10,000 Powershift Youth Invade WA D.C. No media cov. (generations, lobbyist, lobby)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks for posting this in support of Van Jones. The more people can see what he actually said - which is to use open markets to create green jobs in poor communities - the more people can see how Beck lied and distorted Jones' American vision of innovation and entrepreneurialism.
I agree 100%. Very nice to see the man's actual words rather some talking points taken out of context.
Not for the foreseeable future unless you intend on paying double, do you have any idea what that would do to this economy especially with China and India putting up coal plants as fast as they can? China with the second or third largest reserves is using so much they can't keep up and are importing it from the US.
And that shortsighted behavior should be encouraged? We are well aware that if China and India develop in the way we have - 5% of the population consuming 25% of the resources - we will not be able to sustain without eliminating all accessible fossil fuels and forcing us to rely on something else anyway.
I'm not even talking about the energy used by developing countries. I mean the industrialized world where we have the capacity and responsibility to bring new technologies to market.
I grew up during this time and trying to compare the environmentalism of the 70's and 80's and even early 90's to the present is about far fetched as you can get. People are bombarded by this in the media and elsewhere on a daily basis.
I used GE as an example because they are most likely the largest receiver of tax breaks for alternative energy in the US, that's just an educated guess.
More education without guessing... How much does GE renewables division sell abroad vs domestic? Retrieve cspan archives and you'll see them called to a series of gov't meetings stuck as monkey in the middle American politics. Memory serves me right it had to do with aging infrastructure, offsetting high development costs for rural areas, and integrating renewables- Gubanatorial type commission, but senators were priming the questions. The full portfolio of energy diversity should have been actively promoted 40 yrs ago. Instead, GOP went negative and suppressed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
There might be some in the ethanol sector getting more.
That's an understatement. Go to archives re: Bush 1st, agri biz pushed hard, and oil industry down stream padded the price as if it were a mail order shipping and handling charge. Anyone complains they just point a finger at the government as scapegoat. The oil companies have been getting massive direct and indirect subsidies all along. We already went over this in another thread that you chose not to read. All subsidies were posted in that green forum thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
The point is these investments are not market driven, they are driven by subsidies and mandates.
Really? So Iraq and Afghanistan wars are all about market driven oil commerce???? Doesn't that fall under another subsidy and mandate column, only surreptitiously? When we do the real math, it's not adding up as the champion you believe. Nuclear is also heavily subsidized. I wasn't aware of this recently but no independent insurance company is insuring them. They won't touch it with a 100 ft pole. Socialize the losses are on our government.
While I can agree with you that in a perfect world there should be no need for subsidy, truth is that the genius of Tesla was able to be genius because he wasn't money obsessed, but because the money obsessed would not be able to swiftly harvest/ monopolize his genius, the investments rarely were made. There would be no cell phone or computer without government r&d delivering to a certain point. The creative genius does get trampled by avarice. Your own defense of coal at the expense/ suppression of renewables playing zero sum games/ negative competition arguments is all the evidence anyone needs to dismiss testimony. Clean it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
If these kids were to get their wish they'll be protesting the exhobitant costs BioExxon is charging for fuel in 10 years because the tech isn't ready yet.
Were you old enough to be fully aware of the opec crisis in the 70's? That was manmade. OPEC wasn't the only culprit. There were many others at multiple levels capitalizing on strife. We would never again see $1 gas from that point on while tankers full of gas sat anchored offshore. Ask merchant marines of that era.
We will never again see $2 gas, $3 gas... it's deliberate even if there are numerous hyena's circling to force that situation. $200/ bbl oil betrays any fantasy you have about free market. Without energy diversity, we only fuel our killers & maintain our own prison. The terrorist extremists are what gov't & media blame as sole perpetrator, but the others inflict financial warfare on this country in plain sight. They own our foreign policy and leadership is rendered irrelevant to steer this ship. I suggest you refrain from rolling your eyes believing you've got it all figured out. False bravado, and all you've taken for granted most of your life, will be your end. We can't afford the luxury of ignorance.
And that shortsighted behavior should be encouraged?
There's nothing to encourage, China wants to expand their economy as much as they can. They want to do this century what we did last century. The way you achieve that is through cheap energy and coal is by far the cheapest source of energy. Green energy policies will just drive more manufacturing jobs overseas and in fact just make the situation worse.
You can see them here, in the audience listening to Van Jones.
Thank you so much for that. I hope they stay connected and keep us all updated that way. The likelihood this old gal is going to stretch into facebook territory is distant right now, but I do see the OP's point about MSM editorial policy going too far. My long lament with the "news"- 24/7 bad news for a century. There's only so much ugly and train wreck you can stare at before it changes you into something you were never meant to be. I've been very worried about kids forced to grow up too early saturated in maximum cynicism. The goth and grunge phase was very disturbing to say the least.
As for the 'geezer generation' some of the kidlings get annoyed with-- I've been tutoring some elderly in my neighborhood how to use a computer. The generation who didn't grow up with a TV in every home is still around and try their best to pay attention. Technology at times can leave some folks behind similarly the way children in poor neighborhoods would be left behind from computers if not for libraries & schools stretching themselves into this new frontier. Admittedly I'm something of a technological slow poke but someone else can teach trigonometry while I teach ABC's. Doing what we can is plenty even if it seems paltry in comparison to a conglomeration. The beauty part is knowing someday a facebook granny or a grandkid will be teaching me at some point.
Not hardly. As someone old enough to remember the very first Earth Day celebration in 1970, believe me this has been on many peoples' radar for a very long time.
It's too bad that so much of the early progress was undone by ignorance and too many people beholden to the fossil fuel industries.
The kernel of truth behind GOP position is that we truly are beholden to fossil fuels (and nukes). My disagreement with them is their habit of defending a tumor to protect a status quo holding healthy solutions hostage. Dem's are in the same shoes believing a solution can be negotiated but the tumor owns our elections.
All sides know our demand for energy far exceeds our ability to generate it in house, which leaves us in a weakened state as a nation. This perpetually neglected situation only serves as fodder for $$$$$$ war games exercises competing for resources to the detriment of 3rd world development. We need to be aiming for win win solutions, because that's when capitalism shines brightest as an economic tool.
Solving our problems in house by promoting self sufficient systems (individuals, townships, counties, states getting benefit of national grid) is far more productive use of our human capital. It diminishes the ability for yet another monopoly to construct yet another hostage crisis. If individual power companies or states had the ability to shift the source of energy to respond to market nonsense, the market has it's check and balance restored.
Focusing on diversity is a creative approach that endeavors to solve our immediate problems, long term problems, and contributes to world peace as opposed to exasperating human misery. It also has military application potential making troops more independent in the field/ less reliant on systems of cumbersome material support that only become another target to defend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TigerLily24
And, what is with the derogatory feelings toward our young people? Seriously?
They made the effort to stand up for something that they believe in. The nerve of them choosing to make their voices known rather than spending the weekend drinking and playing video games.
Because they're unwilling to worship the golden calf of corporatocracy above their country. GOOD for THEM (and us)!
Go for it, nothing preventing you from attempting this by paying for it out of your own pocket. The issue is you want everyone to pay for it. The only "powershift" you'll get from the destruction of the fossil fuel industry is an acceleration of the power shifting from the US to to China.
There are upwards of 10,000 youth, most college students who have descended on Washington D.C. this weekend. The movement? Powershift. They've rallied, they've organized, and they've met with President Obama.
And guess what? The only media coverage I've found in Huffington Post Green.
Who controls the media? Why don't they want Americans to know that a massive youth movement is building and their intent is to shift away from the old power structures; big oil; big coal; and move toward research and development that might leave a livable planet for these youth.
These youth have managed to have entire universities get off of coal fired power, and not just a few but many. These youth have managed to shutter old, dirty burning coal plants.
I found this interesting that there's no FOX, no CNN, no MSNBC. Take notice people; the movement is gaining momentum, and it is not going away. This is these kids' future that is at stake.
This is precisely why sites like Twitter and Facebook meet a demand. They aren't controlled by by oligarchs.
There was no media coverage because nobody takes them seriously. Like it or not, we are a society based upon fossil fuels. Coal, oil, and natural gas produce the vast majority of the energy in this nation, and wishful thinking is not going to make that just go away. There are no viable alternative energy resources, and those who think there are live in fantasy land.
So why should the media bother covering the fantasies of the ignorant and deluded?
Not in Alaska. In addition to the six coal-fired power plants in Alaska, people still use coal in order to heat their homes. Most switched from coal to oil to heat their homes a couple decades ago, but since the price of home heating oil has skyrocketed in this last decade, many are moving back to using either coal or wood to heat their homes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Doesn't that fall under another subsidy and mandate column, only surreptitiously? When we do the real math, it's not adding up as the champion you believe. Nuclear is also heavily subsidized. I wasn't aware of this recently but no independent insurance company is insuring them. They won't touch it with a 100 ft pole. Socialize the losses are on our government. 
