Posts Tagged by politics
Why Good People Are Not Attracted To Politics
| February 2, 2012 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Politics |
Frequent commenter Greg Chick writes:
I am not sure why good leaders are not in politics. Possibly good leaders can make lots of money (in the private sector) …
The single best answer I can provide is that the political process as it exists today is utterly repugnant to good people. I’m sure there are many fine people with noble aspirations to make a difference in our world, but they immediately meet with the cruel reality: getting elected and staying in office is about raising money and repaying it in favors, not voting one’s conscience and doing what’s right for the majority of the people. Read More
From Guest Blogger Richard Marks: What’s Wrong with America? Financial and Political People Are Holding Us Back
| October 12, 2011 | Posted by Richard Marks under Renewables - Politics |
We do have a very serious problem in this country. In Detroit, last week was the Detroit International Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Show. This was a first attempt to bring companies from China and Taiwan together in Detroit to exhibit their auto parts making ability and technology as well as some American companies, like us at EcoVElectric. The show’s attendance was not what was hoped for, but in talking to these Asian companies, it was obvious that the US has its head in the sand. They are eager to manufacture everything and understand this is the way to improve their standard of living. They wanted to cooperate with my company and build EcoV in Asia (also talked with people from India, Pakistan and Korea who are equally as hungry) They are very interested in electric vehicles and alternative energy. Read More
Renewable Energy Gets an Impressive Rhetorical Push from Ed Rendell
| June 21, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Politics |
This morning’s keynote address at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum was delivered by Pennsylvania’s ex-governor Ed Rendell, who spoke on the possibilities that renewable energy may gain traction through politics. I suppose anything’s possible, so I tried to track with every word – and I’m glad I did.
Rendell began by pointing to a few points of concern to all of us:
1) The US is clearly and rapidly falling behind in the arena of innovation generally and in energy particularly. In 2009, for the first time ever, the US Patent Office granted a majority of its overall patents to foreign nations/companies. And nowhere is America losing faster and more obviously than energy.
2) Those of us who believe that the world is headed in an unsustainable direction are running out of time. China will import 80% more coal this year than last, and they’re building one new coal plant per week.
3) By far, the most important energy topic discussed in Congress is light bulbs, gaining far more minutes on The Floor than the runner up issues (subsidies for oil, and energy as a national security concern). Apparently, our leaders are deadlocked on the decision to ensure that incandescent bulbs are not removed from US commerce – and neither side is blinking. Rendell paused for a moment, then asked, “Do Republicans have a huge store of old light bulbs that they wish to sell into the market? They threatened to withhold their votes to elect Fred Upton (R- MI) chairman of the energy subcommittee unless he toed the line on this issue – to which he finally acceded. The Republicans appear to be on an all-out crusade here. Regardless, we’re diddling around while the rest of the world is kicking our butts.”
But Rendell is on a crusade of his own – this one to see a renewable portfolio standard (i.e., a mandate to get to a certain minimum mix of clean energy) at the federal level. “Through years of experience at the state level, we’ve proven that clean energy mandates create payoffs in terms of a large number of good, well-paying jobs. We need a stable policy to support this at the national level – and it has to be permanent; it can’t flip-flop every four years.
So why, precisely, is this not happening? According to Rendell: “There are too many special interests arrayed against it. Over 90% of Democrat voters are in favor of Congress passing legislation that prioritizes clean energy. In fact, over 75% of Republican voters are in favor of the exact same thing. Clearly, the will of the American people is being frustrated by special interests.”
He told a story (perhaps self-serving, since he was the hero – but hey, isn’t that what politicians do?), in which he pointed out that when he was governor, Pennsylvania was one of only nine states that had no investment in pre-K education. “Harrisburg was dominated by lobbyists, and the poor kids — who would benefit most from this — had none. So I said: ‘I’m going to take this one on myself.’ Well, we won that fight, and now our young kids rank number one in reading.”
“Together, we can do this,” Rendell fairly bellowed in summary. “But we can’t do it inside the Beltway. The lobbyists are raising campaign money for our senators and representatives in Washington seven days a week. It never stops. It never stops. There are fund-raisers happening literally every night. If change is going to happen, it needs to take place in hometown America. Your leaders have to hear it from you.”
I don’t consider myself a sucker for political rhetoric, but I have to say that there was a level of gusto in my applause as Rendell left the stage.
The Energy and Transportation Industries – Politics At All Levels
| April 1, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
I can see that the process of learning more about the world of energy and transportation is making me a bit cynical. But virtually everywhere I turn, I see so little emphasis on the truth, and so much posturing to forward whatever agenda the speaker/writer is paid to promote.
Of course, a lot of this comes from the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, both of which work so tirelessly to discredit renewables. Climate change denier Art Pope’s John Locke Foundation is pouring tons of cash in their effort to repeal or gut SB 3, a landmark 2007 North Carolina law aimed at making utilities buy renewable energy. Pope and the Koch-backed “Americans for Prosperity” spent millions of dollars during last year’s elections, winning the General Assembly for Republicans.
And I was amused to learn yesterday that the nuclear industry begins to influence voters long before they’re old enough to cast their first ballots; they’ve worked feverishly to ensure that our children’s middle school textbooks include the “hard cold facts” that nuclear power is perfectly safe and cost-effective.
While I find all this nauseating, I need to point out that the art of politicking is not lost on the clean energy and electric transportation people, either. A good example is the EV Infrastructure show I’m attending down here in sunny San Diego, CA. Many of the show’s “speakers” are essentially hucksters, twisting the facts to convince the audience that their approach to whatever (vehicle charging, energy storage, predicting the EV adoption curve, etc.) is the only one that makes sense. “As you can see from this chart, Level 1 (110V) charging is too slow, and we really don’t need – and can’t afford — Level 3 (480V).”
Now let me guess. You don’t happen to sell a Level 2 (220V) charging system, do you?
I wish we could all cut the crap. But I don’t see that happening.
Sustainability — It's About Physics, not Politics
| January 16, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Sustainability |
A reader whose political sensibilities obviously do not parallel those in “The Story of Stuff” writes in:
As for “Stuff,” I don’t doubt that most of what [Annie Leonard] says is true and it certainly is deplorable, but I missed her solutions unless she proposes an anti-consuming society, which wouldn’t work here or anyplace else.
Thanks for your observations.
I see that you and she diverge on the issues. But even as wide as the gap there may be, I’m sure a common meeting ground is the notion of sustainability itself. Read More
Science Under Attack
| January 5, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Uncategorized |
I’ve gotten a great number of fascinating comments on my piece on science’s coming under attack from politics and religion, for example:
Like you, I am worried about the religious campaign to undo hundreds of years of scientific development. Unfortunately, history tells us that politics and religion have been closely linked since the earliest civilizations. The Egyptian pharaohs were the high priests of their polytheistic religion. During the decline of the Roman Empire, emperors were gods and today we not only face the threat from the religious right but also the Muslim jihadists.
This is true. But at least in the West, have a couple hundred years of history that has begun to build a separation here. Starting with the Enlightenment in the Eighteenth Century, and the principles of the French and American Revolutions, our civilization has seen fit to identify independent roles for scientific inquiry versus belief systems that are not amenable to evidence or proof. For my money, this is a vitally important ingredient in building a world that is capable of sustaining itself going forward.
Conversation on Global Warming
| November 9, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
A friend and I were discussing a mutual acquaintance who believes that the Earth is hollow – a radical theory to say the least. My friend writes:
Of course, I’m more than dubious about this hollow Earth stuff, but here’s an interesting conundrum to contemplate. Given Earth’s current gravity, is it really possible that dinosaurs were able to get as large as they did? Why aren’t land creatures today no larger than an elephant, which weighs a fraction of a T-Rex or other gigantic dinosaur? Did Earth have less gravity at one time? If so, how?
To which I reply:
I can’t speak to that one — it really IS interesting. I just think the accepted theory of the formation of the planets is so overwhelmingly compelling that a hollow Earth — or any other phenomenon that would result in a significant change in the force of gravity at the Earth’s surface — would be extremely hard to buy. Remember also that the dinosaurs were here only 65 million years ago, which is fairly recent in geologic time; almost 99% of the four-billion-year life of the Earth was before that time.
Anyway, I hate to sound like I have no intellectual curiosity, but my focus at this point in my life is more on the present. Check out this piece on the politics of global warming. I’m very worried that power politics is in the process of winning out over science, and that we really are running headlong to the ruination of this planet. I’m afraid this stuff is getting completely out of hand.
From Guest Blogger Richard Marks: Where Does Alternative Energy Stand Politically?
| August 13, 2010 | Posted by RMarksEV under Electric Vehicles |
As a company developing an electric vehicle, we are seeing the investment community frozen solid. When Obama got elected everyone thought he would solve all of our problems, including health care, Global Warning through a cap and trade bill, education, and taking care of the under-privileged at the expense of the rich. The cap and trade looked to be sure bet and a lot of investors jumped into alternative energy regardless of whether it made economic sense or not. While without economic sense, alternative energy is more expensive than status-quo and thus it is losing favor, orders are being cancelled and many small and large companies are failing. Investors are scared. The August primaries around the country has told us, people are upset and do not like what is happening in Washington DC. I voted in the primary against any incumbent running for reelection. I was not the only one! We are upset with what is happening. What bunch of idiots would write a 2,500 page Health Care bill and half of Congress did not even read! Read More
Wally Rippel: Politics and Economics Have Caused Many Cold Fusion Casualties
| July 7, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Science |
Wally Rippel pointed out to me that there have been numerous casualties from the political and economic fall-out surrounding cold fusion. As an example, Dr. Peter Hagelstein at MIT, best known for his X-ray laser, is also a strong proponent of cold fusion. He’s been isolated from the entire scientific community because of that belief.
Here is more information on Wally Rippel and his contribution to Renewable Energy – Facts and Fantasies (by Craig Shields, published by Clean Energy Press, 2010).
Politics and Simplicity
| June 22, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Politics |
Occasionally, we all run into people with a doctrinaire political opinion as to exactly how and why the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, and what specifically should be done about it. Sometimes this comes from a leftist perspective, but often it’s essentially a transcript of a Glenn Beck show.
I don’t disagree with many of the talking points of the right – certainly that the federal government is bloated and that people today look to government for solutions where, in our grandparents’ day, they looked to themselves and took a greater level of individual responsibility.
But I’m always amazed at people’s tendencies to oversimplify and to take things out of context that support their personal belief system. An an example, one notices from the graph here is that neither Democrats or Republicans – despite their rhetoric – have done anything at all to change the trajectory of federal spending. Doesn’t that that makes for a very short discussion about which party – in reality – is the better bet for those wishing to see smaller government?
In turn, this amplifies the notion that all this is not as simple as certain people would have you believe. That people should be held accountable does not imply that capital punishment is a necessary part of a civilized society. That people should not be expected to pay to keep the slobs who live on beer and cigarettes healthy does not imply that private, for-profit health care is a reasonable way to deal with the healthcare needs of a population. That too much government regulation becomes corrupt and abusive to private enterprise does not mean that leaving Wall Street and the Fortune 500 to their own ethical sensibilities is a good idea.
I suppose my conclusion is that people tend to like simplicity. But in my view, we live in a world of tough realities, dealing with things for which there is no precedent. When was the last time we had an oil spill of this magnitude? How many times have the climate patters of the Earth changed? To me, the right answers come more from discussion, humility, and listening than from knee-jerk reactions and force-fitting the world into a black and white frame.
