Russ McBee

Today, Al Gore gave a speech at George Washington University in which he called for a massive push to transform our energy economy; he audaciously suggested that we can and must convert 100 percent of our electricity generation to clean sources within a mere ten years. By relying on solar, wind, and geothermal for all of our electricity, he said ...

Today, President Bush rescinded an executive order signed by his father which affirmed the ban on offshore oil drilling (with the exception of a small area off Southern California and a specific region of the Gulf of Mexico). The move was almost entirely symbolic (and political), since federal law also bans offshore drilling (except in those two ...

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is pushing for tighter regulation on oil speculators: Every day, 20 times more oil is traded than delivered. Because of the way energy trades are regulated (or not regulated), speculators control vast amounts of oil by putting down as little as 5% of the purchase cost. In short, speculators use money they don't have ...

Three stories showed up today, and none of them should come as a surprise: 1) Today is the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska event; on this day in 1908, something (either a small asteroid or a small comet) exploded in the air over Siberia. Although it never impacted the ground, and the object itself was only a few meters across, the blast ...

R. Neal has this week's edition of the intermittent, kinda weekly roundup of Tennessee liberal bloggers. A lot happened this week, so go here to see what everyone's been talking about. (Mr. Neal has also started yet another blog: SmartEnergyViews is dedicated to news and information on energy efficiency, conservation, and alternatives. I don't ...

Today, GOP obstructionists in the Senate filibustered a bill which would have provided tax incentives to build out renewable energy sources and which would have extended tax credits for individuals to purchase plug-in hybrid automobiles. The bill would have cost $17 billion over ten years, which is roughly the same amount the Pentagon wastes on ...

Robert L. Hirsch, former senior energy adviser for SAIC, author of the Hirsch Report on peak oil, and all-around energy guru, appeared on CNBC the other day to discuss current oil and gas prices. Here's what he said about gas costing $4 a gallon (via Crooks & Liars): ''[T]he prices that we're paying at the pump today are, I think, going to ...

Because of the resurgence of nuclear power, uranium mining claims in the western US have skyrocketed from 2,000 in 2001 to over 43,000 last year. Those claims are now encroaching on the Grand Canyon and other western monuments: On public lands within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park, there are now more than 1,100 uranium claims, ...

Following a speech in Missouri yesterday, President Bush engaged in an exceedingly rare question-and-answer session with employees of the company where he was speaking. Among other topics, he repeated his threadbare spin of ethanol as a viable fuel source: ''As you know, I'm a ethanol person,'' he said, explaining his belief that it can help ...

Here's my first poll: