Comment from hday7
November 13th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

I love this report! Thank you for creating it and promising to keep updates coming through. Overall, I stand in agreement with the opportunity we have before us. I do believe that we can succeed with promise and hope if we’re willing to step out of our usual box of resistance and push forward with measures that address our economic problems through environmental measures. Thinking in the traditional African way of life — everything is circular and we succeed based upon the interrelations, interconnections and engagement of one another into the promise of wholeness for us all. We have got to stop comparmentalizing and segregating issues as if one is exclusive of another. If we have any hope to get out of the muck we’re in globally today, we’ve got to start connecting ALL the dots. Thank you so much for beginning a report that will help us achieve this very outcome!

Comment from Janice
November 13th, 2008 at 1:27 pm

Yes, I do believe that economic progress and environmental protection go hand in hand. Now, I do not think it’s necessary that this be the case, however, over the years I have seen that progressive thinkers are far more conscious of environmental issues and concerns. I may be biased as a liberal democrat, but in my opinion, it is no coincidence that people that lean toward being a progressive society look to the welfare of our world as a whole. They want to protect all living things, and the environment itself, for the better of everyone and everything. It is a “we” mentality, not an “I/Me” mentality. Again, it is my opinion, that the latter is a very conservative mind-set with a considerably narrow-range of what are considered priorities in our country, and in the world.

Comment from catize
November 13th, 2008 at 1:35 pm

we are thrilled with your info and green initiative – the polls are really exciting too – let’s go for it while they’re potentially listening!!!!

Comment from Edshafer
November 13th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

I think the election was a mandate about many things and one of them was surely the problems of global warming. Those problems are actually opportunities that will bring new technology, new jobs and new answers for dealing with all of our many problems.

I’ve said elsewhere that this is the election we should have had in 1968 with Robert Kennedy. Instead hope was assassinated for millions and we have spent the last 40 years wandering in the wilderness of rapacious conservatism, but now we’ve arrived at the Promised Land. It is now up to us to make the Promise come true with a rebuilding of our environment and our civilization.

I like the update report and I hope that I continue to receive them.

Comment from harry
November 13th, 2008 at 1:38 pm

The report demonstrates that the American people are starting to see the larger picture of true sustainability. It is the responsibility of all Americans, corporate included, to grasp the damage that has been done to the world. I straight up energy policy that gives Americans an incentive to create a sustainable country (first and then the world) will pay for itself in the long run. I guess we will be dragging some, kicking and screaming, into the changing world.

Comment from Cyndi
November 13th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

I am so happy for the future of all of us and the environment now that President Obama will be in the White House. The polluters need to pay.

Thank you

Comment from vglm
November 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

We are starting this journey with the right person, and are fortunate to have him. The road can be long and hard, but we must persist and support. We must understand that this will not happen over night, but keep the steady pressure on the pursuit. There is an opposing fear by others who do not “believe” there is a global warming, and to them I say you do not “understand,” this does not involve a “faith” but facts. And, even if there is not a global warming for instance, we owe it to our earth to clean it up, and the reality is that we are running out of natural resources, that is not belief. It is intelligence. Thank you for your hard work.
vglm

Comment from Charisse
November 13th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

Good luck to all the Obama supporters….we will ALL pay!!! Watch over the next 4 years how much taxes go up..but of course people will forget that it was Obama who raised the taxes, and will somehow blame a republican!!! I am sure this comment will get deleted.

Comment from Guido
November 13th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

I beleive that it is about time that the public wakes-up and take action to better the future for generations to come. For far too long people have been stagnent and complain only when the price of gas goes up and soon forget as price goes down again. Alternate/Renewable Energy needs to happen quickly and be forever improving. Also, been more vegetarian friendly, cutting our meat consumption by at least 50% is another way to fight global warming, conserve enenrg and fight global hunger.

Comment from ecplot
November 13th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

I think it has been well said that indeed we need to fundamentally change our entire process of thinking, our entire civilization. Today there is no room for the complacent, for taking the old ways for granted, it is time to wean off of oil and the psychotic greed and pollution which is associated with it. I do not believe I will ever need to own a Rolls Royce for each day of the week, one plated in silver for Sundays.

Comment from Mimi K
November 13th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

Bravo, EDF. Not only do I agree, but long ago, candidate Obama did, too.

In the very beginning in what seems a few lifetimes ago, when Obama announced he was going to run, he was asked why not wait? His reply was that there was a “narrow window of opportunity” of about 10 years when, he said, we had to make big changes — and global warming/energy/climate was on his short list of the things that we had to act on NOW that was inspiring him to run for president and not wait.

It is looking as if that window is slowly closing by the force of many invisible hands (including the original ‘invisible hand’ itself, of the marketplace). [Anyone out there good at animation/video? There is a public service ad in that image of 'closing the window of opportunity -- go for it!]

Obama said that there is an “American genius for change.” “The American Genius for Change” now needs to take the form of a coordinated strategic effort by environmental and progressive groups, informed by the deep African Wisdom of We and the Liberal-Democratic historical commitment to the I/We vision at the heart of democracy, whose mission is to make Obama’s presidential “transition” catalyze, and not quash, our great global transition from our tragic era of climate catastrophe to a new era of mutually assured vitality of people and planet — that is the big picture here.

“Transition” is upon us ALL, not just our President-elect.
As Crosby Stills Nash and Young once sang, “we have no choice but to carry on.”

Comment from Arizona
November 13th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

Has anyone tied the cost of the war in strictly economic terms to the current cost of bailing out everyone except tax payers? Aside from the human toil, war destroys environments. War practice offshore sonar hurts whales, and what underwater evil lurks below that we need to defend against ? How much oil does it take to run those big ships vs nuclear. etc etc etc.

Will we make thebig polluters pay ? NO WE WILL BAIL THEM OUT

Comment from TJW668
November 13th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

While I agree that investing in clean energy is a great way to help get the economy going, the choice given in the poll between new taxes and charging carbon-emitting companies is a false choice. The consumer pays the tab either way, through higher taxes or higher prices. People need to face the reality that the massive change to our infrastructure that clean energy represents is going to be expensive; and we will ALL have to pay for it.

Comment from Patti
November 13th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Finally we have a President-Elect that has promised to make the necessary changes that may possibly save our planet. I agree with your report and I thank you for sending it to me. Sadly, there are too many selfish ignorant and irresponsible people in this world who do not agree with the good work you are doing. It is time we stand up and do something before it is too late for the generations that will follow. They deserve a decent, beautiful planet on which to survive! Thank you and keep up the good work!

Comment from Jennifer Volz
November 13th, 2008 at 2:34 pm

Doesn’t sound like the Obama administration will be offering much of a new direction. They are really pushing to send $25 billion to Detroit automakers who have built their business around making gas guzzling, polluting vehicles. This is an opportunity to either save tax payer dollars or send it to companies out of Silicon Valley that are trying to develop more environmentally friendly cars. If you feel the same way that I do – email Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and Harry Reid.

http://www.speaker.gov/contact/
http://www.change.gov/page/s/contact
http://www.change.gov/page/s/yourvision
http://www.reid.senate.gov/contact/

Comment from catherine sebastian
November 13th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

Yes yes yes. Our only solution is to solve our big issues, which are all really this one issue, with this approach and one we American’s are well suited to accomplish. I’m too old to ever see “normal’ weather, again but we MUST change our economy over NOW. I campaigned for months for President-Elect Obama because now is the time and he, with our HELP, is the man. We have only a finite window to do this. NOW. Thank you EDF
PS to Charisse. We welcome your comment, we did publish it and all we ask is a chance to prove you wrong. You sound thoughtful and my wish is that once you see the momentum you will join in helping. Obviously you care!

Comment from William Fraser
November 13th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

I strongly support a carbon tax (adding something like 50 cents a gallon to gasoline for the next 10 years) with the proceeds rebated equally per capita to all citizen residents (with perhaps a 50% share to citizen non-residents and a 50% share to legal non-citizen residents).

A carbon tax is much better than a cap-and-trade (even with auction) because it is much more predictable and easy to base long-term financial plans on.

Comment from poppys
November 13th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

I just finished reading “Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman. This is a textbook on where we have been, where we are and most importantly what we need to do now. Attacking energy is the key to so many solutions – the economy, petrodictator dependence, education, jobs and the economy, health, the sustainability of the earth’s balance and global warming. The funding and development of alternative energy – clean energy- is equivalent to the push to go to the moon. We can do it with the right leadership and price incentives. America must lead or lose. Obama needs our help. The survival of our children and the planet depends upon it. We must act quickly. It is not possible to go through the sometimes 11 to 20 year political and bureaucratic squabbles to accomplish what needs to be done. Just as we act quickly in a time of war for the protection of national security so we must do for the planet and the United States in the name of real national security. We need to establish a Department of Energy and Ecology and President Obama as the CEO!

Comment from Pamir | Reiki Help Blog
November 13th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

The current troubles of the American auto industry gives further proof of a climate action mandate, whether powers that be want to admit to climate change and their own stubbornness or not. Ignoring extenuating global factors has hurt what they thought they were protecting: the bottomline. They resisted innovation & now will have to innovate like crazy, fortunately.

Comment from Kendra
November 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

I absolutely love the transition report! What a fantastic idea. This report will keep the community informed and educated on the progress of economic revitalization coupled with action to address our climate crisis. Thank you EDF for striving keeping your supporters informed!

Comment from Lakhan Mohan
November 13th, 2008 at 2:55 pm

Finally the USA has a government that may very possibly bring positive and constructive changes to the world as a whole. But i believe that the economic progress and environmental protection are at odds. I believe the growth of the world econnomy resulted in the breakdown of our environment.This is going to be very challenging for the incoming government.

Comment from THOMAS KASMER
November 13th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

I continue to be amazed at the calls for change but no real
ideas that make sense. I have fought a battle for 18 years with my invention, the Hydristor (Google it), which converts existing vehicles into hydraulic hybrids doubling fuel economy while quartering emissions of EXISTING vehicles. The nation’s fleet could be changed over in 5 years at a cost of $200 billion (a bargain!) and the need for oil would be cut in half, extending the life of the Earth’s oil reserve to 50+ years and putting the US in the position of telling the foreign suppliers to ‘call back when you are ready to sell some oil at $20. The massive CO2
reduction could begin the rollback of global warming before
Dr. James Hansen’s dire tipping poing prediction. The sequestration of CO2 is a stupid idea anyhow because you sequester oxygen in the process and the Earth’s plant life
population is decreasing due to development. ‘Without vision, the people will perish’! Where is the vision? Tom

Comment from Jeffrey Kelly
November 13th, 2008 at 3:09 pm

Let the auto industry fail, give those workers new green industry jobs producing American made solar panels. Create a new “WPA eara” national jobs program to repower America building geothermal, wind, and solar power plants. Offer tax credits to home owners, local utilities and start up green companies to get grid tied solar and wind residential power systems on every roof top in the United States and stop sending billions to the middle east for oil!

Comment from mosnana
November 13th, 2008 at 3:19 pm

I’m so thrilled that at last we have a President who puts people instead of greed first! Economics and the environment go hand in hand, and below is what we’re doing about it here in the Arkansas Delta (yes, there ARE a lot of caring, liberal folks in Arkansas, despite the uninformed rednecks!). I’ve been given the task to do the logistics for our first Environment and Green Jobs “roadshow” which is a result of of our Governor’s Commission on Global Warming – onward, ever onward!

REPOWER ARKANSAS TO KICK OFF GLOBAL WARMING/GREEN JOBS PRESENTATION AT UAM’s GREEN ROOM AT THE GIBSON CENTER ON NOVEMBER 18
Statewide Coalition Forms to Promote Global Warming Commission Recommendations

Climatologist Robert McAfee, one of the 1,000 trained by Al Gore, has been awarded the first ever grant from The Climate Project (TCP) (www.theclimateproject.org) to fund a statewide coalition called Repower Arkansas. Dr. McAfee and Kevin Smith, former state legislator, were selected as the co-chairs for Governor Beebe’s Global Warming Commission. The commission’s final report and recommendations were presented to the Governor on October 31. The coalition formed to promote awareness of the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating renewable power and green collar jobs. The coalition is developing a citizen alert network to lobby the Arkansas General Assembly that the recommendations from the Global Warming Commission be adopted as law. By enacting these policy options many new well-paying green collar jobs will be created. This is a real opportunity for Arkansas to become a leader in developing energy supplies with clean, renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, algae, biomass and others.
The steadily growing coalition includes organizations such as OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology, Carbon Caps Task Force, Ecological Conservation Org., Thinking Like a Mountain Institute as well as national organizations The Climate Project and WE Can Solve It Campaign.
Over the next three months members of the coalition will travel to several communities around the state to do presentations and discuss the climate crisis with citizens, local government and community groups on the challenges and opportunities we face. Green-collar jobs pay good wages and provide opportunities for career advancement with increased skills and wages. While some green jobs require advanced technical skills, most are middle-skill jobs requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. This provides increased opportunities for our many state vo-tech schools. Much of the work to green our economy involves transforming the places that we live and work, and the way we travel. Repower Arkansas will enlist the support of Arkansas citizens, agencies and groups to inform the General Assembly of the public’s growing demand for clean energy and green jobs.
The coalition believes the best way to start an economic boom for Arkansas and to address the climate crisis is for the 2009 legislative session to approve public policy that enacts the recommendations of Governor Beebe’s Global Warming Commission.
The first event will be November 18th at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, from 7-10pm in the Green Room in the Gibson Center. We welcome everyone to come, enjoy some refreshments and join the discussion!

Further information can be obtained at http://www.repowerarkansas.org.
CONTACTS: Robert McAfee Robert@repowerarkansas.org;
Joanna Pollock Planetworkscom@gmail.com;
Charlotte Wales walescharlotte@hotmail.com.

Comment from Nancy
November 13th, 2008 at 3:21 pm

I am so heartened by the stats in this poll.
Thank you. I will pass this on to my news list. It is time; or should I say, way past time, to begin and I am hoping to see this come to pass in my lifetime to benefit my grandchild, and all the children of this earth.
Thank you again..I will keep reading and working here at home.

Comment from Tony
November 13th, 2008 at 3:23 pm

I agree economic progress and environmental protection go hand in hand. However, the one thing that will make both possible is EDUCATION! We need to support public education as a national security issue. Our national commitment must be as great as it was to the Manhattan Project or the Man-on-the-Moon. JFK inspired my generation and, hopefully, Barack Obama has inspired a new generation to move the USA into a new progressive era.

Thank you for the Transition Report!

Comment from mcmckee41
November 13th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

When this group starts to support nuclear power generation on a Manhattan Project basis, I will take all of you more seriously. Instead of scaring the public about the dangers of nuclear waste, you need to support ways to deal with the waste. When electricity coming out of the wall outlet becomes so expensive as to be unaffordable or when we have rolling brown-outs, you won’t have to take a survey to find out what the public supports. Aside from global warming concerns, national security and pride require that we develop every energy source possible. That should be enough to cooperate with the laggards on this matter in order to entice them to go in a better direction.

Comment from Catherine
November 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

Tony emphasizes education. I’ve noticed an increasing awareness in the students I’ve taught over the last few decades. Environmental science appears to be one of the most popular college courses; we can hardly keep up with the demand. But more importantly, students come with more understanding of the importance of their environment than in the past and most seem eager to learn more.
Does anyone know if there is anything like the coalition in Arkansas described by Mosnana in my state of Georgia? Thanks

Comment from Louise Stonington
November 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

The huge disconnect between the number of people who think something should be done about global warming but do not realize that we have to switch to clean energy can be changed with a concerted educational effort. We can train ourselves to present programs in clubs, churches, professional committee meetings, schools, chambers of commerce, and retirement homes; we can respond to omissions and inaccuracies in the media; and we can pass out the web site of EDF to everybody we meet and encourage them to make a weekly ritual of taking action on the website. Who’s ready to help??

Comment from Steve
November 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

Haaaaa haaaaa!!!!!!! That’s funny! Environmental mandate? All the news stories I’ve read show environmental issues at the BOTTOM of the list, if they were even on it at all.

Besides. Burning fossil fuels is better for the environment than cutting down and burning a bunch of trees, anyway.

Comment from Katje Sana Erickson
November 13th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

Finally!
The Swiss ETF http://www.novatlantis.com worked this out since 1998 as the global limit of 2000W Society weissenbuch.pdf
The EU is struggling with Kyoto but still 10 yrs ahead of USA.
Bravo that the awareness has at last dawned.

Comment from Chris Bystroff
November 13th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

Yes, I agree we should impose a tax on carbon emmission to fund the recovery. We also need to think about the long-term consequences of over-population. This is not discussed enough in the open air, but behind closed doors everyone knows it lies at the root of the problem. Bring it out in the open. Start the discussion. Obama should increase funding for novel contraceptive technologies such as anti-fertility vaccines.

Comment from steamy
November 13th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

I do agree that the environment could be helped if the car companies where to work toward ‘green’ affordable cars, SUV, small trucks, etc…
I would love to see people put to work by working to make other aspects of our country ‘green’. That would be a win-win in my opinion.
I don’t like the one time incentive checks. I feel they are a band-aide to a huge problem. I am on a disability getting less than $800 per month. Then I pay state & federal income tax on that meager amount. It would be nice to see some help for people like me. I have to depend on others monthly. Now they too are getting in a place where that is harder and harder for them. If I could work… believe me, I would.
If we would work toward energy independence, I think it would give a lot of the unemployed a chance for a livable income rather than supporting pollution and other countries by purchasing their crude oil.
I am all for living green, recycle, buy e. star products, fluorescent light bulbs, reuse and we all can reduce.

I wonder if anyone has thought about Al Gore for a place in the ‘Green Room’? Having the Nobel Prize does say something about the world’s respect on the issue and his imput.

Comment from Maeve S. Fitzgerald
November 13th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Some time back I recall reading some reports from astronomers (which seem to have been squelched since) about a planet flyby in or around 2028. The planet is a large one that appears to have a 10,000 or so year orbit around the sun. As it approaches the sun it causes increased activity on the sun’s surface, causing increased energy to be released. This increased energy is causing the global warming we seem to be experiencing. Now tending the Earth, planting trees, caring for other living creatures on Earth, stopping the destruction of the tropical forests, cleaning up our oceans are all good ideas, but any plans that are going to be a means of shifting wealth from the people to big corporations, I am leery of regardless of which political party proposes such plans. Just a thought on global warming, perhaps it will help to connect some of the dots.

Comment from John Anderson PhD
November 13th, 2008 at 4:18 pm

All the rethoric means nothing if this clean energy isn’t clean. The question then is, what constitutes “clean energy”? All this concern about nuclear power is paranoia. Considering the amount of nuclear powered units world wide, verses the incidents of trouble, we should be less afraid.

If coal is to be the fuel of choice, then America should begin yesterday to develope a way to clean an un-cleanable fuel. We do have great quantities of coal, but do we wan’t to continue to poison the air. Read the opinion of Concerned Scientists Of America’s website to find out what is released into the atmosphere when coal is burned.
As the population increases our choices will become more limited. So we must begin now to plan for the future of the world as well as our own country.

Use of solar, wind or alternates will solve problems for relatively small areas, which may be the future. Small self contained communities could be something we face.

Having worked on the fringes of nuclear power and it’s possibilities for over thirty years, I can say with some assurance, the power of the atom should be considered as a primary source of fuel for our needs, and as a friend more than an enemy.

Comment from V. Sullivan
November 13th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Thank you for the poll & updates. If only the ears of greed will be opened. Regardless if the government officials are conservative or liberal, greed has been their common fault. We the people have not been heard. If we have, we are being ignored by people who think they know it all about running our country. The impact of green technology can only have good consequences. Big corporations are some of the worst abusers of our planet. This bailout plan was 432 pages long. I do not believe that anyone who signed to pass it actually read it word for word in the amount of time they were given to sign it!!! Some of the wording in this bailout is beginning to be revealed to the public. Race track owners and rum manufacturers were part of the bill. There are some who say “We the People” don’t fight back hard enough, when we do, like Joe the plumber, he had to put up with his tax records and private information being investigated. We the people need to be able to weather these scare tactics to shut us up!!! Our feedback to you is the only way we can do this without being singled out by our paranoid government. I would like to say to our government: relax, We the People already know you are no good, low down money mongers. Now it is time to clean up YOUR act!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Comment from Bob Cornell
November 13th, 2008 at 4:36 pm

Hi,
whether or not the emissions that are going into the atmosphere are directly responsible for global warming it is our responsibility to reduce them. I have invented a way to substantially reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from trucks, and no one of authority seems to care.

Many thanks,
Bob Cornell
4401 Pinetree Close
Cumming, GA 30041
bobwcornell@comcast.net

Comment from Bob Ferguson
November 13th, 2008 at 4:58 pm

It is certainly critical that the general public understand, along with the business community and political leaders that not only are sustainability and economic growth not in conflict, but they are inextricably linked. Readers might be very interested in http://www.climateprosperity.com.

Comment from Rollie
November 13th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

To Charisse: Surprise! it was not deleted. One more surprise for you: Taxes are the only way that national debt gets reduced. Your frame of reference and assumptions are extremely shallow. Do some reading outside your preferred propaganda sources.

To TJW668: The idea behind charging for carbon emissions is market based. Price influences buyer’s choices. Carbon emissions are either a current cost, as in smog, or is a deficit to be dealt with later. One difference is that when our environment goes bankrupt there is no one to bail it out. It is a very common perspective among economists that spending on alternative energies creates jobs which create more taxable income than does unemployment. You are right in that we are all going to pay for it one way or the other; the key question is which is the long term better way.

To Steve: You need to read (or imagine) more than ONE news story.
How you got the idea that the choice is burn fossil fuels or burn trees is absolutely astounding.

Comment from gerry steinberg
November 13th, 2008 at 5:57 pm

Environmental stewardship and economic growth certainly go together. This is a tremendous opportunity we have.

On a national scale, we need to push the Obama Administration into honoring their energy independence/environmental promises by: (1) giving aid to transition the US auto and truck industry to fleet overhaul-i.e.mandatory production of high-mileage hybrid, electric, and other non-petroleum-using vehicles and making grants and low-interest loans available to consumers to purchase said vehicles; (2) making major investments in mass transit and infrastructure (roads, bridges, rail) including retooling many auto plants and re-training/transitioning auto workers to produce mass transit vehicles and components (auto companies and their highly-paid executives should not be “bailed out” when they have spent the past 20 years ignoring trends in consumer demand and energy costs and producing gas-guzzlers); (3) making large investment in inner city area buildings and infrastructure-retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency and salvaging abandoned and deteriorated housing stock to make affordable housing-this initiative alone will create loads of skilled trades jobs in areas hardest hit by unemployment and foreclosures; and (4)working out trade agreement with China, giving them clean coal technology to retrofit their old sulfur coal plants (thus significantly reducing world greenhouse gases),with revenues from the conversion projects used to eliminate a good part of our over-$300 billion debt to them incurred the past 8 years to buy oil from the Middle East.

Finally, on a local level, I think point (3) above is where we can have immediate effect-need to contact local officials and any departments working in these areas to get them to sponsor and spend money as needed to start the “green” building/energy initiatives.

Comment from Ajax Eastman
November 13th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

While I fully support reduction of Green House Gasses and want to stop Global warming, I would want a thorough review of some of the methods being considered. For example, the promotion of wind turbines all along the spine of the Appalachian ridges in Eastern U.S. will pose serious environmental impacts on bat and bird migrations, terrestrial wildlife, and forested corridors that would be destroyed, while at the same time that the amount of energy produced would hardly make a dent in the demand for electricity. A reliable capacity could not be produced, particularly in the summer when winds blow the least and energy demand is the highest.

Comment from Bob Ware
November 13th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

Incase you haven’t heard the T. Boone Pickens plan will address the oil addiction and environmental issues with clean energy technology. Go to: http://www.thepickensplan.com
and read it, sign it and tell your Rep’s to support it. Then join his New Army. Also tell your friends.

Comment from LAMIRI Mustapha
November 13th, 2008 at 6:27 pm

Openly(Frankly), it is a very good initiative. The environmental protection concerns everybody because the pollution and in particular the greenhouse effect has no border. Ecological activities must be led to the international echelle.
Mustapha Lamiri
Rabat – Morocco

Comment from Richard
November 13th, 2008 at 7:02 pm

Everyone needs to do some research, global warming has very little to do with man, it is a natural warming, yes what man does has a little to do with it.
We need to clean up our pollution, that is very necessary, but get off the Global warming kick, the Government knows it is not man causing the problem.
If you keep it up the government will make you pay for your so called contribution to the warming, don’t you see your playing right into the Governments hands.
Check into the spiritual end of things if you want to know the truth about what is going on, not any religion, spiritual truths. We do need to clean up our planet, put you efforts in the right place.

Comment from michelle james
November 13th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

as one said its not man that are causing these gobal warming but what they do by adding to polluting the air which makes it difficult for some us who or whom are very sickly well i am in Jamaica and let me tell you that this polluting is all over the world if people would only understant and not through there garbage any and every where,when they demonstrate by burning tyres ect.this also makes it bad if only they knew what this does to our population.

Comment from epcraig
November 13th, 2008 at 8:21 pm

We must cope with Global Warming, no matter how uneconomical, because the economy must fail when iy cannot be supported by the ecology supporting it.
I see no way we can transition to combat Global Warming without creating jobs.

Comment from The Quadfather
November 13th, 2008 at 10:00 pm

There is no problem with the environment. There is no global warming. All this nonsenses just that, nonsense. There may be a great depression caused by the Democrats, they already caused the financial collapse. They did this by demanding that banks loan to deadbeats. We will all pay for their folly. $4.00 a gallon gas and higher. You think that helps people when they have to pay that? Will higher taxes make things better? It’ll depress the economy. Life only works when everybody does their fair share and gets to keep what they earned and not have to give it to loafers. We are not “addicted” to oil, anymore than we are addicted to food. Addicted is when you need something that is of no benefit to you. Oil is of great benefit to all, including lefties in their volvos and subarus. It gives back much more than it costs. If you want to reduce oil use, then get rid of the Fair Housing Act. This bit of tyranny drives people into the country to escape inner city crime. If decent people could set up their own enclaves of people they like to be with, then they wouldn’t have to drive so far to escape those they don’t like to be with. Your messiah, Obama will be the ruin of this great nation. The fools are in charge now.

Comment from Jerry Starr
November 13th, 2008 at 10:03 pm

Global warming, energy independence, renewable energy and the economy will not be addressed until Americans put their money where their mouths are. Without something like the recently proposed $1.00/gal gas tax or an emission tax with teeth, there is never going to be an incentive to take the necessary steps toward clean or renewable energy – at least not until the next oil crisis.

Comment from Teresa Kline
November 13th, 2008 at 10:12 pm

The economy and the environment w/o a doubt go hand in hand. Most of the basics of what we buy-food, fuel, clothing, household products etc. come from the environment.
We cannot continue to destroy our planet to get what we
need from her to survive or we will have no place to live
at all. We need to work with the environment using wind,
solar, and water power-replenishable sources of energy
that do not damage the environment. Pretty much a no
brainer to me.

Comment from jazan2
November 13th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

Until we address the corruption in Washington DC, we won’t get far with environmental progress. Money has been doing all the talking on Capitol Hill, and we, the people, get ZERO representation. We have a broken system in which corporate interests dictate law and policy. The mainstream media serves this same powerful coalition. This is the Republican way of assuring that the rich and powerful grow ever richer and more powerful by increasing their sphere of influence. It’s the reason why we are so far behind in implementing alternative clean energy technology. What we need first of all is some integrity and representation in our system of government. American citizens, for the most part, believe that there are some things more important than the almighty buck. However, this is in direct conflict with every corporate agenda. Resolving this lack of representation of public interest in government is key to moving forward.

Comment from carole245
November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 pm

We desperately need a governmental department of sustainability/ecology which could evaluate all government departments, programs, to get rid of waste and start putting solar on government roofs, etc. to help our country go green. Making GM build electric cars that they killed would be great! we may need a big grass roots movement to help President Obama do the things that need to be done to get the carbon down to 350.

Comment from akasper
November 13th, 2008 at 11:30 pm

Power (clean and green)to the producers of these reports, and to all of us in taking more responsibility for our own energy use and wastefulness, then together pushing for governmental commitments toward same.

Comment from Diana Goldstein
November 13th, 2008 at 11:52 pm

Of course economic stimulus and global warming are critical. But I am really extremely concerned about protection of other species and am outraged that the Supreme Court just ruled that our defense requirements (ie the use of sonar exercises by the navy) are more important than the damage we are doing to the whales. This seems like genocide to me. Is the human species the only species the US government needs to protect?

Comment from Michelle Lafaye
November 14th, 2008 at 12:56 am

The issue of our environment is a very very complex issue. On one hand humanity has it needs, as was mentioned by Theresa Kline, and on the other humanity has its wants…and wastes. Throw in corporate greed…capitalism gone insane,crooked governments and crooked representatives, global markets, little recycling, poor quility products, and the need for jobs in order to provide….it’s mind boggling mess.

We must consider our needs: Clean water, clean air, nutrituious foods (Corporate foods aren’t doing the job – they are making us sick!), Clothing which keeps us warm in the winter – and cool in the summer…(Check out the gause for sale as winter clothing…in Wal-Mart) It’s no wonder women and children need the heat cranked up to 90*! I’m certain folks of the past would probably consider us morons to dress so inappropriatly for winters generally cold conditions. Who really needs fashion – practical would be nice for a change! Warm socks would be a start. (womens/girls clothing is nearly worthless except to provide a sometimes modest covering, for appearance only.

Why do we consume so much? In part because all products these days really do lack quality and common sense. My Parents generation had a refrigator which lasted until their golden years. It was early 40 years old. I remember that people in the community I lived in threw away very little. People didn’t need extra storage for items they were not using. What they owned they used and they used a product for years. And, with efforts a car could last 20 – 30 years…a dining set/a couch a lifetime. Clothing was purchased at most twice a year…an perhaps a special occassion. Winter and Spring. (mostly because children out grew them.) Most people had no need for more than 7 outfits. One for dress, 5 for work or school, and Saturday clothes for play or yard working. One phone, one TV, one radio, was good enough. Our parents laughed a lot more, and shared more time with the children and they spoke to all their neighbors…even the ones they didn’t particularly like! Things were very different and very frugal compaired today. But, it was far from bleak. Still, there was plenty of pollution, and destruction of our natural resources. So how do we meet our needs? How do we curb our wants? How do we save our environment? What are the green jobs going to be? How will they impact our environment?

We need to be green with more than just energy. We need alternatives to trees for toilet paper, paper, paper plates. Paper can be made from hemp, clothing, cosmetics, and good number of other products can be made from hemp. Hemp is not the same as marijuana. The giant sunflowers have stalks which more than likely could be turned into paper and perhaps other products. We have the knowledge to make nuclear weapons, go to space but we can’t find a way to make paper? We can’t find a way to dress warmer (to bad we killed off all the buffalo!) I believe it is all a matter of will ( and some corporate control) and the hold our corporates have on us through the medias. As we go green lets remember to create more than just alternative energy. We really have a lot of re creating and rethinking to do. Much more than what is happening right now.

I am hopeful that Green awareness isn’t just another of Americas fads to make a buck as everythng always turns out to be. (notice how products which are not natural now claim to be? This should be criminal! The real issue is we are destroying everything in our path like an army of hungry insane locus living to devour. Native Americans planned for 7 generations ….we can’t even plan for 5 years.

Like I said its very complicated…we haven’t figured it out yet. We have only made a 1/2 step toward going the right direction. In the process (if we surive all this) We will see a world with a new type of economy, new methods of distribution of goods and services, new ways of travel, a “job” may not define one’s life or welbeing in the same way, democracy hopefully will be improved and expanded, housing will be different, cities will be different than they are today. Just about everything we know today will need tobe redrfined for the better if not the future will be worse. It all depends upon what we do now for the future. It is going to depend upon us redefining our values,our wants and understanding our needs and how to provide for an ever increasing global population without more damage to the environments biodiversity.

Comment from aicram62
November 14th, 2008 at 1:17 am

I think we should all sign http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ECO-BONDS-NOW and then we should visit our legislators with a copy.

Comment from jeffahayes
November 14th, 2008 at 1:34 am

Anyone who hasn’t read “Earth: The Sequel” yet, NEEDS TO.

As Fred Krupp pointed out, the simple fact is that the emerging “green technologies” are one of the BEST HOPES for new economic growth in America since the birth of the PC.

Many of these technologies are being researched and funded right here at home, and could very well be developed and grown right here in America. Furthermore, MUCH of America’s infrastructure has gone without needed updates for decades, so there’s MUCH that needs to be done in those areas, even on OLD technologies such as sewers. IF we were to truly work on it, we could turn our economy around and then some working on both NEW technologies AND rebuilding the backbones of our old technologies — many of which are just shy of CRUMBLING.

I think “Earth: The Sequel” should be REQUIRED READING for EVERYONE — Free Copies should be sent to everyone in Congress. It should be READ VERBATIM into the Congressional Record. It should be made a mandatory part of High School Curriculla.

It’s NOT the be-all, end-all of books. It’s just very simple and easy to understand, and very positive. It points the way to a positive future.

I know people who INSIST that climate change isn’t real, and if it is, humans play little or no part in it. I argue that all that doesn’t matter because we STILL need to do the things articulated in Fred’s book. We WILL run out of oil and even coal. Adding billions of extra tons of CO2 to the atmosphere CAN’T be good, regardless of whether we’re having any impact or not.

It’s just good “common sense” to move forward with wind, solar, geothermal bioconversion and other forms of power and energy that may be available, rather than to just stick our heads in the sand. The only ones who REALLY want us to stay where we are have HUGE financial stakes in the current state of affairs. Yet even THEY could make BILLIONS from the new technologies if they’d just get onboard and invest in them from the beginning.

I guess when Exxon is making $40 billion+ a year, it just DOESN’T WANT to spend any money looking at new ways to make money in the future!

Oh, and as to population growth… Everyone’s trying to cure everything — EXCEPT population growth. Decrease infant mortality rates… that’s GREAT… But how about decrease BIRTHS??? Everyone on the planet wants to live like we do here in America, yet the planet can BARELY support 300 million Americans like Americans want to live, much less another 6.5 billion people and growing! Unless we turn around the population trend, worldwide, we’re dooming ourselves no matter WHAT we do!

Comment from Andy
November 14th, 2008 at 2:17 am

It is not enough to call for a clean energy transition. We need to also call for a green transportation transition. Building a world class train system across America will do more to reduce our oil and car dependence than any other action. We need to build the next New Deal national rail system made up of national high speed trains, regional metros, and local light rail and streetcar tram systems. The full solution is clean energy, plus green transportation, and walkable urbanism all together.

Comment from Justin
November 14th, 2008 at 3:56 am

I agree completely with the statements made in the report but I do think that there are problems with the study done. It really should be much bigger and the sample should be one that incorporates the views of populations around the country. The study doesn’t say what population was studied but it is clearly not representative of the entire country. Go out there and do a telephone survey across the country and put up something on youtube to ask what people really think. This will give you a much more accurate view of how the US feels about this issue.

Regardless of what people think however the choice is clear and we must seriously address the issues of Climate Change and Environmental Degradation.

Comment from jimshock
November 14th, 2008 at 5:45 am

Stop and think for a second about why you hold your beliefs. Is it because of how you were raised? Where you grew up? What values you had installed in you?

The answer:

All of them!

Do you think Adolf Hitler would have been evil regardless of his surroundings, parents and circumstances from birth….Of course not!

Its the same with this issue. Is the earth warming up? How do you know? Why do you know? Where are you getting your information from? Whats happening to the temprature on all the other planets in our solar system? Are they going up as well?

The worlds prejudice is basically based on reference points and therefore all of them could be a fallacy. This is where science comes up. You see regardless of your belief structure everything relies and comes back to science. The reason people can get to church is because there were tools to build it with and transport to get you there. Remember how far you would get in this world with nothing but you and nature in it. Nowhere that’s the answer and yet we place all our faith and ideas on non scientific principals.

If that series of statements are true do you not now question some of the things that you think you know?

If you would like a real view of the world we live in you can’t learn it from this message. There is too much to write. But if you are someone who believes they know what they are talking about and like to have their facts straight then you need to watch a documentary on Google video called zeitgeist. There are 2 films. The first one is the lower of the 2 as you enter the page and the second one is called Addendum and is at the top.

This is not a sales pitch. Just something that completely altered the way I look at the world and I think if you wish to be well informed you should too.

Type ZEITGEIST into Google now and learn what it’s really all about.

Peace.

James

Comment from Agnes
November 14th, 2008 at 6:18 am

A year or so ago, another group (possibly the Pew Center) conducted a survey which also found that people value the environment. However, they took it one step farther and discovered that the majority of people will vote their pocketbook issues before they vote for environmental protections. In fact the environmental issue was far down on the list of voting preferences.

For the last twenty years a certain political group has framed environmentalist as a dirty word. According to their
rhetoric, we wish to rob people of their money and force them to live like cavemen. Despite evidence that transitioning to a sustainable lifestyle can be profitable the myth that we will go go broke if we pursue such a path still weighs heavily in the subconscious of the majority.

I would like to see a list of all the taxpayer dollars used in the past year to remediate the destruction of natural resources by pollution, pesticides and over consumption.

Comment from Judith Whitney
November 14th, 2008 at 8:32 am

I think corporate CEO’s making $32 million a year should donate $30 million to help create green jobs and improve the environment and the economy.

Comment from Jan
November 14th, 2008 at 9:26 am

No, polluters should not pay, they should stop polluting. As long as they are allowed to pay for polluting the ones that have the bucks will continue to pollute and we will pay to with our health because we will be the recipients of their pollution.

Comment from ninaklooster
November 14th, 2008 at 9:39 am

We can talk about science. We can argue facts. We can be cynical or hopeful, but the bottom line is that the kind of change needed to impact the environment enough to make a real difference has to come from the grassroots. So what are we going to do? We plan to hold a forum with steel workers and workers at the BP plant near us to talk about green jobs. We hope to open minds and get people thinking about how green jobs can benefit them. It has been our experience that the resistance to working towards cleaning up the environment in our area comes from fear of job loss and that this fear is encouraged by the employing polluters. What little we can do to shift this thinking and to get people thinking about cleaning up the environment as something that will create more jobs and better jobs might just help!

Comment from Lore Rosenthal
November 14th, 2008 at 11:05 am

I completely agree that climate change should be a high priority. Please go into Obama’s transition website at http://www.change.gov . . click on Energy and Environment. Barack’s five major goals look good. But if you look under “Green Jobs”, he is way off base. He wants to create green jobs thru clean coal and natural gas pipelines in Alaska. There is a place on the website to submit your ideas. Please encourage him to modify his plan ala Van Jones’ “Green for All” http://www.greenforall.org/green-collar-jobs . . . and 1Sky http://www.1sky.org/files/1sky-solutions-feb08.pdf

We have an opportunity to influence the next administration. Let’s use our citizen power. Thanks.

Comment from Isabel Best
November 14th, 2008 at 11:33 am

First, I am grateful for a blog that does NOT require logging in and searching for a password.

It is not we in the United States who stand to suffer most from global warming — it is the poor people in the two-thirds world, who are already becoming refugees due to rising seas, storms and droughts. Their fate will directly affect the world in which our children in the US will live.

Once in office, President-elect Obama should lose no time in holding the next meeting of the Group of 20, now meeting in Washington. Environmental Defense and our allies should plan now to be there and arrange if possible to make a major joint presentation, including concrete proposals and promises to monitor the follow-up both in Washington and abroad. The future of the global economy is inextricably linked with what we all do to combat climate change. Thank you.

Comment from Liz Kohler
November 14th, 2008 at 12:20 pm

This is a great report and I believe that we as a nation are at a point where we realize that the time for clean, renewable energy is now, the passion, the drive, the technology and the intelligence is here just waiting to be tapped into. We have newly elected officials who have campaigned on the promise that it’s time for change; and on January 20 it will be time for them to step up to the plate and drive that promise home. We need to keep up the momentum and turn these problems into the opportunities they truly are.
One comment indicated that there is so much more to work on – not just global warming, the economy and energy independence, but all of these problems are interwoven and as we begin to work on the bigger problems other opportunities present themselves and turn adversity into solutions with far reaching benefits. We need to think more altruistically and commit ourselves to working to benefit the whole earth not just our own back yard.

Comment from Catherine
November 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

I was a bit surprised at how conservative the results were with regard to our green future. There is so much we need to do and all of it could help our economic situation. Out here in the west where vast acres are in CRP, nothing has been said about the government program that pays farmers NOT to farm land. So much could and should be done to foster wind, solar and biofuels on CRP lands. Yet, nothing is said by any candidate to mandate that the CRP program should and must be tied to green development. Our tax dollars are giving away enormous sums to lucky land owners to do nothing! The 598 acres surrounding my property are in CRP. The owner, who has NEVER farmed the land that his parents put in CRP. collects a big check to do nothing. My neighbor who is paid NOT TO FARM 500,000 acres also collects checks paid by our tax dollars. In Germany, for instance, land owners are encouraged through low interest loans to set up wind and solar farms. We need to be doing this here but no one other than me seems to be addressing this vast resource. CRP is paid by our tax dollars yet we, the American people, are getting nothing while those who inherited vast land holdings continue to get welfare checks at our expense. The US treasury can no longer afford suck give-aways with no reward.

Comment from Pat Neuman
November 14th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

President elect Obama says he wants to make clean energy a priority for his administration. But the U.S. needs to eliminate wasteful use of energy now. One way for some to eliminate wasteful use of energy now is to take fewer trips away from home. Investing in neighborhood improvements (libraries, parks, etc.) encourages people to travel less.

Comment from Ed Piechowiak
November 14th, 2008 at 6:42 pm

As recently as 18,000 years ago the glaciers reached down to the mid-Atlantic states. From this peak of the ice age the glaciers have been retreating. Who can be blamed for auto exhaust and power plant smokestack outputs from that period 18,000 years ago? Doesn’t common sense tell us that natural causes are a primary cause of warming. In the smaller cycles of warming and cooling it should be pointed out that the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere occurred a couple hundred years after the warning trend started. Our own sun goes through cycles that cause far more variation in earth’s temperatures than man is responsible for.

Comment from GrayK
November 15th, 2008 at 1:22 am

1. I spent 2 years as a solar engineer.
2. The first thing you learn is that the energy you don’t use is the best buy you’ll ever get:
a. It costs about 10% extra to super-insulate a home than the cost of construction. Payback is about 15 years. Night insulation on your windows pays back in only a few years.
b. Buy as energy efficient a car as meets your needs; my PRIUS averages 45 mpg, has great acceleration and is almost as agile as my last Porsche.
c. Nuclear energy is so much safer than the press lets you know. More people die in mining coal for one year than have died in US civilian nuclear industry in all the years we’ve been using it. We only get 5% of the energy available in uranium because, unlike the French, we don’t reprocess it after its first use.
d. Wasted natural gas from any source – rotting vegetation, garbage dumps, animal (cattle, sheep, etc.) digestive systems are 23 times worse as a green house gas than carbon dioxide.
e. Ten times the energy you need to run your house falls on it from the sun every day. Low-tech home solar would be so much cheaper if we would standardize more and plumbers weren’t so expensive. If you have a pool, there are several do-it-yourself providers available.
3. I see a lot of thoughtless comments above about taxing energy producers. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT ANY INCREASE COST YOU PUT ON PROVIDERS WILL BE PASSED ON TO YOU. Think about: If you tax Chinese imports, you will see those taxes passed on to you the next day at Wal-Mart.
4. a. Coal, 23% of our energy, is the cheapest fuel out there and the most polluting. Cleaning it up greatly increases the cost. Sequestering the CO2 has not been solved. Ideally we could sink it deep in the ocean in liquid form in some container but that’s too fragile. Storing in spent natural gas caves is another effort. No one seems to remember the huge volume of ashes that have to be disposed of.
b. Petroleum, 38.1%, while is less polluting, is less easy to manage.
c. Natural gas, 22.9%, is better, but still hard to manage.
d. Nuclear, 8.1%, has such small waste and can be continuously reprocessed, then encased in glass for permanent storage.
e. Alternate energy sources: Hydropower 2.7%, geothermal 0.3%, (Both largely tapped out), BIOMASS 2.9%, wind 0.1% and solar 0.1% are left. Nuclear and wind have large initial cost but long term payoff. Ethanol requires more research and building the multi-fuel type engines used in Brazil. At least 20 companies are working on cellulosic ethanol, a fuel that can be made from anything that grows using sun, water and CO2. Biodiesel and butane are promising and bio-neutral.
f. Note that all of the above except coal and natural gas, require factory preprocessing before you get the energy in storage form. Batteries are used for electrical but the Chevy Volt uses 400 lbs to store the energy in a 7 lbs gallon of gasoline. A largely unexplored, cheaper, efficient alternate for of battery storage is compressed air. Expect to see small cars using it in the next few years.
5. Lots more can be said, but this is a start.

Comment from Patty Haley
November 15th, 2008 at 2:32 am

I definately agree that they go hand in hand. For instance, if the most energy efficient light bulbs were a lot cheaper, more people would buy them. With today’s economy, people are having a hard time putting food on the table and gas in their cars. There are problems with the energy plan. What about all the people who can’t afford to buy energy efficient cars when new regs take place? The list is endless. Congress and the country as a whole needs to take a look at the entire picture. This country has gotten a lot worse as far as the environment, animal and child protection, etc. I actually saw a dead wolf alongside the road this am about 1/4 mile from a town. Wolves do not go that close to a town unless they are hungry. A bear was killed in MN not to long ago for looking for food (and that was uncalled for in my opinion. He could have been tranquilized). Animals and people are hungry. The homeless and jobless rates are up. Yet to be energy efficient, everyone wants us to spend more money for lightbulbs, recycling, etc. It cannot be done.

Comment from Dr. J. Singmaster
November 15th, 2008 at 3:50 pm

ED is so centered on the climate crisis that it can not see the other crises that may bury our descendants, namely the ever-expanding never-ending messes of organic wastes and sewage causing water pollution that may kill off seafood in the oceans and lives directly by spreading diseases and health problems from germs, toxics and drugs in them. EPA has announced a conference next month to evaluate risks of drugs in drinking water, so that ought to be warning people that present handling systems for those messes are no longer working well.
However, a way of handling those messes to destroy the hazards in them also can actually remove some carbon to reduce our footprint, which is not being done by anything now proposed for getting control of climate change. A process called pyrolysis, which has been outlined to various ED staffers, can convert some of the carbon in those messes to inert charcoal stopping the messes from needlessly reemitting GHGs that will occur naturally in present handling. All germs, drugs and almost all toxics will be destroyed in the pyrolysis chamber that will expel a gaseous distillate to be trapped with a few toxics and a number of useful organic chemicals.
This will also greatly reduce costs for maintaining new dumps as none of the hazards requiring frequent checking for escapes will be getting into the dumps.
It is time to realize that more efficient engines and biofuels do not remove one molecule of carbon dioxide from the overload of that gas already in the atmosphere causing decided effects on weather and coral already. Windmill use should be expanded big time as they are recycling some of the energy overload also on the globe from burning fossil fuels. I hope this will get some readers to call on ED to expand its concerns as those massive messes are getting ready to dominate us.
Dr. James Singmaster, Fremont, CA

Comment from Pat Neuman
November 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pm

…”we have less than ten years to reverse the current trend of ever increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions or we will be unable to avoid the worst consequences of global climate change and will leave our grandchildren and future generations a planet with conditions spiraling out of control”.

Dr. James Hansen, Columbia University & NASA Scientist

http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/

Comment from mytwocents
November 15th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

I was a little disappointed in the poll results. GREED and LUST FOR POWER lie at the heart of the economic and environmental catastrophes that we face today. I don’t feel that we can rant about the state of the economy and the environment until we first, or at least in tandem, recognize, expose, and then take measures to do something about this fact. How can we discuss methods of healing our sick world when our country’s military leads the way in the oppression and murder of innocent people in the name of profits and control of resources? I realize there’s a lot of work to do in many areas and that the thrust of the EDF is environmental, but the heart of what ails us seems to be sadly missing in the responses to this poll and the bulk of the comments here.

Comment from Doris
November 16th, 2008 at 5:41 am

If Congress is going to bail out the auto industry, they should make it a condition that their cars can get at least 50 mpg in the next ten years. The Prius gets over 40 mpg in 2008, so it should be possible to develop cars that get 50 to 100 mpg in ten years.

Comment from Dr. J. Singmaster
November 16th, 2008 at 9:15 pm

To add to my comment above, I see that ED has voiced concern for effects of climate crisis on public health. Surely ED ought to be making noises about ever-expanding, never-ending messes of organic wastes and sewage with all the germs, toxics and drugs them apparently getting into drinking water as I mentioned. Anyone reading this should get ED activated to make a major issue of getting the pyrolysis process used on those wastes. Dr. James. Singmaster

Comment from semwija cyprian(tanzania)
November 17th, 2008 at 9:43 am

Obama have done great,this should go hand in hand

Comment from Amy Fallis
November 17th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

I believe that by creating new jobs that it will help with expanding health care and regulating finanical services.

Comment from Annie
November 17th, 2008 at 8:57 pm

The US could save a ton of money by closing down the 750 or so overseas military bases (and Guantanamo, of course). How about saving money spent on NASA programmes, missile shields, unmanned drones and “new generations” of nuclear weapons?

The fact is that an enormous amount of money is spent in the USA on International Offence, and nowhere near enough on REAL defence of which ecological (climate change, biodiversity loss, etc.), food security, energy self-sufficiency and health should be at the very top of the agenda.

Too much money has been spent on making the already wealthy wealthier, and on the domination of other countries for the purpose of appropriating their natural resources. In the process, the US has been impoverished to such a degree that the environment and the economy, and social quality of life have been seriously compromised and are now threatening the homeland’s stability.

The message I would send to Mr. Obama is that he bring the US back home and reinvent American stability at home by developing sustainable small local green economies everywhere across the country. This will help lead other countries towards reinventing their own home-grown stability and making their contribution towards taking the planet out of danger.

It has been predicted for some time that the economic crash would occur before the eco-crash. Money might be able to bail out an economic crash, but we have nothing in the bank for bailing out an ecological crash. Without a healthy, self-sustaining, self-renewing biosphere, there is no economy.

What’s the point in bailing out banks, GM or anyone else, anyway?

The only conclusion we can draw from the industrialized countries’ economic growth model is that it is a stunning failure.

Take a healthy, properly functioning ecosystem. It has a balance over time of interdependent, interrelated species contributing to the natural functions within the ecosystem and with the larger natural cycles and processes beyond. Wastes are created and recycled within the ecosystem. In contrast, our wastes are piling up in the air, soil and water, and inside living things everywhere on Earth. We are changing the climate, creating huge dead zones in the oceans, heading towards driving half the species on Earth to extinction by the end of this century, and making humans sicker and sicker. Not by any stretch of the imagination (but perhaps through stupidity) can we call this anything but a COMPLETE FAILURE.

The lot of us need to focus on bailing out of this obviously failed system and start to recreate ourselves in a way that restores the damage we have caused to this once beautiful planet and sets us on a course for ecological sustainability. If we don’t get moving quickly, there will be no viable environment, no economy, and no us; just the Earth orbiting around the Sun with its biosphere in tatters, taking around five million years to recreate its diversity of life (for the sixth time in its history) and recover from our abuse and neglect.

I’d like to see a seat created for the Earth in the White House with a requirement that a simple question be addressed to the seat’s occupant before any decision is made: “How will this decision affect you and the life forms that depend upon you for survival both now and in the future? The problem would lie in exactly who would be charged with answering the question. Of course, it would have to come from quarters with no vested interests other than those involving the health of the Earth.

But first we have to wake up and recognize that we need a complete rethink of our failed global growth model. We are currently attempting to rearrange the deck chairs on our business-as-usual model even as we sink, but this will not work any more than placing a microscopic Band Aid on a gigantic gaping bleeding wound.

Comment from Anne M. Libis
November 18th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

I agree 100% ! Especially having poluters pay for stimulous and not going into more debt.Does Obama know of this idea?

Comment from gmcycle
November 18th, 2008 at 8:22 pm

What a bunch of arrogant snobs you are. Man made global warming is a hoax. Think for a moment about the turmoil on this earth when the Grand Canyon was formed and we are supposed to get all out of shape because a fictitious senario of “Man made Global Warming”.The Glaiciers use to cover half of the USA. They melted. Guess what? Man wasn’t here at the time.

Comment from ave4all
November 18th, 2008 at 11:09 pm

Ignore the GW denialists and their flawed logic, who disbelieve their own eyes showing melting glaciers and distressed wildlife. For reliable information on Climate Change, consult the website realclimate.org where the fallacies in their arguments are exposed.

Given the urgency in resolving the problem, I urge all of you, especially the staff at EDF to become familiar with the Atmospheric Vortex Engine, which I endorse as a low-cost, carbon-free means of producing electricity in a decentralized fashion (see http://vortexengine.ca)

This technology, using a man-made vortex, provides a means to access the troposphere as a cold heat-sink, increasing the electrical-conversion efficiency of thermal heat engines, regardless of the source of heat.

Comment from Dr. J. Singmaster
November 19th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Again I stress the need to get control of the messes of organic wastes and sewage before they bury our descendants even before the effects of global warming may do it. See my comment above Nov. 15, 3:50 PM, Dr. James Singmaster

Comment from ave4all
November 19th, 2008 at 5:21 pm

I concur with the comments of Dr. Singmaster concerning the need for immediate attention to mitigate toxic waste and to treat our sewage. We are quickly fouling our own nest.

I would add, however, that the atmospheric vortex engine is the cheapest known method of producing electricity, and it’s carbon-free, to boot!!!

By producing electricity “by other means” we don’t have to produce CO2 (and therefore electricity) from complex organic pyrolysis processes, allowing a much greater fraction of the carbon atoms to be converted to char, which can be sequestered directly on the surface of the ground, rather than in “underground” reservoirs as CO2, the existence of which has yet to be substantiated, much less shown to be in any way an economic method of accomplishing this.

Comment from Robert R. Holt
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm

I suggest that EDF join the Climate Crisis Coalition and the Carbon Tax Center in their Carbon Pricing Initiative. A revenue-neutral carbon tax can be made politically palatable by highlighting the fact that the proceeds are fed right back to everyone: the money collected is divided by the number of citizens and each gets an equal share. That won’t please the influential top 2% but should be a big help to those who would have trouble bearing the increased costs that would be passed along by those who pay the tax, way up-stream. It can and probably should be accompanied by a progressively raised cap on total carbon emissions, also.

Comment from Robert R. Holt
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:42 pm

The above is my comment. It was not a reply to any previous comment.

Comment from muttkat
December 5th, 2008 at 1:50 am

To Robert Holt Yea all we need is another tax to suck more money out of our pockets. If we were given a carbon tax the money would go to some other program like the Iraqi war,welfare,law enforcement. Here is something for everybody to help mother earth: There was a man in Florida who converted gasoline engines to run on water.He said an ounce of water would run a vehicle like a 100 miles.He was going to use the proceeds for missioneries.When I heard about this on the radio I thought this is great but I’m sure he’ll get knocked off and lo and behold he was murdered.The same people who want to implement this carbon tax are probably the ones who did him in.But you’re not going to hear We can run cars on water from our govt cause alot of people wouldn’t make their billions. Just like the lottery that started to help out schools,the sin tax in texas to charge customers 5.00 to go into strip clubs was suspose to women who were raped but I think the womens rape programs got like 15% and the rest went to DEA,DPS. Besides the global warming thing is a scam to take more money out of your pockets.

Comment from muttkat
December 5th, 2008 at 1:54 am

ppssstttt! How about more subways being built in the good ole USA? That would help our planet.