The Next President's First Task: Politics & Power by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- added April 26, 2008
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- TouchArt
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Our friend Bill Brown up in Taos at www.nmglobalwarming.org sent this link to an important message on the earth from our eco hero Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Bill Brown writes:
Greetings, All -- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., writing in the May issue of Vanity Fair, makes the salient point that our woefully inefficient, old-technology, backward looking fossil fuel economy "...has eroded our economic power, destroyed our moral authority, diminished our international influence and prestige, endangered our national security, and damaged our health and landscapes. It is subverting everything we value."
Importantly, this is happening whether or not we consider fossil fuel impacts on global warming and climate change. A new clean energy economy that relies on abundant, essentially unlimited resources and technologies that already exist to exploit these resources is a better idea than trying to struggle in vain to maintain an obsolescent fossil fuel economy that has pretty much run its course after a century or so of dominance.
Encapsulating an early 2007 statement by Jeremy Grantham, Chairman, GMO LLC [Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo, Boston/San Francisco] -- financial advisor to Vice-President Dick Cheney and Senator John Kerry, among others -- "...taking steps to reduce carbon emissions through conservation, efficiency, alternatives, and generally moving away from fossil fuels makes enormous sense. These steps will solve a a huge number of social and environmental problems that now exist, and these steps will save mega-billions in the long run even if global warming was not occurring. There is no rational downside to this effort."
-----Bill Brown in Taos, NM
This bears repeating -"A new clean energy economy that relies on abundant, essentially unlimited resources and technologies that already exist to exploit these resources is a better idea."
Brought to you via your friends at TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
Every day is Earth Day.
Bill Brown writes:
Greetings, All -- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., writing in the May issue of Vanity Fair, makes the salient point that our woefully inefficient, old-technology, backward looking fossil fuel economy "...has eroded our economic power, destroyed our moral authority, diminished our international influence and prestige, endangered our national security, and damaged our health and landscapes. It is subverting everything we value."
Importantly, this is happening whether or not we consider fossil fuel impacts on global warming and climate change. A new clean energy economy that relies on abundant, essentially unlimited resources and technologies that already exist to exploit these resources is a better idea than trying to struggle in vain to maintain an obsolescent fossil fuel economy that has pretty much run its course after a century or so of dominance.
Encapsulating an early 2007 statement by Jeremy Grantham, Chairman, GMO LLC [Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo, Boston/San Francisco] -- financial advisor to Vice-President Dick Cheney and Senator John Kerry, among others -- "...taking steps to reduce carbon emissions through conservation, efficiency, alternatives, and generally moving away from fossil fuels makes enormous sense. These steps will solve a a huge number of social and environmental problems that now exist, and these steps will save mega-billions in the long run even if global warming was not occurring. There is no rational downside to this effort."
-----Bill Brown in Taos, NM
This bears repeating -"A new clean energy economy that relies on abundant, essentially unlimited resources and technologies that already exist to exploit these resources is a better idea."
Brought to you via your friends at TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
Every day is Earth Day.
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touchart , thanks for posting this. This, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr is so very well said as usual.
The May issue of Vanity Fair is very worth picking up. After I pulled out the perfume ad pages and let the magazine air out for a few days I had a chance to sit down and read it. A bunch of great articles! -
Twodee, I have the same ritual as you do. I wonder if they think anyone would buy the stuff that they stink up magazines with. It all smells like a dirty ashtray to me. RFK Jr, is a hero, I admire him for speaking out brilliantly on environmental issues. It gives one cause to hope when high profile people are willing to use their power for the good of the people and environment.
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I cannot fathom any reason not to move in the direction of a green economy.
There is simply no downside... unless you have your wealth tied in some way to oil..
then you'd want to see a large increase in the price of the product... say somewhere in the range of $80 to $100 in an eight year period.
But that kind of change in the price of anything would result in economic disaster for everyone except those who had ties directly to the price. It would take someone so utterly cruel, without the ability to sympathize or empathize with those who they would truly be oppressing.
Luckily, that couldn't happen in this society. We take care of each other...right?
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Yes, I have a subscription and received that issue last night and I agree - but once you take out the perfume and the advertising, Vanity Fair has some of the best journalists and their articles are almost always complete, well researched, fair and balanced. (I say almost because I can't say I've read every single one!) This is a great endorsement and Vanity Fair in past issues has acknowledged those at the forefront of transitioning us toward a green economy. Thanks TouchArt.
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You are all very welcome.
And thanks to you for all the good work you do.
Charleen
Check out this link about the Solar Energy Conference put on by SEIA in San Diego October 13-16, 2008 -
http://www.solarpowerconference.com/about/
What gives me hope is that scientists have workable solutions to make green energy a reality.
Just like Martin Luther King III says about eradicating poverty, "we don't lack the means, we lack the will."
Let's harness the will and spread the word.
Contact your congress people -
Call and write your congress people tell them you want clean, green, sustainable electricity and energy.
You can contact your Members of Congress through the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121).
You can find contact email, fax numbers and contact info for Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other congressional leaders and your representatives at - http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.t...
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