Elaine Meinel Supkis
The USA, both in industry and government, has been REDUCING research funds for alternative energy systems even as CO2 rises on a straight line towards insane levels and the Hubbert Oil Peak's approach makes things even worse as we rely on coal for energy. Australia will become the Sahara desert and the Gulf of Mexico will be altenately producing no storms at all and then mega-hurricanes that will dwarf Katrina.
The challenge (to deal with CO2 pollution) is all the more daunting because research into energy technologies by both government and industry has not been rising, but rather falling.In the United States, annual federal spending for all energy research and development — not just the research aimed at climate-friendly technologies — is less than half what it was a quarter-century ago. It has sunk to $3 billion a year in the current budget from an inflation-adjusted peak of $7.7 billion in 1979, according to several different studies.
Of course, we spent over a trillion trying to develop an antimissile system so we can unilaterally wage WWIII and not get hurt too much, probably losing only three to twenty large cities instead of losing all our cities. Arf.
And what will we be fighting over in this mega-war? Oil! And of course, climate change. And what will stop global warming?
Nuclear winter! Yah! That's the plan. I confess, the people running several powerful military organizations are all, ALL madly building nuclear bomb shelters so I do believe this is their plan for I don't see any alternative plans, does anyone?
We knew about all this for years and years. Bush and his oil buddies knew about the Hubbert Oil Peak since around 1970. I lectured about it way back in 1975! The CIA knew about the Hubbert Oil Peak because my father talked about it way back then! King Faisal knew about it because he talked to my dad! So there!
The Bushes knew, of course. They had to! We are talking about a rather small circle of influencial people here. Jimmy Carter knew about it which is why he put my father on the commission to...STUDY ALTERNATIVES! To get funding for this! This is what my family tried and tried to do long, long ago.
Sigh. Long ago.
And Reagan halted all of this and he turned NASA over to the military which is why most Shuttle missions were classified. And now here we are, 30 years later and everyone pretends they knew nothing.
Well, the average American knew little thanks to no one shouting in their faces 24/7 like the media does about Clinton's sex life or what Hillary might have said 50 years ago, etc. The failure of the media to keep people informed isn't just because most of them didn't inform us, they did, on page 23, or they did but they had to shout about other things more often. And to penetrate most minds, one has to shout things a lot, ask the right wing media! They bellow endlessly about all sorts of really dumb things.
Here is the horrible data detailling this deliberate misallocation of precious resources.
Right now, the Administration spends nearly $3 billion on climate change technology research. Ostensibly, this research falls under the umbrella of the President’s Climate Change Technology Program (CTTP). That characterization of the CCTP, however, is misleading, because the CCTP has no budgetary authority. The billions of dollars that “fund CCTP” actually are dispersed directly to federal agencies without CCTP approval. In fact, to date, the CCTP has only received $1.5 million in program support to supplement the creation of its Strategic Plan – which outlines the current research and future priorities of the program.Without direct funding, CCTP does not employ full-time staff, and both Director Stephen Eule and Deputy Director Robert Marlay hold other positions within the Department of Energy. Currently, CCTP employs neither administrative nor analytical staff; it shares personnel with other offices on an as-needed basis.
Additionally, thus far, the federal government has yet to engage in any exploratory or ‘innovative’ technology research on climate change. Under the current funding structure, only near- and mid-term technology research programs receive R&D dollars. Climate solutions that lie outside of existing technology, such as geo-engineering and artificial photosynthesis, remain unaddressed.
The present plan of our rulers is to use the coal in our earth to run our energy complex. This will tremendously accelerate CO2 in the atmosphere as well as acid rain, for example. This disasterous choice is not going to fix America but wreck the planet!
Of course, readers of this blog know that destroying this planet is the number one thing we must deal with. This is literally life and death. And the USA is the chief cause of much of our planetary degradation and we are the only ones who can stop this mess and not only are we not stopping, we are...WHERE IS AL GORE???
He is, by far, the only President I fought for, I didn't just vote or even write about him, I was in a daily battle of wits against the media and the ruling elites who wanted those disasterous tax cuts! And I worked hard to uncover Bush's crimes and broadcast them and it was a big mess. I went to DC and had open arguments with Senators over counting the votes. Haley Barbour flew to NYC to try to stop me, for example.
Al Gore would have been a fabulous President. If nothing else, his ability to communicate with the people could have redirected the whole impulse for change. Not that the media would have allowed him to do this, nor industrial America nor the flat earth bankers and financiers! But his latest movie is a warning to us all. He was and is, as usual, 100% right and damn, I do wish America had followed his lead.
Mercosur Press
China plans to increase taxes on exports of metals, oil and steel in an effort to contain excess investment in energy intensive industries, and simultaneously will reduce tariffs for the import of commodities reported the Finance Ministry in Beijing.Beginning November first export taxes on copper, nickel, aluminum and other metals will be raised 15%; for petroleum, coal and coke 5% and for iron ingots, steel bars and other steel by products, 10%.
Tariffs on imports of coal, petroleum, aluminum and other mineral resources will be cut to between 0 and 3% from their current levels of 3 and 6%.
“These changes are geared to limit export of energy intensive products since the growth of these resources effectively means China is exporting energy, which it lacks”, argued Feng Fei a researcher at the Development and Research Center of the State Council, the Chinese cabinet.
(29 Oct 2006)
No flat earth, no tariffs, no barriers for China! And they are winning the trade wars with us! What ails us??? Can't we see the obvious?
Nope. No. No way. Al Gore, I'm sorry I failed to stop this madness. Global warming will barely affect me here in the mountains of New York, but acid rain sucks. Big time. So I still have to fight this battle.
Seems like someone in our government is actually interested in alternative energy..
News Roundup item from (Renewable Energy World, June-July 2006 issue, London):
"the US Military has declared that it is commissioning the world's largest photovoltaic power plant for use at its military facilities in Clark County, Nevada. The 18MW .....nearly twice the size of the largest PV project currently under construction- a 10 MW array in Germany."
Posted by: JB | October 30, 2006 at 11:13 PM
Re: above info............
Just checked @ Wikipedia: the military base is Nellis Air Force Base, the United States Air Force WARFARE Center (nuclear weapons are stored in area 2)
How comforting to know this will still be functioning "when the lights go out".
Posted by: JB | October 30, 2006 at 11:53 PM
Yup. Bush has alternative energy at his ranch, too, and you can bet, he will have it in Paraguay.
This is why we should watch them closely. If they build solar energy systems while telling us it isn't neccessary, build solar systems!
Ditto bomb shelters: the people in charge of deciding if we have nuclear war are building bomb shelters.
I have more to say about this.
Posted by: Elaine Meinel Supkis | October 31, 2006 at 05:06 PM
This is why I suddenly favor the death penalty. The Peoples Survival Party will enact legislation that require an automatic death penalty to all those who own, or are involved in any way with, nuclear bomb shelters. Simple. Also, Americans who own foreign land will draw the automatic death penalty as well. With no right to appeal to the higher courts. Any judge who attempts to accept an appeal is subject to the death penalty. This, like everything that the Peoples Survival Party does, is entirely compatible with the Constitution. Everyone already accepts that anyway.
Posted by: blues | October 31, 2006 at 07:11 PM