Mike D. from the Beastie Boys, a old friend of Blues Traveler, has requested we help spread his message opposing President Bush's Energy Plan.

Below is the full letter as posted on http://www.grandroyal.com/action

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A letter from Mike D regarding the proposed Bush Energy Policy

please read and take action

Dear peoples, though I rarely do stuff like this, pestering the masses, this is a topic that is too vital, too central, and too important to our entire planet to ignore or to simply not do something about. Every once in a long while, one nation on our small planet attempts to take a selfish step that goes against the tide of history. That time is now, and that nation is us. I'm asking for your help to stop George W. Bush's energy plan. His plan will take us back in time to an era when we moved Native Americans from their lands in order to mine the minerals where they lived, a time when people thought that nuclear power was safe, a time when coal powerplants turned America's skies black as the night.

Let me give you one example of how far this thing reaches. In the far northern regions of Alaska, the Gwich'in people have lived harmoniously with the land for the last 20,000 years. Their culture is based around the caribou. Its the source of their food, their ceremonial clothing, and their spirit. President Bush has proposed that we allow oil companies to drill for oil in the center of their lands, a place that America protected long ago called the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Gwich'in believe that the drilling will destroy their way of life by destroying the land on which they live.

95% of Alaska's coastal oil plane is already open for oil development. Even the oil industry says that there's only a six-month of supply of oil on the Gwich'ins land. The Sierra Club calculated that if automakers just made our cars 3 miles per gallon more efficient, we'd save the same amount of oil that we might find on the Gwich'ins land. Don't you think we would have learned by now that destroying the native land and people of America is wrong?

Then there's the part of the plan that suggests all of these new subsidies to nuclear power plants. Has everyone forgotten about Chernobyl? One new report that just came out says that 92% of US nuclear power plants have violated federal safety regulations since 1996. Bush wants the federal government to insure nuclear power plants, so that if they melt down, the corporations who build them won't be fully responsible. There's something really whacked about the logic there.

I could go on. Bush wants to build 1300 new coal power plants. Can you imagine what that will do to people with asthma? He also wants to allow oil companies to drill for oil off of the coast of Florida and in the Rocky Mountains. Burning coal and oil contributes to global warming. Bush's plan is going to affect every being on the planet, causing permanent and irreversible damage.

So what's the alternative? First of all, we all would do well to remember that it's our use of energy that allows politicians to suggest that we give away the farm to oil companies. So this may in fact be the most difficult part to get across. But can we all just try to start taking a step in the right direction by refining our own actions, consumption, and attitudes? We could all learn to simplify our lives a little ­ turn lights off, take a bus if you can, wear a sweater, share a ride, ride a bike etc....Each individual act may seem very small, but as a whole all such actions together are very strong and our only real means of achieving harmonious sustainable growth and living. I myself spend my time primarily in two very large cities, New York and Los Angeles. In New York, I try to ride my bike as often as makes sense (no shoulder jokes please) or take the subway. Sure at times, almost daily I will have to take a cab, but at least I am thinking about alternatives. In LA, the picture is a bit more bleak. I would gladly use the mass transit train system if it went anywhere I needed to go from the station near my home, but unfortunately it's not there yet. So wouldn't we better off spending our governments time and resources building a better mass transit infrastructure then on further exhausting our finite amounts of natural resources, spoiling our wilderness and the planets eco system along the way? If none of this is compelling enough, another reason to interject this kind of awareness into our lives is in order to serve as a bit of an example for others. Again, this may seem high handed. But on the real, how do we make others aware of these solutions? By practicing them ourselves. Straight up.

We also need the government to pursue alternative energy sources. The sunlight the Earth receives in 30 minutes is equivalent to all the power used by humankind in one year. Why isn't Bush excited about that? President Bush's budget actually cuts research in renewable energy programs by 37 percent and cuts energy efficiency research by 30 percent. Could this be because the Republican party received more than $25 million in campaign contributions from the oil and energy industry?

There's a lot more that I could write, but you can check it out for yourself at www.saveourenvironment.org I took the one minute of time it takes to use this form to send mail to your governmental representatives on this issue. Please do the same. I'm asking for your help by participating the campaign to stop this energy plan and help us move forward towards a safe and more responsible future.

Take action - check out the following web site to see how you can help!

This is no joke, and something which we all should certainly think about. we can't simply keep pushing these concerns aside and expect our planet to stop slowly heating up and drastically change every one of our lives in the process.

-X-
webmaster@bluestraveler.com

Lol, No coal, Oil and Nuclear energy!?

Reminds Me of a funny bumper sticker I once saw:

Ban Mining! Let the bastards freeze in the dark!

Oil isn't just valuble as a fuel source. The majority of polymers are derived from oil. Should we boycott anything plastic now too?

I would encourage everyone to pursue every vantage point on these issues that they can before deciding Bush is evil.

The Alaskan oil drilling would have near zero affect on the surrounding land--oil drilling technology today is very clean--its not like there'd be a huge oil gusher out there. Also remember that there's more wildlife living on and around an off shore oil rig than there is withing 20 miles of any drilling in the area of Alaska they're considering.

I agree we should be doing what we can to preserve the environment, but its not an overnight process, and there are certain demands that must be met along the way. Just try to be open to reality when considering all the environmental hooplah thrown around...

Brian

Keep it drilling. See what happens when these environmental freaks have their way. Take California for example. Statistically, most liberals live out there (the west). They did not want any power plants polluting their areas. Well, I hope they enjoy their clean areas with no source of energy. No lights, no ACs, high energy prices, and they are complanining more than ever. They had it coming. I bet they wish they had those extra POLLUTING POWER PLANTS. Like I said, keep drilling. George Bush doing an awesome job. Gas prices are going down. He is doing a great job from what Clinton has given him: an economy going down into a tailspin.

This is positively the biggest, stinking pile of disinformation I've read in a long time.

Do us all a favor; go read a book.

- AFC

the nature of man is to destroy.

First of all, the moment I signed on as a registered user on DMusic, I got about 5 popup ads. That really sucks, just to let you know. Now on to my post:

Do you know how badly Chernobyl was designed? And how well designed our plants are? I'm skeptical that you actually know what you're talking about when it comes to nuclear power.

-Matt

..and where was Mike D when the Clinton campaign was receiving contributions from the Chinese, what was the motivation there? Yeah, I'll take action! Against this bleeding heart liberal tripe of a letter. Thank you though, that was the FUNNIEST thing I read all week

you're a fucking idiot.

perhaps the cookie didn't get sent to you to turn off the ads. maybe your cookies arnt on?

i never get ads on this site

I think its great what the B-boys have done for Tibet but I don’t think they have looked at both sides of this issue clearly.

I'm confused... I'm pretty god damn sure Mike D's real name is Michael Diamond.. NOT Mike Darrah.

ummm, ok.

What the hell does Mike D know about energy? Chernobyl? If you’d watch any 30 minute NOVA story on PBS you'd realize that the Soviet Chernobyl plant was operating FAR bellow American plant standards and they were doing near disaster recovery tests that went horribly wrong. Solar power? Sure the Earth receives plenty of energy from the sun... do you want to cover the entire planet with solar panels? And even at that, solar power is still very inefficient. It takes YEARS to get back the energy needed to CREATE a solar cell. Yes digging up more oil and coal is not the best solution but it is a solution. Someone has to bite the political bullet and do something to meet the demand. I will only say it once: California. So until you granola SOBs get everyone to give up their cars, or realize that nuclear power is not synonymous with Hiroshima, or quit bitching about the guy trying to do something and serve up some realistic solutions I guess we'll have to make due with the Presidents plans. The energy issue will not be solved by pointing fingers Mike. If you want to be a leader, be a leader, but please don’t preach the same old wishful bullshit we’ve been hearing for years. Environmentalist scare arguments have gone out of style, I suggest you adapt.

BTW, since I saw the BT webmaster hint at global warming: If you've ever learned anything about geology or planetary science you'd know that historically the Earth's ambient temperature rises and falls over time by natural processes. Do yo think everyone freaked when in the last ice age receding glaciers uncovered the British Isles? Global warming might be partially true, but I would contend that it is not nearly as dire of a situation as all too many peaple fear.

You know... this is a music website... I really don't trust Mike D. from the Beastie Boys telling me about Energy policy. Show me his degree in geology, biotechnology or shove this. He is just regurgitating the same crap that those brain adled leftists that travel from conference to conference preaching about environment by trashing the shit out of cities do. Stupid hypocrites.

John Popper was right... "I was a liberal until I got a job!"

Its nice to see that I am not the only Conservative Blues Traveler fan.

You Bush supporters really disgust me. In fact both sides disgust me. This two-party system has done nothing to curb power consumption in the past 20 years. Pointing out that California has energy problems because of environmentalists is ridiculous, the problem with energy consumption is that it is too damn cheap. California is a prime example of how screwed up goverment deregulation can get. California's problems are not a result of environmental activism as some would have you believe. If we truly want to conserve energy, reduce pollution, and generally improve all sorts of related issues (freeway congestion, etc) then what we need is to allow the free market to work. Take gasoline for example, with all the bitching and moaning about the current prices, the reality is that when you adjust the price for inflation, gasoline has been going down in price for more than 20 years, and continues to be at an all time low. Same with electricity, etc. If people are using too much energy there is absolutely no reason to go fucking up the Alaskan Wilderness, and native lands, for a paltry supply of oil. Rather, just let the prices go up as much as the companies selling gas would like to raise the price. Competition, supply and demand will find the happy medium. This talk of energy price caps is communist, and worthless. If you can't see the wonton greed on both sides of the fence, and simply blindly argue for one dumb party or the other... then you are truly a fool.

First of all, whoever this last "anonymous" guy is, calling people fools for taking a side is not exactly the best way to make friends.

Second of all, gas is NOT at an all-time low for us consumers. Perhaps for the middle man, but the markup/tax is so freakin' huge we consumers don't know the difference! The country has done little but go to pot since Clinton has been in office, if Bush has a worthwhile suggestion on how to lower the costs of my gasoline so I don't end up spending the same amount of money commuting as I could be living there, I'm willing to listen to it and support it should I find it acceptable.

Like everybody else has said, show me your degree in economics, or politics, or business, and I will listen to what you think should be done. Until then, go, Bush, go! If gas gets back down to 89 - 99 cents per gallon the way it was (and the way it should be), you will have fixed all the wrongs Clinton put in place.

Conservative BT fans unite!

BrotherJosh

No stupid. Let's not make the damage we already do daily even bigger. And let's try to regulate power companies into not making rising prices policies. And let's try and use other power sources. And let's try to make industries and consumer products more power-efficient. Do you want more arguments?

btw... I'm not even from US but i know exactly what power-shortage; i live in Brazil and we're currently having the same problem.

Damn! you must be from Texas... What a short mind have you got... I'm sorry for you man...

Finally someone who understands economics...

One thing though:

"Competition, supply and demand will find the happy medium"

this will work as long as there is competition, and as long as there is goverment regulation about competitiveness.

This Busty Boy guy admitted to having only 2 perspectives on living -- NY and LA. No good music lately(?), is he turning to politics? They say sex and politics are a lot alike, you don't have to be good at them to enjoy them.

As far as his view on energy, he took his essay from one of the liberal humans-are-bad, the-world-will-end websites.

He has no clue on what is real. Gee, I bet he thinks beef gets grown in the back room before the butcher cuts it up.

-Brent in Corvallis, Oregon

Oh that's right, the earth will warm up and we're all going to die!

Something to think about. The Bible references Sodom and Gamorh (sp?) which they say are now under water. Under water? Why? Did the earth warm up a few thousand years ago and cause sea levels to rise?

Hmmmmmm, perhaps Jesus drove an SUV and had a coal furnace in his house.

-Brent in Corvallis, Oregon

Oh that is right, humans are parasites, seeking to destroy the earth.

Why don't you try cleaning your room before delousing the earth. Perhaps you can get it cleaned before your mommy calls you to dinner.

-Brent in Corvallis, Oregon

BTW: Since you probably only understand basic english:
Main Entry: de·louse
Pronunciation: (")dE-'laus, -'lauz
Function: transitive verb
Date: circa 1919
: to remove lice from

Earth First! (We'll Strip Mine the other planets later...)

Here ya go brother Josh:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world/html98/gasb_20000310.html

From the article:

"In real, inflation-adjusted terms, however, today's price is almost identical to what drivers paid in 1972, when gas sold for 36 cents."

Here's a few more:
http://www.modbee.com/business/story/0,1157,269950,00.html

http://perryx2.com/oilprice_chart.html

According to the last figures here, I was wrong about "all time low" however, they are definitely not at their all time high, which, as it turns out were the Reagan years.

So instead of calling you guys fools... maybe I should have called you dumb asses.

Hmmm.... I'm getting away from posting replies regarding this news... It seems like 90% of people from this site CAN'T stop and think about the problem... btw; read Paul Krugman's colounm on The New York Times...

For all guys that suport the "make the hole and suck it" policy, please don't be stupid. I'm acctually starting to believe that you the majority of americans are stupid when it comes to economics (and common sense).

Come on, read Paul Krugman's coloum on The New York Times.
Also, please children, don't try to be cool and say "be realistic...there's no other way out"...

Oh and btw; Bush can suck MY ASS. How come you can support him for getting US out of Kioto's agreement?? You should feel ashamed... I'm not an ambientalist man, but i can't understand such SELFISH position from your government. I feel sorry for you. Clinton has BRAIN. Bush is a STUPID cowboy who runs crying to his daddy asking opinions whenever he has a problem. Bush knows NOTHING about economics and tactics of negotiation. Clinton is a native smart capitalist.

Hell... I wish people in US were all like people from NY.

Why are you confused? There are many more Mike D's in this world then you realize obviously - heh

I posted Mike D's words here to share his thoughts with all of you, I italicized his words so you can tell who is who kiddies.

-X-

Things like this is what anger me... I really can't stand Bush has our President. Hopefully we can put a stop to all this, this is not fair too anybody. We have to sit back and think what we are doing. And the thing about the Gwich'in really got me. Hopefully all of our small contributions can put a stop to this tyrant aka George W. Bush

Preach on Brother Josh!
Cype... Bush IS our president, not has our President.
Exxtreme, why whould Bush want to suck your granola eating hairy ass. You couldn't get people on death row to do it with a fist full of pardons. Thank god we are not all like New Yorkers.. you guys actually fell for Bill 2times Al once & Hillary once.
And Anonymous one, its not a gallon of Gas that I am worried about, its the cost of the energy bill or the home heating oil in the winter. I do not care what gas costs.
God when I am President I am putting depth charges on the San Andreas and selling New York back to the Indians.

They need to stop putting this silly blather on this page. This is for Blues Traveler not the webmasters liberal agenda. If the Webbie wants to preach he should start his own site. The Beastie Boys already have their site to expose their bands views. If John, Chan, Brendan, Ben or Tad want to issue a position paper about this, fine! But don't put some whiney liberal loser from a crap ass band on my favorite bands website.
Amen! pass the bread!

Papaduke,

i don't blame you for being so stupid. "stupidness is a harm we will never win". Listen, my country is not even nearly as rich as yours, and yet we have many other solutions that Bush don't want to implement.

btw; New Yorkers are smart. They know how to make money, plus they know that the easiest ways to sort such problems out are often not the smartest ones.

The most stupid person is the one that does not search the inteligence.

Stupidity is being duped into signing the Kyoto aka Screw America Treaty. If your country was subjected to the kinds of regulations ours is I would not blame your leader for killing it. Political stupidity is signing on to a treaty that will put millions of your citizens out of work. If this treaty is sooo grand why has only 1 European country, Romania, ratified it. Hell India and China get a free ride in their emissions standards and they still have not ratified it. Damn Hypocrites!

"why has only 1 European country, Romania, ratified it"

WHAT are you talking about man? You clearly do not know what you're talking about...

go here: http://www.amazonia.org.br/ef/kioto-ing.htm
it's a little outdated, but search for "germany" "United Kingdom" "France" "Portugal" "Italy" ... etc... Oh... I thought they were from Europe!

AND signing it won't put millions of your citizens out of work... Controling the emissions of carbon dioxides does not mean you dismiss people! It means small SLOWLY introduced investments by the companies in such way they polute less!

YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. NOW SHUT-THE-FUCK-UP AND READ GOD DAMN IT!

As I said before, calling names doesn't make me want to say, "Oh, I guess I'll switch to his side since he's being aggressive." We're going in circles here. It was stated above and is stated all over the net that oil refining techniques are incredibly clean and that there is no danger to wildlife whatsoever. Just because the US uses atomic power in some situations doesn't mean our country is going to explode, taking the known world with it. In fact, I'm willing to bet money that the only way this plan will affect anyone's life is by increasing the supply and lowering the demand, lowering gas prices. I don't see how you couldn't notice that the four years Clinton was in office, the price of gas has gone up by, at least here in Texas, over 50 cents per gallon. Suddenly, Bush is in office, and my gas prices are dropping... hmm... kinda funny, especially when you consider all the taxes that Clinton put on gasolines and oils...

You people are welcome to your opinion, but a bit of advice - screaming yours out and WRITING IN ALL CAPS

As I said before, calling names doesn't make me want to say, "Oh, I guess I'll switch to his side since he's being aggressive." We're going in circles here. It was stated above and is stated all over the net that oil refining techniques are incredibly clean and that there is no danger to wildlife whatsoever. Just because the US uses atomic power in some situations doesn't mean our country is going to explode, taking the known world with it. In fact, I'm willing to bet money that the only way this plan will affect anyone's life is by increasing the supply and lowering the demand, lowering gas prices. I don't see how you couldn't notice that the four years Clinton was in office, the price of gas has gone up by, at least here in Texas, over 50 cents per gallon. Suddenly, Bush is in office, and my gas prices are dropping... hmm... kinda funny, especially when you consider all the taxes that Clinton put on gasolines and oils...

You people are welcome to your opinion, but a bit of advice - screaming yours out and WRITING IN ALL CAPS will not make me want to instantly take your position. If anything it will make me instantly defensive.

And I agree with Papaduke on several issues, one of the foremost being that this is a petty place to argue. Blues Traveler is our favorite band and this silly argument has gotten in the way of that. It will never be resolved because everybody here is too stubborn to accept another viewpoint, so let's just drop it before we end up killing each other, ok?

Thanks for listening, Papaduke

BrotherJosh

I have no liberal agenda, and for the record I did not make the decision to post this news article to bluestraveler.com even.

I simply did so as requested and then added my thoughts to the discussion below the article as part of the community as I thought it would be important for us to think of some of the long term effects of these issues which we should all rightfully be concerned about.

-X-

Bush and everyone else except Romania (?) opted out of the Kyoto treaty.

You say Clinton is smart? And this comes from someone who runs off at the mouth without knowing the facts?

Did you finish high school?

-Brent in Corvallis, Oregon

Does your mother know that you talk like that? If she finds out you have been a naughty boy, she will ground you from the computer.

-Brent in Corvallis, Oregon

ah... do we get pissed off sometimes uh!

I'm really sorry about all this. Really... I never get agressive like this.. People who really know me can say that without a doubt.

It's only that someone that supposedly understands the contents of Kyoto's protocol, cannot _ever_ say that only one country of Europe signed it. Obviously he does not understands what he is talking about, and that's exactly my point; if you don't know what you're talking about, go read, get informed... but don't try to give opinions about it until you fully understands what you say.... That's all, I'm outta here..

nice ta see an intelligent anon pop up every now and then.

That's understandable Exxtreme. I agree with you there too. There ARE lots of people who talk about this kind of thing who don't know really anything about it. I myself don't claim to be an expert. None of us by arguing about this are going to help anything, though...

BrotherJosh

Oh no, a Blues Traveler chat site is prompting political debate... Isn't that just so tragic. We should go back and start discussing the ins and outs of virtuosic harmonica playing, that will really solve the world's problems.

While, I agree that we aren't going to "solve anything" here, discussion, debate and argument is the only way that things change. Some people would rather Doctor King never spoke up, never changed anything, never ruffled anyone's feathers. However, I think you are mistaken to say this is the wrong place for poltical debate. Rock musicians have traditionally been strong voices for politcal issues, and instigated many of the debates of the past 50 years. And as for gas going up 50 cents, yeah I notice it, but I just don't care. I wouldn't even care if it hit 10 bucks a gallon. In fact I'd cheer. And as for oil drilling being a clean technology... you are sorely mistaken. While the righs themselves don't often create the problems, the activities around them do. The shipping of routinely causes oil spills of enourmous environmental consequences. While the American public pours the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez spill into our storm drains accross the nation ever 2 weeks. The end result of using oil is great amounts of pollution everywhere. And regardless of the debate on "Global Warming" the amount of oil going into the see, rivers, and others bodies of water is astounding. If the true price of oil use could be reflected on the pump, people would find it more effecient to do anything, anything else in order to move themselves around.

And for you Nuclear supporters, the problem is not the reactors... it's the waste. As well as the industry itself... just read an biography on Karen Silkwood sometime. Or for the mentally lazy, watch the movie. And while you're at it, check out the movie Tucker as well. The car industry kills more of us than smoking, and if you include wars, well I won't even get into that...

I disagree. People have been arguing and debating about abortion for years and years and what has happened? Nothing. The result of debating is one or both parties "knowing what they believe." The only way you can change someone's mind with debate is if you bring up previously unknown knowledge because all the arguments over nearly every topic worth arguing about have already been spoken. Action is the only thing that will change the way things work.

This is my last post on here. I don't come here for the argument, the site is Blues Traveler.com . If Blues Traveler wants to comment about this, great, I'm all ears, but so far John, Chan, Tad, Ben, and Brendan have been silent. I don't care if you keep arguing here, but I won't.

BrotherJosh

"Bush's plan is going to affect every being on the planet, causing permanent and irreversible damage." - Mike D

What is Mike D trying to pull? Taking a handfull of arguments throwing in some doomsday talk and think that people will buy it? Clearly this guy can't see further then his own backyard. Otherwise he would not overestimate USA's impact that much. The world will NOT end just because the US starts to drill for oil in Alaska. all respect to Mike D and Beastie Boys for their music but this bullshit propaganda and the way its written does not fool me.

I do understand Mike D's conserns though. A coupple of weeks ago the news headlines here in Norway said that Norway would be able to continue producing oil at the same rate as today for another hundred years. "Oh, that's great... then we won't be out of oil until 2100 and I'll be dead by then." I don't know why people starts flaming everybody in here just because they talk about alternative energy sources 'cause clearly everyone must understand that the rate of consuming we have today will exhaust our oil resources in very little time.

So people whos only consern is to be able to buy their gas at low costs can keep their god damn mouths shut.

"So people whos only consern is to be able to buy their gas at low costs can keep their god damn mouths shut"

But isn't that just being too plain selfish...?

It makes me sick how some of the people here posting would rather help destroy the environment to pay alittle less at the pump. When we can't fully understand the damage we are doing and have done! Everyone sure loves visiting these beautiful places on our vacations. Places that people have been protecting for so long. now we are going to allow them to destroy that. If they can do this in the National wild refuge in alska what makes yellowstone, yosemite, the grand canyon ... different? What if they find something they need in these places?
People said they don't trust Mike D all he asked was for each person to conserve alittle each and everyday. And if you felt so inclined to fill out a for to send to the gov't. You don't trust that? It seems pretty selfish to me that people cannot conserve and give alittle of them selves, what would get back in return is so rewarding & beautiful.
What if they wanted to drill in the middle of one of your parks , or beaches for Oil. I think you would be sing a different song if it was in your back yard. It is real easy to say if gets me to work cheaper than who cares when it is in Alaska or out in the Oceans. But they care and so should you because if it was happening to you, you would want others to help!
I am really confused by adittudes of the people who made these posts. I can ony really do my part of conserving and hope others start to do the same. I am glad there are people out here bringing these matter to everyones attention. Everything sould not revolve around us get things cheaper and having tons of everything. Thanks for listening to my rant.

http://past.thenation.com/issue/980316/0316wass.htm

Ok, BrotherJosh, since you don't think debate helps, here's someone with real and informational knowledge about the energy industry, etc. If you want to know something about why there's an energy crisis you should read everything Harvey Wasserman has ever written, but since that will take some time, the above link is a great place to start.

Enviro-freaks (or hippies) actually promote the building of new power plants. New power plants are a fucking hell of alot cleaner and efficient. So I wouldn't go blamming them on the California energy crisis.

And you can't blame Bush for wanting to do all these "horrible" things, as he's just a puppet. Don't blame bush, blame the dumbasses who supported him and are controlling him, hehe, AMERICA - YOU HAVE FUCKED YOURSELVES
but please stay away from Canada's water...thanks..

Ugh.

In the 1970s we all thought the planet was getting colder.

The fact is, accurate measurments of global temperatures can really only be traced back the last 100 years.

When compared to the millions of years involved with the Earth.. a 100 year sample is meaningless from a practical scientific standpoint.

Another fact.. the United States has had NO strong energy policy for the last decade.. possibly longer. New-build nuclear power plants have been regulated and taxed from existence...from people fearful of nuclear waste or catestrophic failure.

But, as most people do not know, the United States generates most of its energy supply - NOT from Nuclear plants - but from coal and gas burning plants. The average amount of radioactive carbon isotopes released by any fossil fuel energy production plant are infinately more than any stray nuclear material a United States nuclear plant generates in a year.

In this country we have NIMBY - not in my backyard. "Drill in other countiries - fine - drill here , bad!"

"Alaska is the last frontier - think of the animals!" NONSENSE! Animals and plants live in the dessert too - desserts shuch as the oil rich Mediteranian. The care taken by US companies on US soil is FAR more than any foriegn country or company is willing to do.

"6 months of oil" - NONSENSE. No company would invest the equipment nessesary for only 6 months of oil. I beleive you will find that such people "in the oil industry" stating that have a good reason to say such misinformation - better to distance themselves so that the enviromentalist factions don't come down on them as well.

Such budget cuts in the areas of alternative energy source reasearch can be very expected - the geometeric funding increases over the past 30 years have not yielded directly proportional useful results.

Indeed - strides have been made in the realms of fuel effeciency in the automobile industry. The long goal of a 50/60/70 MPG vehicle has now been acheived. Further advances - forced by Federal mandate to develope such ulta-effecient vehicles - will be uncovered soon.

The use of Ethonal - a product of corn - will surley continue to increase.

Academic and industry forces are shaping a future which the government, no matter how much money it wastes, cannot keep up.

Celebrites and artists often mistake futurism extravegence for breakthrough practicality.

Don't help the cause of the uneducated "masses" - histeria and ignorance have caused far too many problems in the last century.

Oh yes.

Read the Plan.. Understand the Plan.. AND THEN comment on the Plan.

you americans are all fuck wits.

i see there are idiots in new zealand as well

wow, chad knows what he's talking about, good job chad.

everyone, need not worry, i'm gonna figure out cold fussion soon so far, i know what cold means, and i'm working on fussion, once i get them both down packed, it should be a piece of cake. fin.

For everyone that felt the need to email me as if I am Mike D. from the Beastie Boys, please note I am not Mike D. from the Beastie Boys.

I did not write this letter, I simply republished it here at the request of others, and thought that people would be positive about thinking of the future of out planet.

So everyone, PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ME AS IF THIS IS MY LETTER. Think before you speak, it will make you much more powerful and wise.

I find it so very interesting when the "starz" decide to take a position on ANY issue. Somehow, we are supposed to take them more seriously than normal, intelligen people (you know, the ones who live in the real world, not pampered, no limos, groupies and the like). Truth is most of these fools couldn't think their way out of high school, much less through a practical, viable view of the world. My guess is our Beastie Boy "FEELS" all this fossil fuel is bad. But then again, when gas hits $4 per gallon and it costs $550 a month to heat and cool, he won't have to worry, will he. All the other touchy, feelie fools have been buying his so called music. Have fun my friends.

Heh heh heh.... Mike D comments on the evils of oil. Interesting that any artist would do such a thing. I have no idea what the total number of CD's, tapes and records sold by the Beastie Boys might be, but I do believe the production of such a thing requires - um - oil. Oh yes - and a lot of it. The plastic of the medium itself. The machines used to create the medium. The devices used to record the content. The instruments and equipment used to create the content. All aspects. Cool!

Perhaps their next release should be available as an inscription on a bamboo stalk. No... that would be deforestation. Can't have that!

So just think - before you shoot down Bush's plans or call Americans idiots... you are using a computer, which is manufactured by and with petroleum products, powered by the same, under the pale glow of your light bulb that I bet is not solar powered!

Needless to say, this whole thing is funny for a music site....

You guys are all on crack if you think that Bush and the US create the prices of energy and gas. They have influence, but guess what?? You aren't the only Mother Fuckers on the planet.

Bush is not forcing prices down on gas, he simply reaping the benefits of a surplus in supply. Also, ever heard of a little theory called the "Kondriatieff Cycle"? Go read about it and then come speak.

Deep B.A. Economics, U of T

Man. I'm tired of all the bull crap. It gets old.

Here's the straight dope.

BOTTOM LINE: America as a nation has NOT put the better half of its monetary resources into developing better cleaner, more efficient sources of energy.

TRUTH: TOO MANY GREEDY PEOPLE have purchased technological stand-still to ensure there economical place in the world.

Around the world certain peoples have been more worried about maintaining their wealth than the welfare of the earth and the people on it, and as such have sold away this potential paradise. Presently Bush supporters keep telling us we need these resources to keep the economy going, because we need to keep everything functioning. And you know what, they're right, but only because collectively we've sent innovation down the river in the name of money. Sure we developed some nifty gadgets. The computer for one. Nintendos are neat. But like idiots we only developed technologies that corporations had a grip on and could control.

Greed, which is a form of fear, stems from the deep-seated notion that there is not enough to go around for everybody. This disbelief encourages one to hoard, to be greedy, to hog.

Controlling the wealth, controlling economies, controlling the income of the middle class and the poor are corporations way of ensuring their success and dominance in the world down the road. This drilling for oil, of which we are speaking here, would be completely unneccessary had we as a nation learned to cooperate and act wisely, putting the core of our efforts in wiping out hunger, energy problems and the like. But instead we made it about competition, competing for shit thats overly plentiful but hoarding it to the point of making it innaccessible to the masses.

Right now, this very second, there is more than enough food to feed the entire world. Why then do people go hungry? Ask yourself that and see what you come up with. Greed. Fear of not having anything which causes one to take more than his fair share.

When the indians went out hunting they didn't kill entire herds of buffalo. What would be the point? They didn't need a whole herd of coats and meat. And if they did kill everything in sight then other tribes might go hungry and perhaps there wouldn't be any buffalo to come their way next season. They knew better.

America is spiritually backward. America has yet to learn how to cooperate. America thinks having a paradise is a
pipe-dream. A joke. You can see it in the way we scoff at each other for showing concern for the world and its resources. America even asks you to fight for the world's resources, to control its wealth, because inherently it is necessary to survive. But in truth, America IS A JOKE.

I could care less if they drill for oil. If people are living on oil-filled lands, fuck em, shoot em all. How bout more oil rigs everyhwhere, in subdivisions and schoolyards. And more nuclear power plants too, because they're so tried and proven to be perfectly safe and environmentally sound sources of energy. I mean oil and nuclear power plants are the best the human race can do in a hundred years of collective think-tanking. Sure. That's the ticket.

No wait it takes time for technology to evolve. BULLSHIT! People just want their fucking millions. Corporations want to live on. They fear their demise and act accordingly. Solutions to power are scary for oil refineries and combustion engine makers who are happy to be raking in the doah, and tell me, who really doesn't know this by now.

No one is policing these assholes because everyone's heads are on backwards. Public outrage is muffled by commercialistic attitudes of buy and sell that encourage us to shop shop shop. If we just get that entertainment center we wanted so much, everything will be alright. The starving masses in Africa will somehow be ok, because that nintendo game system is just a few paychecks away. Drown your political and societal problems away in electronic gadgets and luxury items. Hey who gives a fuck about the homeless guy over there, i can send email from my fuckin BMW.

This is how we operate. We haven't the first clue how to share. This is why were STILL DRILLING FOR FUCKING OIL! Because we suck! This is why Mike fuckin D is trying to inform the public and this is why half the commentors on this board are actually defending Bush's action and making Mike D out to be overly sympathetic, too liberal and environmental soft.

Sure maybe we should drill for oil at the moment, because we've fucked it all up. But what are we doing to end our reliance on oil and other environmentally unsafe fuels. In what way is Bush standing as a true leader of environmentalism. In what way is Bush leading us away from unperfected limited sources of energy such as coal and oil. The truth is no one is handing out money to be environmentally safe.
Bush isn't overly concerned BECAUSE THERE'S NO MONEY IN IT!

ou've noticed he isn't taking these stands.

I sincerely believe if we had wanted to, if our efforts were directed so, we could have wiped out world hunger and solved the energy crises of the world a decade ago. But the cynical coporate sneer of the world had its way and here we are scoffing at Mike D and still DRILLING FOR FUCKING OIL!

No one's handing out money to be environmentally safe.

For the guy above telling me my computer is made out of oil or whatever. SO FUCKING WHAT! It doesn't have to be YOU ASSHOLE! That's the point your missing.

Consider this will you.

Marijuana plants supposedly make a shitload more paper than trees ever have. So why do we cut down trees for paper when we could harvest marijuana plants for paper. Apparently ONLY GOD KNOWS.

It was a funny, more-righteous-than-thou comment you made but PLEASE...get a fucking clue you numbnut!

Oh, and by the way. In case anyone hasn't heard yet THE WORLD IS JUST FINE. Like George Carlin said "the world is doing great!" ITS US THAT'S ENDANGERED. WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE THE PLANET IF WE KEEP FUCKING UP LIKE THIS. The planet will remain. We are the ones going. So let's stop this save the planet crap. How about let's save ourselves.

Dude, i love you. Finally someone is making some sense. Thanks for the post

Basically, to sum everything you said in word: communism. You basically stating Marx's view of communism. It does not work as we look at the former USSR as proof. Yes, indeed, we (US) do have a lot of surpluses that can feed the world. Should we give it out to all who ask for it? Certainly not. That would not be fair to the people who grow it. It's all about incentive. What's the incentive for a farmer for example to grow extra food? Their is oil in the earth. Let's drain it dry. Let's use it. It's there. No good if it is just sitting there. While we are using it, we can look for other alternatives. Oil companies will evenually evolve. Like you said, oil won't be there forever. Like lumberjacks, they don't cut down all the trees, cause they need those trees to make more trees or they could be seriously screwed. Get what I am saying? Capitalism is not as evil as everybody says it is. Unrestricted capitalism is the best system in my opinion.

RE: Exxtreme
(His post)"why has only 1 European country, Romania, ratified it"

WHAT are you talking about man? You clearly do not know what you're talking about...

go here: (Link)
it's a little outdated, but search for "germany" "United Kingdom" "France" "Portugal" "Italy" ... etc... Oh... I thought they were from Europe!

Exxtreme, those countries have signed the treaty but if you were in the least bit knowledgeable about government you would know that just because the treaty is signed it still in most cases has to be ratified by the governments' legislative body. So No the only european country to go through the final phase of the agreement which is ratification by the national legislative body is ROMANIA. They only have to reduce by 1.2% compared to the US's 36% which is 2X more than the 2nd highest, the Russian Federation 17%. No other country has to reduce theirs more than 10%. China and India are exempt. No do you wonder why the US doesn't want the Kyoto "Screw America" Agreement?!?!?!?

Dude, you totally missed my point. I mean, you couldn't have misunderstood my comments more. Communism??? Come on. Please. I am not suggesting converting America into communism for heaven's sake. Apparently i need to elaborate for you so i will.

What I'm suggesting is agreed cooperation. I'm talking about people spiritually advancing themselves to the point of WANTING to cooperate. CHOOSING TO COOPERATE.

On some level RIGHT NOW were cooperating. Whether you like it or not. Yes, right now WE ARE COOPERATING. WE ARE CHOOSING TO OPERATE UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF HOARD AND CONTROL. Does that make us Communists?

If one corporation gets together with another corporation and decides to send 100 million dollars to feed starving Africans, does that suddenly make us a Communistic country. To willingly share, to willingly give does not automatically equate with Communism. You ofcourse think so, because you were taught in gradeschool that sharing meant communism because communism was somewhat based on sharing. In Russia, however, people were forced to share. They probably didn't even know why they were sharing either. And they probably didn't even follow the idea of communism by the book. They probably created something other than communism by the end.

But I'm definitely not for communism anyway. But i noticed you just had to bring it up, to somehow equate my statements with it, because the idea was ingrained in you from highschool to believe paradise to be something that can only arrive through communism. What about keeping everything just the way it is right now, but instead, corporations stop amassing huge amounts of currency that just sit around in bank vaults earning interest that also just collects and sits around and ultimately helps nothing.

Think about it. Ever heard of "Sprint", you know the telephone people, earns about $1 billion dollars net profit every year. That's NET PROFIT. That's after all expenses, employee wages, and corporate big wig salaries. Hell the CEO of Sprint makes $218 million dollars a year. WHO NEEDS 200 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR???? Now about half of that Net Profit i spoke of is probably thrown in some bank vault and put away in case of the need for some future corporate buyout or something. Then once in a while they dip in this giant cash fund for a measily 200 mill or so in order to buyout the competition and ensure their dominance in the world. They also do this to ensure that next year another $1 billion net profit is secured and stored away. In just ten years think about it. Together these mega-corporations are accumulating Trillions of Dollars that are just taking up space in some bank account. That money represents the blood and sweat of underpaid workers who can't make their rent, who were deprived of their medical benefits, whose retirements were taken away. That money represents material goods in the world, it represents medical services, it represents food and housing for those without, AND ITS JUST SITTING AROUND IN BANK ACCOUNTS DOING NO ONE ANY GOOD. When these GREEDY FUCKERS do dip into it, its either to buy out another corporation, to pay off a politician, or to expand their corporation even more.

Now this hoarding, this putting away of mass amounts of money is the very cause of poverty in the world. And when people are poor they lead desperate lives, turning to drugs and what not. They also turn to crime, which is to say that pretty much all the crime, poverty, and drug use in the world is a direct result of greedy corporations and the politicians who back them.

Capitalism is ok in my book, but its what you do with it that counts. Using capitalism to hoard the world's goods and cause worldwide starvation is not a spiritually wise thing in my book. The problem is that the system we built in the name of capitalism has become corrupt. The point of capitalism is FREE TRADE my friend. But that's not what capitalism in today's society is achieving. No. You talk about unrestricted capitalism. Well in today's society, under capitalism, greedy corporations have found a way to restrict trade on many levels. Pointless patents keeping technology from advancing more rapidly. Political payoffs shoot down bills that support funding for research for alternative energy resources. All kinds of legal trickery and corporate maneuverings keep the human race from solving its problems all in the name of greed, the fear of not having enough, causing a select few to tie up all the resources just so they don't feel insecure in the world.

I sincerely believe we don't have to change a thing in the economy, save the hearts of the people running corporations and the politicians. We can be as capitalistic as we want to be. Fuck communism. I mean we can still be people under a free enterprise system who simply, now listen up here, ACT RESPONSIBLY. That's all i'm asking. And if you think ACTING RESPONSIBLY means being communistic, then your a STUPID FUCK to begin with and what i am writing is sincerely not meant for you because you'll never see the truth to begin with. Your unhelpable then.

The problem with capitalism at the moment is that its skewed to favor the rich because the rich have molded it that way. Now what I'm suggesting is that human beings wise up and willingly change. To realize that everyone can have it all. Everyone can have what they want. But its not the governments place to tell people to change or to place them in jobs or anything like that. Its up to the people to change whatever they think would end up benefitting the whole. I'm talking about a society that acts so responsibly that everyone has a mansion, and everyone drives a sports car, where no one goes hungry, no one is without adequate health care, and no one is without plentiful spending money.
And I absolutely do not propose that people work without adequate compensation. Actually i propose that most people will become compensated more than their use to, all the while remaining free to choose their own occupation, as well as the manner of their business.

Right now i believe all of this is attainable, if only we could see things clearly, but out of fear we have willingly created something else. Something quite the opposite. But in the very same way we created THIS version of society we can also create another BETTER version of society that ALL OF US will agree is better for us.

And it wouldn't look a thing like communism. So just remove that thought from your head. I know, you don't know what else to say if you can't use that little nugget you got from school. Marxism. Probably the only other type of goverment you can think of, short of Socialism. I took history too pal.

Remember WE'RE COOPERATING RIGHT NOW as i speak. Does that make us COMMUNISTS? I think not. We just need to change our attitudes and the world will change with us. Have a good one.

Well well well...seems we are bouncing back and forth again.

Why, if this Kyoto Protocol is so important to the left, did the Senate vote, in 1998, 95-0 AGAINST any actions that did not include developing counties.

47.8% of the people in this country voted for Bush
48.4% voted for Gore
yet only 2.7% voted for someone with the ability to make a difference...and even less voted for Harry Browne.

Gore had no plan for campaign finance reform... Neither did Bush. 97% of this country is not ready for such a leap that the Kyoto treaty would demand...if they had been, maybe more than 3% of us would have voted for Nader.

I support Bush right now. I think he is doing a very good job, ESPECIALLY pulling out of the Kyoto treaty. Keeping developing nations out of the emissions requirements will most likely lead to their infastructure(sp) depending on Fossil Fuels. So what happens when the rest of the world, all of the sudden, tries to force Mexico, China, India, into using hydrogen fuel cells.

Chevrolet (GM) has partnered with General Hydrogen to develop, by 2010, hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles. A project PARTIALLY FUNDED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. This announcement was made Tuesday, June 12, 2001. Since then, the Bush administration has also increased funding for Gas-Electric hybrid vehicles...yet these issues don't make the front page of our Washington Post, or NY Times. Why should they? They don't sell papers...controversy does. Thats why we hear slanted(both ways) articles about the Kyoto treaty...

95-0... 1/3 of that Senate was up for re-election in 2000. How many of you, who support the Kyoto treaty, voted to re-elect YOUR senator?

The realties of the burning of fossil fuels and their contribution to Global warming and the detruction of the atmosphere are very complicated subjects, much to braod to evrr covewr in such a forum. However, I feel it neccesary to point out that there is much debate within the scientific community as to wheter or not out actionmd as a technologically advanced civilization will destroy the planety, or just us, the humans, and other crreaturs living on it. Be assured that these subjects include mucg more hen what has beeen discussed here. The food chain plays a large part in our demise as well. Deforestation=loss of habitate=small species going extinct... and the animals that eat them.. and on and on up the food chain to US. We humans often seem to forget that we are a part of the food chain and that our actions do affect the rest of the planet.
You all may be intersested in a scientific theory titled the Gaia Hypothesis. Look it up.
ciao
bodah@purpleturtle.com

Here's how it is:

Big corporations are running the world. They make lots of money doing whatever they want to the people and the planet. They cannot be stopped.

My big question is this: what are they doing that they need something like Alaskan drilling to distract us?

Don't blame Bush. He's just a puppet.

Don't blame it on the Republicans or the Democrats. They're essentially the same thing: more puppets.

It doesn't matter who's in charge, conservation will fail so long as it's based around saving the planet. Make it about saving yourself money and it might be more effective. I take the bus or hitch a ride with a friend to campus because it's cheaper than maintaining a car. That's more beer money for a poor college student.

PS: We are the all singing all dancing crap of the world. (just a reminder)

Ah! This is worthless. I am a republican, and if Mike D. (or anyone else arguing in his favor) had shit of an idea what the hell this would do to us in the long run, they would know what's right.

The proposed area of drilling is VERY VERY small.

There is plenty of oil.

But, of course, the Democrat (A.K.A treehuggers) are too fucking coarse too understand that. So they'll sit there and spout off whatever the environmentalist say is wrong. Assuming they can even talk with Clinton's cock in their mouths.

So, I say, leave it alone. These fucking peice of shit, Democrats wont ever understand.

Now who's being the dickhead, you don't win friends with salad and you don't win support by being angry and crude... we're the all singing all dancing crap of the world, and pretty much everyone posting on this board sounds like a puppet of one form or another......... shut up and live for yourselves, who gives a flying f^^k what the rest of the world thinks.

To our anonymous friend in Atlanta...

There is no "proposed area of drilling.." they want to open the land for EXPLORATION... Drilling would come later...after about 2-3 years of shooting the ground with cannons and collecting sonagraphic(?i think thats what they use) images to determine if oil is there.

When i was a teenager, I didn't care about "future..." I only gave a crap about myself. Now that I am closer to having kids, I'm actually thinking beyond MY lifetime...and voting accordingly. Neither party will take us where we need to go. Heck, none of the parties will...UNTIL WE STAND UP FOR OURSELVES... Educate yourselves. Vote in first-time representatives who don't owe anybody anything...

When government stops wasting time on personal choices (*cough*drug war*cough*) and worries more about conserving the quality of life, I will breathe a lot easier.

yes, I am a puppet... I'm proud of my strings....except for the one attached to my balls...that one hurts.

Firstly, I want to say that everything, with the exception of the bit about nuclear power plants, that the above letter says is perfectly true, and scientifically sound. Many of the people who have expressed their opinions above claiming that it is a load of disinformation, or that it doesn't examine both sides, obviously have not taken a biology course recently, or slept through it. I don't understand why conserving energy is a political issue, I think it's just the smart thing to do. Personally, my job requires that I drive a great deal, which I regret. However, even though I live in Phoenix, Arizona (we've had highs this summer of 116 F) I use my air conditioning as little as possible. Am I a little less comfortable? Yes. Is it unbearable? No. I keep the fan going without the A/C and I'm usually just fine. People are always quick to say that someone who is expressing one side hasn't looked at the other side. I've looked at both sides. I understand the economic issues involved, and personally I feel that preserving a habitable world to live in is more important. Money is hard to spend when you're dead.

Now that I think about it, why are people arguing with this letter in the first place? All it is is a request that you support a petition, with his reasons why attached. If you disagree, simply refuse to sign the petition. If you agree, sign it. I'm done ranting.

By not expressing opposing views, one fails to let his voice be heard, which in turn quells the spirit of democracy. rant on O'brothers under the sky..... but drink a few beers first

Isn't America great? Where else could you get this kind of a response from this many escaped mental ward patients? The only things I know for sure is that politicians suck, nuclear power is the future and BT rules. Everything else is up for debate.

Jeremy, from everyone's favorite nuclear test site...Nevada

PS If this doesn't make sense, blame the Democrats!