Carbon Contest

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, nearly three billion gallons of fuel were lost in congested traffic in the US in 2005.  At $2.31/gallon, that's $6.7 billion that was lost while people's blood pressures were rising and the language uttered by the drivers deteriorated.

This morning I read a pretty well-humored article about Bill O'Reilly and Solar energy (video includes climate change debate, solar stuff is at 3:23).  It was written by the CEO of a solar installation company in California so naturally he was a little biassed in favor of more solar, but what struck me was how polarized these discussions have become.

If someone (from the "left") says they want more renewable energy or they want to see the government reduce our carbon emissions, someone else (from the "right") will tell them to stop stealing their money through taxes and that global warming is a hoax.  Then the first person will come back

On Saturday morning, December 19th at 10AM, the Sea-Tac Airport Light Rail station will officially open for business and I plan to be one of the first riders on it.  Unfortunately, I can't say that I am jetting off to a sunny destination, just going for a ride, there and back again.

Yesterday, President Obama gave a speech at a Home Depot in Alexandria, Va. about how energy efficiency is sexy.  Although his remarks, brought some chuckles from the audience, the President was being serious.

"Here's what's sexy about it: saving money.  Think about it this way:  If you haven't upgraded your home yet, it's not just heat or cool air that's escaping -- it's energy and money that you are wasting.  If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into the atmosphere, you'd try to figure out how you were going to keep that.  But that's exactly what's happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings."

Thanksgiving dinner’s sad and thankless,

Christmas dinner’s dark and blue,

When you stop and try to see it

From the turkey’s point of view.

Sunday dinner isn’t sunny,

From December 7^th through the 18^th the UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark and the world is wondering if there will be more than just hot air this time around.