Say So, Mr. President
Posted by Sonja Ebron
I think I’m one of those cynics our new president referred to in his inaugural speech, the ones for whom the ground has shifted under our feet. I voted for him because of the hope his presence in the White House would bring to young Black people, but I never thought he could lead us out of the calamity we’re facing. Lately, though, I’ve been engaged in some very uncynic-like behavior. Somehow I can’t stop singing, humming and dancing to that inaugural band music.
Goodbye To All That, Hello Redemption
Posted by Sonja Ebron
Negativity is not my style, but I wish I had a pair of shoes to throw at George Bush as he leaves office. Think that’s too harsh? It’s not nearly harsh enough. We had a half-decent shot at avoiding this energy crisis when Bush stole the 2000 election. His administration was steeped in the energy industry, and his top advisers knew the painful forecasts for global oil depletion long before they took power. The Bush administration should have formed a rational plan to lower our energy consumption. They should have formed a global protocol for fairly allocating the remaining recoverable oil supplies. Instead, they came to Washington with Iraq in their sights and a delusional plan to steal its oil. With 4,000 Americans dead, one million dead Iraqis, a global financial system in tatters and an energy system in meltdown, it’s hard to imagine they could leave the country in worse straits. Luckily, we don’t have to find out.
The Pickens Kool-Aid
Posted by Sonja Ebron
T. Boone Pickens is a legendary oilman, energy market speculator and hedge fund manager. I applaud him as one of the first industry insiders to acknowledge, almost four years ago, the permanent end of cheap oil. The Pickens Plan to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil is to build windmills and put natural gas-fired power plants out of commission. He wants the U.S. to break its oil addiction by replacing diesel as an auto fuel with the natural gas no longer needed to make electricity. But what’s in the Plan for T. Boone?