With gas prices in some areas reaching a whopping $5.00, and the national average at $4.02, it’s a sign from the man upstairs that we seriously need to do something about our emissions and the U.S. carbon footprint.
As Americans cut back on gas, they are also finding different ways to get to work, and around their town, that don’t include the easy “buy a fuel efficient car” mentality that most Americans have nowadays. Some of these ways include taking the bus; getting a group of people at work, or that work in a relatively close area, and take turns picking everyone up and driving them to work and back; riding their bikes to work, and many different and creative ways.
I also found a great channel for those of you with Digital Cable (Satellite users…I don’t know if the companies offer this channel), it’s called Planet Green. This channel offers shows, and covers topics, on every aspect of a person’s life…from home to work, and from the classroom to recreation. A great website that compliments this channel really well is, and don’t be mistaken by the name…it truly is a great site, Treehugger.Com. This site not only educates people on what global warming is and the effects of the greenhouse gases, but it informs people on 1) how to go green; 2) Gives links on buying green items; 3) Gives links for “green gifts”; and 4) Gives areas (forums, blogs, etc.) on where people can discuss what’s going on in today’s world, different ways people have gone green, etc.
Sorry that I have not posted in a few weeks, but school ended, I graduated, and I have been figuring out what I want to do now with my life. But as I was watching C-SPAN yesterday, I saw Congressman Rohrabacher give a speech on global warming…I saw it yesterday but it was from May 14, 2008 in the House of Representatives.
In his speech he says that “The debate is over. Al Gore has his Nobel Prize, and the film, “An Inconvenient Truth”, its Academy Award. So shut up and get your mind in lockstep with the politically correct prevailing wisdom, or at least what the media tells us is the prevailing wisdom. And no questions please, the case is closed.” About a third of the way through his speech to congress, Rohrabacher says that it was because of the Clinton Administration, along with Al Gore, that this idea of a “man-made warming crisis” was first brought to light. What I have noticed with Congressman Rohrabacher’s comments and the productivity of our government to combat global warming is that we as citizens have to start taking the initiative to change things. We have to change our daily habits, tell our friends of the benefits of changing, and make sure they get the same…if not better…results as we did. The federal government is not going to change anything, even if bills are passed in one branch of legislation. We have seen this time and time again where it passes in the House but then is turned down in the Senate, or visa versa. Our government is all talk with no or very minimal action. This can be seen in Bush’s “turning of his back” on the Kyoto Protocol in 2005. If our government really and truly wanted to make change a reality, then they would have realized a long time ago that no new regulations or bills need to be passed to create change. All they would have to do is actually abide by the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and many other acts that state businesses and individuals may not do certain things if they harm, this case, the air, water, and endangered species.
But why listen to me, I’m only and average person, right?
Here is the file to my PowerPoint. I was unable to make upload my video, and then I was also unable to send it to my instructor although I tried multiple times!!!globalwarming1
On April 14th, Bush was said by many to be close to proposing a Global Warming initiative that would put the debate to rest, and move congress in the direction of implementing solutions. But with this, Republicans say he’s making a mistake while Democrats think he could be “igniting runaway legislation”. What politicans don’t understand is that new laws and/or regulations do not need to be thought up. Like the article says, enviornmentalists say that strict enforcement can be made under the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, or even the National Environmental Policy Act…which by the way, the environmentalists have persuded in lawsuits against failing corporations.
An article in today’s New York Times stated “now, with recent data showing an unexpected rise in global emissions and a decline in energy efficiency, a growing chorus of economists, scientists and students of energy policy are saying that whatever benefits the cap approach yields, it will be too little and come too late”. In the past few years the focus on debates about global warming has been on emissions policy rather then technology policy. As India and China, and other developing nations, grow at a tremendous rate to try and play catch-up with the Western World, developed nations need to change their strategy on how to tackle this increasing threat. In this article, many economists and politicians agree that emission caps must be enforced, but a new wave of information that shows rising emissions and a cutback in technology research funding says differently. A larger emphasis should be in place to get low-carbon emitting technologies out on the market as soon as possible, in some hopes to help developing nations not lose an economic ground (which is the fear if funding for research is put into place rather then getting the technology out to “the people”).
For more information, you can read the article at…http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/weekinreview/06revkin.html?ref=environment
On Wednesday, March 26th, an article was posted on redorbit.com stating that Lake Tahoe could be in danger due to global warming. Specifically, the bottom water layers of the lake could be depleted of all oxygen, and the lake could see an increase of invasive fish species like carp, bluegill, and large-mouth bass.
Lake Tahoe is a diamond in the ruff when considering lakes because it has a circulation system of the water that allows nutrient-rich water to spread throughout the lake and, while doing so, allows for oxygen to reach all depths of the lake. Once this process ends so does the unique aquatic-ecosystem that the lake supports. Not only that, but tourism to the Reno-Tahoe area will thus decline. This would have the same effect as if Las Vegas were to run out of water…eventually, the people would leave and build another gambling metropolis.
For more information on the study conducted by the University of California – Davis, visit the following websites:
This episode of Scorched Earth talked about the realities of “Green” technology. They talked about the “true costs of Ethanol technology (also known as E-85 fuel)”. The main place in the US that this technology is produced is in “The Kuwait of the US”, also known as Iowa and its corn fields. The nation has 139 stations and produces about 6 billion gallons per year. The weird part is that 17.4 billion tax dollars is also spent on this technology per year. Also, each of the four remaining presidential nomanies have stated that E-85 technology is the first step towards an independent energy source. The speaker of the house is quoted as saying, “Give the Midwest the money, not the Middle East.” Although the technology sounds good, the production of ethanol is not. Most companies use coal in their production, and the pollution into the Mississippi River has created a “dead zone” where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico. A fact, if all the corn were used to produce ethonal it would only be enough for 7% of all E-85 cars. This means that an E-85 vehicle needs to keep stopping by a pumping station because the car needs more ethanol then the tank can handle. A farmer in Iowa whose crops are used to produce ethonal is quoted as saying, “We should rethink the production of ethanol to make it more cost efficient for the consumers.”
Here is a great video that describes the same issues that were brought up in Scorched Earth. The key phrase you should pay attention to is the quote by the Senator from Indiana, “As we produce ethanol in more efficient ways, it will reduce the greenhouse gases.”
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