Democrats have given up their fight against opening up offshore drilling. Note House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey's comment: "At least temporarily the moratorium is lifted. This next election will decide what our drilling policy is going to be". I'll remember that as I vote.
-Colonel Steve
In an article in The Salt Lake Tribune regarding the "Large Hadron Collider", some scientists believe that this is very dangerous and it has the potential to destroy the earth. However, the scientists performing the experiment feel they couldn't have made a mistake. They are trying to learn the reason for the "big bang."
Re: "I'm pretty sure hundreds of us didn't do this wrong," Larson said. "As scientists we're often not good at communicating about things that can cause a lot of fear, but these fears are unfounded."
Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays hit the Earth daily, with no disastrous consequence.
"That alleviates a lot of the concern because we can't even begin to hope to reach the energy that nature is already reaching," he said."
This brings to mind another scientific catastrophe. Global warming (or the new name "climate change"). There is a view that says that natural occurrences such as volcanoes do more to pollute the atmosphere than man-made pollutants.
Am I the only one that sees a correlation here?
-Lady Colonel
We have environmental groups for everything these days. Greener fuel, emissions reduction, save the water, save the animals, the new "climate control" (which used to be global warming until they figured out that people were going to think it was weird when the planet got cooler, not warmer).
Well, where is the group for getting rid of the largest polluter of them all - JUNK MAIL? Does anyone have any idea how much useless paper we generate in this country alone? While the Colonel and I try real hard to make sure we put that stuff in the trash can (yes, I know, we should recycle it...whatever) before it comes in the house, some of it still creeps in. I find it everywhere and would someone please tell those companies who drive by and stuff our paperbox to please save themselves the trouble. I don't want another piece of paper. We have all this technology. How about this idea. Anyone putting out advertising could put their ad on their own website and if we want them, we will find them. If they are intent on putting out something else, perhaps we could have an "ad site". Companies could put their "junk mail" stuff on the site and if we wanted it, we could go look at the website and print it out, if WE wanted it. That way, they would feel like they were doing their part and we could (shhh - don't tell them) ignore it.
-Lady Colonel
On the heels of President George Bush removing the executive order blocking offshore drilling comes word of Senator Mitch McConnell's plan in the Senate.
Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon.
McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.
"We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country," McConnell said. "This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, 'Why don't these people get together and do something about this problem'?"
With gasoline prices hovering at just under $4.00 a gallon, this is a smart move. It will showcase the issue that liberals would prefer to talk rather than really help the American people. Keep an eye on who joins them in tackling energy issues. Those will be the ones to remember come November.
(HT: Blue Grass, Red State)
-Colonel Steve
I was rather surprised to see the title on a Wall Street Journal article today - "Environmentalists Say Yes to Offshore Drilling". Thought I might have entered the Twilight Zone or something.
The key point from the article: "When an environmental group formed for the sole purpose of opposing
offshore oil drilling warmly embraces a plan to drill off its own
coast, you know something important has changed in our culture:
Americans have recognized that offshore oil drilling is largely safe." That single point about safety won't win over parts of the extreme left wing environmentalists, but at least it's nice to see some making sense of it.
-Colonel Steve
This kind of thing almost sounds like Al Gore and his home power usage. Two multi-course meals, before talking about the world food crisis? What a faux pas.
-Colonel Steve
We've been hearing that we shouldn't drill for more oil because of how long it would take to come online. They say we should be depending on developing alternate fuels (even if that would take just as long to come online).
Now comes the news that some solar energy projects are being halted over....get this....environmental concerns (via Instapundit). Great! So NO power is good power.
I think they'll even complain about the possible use of kudzu for ethanol (HT: 21st Century Paladin). Not like we're using it for anything else.
-Colonel Steve
Pratt & Whitney has developed "greener" aircraft engine technology.
Pratt & Whitney has spent the better part of two decades developing the geared turbofan engine that burns 12 to 15 percent less fuel than other jet engines and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 1,500 tons per plane per year.
Cool.
The whole technology is not based on developing new alternative fuels, but on doing old designs better. The turbofan design in today's engines have the fans that draw air into the combustion chamber and the turbines that generate the thrust spinning at the same speed. Pratt's new geared turbofan allows the fan to spin independently of the turbine, so that each may spin at their own optimal speeds. Thus, the fuel savings.
So much has been said about putting all our marbles in futuristic, undeveloped technologies. We should be doing a lot more of what Pratt has done.....improving the technologies we have today WHILE the new technologies are being developed.
-Colonel Steve
Last fall, Lady Colonel and I traveled up to Maine and back on vacation. Before we left, we were warned of the dreaded black flies in Maine. We didn't run in to them much last year, but they seem to be plentiful up there.
The biggest reasons they are so proliferate are due to environmentalists. Now that streams are so much cleaner (that's a good thing), the fly's reproduction rate is way up. But Maine, unlike Pennsylvania, is not doing anything to stop that reproduction (that's not such a good thing).
Maine's standard license plate has the word "Vacationland" emblazened on it. May not be for much longer if those flies proliferate more.
(HT: Gina Cobb)
-Colonel Steve
Speaking of hypocrites, have you heard the latest about Al Gore's mansion? He's made his home more environmentally friendly. I'm sure that really cost him some green stuff....money that is.
It's continuing to cost him more money as well, since he's using 1,638 kilowatt hours (kWh) MORE per month in electricity than before the improvement. His home is now using, in the past year, 213,210 kWh of electricity. Enough to power about 232 average homes per month.
I just went and did a little math. If the numbers above are correct, an average home uses 919 kWh per month. I figured from my past bills that I use almost twice that average myself. People like Al Gore would label me an eeeevil polluter. Yet it's OK for him.
I've been taught by the media that hypocrite = conservative. Wrongo! My dictionary says hypocrite = environmental wacko = Al Gore.
-Colonel Steve
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