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POPSGet To Know Tim Pawlenty Speculation is that he's the man for McCain. Looks to be a solid but not very exciting pick. He does have more experience that Obama, and would be the only candidate in the race that isn't a US senator and who has executive experience. From what I can tell, this guy would help more than hurt McCain, but I don't think he would have a major impact either way right away. Looks like he would be a safe pick that could put Minnesota into play, but not an exciting pick like Alaska's Sarah Palin or Oklahoma's Dr. No Tom Coburn or even Joe Lieberman (not that I think he would be a good pick, but he would be exciting).
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POPSthe right path to solar yes yes yes! this is a great step in the right direction. we need more money to offer greater incentives to increase solar installation, and that money should definitely be coming out of the windfall oil profits.
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POPSAir Force and Renewables This is a nice read on the role of government's involvement in energy tech. It's also interesting to see SunPower (nasdaq: SPWR) here. That stock is off 40% from a 52-week high but still sells for 5.6 times sales.
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POPSInflation Going Up, Up, Up Home foreclosures, income going down in real terms, mounting job losses, a high trade deficit, the greatest national debt in US history, the largest budget deficit in US history, a negative national savings rate, 48 million Americans with no health care coverage and twice that many with inadequate health care coverage, and now rapidly rising inflation. But the top 5% of income earners aren't hurting. They are doing quite well. In fact, some of them have never done better. When do look honestly at the obvious and say precisely what is going on? That the political and economic system is not structured to serve most of us. It's essentially structured to serve an elite few. After saying it, when do we get angry enough to say that this slanted economic system isn't inevitable, that it doesn't have to be this way? When does our saying become loud voices demanding that this stepchild of feudal economics needs to be transformed to serve us?
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POPSPropane Viable Alternate Fuel Option for School Districts I would love to be able to take my 20 lb propane tank off my grill and put it on back of the lawn tractor to mow the lawn and then take it into the house to cook dinner and afterward attach to the vehicle in the garage and drive to the walmart for a refill. And to think it would be actually MADE IN AMERICA! What a concept!
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POPSSomeone needs a trip to Teleprompter's Are Us and Some Remedial Math
Properly inflating your tires can improve gas mileage by 3%. Let's be generous and assume that one-half of the total possible savings would be realized if we all inflated our tires properly. Americans drive approximately 2,880 billion miles per year. If we average 24 mpg, we use around 120 billion gallons of gasoline in our vehicles. If, through perfect tire inflation, we improved our collective fuel efficiency by 1.5%, that would be 1.8 billion gallons. A barrel of oil produces around 20 gallons of gasoline, so the total savings available through tire inflation is approximately 90,000,000 barrels of oil annually. How does this stack up against "all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling?" ANWR: 10 billion barrels Outer Continental Shelf: 18 billion barrels Oil shale: 1 trillion barrels So, on the above assumptions, it would take only 11,308 years of proper tire inflation to equal "all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling."
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POPSCool! Nanoparticles Recent results from research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that adding the right dash of nanoparticles to standard mixes of lubricants and refrigerants could highly contribute to energy saving in cooling systems.
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POPSIt's So Simple But People Won't Do It People talk a lot about wanting to save energy, lower oil/gas prices, and be more environmentally friendly, but most of it is just that - talk. People want to appear like they want to make a difference because it's become socially unacceptable to appear not to care. But when it comes to taking action, if it impacts people's current lifestyle in any way - even the smallest bit - most people won't do it. Consider driving 60-65 MPH on the freeway instead of 75-80, and going slower on the accelerator. If everyone did this, the savings would be HUGE - but of course people feel they have to get where they're going 30 seconds sooner and need to show of the power of their engines, so they won't do it.
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POPSCandidates' Approaches to Energy I'm glad to see both candidates very focused on energy policy - it's something this country has been lacking for a very long time. I have to agree with Obama on this one, with one big caveat. That he doesn't earmark the money brought in for more wasteful government spending. No public interest programs, or doing colleagues favors by funding their efforts. Use that money to reduce our deficit, fund research into alternative energy, and give the rest back to the taxpayers. I'm a democrat, but one of the things I can't stand about many democrats is government spending. Let's reduce the amount of government programs and give more of that money back to taxpayers.
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POPSPetition U.S. Congress: Make Gas Cheaper NOW WASHINGTON – Wisconsin’s 1st District Congressman Paul Ryan introduced legislation today that would impose a one-year earmark moratorium and strengthen the paychecks of American families. With the savings from this break in pork-barrel spending, Congress would provide some relief at the pump this summer and make much needed investments in our nation’s infrastructure. “The Gas Tax Relief and Earmark Moratorium Act of 2008” was unveiled at today’s Joint Hearing before the House Budget Committee and House Transportation Committee, which focused on financing infrastructure investments.
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POPSIkea offers free recycling of CFL bulbs By now most of us have heard about CFL bulbs and their energy savings. I saw them on sale for just 67 cents at Wal-Mart today. They last for years, and are a frugalite's dream come true. The problem comes when they finally do burn out. Most contain mercury, which we don't want in our landfills. Now Ikea offers free recycling of CFL bulbs in their stores. From their site: "Bring your used mercury containing lightbulbs to the IKEA store for free disposal. Since our CFL bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, they should not be simply tossed out. IKEA offers the perfect solution: a ‘Free Take Back’ program offering recycle bins in all IKEA stores. Or for lamp disposal information for your state, please go to www.lamprecycle.org to obtain more information." Link
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POPSWhere Would Jesus Drill? "It is widely believed among evangelical Christians (and some Orthodox Jews) that Scripture foretells a massive oil find in the Holy Land; prophecy buffs are especially captivated by a passage in Ezekiel that says Armageddon will be triggered by a band of nations—Russia, Iran, and a confederacy of Arab countries are most often named as the likely suspects—attacking Israel to "take a great spoil." Their faith has spurred a sprawling, decades-long treasure hunt. At least 10 companies or individuals have searched for oil in Israel using biblical clues. So far, few of the more than 400 wells drilled there have turned up commercial quantities of oil and gas. But the willingness of ordinary churchgoers to invest their life savings has kept the ventures going—and made the business rich terrain for a bevy of false prophets, penny-stock hustlers, and con men."
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POPSTake action on the 2007 Energy Bill SaveOurEnvironment.org has posted a call to action, supporting the Senate's energy bill. The bill requires 35 MPG fuel economy standards by 2020 and a 15% renewable electricity standard. The measures could save 1.2 million barrels of oil, calculated to about US$25 Billion dollars saved in energy costs. The auto alliance is counter-lobbying for standards of 32 MPG by 2022. This doesn't seem like much of a difference, however using the Senate's proposal saves twice the amount of oil as that of the auto industry and more than twice the total savings. You can log onto the site to sign the petition or contact your state representative directly .
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