Despite that I am in a great mood, the republican party has once again shown why they are the party of “No.” Spewing the usual bullshit of excuses while at a meeting with president Obama at the White House on energy reform. It is so ridiculous how much they care about the big corporation interests and are unwilling to move forward on an issue that without question would be an enormous benefit for the entire country. During the meeting they flat out said no cap and trade mechanism will pass the senate, not even slightly working on a negotiation, just refusal, an absolute no. If there is no cap and trade, then fine, put in a carbon tax, SOMETHING to spur the innovation and growth of the clean energy sector.

I find the move that Senator Lindsey Graham did completely jacked-up too. He put in so much time to work on an energy and climate bill that would be able to get bi-partisan support and then pulled out and has since refused to support a piece of legislation he helped create. All because of politics. From my understanding he believes that the deep water horizon situation in the Gulf Coast makes it MORE difficult to pass clean energy legislation, not easier. Only because he wants more off-shore drilling because apparently the whole numbers game doesn’t logically fit into his thought process, which I will explain a bit further in the post. (more…)

Whew, it has been awhile since I have posted. I have been distracted like crazy, but have still been working on energy and climate issues. I’ve actually written a few articles for Helium.com on the topic, most of which actually were rated pretty well, which makes me happy.

Now, with all of the crazy chaos of the Gulf Coast Rupture (not a spill or a leak, we punctured the earth for oil!) it is a good time to return, I think. At 2.5 million gallons of oil erupting into the Gulf of Mexico a day, I must say, WHAT THE FRACK. To my shock and horror, earlier today a senator from Texas, Republican Joe Barton apologized to BP for them having to pay for their fuck up. WHAT? The company is known for not following safety regulations and why in the hell shouldn’t they be paying for their own screw up? Their unprecedented mistake has destroyed the lives of thousands of people.

Who should pay for the clean up if it is not BP? (more…)

That is the question at hand. I have not written in awhile, mostly from brain overload and I just needed to not think about stuff quite as much as I was. I am back now though and ready to talk away the clean energy future the United States may or may not have this year.
There is at least as much nonsense out there over the clean energy and climate legislation as there is for the health care reform. Just today my GF posted some email that was sent to her about the Health Care Reform that was so incredibly far off base I had to laugh. Whoever wrote it clearly had no understanding of what had just passed, it certainly is not universal health care, hence why many people very supportive of health care reform felt left down. Universal Health Care is all this email preached about.

Now, with the clean energy and climate legislation there is talk of how it is going to raise our energy bills, lose jobs and how fake climate change is. I really want to laugh, but it isn’t funny. This is a very serious issue and with so much misconception out there it is not clear what will come to be. Hence the title, will it stay or will it go now. That’s what the Senate needs to decide in these next few months and push forward with some comprehensive clean energy and climate policies. What happens if they don’t? (more…)

So, I’ve been participating in the 72-hour phone calling and making calls to people throughout Michigan. I just have to say, I just got off the phone with a woman a few minutes ago who clearly needed to talk to someone and her story was just heart breaking. She said she is barely getting by, she has health problems, no insurance, a child with special needs, and is frustrated with Washington because they are lying when they say no one wants health care reform. I know that doesn’t have much to do with the reason I was calling, but it was a moving moment. She also said she has trouble writing and doesn’t know how to use the internet, so she doesn’t know how to contact her representatives. Her husband is about to retire and once he does, she is not sure how they are going to get by. It was a touching moment.

She was also supportive of clean energy and climate legislation, so I told her I could transfer her to the Senators office while we were on the phone. We talked for a little longer and she mentioned that she would really like to voice her thoughts to the president, but does not know how to write (again), and does not read very well, and though I did not have the White House’s number on hand, I looked it up for her as we were talking and gave it to her, even though it had nothing to do with what we were trying to call for.

It was just…I don’t know how to describe it; a moment where I realized that there are people out there who really need help and do not know where to turn. It’s those moments where I see just how much more we need to keep fighting for the rights of those who do not know who to go to or how to fight for themselves. It is up to us, those of us who know, to reach out with a friendly hand and help them pick themselves up and fight along side us for the future of this country.

I hope her voice is heard today. It needs to be.

Go Repower America, go!

From Dave Boundy –

This morning we’re kicking off an all-out, bare-knuckled, three-day calling campaignto demand the strongest possible climate and clean energy legislation — with a goal of 20,000 calls from Repower America supporters alone.

Thousands of you took the first step and pledged to call your Senator today. Now, help kick our campaign into high gear by making your pledged call today – and report it by clicking here so we can track progress toward our goal.

Just call our easy-to-use, toll-free Repower America hotline at 1-877-9-REPOWER (1-877-9-737-6937) and enter your zip code. You’ll be connected directly to one of your Senators.

Call now: 1-877-9-737-6937

Once you’re connected, remember to tell the staff member you’re speaking to that:

• You’re a constituent
• You want your Senators to pass strong clean energy and climate legislation this year
• You want a strong bill that invests in clean energy, creates millions of jobs and sets a limit on harmful carbon pollution from all sectors of our economy

Then report your call here — and spread the word about our massive 72-hour calling push by forwarding this email to your friends and family.

Let’s blow them away.

Dave Boundy
Campaign Manager
The Climate Protection Action Fund’s Repower America campaign

A recent article from the Huffington Post talks about Donald Trump speaking to a group of country club folks about stripping Al Gore of the Nobel Peace prize because of the snowstorms in Washington D.C. and the east coast. According to Trump, it proves global warming isn’t real, meanwhile, the Winter Olympics have to have snow shipped in because it’s too warm, so it’s raining instead of snowing.

It is sad that someone who has been so successful in business, making billions of dollars, does not understand the simple concept that just because it snows in the winter that global warming is not real. Also, a few key things… (more…)

I would expect someone to make valentine’s cards with silly quotes from a prankster of some kind, some satire, perhaps, but to see what the Republican National Committee wasted money on is just sad. Let’s take a holiday meant to spread love and joy and being thankful for the loved ones in our life and make some tacky e-cards that are simply made to push a political agenda.

I personally find it pretty pathetic that the committee can waste so much time and money on something so tactless and purposeless, yet are unable to actually work constructively in the United States senate to pass legislation that American’s want, hell, American’s NEED. No to health care reform, no to finance reform, no to energy and climate reform, no to education reform, but yes to some cheesy Valentine’s Day cards. It’s an insult to America. (more…)

You were both fucked over on the Album of the Year award. I don’t know who the hell is rating the winners, but there is no way that should have gone to Tyler Swift.

It’s clear the Grammy’s are a bunch of bullshit. I am sorry you were jipped, you both deserved it more than the one who got.

That is all.

I just thought this was a good little clip from the NWF, so I wanted to share it.

There’s some good news out there, amidst all of the questionable mumble jumble lately. It’s specifically good news for Michigan, and those in the Northern area even more so! Benzie county, rated one of the best spots in the state for Wind Power, has just redone wind ordinances to help support the building of Wind Turbines.
There was a report released not too long ago that listed the hot spots for wind potential across the state, Benzie County being listed as one of the best.

According to a post by Shauna Fite, from the Michigan Land Use Institute, “The report said Benzie County could accommodate at least 435 turbines producing 652 MW of instantaneous energy on a windy day—the output of a large-sized coal-fired power plant—or as many as 778 turbines producing 1,167 MW—as much as the very largest coal plants. If the wind blows just 20 percent of the time, the county would produce between 1.1 million and 2 million MWh of energy a year. At 12 cents a kWh, today’s going rate for wind power, that would add up to between $132 million and $240 million worth of electricity per year.” (more…)