Thawing Fuel For Palin's Pipeline
Practically Speaking
Kyle and her husband moved to Brookfield in 1986. She became active in local politics and started blogging in 2004. Her focus is primarily on local issues but often includes state and national topics, too. Kyle looks at things from the taxpayers' perspective in a creative, yet down to earth way, addressing them from a practical point of view.
Pres. Obama, GOP not 'licking their chops', but we'll all be licking our wounds
Yesterday, the President referenced one newspaper's lead story, that gasoline prices were on the rise and Republicans were "licking their chops", in an effort to deflect any responsibility over gasoline's unprecedented price increases.
Then he went on to say, They [Republicans] are already dusting off their 3 point plan for $2 gas... Step 1 is to drill, and step 2 is to drill, and then step 3 is to keep drilling, something he has been thwarting every chance he gets.
Sadly, the President believes higher energy prices will encourage us to adopt his greener energy initiatives such as algae or whatever, though "the president admitted, no one actually knows how to turn algae (or a million other things) into motor fuel".
Obama also touted higher fuel standard regulations as a way to help us out of our gasoline shortage. Maybe he should urge the EPA and Congress to rescind the ethanol mandates? That would increase fuel efficiency by what, 10%? (He must have forgotten to mention proper tire inflation this time.)
He bragged that the U.S. was producing more domestic oil than ever, inferring that is why we need to turn to green energy, but failed to mention that higher production level was from the Bakken Shield oil shale fields in North Dakota and other oil rich areas on private property. (In other words, no thanks to his oppressive oil policies.) No mention of how he has rejected approving Canada's Keystone oil pipeline, which would help us "build an energy-independent North America".
No, this is the same man who in January of 2008 said under my plan, under a cap and trade system, electricity prices would "necessarily skyrocket". Clearly, he doesn't mind higher energy prices.
High gasoline prices hurt the very people who can least afford them: the unemployed, the under-employed, large families, lower to middle class people, areas dependent on tourism, and businesses in general.
The one saving grace of this recession was at least gas prices were low. But now what little disposable income these people have will go into their gas tanks. Discretionary spending will go down. Vacation plans will be cut back.
We'll all be licking our wounds with high gas prices. True, there isn't much we can do about it right now, but what about in the next decade? Algae research will not help; Drill, Baby, Drill and Keystone would. Remember that when you cast your ballot in November.
More Reading:
Krauthammer MOCKS Obama's Algae Energy Plan
Barack 'All of the Above' Obama
Obama Vows to 'Double Down' on Green Investments Despite Solyndra and Volt Flop
.
Who knew? Kevin Costner's super-slurpers to clean up BP spill
No reasonable person believes the President is solely responsible for the BP oil explosion. Nor do they think he should don deep-sea gear and go down and cork the hole himself. The well itself is some 12,000 feet under water, with the burst pipe at around 5,000 feet. Obviously, these are not friendly working conditions.
What people do want is their President to act like a leader and make the containment and clean up process as efficient and effective as possible, while BP works on capping the well. Unfortunately, our government, under the President's authority, seemingly has done everything but make the containment/clean up process as easy as possible.
W. Wansley at American Thinker wrote a great piece comparing Katrina and BP, "In the Gulf, a group of people have been trying to get in -- to apply American ingenuity to clean up the oil spill or prevent it from reaching the shore." Unfortunately, they "have been held up -- by government."
We are now hearing more about these rejected possible solutions to bar, contain and clean up the oily water before it reaches the shores. One of the pleas came from Governor Bobby Jindal. "...Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has begged for approval to put up temporary sand bars as a barrier to the oil. The EPA, worse than saying no, delayed and studied and pondered and then said no." Tired of waiting for BP, Jindal gave the order to build them on Monday.
From Am. Thinker: "We have seen countless stories in the news of innovation and ingenuity by Americans attempting to bring proven applications, equipment and tactics to bear on the oil. Each attempt is met with the same federal dithering, inaction and impedance. ... In the Gulf oil spill,...After they show their process to the media, the inevitable question is asked, 'Have you shown this to BP or the EPA?'" They answer, "yes, ...they are considering it" or "they would get back to us".
But at long last, enter actor Kevin Costner. An actor? Yes, but also a partner in Ocean Therapy Solutions, a company that has developed a machine that separates oil from water. Last week he testified at the House Science and Technology Committee meeting.
Even Costner, ever so diplomatically, said, "'We’re coming to this fight very late, I think everybody would recognize that. And so we’re going to do the things that we can do but this company is poised to mobilize in order to step this up and to create an environment where people can go back to work. There is a single moment that exists right at this moment and that is there are people out of work. There’s a moratorium and there’s no way to lift that unless I believe the government feels that people can operate in a safe way. This represents that pivot point.' "
"'If we want to discuss the ‘what ifs’ looking back, I think you could fill in the blanks of understanding if these machines were already deployed, what we would be looking at,' said Costner. 'I could scale this out for you and we would be chasing this oil out at the derrick itself. We couldn’t do anything about the size of the leak but we would be chasing that and we would be keeping that offshore.'"
Well, better late than never. BP recently placed an order for 32 of these clean up machines. With an efficiency rate of 99+%, it should help. Some are not so optimistic.
For everyone's sake, I hope between Costner's centrifuge machines, sand bars, siphon tankers, and other clean up measures, they will help clean up the water and prevent further damage. Time will tell.
Read the complete article: Heritage Foundation: Crisis of Competence
Pres. Obama's oil spill action plan: Ignore, delay, blame, demand, overreach and Cap & Tax (nothing on containment/clean up)
Last night Obama declared from the Oval Office, "We will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long it takes." But it doesn't seem like many Americans are buying that sales pitch. Even Democrats and Liberals are shaking their heads over his inaction so far and hum-drum Oval Office spiel. How will he make sure this never happens again? By talking it to death? We are now at day 57.
Never one to let a crisis go to waste to implement more government control, regulation, taxes, and now even overreaching to dictate how a foreign owned company should spend its money and use its stock dividends, President Obama is using the BP oil spill to push his Cap & Trade tax agenda. He says we need "...to move forward on legislation to promote a new economy powered by green jobs, combat climate change, and end our dependence on foreign oil."
Amidst his floundering in the Gulf he is touting alternative energy like wind and solar as a way to end oil spills--as if America can thrive without oil? Since Cap and Trade deals mainly with electricity generation, how will wind and solar end oil spills? America only uses oil to generate about 2% of our electricity. Maybe he would like to lead the way by converting Air Force 1 to solar panels?
In an email he sent out yesterday, the President wrote, "Many businesses support this agenda because shifting to clean energy creates opportunities for entrepreneurship." I am betting those businesses are involved in writing the Cap and Trade legislation or will benefit from the Carbon Credit exchange or an increase in wind and solar use? Companies such as BP--Beyond Petroleum or GE?
I think it is clear that the President squandered his Oval Office clout to peddle his Cap & Trade Tax bill. Most aren't buying it. No matter, his EPA can do what the Senate won't.
As for the spill, from what I have seen, Obama's first action on the spill was to ignore the event. The 11 workers who died as a result of the explosion on April 22nd were barely noted. At last, Obama went to the gulf on May 2nd. "The visit, which White House officials said on Saturday would be within the next 48 hours, signaled Obama was anxious to be seen to be paying close attention to the cleanup and containment of one of the worst oil spills in U.S. history." "Anxious to be seen" seems to be the key phrase there.
The President has visited several times since then but does not have much to show for it. Obama did authorize the deployment of 17,500 National Guardsmen; so far, only 1,600 have been deployed. Gov. Jindal just announced he will be using Guardsmen to build a barrier.
The Jones Act still has not been lifted (as it was after Hurricane Katrina) which would have allowed the Dutch and others with their offers of containment booms and salvage tankers into the area to at least contain and suck up some of the oil. Our own government had their own disaster plan that included the use of containment booms. Trouble was, the U.S. never purchased those emergency booms! In other oil spills, booms are put in place and then tankers come in to suck the oil/water mixture into their holds. They then then separate it later. But you need to contain the oil to do this. There are some booms in place but not nearly enough.
There are some things that just are not adding up with the BP accident. I am sure there is plenty of blame to go around. Let's face it, a blow out a mile under the sea is a problem that won't correct itself. Where was the discussion by the President on how to clean up or keep the oil from the shores? The one thing that is clear, Obama will use the spill to push for green energy, regardless of its negative impact on the U.S. economy!
More reading: BP Accused of Repeated Shortcuts
Sen. McConnell: Obama 'Holding the Gulf Hostage"
Gov. Bobby Jindal Orders National Guard to Build Barrier Wall Off Louisiana Shore
Cap and Trade: A New Disaster Waiting to Happen in 2009
The Spill, The Scandal and the President, How Obama failed to crack down on corruption of Bush years and let world's most dangerous oil company get away with murder.
Obama's Uncertain 'Battle Plan'
Happy Earth Day - Go Diesel!
Today is Earth Day. It is also Vladimir Lenin's birthday.
What would be my perfect gift for Earth Day? To learn that Wisconsin's Assembly and Senate failed in passing Gov. Doyle's Global Warming Bill! It looks like I just may get my wish, but it isn't over until the fat lady sings, as they say.
Many of the measures environmentalists push to save the earth are in fact harmful. Ethanol and CFLs come to mind. Hybrid cars have a huge carbon footprint, if you factor in the manufacturing and battery disposal.
So here is my Earth Day tip: Go diesel for your car. Seriously. I am not being flip. Clean diesel is not only is very clean but it will save you money if you drive a lot.
We took the plunge last fall and purchased a VW Jetta SportWagen TDI (diesel) car. It is so clean, it qualified for an Advanced lean burn technology vehicle credit, the same type of tax credit that hybrids did. Unlike a hybrid, diesels last a l-o-n-g time. They like to be driven.
Did we purchase the car just to get the credit? Of course not. It was a nice bonus though. We bought the car because we like road trips and my former PT Cruiser got an abysmal 21mpg if going downhill, with a tail wind, on the highway. (It's about 18mpg at home.)
The Jetta was touted at 42mpg Hwy, 30 city. (Some drivers report 55-60mpg hwy.) Mine isn't broken in yet, but since the weather warmed up, I have been getting 38-40 at home and 45.6mpg out to say, Thiensville (some freeway, some streets).
Is it smelly? Noisy? No. I don't think you would even know it was diesel until you stepped on the accelerator. (They really go!)
Europeans have been driving diesel for a long time. Their fuel costs are so much higher than ours that they must get the best bang for their buck. Maybe now that Volkswagen is building a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, they will have more of a presence here in the states. Maybe diesel will catch on here too.
Don't expect to do any great negotiating on price though. These cars fly off the showroom floor. We spotted one being unloaded at Concours Motors in Glendale, but it was sold out from under us. In some areas of the country, there is a $3,000 add to the sticker price.
So you see, by choosing clean diesel, I am greener than some of you think. My idea of green though is saving money! ;-)
Follow the money: Why are Potawatomis pushing Clean Energy Jobs Act?
While driving home yesterday, I heard the Potawatomi's latest ad supporting the Clean Energy Jobs Act. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but it came to me, why are they pushing this so? In other words, if we follow the money--what is in it for them? Would they maybe be leasing land for windmills?
I emailed radio talk show hosts Vicki McKenna and Jay Weber when I came home to see if they knew. (Didn't hear back.) Later on, I Googled for some info and found this surprise:
Call Senators! Can voters' ire dampen US Senate's Cap-and-Trade Tax vote?
While evidence mounts that the planet is NOT warming, the US House of Representatives passed the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade (Tax) Bill anyway, by just 5 votes. The Cap-and-Trade Tax bill then went to the US Senate.
Gird loins, guard wallet: Dems introduce Cap & Trade energy bill
http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#all/1205e1ef555f02fd Jim Ott's latest hot air on cap and trade
Another 2 million acres off limits to drilling and renewable energy
Obama signed into law another restriction on mining and drilling.
"Earth Hour" Saturday night? What can I turn on?
Have you heard about this idea? Earth Hour - Give our planet a break. It is Saturday, March 28th from 8:30pm - 9:30pm. Everyone on the planet is supposed to turn out their lights for one hour, to relieve our planet of the burden of Global Warming! (By the way, Planet Earth is not a living being, nor is it our "Mother.")
You don't miss what you never had: Pilgrim Park School Air Conditioning, UPDATE
We are told Elmbrook's Pilgrim Park Middle School is in need of a new heating system. The board has been discussing this replacement for about a year. Bids are starting to come in now. The big question is: do we add air conditioning or not to the new system? They might decide that question tomorrow at the March 24th board meeting.
Ethanol is back, on steroids!!!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123716798764436701.html Everyone hates ethanol. blends over 10% harm engines, etc. good
Obama pushes carbon credits despite cooling evidence
A new study from 2 professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department on Mathematical Sciences, "found that the Earth has been cooling since 2001 and projected that due to 'global variation' the climate would continue to cool for the next 20 to 30 years."
energy prices too low?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/24/low-oil-prices-seen-stalling-clean-energy/
Not miles per gallon, miles per tax dollar
for now, the taxation on miles driven is taking a back seat. But like all taxing ideas, it will rear its ugly head again.
Yes. he can, and I would like to too
By now we have all heard of President Obama's Don't do as I do, do as I say on heating and food. I would just like to say, I would like to too. I received my 2nd utility bill from my self imposed cut backs. It was $500. I am cold in my house of 68 degrees most of the day. I am not doing this to save the planet, for I do not believe in the theory of Global Warming or Climate Change. No, I am cutting back to save something else: money. This is what makes Obama's tropical President Barack Obabma's Bahamas temperature Oval office so offensive. He DOES believe in Global Warming. He will promote Cap and Trade and Carbon credits that will raise utility prices across the board. His Cap and Trade and alternative energy plans will make my $500/month utility bill look like the good ole daysHow warm was Dixon to save 66% on nat. gas? What's with their water use?
In an effort to reduce our utility bill, I have been belt tightening at our house thermostat wise but enjoying it less. (I'm miserable!) I set our thermostat is set at 68 during the day and 50 - 55 at night. Heat vents to the living and dining rooms are closed unless we are using those rooms. For someone (me) who is always cold, even in the summertime, this is a sacrifice. So when I read that Elmbrook was saving money because of their new energy sleuth, the article caught my eye.
How warm was it at Dixon to save 66% on heating? What's with their water usage?
In an effort to reduce our utility bill, I have been belt tightening at our house thermostat wise and enjoying it less. (I'm miserable!) Our thermostat is set at 68 during the day and 50 - 55 at night; it is my choice. Heat vents to the living and dining rooms are closed unless we are using those rooms. For someone (me) who is always cold, even in the summertime, this is a sacrifice. So when I read that Elmbrook was saving money because of their new energy sleuth, the article caught my eye.
How hot was it at Dixon to save 66% on heating? What are they doing with their water?
I have been tightening our belt at our house thermostat wise and enjoying it less! I'm miserable. The thermostat is set at 68 during the day and 50 - 55 at night. For someone who is always cold (me), even in the summertime, this is a sacrifice.
Global Warming tough sell, but Obama still buys what Gore is selling
There is a lot at stake for former Vice President Al Gore with the Global Warming* issue. Without the threat of Global Warming, he is rather out of a job. Who would hire Al Gore to come speak about the threat of normal weather? Without Global Warming, who would ever buy a carbon credit from the corporation he is affiliated with? Without Global Warming, Al Gore just becomes another washed up Vice President who did not make it to the ultimate status prize of the presidency.
You don't miss as much what you never had: Air Conditioning school
Obama promises even more stringent green pacts than Kyoto
OOPS, NASA used Sept. temperatures for Oct.'s data
Do you ever get the feeling that those who believe in Global Warming don't want to be confused by the facts?
The war against CO2
Chevron's Orwellian Crude Discovery http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=311469463736657
...and up from the ground come a frozen fuel
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=311472581618807
Kiss lower gas prices goodbye: Hello sky high heating costsObamas first priority exec offshore order etc. Yikes! Oil at $60-something/barrel, Gasoline at $2.69Tuesday I got a tank full of gas for $2.69 a gallon. Sure wish gas prices were that low in August when we went to Yellowstone! Our trip cost us $549 in gasoline for 3,188 miles. If we made that trip now, we would have saved about $200. (Of course, Old Faithful Lodge is now closed for the winter season.) The silver lining is...oil prices fell 40% since JulyBoy, that bailout bill really helped, didn't it? The Dow is now below 10,000 at the time of this writing. The rest of the world isn't faring much better. Why wouldn't oil prices go up?The Democrats present the Trojan Drilling Bill, the stock market is in major jitters, investors look for safe places to put their money. Hence oil, gold/silver/precious metals go up. Pretty simple. Beware of Democrats bearing drilling billsRemember the story about the Trojan Horse? The Greeks gave a huge horse statue to Troy. The unsuspecting Trojans brought the gift into their city. During the night, the Greek warriors inside the horse came out and took the city. Hence the saying, Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. The gift ended up being the undoing of the citizens of Troy. House of Reps started talking about DRILLING because of you!
Lower temperatures and country's mood quell global warming ferverHave you noticed that this summer was cooler than usual? That fact, coupled with our recent cold and snowy winter, takes the subject of Global Warming off the front burner. Save 10% on gas with the "Melchert Plan"
Last May
I told you about Randy Melchert, candidate for the Wisconsin State
Assembly--24th District. Although that is not my district, his "Melchert Plan"
to lower area gasoline prices by 10% is appealing. I don't have to live
in the Menomonee Falls/Germantown area to be in favor of that! |
UPDATE: The Hot Air Tour rally location has been moved to AFP headquarters at 1126 S. 70th St, West Allis, 1:30pm.