global economic meltdown. As consumer demand for autos, appliances and new homes dropped, so did the steel and pulp mills' demand for scrap, paper and other recyclables.

Cardboard that sold for about $135 a ton in September is now going for $35 a ton. Plastic bottles have fallen from 25 cents to 2 cents a pound. Aluminum cans dropped nearly half to about 40 cents a pound, and scrap metal tumbled from $525 a gross ton to about $100.

Ooops. Guess we need that evil capitalism idea after all. Though perhaps the new Obama Administration could mandate price controls on recycled scrap. That way we could continue to save the planet through the goodness of government, and avoid the ickiness of a market-driven solution....

Elitism on Parade: Ignorance Edition

Over at Townhall.com, Amanda Carpenter points us to another new and devastating elitist insult from Barack Obama:

Barack Obama called Republicans "ignorant" for making fun of him because he encouraged Americans to properly inflate their tires to conserve gasoline. “It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant!” Obama told an audience in Berea, Ohio on Tuesday.

Whoa nelly! Them's fightin' words… Seriously, maybe the pressure has gotten to Obama, but he certainly seems to have lowered the discourse a notch. Calling someone "ignorant" is not something casually thrown about in civil conversation. Probably because it is normally, and rightly, considered an insult. Is his new message is "Vote Democrat, or Vote Ignorant"?

So while McCain is a racist for calling Obama a "Celeb", I am sure that Obama will be considered 'brutally honest' for calling McCain, and by extension the right side of the political spectrum, "ignorant". Seems like a strange way to heal a divided nation.

Ultimately this is a grand case of the pot calling the kettle….errrr….anyhow…. This label of 'ignorant' comes from a man who's very own energy plan called for a major reduction in electricity consumption, AND an increase in cars the you can plug into an electrical socket and recharge. Does he even notice the conflicting goals here, or did they just quickly poll the interns for good energy ideas, and stick the list in a brochure without proof-reading it?

It seems to me that this could well be another "clinging to guns and religion" moment. He has just handed the GOP a great sound bite to hound him with until November. McCain should flood Ohio, PA and other flyover states with ads using the message: "John McCain and 75% of America are calling for more drilling here in America to lower oil prices. Barack Obama wants you to inflate your tires. And if you don't agree with him, he says you must be ignorant. [CLIP] So much for the message of hope and change…"

I guess we should re-write that now famous line to read "Clinging to their guns, religion, and gasoline..."

An Ignorant Wind Blows

Glenn Reynolds links to an interview with T. Boone Pickens in the New York Times, allegedly concerning his new wind power project.

Only the first quarter of the interview by Deborah Solomon covers actual substantive wind issues, before it devolves into politics and personal minutia. The most fascinating part of the interview has to be this exchange concerning Pickens involvement in the 2004 election:

You helped re-elect Bush in ’04 when you gave $3 million to the Swift Boat campaign to discredit John Kerry’s Vietnam service. Do you regret your involvement?
-Why would I?

Because it’s such an ugly chapter in American political history.
-Oh, I see. Well, it was true. Everything that went into those ads was the truth.

Really? I thought it was all invented.
-I never did anything dishonest.

[…]

If not the Swift Boats, what do you regret?

You get the drift….

I find it jaw-droppingly honest to have a journalist (or perhaps Ms. Solomon is an aspiring HS student who's journalism class interview project accidentally ended up in the NYT) admit their bias, or their ignorance, by saying "Really? I thought it was all invented" about the Swift Boat allegations. You certainly couldn't tell by their reporting.....not.

It shows the thought process and lack of intellectual/journalist curiosity that would dismiss such things out of hand as political sabotage. No wonder the use the phrase "Swift Boating" in such a derogatory fashion….

My only question is, if this is something that is considered an "ugly chapter" worthy of obvious regret, I wonder how Ms. Solomon and the NYT feel about Rathergate and evidence that was clearly "invented"?

I suppose it is better not to ask....

Energizer Al

You have to give Al Gore some credit....he doesn't quit. And he always ups the ante.

Gore called on Americans to completely abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within 10 years, and replace them with carbon-free renewables like solar, wind and geothermal.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually think that such a goal is commendable, and even as a conservative would love to have an energy grid based on renewables, that would eliminate airborne pollution. But 10 years is a pipe dream. Especially if you don't even consider using Nuclear as the primary backbone for that energy grid.

In as much as it is a good idea, reaching this goal by 2018 has an even chance with mankind achieving the goal of traveling at the speed of light within that same time period. It is the height of folly. Even Time Magazine is skeptical, calling it an "unrealistic plan" and "... it's hard to see how Gore's target is remotely attainable. This isn't negative thinking, or fiction put out by the oil industry. This is reality."

Al, buddy, I am all for a plan than provides clean renewable power...but let's be realistic. If you want to achieve this goal, while at the same time not ruining the U.S. economy and lowering people's standard of living, then you have to think in the longer term. Lets say 2050. You and I may not be alive by then, but that is certainly a more achievable timeframe than by the middle of Bobby Jindal's second Presidential term.

Don't ruin a fairly good idea by placing impossible deadlines on it....

Polar Bear Party Poopers

Instapundit talks about some good economic news on the Tennessee front:

In the face of rising demand for coal, Knoxville-based National Coal Corp. plans to expand production by re-opening some idle mines in Tennessee and Alabama and by digging one new underground mine in Tennessee.

Unfortunately he does not consider the sure-to-be-follow-up-story that we all know is coming. It will read something like this.....

"National Coal Corp's plans to expand coal production have been put on hold after the National Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club filed suit in Federal Court to block the mining. They argue that mining for coal has a direct contribution to Global Warming, and thus has a direct negative effect on the Polar Bear which was recently placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Interior Department."

Welcome to our future folks!

UPDATE: For some good background on this issue, go read Hugh Hewitt's punditry:
- PBIP: The Approach and Outbreak of Polar Bear-Induced Paralysis
- The Polar Bear Tractor Beam
- Polar Bear Pushback

Green Genocide

More fun from Europe:

At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the “dignity” of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called “plant rights” is being seriously debated.

see-dubya at Michelle Malkin says:

Sure, you vegans thought yourselves so morally pure. But according to the Swiss government, your hands are stained with the chlorophyll of innocent beings.

So this leads me to a couple of questions...

1 - Does this make the Haitians progressive for eating dirt cookies?

2 - Will it be considered a 'Crime against Horticulture' to use Ethanol in your car?

I can see the protest signs now..."Save the Plants, Burn Oil!!"

However when it comes to food, I guess we will have to resort to more dramatic measures....

Starvation = Greener Planet, Part II

The other day, I posted on how a *really* Green agenda requires most humans (e.g. us non-enlightened troglodytes) to be *really* dead.

Well, right on cue, here is an opportunity from National Review contributor Iain Murray to get a free Chapter excerpt ('Ethanol: Save the Planet, Starve the World') from his new book, 'The Really Inconvenient Truths".



Click here to get a copy.

Starvation = Greener Planet

Almost as much fun as watching the current internecine warfare in the Democratic Party, is watching liberals as they realize that alleged solutions for their current hot fad cause, "Global Warming", are in fact quite detrimental to another perennial favorite, "Global Hunger/Poverty".

One wonders how they might de-conflict their desire to cool the planet, with their desire to prevent the starvation of the Third World poor (or COSTCO shoppers).

However, for the really extreme environmentalists (as opposed to those who learn to "go green" from NBC peer pressure Public Service Announcements), there is no conflict.

In fact for their Eco-Extremist agenda to be successful, they actually want millions billions of people to starve off. You see, a truely "green" planet is one that is devoid of human life.

"Curing a body of cancer requires radical and invasive therapy, and therefore, curing the biosphere of the human virus will also require a radical and invasive approach..."

No wonder the environmentalists are pushing ethanol so hard. It *can* save the planet. Ethanol = Starvation = Greener Planet

I guess it is just too bad we won't be around to see it....

UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit readers! For a great collection of alternative Climate/Environmental news that you won't find during Earth Week, check out Doug Ross.