Biggest Wind Turbines in the World Being Built in Colorado

The Bush administration might be doing everything in its power to derail the environmental movement, but that’s not stopping our country from moving right along in their efforts to produce wind turbines.  And not just any wind turbines – the biggest wind turbines in the world.  Billions of dollars of private equity have been dedicated to new renewable energy technology including solar and wind.

Trend Hunter magazine’s photo of a piece of one of these wind turbines, currently being built in Colorado, resembles a giant gray whale.  Holy bigass turbine!  Like Trend Hunter, we can’t wait until Obama settles into the Oval Office and starts funneling money into green tech.  There’s a whole wide world of clean, environmentally friendly technology out there just waiting to be developed.

Link [Trend Hunter]

Obama: Republicans Take Pride in Being Ignorant

At a town hall meeting in Berea, Ohio, Obama struck back at attempts by McCain and the Republican National Committee to ridicule him by passing out tire gauges labeled ‘Barack Obama’s Energy Plan’. This, of course, was after Obama suggested that one thing ordinary Americans can do to save energy is to keep their tires properly inflated.

“They’re making fun of a step that every expert says could absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3-4%! It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant!”

Awesome, and so true!

Link [Gristmill]

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

Paris Hilton Supports Drilling, so McCain Must be Right

Recently, John McCain’s campaign put out an ad attacking Obama for being ‘the biggest celebrity in the world’, comparing him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. In response (because she loves publicity so much, like oh my god) Paris Hilton teamed up with Funny or Die to produce this video, in which she states that if McCain is comparing her to Barack Obama, that must mean she’s running for president, so she presents her energy plan: a hybrid between McCain’s and Obama’s, recommending ‘limited offshore drilling’.

Politico has reactions from both candidates:

UPDATE: Obama spokesman Bill Burton reacts: “Whatever.”

UPDATE: McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds emails: “It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s ‘all of the above’ approach to America’s energy crisis - including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan.”

UPDATE: Shorter McCain, via Drudge (and the headline of Bounds’ press release): ‘Paris Supports Drilling’…

Love how McCain negatively likened Obama to Paris, and then suddenly cared what she has to say. So, if Paris Hilton agrees with John McCain, then his plan MUST be solid, right? Christ on a cracker.

Link [Politico]

Updated Publishers Note: I thought it was great that this ad showed up to the right of this post:

John McCain is an addled old parody of a joke. He’s a antiquated, desperate, weak old man with no principles. His presidency would be the end of our time as a great nation. Thank the FSM Obama is going to steamroll him in November.

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]

McCain Wants 45 New Nuclear Reactors by 2030

Once again, Republican presidential nominee John McCain is proving that his ideas about ‘saving the environment’ don’t mesh with the majority of environmentalists’ views. McCain is advocating nuclear power in a big way – he plans to set the nation on course to build 45 new nuclear reactors by the year 2030.

From Reuters:

“If I am elected president, I will set this nation on a course to building 45 new reactors by the year 2030, with the ultimate goal of 100 new plants to power the homes and factories and cities of America,” he said.

There are 104 operating nuclear reactors nationwide at present, which generate about 20 percent of the nation’s power supply.

McCain has argued forcefully for further nuclear plants, seeing them as part of a solution to fighting climate change and establishing U.S. energy independence.

Obama, on the other hand, taking a more realistic stance. Last week, his campaign said that they see nuclear power as an important part of setting the U.S. on a path toward clean energy, but that the issue of disposing of nuclear waste and solving nuclear proliferation concerns are also crucial. On June 20th, Obama said that nuclear power was worth careful consideration but that it was not a panacea.

Link [Reuters]
Photo credit: Flickr user Christopher Peterson

Even Suave Obama Looks Dorky in a Bicycle Helmet

Wearing a helmet while cycling kind of sucks. It’s hot, sweaty, causes that ultra-attractive ‘helmet head’ hair phenomenon and just plain looks dorky. We all know that wearing helmets is necessary in the U.S. especially because of the fact that drivers here just can’t seem to process the idea of sharing the road with bicyclists. So, it’s good to know that as we put on these ugly brain protectors, even a suave gentleman like Obama looks like a dork with a bike helmet on.

Via [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Adventures in Contextual Advertising: When Messages Cross, John McCain Gets Hurt

I love it when ads clash.

For some reason, we’re getting a ton of John McCain ads on the site right now. We’re pretty clear about our general disdain for Mr. McCain and our belief that if he won in November, our country as we know it would be finished. Barack Obama will save our country.

Anyways- I got a kick out of seeing these two ads juxtaposed on the site. The top ad asks “Which candidate was ranked 894 out of 899 students in college?” (Hint, they still used abacuses when this guy was in college). The ad jumps to a few videos Good Magazine has put together about each candidate. John McCain’s video, if you haven’t guessed already, points out that he graduated 894 out of 899 in his class at the Navy Academy.

The bottom ad is straight from McCain’s campaign. It asks the (stupid) questions “Is it OK to Unconditionally Meet with Anti-American Foreign Leaders” (answer: Yes! It’s fscking called Diplomacy you douchebag!) and jumps to some bullshit page trolling for email addresses and donations. I made a reverse donation by clicking on the ad and signing up as “McCainIsGoingDown@by20inNovember.com“.

I loves me the interwebs.

[Read more]

Obama On The Environment & Energy: It’s (Mostly) Good News

It’s not flashy, but it’s important. Watch this video to hear what Barack Obama has to say about energy and the environment.

He’s wrong about corn based ethanol being a necessary part of the solution- we need to stop turning food crops into fuel full stop.

Other than that, and his stated favor of bullshit “clean coal”, Obama is pretty solid on the environment. It’s going to be a good atmosphere to be an eco-entrepreneur in, that’s for damn sure. We could just turn this thing around.

Surprise! Politicians Threaten to Tax Big Oil, Big Oil Threatens to Raise Prices

The top 5 Big Oil companies pocketed a record $120 billion in 2007 alone, and they’re hissing and spitting at anyone who dares to come too close. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are pushing a windfall profits tax and House Democrats are threatening punitive measures if oil companies continue to amass evil overlord quantities of money at the expense of consumers.

CNN Money has it:

Oil industry: Hands off our cash. The industry, of course, doesn’t like the extra profit tax.

“If our profits are taxed, that means we’ll have less capital to invest in new production” and it could raise gas prices, John Hofmeister, president of Shell U.S., recently told CNNMoney.com.

Oil companies have been investing more in new production lately, but that argument is a little hard to swallow given the disparity between the huge amounts of money the big firms have been returning to shareholders versus the meager new oil discoveries.

Amy Myers Jaffe, a fellow in energy studies at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy just finished a two-year study looking at oil companies and how they spend their money.
“These companies are spending a very small amount of their operating cash flow on exploration,” she said. “They are spending the majority of their funds buying back stock.”

Big surprise: politicians threaten taxes, and the oil companies threaten to raise prices. These guys are hoarding money like – well, like people who see that new technology is being developed that might push them to the sidelines. How dare we talk about taking away some of their precious profits. Their precioussssssss……

Link [CNN Money]
Photo credit: Flickr user Refracted Moments

McCain, Clinton Both Back the Insanely Stupid Gas Tax Holiday Idea

How do you encourage people to stop using something – give them easier access to more of it? Idiotic as it is, that seems to be the answer as far as presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton are concerned. Their proposed ‘gas tax holiday’ has been slammed by economists, and anyone with half a brain should be able to see that it won’t work.

The proposal involves cutting the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day, giving Americans a ‘summer break’ from paying the tax, which is put to use building roads and bridges nationwide. Obama is the only one in this three-ring circus that thinks it’s a bad idea, and Clinton in turn has accused him of ‘being out of touch with ordinary Americans’. Yeah, because in this country of brilliant thinkers, the thought process stops after they hear the words ‘tax cut’.

From MSNBC.com:

Economists said that since refineries cannot increase their supply of gasoline in the space of a few summer months, lower prices will just boost demand and the benefits will flow to oil companies, not consumers.

“You are just going to push up the price of gas by almost the size of the tax cut,” said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington.

Obama criticized the plan as pure politics and said the only way to lower the price of gas is to use less oil.

“This isn’t an idea designed to get you through the summer, it’s an idea designed to get them through an election.”

Clinton promised to make up for the tax break by imposing a windfall profits tax on oil companies, but hasn’t seemed to consider the fact that she’s essentially offering bags of heroin to a group of junkies who just started considering rehab.

Continuing the cheap gas trend in America won’t do anything to reduce our dependence on oil. It won’t encourage people to cut back. It won’t bolster further investment into alternative energy sources. It’s a dirty bandage on a weeping gangrenous wound.

People might not even get any relief from the tax cut, according to some economists who predict that refineries will likely keep some of it for themselves rather than passing it on to consumers.

At least we can console ourselves with the fact that one of the three main presidential contenders sees the truth to this. It’s not much, but it’s something.

Link [MSNBC]

Photo credit: Flickr user ~~zorro~~

Al Gore may be Smuggled Back into White House in Someone’s Luggage

8 years later, and many of us have spent this entire time daydreaming ‘what ifs’ about Al Gore’s stolen presidency. It seems that the current presidential candidates are very aware of this, and they’re running with it: everyone’s eager to get Al Gore in on the action.

Democratic White House hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama speak often about green jobs, emissions cuts and renewable energy. But they have more than global warming on their minds when they talk of environmental policy.

The long-term goal may be saving the planet, but the short-term one is winning the backing of former Vice President Al Gore.

So the dueling candidates praise Gore during campaign stops, offer up the prospect of roles for him in future administrations, and - most of all - they stay in touch.

Ok, I have another confession: in 2000, I was one of those Floridians who voted for Nader. You know, the ones who inadvertently helped hand the presidency to Bush on a silver platter. Sigh, the days of being an idealistic college student. Now, I’m almost wishing someone would stage a coup and sneak Al back into the White House, whatever it takes.

Link [MSNBC]

Photo: Wikimedia Commons & Flickr user abbynormy

Presidential Candidates (Videos) Spar Off: One Clear Winner

Take a few minutes and watch these three videos. Then tell me who the next President of the United States will be. It’s no contest.