Montgomery County, MD Green Party Blog

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has just released a report that claims that “The days of inexpensive, convenient, abundant energy sources are quickly drawing to a close.”

The report warns that in order to sustain its mission, “the Army must insulate itself from the economic and logistical energy-related problems coming in the near to mid future. This requires a transition to modern, secure, and efficient energy systems, and to building technologies that are safe and environmental friendly.” The best energy options they conclude are “energy efficiency and renewable sources.” However, “currently, there is no viable substitute for petroleum.”

They do not expect that any transition will be easy: “energy consumption is indispensable to our standard of living and a necessity for the Army to carry out its mission. However, current trends are not sustainable. The impact of excessive, unsustainable energy consumption may undermine the very culture and activities it supports. There is no perfect energy source; all are used at a cost.”

The Army’s new Energy Strategy sets out five major initiatives:

1. Eliminate energy waste in existing facilities
2. Increase energy efficiency in new construction and renovations
3. Reduce dependence on fossil fuels
4. Conserve water resources
5. Improve energy security

This is quite a turnaround for one of the most environmentally destructive and energy consuming institutions on the planet. And it still must be acted on by an administration that has shown repeatedly that it is capable of ignoring any truth, no matter how obvious.

Pensito Review quotes an email from Buzzflash. It’s worth repeating:

Bush is exposed day after day, and he keeps on popping back up with that “Pet Goat” grin, a one-man Hurricane Katrina, leaving disarray and destruction in his wake.

It seems that even the old cliched joke about the powerful politician who would only be brought down if he was found in bed with a live boy or a dead woman wouldn’t even apply to Bush.

The American people, according to the polls, have caught on to him, but the press keeps treating him as a credible president. It’s like having a court of public relations professionals, under retainer, report the news.

Hmmm…that may be exactly what’s going on.

You have a President who should be shunned, and the lone Senator, Russ Feingold, who tries to censure Bush is shunned instead.

The people who had the courage to create this great country are spinning in their graves at the craven capitulation of most of our elected officials.

We deserve better than a morally corrupted, cowardly rubber stamp Congress.

Amen!

Got this from Dennis Kobray on the Green All Views listserv.

Into this anti-carbonated climate comes a potentially bigger bombshell that could spell disaster for the industry. Last month, the FDA quietly revealed that some soft drinks were found to contain the human carcinogen benzene in levels up to 10-20 parts per billion (ppb) — four times the acceptable limit found in drinking water. Benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia and other forms of cancer, forms in certain beverages under certain conditions, such as exposure to heat and light.

http://www.alternet.org/story/33380/