There is hope, if we would just get off our collective asses. Our British cousins are going to show the way by transforming their energy system to incorporate a massive amount of wind power to their energy mix. By scaling up wind power to such a large level, the kilowatt cost will diminish, making power from the wind more competitive compared to other energy sources.

Coal and nuclear both require mining operations which produce greenhouse gases before the power even starts to flow. Coal, with present technologies, dumps a lot of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, as well as mercury, a neuro-toxin, especially dangerous to children. Nuclear power only survives at all because of huge government subsidies, which only make it appear competitive. The civilian nuclear industry will never escape from it's birth as as a weapon technology. Conversely, wherever the power reactors are built, the weapons soon follow. Nuclear power is a clear and present danger. Here in the States, the technology is considered so dangerous by private insurers that they refuse to insure reactors altogether, so the U.S. taxpayer picks up the tab, with the Government itself providing phony-baloney " insurance ". God forbid we ever have our own Chernobyl, because then the massive scam would be exposed for the fraud it really is. Besides all that, the disposal problem continues to mount for nuclear waste products, ( a major nuke waste facility in Barnwell, S.Carolina just closed down ) creating a public health and security problem for decades ( centuries ? ) to come. The best solution the U.S. has come up with for the waste problem is to simply machine the slag into munitions for the military, as they did for years at National Lead in Colonie .N.Y. , and recycle the waste as uranium weapons, blasted into the hot sands of Iraq and the steepes of Central Asia.

 Bush, Clinton and Obama all think nuclear power is the way to go, so there is not much difference there. John Edwards , for his part, seems more skeptical about nukes : he favors renewables like wind and solar. This policy direction is on line with those of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who is providing major support for solar industries like Evergreen Solar . The U.S has abundant wind and tidal power ( besides the hot air in Washington ) with which to power homes and schools. All that is needed is the will to utilize it. But so far, the old school energy corporations still have sway over National power priorities : help for the wind power industry was cut out of last weeks Senate energy bill.While the British are scaling up for a massive upgrade of their power production, the best we can do here in the U.S. by 2020 is raise car efficiency standards to 30 plus miles per gallon. This is pretty miserable, when you take into consideration that CAFE standards have not improved in 32 years !!!! Things are so fucked up here that states are actually having to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for the right to make the air cleaner by limiting tail pipe emissions. States rights are promoted if they are used to coddle racist social policies, but not for promoting public health. So much for being technologically and politically advanced .

If you want to see what a more carbon neutral future looks like, you have to look to Europe or Japan, where energy efficiency has long been part of the culture. High speed mag-lev trains are unknown here in the U.S., but overseas they are a transportation standard. The airline industry is heavily subsidized by the U.S. government. Take away the subsidies and the airports would padlock their gates. Building a high-speed train system criss-crossing the U.S would employ hundreds of thousands of people and would revitalize our manufacturing base and give our citizenry hope. Besides that, trains are far more carbon neutral than jets and fleets of tractor trailers, which at present are the predominate wasteful forms of transport for people and freight.

 Transforming American power consumption patterns is not going to be easy. Special interests ( the utilities and the oil companies ) and their handmaidens ( elite political class ) are dead set against improving our system. Any change is a threat to their private interests : planet be damned is the attitude. Since most politicians are bought and sold by these corporate interests, it is no wonder we get such weak legislation out of Washington. These days, Washington is so corrupted by undue corporate interests that we can not get out of our own way to save ourselves.


Looking to the future, an AP article by Raphael G, Satter, " Britain wants wind farms to power all its homes ", which appeared in the Boston Globe last week :

" London - Britain unveiled plans to generate enough electricity through offshore wind farms to power every home in the country by 2020, increasing production more than 60-fold and changing the look of its coastlines.

 Britain's wind-swept coasts and shallow waters are ideal for off-shore turbines, but wind generated power currently accounts for less than 2% of its energy generation.

... The move would change Britain's coasts, ( Business secretary John ) Hutton acknowledged, but said the need for energy self -sufficiency left the no choice.

... The British Wind Energy Association, a trade body that represents the country's wind and marine energy industries, welcomed plans for more offshore wind farms sites
..."


While Britain rallies in the face of climate change and energy scarcity, the U.S. under the oppressive Bush - corpo boot heel makes baby steps at best, continuing to base it's energy policies on military occupation, endless wars and support for the same corrupt Saudi bastards who attacked  the WTC on September 11th.


I submit a new definition:


Energy treason:  a pursuit of policies which weaken the national energy security of the United States. see Bush Administration, Exxon Mobil, House of Saud, Charlie Wilson, Halliburton, Chevron....


I know we can do better than this !!!

 We have to...