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TomPaine op-ed: ‘The Alt Fuels Distraction’

I have an op-ed on TomPaine today (it's also on CommonDreams and EnergyBulletin) that I'm fairly invested in. It attempts to make an argument I've made in bits and pieces several times -- something I'm keen to communicate clearly, though I'm not sure this piece fully does the job.

The argument, in short, is that the current debate over our energy future is distorted by money. Big-industry supply-side options like nuclear, "clean coal," and ethanol get all the press, while more immediately effective demand-reduction policies wither from lack of attention. It is the responsibility of the citizenry to push for these options, since industry (and the congressfolk they own) will never do it.

I hope you'll give it a read and let me know what you think. (More below the fold.)

Goreapalooza

The coverage (much of it attacks and distortions) of Gore and his movie is coming fast and furious -- too much for this over-worked blogger to keep up with. Here's a random round-up of stuff I've come across (and not yet linked to):

• A long, fascinating, and complimentary cover story in New York Magazine. If you read one thing, this should be it. (The mag also has a review of the movie by David Edelstein.)
• A flattering write-up in USA Today in which Gore denies he's running.
• Tech Central Station -- shill-factory non-pareil -- posts a purported fact check of Gore's movie. An Andrew Sullivan reader smacked it down. The editor of TCS replies and, unbelievably, uses the same twisted quote from my interview with Gore, which, as I've pointed out, means exactly the opposite of what he says it means.
• The cover story in National Review is a hack job on Gore's movie. ThinkProgress fact checks it, to devastating effect.
• Rotten Tomatoes has links to about a zillion more reviews of the movie.
• Judith Lewis from LA Weekly interviews Gore.
• The Nation's David Corn converses with Gore, mostly about politics.
• Over at TAPPED, Ezra Klein's been running a Gore Watch, keeping up with the press. Read the two latest here and here.
• Shakespeare's Sister eviscerates Howard Fineman (and by implication the whole clubby Beltway punditariat) for his treatment of Gore. (via Ezra)

Other stuff I've missed? Leave links in comments.

Inhofe coming around?

From a press release out of Joe Lieberman's office:

WASHINGTON -- Today, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), congratulated EPW Committee Chairman, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), for taking a long-overdue, yet significant step toward tackling Global Warming by hosting a roundtable discussion entitled, "Exploring Greenhouse Gas Technologies." The Roundtable consisted of business leaders, environmental technology experts, and a representative of the U.S. Department of Energy.

"Many thought we would never see Senator Inhofe participate in, much less convene, a discussion of technologies for reducing global warming pollution. Clearly, something has changed. Longstanding opponents of reducing global warming pollution are finally getting the message that the American public understands the stakes and will no longer tolerate inaction in the face of the ever-growing evidence that the climate is changing. The American forces of reason and can-do spirit are starting to overwhelm the last bastion of denial and pessimism on climate change, namely, the U.S. Congress, which, I hope, will soon adopt the comprehensive climate legislation that I have been pushing with Senator McCain since 2003."

Inhofe's probably just nuke-boosting and "clean coal"-shilling, but at least it's something.

Americans and Climate Change: The risks of packaging climate change as an energy issue

"Americans and Climate Change: Closing the Gap Between Science and Action" (PDF) is a report synthesizing the insights of 110 leading thinkers on how to educate and motivate the American public on the subject of global warming. Background on the report here. I'll be posting a series of excerpts (citations have been removed; see original report). If you'd like to be involved in implementing the report's recommendations, or learn more, visit the Yale Project on Climate Change website.

Below the fold is the last bit of the report's third chapter, "Packaging climate change as an energy issue." It's quite short! It discusses the risks of tying climate change too closely to energy concerns.

Why green-group canvassing operations need an overhaul

It’s that time of year again on college campuses: final exams have given way to Frisbee on the quad, boxes are packed, and every telephone pole bears a bright yellow […]

A Twist of Organophosphate

EPA scientists say they’re being pressured on pesticide studies U.S. EPA managers and pesticide-industry officials have been pressuring agency scientists to skip steps in pesticide testing and allow continued use […]

Nuke Skytalker

Bush pushes nuclear power at home and abroad President Bush has embraced nuclear power with a vengeance (on us?). On a tour of a nucular … er, nuclear power plant […]

When the Rivers Run Dry

After reading a few things -- namely this from Ezra Klein, this from Brad Plumer, and a Prospect article by Jon Margolis -- I resolved to learn more about the world's water woes. After all, I'm already a giant energy nerd, so why not become a giant water nerd?

Perhaps I should lose some weight, and be a more modestly-sized nerd. In any case, number one on my reading list was When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce. Read the Salon review here.

The one-word review of Pearce's book is: Terrifying. Whether he's writing about the Indian peasant farmers who draw from poisoned wells every day, the oblivious Arizonans who run fountains in the desert, or the apocalyptic moonscape that is the Aral Sea (once a thriving fishery, now a toxic cesspool), Pearce manages to convey the immense wreckage human activity is making of our lifeblood. No, not oil. The other precious fluid.

Harvesting energy

Freaky. Check out this BBC piece on harvesting energy expended by human bodies and the vibrations caused by transport like trains and subways.

NYT mag stuff

The latest issue of New York Times Magazine is devoted to architecture, and there's tons of good stuff in it. Two things in particular:

Check out the interview with Richard Rogers, a Brit architect. He doesn't trumpet his environmental consciousness -- he just takes it for granted. He's delightfully matter-of-fact.

Even better is this in-depth story on how New Urbanist dreams for rebuilding Biloxi fizzled. It's a fascinating look at how issues of class, race, and culture collide in stressful circumstances. Originally I was going to write a long post about it, but here it is 4:45, so ... just go read this post at Oil Drum instead.