Quote of the Day: Tom Friedman on the Politics of Energy
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08.15.08
Tom Friedman battles Michele Bachmann in the Quote of the Day Olympics with a tirade against McCain for missing all eight votes on the renewable energy tax credit extensions (and Obama too, for missing the last vote). Without this bill's passage, most investment in solar and wind in the US will grind to a halt.
" Richard K. Lester, an energy-innovation expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, notes, “The best chance we have — perhaps the only chance” of addressing the combined challenges of energy supply and demand, climate change and energy security “is to accelerate the introduction of new technologies for energy supply and use and deploy them on a very large scale.”
This, he argues, will take more than a Manhattan Project. It will require a fundamental reshaping by government of the prices and regulations and research-and-development budgets that shape the energy market. Without taxing fossil fuels so they become more expensive and giving subsidies to renewable fuels so they become more competitive — and changing regulations so more people and companies have an interest in energy efficiency — we will not get innovation in clean power at the scale we need.
That is what this election should be focusing on. Everything else is just bogus rhetoric designed by cynical candidates who think Americans are so stupid — so bloody stupid — that if you just show them wind turbines in your Olympics ad they’ll actually think you showed up and voted for such renewable power — when you didn’t." ::New York Times
More Tom Friedman in TreeHugger
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Tom Friedman on America's Addict-In-Chief
Thomas L. Friedman on "Our Green Bubble"
Save Cash and Save the Planet: A Timely Guide from Friends of the Earth UK
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It amazes me that congressmen and senators are permitted to miss votes at all. No repercussions, no loss of pay or benefits, for failing to fulfill the primary function of their job.
It amazes me that congressmen and senators are permitted to miss votes at all. No repercussions, no loss of pay or benefits, for failing to fulfill the primary function of their job.
For crap's sake, can't we just admit that it's the 21st century and stop requiring legislators to be present on the floor to cast a vote? It's not like the legislation is going to pass and then it's going to take 3 weeks to deliver the news of a fraudulent vote to Independence, MO by horse. I think most congress people (or at least there staffs) have blackberries.
Tom was a big fan of biofuels, which have fizzled because of food and water supply concerns, but otherwise I'm on board with this. Punitive taxation of energy waste, encouragement of efficiency, giving regulators some teeth, what's not to like?
To Anthony: Right on target. If I miss work for a few days, they not only don't pay me, they might fire me.
To rob: I'm not too worried about flip-floppers on issues, as long as they admit their past mistakes and are actively trying to make right the second time around. What gets my panties in a bunch is the hypocrites, the people who say they're doing one thing, but in reality are playing a completely different hand. THAT pisses me off. Tom's on the good side now though and I think that's what counts.
Here's a link to the full article
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/opinion/13friedman.html?ex=1376366400&en=1d0f1e139ac07eb4&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
LA: I usually include that! thanks, and i have added it to the post
@ Bert,
If we didn't collect all the congresspeople in DC, how would all the lobbyists get to them?
Oh, wait, you might be on to something here...