Big Shocker: McCain Has Missed 8 Crucial Votes on Renewable Energy

John McCain is a hypocrite. He tours the nation proclaiming himself to be a forward-thinking, green politician who cares deeply about the environment, attempting to paint himself as a reformer. He puts on a big show for his constituents, yelling about how Congress needs to come back from vacation and get started on legislation that will aid America in this energy crisis. And yet, he has personally missed eight – yes, EIGHT – crucial votes on a renewable energy bill.

The bill in question, S. 3335, would have extended investment tax credits for installing solar energy as well as the production tax credits for building wind turbines and other energy-efficiency systems. It’s absolutely vital to the emerging renewable energy industry, which depends on such credits to be competitive with the current polluting industries like coal and oil.

On July 30th, when McCain once again failed to show up to vote for the bill, it failed for the eighth time. As The New York Times reports, McCain missed all eight votes – and one of the times, he was in his office and couldn’t be bothered to saunter on down to participate in the vote.

From The New York Times:

What impact does this have? In the solar industry today there is a rush to finish any project that would be up and running by Dec. 31 — when the credits expire — and most everything beyond that is now on hold. Consider the Solana concentrated solar power plant, 70 miles southwest of Phoenix in McCain’s home state. It is the biggest proposed concentrating solar energy project ever. The farsighted local utility is ready to buy its power.

But because of the Senate’s refusal to extend the solar tax credits, “we cannot get our bank financing,” said Fred Morse, a senior adviser for the American operations of Abengoa Solar, which is building the project. “Without the credits, the numbers don’t work.” Some 2,000 construction jobs are on hold.

Big Oil uses the ‘it’s not cost effective’ excuse to keep solar and wind energy down, but making it cost effective is exactly what this bill is designed to do. No doubt the oil industry has something to do with all the ‘nay’ votes – our congressmen and women can’t seem to keep their hands out of Big Oil’s pockets.

This just goes to show that McCain is all talk and no action – he wants voters to believe that he’s an open-minded, middle-of-the-road Republican who’s out to protect the environment. It’s simply not true. When it comes down to it, McCain is clearly not passionate about turning this country around and bringing clean energy and millions of green collar jobs to American citizens.

If elected, there’s no question that he’d settle immediately into Big Oil’s cozy bosom and remain there until his term was up. Luckily, that’s not going to happen.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Hot Rod

Does Microcredit Hurt the Poor More Than it Helps?

Bangladeshi Mohammad Yunus, along with Grameen Bank, won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago for their concept, ‘microcredit’, which offers ‘a helping hand, not a handout’ to poor people who want to start businesses. Grameen has partnered with big businesses like yogurt giant Danone to give small loans to impoverished Bangladeshi residents, with the hopes of helping them get on their feet. The concept seemed promising, as many poor Bangladeshis were able to make incomes up to twice as much as their fellow countrymen.

Unfortunately, all is not as rosy as it sounds. Instead of prospering, many of the people who received loans are simply deep in debt. They’ve had trouble making enough to pay Grameen bank back, and Grameen has reportedly been less than accommodating.

From France 24:

The villagers here who have taken a loan are unable to reimburse their credit, and claim to be harassed by Grameen Bank representatives. Korshed Alom, a former debt collector, was put into early retirement for having questioned the Grameen Bank’s methods: “Their technique is to scare borrowers and insult them. We tell them to sell their clothes, that they have no other choice. I’m not proud of myself, but several times, I had even been obliged to say ‘sell your children.’”

The bank, which has more than 100 million clients in the world’s poorest countries, hasn’t responded to the accusations.

Isn’t this just the way it always seem to go? The poor get screwed over, and the rich get richer. No surprise here.

Link [France 24]

Gas Prices Down Again: The Return of America?

Copyright 2008 Tribune Media Services

Gas prices are going down bit by bit each day, and this cartoon frighteningly portrays what could happen if they continue to slide.  The return of America? Let’s hope not. But it wouldn’t be surprising if all of the good that has been done since gas prices started going up instantly was undone if Americans can afford to be wasteful again.

Link [The Week Daily]

Slowdown in American Economy Could Be Good for the Environment

In America, consumerism is rampant, no doubt about it. We’ve been bred to buy, buy and keep on buying even if you really don’t need anything else. We constantly ‘upgrade’ our stuff. Decades of cheap credit have allowed this monster to continue growing at a rapid pace, with people spending far more than they can afford with the plan of dealing with it later. So, now that the economy is finally slowing down and people are buying less, what does it mean for the American lifestyle, and for the environment?

From U.S. News & World Report:

The average American with a credit file is responsible for $16,635 in debt, excluding mortgages, according to Experian, and the personal savings rate has hovered close to zero for the past several years. High gas and food prices are causing real incomes to fall. Even worse, rising inflation will probably cause the Federal Reserve to start jacking up interest rates once the credit crisis on Wall Street has passed, tightening credit even further. “We’re shedding jobs, it’s much harder to borrow, and what used to be capital gains are now capital losses,” says Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody’s Economy.com. “There’s no source of funding for spending.” Because many of us won’t be able to as easily use our homes as ATMs, Hoyt expects to see an upward trend in saving and slower growth in consumer spending, compared with the binge of the past decade.

While some people view this as devastating – seeing their frequent trips to the mall, electronics purchases and kitchen renovation plans going up in smoke – others see it as our salvation. Young people, in particular, are learning to do more with less, and that could mean less waste down the road. Parents are teaching their kids that making smart financial choices can help the earth, too. Frugality and things like buying secondhand, growing your own vegetables and nixing bottled water complement each other perfectly. It will be interesting to see whether Americans take this opportunity to be smarter about their money and the earth, or go back to their old habits as soon as things are stable again.

Link [U.S. News & World Report]
Photo credit: Flickr user orphanjones

China Puts up Shiny Façade for the Olympics – Literally

Visitors walking down the freshly swept streets Luomashi Boulevard in Beijing don’t see the shops that are normally bustling with life on a typical day. Instead, they see an 8-foot wall, whitewashed and topped with roof pavers. It doesn’t just hide the shops. Behind them are the alleyway ‘huttong’ housing, which the government had hoped to clear out and demolish. Apparently, Chinese officials felt that the view of the shops and huttong would have put off foreign tourists, and they’ve been doing everything they can to make Beijing look nicer than it really is during the Olympic games. Residents didn’t leave in time, though – hence the wall.

From Boston.com:

“The government didn’t have enough time to get everyone to move,” said Zhang, a 40-year-old museum worker who only gave her surname. “So the wall went up for the Olympics. It is just to make a more beautiful environment for the city.”

She said she is willing to move if the developer offers her more money, though she declined to say what amount would be enough.

“I want to get on with my life,” she said. “Looking at the wall is very depressing.”

It’s yet another example of how Beijing is just putting up a façade for visitors from other nations, but this time, it’s literal. It makes you wonder how much the Chinese government cares about its people, considering that of the many promises it made during its bid for the Olympics, the only ones that were fulfilled were the ones benefiting tourists. Once again, China’s people seem to be left in the dust.

Link [Boston.com]

Bush Breaks Promise to Protect Hawaiian Islands from Pollution

There are very few instances in which Bush has done something genuinely good for America and for the world. Back in 2006 when he declared a remote chain of islands in Hawaii the biggest, most environmentally protected area of the ocean in the world, it was to much fanfare and praise from conservationists. But, if you visit this supposedly clean, protected area today, you’ll see a reality that’s far from what Bush promised.

From The Huffington Post:

His proclamation featured some of the strictest measures ever placed on a marine environment. Any material that might injure the area’s sensitive coral reefs and 7,000 rare species _ a fourth of them found nowhere else in the world _ would be prohibited, even if the debris drifted in from thousands of miles away.

Ocean currents are still bringing an estimated 57 tons of garbage and discarded fishing gear to the 10 islands and the waters surrounding them each year. Endangered monk seals are still being snared and coral reefs smothered by discarded fishing nets. Albatrosses are still feeding on indigestible plastic and feeding it to their young.

So, what happened? It’s simple: it got pushed to the back burner. The Bush administration cut the budget back by a whopping 80%. The photo above shows Kamilo Beach in September of last year, covered in trash again. But, is anyone surprised? Bush is a foe of the environment. Trash on a beach in Hawaii is the last thing on his mind, or that of anyone else in his administration.

Is it 2009 yet?

Link [The Huffington Post]

Photo credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Carey Morishige

Obama Responds to McCain’s Backfiring ‘Tire Gauge’ Attacks

When Obama recommended conserving energy through measures like keeping tires inflated as an alternative to offshore drilling, he was ridiculed by the McCain camp, who then distributed tire gauges labeled “Barack Obama’s Energy Plan”. But then it was proven that Obama’s suggestion was right on target, and simple conservation efforts like properly inflated tires and regular tune-ups can save as much oil as offshore drilling would produce. Now, Obama’s got a few things to say to McCain about the episode.

From Yahoo! News:

“It will be interesting to watch this debate between John McCain and John McCain,” Obama said as he campaigned in Indiana with Sen. Evan Bayh, widely considered a top-tier candidate for running mate.

In mocking Obama, McCain told a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D.: “My opponent doesn’t want to drill, he doesn’t want nuclear power, he wants you to inflate your tires.” The Republican National Committee widely distributed tire pressure gauges labeled “Obama energy plan” and suggested that was the Illinois senator’s only idea for reducing oil imports, although both candidates have offered multifaceted energy proposals.

You can see Obama here:

The RNC’s gift of tire gauges may be the single most helpful thing they’ve done for the country in the past decade. Not that they knew that when they passed them out, of course. Dumbasses.

Link [Yahoo! News]
Photo credit: Flickr user marcn

Obama is Right About the Tire-Gauge Energy Solution

Republicans had a giddy, gleeful field day this week after Barack Obama stated that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and got their vehicles regular tune-ups, we could save as much oil as new offshore drilling could produce. This absolutely ridiculous suggestion really got them fired up, prompting the Republican National Committee to send Washington reporters tire gauges labeled “Barack Obama’s Energy Plan” in an attempt to ridicule the Democratic presidential candidate.

Too bad the joke’s on them – Obama’s statement is true. From TIME Magazine:

The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.

As TIME points out, conservation and efficiency are the best approach to dealing with the energy crisis, and we can do it without making huge changes to our lifestyle. There are a million different ways that we could use to seriously reduce our energy use if most of the people in the country gave them a shot: better insulation, unplugging electronics that aren’t in use, carpooling, cutting down on idling and reducing our speed on the road. What Obama has suggested is the obvious front line of defense against the energy crisis: common sense.

It’s a pretty simple concept: if our use of fossil fuels is increasing our reliance on Middle Eastern dictators while destroying the planet, maybe we ought to use less.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Link [TIME Magazine]

Plastic Going Up in Price

We’ve gotten accustomed to plastic being cheap. So accustomed, that we’re now hopelessly addicted to it – we’d be hard-pressed to live without it at this point. But, all things come to an end, and the age of cheap plastic may be going out with the age of cheap oil. Of course, that’s because plastic is made from petroleum, which has gotten very expensive as of late.

From Green Car Congress:

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Mitsui Chemicals Inc. and Sumitomo Chemical Co. have raised the price of polyethylene, the most common synthetic resin, by 17% to levels not seen for the past 25 years. The price hike is blamed on soaring prices of naptha, a key raw material refined from crude oil.

Domestic synthetic resin prices are now at their highest level since 1983, when the market was dealing from the fallout of the second oil shock.

Meanwhile, the price of polypropylene, which is used in candy packaging and clothing storage products, was lifted around 37-40 yen per kilogram, or 18%. And polystyrene prices were raised 7-9%, or 15-20 yen per kilogram. The plastic is used in food containers.

Okay, so – plastic is polluting, has negative effects on the health of humans and animals, is made from oil – and now it’s expensive? Sounds like as good a time as any to start trying to wean ourselves off of it as much as possible. We may never stop using plastic entirely, but we can cut back our personal consumption of products packaged in plastic as much as possible.

Link [Green Car Congress]
Photo credit: Flickr user Meg and Rahul

We’re Living in the Age of Consumption

Wow – consumption spreads fast nowadays.  Where our grandparents and great-grandparents once purchased mostly necessities, we’re being bombarded constantly with products.  We’ve got nonstop flashing neon lights that say buy, buy, buy! There are so many more things that we ‘need’ now.  Take a look at this chart put together by Visualizing Economics (click image to see a larger version) and you’ll get an idea of how much things have changed in a century.

Some would argue that we’re wealthier as a society, and that’s generally true – but are we truly better off for it?  Is the planet better off for it? Some would argue that all of these products have made our lives easier – and indeed, many of them have.   It just makes you wonder where things are headed in the future – will we cut back, or will the list of stuff that we ‘need’ continue to grow?

It’s kind of frightening imagining this chart getting more and more crowded with stuff as the years continue to pass.

Link [Visualizing Economics]

Senate Fails Again to Extend Key Renewable Energy Credit

The U.S. Senate has failed to extend a key investment tax credit for renewable energy, which endangers billions of dollars worth of solar and wind power projects and green collar jobs. This was the eight attempt to extend the credit beyond its January 1st, 2009 expiration date. It was blocked by Republicans (big surprise) due to the fear that it would raise taxes (amazing, truly). This is despite backing from renewable energy startups, tech giants, Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street banks and utilities like PG&E and Edison International. The utilities were pushing for an 8-year extension that would give solar projects enough time to get off the ground.

From Green Wombat:

Without the 30 percent tax credit, the viability of several large solar power plant projects remains in doubt. Spanish solar company Abengoa Solar has said it probably will pull out of plans to build a 280-megawatt power plant in Arizona if Congress doesn’t renew the tax credit. Green Wombat happened to have breakfast this morning with a PG&E executive who said that the large solar projects that California utilities are counting on to meet renewable energy mandates would have a hard time securing financing absent the investment tax credit.

First Solar (FSLR) CEO Michael Ahearn said on an earnings call Wednesday afternoon that if the investment tax credit is not extended the thin-film solar module maker would focus its efforts on the European market. “We don’t have massive volumes of solar planned for the U.S. in the short term,” said Ahearn.

WTF? This is disgusting. Republicans and their obsession with taxes. Nevermind that even if taxes were increased, it would be a huge boon to the American economy, giving us more jobs and helping the planet in the process. They don’t care about that – they only care about their wallets.

Did one or more of your state senators block the extension? Check out the list and if so, write them a letter expressing your anger at their selfish decision. You can find your senators’ contact information here.

Link [Green Wombat] + [United States Senate]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons + Wikimedia Commons

Rising Food Prices May Help U.S. War on Drugs

In a strange and unexpected twist, the rising costs of food may help the United States on its long-running battle against illegal drugs. Farmers in Bolivia are replacing coca, cocaine’s raw ingredient, with food crops in many instances. The United States has long tried to get Bolivian farmers to substitute coca crops with food crops, providing incentives, but Bolivian president Evo Morales fought the attempts. Morales defends the right to grow the plant, which has a traditional use as a mild stimulant with medicinal qualities. However, farmers are beginning to see benefits to growing food.

From The International Herald Tribune:

The Chapare region’s coca growers’ union, of which Morales is still president, is requiring each of its 35,000 members to plant one hectare of rice this year as part of a government plan for coca farmers to plant 50,000 hectares of rice. The region, a stretch of central Bolivian foothills, now raises just 9,000 hectares of coca.

If they limit their coca crop to a cato, growers are entitled to loans of 3,600 bolivianos to plant rice, corn and other increasingly lucrative foodstuffs, and even a grant of 14,400 bolivianos to build a house.

The amount of rice that the coca union is requiring could earn the same as a cato of coca, though it requires six times the land and a lot more labor. But the price of rice has tripled in Bolivia since last year and is continuing to rise.

Rice also feeds a hungry domestic market, whereas the U.S.-backed crop replacement efforts promoted export products like bananas and pineapples and pitted the Chapare’s poor farmers against global agribusiness giants like Dole and Chiquita.

If the farmers find that producing domestic food crops rather than coca is profitable, more may abandon coca growing. That would ease pressure on the United States government, who have long tried to find ways to beat cocaine at the source.

Well, rice and cocaine are both white, and both come in plastic baggies…

Link [International Herald Tribune] via [Wannabe Hippy]
Photo credit: Flickr user azrainman

Record Low Number of Drivers on the Road in ’08

Commuters are leaving their cars in their driveways and walking, riding bicycles or flocking toward public transit instead. This is great news to us, since it’s not only reducing vehicular pollution and lowering gas use, it’s also helping to reframe how people think about transportation. The government, however, isn’t as happy about it – specifically, the Federal Highway Administration. You see, the fewer drivers use the roads, the less tax money they get toward highways. This gives states an incentive to push driving, rather than encouraging the public to use mass transit.

From CNN Money:

As high fuel costs led many to rely on other forms of transportation, such as mass transit, and to cut back their miles on the road this year, the reduced driving also sliced tax revenue that would normally go toward highway maintenance, the FHA said.

The federal tax on gas generates 18.4 cents per gallon of regular gas sold and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel, which gets pumped in to the federal Highway Trust Fund. Some states also add a tax of their own to fund various projects.

The FHA budget totaled $42.18 billion in fiscal year 2008. The Bush Administration has requested $40.14 billion for fiscal year 2009.

As Americans drive less, new ways are needed to fund the national road system, the highway agency said. Even though fewer drivers are using the highways, funding is still critical, party [sic] because of a backlog in highway projects.

In effect, since Americans are using public transit in record numbers, they’re diverting their tax funds toward trains, subways, buses and other forms of public transportation. Deal with it. Instead of constantly working on roads and highways, we need to start putting more money into public transit, whether the Federal Highway Administration likes it or not. This is the way of the future.

Link [CNN Money]
Photo credit: Flickr user jacorbett70

Some Won’t Give up Hummers No Matter How High Gas Price Go

Some folks love their Hummers so much, they just don’t give a damn about high gas prices. Nothing will stop them from driving these monsters. Of course, a lot of the people that say that have plenty of money to burn, so what’s it to them? Sure, Hummers haven’t exactly been welcomed onto the streets by other drivers, and Hummer owners may find themselves the targets of flying eggs. But apparently, all of these factors don’t mean that Hummer lovers are going to give up their precious status symbols.

From USA Today

Maybe mega-SUVs are going the way of dinosaurs. Hummer sales have dropped 40% this year. But these beasts and the men and women who love them certainly don’t behave like endangered species.

“I told my wife when we bought this, ‘Honey, we’re investing in steel and rubber,’ says William Welch, a Philadelphia surgeon who, cigar clenched between his teeth, offers a guided tour of his lovingly tended jet-black H1.

“If it was $10 a gallon,” he says, “we’d still be out there.”

Some elephants… are just jerks. (+2 Simpsons Fan Points if you get that reference). Luckily, there aren’t too many of them left, since Hummer sales have slowed down so much that GM’s looking to sell. That means we’re less likely to see 45-year-old housewives barreling down suburban streets in these things on their way to a nail salon, for which we’re thankful.

Link [USA Today]
Photo credit: Flickr user George E. Norkus

National Speed Limit Could Save Millions of Barrels of Gas

If anything could keep speed demons from screaming down the highway at 85 mph, maybe it’s gas prices. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 is like paying an extra $0.30 per gallon for gas. Considering that slower speeds could save a sizable amount of gas, lawmakers like Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Representative Jacki Speier (D-CA) are calling for a 55-mph national speed limit, similar to the one set in the 1970’s during a previous gas crisis.

From Yahoo! News:

The National Maximum Speed Limit of 55 mph was created in 1974, when Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Energy Highway Conservation Act. Prior to that, states had been free to set their own speed limits, but the new law threatened to strip Federal highway funding from any state straying above the national standard. The ostensible purpose of this limit was to keep down gas prices, which had been driven through the roof by an OPEC embargo touched off by the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. And with gas-prices once again sky-high, Warner isn’t alone in talking up a cap on speeding.

Jackie Speier, a first-term Democratic congresswoman from California, is already on the case. Earlier this month, she introduced a bill that would cap highway speed limits at 60 mph - 65 in rural areas. It’s currently awaiting a hearing before the House Committee on Transportation. Warner says he hasn’t contacted Speier, but adds that he’d be willing to “stroll out on the floor” in favor of a speed-limit bill. He has yet to propose a similar bill in the Senate.

A congressional study showed that the1974 law resulted in a savings of 167,000 barrels of petroleum a day, and the volume would be even greater now that there millions more cars on the road.

Of course, there’s always the question of whether motorists will comply. This is a nation of people who feel entitled to doing whatever they want, regardless of the consequences. Sure, lower speed limits – if people actually followed them – could not only save gas, but make the roads safer for all of us. Unfortunately, most people just don’t care. Those of us who do, though, will happily drive 55 mph and enjoy the extra money in our pockets.

Link [Yahoo! News]
Photo credit: PhotopediaPhotos

Lawmakers Finally Agree to Ban Poison in Kids’ Items Despite Exxon Lobbying

Gee, Congress. Pat on the back. After literally decades of kids playing with toys filled with toxic chemicals, you’ve finally gotten around to banning pthalates in kids’ items. Great job. We’re so glad that you’ve been on top of children’s’ safety issues, protecting our kids from harm.

The U.S. does not currently require industries to prove the safety of a chemical before it’s allowed on the market. Parents may purchase these toys for their kids thinking, ‘Surely it’s safe – the government wouldn’t allow them to be sold if they weren’t, right?’ Unfortunately, that’s incorrect. Congress just now passed a measure that would ban pthalates, a dangerous family of toxins, from kids’ items. The ban would take effect in 6 months – that is, if President Bush doesn’t veto it, which he has threatened to do.

From The Washington Post:

Among other things, the legislation would ban lead in children’s products and would give consumers access to a new database of complaints or accident reports for goods. The measure also allows stiffer fines for violations and enhanced enforcement of consumer safety laws.

Under language finalized yesterday, House and Senate lawmakers agreed to permanently ban three types of phthalates from children’s toys and to outlaw three other phthalates from products pending an extensive study of their health effects in children and pregnant women.

Phthalates make plastics softer and more durable and also are added to perfumes, lotions, shampoos and other items. They are so ubiquitous that in one 1999 study, the Food and Drug Administration found traces in all of its 1,000 subjects.

We haven’t even gotten to the worst part yet. Believe it or not, this legislation got bogged down in the House due to a ‘costly battle’ waged by Exxon Mobil (could they BE any more evil?), who manufacture the pthalate most commonly found in children’s toys. In fact, they have said that they’re protesting the ban because without pthalates, manufacturers will be ‘forced’ to use even more dangerous chemicals instead.

Here’s an idea, folks: STOP PUTTING TOXINS IN KIDS’ TOYS! It’s really not that hard! It’s amazing that these companies are allowed to knowingly poison kids – and our country has just sat back and allowed it to happen. Sickening.

Link [The Washington Post]
Photo credit: Flickr user greenmelinda

Green Stimulus Idea – ‘Cash for Clunkers’

With the economy in need of some help, the people in need of some hope and a whole lot of pollutin’ vehicles on the road, one New York Times columnist has a ‘modest proposal’ that could go a long way toward all three: ‘Cash for Clunkers’. This idea would put into place a variety of programs in which the government buys up some of the oldest, most polluting vehicles and scraps them.

From The New York Times:

Here’s an example of how a Cash for Clunkers program might work. The government would post buying prices, perhaps set at a 20 percent premium over something like Kelley Blue Book prices, for cars and trucks above a certain age (say, 15 years) and below a certain maximum value (perhaps $5,000). A special premium might even be offered for the worst gas guzzlers and the worst polluters. An income ceiling for sellers might also be imposed — say, family income below $60,000 a year — to make sure the money goes to lower-income households.

People who sell their clunkers would receive government checks, perhaps paid to them at the motor vehicle bureau office where they turn in their old vehicles. They would be free to spend this money as they see fit, whether on a new car or truck or some other form of transportation — or anything else. To ensure that the program really pulls clunkers off the roads, only vehicles that had been registered and driven for, say, the past year would be eligible.

The government can either sell the cars it buys to licensed recyclers for scrap, or refit them with new emissions controls and resell them. But the government must not ship the cars to poor countries, where they would continue to belch pollutants.

Such a program would distribute some money to low-income people (since the rich rarely own clunkers), giving them a little extra cash to feed into the economy. The auto industry would benefit as well, since people would be trading up.

There are similar local plans already in place, but what really limits them is lack of money, which is where the need for stimulus comes in. The NYT article goes into details of how the program would work and how much it would cost. We love the idea of these sorts of government programs – achieving so many goals at once.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Todd D Jones

GOP Senator Ted Stevens Indicted for Gifts from Oil Company

The longest serving Republican senator, Ted Stevens, was indicted yesterday on seven felony counts of concealing over a quarter of a million dollars in house renovations and gifts from an oil contractor that lobbied him for government aid. Stevens, 84, has been a central figure in Alaskan politics since before statehood and is the first U.S. senator to be indicted since 1993.

From Yahoo! News:

He is accused of lying on his annual Senate financial disclosure reports between 1999 and 2006 — an indictment that caps a lengthy FBI investigation that has upended Alaska politics and brought unfavorable attention to both Stevens and his congressional colleague, GOP Rep. Don Young. Both are running for re-election this year.

Stevens’ indictment further damages Republican prospects in the November election as Senate Democrats, who now enjoy a 51-49 majority, try to capture a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority. Stevens faces both Democratic and Republican challengers who are trying to capitalize on his legal woes.
The Justice Department accused Stevens of accepting expensive work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska, a ski resort town outside Anchorage, from oil services contractor VECO Corp. and its executives. VECO normally builds oil processing equipment and pipelines, but its employees helped do the work on Stevens’ home.

VECO’s requests included funding and other aid for their projects and partnerships in Pakistan and Russia, federal grants from several agencies and help in building a pipeline in Alaska’s North Slope Region. If convicted, Stevens will face up to five years in prison for each count. He’s expected to turn himself in.

Ha ha – jerkass. I wonder how many other GOP senators are up to the same game with oil companies? Undoubtedly plenty of them…

Link [Yahoo! News]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

MIT’s Low-Tech Approach to Fixing the World

When award-winning MIT engineer Amy Smith visited the Peruvian village of Compone in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, she had a humble goal: turning the corncobs that the farmers use to power their cooking stoves and heat their homes into charcoal. The smoke produced from corncobs and other raw biomass is thick and dirty, making respiratory infections from indoor fires the leading cause of death for children under 5. Charcoal, on the other hand, burns much more cleanly. So Smith and two others lugged bags of tools and low-tech gadgets, water-testing equipment and a pedal-powered grain mill out to Compone from the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

From Popular Mechanics:

The charcoal project is the responsibility of Mary Hong, a 19-year-old branching out beyond her aerospace major this semester. She and the other students, coincidentally all women, are enrolled in Smith’s D-Lab, a course that is becoming quietly famous beyond the MIT campus in Cambridge, Mass. The D is for development, design and dissemination; last fall, more than 100 students applied for about 30 slots. To prepare for their field work, D-Lab students live for a week in Cambridge on $2 per day. (Smith joins in.) Right now, eight more D-Lab teams are plying jungle rivers, hiking goat trails and hailing chicken buses in seven additional countries—Brazil, Honduras, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, India and China. In Smith’s view, even harsh aspects of Third World travel have their benefits. “If you get a good bout of diarrhea from a waterborne disease,” she says, “you really understand what it means to have access to clean drinking water.”

Smith succeeded in her charcoal goal, helping to further prove that improving standards of living in developing countries can be done with low-tech engineering on as little as $2 a day. Smith’s unique approach to hunger and other problems affecting people like the farmers of Compone has inspired a movement toward simple technology. Green, cheap and low tech – pure awesome.

Link [Popular Mechanics]

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