This morning on NPR, President Bush tried to blame congress for the nation’s high gas, food, and electricity prices. Apparently, Congress has been thwarting the President’s attempts to fix the economy:
“I’ve repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems,” the president said. “Yet time after time, Congress chose to block them.”
With much fanfare, President George Bush gave a recent speech announcing new commitments by the United States towards the prevention of climate change.
The speech was widely covered here on Green Options and in the general media, with many feeling that this was a case of too little, too late.
Of course, this was not particularly surprising, and few people were gearing themselves up for the potential announcement of a dramatic change in policy. But what has been interesting is the unprecedented criticism from world leaders disappointed with the lack of US commitment:
Each year researchers at North Carolina State University predict the oncoming hurricane season. With summer just around the corner for the Northern Hemisphere, their latest report is out, and it’s billing an active year for the Atlantic.
However, thankfully for those coastal cities on the Atlantic, the number of storms making landfall will stick close to the average.
Five years have gone by. The U.S. casualty toll is now 4,000. It is estimated that some 80,000 plus Iraqi civilians have lost their lives in the war.
Photo Courtesy of Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com
There isn’t a body count for wildlife, native plants, or eco-systems that have been killed in the struggle.
War takes a priceless toll on everything natural. Yet, nature may be the last thing that nations go to […]
In a day and age where the word recession is being thrown around like a football, when asked to make financial sacrifices you’re more likely to get a kick in the crotch then a handshake. But unlike what the critics would have us believe, cutting carbon emissions could actually economically help the US, and similarly other countries in the same position.
A theoretical US policy to cut carbon emissions by up to 40% over a 20 year period could still result in increased economic growth; this, according to an interactive website created by the Yale School of Foresty and Environmental Studies.
George W. Bush has definitely been a polarizing personality in his two terms as leader of the United States of America. From the beginning and his War on Iraq he has seemingly attempted to paint himself as nothing more than a moronic menace. Of late, Bush has turned his sights on becoming the world’s greatest environmental foe.
Some may call my words harsh. Others will praise them. They are however, nothing more than my personal opinion about him.
However his actions against the environment are both unquestionable and unconscionable.
A recent Reuters article stated that ‘In cases this week dealing with polar bears, ozone smog and environmental research, groups that monitor these decisions faulted the Bush administration for slighting science in favor of politics.’ I feel that, in looking at the past few months, this statement fails to explain just how Bush has thrown his weight around.
While gasoline prices continue to inch upward, the U.S. still enjoys some of the cheapest fuel in the world. FastCompany.com put together a list of world gas prices that could make you feel better about $3 per gallon gas.
Country and Price per US gallon:
Norway $ 8.67
Netherlands $ 8.52
Belgium $ 8.36
Germany $ 8.06
United Kingdom $ 7.91
Italy $ 7.68
France $ 7.46
An economic analysis released February 25th shows major gains for the U.S. job market and GDP from 2007’s ethanol industry boom (emphasis added):
The analysis, conducted by John Urbanchuk of LECG, LLC, determined that the increase in economic activity resulting from ongoing production and construction of new capacity supported the creation of 238,541 jobs in all sectors of the economy during 2007. These include more than 46,000 jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector. The goods and services required to produce the estimated 6.5 billion gallons in 2007 added $47.6 billion to the Gross Domestic Product and raised household incomes by $12.3 billion.
While the gains themselves aren’t all that surprising, they may turn the conventional wisdom that “ethanol subsidies are bad” on its head since increased tax revenue actually paid them off:
It was just over a month ago that I last wrote about the fate of the polar bears. The US Fish and Wildlife Service had just announced that they needed more time to determine whether the beautiful creatures should be put on the endangered species list. Conservationists were up in arms, and many were pointing to Bush’s desire to sell off parts of the Alaskan coast for oil and gas exploration […]
It’s been said that all politics is local, but environmentalism works the same way: knowing that far-flung parts of the world face environmental problems is one thing, but seeing environmental problems in our own backyards makes us take things far more personally. It’s NIMBY in reverse.
In the U.S., every state in the Union — from California’s legal hassles with the feds over its greenhouse gas emissions standards to Georgia’s water struggles — faces its own unique […]
Global warming is the most serious environmental threat of our time.
As these facts show, affordable options are available. And America cannot afford to fall behind any more in the race to invent clean, renewable energy sources.
Increase in world’s solar generating capacity in 2005.
Rank of China as global producer of solar cells, behind Japan (U.S. ranks 4th).
Amount U.S. government spends a year on renewable energy research.
ExxonMobil’s daily revenue.
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