With all the talk of peak oil we forget that what it really means is peak cheap oil. There are plenty of non conventional sources of oil in the form of oil sands and oil shale. The United States has at least a trillion barrels worth of oil in the form of oil shale. Could high oil prices turn out to be a boon to the U.S. economy?
Population is a worldwide problem. As I've said before, it is the greatest contributor to pollution there is. To that end, I propose tax breaks for those who don't procreate and an even bigger tax break to those who adopt. It is important to have some positive reinforcement to those who are responsible in regards to population related problems. It is also an issue of fairness as those without children still have their taxdollars go for schools, subsidized daycare, medicaid, etc.
Despite what the corporate controlled media tells us, there are some very worrying things regarding our economy. It isn't anything particularly new though. The issues that concern me is the trade deficit and the mounting national and consumer debt in this country. As markets tend to do, there will be a correction of some kind. I believe the correction will take the form of very high inflation. As the U.S. dollar is devalued, it would naturally reduce debts in real dollars and make it too expensive to import goods. Using my imagination I will try to show a picture of how hyperinflation would affect our lives.
Is it too late to avert global warming? If we stop all burning of fossil fuels now, the Earth may still continue getting warmer because the carbon we have already released into the atmosphere will still be there. Add to this increased water vapor, diminishing icecaps, and the release of carbon dioxide and methane from permafrost as it thaws and it is thought that the warming will accelerate. Are we doomed? Not necessarily. By using some desperate measures we can counter the effects of global warming, at least temporarily.
Well everyone, I'm in desperate straits. I'm out of money and out of work. After countless resumes with several interviews over the course of 9 months, I have nothing to show for it. I haven't even been able to get a job at the temp agencies. I have no money and I need health insurance and dental insurance. The only option I can see out of this is to enlist for military duty. They are the only ones that are hiring.
Jack Davis, who ran in 2004 as a democrat against republican congressman Tom Reynolds is scheduled to announce his candidacy tomorrow in a series of press conferences held
-9 AM: Protocol Restaurant, 6766 Transit Rd., Amherst, NY
-12 noon: Big Tree Inn, 46 Main St., Geneseo, NY
-4 PM: The Dutch Mill, 2901 Dewey Ave., Greece, NY
Information from a letter he wrote that is reported here. Jack Davis did really well against Tom Reynolds last time. Tom Reynolds is very powerful in the republican party and votes very conservatively. He is in the pocket of big business like few I've ever seen. He is a huge supporter of Walmart. He vocally and enthusiatically has supported that god awful Medicare D.
The number one thing you can do to have a positive impact on the environment is don't procreate. That's right. Don't breed. I have gotten arguments that it's ok to have lots of children because we can feed a lot more people than there are now and there is plenty of space in the United States to live. Feeding people and living space aren't the reasons not to have offspring though. It is waste. Every human being creates waste. Also, having a child means that child will likely grow up and have kids of their own thus damaging the environment even more. I would argue that a person that drives an SUV, eats meat, litters, doesn't recycle, but doesn't have children, pollutes less than a person who takes public transportation, is a vegan, recycles, conserves energy, and does have children.
Doing some research the other day and ran into this topic. It intrigued me enough that I decided to research this topic further. Traditional farming involves tilling fields with a plow. This kills weeds and makes the soil more porous, making planting easier. The problem with this is that it uses a great deal of energy and also loosens the soil, leaving it vulerable to erosion. A more advanced method of farming is known as conservation tilling. This includes both no-till and minimum-till techniques. The advantages being that there is a lot less energy (fossil fuel) consumed and the soil is left intact, preventing erosion and sequestering carbon which helps fight global warming. The other main advantage is that if done right, it can be much cheaper giving the farmer greater profit margins and over time it can even increase yields. The point of explaining all this is to advocate for more incentives from our government to adopt these advanced farming practices.
It's true. Security agents are actually threatening people with the death penalty merely for protesting against the president. Here is a direct quote regarding this policy
"For those who take the risk of going out into the street and try to destabilise the situation, their actions will be qualified as terrorism."
It was then explained that the penalty for that is of couse death.
Black clad death squads kidnapping people in the middle of the night. Execution style killings. Torture. Ethnic cleansing. This is all going on in Iraq as we speak. Story after story of death squads that many claim have the backing of the Shiite led government are targeting Sunnis for exermination. For example here's an article where the US caught a death squad that was part of the police force. Note that this article is dated before the February 22nd Al Askari Mosque bombing that has escalated into the current genocidal frenzy. Quite a few of these Sunnis seem to be running scared. They are looking to flee the country and find a safe haven. The question is, if Sunni muslims in Iraq request asylum from death squads from the United States, do we not have a responsibility to grant said request?
I'm disturbed by the erosion of civil liberties in this country. I know many others are as well. Civil liberties such as privacy take a back seat to the idea that we should make things easier for law enforcement or provide tools for law enforcement. What happened to good old fashioned detective work? Are we hiring sloppy officers who need the rules changed to make it easier for them?
This is a work in progress. Any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated. I'm also thinking about rewording some of it. I haven't gotten any negative comments regarding it but I'm not totally satisfied myself. For instance I'd like to emphasize that I blame the multinationals and other corporations that exploit cheap labor. I'm thinking about better ways to word things to make sure there are no misunderstandings on the issue of free trade and illegal immigration. Anyways, I added a bit on bioenergy. That's pretty much all I've added for now.
I like the idea of people putting their heads together and coming up with a real plan. Some are working on an energy plan on this site. I've also proposed a job creation plan. As for that job creation plan I was working on in another diary, don't worry, I'm going to be coming out with an updated version soon. There should really be an open source section of Kos where people can work on stuff like this. I'm going to go ahead and propose a new project as well. This one is about securing america while not giving up our liberties. I'm no security expert so if anyone wants to take this idea up and run with it, be my guest. I'll start off with a few ideas just to get the discussion going.
I'm taking inspiration from the group effort of several on Kos who are working on Energize America and proposing that we start a new initiative concerning jobs. I mean when it comes right down to it, it really is "the economy stupid." This is pretty much always the top issue for americans. I'll start off with a few ideas of my own.
I enjoy the energy debate that goes on here and often comment on such diaries. I'd like to list a comprehensive strategy and thoughts of mine that are just too darn big for a comment. So here goes yet another energy diary (as if you can ever have enough). It seems to have turned into quite an essay. I explain a few things as I go along so the casual reader knows what I'm talking about so bear with me if I explain about things you already know about. Feel free to critisize any factual or grammatical errors you see and I will endeavor to correct them.
I live in Rochester, New York and boy does the economy suck here. I've been looking for work since July. I've put applications to anything I'm even remotely qualified for. I've only gotten a few interviews.
One thing the republicans seem to have is party discipline. It seems that whatever they want to get passed be it tax cuts, legislation that corporations like, judges, it seems that republicans band together really well. There may be a few dissenters here and there but all in all, they have good party discipline and are able to push an agenda.
Television media has become completely one sided. On any issue, you get only the pro business side of the story. Whether it is what value unions have or free trade agreements or corporate welfare or minimum wage or how walmart and disney treat their workers, you never hear from anyone that represents labor. Always a bunch of talking heads or they bring in a ceo or corporate shill to spout their talking points.
