The world can't wait for George Bush

Public protests and condemnation forced modifications in Bali and in Washington.

Democratic Senate leadership was forced to strip important provisions from the energy bill by Republicans owned by energy interests and an out-of-touch Administration:

Senate Energy Bill Establishes Breakthrough Fuel Economy and Fuels StandardsRenewable Energy Development in Limbo
WASHINGTON (December 13, 2007) – In an 86 to 8 vote, the Senate today passed a landmark energy bill strengthening vehicle fuel economy standards for the first time in 30 years and requiring a significant increase in biofuel production. Lawmakers twice failed to muster the necessary 60 votes to end debate on more comprehensive legislation including renewable energy standards and tax incentives. So to avoid a filibuster and a veto by the White House, Senate leadership moved forward with a trimmed down bill, which is expected to pass early next week in the House before going to President Bush to be signed into law. UCS

DetroitFreePress

I am reminded that 20 years ago, we owned a vehicle that got 40 MPG. 10 years ago, we owned a vehicle that got 60 MPG. The auto industry and lawmakers seem to have sacrificed the consumer and the environment.

The Independent offered excerpts of Al Gore's speech:

Al Gore: The world can't wait for George Bush

Bali climate change summit hears a passionate appeal for action by the Nobel Prize-winner
Published: 14 December 2007
We, the human species, face a planetary emergency. That phrase still sounds shrill to some ears but it is deadly accurate as a description of the situation that we now confront.

They'll look back, and either they will ask "What were you thinking? Didn't you hear the IPCC four times unanimously warning the world to act? Didn't you see the glaciers melting? Didn't you see the deserts growing, and the droughts deepening, and the crops drying up? Didn't you pay attention to what was going on? Didn't you care? What were you thinking?"

Or they'll ask a second question, one that I'd much prefer them to ask. I want them to look back on this time, and ask: "How did you find the moral courage to successfully address a crisis that so many said was impossible? How were you able to start the process that unleashed the moral imagination of humankind to see ourselves as a single, global civilisation?" And when they ask that question, I want you to tell them that you saw it as a privilege to be alive at a moment when a relatively small group of people could control the destiny of all generations to come.

IndependentUK





Reuters





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Bloomberg

Nations Set Timetable to Revive Climate Treaty

Fuel Economy: The Single Most Effective Step for Cutting Oil Dependence

Big Coal's Dirty Plans for Our Energy Future (with shocking photos) LINK

Just as the American people and the world are beginning to recognize the necessity of shifting to renewable energies, Big Coal, in collusion with an out-of-step administration, is pushing their dirty fossil fuel as the solution to our nation's energy crisis.

Energy Bill Update: Senate Approves Compromise Legislation

EMCORE to Supply Solar Systems in Canada

GE Energy Completes Wind and Solar Deals

Xcel Energy Announces 1,000th MW of Wind in Minnesota

PacWind Delta II Turbines Make Silent Leaps of Progression

Blue Mass Group

Other cities and towns are seeking alternatives, attempting to reduce their municipal consumption. And Middleboro? It might seem that the Selectmen are more interested in adjourning their meetings early than fulfilling their responsibilities.