Squandering opportunity for clean energy industry

In today's column, "Dumb as we wanna be" Thomas Friedman has discussed the McCain-Clinton gas holiday idiocy, along with the larger issue of failure to provide stable and significant incentives for clean energy and the attendant loss of American leadership in clean energy technology.

This is, of course, but one symptom of the still larger malaise of government run by and for the benefit of the biggist corporate vested interests.  We can hardly expect more from such a government.

What has boggled me is trying to understand what we can do to check and reverse this disastrous situation.  Certainly putting a Democrat like Obama in the White House and increasing Democratic majorities in Congress is a step in the right direction.  But I can't forget how ineffective the Democratic loyal opposition has been in moderating the course of this administration, even since 2006.

Since Edwards lost out in this primary, my chosen candidate has been Obama.  I recall pointing out at my local DFL caucus here in Minnesota that the wave of emotion that Obama could bring about across this country would be good for us all, and largely I think this has proven to be true, though the acrimony between the remaining Democratic candidates has seriously undermined its positive effects.  Once in office "President Obama" could no doubt continue to change the tone of our politics through his undoubted leadership abilities, and decent Democratic majorities in Congress will help too.

Could this new government reverse the dangerous trends in the American power structure?  I would like to hope so, but I have serious doubts.  Can a government function positively with the opposition of an increasingly narrow and corporate dominated mass media?  Can the databases of clandestine and corporate organizations (and their continued growth) be undone?  Can a Congress be unbought?  Can a struggle for oil dominance be stopped?

I'm truly frightened.

•  It's fighting a year-guard action.

  Climate change, resource depletion, and toxin accumulation have scant regard for human short-sightedness.  And deferred gratification has never been a hot seller in the political arena.  

  Back when Carter embraced alternative energy R&D, championed a 55 mph highways speed, and set thrifty temperature standards for federal building, there was still time, there was still hope.  Still a meaningful chance to slow down the train of climate change.  But Reagan threw all that out the window.

  Now, though the decades that have passed are only a handful, that train is a runaway with a momentum that cannot and will not be stopped.

  My hope for President Obama is an moderate near-term improvement in domestic policies and in our international diplomacy.  Our sullied reputation can recover, a little.  But I don't see the Mid-East mess getting much better.  I don't see our gas-guzzling ways chaning until long, long after the shortages and even food lines become commonplace.

  by lgmcp on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 11:05:19 AM PDT

•  We can do all this ourselves, no gov/corp needed

  Want to switch to green energy? Then go ahead and do it.

  Buy solar panels, buy or build a wind turbine. Build a solar cooker, use daylighting and passive solar heating in your house. Spread the gospel as it were to your friends and neighbors. Build up enough capacity and you can all switch to electric vehicles, powered by green energy.

  Go here and look around: they'll tell you everything you need to know to do all this and more.

  Don't wait for the government to mandate it because you know that so long as they're in the pay of Big Oil and the rest, they won't.

  by Visceral on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 11:12:17 AM PDT

•  I'm frightened too

  but there is hope.  The Weather Channel isn't being alarmist but is having some specials and information, other channels are covering things from a wildlife perspective, but the drumbeat is there.   The information is getting out.

  A president commited to energy change can get the idea out pretty quickly.  It will take longer to make real changes, but we first have to put the desperate need for change on the table.

  And as other posters said, we can be messengers, we can change our own lifestyles and encourage friends and family.

  by jfromga on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 11:20:24 AM PDT

•  Thanks for the comments

  It's true, there are some encouraging signs.  I need to keep reminding myself there are some cracks in the darkness where light shines through.
  Seven years ago when the Supreme Court decided to give the disputed election to Bush, I knew there was a rough time ahead.  I also "knew" in 2004 that the American electorate would wise up and end this travesty.
  The depth of the depravity of this administration has exceeded my wildest fears, and I hardly expect to see much of the damage undone in my lifetime.
  We must do what we can for our children.

  by dskoe on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 11:57:50 AM PDT

•  I wrote in a post earlier

  that McCain was the one who let a bill slip that would have given alternative energy tax credits!

  http://www.dailykos.com/...

  by The Overhead Wire on Wed Apr 30, 2008 at 02:25:59 PM PDT