Stories tagged with "politics"
It's Our Turn to Eat: How Politics Works and Why Activism is So Important
Posted by Prof. Goose on June 30, 2009 - 10:15am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: activism, interest groups, politics, rationality, social movements, sustainability [list all tags]
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Thoughts on the New Energy Team
Posted by Robert Rapier on December 22, 2008 - 11:35am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: cellulosic ethanol, coal, conservation, doe, energy policy, gas tax, global warming, greenhouse gas, politics, steven chu [list all tags]
In case you are just venturing out of your cave for the first time in a week, you are probably aware that President-elect Obama has announced his new energy team:
The team includes Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy, former EPA head Carol Browner to fill the newly-created job of Energy Czar, and Lisa Jackson to head the EPA. The focus of this essay will be on Dr. Chu, but I will comment briefly on the others.
Lisa Jackson is trained as a chemical engineer (as was the outgoing Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman). It should go without saying that I like to see technical people in roles like this, where understanding science and data are both critical. Carol Browner, while not trained as a technical person, has a lot of administrative experience within the EPA. Incidentally, I once met Mrs. Browner, as she was the person who presented my research group with the 1996 Green Chemistry Challenge Award at the National Academy of Sciences for our work on biomass conversion to fuels.
The Case for Higher Gas Taxes (and Lower Income Taxes)
Posted by Robert Rapier on December 15, 2008 - 10:46am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: carbon tax, energy policy, gas tax, original, politics [list all tags]
Taxes and Choice
Whenever I mention the idea of increasing gas taxes, some inevitably hear only half the message: A tax increase. They don't want to know about any tradeoffs I propose, or if there might be a long-term benefit. They just know one thing: Tax increases are bad.
But I don't want to increase taxes. I don’t like to pay taxes any more than anyone else does. I don't feel like a patriot when I write a check to the IRS. No, what I am going to propose would give you more choice in the taxes you pay. I want to change the way you pay taxes in a way that will benefit future generations and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the benefit of taxes. I recognize that a good bit of my tax dollars are well spent. I am happy to pay taxes that help improve our overall quality of life, or that secure a better future for our children. I just wish I had more control over the taxes I pay.
Hubbert: King Of The Technocrats
Posted by Big Gav on December 13, 2008 - 10:35am in The Oil Drum: Australia/New Zealand
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: history, m. king hubbert, politics, technocracy [list all tags]
In the wake of the recent interview with Jay Hanson posted at The Oil Drum, there was some discussion of Hubbert's role in the Technocracy movement.
I hadn't been aware that Hubbert was a Technocrat (or that the technocrats were an organised grouping, for that matter), so in this post I'll explore the Technocracy movement and Hubbert's role in it.
The knowledge essential to competent intellectual leadership in this situation is preeminently geological - a knowledge of the earth's mineral and energy resources. The importance of any science, socially, is its effect on what people think and what they do. It is time earth scientists again become a major force in how people think rather than how they live. - M King Hubbert
Infrastructure Spending, Peak Oil And The Green New Deal
Posted by Big Gav on December 6, 2008 - 6:12am in The Oil Drum: Australia/New Zealand
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: australia, australian senate, christine milne, peak oil, politics [list all tags]
Tasmanian Greens Senator Christine Milne made a good speech in the Senate this week about infrastructure spending and how we can solve peak oil, global warming and energy security issues in one go by shifting to an expanded, smarter grid with large scale renewable generation - and at the same time address the problem of our economic dependence on fossil fuels, which becomes ever more risky to our economic well-being as time passes by.
From Hansard (PDF - starting at p38):
I rise today to support the Nation-building Funds Bill 2008 and cognate bills. It has been apparent for some time that Australia desperately needs to invest in infrastructure, and there has been a dearth of that in the last 10 years of the Howard government. There has also been in that time incredible pork-barrelling and failure of many of the public-private partnerships, which delivered us some white elephants around the country that the community is going to long live to regret. We have now a coincidence of a global financial crisis and the climate crisis. Indeed, we have peak oil as well.
Obama's Energy Policy: Listening When We Disagree
Posted by Robert Rapier on November 12, 2008 - 9:42am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: barack obama, energy policy, politics [list all tags]
Barack Obama has said that energy is going to be one of his top priorities. I believe he is completely sincere about this and that energy will get a lot of attention early on in his administration. I believe he is committed to moving the U.S. toward energy independence and a greener energy future. However, one can recognize energy as an important priority, yet sharply differ on the policy direction that is needed. For instance, some may have energy as a high priority because they feel that gasoline is too expensive. Their priority may be to keep gasoline prices low so people's budgets aren't adversely impacted by their fuel bills. Some can see energy as a top priority, and yet promote solutions like suing OPEC for more oil.
On the other hand, someone else may see energy as a top priority, but think low gasoline prices are not the solution, but instead a big part of the problem. This is the nature of my disagreement with some aspects of Obama's energy plans: We broadly agree on the big picture, but differ on how to get there. And since I recently heard him say “I may not agree, but I will listen”, here is my attempt to highlight what I feel are the flaws in his energy proposals.
Jay Hanson and Warsocialism.com
Posted by Nate Hagens on November 2, 2008 - 12:18pm
Topic: Miscellaneous
Tags: dieoff.org, human nature, jay hanson, net energy, original, politics, reality report, warsocialism.com [list all tags]
Monday at 12 EST Jay Hanson, of dieoff.org 'fame', will be Jason Bradford's guest on Global Public Media's "The Reality Report". It can be heard live at www.kzyx.org. (The last few times we advertised a guest, the station had bandwidth issues but we will post a link on TOD to the archived version in a week or so for those who want to hear it.)
Dieoff.org, despite it's unwelcoming moniker, was (is?) one of the biggest clearinghouses on the internet for referenced work on general resource depletion and likely human responses to it and probably the first to attempt to 'connect the many dots'. As many of you know, I got my own exposure to some of the issues related to overpopulation, our biological underpinnings and peak oil from perusing dieoff.org, which Jay Hanson constructed during many years of solitary reading and research. I highlighted Jay Hansons 'farewell address' to his listserv as one of my first posts on this site.
The Myth of Election Year Price Manipulation
Posted by Robert Rapier on October 8, 2008 - 10:15am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: 2008 election, elections, gas prices, original, politics [list all tags]
It seems that every election season, conspiracy theories arise that the oil companies are trying to bring down gasoline prices in order to influence elections. The thinking is that oil companies tend to favor Republicans (true) and that they bring prices down to help Republican candidates. When I hear this sort of talk, I try to explain to people that U.S. oil companies control so little of the world oil market that there isn't much they can do to influence prices. They simply don't have the stroke that people think they have.
But a poll in 2006 showed that nearly half of Americans thought Bush had successfully manipulated prices down as the election approached:
Almost half of all Americans believe the November elections have more influence than market forces. For them, the plunge at the pump is about politics, not economics.
Retired farmer Jim Mohr of Lexington, Ill., rattled off a tankful of reasons why pump prices may be falling, including the end of the summer travel season and the fact that no major hurricanes have disrupted Gulf of Mexico output. “But I think the big important reason is Republicans want to get elected,” Mohr, 66, said while filling up for $2.17 a gallon. “They think getting the prices down is going to help get some more incumbents re-elected.”
A Plan for Increasing Your Carbon Emissions
Posted by Robert Rapier on August 11, 2008 - 10:11am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: energy policy, global warming, nancy pelosi, original, politics, spr [list all tags]
I recently received an interesting e-mail:
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House and Author of "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters
" will answer questions in a live discussion on washingtonpost.com today (Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 3 pm ET).
Pelosi will discuss the current political scene heading into the conventions, the message of her new book and other questions submitted by readers.
To submit questions and participate in the live discussion click here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/08/01/DI2008080102174.html
This seemed to me to be an ideal opportunity to question her on two issues that she is clearly passionate about, but seem to me to be diametrically opposed: Tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and reducing carbon emissions. So, I submitted the following question, several hours prior to the chat:
Misguided Energy Policies
Posted by Robert Rapier on July 21, 2008 - 10:00am
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: barbara boxer, chuck schumer, energy policy, original, politics, spr [list all tags]
I have a friend who is addicted to nicotine. His liberal friends tell him that this addiction is bad, and point out that it is costing him too much money. Therefore, they want policies passed that ensure that he can continue to consume as much as he likes, and not hurt his budget too much. They are sure that nicotine substitutes will come along soon to save the day. For reasons I detail below, I call this the Boxer approach, but it could just as easily be the Pelosi/Democratic Party approach.
His conservative friends agree that he is addicted, but their solution is to carve out areas in the U.S. where we can grow more tobacco, and therefore his addiction can at least be homegrown. Sort of like "If you are going to smoke pot, at least smoke American pot." This is the Bush approach.


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