Alternative Energy

Building a Progressive California Democratic Party Platform

The Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento (PDA) held a meeting on Saturday, Jan. 9th to discuss improvements to the CA Democratic Party (CDP) Platform. All area Progressive Democrats were invited by Wellstone President Tamie Dramer and Political Affairs Chair Chris Niehaus to help shape the Party's Platform. CDP Platform Committee member Christine Thomas started off with a brief overview of the committee. CDP Progressive Caucus Chair (and PDA NorCal co-coordinator) Karen Bernal spoke about the need for Progressives in California to change the Party and how we can use our numbers to improve our platform. The room overflowed with attendees that took on issues such as Health Care, the Environment, Energy, Labor, Economic Justice, Poverty Elimination, Education & Criminal Justice.

Here are my favorite quotes from the 12/27/09 Sacramento Bee.

"California has the opportunity to be a leader in the green revolution – by showing how to make buildings more energy efficient, designing more efficient transmission lines, developing a better battery, reducing the cost of solar power, being a pioneer in technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a hundred other possibilities."

- Stephen Levy is director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto.
- Special to The Bee, Published Sunday, Dec. 27, 2009
- http://www.sacbee.com/198/story/2420552.html

Tesla Unveils All-Electric Sedan, But Needs Federal Loan for Factory to Build It
And, in related news, Obama forces GM's CEO to step down in advance of federal auto-industry bailout for Detroit
Can we put one and one together here please?...
Blogged by Brad Friedman on 3/29/2009 8:51PM

Tesla Motors revealed its all-electric Model S sedan last week in Los Angeles. At half the price of its Roadster model, which was $109,000, the Model S will be priced at $49,900 after tax credits ($57,400 before such credits). "After factoring in savings on gas," Tesla points out, that's "comparable to a $35,000 Ford sedan," the New York Times reports. A blog item from the Times describes the Model S as "sleek, sporty and sexy."

Tesla hopes the price tag will come down to "less than $30,000," as the price "will presumably go down as the technology improves." They plan the manufactured version to get 300 miles to a single charge, with a 45-minute recharge time.

The dirty green line
Erecting new transmission lines for solar and wind power is a boon to coal-burning utilities and a drain on our wallets. What's an environmentalist to do?
By Katharine Mieszkowski - Mar. 23, 2009 | Salon.com

With a boost of billions in the economic stimulus plan, the White House plans to double the nation's supply of renewable energy in the next three years. There's big talk in Congress of creating a national renewable-energy standard, which would mandate that utilities get a chunk of their power from green sources like solar, wind and geothermal. So long dirty energy, hello green future.

Yet as renewable energy finally takes its place as a national priority, a tripwire lurks in the rosy scenario: transmission lines. No less an authority than President Obama is promoting the goal of building thousands of miles of new transmission lines to move power from the Great Plains and Mojave Desert to the nation's energy-hungry cities and 'burbs. And he's got plenty of political might behind him.

Gore Calls for US to Use Renewable Energy by 2018

Friday 18 July 2008 - by: David Stout, The New York Times

Washington - Former Vice President Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon fossil fuels within a decade and rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of electric power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts.

"The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk," Mr. Gore said in a speech to an energy conference here. "The future of human civilization is at stake."

Drilling for Oil Is Not the Answer

The Politics

Why is Bush the most unpopular president in the history of political polling? Maybe it’s because he thinks Americans are fools. Last Monday, Bush signed an executive order to reverse his 7½ year policy against oil drilling in some offshore areas, falsely suggesting that it will help lower the soaring price of gasoline. Bush’s flip-flop on offshore drilling is just the latest attempt to divert attention from the conservatives’ failed energy policies.

The Facts

Since George Bush took office, the price of gasoline has skyrocketed. When Bush took office in January 2001, the average price of regular gasoline was $1.47 per gallon. It’s now $4.10 (as of June 30, 2008). Even adjusted for inflation, gas prices have more than doubled under the Bush administration. As a result, the average household will spend about $2,300 more on gasoline this year than in 2000 (adjusted for inflation). [CAF]

Bush and McCain are cynical flip-floppers on oil drilling. Since the Reagan Administration, offshore oil drilling has been banned on most of the outer continental shelf. Until June 2008, Bush and McCain opposed lifting that ban. [New York Times] And while Bush has favored drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), he could never persuade a conservative-dominated Congress to approve that scheme. Even McCain opposes it. [New York Times]

House Votes to End Big Oil's Tax Breaks
By Steven Mufson | The Washington Post | Thursday 28 February 2008

Despite veto threat, bill to boost renewable energy is sent to Senate.

The House of Representatives brushed aside threats of a White House veto yesterday and voted 236 to 182 in favor of an $18 billion tax package that would rescind a tax break for the five biggest oil companies and use the revenue to boost incentives for wind and solar energy and energy efficiency.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where Democrats face a challenge in getting enough support to bring the bill to a vote. This is the fourth time in the past year that Democrats have tried to get the package adopted.

Examining Clinton & Obama’s Stances on the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Universal Healthcare, Privatizing Social Security and Nuclear Energy: Democracy Now!

With Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in a dead heat, we look at their stances on some of the most pressing domestic issues with Robert Kuttner of the American Prospect, Max Fraser of The Nation and Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear. [includes rush transcript]

You can watch a video of this Democracy Now! interview here.

JUAN GONZALEZ: We turn now to the Democratic race, where Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a virtual dead-heat that could last right up until the convention. The contest is so tight that Democratic Party chair Howard Dean has raised the possibility of a compromise if no clear nominee emerges by April.