3. Vote for GREEN

Wake up, smell the coffee. We’ve entered the Green Century. And no, it’s not because of Al Gore. The reasons we have entered the Green Century are very simple: political election humor blog

REASON 1. POPULATION GROWTH

China now has 1.3 Billion people and India has 1.1 billion. They have access to MTV, CNN, FOX SOCCER CHANNEL, VH-1, DISNEY CHANNEL and DISCOVER CHANNEL. They are demanding the same American lifestyle they see on television - nice homes, two large cars, 10 credit cards, iPOD, iPhone and Seven Jeans. They want to drink fine wine and hang out at Starbucks with their friends to talk about the latest YOUTUBE video.

REASON 2. NATURAL RESOURCES

With six billion people on this planet wanting to live the American lifestyle, we’re going to run out of resources.

You may wonder, how could that be? I see all this empty land around me? The land that is empty around you is used to support each person in a similar way how a tiger needs a huge area to support his lifestyle.

Mathematically, the natural resources on this planet cannot support six billion people. This is a scientific fact.

If every Chinese citizen ate the same amount of fish as every Japanese citizen, there would be no fish left in the oceans. None.

REASON 3. CRAPPY MANUFACTURING OF PRODUCTS IN MANY INDUSTRIES 

We make products to consume and throw away. Our industries are living in the nineteenth century. Products that we make ruin our health and we don’t even realize it. Look at the lead paint toy issues we are dealing with right now.

This is nothing compared to other products out there. Al Gore brought global warming to the forefront as a key issue. That’s great; however, poisoning of lands and water is even a bigger threat. 

Yes, I am concerned about the weather, but who’s making sure that what I eat and drink is safe? It’s not our government. They are controlled by the enormous and rich beef, dairy and drug industries which have their own interests at heart.

We need a massive overhaul of how we make things. Future-looking manufacturers are making products to be 100% recyclable or sustainable, which means we aren’t using up natural resources. Products are made in a “closed system” and not ending up in landfills. Two incredibly informative and life-changing books on this subject are Natural Capitalism by Amory Lovins, Paul Hawken and L. Hunter Lovins and Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Amory Lovins is a genius and visionary. He was promoting green before Al Gore and that is why Al Gore has not invented Global Warming. If we had listened to Amory earlier, we wouldn’t be in the position we are today.

THE GREEN REVOLUTION IS HERE

And America can take the lead. Green products, green industries, green services will be the biggest money making opportunities in this century.

Everything is tied together and interconnected. We can turn around our economy by thinking green. (I’m not some psycho tree hugger, however, I do believe in preserving the environment. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to save all species from extinction but we shouldn’t accelerate it either. At the rate we are going, what’s going to be left in a hundred years?

We have spent $400 billion to $600 billion so far fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan according to analysts.

I still can’t figure out why we went there. Yes, Saddam Hussein was a bad dude. But there are other places in the world with worse conditions than Iraq before we decided to “free” its people. Why did we not free Somalia? Darfur has experienced worse genocide than Iraq or Kosovo. We’re not there because there is no oil. At the end of the day, Iraq was about oil. Any other reason is B.S.

Oh, what I could do with a trillion dollars over ten years. With one trillion to two trillion dollars, the U.S.
has an opportunity to become a global leader in the Green Revolution. Now, a trillion dollars may seem like an incredible amount of money (and it is), but look at what we spent fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And what do we have as a result?

Well, we have high oil prices.

The war in Iraq has brought us higher prices at the pump. For what? For weapons of mass destruction? To spread democracy? This war has brought us to our knees economically. The half -trillion dollars that we have spent on the war could have been used to take our economy into the Green Century.

We should spend a trillion dollars over the next ten years on green technologies, green services and green products. That’s two hundred billion per year. Just two hundred billion dollars per year.

We don’t have 30 or 40 years to change the course of the current natural destruction. We have 20 years or less.

A few people saw what was ahead way before Al Gore made green “hip”. Amory Lovins and Lester Brown, authors of Eco-Economy, made me aware of the grave situation we‘re facing in this century.

If you study "Hubbert’s peak", we don’t have the luxury of time. We’re running out of natural resources at low prices. Please make sure you understand:

WE ARE NOT RUNNING OUT OF OIL, WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF CHEAP OIL. That is a big problem.

AMERICA IS LOSING ITS POSITION AS A GLOBAL POWER

America consumes 25% of the world’s energy and represents 2 % of the world’s population. We’re at the mercy of our supplier. Like a drug addict addicted to crack. We’re hooked and must pay whatever the supplier asks. Energy markets are controlled by suppliers.

Key suppliers in the energy markets are Middle East, Russia, Nigeria, Canada and Venezuela. They hold all the candy. That is why, for example, Chavez feels confident enough to call. Bush a devil. Chavez could create problems if he chose to shift from selling oil to the U.S. to selling it to China. And China really needs oil.

Because America consumes more energy than it makes, we are at the mercy of all these countries. We all know this, but live in denial. We keep driving SUV’s, trucks and gas guzzling cars.

Mark my words, when you we see $5 per gallon gasoline, the American consumer is going to freak out. We will be forced to change our ways.

I have a simple solution to this dilemma. Most big ideas are simple. But sometimes when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see the forest through the trees. Every American should see Green as a way out of the mess we have put ourselves into the hole by depending on foreign energy sources.”

It’s not the Middle East’s fault for jerking us around on oil. It’s our fault. If I was in the power position like they are today, I’d do the same thing.

WE CAN'T BLAME THE ENVIRONMENT ON PRESIDENT BUSH

This'll piss off a lot of environmentalists, but I agree with Bush not signing the Kyoto Protocol. (Kyoto
expires in 2012 and requires that only industrialized nations reduce their production of greenhouse gases.)

Why should we sign it if India and China aren't part of the treaty? China will soon (and many believe already has) overtake the United States as the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Under Kyoto, China would not  need to  curb their emissions at all.  Just  because they're a growing and emerging economy doesn't mean they shouldn't be part  of the  commitment to reduce the pollution.

I agree with Bush that signing the treaty would put us at an economic competitive disadvantage. I don’t agree that we should let the free markets work it out. It hasn’t worked so far.

America can take the lead in the Green Century by investing massive amounts of money into transforming the economy into green economy. Providing $12 billion in tax breaks granted to the oil companies is completely insane. When I see tax breaks like that, I see our lobbyists doing a phenomenal job representing the people.

The U.S is the largest polluter in the world, if we could solve our own problems, we could export our knowledge and technologies and make money from it. Now, if we partner with Russia to solve the environmental crisis, the world will be a better place.

The entire world has to come together. We are all connected by nature. And that includes China and India.

The clock is ticking and I don’t think we have fifty years to solve the problem.

--HuckFinn@PutinforPesident.com

"Smart-Ass Politics for Smart People"

Issue 4. Vote for our SOLDIERS