I Guess I Didn't

This is the boy's response to my email last night. Not perfect but not bad for a guy that was president of his fraternity and hung a picture of Ronald Reagen in his house throughout college. . . . God that still makes me angry. As you can see he has always been much more conservative than me and so he shows much more restraint in the type of changes I think we are all capable of. I guess that's why I'm the one who works full time on this stuff and not him.

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It helped, I'll check out that website tonight when I get back from the forest. I knew basically what your opinion is, but thanks for the details.

Here's what I think. We have had shitty leadership in Washington for over thirty years and we got hooked on cheap oil in the in term. We consume roughly 25% of the world's oil while only having 4% of the population. Everything in our economy is based on oil (fertilizers, cars, plastics . . .) It is impossible to go through the day without using or touching something that was made with the use of oil.

Our generation knows better and is starting to demand the change that our elected officials can't ignore. However it is impossible to quit oil cold turkey. It is too interwoven into the fabric of our society. We need to make alternative products cheaper. I buy all natural cleaning product for the most part. But, for most Americans they are cost prohibitive. If you can afford the green alternative in cleaning products they are usually packaged in PET bottles which almost defeats the purpose (I know they are really close to developing a bio-plastic, but new technology is too expensive without government support).

I am all about the hydrogen fuel cell car now. I think that is the way of the future. It would be too expensive to bring it to market now. That's the reason I like the natural gas idea. Most current cars can be converted to natural gas for a nominal fee, and most automobile companies have an affordable vehicle powered by natural gas. The most important consideration is if Americans can afford the technology it can force the infrastructure to change. Natural gas burns 2/3 cleaner than oil so its a step in the right direction, and the delivery system is very similar to what will be required for hydrogen making an easier transition in the future. The bonus is that it is American which would create jobs here and help the economy to put money into the things we need to. Our biggest goal should be to consume as much oil as relative to our population of the world. 21 million barrels a day down to 3.5 million a day.

My problems with Mr. Pickens Plan is that he does not simultaneously attack coal. If we built ten solar power plants in the desert that ten square miles each that can drastically reduce the use of coal. Nuclear (I'm going to take a leap and say you are not a fan) is a a clean burning stronger alternative albeit while creating waste. I'd gladly trade our 50% dependence on coal to 70% on nuclear. I'm not a fan of the waste, but nuclear cold fusion will be developed in our lifetime which produces no waste. And, I am assuming that it would be possible to convert a traditional nuke plant into cold fussion.

Change is hard. Corporations and government hate change as much as people do. The "oil" companies and car companies need to lead because without them change will be extremely hard. The oil companies need to have a broader look and be more focused on becoming energy providers rather than oil providers. There is stark contrast is the commercials of BP and Exxon Mobil. BP is trying to show that they are diversifinyg to win over the public where Exxon Mobil is saying there is plenty of oil and with technology we will be able to get to it.

The most exciting thing about all of this that it seems that the majority of Americans are taking note of this issue and care enough to change the current situation. I agree with you on the chemicals and all of the processed food we eat, but I think most people are more concerned about the energy issue and do not know enough about the other.

Know after my rant - do you know where the wedding is, by that I mean what hotel?

off like a prom dress!

C

Did I Say Too Much?

A good friend of mine from high school just sent me an email that was one sentence. "What do you think of T. Boone Pickens energy plan?" I've known him since he was 14, we rode the bus together but I don't remember him. He knows I can't keep my mouth shut about stuff like this.

So I replied with this:

I think that decreasing our overall dependence on oil is extremely important. Alternative technology is here and it can provide jobs and help our economy and mitigate the impacts of climate change. There are alternatives to all products that we have that use petroleum but industry has more money to sell their stuff and to pay off our politicians. I think we are on the verge of collaps as a species and a planet. Humans are increasingly unable to reproduce because of chemical poisoning and the next generation is going to be even worse off. Girls are born with all of their eggs and then covered in chemicals by the products they buy, the food they ingest, and the contaminated places they play - these acute exposures are deforming their eggs for life, which means that eventually we will not be able to reproduce as a species. We need policies that are found on the precautionary principle so that we stop destroying our bodies and our planet, instead of waiting to see how harmful things are. I think we need to invest our economy in these safer alternatives now. I'm not a huge fan of natural gas, we don't have time to be taking small steps. We need large scale change today. And I don't mean we need to increase our fucking recycling. Thinking of conservation in the terms of recycling is doing more harm than good. We need to reduce our overall consumption. Stop buying shit and start looking at the entire life cycle of things we purchase. What happens at the plant to both the people who make the product and the land surrounding the facility? Is there PVC in it? Is there chemical off-gassing when it is your home? Are you increasingly getting new allergies? Is it a one time use product? Do you throw it away? Where does the trash go to? How does it breakdown in the earth? Are the additives chemicals (because some chemicals that make up products are brushed off by simply touching it and are in reality simply additive compounds) coming off on your hands, your parents hands, your pets, your children, in the landfills? Are there chemicals in the products that can seep into the water system? After we throw our products away are we then drinking the chemicals that were used to produce it?

I think energy plans need to be looked at as the brother to chemical regulation. Coal fired energy facilities are not only increasing our green house gases and melting our ice caps but they are poisoning our children and destroying communities. When the next Katrina hits how many medical incinerators will be busted up and poison every community around it? What will happen to superfund sites and schools that are built on top of hazardous waste dumps? We must acknowledge that we exist in a eco-system and that everything we do effects everything else that exists. Increased jelly fish population in the oceans, decreased bee populations are all related to the things we purchase, the one time use paper towels, the easy to use but completely unnecessary plastic water bottles. We are quickly passing the point where you carry around a safe fish list in your pocket and take the recycling to the curb each week.

ummm . . i can go into physical impacts of particular chemicals if you want but i need to finish some other stuff before i leave for the day.

did that help?


and have you seen this website?
http://courthouseconfessions.blogspot.com/
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Earlier in the day I apologized to an ex-boyfriend about my childish behavior when I was 26 . . . out of nowhere. What's going on with me? Maybe it's the new yoga routine I started, I think it's making me say too much.

I plan to remain silent for the rest of the day,
Renee Claire

Please Please Mr. President

So . . . the health of our children is once again in the hands of our George to the W to the Bush. awesome. Yesterday, congress passed a law to eliminate phthalates from children's toys and now it is sitting on the president's desk waiting to be signed. My little liberal optimistic heart is beating rapidly because I want to believe he will do the right thing. I want to believe that this time corporate polluters don't have more power than you or me. Please please Mr. President . . just sign the damn thing.

Here is a Washington Post article about it.

holla!
Renee