Everybody Wake Up

Well, if nothing else, Sarah Palin certainly proved tonight that she can be just as catty and snarky as many steeped in the culture and establishment of DC.

She also affirmed what I suspected from the moment she was announced - that a McCain/Palin administration will be another 4 years of the same as far as energy policy, and I quote "we will lay more pipeline, build more nuclear plants, burn more clean coal, and move forward on [renewables]." Once again, as we've heard repeatedly over the past 8 years, the plan is direct action to ramp up our consumption of non-renewables, with vague lip service paid to developing renewable energy. . .some day. Yet she supposedly stood up to big oil as governor.

This is the top issue for me in this election - more so than the war and the economy, though those are also very strong concerns - but if we don't get on top of this and shift to a more renewable and sustainable energy policy now, we're going to have a lot more war and a lot deeper economic problems in the future. Yes, it's going to cost money, but it's also going to save money in the long run (once you've got the technology to utilize them, sunlight and wind are abundant and free), and it's going to create money for all the scientists and skilled laborers and venture capitalists who make the shift into this field, those who will develop the technology, learn how to build and maintain it, and front the money to get the stuff built. Yes, that in-between time of transitioning between an oil/coal/carbon-based economy and a renewable/sustainable economy may be a little rough, and being the good progressive that I am, I'd say we ought to anticipate who will be hit the hardest and do what we can to make that transition smoother and easier for them.

But I'd also say we need to take a page out of the Silent Generation's playbook and learn to just suck it up and be willing to make some economic sacrifices for the good of this country. During WWII they rationed staples and gasoline and grew victory gardens, women stopped wearing pantyhose, they recycled as much as possible, it was anathema to waste anything. Here we are five years into a war, a quagmire with no end in sight (despite all the talk of immanent "victory" tonight**) that has now lasted longer than WWII, and what sacrifices have we as a people made through its duration? Oh, I forgot, our commander-in-chief recently gave up his golf game in honor of the troops. But what about the rest of us? Some folks are now finally giving up their unnecessary and inefficient SUVs or striving to consolidate trips since it seems gas will never go under three and a half bucks a gallon again. But just as many are refusing to change their habits, rather, they are clamoring for us to exhaust any and every potential drill site, foolishly believing that American oil companies (heavily subsidized by the American government, incidentally - in other words, corporate welfare funded by your tax dollars) will actually sell American oil to Americans, as opposed to the highest bidder, once they pull it out of our ground. Even in a Pollyanna world where they manage to safely, efficiently, and cleanly get every last drop and actually sell it to Americans at a reasonable price, it's enough to meet 5% of our current demand. That's not even a band aid. We need to start changing NOW, and be willing to make some sacrifices in the process.

As Dave would say, EVERYBODY WAKE UP!



Peace,
Catrina

**Just wondering - when Gov. Palin says "victory" does she mean it in the same way that a jump-suited Pres. Bush meant "mission accomplished" on the decks of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln five years ago?

I know - she's not the only one proving she can be catty and snarky tonight. . .