Herding Americans to War with Iran | Consortiumnews

Herding Americans to War with Iran | Consortiumnews.

Edwin Black The Truth About Our Oil Addiction Part 1

Uploaded by Mindsi2 on Jan 1, 2012

In this hour long speech at Binghamton University author/journalist Edwin Black gives us an insight into the 65,000 year history of petroleum development. With a close look at the last hundred years with the growth and development of the oil monopoly. He gives the fascinating story about Henry Ford and Thomas Edison’s attempt to develop an electric model T. And explains how General Motors illegally conspired to destroy the electric trolleys. He also discusses various existing alternatives to the internal combustion engine.

 

The Keystone Pipeline & Tar Sands Extraction Projects, A Closer Look

Anybody that has read my posts will know that I think renewable green energy is the best way to meet our growing energy needs. Today we take a look at two of the largest “dirty” energy projects in the western world. The tar sands oil excavation project in northern Canada offers the promise of more oil than Saudi Arabia produces. The Keystone pipeline project at nearly 2,000 miles will bring that oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Both promise jobs (estimates range from 6,000 to 250,000)  and at the same time pose a serious threat to our environment.
There is no stopping the tar sands project but the pipeline needs a presidential permit. Over the weekend there was a huge demonstration against the project that encircled the White House. On Monday some members of Congress issued a call for an investigation into the State Department for the process it used to approve the pipeline. So today we offer a roundup of information on this issue.

Keystone XL Pipeline

From Friends Of The Earth

“The Canadian oil and gas company TransCanada hopes to begin building a new oil pipeline that would trek close to 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to Texas. If constructed, the pipeline, known as the Keystone XL, will carry one of the world’s dirtiest fuels: tar sands oil. Along its route from Alberta to Texas, this pipeline could devastate ecosystems and pollute water sources, and would jeopardize public health.”
To read the entire post click here.

Thousands Circle White House to Protest Keystone XL: Will They Abandon Obama if Pipeline is Approved?

From ThinkProgress via AlterNet, By Stephen Lacey and Jessica Goad
“Hey, Obama, we don’t want no climate drama.”
That was one of the rallying cries from the estimated 12,000-person crowd protesting outside the White House against the Keystone XL pipeline yesterday afternoon. After a series of high-energy speeches from James Hansen, Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Mark Ruffalo and many others, demonstrators poured onto Pennsylvania Avenue and created a human chain around the White House, chanting, “two, four, six, eight, stop XL, it’s not too late.”
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After yesterday’s strong turnout, the President certainly has a lot more pressure in his decision. But the bigger question becomes: If Obama decides to approve the pipeline, will his core group of supporters within the environmental community come back to him in 2012?”
To read this entire post click here.

Inspector General Launches Investigation Into Keystone XL Approval Process

From ThinkProgress

“In response to a congressional request, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General has launched a review of the Keystone XL pipeline approval process. The State Department is tasked with conducting the environmental review of TransCanada’s proposed tar sands pipeline from Canada to Texas for a Presidential Permit decision. Beginning with the Bush administration, the process has been largely outsourced to a contractor chosen and paid for by TransCanada, with only a single staffer overseeing the work. Meanwhile, lobbyists with close ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have aggressively pushed for approval on behalf of the foreign oil company. The request for an investigation was made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and eleven Democratic members of the House of Representatives.”
To read this entire post click here.

TransCanada lobbying: Company ramps up pressure on lawmakers

From IWatchNews, By Corbin Hiar
“The company has greatly increased its Washington lobbying. Led by Paul Elliott, former deputy director of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign, the company’s spending went from $190,000 in 2008 to $720,000 in 2010, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Its 2011 total for the first three quarters has already surpassed last year, at $1.3 million.
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The proposed $7 billion, 1,702-mile long international pipeline extension would connect the massive tar sands deposits of central Alberta with oil refineries on the Texas coast. But the pipeline has to cut across the center of the U.S. and through more than 100 miles of Nebraska’s Ogallala aquifer. The massive underground formation provides drinking water for some 2.9 million Americans and sustains more than a quarter of the nation’s agricultural production.”
To read this entire post click here.

In our videos we take a look at the tar sands project, and we take a closer look at Sundays huge White House protest rally.

Energy Choices; Fracking (Another Environmental Nightmare) Or The Clean Future of GeoThermal

One of those moments of serendipity where things come together that illustrate two paths when it comes to how we get our energy. And in like so many instances it pits the short-term profits of the wealthy elites and their servant in government against what is better for the average person who wants to see a BETTER world for their children. For you consideration these two stories that I came across on Current TV.
We’ll start with a positive story about how geothermal energy could provide us with ten times the power as what we get right now from coal. Geothermal is a proven renewable resource and is where the country of Iceland gets almost all of its energy.

 

Geothermal could help replace coal plants in the U.S., so Google backed research

From Think GeoEnergy  written by: lxrichter
“Reported last week, “New research from SMU’s Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, documents significant geothermal resources across the United States capable of producing more than three million megawatts of green power – 10 times the installed capacity of coal power plants today.

Sophisticated mapping produced from the research, viewable via Google Earth at http://www.google.org/egs/, demonstrates that vast reserves of this green, renewable source of power generated from the Earth’s heat are realistically accessible using current technology.”
To read the rest of this post click here.

 

Now for the bad and ugly and in this case were talking about fracking. What the heck is fracking? Here is a small part of what Wikipedia has to say
“Hydraulic fracturing, often called fracking[a] or hydrofracing, is the process of initiating and subsequently propagating a fracture in a rock layer, by means of a pressurized fluid, in order to release petroleum, natural gas, coal seam gas, or other substances for extraction.[1] The fracturing, known colloquially as a frack job (or frac job),[2][3] is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations. The energy from the injection of a highly pressurized fluid, such as water, creates new channels in the rock which can increase the extraction rates and ultimate recovery of fossil fuels.”

In short a new way of extracting natural gas that might have some problems like to our drinking water and well it causes earthquakes. Towards that end we present this post from  desmogblog.com about research from Oklahoma and Great Britain that point to fracking causing a series of mini quakes.

 

Fracking Linked To Earthquakes In The U.S.

by Farron Cousins
“On the heels of yesterday’s report detailing Cuadrilla Resource’s admission that their fracking practices were responsible for small earthquakes in the U.K., new reports are surfacing that link fracking to earthquakes that occurred in January in Oklahoma. According to a new study by the Oklahoma Geological Survey [PDF], fracking is linked to 50 mini-earthquakes that occurred on January 18, 2011 in Oklahoma.”
To read the entire post click here.

For more on the health and environmental concerns about fracking there is an excellent documentary called “Gas Land”. This clip illustrates some of the key points from the film.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Explodes GOP Myths on Climate Change

Rhode Island Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave a speech on the Senate floor last week. Clocking in at a little more than twenty minutes he takes the two great myths that the GOP and takes them apart.  Those two great myths are that environmental regulation is a drag on our economy and that the jury is still out on climate change.

Uploaded by SenatorWhitehouse on Oct 13, 2011

“There are some laws that Congress can change. The laws of nature aren’t among them. While lobbyists continue to call for more and more “second” opinions, Sheldon points out to his colleagues that the scientific community is solidly behind the fact that climate change is a real threat”

Occupy Chicago On The Move Siezes High Profile Corner On Michigan Ave

Occupy Chicago protesters were on the move Saturday evening as well over a thousand people marched out of the cramped space in front of the Federal Reserve building where the group has been occupying for three weeks.  They moved east and south to the corner of Michigan and Congress  on the edge of Grant Park where there is a large plaza  in front of the iconic Bowman statue. This is not far from where the chant of “the whole world is watching” was first heard.
We present a couple of videos the first of the rally at Jackson & La Salle where there was dancing in the street. The other is of the marchers moving out and then arriving at there new location.
As we approach midnight here in Chicago the occupiers have been given until then to disperse. There are still nearly a thousand people still there and thus far the police do not appear to me preparing to make any mass arrests. They are massed but not in riot gear or even carrying batons.

SOLAR – Power station could solve water crisis

Published on Sep 29, 2011 by itnnews

Engineers have unveiled a solar power station, which harnesses heat from the sun to evaporate sea water and produce fresh water. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Solar and Wind Could Power the West Right Now, All of America in 2026.

Reposted from ThinkProgress.org

By Climate Guest Blogger on Oct 11, 2011 at 11:17 am

by John Farrell, in two posts that came from Energy Self-Reliant States

 

” The Germans have installed over 10,000 megawatts of solar panels in the past two years, enough to power 2 million American homes (or most of Los Angeles, CA).  If Americans installed local solar at the same torrid pace, we could already power most of the Mountain West, could have a 100 percent solar nation by 2026, while enriching thousands of local communities with new development and jobs…………

Such local solar power also provides enormous economic benefits.  For every megawatt of solar installed, as many as 8 jobs are created.  But the economic multiplier is significantly higher for locally owned projects, made possible when solar is built at a local scale as the Germans have done.

With local ownership, making America a 100% solar nation could create nearly 10 million jobs, and add as much as $450 billion to the U.S. economy.

The Germans have found the profitable marriage between their energy and environmental policy.  It’s time for America to discover the same.”

To read this entire post click here.

Occupy Chicago Remains Non-Violent – Official Statement About Arrest Of Suspected Provocateur

From: dogstar7,  Oct 11, 2011

“Mike”, an official spokesman for Occupy Chicago, talks about the arrest of an individual who may have assaulted a Chicago police officer. CPD officials on-scene at Monday’s General Assembly told the Occupy Chicago organizers that they (the police) had determined this person was not a member of Occupy Chicago and may have sought to create an incident involving police for his own purposes.

Also, we learn about another self identified group who staged a non-violent sit-down. These six were briefly detained and given citations for failing to heed a police order.

Will Renewables Ever Be Big In The U.S.? & Solar Power In Bangladesh.

As countries across the world from Germany to Bangladesh are rapidly expanding renewable energy development here in the U.S. we  are once again fighting among ourselves and facing intrenched industries resistant to change. These and other factors are explored in the following story from Alternet.

Will Clean Energy Ever Be a Reality in the U.S.? Here’s What’s Standing in Our Way

AlterNet / By Steven Wishnia

Wind and solar sources make up almost half of all new electricity generation in Europe, but we’re far behind in the U.S. — so what gives?

“”The reason we have to subsidize is because the initial 20-year-cost is higher,” says Zweibel of solar electricity. But in the long run, renewables are cheaper, says Mark Kapner. In Austin Energy’s Green Choice program, he says, customers pay higher rates at first, but they don’t have to pay increases for the next ten years, which protects them from the volatile prices of natural gas.

The Chinese competition has hurt U.S. solar-panel manufacturers, most notoriously the Fremont, California, firm Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy in September after receiving more than $500 million in federal loans. When Solyndra was launched in 2007, says Masia, “no one anticipated” that the Chinese government would “invest very, very aggressively” in solar-panel manufacturing. Beijing has pumped $30 billion into it, says Zweibel.”

To read this entire post click here.