Thoughts on a Tuesday Morning

As the debate as to whether human induced fossil carbon is responsible for global climate change goes on and on, here are just a few current observations. Again, I question “What IF the current climate change is human induced, and could be/could have been moderated, but is/was not because of ignorance, greed, and manipulation of facts by both sides.” The financial, environmental, and physical impacts for future generations will be greatly determined by our actions and inactions.

Some “information” from one side. (Go to Fox News for the opposing views)

We are spending a lot of money on extreme weather related events; not only here, but throughout the world. Will this get worse?

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/07/363487/a-new-record-14-us-billion-dollar-weather-disasters-in-2011/

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/02/MNFR1LP1JE.DTL

Can we do anything about this? YES! However, it would require a major shift in political and economic power…it’s all tied in to the “Occupy“ movement, and a break from the stranglehold some of the 1%ers have on American and global politics.

One of my “heros” is Amory Louvins, a man the “right” has always hated because he is/has been so right! “His Rocky Mountain Institute just released it’s latest book, Reinventing Fire, which provides a “grand synthesis” of decades-long research on how to create a profitable transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to an efficient, clean energy economy by 2050 that is 150% bigger than today — with no major technological breakthroughs and no major act of Congress.” Pretty grand scheme…even if we achieved one-third of that goal…..

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/08/355022/podcast-amory-lovins-reinventing-fire/

I spent the last 40 years of my life actively reading, teaching, and ultimately believing that the alternative sustainable economy is not only possible, but also inevitable. It is all based on politics, and determined by who controls the political process. The “Solyndra” scandal is a classic example of what is going on. “Solyndra’s failure was actually caused by technological success: the price of solar panels is dropping fast, and Solyndra couldn’t keep up with the competition.” Yet, this is seen as an indictment on all solar power.

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/11/07/362705/krugman-solar-power/

I am encouraged that times are changing at a very dramatic pace.

For more info from the other side, tune into the Kock brothers, Exxon, et.al., via Fox News, Rush, Glenn, Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann. and all the other fine upstanding intelligent “leaders” in the political debate.

Meanwhile, Krugman sums it up nicely, as I see it…”Let’s face it: a large part of our political class, including essentially the entire G.O.P., is deeply invested in an energy sector dominated by fossil fuels, and actively hostile to alternatives. This political class will do everything it can to ensure subsidies for the extraction and use of fossil fuels, directly with taxpayers’ money and indirectly by letting the industry off the hook for environmental costs, while ridiculing technologies like solar. So what you need to know is that nothing you hear from these people is true. Fracking is not a dream come true; solar is now cost-effective. Here comes the sun, if we’re willing to let it in.”