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Looks like an interesting event Saturday in Des Moines…

GREEN JOBS NOW
Rally and Press Conference

Saturday, September 27, 11 a.m. – Noon, State Capitol, West Steps

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
To follow from 1-3 p.m. at Mars Cafe, 2318 University Ave., Des Moines

Speakers from local organizations and businesses will be sharing their success stories and helping people plug into the Green Movement in Des Moines. Opportunities to engage in community dialogue and networking. Speakers include Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, and representatives from Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen, P.C.’s Green Business and Sustainability Law Group, Green Drinks, Interfaith Power and Light and more.

For more information contact Larry James Jr. at larry.james@me.com or visit http://www.myspace.com/marscafe

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Last week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked this question at a Bipartisan Energy Summit…

WHITEHOUSE: Gentlemen, we’re in the middle of a near total mortgage system meltdown in this country. We have a health care system that burns 16 percent of our GDP, in which the Medicare liability alone has been estimated at $34 trillion. We’re burning $10 billion a month in Iraq.

This administration has run up $7.7 trillion in national debt, by our calculation. And there is worsening evidence every day of global warming, with worsening environmental and national security ramifications. In light of those conditions, do any of you seriously contend that drilling for more oil is the number one issue facing the American people today?

(Long silent pause during which nobody answers.)

WHITEHOUSE: No, it doesn’t seem so.

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Now that the Republican convention is over it is worth noting that Americans hold liberal positions on a wide variety of issues.

A recent Gallup poll shows…

Americans are pro-choice (67 percent)

Americans support the Geneva Conventions with regards to torture (57 percent)

Americans don’t want the government snooping in their bank and internet records (67 percent)

Americans support protecting the environment at the expense of economic growth (55 percent)

Americans believe that global warming is happening (86 percent)

Americans believe that it’s the government’s responsibility to provide health care (69 percent)

Americans support the decriminalization of marijuana (55 percent) and support the legalization of medical marijuana (78 percent)

Americans are opposed to attacking Iran (68 percent, according to a CNN Poll)

Americans support labor unions (60 percent)

Americans want government funding of embryonic stem cell research (56 percent)

Americans believe rich people and corporations aren’t paying enough taxes (66 and 71 percent respectively)

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Last night’s episode of the Colbert Report was especially good.

John McCain Steals From Wikipedia

The Word - Blame Monica Goodling

Formidable Opponent - Offshore Drilling

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Another group opposes building more coal-fired power plants.

The League of Women Voters today called for a moratorium on new construction of coal-fired electric power plants.

“Global warming is happening now,” said national League President Mary G. Wilson. “If we wait for federal action from our congressional leaders, it will be too late. We must take immediate and aggressive action to halt climate change,” she said. (Click here for a fact sheet on the League’s stand.)

“Burning more coal is too big a risk for too many people,” Wilson said. “Coal is the single largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S., with power plants responsible for 33 percent of CO₂ emissions. Because of this pollution, we already face increasingly severe heat waves and droughts, intensifying hurricanes and floods, disappearing glaciers and more wildfires. If left unchecked, the effects will be catastrophic to us and our planet,” she said.

“We will be active in opposing the building of these plants,” said Wilson. “Coal-fired electric power plants have a very long lifespan and contribute huge amounts of pollution to the atmosphere. Building these new plants would foreclose the possibility of preventing dangerous global warming.”

“Today, there is no environmentally sound use of coal,” Wilson said. “Many hope that CO₂ can be captured and stored underground,” she observed, “but this technology has never been demonstrated on a commercial scale.”

“Instead of coal, we must look to clean energy alternatives,” according to Wilson. “California, which has been a leader in energy conservation and efficiency, has been able to keep per capita energy consumption essentially constant for three decades while enjoying a growing economy,” she noted. “Wind and solar are also ready to make large contributions to economic growth,” she said.

The League carefully examined many facets of energy policy before taking its stand (click here for the League’s FAQ). “We support strong action in Congress to stop global climate change, but the planet can’t wait,” Wilson concluded.

In Iowa there are two proposed coal-fired power plants in Marshalltown and Waterloo.

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John McCain’s campaign fund raising benefits.

Campaign contributions from oil industry executives to Sen. John McCain rose dramatically in the last half of June, after the senator from Arizona made a high-profile split with environmentalists and reversed his opposition to the federal ban on offshore drilling.

Oil and gas industry executives and employees donated $1.1 million to McCain last month — three-quarters of which came after his June 16 speech calling for an end to the ban — compared with $116,000 in March, $283,000 in April and $208,000 in May.

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The White House is trying to block the release of an EPA report that has been mandated by the Supreme Court. It makes me wonder what part of Supreme do they not understand?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the White House continues to fight tooth and nail to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency’s from publishing a report of greenhouse gases mandated by the Supreme Court. Their motive? According to the Journal, to prevent even the possibility of the EPA establishing and enforcing any kind of restriction on greenhouse gas emissions (Subscription only):

The draft document, which has been viewed by The Wall Street Journal, outlines how the government, under the Clean Air Act, could regulate greenhouse-gas emissions … The OMB instead wants the document to show that the Clean Air Act is flawed and that greenhouse-gas regulations should be developed under new legislation, several people close to the matter said.

The EPA document gained national attention last week when it was revealed that WH personnel refused to open the email containing it. It reportedly lays out a road map for how the EPA could regulate dangerous greenhouse gases as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Why might the Bush Administration be reluctant to hear about greenhouse gas regulations? Well, like any good rapacious neocon with their microbrains buried in the sand, they despise the Clean Air Act. Their concern, at least according to this Journal article, is that by allowing this to go forward, it might threaten Bush’s legacy as a … well I guess as a full blown, toxic, industrial sociopathic tycoon hell bent on unleashing climate destruction on a global scale.

The Daily Show gives some background information on this…

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I have been frustrated with how reactionary local government is here in Marshalltown and Marshall County. So lets just say that I was surprised to see this story in the Des Moines Register this morning.

Marshall County officials say they intend to pass a first-in-Iowa ordinance that mandates the use of only biodegradable bags for customer purchases in retail stores.

Merchants who violate the ordinance would faces fines of up to $500 for repeat offenses.

“We have hundreds of plastic bags that find their way into farm fields and bushes and trees,” said county Supervisor Patrick Brooks, who got the idea from a public television documentary on fish in Africa that mysteriously died. Researchers found the fish had eaten small pieces of plastic.

“This is a major concern, these types of issues, and we’re just now starting to address them,” Brooks said.

The proposal has met early skepticism from retailers who worry about the added cost.

“I really don’t see how they can force someone do that,” said Stan Groth of Haley’s Grocery in Marshalltown, a third-generation family business.

The ordinance would also prohibit paper bags that are not recyclable.

A lot of attention is put on national issues, but this shows what electing Democrats to local position can accomplish. Republicans had dominated the County Supervisor seats in Marshall County for years. In 2006, Democrat Patrick Brooks was elected. Since then Marshall County has adopted a wind turbine ordinance to encourage small wind turbines throughout the county and now this ordinance. Both are progressive, forward looking actions.

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With gas prices topping $4 a gallon, it is important to know that the way you drive can have a huge effect on your gas mileage.

Hypermiling is drastically modifying your driving habits to fuel efficiency on their vehicles. There are people who have made a sport out of doing just this, sometimes without regard to safety or traffic laws. You don’t need to be that hardcore though, to see savings at the gas pump.

Here are some steps from Hypermiling.com…

The first step toward saving gas and increasing mpg: Always know your gas mileage after each visit to the gas pump.

The second step: do you drive agressively but not know it?

The third step: How long are you sitting still at red lights? Video

The fourth step: Keeping yourself moving in traffic congestion

The fifth step: Slowly accelerate after stops

The sixth step: Your cruise control saves gas (but not by using it they way you might think)

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In an interview the other day, Ed Fallon stated “if coal interests want to research clean coal technology and carbon sequestration they, not the tax-payers, should fund the research.” This is a noble statement based on a belief in renewable energy and a green future. Unfortunately it’s not based on reality. The most ambitious goal […]

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