Money is not Free Speech

Money is not Free Speech

Why Aren't the Bankers in Prison?

If I had my way those responsible for packaging sub-prime mortgages would be in prison up to and including the CEO's of the major banking conglomerates. We would also have confiscated their money to cover the cost of the stimulus package.

Picken's Plan vs. Gore's Plan

Picken's has developed a plan to use wind power for 20% of America's electrical energy freeing up natural gas to be used for transportation. (Natural gas burns cleaner than gasoline.)



I am going to take some time to compare/contrast it to the Al Gore plan. (But not in this post.)



I don't yet know whether one is better than the other or whether multiple competing plans are a good or bad thing. I guess we'll all find out together.

Offshore Drilling

The following comes from Greenpeace:

Gas prices have been jumping over and under the $4 mark all summer, your grocery bills are soaring, and campaign ads are blasting you about the benefits of offshore drilling. So what's an average Joe or Jane supposed to believe? Will offshore drilling really make things better for you? What you're hearing on the news is pretty one-sided, and most reporters are talking about this issue like it makes perfect sense. Well, it doesn't. What can I say, sometimes dumb ideas get a lot of attention. That's exactly what's happening right now as President Bush has lifted the executive moratorium on offshore drilling, and Congress is being pushed to do the same. Let me take just a second to review the top 10 reasons offshore drilling is such a dumb idea:

10. Offshore oil drilling won't impact gas prices today, and it won't have a significant impact on gas prices in the future.

9. This is nothing more than a money grab by the oil companies - who are already making record-breaking profits.

8. We burn 25% of the world's oil here in the U.S., but we have only 3% of the world's oil reserves. So even if all offshore oil magically came to market today, the vast majority of our oil would continue to be imported, and we wouldn't see price relief at the pump.

7. The current moratorium was put in place decades ago to protect us from the danger of oil spills along our coastlines and beaches.

6. Burning fossil fuels like oil causes global warming, which causes stronger hurricanes, which will threaten the very offshore drilling rigs being proposed, which will contribute to even more global warming.

5. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy within the next 10 years. The billions of dollars that would be spent on offshore oil drilling just postpones the inevitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

4. Oil exploration requires massive seismic testing - which threatens whales and dolphins.

3. Oil prices are set on the global oil market, so American oil is no cheaper than Saudi oil. We won't get a discount for oil drilled in the U.S.

2. We can't solve the world's energy problems with the same drilling that created them.

1. Renewable energy is available now, so it's time to walk away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future.

Take Action >> make sure Congress hears from YOU about offshore oil drilling.

Let's face it, there's really no good reason to drill offshore. More drilling is good for Big Oil, not for you and your family. We can't drill our way out of this mess - oil drilling is already at an all-time high and prices are still skyrocketing. As a matter of fact, even if we could tap into all of the energy stored in the Earth's reserves - coal, oil, and natural gas - it would equal the energy in just 20 days of sunshine. Tell Congress to look on the bright side to solve our energy crisis. It's time to invest in renewable energy and leave oil to the dinosaurs. It's time for an energy revolution.

Power to the people,
Melanie Duchin
Global Warming Campaigner

Renewable Electricity in 10 Years

I was forwarded this link to a speech by Al Gore in which he sets forth a challenge to convert all our electricity to renewable sources in 10 years (http://wecansolveit.org). Seems like a worthy challenge to me.

Non-Smoking Update
I am still living my life as a non-smoker. This is not to say that I haven't had the occasional slip, but I've heard that you only have to quit one more time than you start.

Day Seventeen

Today is my 17th day as a non smoker. So far the cravings have been bearable, but emotionally things are a little rocky.

I am driving over the pass today which will be challenging as I used to smoke a lot while driving. Wish me luck.

I'll keep you posted avid readers. Lol.

Operation Miracle in Action - Day 3

Day 3 is going well so far. I found last night that emotional triggers are far stronger than habitual triggers. Still challenging, but I remain smoke free.