MIDDLE CLASS UNDER ATTACK, GORE HAS AN ANSWER...

SOLVE THE ENERGY CRISIS OR DIE, ALBERT GORES THEME
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Good Morning Flint! 07/18/08 by Terry Bankert
http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
Chat at:
http://flinttalk.com/viewtopic.php?p=32328
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With crisis , (energy, food, economic stability),and change swirling around us, how do we sort out the serious alternatives from the poorly thought out or presented crap we are fed daily by politicians and the media?

"The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk," he ..(Albert Gore)...said in a midday speech to a friendly crowd of mostly young supporters in Washington. "And even more — if more should be required — the future of human civilization is at stake."[2]

In the end its about people. Who leads, survives, and what they say. To be a responsible citizen you have to believe in something or some person and work to cause change. The option is to be couch potato cattle just waiting for the slaughter while complaining. I believe in Albert Gore and the need in this country for alternative fuels. Issues worth fighting for. How about you? The following are from 6 articles on the Gore environmental breaking news.- Terry Bankert
Complete morphed article with citations at
http://goodmorningflint.blogspot.com/
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GORE, A REAL LEADER WITH ISSUES THAT AFFECT YOUR LIVES

Gore called for the kind of concerted national effort that enabled Americans to walk on the moon 39 years ago, just eight years after President John F. Kennedy set that goal.[3]

Like a modern Jeremiah, Mr. Gore called down thunder to justify the spending of trillions of dollars to remake the American power system, a plan fraught with technological and political challenges that goes far beyond the changes recently debated in Congress and by world leaders.[5]

Our communities must engage in the environmental debate. Politicans want to survive in 2 to 4 years cycles. Argue their demise if energy options are not developed by this country, they will listen.

It sounds like a typical, idealistic Al Gore idea. But two things about this proposal merit attention. It points a country that uses too much energy down the right path. And Gore is showing that being environmentally responsible is economically sensible. [6]

Voters say they hate gimmicks and insist they want bold solutions. Well, Gore is testing that proposition. He says he wants to "expand the political space" for those actually running for office. Will they take the opening? [6]


10 YEAR PLAN : CUT OUR RELIANCE ON OIL, REPLACE IT WITH ELECTRICITY

Former Vice President Al Gore, seeking to shake up an energy debate that is focused mostly on drilling, challenged the United States to shift its entire electricity sector to carbon-free wind, solar and geothermal power within 10 years, and use that power to fuel a new fleet of electric vehicles.[1]

Former Vice President Al Gore urged....that drastic steps are needed to avoid a global economic and ecological cataclysm.[2]

LEADERS CHALLENGE , THEY MUST. IF THEY DO NOT TAKE THEM OUT, ELECTORALY

The goal is the most ambitious energy plan by a major U.S. political figure - and one many energy experts say is unrealistic. Gore insists the only real obstacle is the reluctance of America's leaders to seek bold solutions to high energy prices and global warming. He likened his challenge to President John F. Kennedy's 1961 call to put a man on the moon.[1]

AN ELECTRIC NATION IS ACHIEVABLE, AFFORDABLE AND TRANSFORMATIVE

"This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative," Gore told more than 1,000 cheering supporters at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington. "It represents a challenge to all Americans in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and to every citizen."[1]

Gore acknowledged that his plan would, at least initially, drive energy prices higher. But he proposed a payroll tax cut to offset higher prices for fuel and electricity.[2]

OUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MUST ENTER THE ELECTRIC DEBATE

Gore is seeking to pressure the presidential candidates and Congress, which is in the middle of a fierce debate on energy policy. He said he has spoken to both Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama about his ideas. Obama issued a statement Thursday saying he strongly agrees with Gore's goal.[1]

Gore, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his environmental advocacy, said in an interview that he hoped to raise the alarm so that the next president, whether Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain, can rally Congress and the nation to action. He disavowed any interest in returning to elective office.[2]

New jobs, safer world [1]

"It's a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer," Obama said. [1]

MCCAIN , OBAMA BELIEVE GORE

Gore's ecumenical approach is intentional; he said to solve such a huge, complex issue as climate change, political leaders must move beyond partisan divisions.[3]

McCain said that while he and Gore might disagree on some aspects of climate change, he supports the goals Gore outlined for developing wind and solar. "If the vice president says it's doable, I believe it's doable," McCain said.[1]

WE MUST MOVE BEYOND PARTISAN DIVISIONS

Gore's ecumenical approach is intentional; he said to solve such a huge, complex issue as climate change, political leaders must move beyond partisan divisions.[3]

Obama issued a statement saying he strongly agrees with Gore that "we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power, and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as president."[3]

"I see my role as enlarging the political space in which Senator Obama or Senator McCain can confront this issue as president next year," Mr. Gore said.[5]

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY MUST MAKE ELECTRIC ENERGY A PRIORITY

Separately, Democratic leaders are under pressure from environmentalists to curb the U.S. consumption of fossil fuels, amid new warnings about climate change's effects. A government report published on Thursday said climate change "is very likely to accentuate the disparities already evident in the American health-care system," with expected health effects -- such as heat-related illnesses and the spread of certain diseases -- likely to fall disproportionately on the poor, elderly, disabled and uninsured[4]

Democrats should be concerned about where they are on the gas-price issue right now, and the party's own strategists are worried that its response so far is inadequate. [6]

U.S. MUST RESTRUCTURE ITS ELECTRICAL SECTOR

Gore's challenge would require a massive restructuring of America's electricity sector. The country currently relies on coal for about half of its electric power - 49 percent - followed by natural gas (22 percent) nuclear (19 percent) and hydropower (6 percent), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Renewable power accounts for 2.5 percent, although it's growing rapidly in many states, especially California.[1]

Gore's proposal would represent a significant shift in where the United States gets its power. In 2005, the United States produced nearly 3.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, with coal providing slightly more than half of that energy, according to government statistics. Nuclear power accounted for 21 percent, natural gas 15 percent and renewable sources, including wind and solar, about 9 percent.[3]

INDUSTRY SPOKESPERSON SAYS IT CANNOT BE DONE IN 10 YEARS

Jim Owen, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities that produce 70 percent of the nation's power, said his group supports Gore's call for more electric vehicles and a major increase in wind, solar and geothermal. But Owen said there's no way renewables could meet all the country's energy needs in 10 years.[1]

Robbie Diamond, president of Securing America's Future Energy, a bipartisan think tank, said that weaning the nation away from fossil fuels - coal, oil, and natural gas - can't be done in a decade. "The country is not going to be able to go cold turkey," Diamond said. "We have hundreds of years of infrastructure with trillions of dollars of investment that is not simply going to be made obsolete."[3]

ELECTRIC INDUSTRY ARGUES FOR MORE NUCLEAR

"We cannot do the job with renewables and energy efficiency alone," he said. "We have to have a balanced energy portfolio that includes all those things in even higher percentages, but also has to include nuclear. And we frankly think that nuclear should be increased."[1]

THE U.S. FACES THREE CRISES ,TODAY.

Gore, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate, presented his challenge as a solution to three overlapping crises: an economic crisis fueled by rising energy prices; a global climate crisis; and a national security crisis fed by instability in the Middle East, the largest source of the world's oil supply.[1]

WE ARE BORROWING MONEY FROM CHINA TO BUY OIL

"We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet," he said. "Every bit of that's got to change."[1]

THE COST OF SOLAR CELLS IS DROPPING

Gore said as the prices of oil and coal have increased, wind and solar have become more economically competitive. He noted that the price of the specialized silicon used to make solar cells fell from $300 per kilogram to as low as $50 per kilogram recently. [1]

OUR ELECTRIC GRID MUST BE IMPROVED

But Gore acknowledged that there are barriers to reaching his goal. The nation's electric grid is still not sufficiently developed to move solar power from sunny states out West or wind power from windy states to power-hungry markets, he said.[1]

AUTOMAKERS SHOULD SHIFT TO ELECTRIC HYBRIDS

A centerpiece of Gore's plan would be to help beleaguered U.S. automakers produce a new national fleet of plug-in electric vehicles. Foreign competitors, especially Toyota, have taken a lead in selling fuel-efficient hybrids. Gore said U.S. automakers could regain their edge with new electric cars that can be plugged in at night - saving consumers money while reducing air pollution and U.S. dependence on foreign oil. [1]

PICKENS SAYS ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS ARE THE ANSWER

Gore isn't the only one touting a new energy plan focused on renewables. T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman who has recently invested heavily in wind, is pushing a plan to use wind power for about 20 percent of the nation's electricity needs, and then use the natural gas that would have gone to power plants for new fuels for cars and trucks.[1]

GORE PROPOSES ECONOMIC INCENTIVES

Gore has previously supported cap-and-trade schemes, which could raise revenue to subsidize renewable projects. But he said Thursday he also likes the idea of cutting the payroll tax and creating a new tax on carbon emissions, which would give a leg up to low-carbon sources.[1]

He said the single most important policy change would be placing a carbon tax on burning oil and coal, with an accompanying reduction in payroll taxes.[3]

Cheers against drilling[1]

Gore drew his loudest cheers from a crowd packed with environmentalists when he denounced efforts, backed by President Bush, McCain and congressional Republicans, to boost oil drilling. Gore said, "It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil 10 years from now."[1]

DRILLING IS NOT THE ANSWER

Environmentalists have been disappointed at the recent energy debate, where even some Democrats have backed more drilling as an answer to $4-per-gallon gasoline. Gore's speech could convince Democrats to take a different approach, they said.[1]

Former Vice President Al Gore urged Congress not to overturn a federal ban on offshore drilling and complained that lawmakers are "being stampeded by lobbyists for special interests" eager to lift the moratorium.[4]

WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO, WHO WILL LEAD US

"It's a very aggressive, bold, comprehensive proposal and it's great to challenge the politicians to go where they need to go," said League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski.[1]

Last winter, the House failed to enact legislation to require utilities to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Last month, supporters could not even get a Senate vote on a climate change plan that would cut greenhouse-gas emissions by nearly 70 percent by 2050.[2]

Gore's core assertion is that the technology for alternative fuels -- wind, solar and geothermal -- is far more advanced than we realize. Pushing that progress further would cut the costs of energy, with Gore insisting that renewables could eventually "give us the equivalent of $1 per gallon gasoline." [6]

A majority of voters," they continue, "believe that coupling an investment in alternative fuels with increased domestic production of oil is preferable to alternative fuel investment combined with energy conservation alone." [6]

–
[1]
SFGate
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/18/MN2711QRVL.DTL


[2]
Star Telegrahm
http://www.star-telegram.com/869/story/766574.html
[3]
Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/07/18/gore_sets_energy_goal_for_2018/

[4]
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121633985301764011.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[5]
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/washington/18gore.html?hp
[6]
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071701840.html

[TRB]
Unattributed comments and CAP headlines are those of Terry Bankert
http://attorneybankert.com/

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