Needlenose

We may have invented the solar cell, but China has taken the lead in manufacturing solar panels – and wind turbines as well, to add a little salt into the wound.

President Obama, in his State of the Union speech last week, sounded an alarm that the United States was falling behind other countries, especially China, on energy. “I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders — and I know you don’t either,” he told Congress.

That’s just rhetoric, Mr. President, Congress wants whatever their corporate masters tell them to want.  And in spite of what Justice Alito  may have been muttering during your speech, that’s regardless of where those corporate masters may live.  Multinationals just follow the money.

Mythbusters use golfball effect to boost fuel efficiency

Every time Congress considers boosting vehicle fuel efficiency via CAFE standards, the auto industry lobbyists descend on the Capitol to bleat about how higher mileage targets will bankrupt the industry.

I was watching a recent episode of Mythbusters where they ‘dimpled’ a car to see if the dimples would improve the laminar flow and reduce drag like they do on a golfball.

In spite of adding 800 lbs to the weight of the pictured sedan (car was coated in clay rather than denting the metal to get dimples), they were able to increase cruising fuel efficiency 11% !!  Could you imagine what the auto industry could achieve by throwing some skilled engineers and designers on this?   Hell, if they’d just produce cars with an actual streamlined design (rather than what people think is streamlined), they’d greatly increase fuel efficiency.

I’ve whined before about the lack of an affordable plug-in hybrid car on the market in the US.  I’m feeling the first twinges of hope now, though – Giant Blue Locust Buddy sent me a link to a comprehensive list of electric vehicles and their current status.

Of course there is nothing this year, but in 2010 at some point there may be a couple of choices that aren’t the $100K Tesla.  Now if my cheesy old car can just hold out until then…

It dents my American pride to admit that a corrupt crony capitalist state like the PRC shows superior leadership and vision on the green retooling of their automotive industry.  Talk about a lost opportunity!  Instead of using the economic meltdown to recast Detroit as I suggested back in November, the Dems have chosen to throw a bunch of money into the bottomless pit of the Big Three – Obama, like a plastic-suit wearing auto dealer,  is even promising to warranty your next GM purchase!  WTF?!?

In retrospect we should have just pulled the plug last fall, and put those billions into Tesla.

The latest in novel renewable fuel sources – one for which the U.S. and Western Europe have vast reserves.

For some time now I’ve been meaning to write an indepth, thoughful post describing the two possible models for alternative energy development in the U.S. – centralized power production in high-sun regions and shipping the power long distances versus decentralized power production using a ‘next generation’ power grid.

But in another proof that procrastination (sometimes) pays off, this nice SF Chronicle staff writer has already done the work – getting renewable power to the people.

Check out this Scientific American article that details the massive amounts of water used to produce our energy – in an increasingly water-strapped world. Then consider one of the issues with the T. Boone Pickens energy plan – much of the U.S. natural gas reserves require – you guessed it – lots of water to extract. And some ‘fracking’ chemical additive whose identify the industry refuses to divulge.

Nope, no legacy peace treaty...just a stinking pile of crap!

A couple of days ago, I was joking about the Shrubya transition plan – wondering if he would leave a trashed WH and pop all the “Os” out of the computer keyboards.  But on seeing Condi’s failure to make even an iota of progress on a ‘legacy’ peace deal in the cis-Jordan, I further reflected on the transition from Clinton to Shrubya, then contrasted it with the current transition.  Clinton left Shrubya with:

* a balanced budget
* $2 billion budget surplus
* under $6 trillion national debt
* fewer Federal employees than his predecessor
* an economic boom
* high levels of unemployment
* the virtual elimination of Big Ag agricultural subsidies
* a 98% agreed-upon peace deal for the cis-Jordan involving S. Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, the occupied territories and Jerusalem with Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinians
* an anti-nuke deal with Little Kim in N. Korea

What presents have King George the Witless left for Obama?

* $400+ billion dollar budget deficit (not counting the cost of the Iraq war)
* $12 trillion national debt (doubled in 8 years)
* a surge in the number of federal employees and paid political appointees
* the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression
* 6.5%+ unemployment highest level in 14 years (since his daddy, King George the Clueless)
* unprecedented levels of corporate welfare Big Ag and Big Oil tax breaks and subsidies
* complete breakdown of cis-Jordan peace talks and 2nd intifada, massive unrest and hardship in the occupied territories and regional ‘cold war’
* Nuclear-armed Little Kim
* election of hard-liners in Iran, virtual elimination of moderate faction
* And to top all that off – a failed costly war in Iraq and a failing war in Afghanistan

And to remember King George the Witless and TurdBlossom’s biggest complaint was a few computer keyboards missing “Ws.” I never thought I’d miss Clinton.

My gut reaction to the thought of bailing out those U.S. car companies who have been pushing massive, dangerous polluting gas guzzlers on us for obscene profits and who have been shamelessley lobbying Congress to oppose CAFE standards over the last decade is – fuck them!

But on reflection, here is the perfect opportunity to get what we want, while they are in distress.  Sure, let’s bail them out, but only if:

The government gets a significant piece of each company (for some period);

The companies are unable to lobby Congress during the bailout period;

A significant chunk of the cash is put into R&D for low emission/no emission vehicles;

The company agrees to produce vehicles with 35+ MPG by 2010, 45 MGP by 2012 and 55 MPG by 2014

Otherwise, fuck ‘em, let ‘em fail.

…otherwise why would he give them so much oil?  I guess the long-running Repug embargo of Cuba will soon come to a screeching halt.  Ironic, no?