This is a poster supporting the US Merchant Marine in World War II. That was when we were a serious people.
These are the actual stakes, as the Gulf of Mexico gusher shows us, life and death.
Jimmy Carter from the speech "A Crisis of Confidence" on July 15, 1979:
Just as a similar synthetic rubber corporation helped us win World War II, so will we mobilize American determination and ability to win the energy war. Moreover, I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of twenty percent of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000.
20% solar by the year 2000 was his goal and Carter had a detailed plan to get there. The initial reaction to the speech was good but, eventually, it became known as the "malaise speech" and was turned into a joke that helped the Republicans elect Ronald Reagan.
After that, we basically forgot about energy for 30 years (except for a couple of wars or three, numerous price fluctuations, and any number of other things...)
In 2008, when Obama suggested that "if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce," the Republican National Committee sent tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters.
The joke fell flat when GWBush Administration estimates showed expanded offshore drilling would supply maybe 1% of our 20 million bbl daily needs by 2030 while keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance adds another 4%.
Yet Obama never pushed his 7-1 energy advantage with a comprehensive program to reclaim a goodly proportion of the energy we waste, more than half of what we produce.
We can't wait for the politicians any more. We can change US energy in one growing season if we - not the politicians, not the corporations, not the media - want to and work at it. Energy efficiency and renewables work on an individual, communal, and collective level. People are doing public energy demos - solar, efficiency, other renewables - at farmers' markets and other events now. Others hold monthly weatherization barnraisings, solar barnraisings, and regular energy fairs. You can practice Solar IS Civil Defense with any number of solar/dynamo flashlight/radio/cellphone chargers now on the market that can actually power the flashlight, radio, cell phone, and extra set of batteries we should all have on hand in case of emergency. Many are building toward the international climate work day scheduled for 10/10/10 by 350.org and intend to keep on going after that.
Civil defense solar is camping solar, survival solar, refugee camp solar, and a significant rise in the standard of living for the 1.6 billion people in the world who do not now have access to electricity. It's a few square inches of solar electric panel and a hand crank, a battery, an LED light, and a cell phone. Add a bicycle and you can go from the cell phone and radio to a computer and a TV set. It's not so hard nor is it all that expensive.
None of this will plug the Gulf well's gushing but it's a start of our weaning ourselves away from oil.
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