Bipartisan Support for the Planet

Al Gore is mixing things up. This is cool! He is launching a $300 million ad campaign putting famous rivals together in support of lowering green-house gases. He used his own proceeds from his movie, his Nobel prize award, and other donations to fund the project. The first spots will bring together a prominent Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, and a prominent Republican, Newt Gingrich; a clergyman on the left, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and a clergyman on the right, the Rev. Pat Robertson; and country singers with sharply differing ideologies, the Dixie Chicks and Toby Keith.

Nice touch Mr. Gore and bravo to the participants. We need more of this. People need to know this isn't a partisan issue. Global warming doesn't kill along any party lines or with religious bias.

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Climate Change Video

Take back Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize and give it to this guy.

http://view.break.com/381084 - Watch more free videos

Japan Certifies Toyota Plug-in Hybrid for Public-road Tests

Toyota seems to be rethinking their decision to remove the plug-in option on its Prius line of cars. Check out the PriusFuture.com site for more information and a virtual tour.

In World War II our nation's automakers made a massive shift from producing family cars to producing tanks and armoured vehicles in only 1 year. Why can't they move away from oil with the same level of zeal? The best thing we can do to fix the problem is make radical changes in our nations leadership that has formed an unhealthy co-dependent relationship with the automakers. Bush has given oil and auto industry leaders an incredible level of access to our Government. This relationship may turn out to be a tragic mistake that destroys their future viability. Bush's chief of staff for 6 years, Andrew Card, was previously the Vice President of Government Relations for General Motors while they were running a campaign to shoot down the California Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. I would prefer to see an America company become the leader in this new technology, but they seem to be stalling and even subverting the process.

Plug-in Hybrids

If you haven't read this book or seen the movie "Who killed the electric car?" then please make the time to do it. Electric cars could be mass produced right now for reasonable prices and our dependency on foreign oil could be over in less than a decade. If you don't believe me, do some research on your own. The technology is available and contrary to oil and car industry propaganda, the American public wants these cars NOW! Thank you Sherry Boschert for making this information available in a very approachable and effective book.

I hate the fact that I can't have one of these cars. I would pay dearly to get one but they are not available. Actually I would prefer a 100% electric car which COULD be produced and has been produced but will not be produced anytime soon.

There many reasons why can't we buy these cars right now?

1. The oil companies spent millions of dollars to kill the legislation that mandated the production of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV). This legislation was in place in the 90's and the Bush administration (code name for oil industry executives who now run America) championed the death of that legislation.

2. George Bush's hollow backing of alternate fuel sources like hydrogen fuel-cells and Ethanol are a slight of hand trick aimed to delay the discussion for 20 years and steer us away from the technology that would be devastating to the net worth of our president, vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, and over half the elected and appointed officials in Washington because their oil industry dividends, kickbacks, and stock-options would dry up. We desperately need to enforce the principle of SEPARATION OF OIL AND STATE by demanding that no elected government official can have any financial ties to the oil industry. Our president said "we are addicted to oil". I agree, so the production of gasoline should be viewed in the same light as the production of cocaine. Actually, we might be better off with a president that has family ties to the cocaine industry. At least then we could grow our own cocaine and we wouldn't have to spend a trillion dollars fighting for it!

3. In 1994, GM purchased a controlling interest in Energy Conversion Devices, the company that invented and patented the most efficient NiMH batteries used in 2nd generation electric vehicles which allowed mid-sized electric sedans (like the GM EV1) to go 150 - 300 miles with a 2-4 hour at-home charge and could out run most sports cars 0-60. After ZEV mandates were killed, the cars were destroyed and GM sold its interest in the battery company to ChevronTexaco. Think for a minute about this. The one technology that could IMMEDIATELY end our dependence on oil is owned by one of the largest oil companies in the world. They even sued Toyota for trying to continue their production of the vehicles using this battery technology. Hmmmm.... I wonder why I can't buy an electric car and I wonder why the only talk of electric cars are "hybrids" that still need oil and gas and leave us addicted and at the mercy of foreign policy built around our Government officials ties to the oil industry. About the same time GM killed the EV1 and sold it's interests in battery technology, it purchased a new line of innovative vehicles called HUMMER. There is no question that General Motors places a higher priority on its own profits than the lives of American soldiers and our nation's best interests.

4. Vehicle Maintenance made up 12% of dealer revenues in 2004, and that accounted for nearly 57% of their profits. They just don't make much money selling cars, but they get rich fixing old outdated internal combustion engines which need heavy and costly transmissions, regular tune-ups, oil changes, mufflers, and are extremely inefficient at converting energy. Electric cars use 70% fewer moving parts. Yet, we somehow expect these same car companies to provide an alternative that can save us. What are we thinking? Would we have airbags and seat-belts without strictly enforced laws? Of course not. It is time to reintroduce the CAFE fuel efficiency standards like we had in the 70's AND a NATIONAL ZEV mandate similar to the one introduced in California in the 90's. Again, this is why the only alternatives on the table are combination electric/gas hybrids. They need us to always be slaved to internal combustion engines which also mean the cost of these vehicles will be HIGHER since they need two separate power sources and a vast array of computerized parts to combine them. It also pushes up the price and raises the barrier of entry for its competitors.

This isn't the first time that the automotive and oil industry have teamed up to take advantage of their power and influence at the expense of our nations best interests.

Between 1922 and 1955, GM colluded with Standard Oil and Firestone tire company to systematically buy up the nation's clean electric (and popular) streetcar systems, the dominate mode of public urban transportation. By 1946, using a front company called National City Lines, they owned streetcar lines in 80 cities and steadily closed them down, replacing them with exhaust-belching, unpopular buses. At the same time, they lobbied hard for creation of interstate highways and the paving of America's cities with freeways in order to promote car use. A federal antitrust investigation led to conviction of GM executives, but by then US public electric transportation was obliterated, and the company paid only $5,000 in fines. - Sherry Boschert

Electric cars are our future and I'll do my part by making this pledge. I will not buy another car that runs only on gasoline. I also won't buy one of the current hybrids that get better mileage but still depends on gas as their only source of energy. It looks like I'll have to wait another 2 to 4 years and I'll have to settle for a plug-in hybrid (sad compromise but my current vehicles are getting old). I demand the right to plug-in and I also pledge to buy the first 100% electric car that is available for under $30,0000 and I pledge to vote for any political candidate that supports this cause. I've not yet heard one 2008 presidential candidate mention electric cars. Supply and demand won't solve this problem because the forces in control of supply are artificially manipulated. Our government (that is you and me!) must step in.

Count the statues in this photo

hmmmm... one, TWO.

All kidding aside, I'm glad this important movie won an Oscar. I really wish Al had hired a professional entertainer to narrate the movie. If you haven't seen this movie yet, then please do. I'm not an Al Gore fan, but I was able to look past his statue-like personality and hear his message.

Is God Green?

Bill Moyers has created a great TV series about some key American issues on politcs with a religious point of view.

Bill Moyers on America

Last week's program was an examination of the corruption that has taken over our government and highlights the detailed flow of money that leads from american indian casinos through republican lobbyists straight into the hands of the power broker of the religious right Ralph Reed.

This week's program was an interesting story about some Evangelical Christians that finally figured out God might care about the environment. At the heart of this story was the Vineyard church of Boise, Idaho. It was nice to see a glimpse of hope for Christianity and a fresh perspective on the Vineyard that has be devolving into a conservative church in sheeps clothing.

Why do Evangelical Christians somehow think that liberal equals evil? Don't they read the teachings of Jesus? Don't they care about things other than their comfortable lifestyle. As Jim Wallis said, "how did Jesus become pro-rich, pro-war, and only pro-American"?

I hope this is a sign that Christians will soon realize that they have been scammed by the Republican party. Republicans have convinced millions to vote for them by "claiming" that they supported Christian ethics but it was a complete lie. The whole time they were taking our votes and our money and stealing the very heart of Christianity. I hope the realization that God really is green will help free Christianity from their blindness in other areas as well. The next time the oil industry props up a political puppet and holds up a pro-life and pro-bigotry sign, I hope Christians will be better informed and vote for the values of Jesus instead of voting for their checkbook and their SUV.

FYI... Bill Moyers also has a series on "faith and reason" (check out the website above). It has a series of online interviews with various authors from a wide variety of faiths. I watched all the interviews last week and will be reading a couple of interesting books that they mentioned.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Veronica and I went to see the move “Who Killed The Electric Car” tonight at the Imperial Theater. I have been waiting for this movie for some time and it was worth the wait. The movie is an eye opener for anyone that is getting sick of the marriage of the oil industry, the automotive industry, and the Republican Party that is running our nation into a disastrous future. Please see this movie, get really mad, and then find some way to get an electric car and run our nations crooked power mongers out of business!

It is so sad that we can’t buy electric cars here. I would pay dearly to have one and be rid of dependence on oil and dirty air. It would feel so good to make a statement that we should no longer be controlled by the people in Detroit that have brainwashed the whole country into thinking that somehow our lives will be better if we have the “perfect” fancy car. I saw a lady driving a BMW SUV today that had a Jesus fish on the back of it right above her “I heart BMW” bumper sticker. Somehow it never crosses peoples minds that the whole idea of following Jesus has everything to do with rejecting the materialistic, power hungry, image conscious priorities of the world.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/