Obama, that bloke hoping to be a president of the USof A made an acceptance speech. I couldn't be arsed to stay up and watch it, so I let some very nice people edit it and screen it for me via the news the following day. Within their edit they included the bit that Obama said
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And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as president: in 10 years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
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The day before Ob's speech I'd watched A Crude Awakening. Within it were references to the US of A's fule usage. I thought, how the hell is Ob proposing to do this seemingly impossible thing. He continued after the quoted line to say
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Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years, and John McCain has been there for 26 of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.
As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies retool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest $150bn over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.
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Ob has hit upon something that is dicussed within the Peak Oil discussion.
My issue with the 10 year clain is that he'll only possibly be in office for 8 years and he'll need to purseude the good ol american people to use less petroleum.
The notion of Peak Oil began in the US of A in 1956, it was not taken seriously and ignored for 20 years. With time, it's possible to look back and say, "hell that professor bloke was right."
I can't be arsed with American politics, coz it's just like the UK, just bigger and even worse.
What the West needs is some strong leadership that does something about the situation, rather than reacting to soemthing already going on.
I believe that Peak Oil is real enough to need to take seriously now. If we don't, there will be a hell of a shock sometime in the future where we are told there are only a few years of crude oil left.
7 comments:
give him his due
at least he is aware of the issue
indeed. It will be interesting to watch what happens, were he indeed be elected.
To make an impact, he would need to start doing somethng the day he arrived in office. I think it's an issue that needs to be addressed sooner than later.
I do think that he will be elcted, unless something strange
( assassination )where to happen.
I do think he at least has some decency and will try to come to terms with these issues, and the saying "too little, too late" might be appropriate but we can only wait and see.
too little too late may not apply here.
I think a more appropriate statement might be
when will it be acknowledged in mainstream culture that fossil fuel will not last forever and climate change is kind of irrelevent if there's no energy anyway.
I beleive that human evolution is entering a post abundant energy phase. There are experiemental dwellings in the UK both mainstream and underground that are attempting to live their own way now and finding it very difficult because of misunderstanding.
If evolution has been what we have been in so far, there needs to be a discussion starting as a first part of change, to allow our change to less abundant fossil fuel, to then be in a post fossil fuel existence and be comfortable with it. That is of course a 10's of years process.
Blimey, I wont be around to see it then!
and there lies the route of why those in a position to do something: don't.
that's not a personal commentary of course, it's been said by the ex member of Iragy oil or something that those in control don't care as they have their big cars long term, it will not be their problem.
That did not mean I did not care, merely a flippant comment on how old I actually am!
Wheres your sensaumor?
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