How Good Are You . . . at Squandering?
Squandering is roughly defined as . . extravagantly or wastefully using resources (money, time, etc.) Yesterday's NYTimes editorial states that the Bush Administration, especially VP Cheney, have been especially good at wasting time - six years time - regarding energy policy. While most of us did not know about the Global Warming issue back in 1999 and 2000, we know that Al Gore did because he wrote about it - as did the scientific community. No matter. The Energy Policy Cheney came up with after getting input from many in the energy sector emphasized more oil drilling, more coal power plants, more coal mining, etc., with little emphasis on efficiency which he viewed as a "personal virtue."
To be fair, Mr. Cheney's Energy Plan is nothing more than an extension of the energy policies of the 19th and 20th centuries, the policies of John D. Rockefeller and others. "You want more?" "WE do." "OK, we'll give you more. The sky is the limit." That is how the US got to where it is today. But we misunderstood. With pollution and global warming, the sky actually IS the limit.
ABG readers and writers know now about these limits and are trying not to hit them. But others still think like Cheney. That is why gasoline demand has not decreased. Why our refineries can hardly keep up with demand. Why we have troops defending pipelines and oil fields in countries most of us haven't heard of in central Asia. Why the world's temperature and atmospheric CO2 is rising. As a nation, we own about 25 percent of that rise. The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain but we have been energy use leaders for a long time.
So I ask, "How good are we at not squandering?"
[Source: New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AlexNC 9:37AM (7/24/2007)
Since when did this forum become a political soapbox. We all know politicians are greedy. We see it in every other blog. No need to rehash it here. Please keep the blogging related to the alt. energy technology as related to automobiles. That is what attracted me to the site.
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werepants 12:20PM (7/24/2007)
Nicely said Alex. The readers of this blog probably think that efficiency is a cool thing, and have a general interest in new technology and automobiles. Unfortunately, many of the blog writers apparently assume that readers are also craving some biased political drivel. Please leave it elsewhere. I just want to read about cool, efficient engineering.
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Owen 2:15PM (7/24/2007)
HERE HERE! to you both.
Complaining about politicians should be left for political blogs. If someone wants to make mention of political ties in the comments then that's fine and should be encouraged to keep the fellow readers informed. But an article on squandering at AutoBlog by one of the main authors? For shame.
I try to put my money where my mouths is and supporting new technologies that come about, which I learn about mostly from this site, is my best way of doing that.
Each administration has it's black sheep, personally I can't stand Cheney, I think he's a blight on the whole administration, but there's skeletons in every closet, Does anyone even remember how this war stared? We got our noses in someone elses feud... Clintons policies (and arms supply) with Israel made someone across the border angry, then they attacked American soil for revenge. That's where it began. Do you think they hated us because we wanted their oil? Not to mention his approval of NAFTA, which accelerated and unleashed the environmental disaster that is China. I can't wait to see what he does on his 3rd term. Ooops, did this post become too political? Hmmm.
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