Pollywogs!

Shit I found on the interwebs which you may or may not find interesting…

It has been a while since I’ve done this, I’ve allowed my shit to collect, so this may be a big one!

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A Grand Solar Plan:

This kind of thing makes me want to march on Washington, screaming and gibbering like a lunatic…

“The federal government would have to invest more than $400 billion over the next 40 years to complete the 2050 plan. That investment is substantial, but the payoff is greater. Solar plants consume little or no fuel, saving billions of dollars year after year. The infrastructure would displace 300 large coal-fired power plants and 300 more large natural gas plants and all the fuels they consume. The plan would effectively eliminate all imported oil, fundamentally cutting U.S. trade deficits and easing political tension in the Middle East and elsewhere. Because solar technologies are almost pollution-free, the plan would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 1.7 billion tons a year, and another 1.9 billion tons from gasoline vehicles would be displaced by plug-in hybrids refueled by the solar power grid. In 2050 U.S. carbon dioxide emissions would be 62 percent below 2005 levels, putting a major brake on global warming.”

$400 billion over 40 years?  That is so much money.  Where could we ever come up with that much money from?   That is an impossible amount of money to spend on something as useful and vital as energy independence (and clean energy to boot!).

I’ll tell you what this Bush Administration is:  a fucking travesty.  May we string them up by their balls at a gas station yet?

It isn’t all terrible, but the progress is very slow.  I guess I should rejoice at every new major solar plant in the works, I just feel like we’re all a day late and a dollar short.

Speaking of solar, how about having renewable energy fuel the first mass production electric car?  How completely perfect would that be!  Of course, it does cost $28,000…that said, it does go 10,000 miles on $250 worth of fuel (like getting 120MPG at $3 a gallon!) with no need for oil changes or other mechanical service.  Now, that doesn’t speak of the true reasons (beyond the crude economics) to use an electric car:  to wean ourselves off foreign oil, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution, and to help build and foster the inevitable technology needed to make our day to day lives sustainable.

And while we’re here, talking about efficiency and whatnot, how about an article explaining the truth behind the ‘a hummer is greener than a prius’ myth, care of Slate?

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5 Myths About “Sick Old Europe”:

You know, those Republicans don’t want you to consider the idea of a small, reasonable military and a strong social support system to be ‘acceptable’.  Much like the Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, no one predicting hijackers crashing planes into the WTC, no one predicting the levees would break in New Orleans, and so on and so on and so on, if we lie to you and feed you bullshit, you’ll believe what we want you to believe because that is just the kind of person you are…

“Beware of stereotypes based on ideological assumptions. As Europe’s economy has surged, it has maintained fairness and equality. Unlike in the United States, with its rampant inequality and lack of universal access to affordable health care and higher education, Europeans have harnessed their economic engine to create wealth that is broadly distributed.

Europeans still enjoy universal cradle-to-grave social benefits in many areas. They get quality health care, paid parental leave, affordable childcare, paid sick leave, free or nearly free higher education, generous retirement pensions and quality mass transit. They have an average of five weeks of paid vacation (compared with two for Americans) and a shorter work week. In some European countries, workers put in one full day less per week than Americans do, yet enjoy the same standard of living.

Europe is more of a “workfare state” than a welfare state. As one British political analyst said to me recently: “Europe doesn’t so much have a welfare society as a comprehensive system of institutions geared toward keeping everyone healthy and working.” Properly understood, Europe’s economy and social system are two halves of a well-designed “social capitalism” — an ingenious framework in which the economy finances the social system to support families and employees in an age of globalized capitalism that threatens to turn us all into internationally disposable workers. Europeans’ social system contributes to their prosperity rather than detracting from it, and even the continent’s conservative political leaders agree that this is the best way.”

What an insane idea.  European politics puts our liberals firmly on the conservative side of the political spectrum, their liberals would be considered Gravel and Kucinich-style wingnuts over here, and yet look at all of the good they’ve accomplished over the past couple decades.  While the US has devolved into a corrupt Gilded Ag, Europe has been surging ahead, leading the world in nearly every catagory you’d care to examine.  Europe is looking better every day…

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Calling B.S. on the Idea of ‘Marijuana Addiction’:

I know I am a raging marijuana addict.  Right up there with riding bicycles, taking walks in the woods and playing video games, it is one of those things that once you’ve tried, it stays with you forever…

“Earlier this month, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse announced plans to spend $4 million to establish the nation’s first-ever “Center on Cannabis Addiction,” which will be based in La Jolla, Calif. The goal of the center, according to NIDA’s press release, is to “develop novel approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of marijuana addiction.”

Not familiar with the notion of “marijuana addiction”? You’re not alone. In fact, aside from the handful of researchers who have discovered that there are gobs of federal grant money to be had hunting for the government’s latest pot boogeyman, there’s little consensus that such a syndrome is clinically relevant — if it even exists at all.

But don’t try telling that to the mainstream press — which recently published headlines worldwide alleging, “Marijuana withdrawal rivals that of nicotine.” The alleged “study” behind the headlines involved all of 12 participants, each of whom were longtime users of pot and tobacco, and assessed the self-reported moods of folks after they were randomly chosen to abstain from both substances. Big surprise: they weren’t happy.”

Oh.  You go cold turkey off of cigarretts and you feel like shit?  Must be the marijuana!!!

Did you know California has 300 to 400 medical marijuana dispensaries?   And someone recently had the bright idea to start a weekend course in growing the stuff?

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Spiritually uplifting courthouse installation of Flying Spaghetti Monster:

Where do these awesome people live?  I want to live near other awesome people!  We ought to all move to Vermont and sesseed!

“We are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us, its citizens, the freedom of speech. I have chosen to put up a statue of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to represent the discourse between people of all different beliefs. The many faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds of Cumberland County’s residents make our community a stronger richer place. I respect and am proud that on the people’s lawn, the county courthouse, all of these diverse beliefs can come together in a positive dialogue.”

Can you believe that is in Tenessee?

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