US Green Energy Fail

by Steven D

Here's we in the United States should be doing now to keep up with the rest of the world's investment in research and development of green energy technologies:

The United States needs to more than triple its spending on energy research, development and demonstration projects, from about $5 billion now to $16 billion, and should review  national energy policy every four years, an advisory group of scientists and engineers said in a report to President Obama this week.

The US is falling behind almost every other major developed country in the world.  Look at this chart from 2007 that shows R & D spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product:

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What’s Green, White and Blue? American Jobs

by Leo W Gerard

Two Chinese companies have agreed to manufacture in America, instead of in China, a significant portion of the wind turbines needed for a Texas wind farm. The deal is a result of white collar Chinese executives negotiating with blue collar union officers to create green collar jobs in the U.S. The agreement defies stereotypes about unions as constantly combative, excessively expensive and environmentally challenged. The United Steelworkers union, which struck the deal, has a track record of engaging with enlightened CEOs for mutual benefit. It has a long green history. And it has worked to return off-shored jobs to the U.S.

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Personal Energy Independence: A Thought Experiment

by Troubadour

A number of factors have gelled for me into an important understanding, however unlikely it is to be original: Neither money, real estate, precious metals, nor any other tangible good or floating trade medium possesses rigorous intrinsic value - in each case, their value can be corrupted or undermined through various manipulative processes (e.g., stock market shenanigans, currency policy, fraud, etc).  Even food, energy, or water, when provided by a producer to a consumer, can be manipulated in similar ways.  But when something is produced by the consumer, pure economics is at work in how it is used - you have begun the process of vertically integrating your own personal economy.  Such a move must necessarily begin with energy, so I will examine its purpose, implications, and how it may be approached.

continued at Daily Kos....

Iowa Ag Sec.--Who's Afraid of Francis Thicke?

by Francis Thicke

Some farmers are afraid of me. I know this because a farmer named Jerry wrote a letterto the Des Moines Register recently saying that they are scared.  It would be a "scary scenario for mainstream agriculture" if I got elected as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, he said.   Francis Thicke is a "true believer in everything organic," he shuddered. Running for office is an adventure.  But I never expected to learn that Iowa farmers, who are among the most resilient, shrewd and creative people on the planet, are afraid of a mild-mannered organic dairy farmer with a PhD in Agronomy and some ideas for helping them meet challenges such as peak oil.   So I thought I would write him a letter to reassure him that I'm not scary, because if we don't get our act together to deal with the real challenges of peak oil, the disruptions caused by climate change, and the growing monopoly power of corporate agribusiness, then we really will have cause for concern. (My letter, and a sincere thank you to DKGreenroots, below.)

continued at Daily Kos....