Al Gore, Oil Prices and OPEC joins the environmental movement

OPEC, yes that OPEC (the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries) has given alternative energy its biggest boost since….well since the Oil embargo of the 70’s*. Yes you heard me correctly, and no, I have not been drinking. But how? By refusing to increase production or the supply of oil on the global market and with growing demand worldwide OPEC has contributed to oil prices rising as high as $111.00 a barrel. (see chart below)

The high price of oil has made the relative cost of alternative energies such as solar and wind power less expensive. By lowering the relative cost of these alternative energies they become more economically viable (read profitable) resources thus driving investment towards research, development and (cross your fingers)implementation of these alternative energy sources. Put simply, if I am business person, it is much easier for me to ‘care’ about the environment if there may be a long term profit in it for me.

Al Gore spoke across the country, released “An Inconvenient Truth” and raised a significant amount of awareness around global warming and the dangers to our environment, but lets be honest, a majority of the people may voice some concern but most will do little about it. In my experience, people tend not to react to a situation unless there is a tangible effect on their daily lives (….sure global warming is melting the ice caps, raising temperatures and sea levels but I live in Iowa and have to get my kids to soccer practice….what am I supposed to do about global warming?)

However, if you raise the price of gas, now you have gotten the attention of people because this has a direct effect on their daily life; i.e. I have to take my kids to soccer practice in our suburban which gets 8 MPG and it costs me $100.00 a week instead of $60.00 because of higher gas prices. When I go to get my new car gas mileage may very well have an influence on my decision. With this change in people’s consumption of more fuel efficient cars, in a free market, there will be a change in production to meet this new demand.

Al Gore was rhetoric and education, OPEC is dollars and cents. In the end, in a market economy, for better or worse consumers will make choices on necessities such as energy (electric, gas etc.) based on price, all things being equal. The producers in the economy will make choices based on cost and profits. By limiting the supply of oil OPEC has raised the price of oil and made the choice of both the producers and consumers in the economy to ‘go green’ much easier. So you could very well argue that the biggest influence on the environmental movement towards alternative energy is….OPEC.

So thanks for the pep talk Al, and OPEC, welcome to the environmental movement (just remember to hold supply steady and keep those prices rising.)

*You may remember President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House in late 70’s to show his support for alternative energy. Ronald Reagan tore the panels off when he got into office in 1980.

Oil, Rising Gas Prices and Canada: Good news, eh!

The perception of oil as a good or evil thing truly depends on your perspective. The general public tend to form their opinion, positive or negative, based on the price of gas and to a lesser extent environmental impact. For the large multinational corporations, the countries who produce it, and others who profit greatly from it, oil is liquid gold, and with record prices for oil, business is good. The politicians and the press use oil to further their agenda or sell newspapers expounding on the rising price of gas and the burden placed on the working class. So what are some of the facts apart from the hype so heavily pumped out by mainstream media, politicians and the White House.

Canada and Oil

Canada, not Saudi Arabia, is the largest exporter of oil to the United States according to official statistics from the U.S. Government. This explains why after Obama made a comment about tampering with NAFTA his economic adviser had a ’secret’ meeting at the Canadian Consulate in Chicago to reassure Canada that it was more rhetoric than policy.

Gas Prices, Inflation and Don’t Panic

The press loves headlines trumpeting ‘record’ high gas prices and the effect on the consumer, but are the current gas prices truly at record levels? Well actually, historically speaking, yes. But in viewing the current price of gas vs. historical gas prices we may also want to consider the dramatic increase in efficiency in automobiles (MPG) and heating systems (construction and units) over time which help to soften the relative effect on the consumers.

Quit whining you…..you…..whiny Americans.

Think gas is expensive in America, consider the cost of gas in Europe. (25-40% of the gas price in Europe is attributed to taxes.)

Why is the price of Oil at record levels?

There are many reasons oil has become so expensive (discounting theories involving, Bush, Cheney, big oil and the Saudis):

1. Increasing Demand for Oil — China and India continue to boost the demand for oil and drive worldwide consumption upwards.
2. Supply — OPEC, The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, began cutting supplies in 2006 when prices were low and now that prices are at record highs are unwilling to give up the current profits they are receiving and increase production.
3. Falling Dollar — with the fall of the dollar and the credit crunch many investors have begun looking for profits in commodities and are speculating on the price of oil which is driving the price even higher.
4. Problems with Oil Suppliers — Venezuela threatening to cut production, Iraq’s infrastructure still in shambles, Iranian politics, and Nigeria’s militants attacking refineries don’t help the supply problems.

The Bright Side of High Oil Prices

• High price of oil makes the relative cost of alternative sources of energy (solar, wind) less expensive and thus spurs investment in new technologies.
• There is a price of gas that becomes so high that Americans will change their consumption habits, adding to the demand for alternative sources of energy, and more fuel efficient cars (economist predict that $4.00 gas is the price).
• High oil prices make it profitable for Canada, our friend to the North, to mine even more of the ‘oil sands’ in Alberta. At current production levels they have an estimated 180+ years of supply.

The best news of all is that we live in a market economy which is driven by the consumer. Our daily decisions on consumption affect what is produced in our economy. So do your neighbors to the north a favor and fill up your SUV eh!

Read more:

Oil Statistics from the U.S. Government: Oil Statistics

Obama, Nafta and the Canadian Consulate: NY Times Story

Do we really need a study to tell us this…..

Did you realize that March 3-9 is Sleep Awareness Week? You probably were too drowsy to realize it but now that I have brought it to your attention make sure you mark it on your iPhone calendar for next year. Sleep Awareness Week is proudly sponsored by more drug companies than I could possibly list here but you can see on their website here!

In lieu of sleep awareness week the Center for Disease Control, the CDC, released a study detailing the sleep habits (we paid for this study?) of Americans and came up with the following conclusions:

• 10% of Americans reported not getting enough sleep. (really)
• Sleep loss may lead to health problems (now that’s a revelation)

Luckily the medical profession has answers for the lowly masses who suffer in ignorance about this problem.

“It’s important to better understand how sleep impacts people’s overall health and the
need to take steps to improve the sufficiency of their sleep,” said Lela R. McKnight-Eily Ph.D. the study’s lead author and a behavioral scientist in CDC’s Division of Adult and
Community Health. “There are very few studies to assess and address sleep
inefficiencies; therefore, more needs to done to better understand the problem and to
develop effective sleep interventions.”

In other words Dr. McKnight-Eily has a government job and will continue to make work for herself by studying sleep while at the same time developing “effective sleep interventions”, which in layman’s terms means promoting sleeping pills sold by the pharmaceutical companies with the most powerful lobbyists in congress! Aren’t you glad I was able to cut through the loquacious language of the doctor.

Dr. McKnight-Eily goes on to say (words in parenthesis are mine):

People concerned about chronic sleep loss should consult a physician (bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical companies) for an assessment and possible treatment (prescription drugs), such as behavioral or medical intervention (prescription drugs). They can also try setting a regular sleep schedule and avoiding caffeine or other stimulants before bed (and take prescription drugs), she said.

So, in conclusion, if you are having trouble sleeping, take this opportunity during sleep awareness week to get some prescription drugs from your doctor (or doctors if you need extra drugs.)

To learn more about sleep disorders, good sleep, and good drugs visit the sleepfoundation.org

Coming soon on ‘do we really need a study to tell us this’: The CDC study on how a sedentary lifestyle may be bad for your child’s health (yes this is an actual study.)

Coping with addiction: NPR, the hidden epidemic

My story of addiction will sound all too familiar to the thousands, potentially millions, who share in my addiction. We are a silent minority whose voice is not often heard by the majority of people and rarely acknowledged by the mass media outlets. Our addiction goes unnoticed by most, and this silence made my ability to deny my addiction all too easy.

It all started in an innocent fashion with experimentation on the weekends, but like most addictions, almost imperceptibly, it seeped into the weekdays extending from my private life into my work life and back again. I ended up, where I still am today, a daily user who has allowed my addiction to effect my actions, my thoughts and everyone around me who I care about.

I remember the day when it started, just over one year ago, like it was yesterday. I was driving home from the local grocery store listening to the local rock station 97.9 play Lynyrd Skynard Free Bird for the billionth time and the thought fluttered across my mind (to this day I have no idea where it came from)…..I wonder what is on the local National Public Radio station 91.5.?

So, I turned the dial to NPR (the term we ‘users’ of National Public Radio use) and caught ‘All Things Considered’ with Robert Siegel and Michele Norris. It was a newsmagazine touching on various global issues currently in the news including Iraq, the European Union, and other topics, but was so much different in its approach from the news you see on television. The coverage was indepth, including historical references, compelling interviews with experts and it felt….dare I say….educational. My mind was so much more engaged without having to deal with the distraction of sensationalistic images and videos that tv news often provides. Looking back, in terms of the addiction, ‘All Things Considered’ was my gateway drug; the words were truly addicting and I was getting hooked.

At this point my addiction was still under control, as I would tune into the news on NPR for maybe 1 or 2 hours while driving, but when friends would get in the car I would be able to switch over to a Radiohead CD. Only once was I almost found out when I gave my friend a ride and had accidentally left the radio dial on NPR, but I was able to quickly explain “my mother in law loves this station, I gave her a ride home last night and forgot to change the channel.” He didn’t suspect a thing.

One afternoon, however, while just sitting inside my home, I innocently turned on NPR on a whim (the first time I had taken my addiction out of the car.) I will never forget the words that turned my ‘use’ into a full blown addiction: “I’m Dick Gordon and this is The Story….”.

The Story, quite simply, takes people’s ordinary lives and their everyday stories and makes them extraordinary. Dick Gordon asks all of the right questions to elevate the common person’s story into a compelling interview full of colorful insight that the listener never dared to think may have existed in commonplace events. Dick Gordon is the science teacher who pulls the rock up and shows you the universe you never new existed… I was hooked.

My name is T.J. and I am an addict. I can say those words now and believe them. I can no longer deny that I am one of ‘those people’ who listen to public radio pledge drives and reach for my credit card. Or that I take inspiration from a story I hear on NPR and do further research to educate myself on that topic and even introduce something I heard into a discussion I may be having with friends and family.

I don’t blame Dick Gordon, Michele Norris or Robert Siegel for my addiction. I don’t even blame the show ‘Talk of the Nation’ or ‘Wait wait don’t tell me…’. I know now that my addiction was something I was born with that was simply laying dormant until I received the trigger; for me the trigger was NPR. And I am happy to be an addict.

Ralph Nader for President: The crusade for irrelevance

Quite possibly the biggest, most shocking announcement of the presidential campaign season took place on Sunday (what you missed it?). Ralph Nader, the 74 year old lifelong consumer advocate, is throwing his hat into the ring for President (again) in his great crusade for irrelevance.

What irrelevance you say? Nader only received 442,000 votes the last time he ran for President in 2004, a whopping 85% drop from the 2.8 million people who voted for him in 2000. And considering the widely held belief that he catapulted George Bush into office in 2000 by stealing crucial votes from Al Gore in Florida, he is about as welcome into the political fold as hemorrhoids on your wedding day.

Although many people in the political sphere would like to see him disappear and the media are skeptical of the legitimacy of his candidacy there are many who are happy he is running for President:

• Ron Paul Supporters – Ralph Nader supporters make even the nuttiest, conspiratorial Ron Paulites seem rational.
• John McCain – At 74 years old Ralph Nader will not only be the oldest candidate, but will take over McCain’s lead in the polls on the question: Which candidate most resembles a corpse?
• John McCain (again) – McCain can’t wait for Ralph Nader to divert more of the ‘crazy vote’ from the democrats as his did in 2000 and 2004.
• Al Gore – Now Ralph Nader can destroy some other democratic candidate’s chance to win the presidency.
• Jessica Simpson – Ralph Nader’s candidacy will take the top spot over Jessica Simpson’s Blonde Ambition for biggest bomb of 2008. (I should take this time to mention, in Jessica’s defense, that although her movie only grossed around $1200 in the U.S. it is currently the number 1 movie in Ukraine!)
• Dick Cheney – Ralph Nader’s negativity makes Cheney look like a ray of sunshine.
• Big Oil, Environmental Polluters, and the military industrial complex -If it wasn’t for good old Ralphie in 2000 the U.S. may had Al Gore, the greenest most environmentally conscious president ever who also may have kept us out of the war in Iraq. (Sort of ironic since Nader is being courted by the Green Party.)

Good luck to Ralph Nader, the candidate of unintended consequences (U.S. Auto industry, Bush victory 2000) on his crusade for irrelevance.

Random Fire: John McCain’s staff gets him into trouble

Random Fire:

• The New York Times broke the story that John McCain may have had an ‘improper’ relationship (read the old in/out) with a Washington lobbyist, Vicki Iseman. The alleged relationship took place during the fundraisers in 1999 for his failed bid for the Republican nominee for president. The New York Times received information on the relationship from McCain’s top advisers at the time; another example of a man’s staff getting him into trouble.
• Does anyone know if O.J. has found the real killer yet?
• The U.S. shot down a ‘rogue’ satellite today with a missile and in no way was this intended to demonstrate to Russia and China our missile defense shield.
• What does he stand for? What? The issues?….uh…..Does hope count? Let’s just be honest that political elections have nothing to do with issues or any real substance. See the video of Senator Kirk Watson from Texas when he goes on Chris Matthew’s show as a supporter of Obama. And this is not to attack Senator Kirk Watson because he represents a majority of the voters for all of the candidates….no real clue on why they vote for any candidate.

Why cell phone users are so annoying (and its not what you think)

It doesn’t matter where you go these days, chances are someone around you will be using a cell phone and its also likely someone will be annoyed by that person. We have all been in a situation where someone picks up the phone in a public place, oblivious to their surroundings, and then proceeds to have a conversation loud enough for everyone to hear. But even when someone is speaking softly on their cell phone it can be annoying to listen to….but why?

In a typical conversation two or more people are talking with one pausing while the other speaks and then responding to that person. This type of dialogue is hard wired into us at an early age and it’s how we communicate with each other in daily life. Now take the cell phone conversation you are (unwillingly) privy to. All you here is one person talking….pausing…..and then responding to something you didn’t hear which is the other side of the conversation.

The brain, in processing the one sided cell phone conversation, attempts to ‘make up’ or fill in the other side of the conversation in order to make sense of it. So, in essence, a cell phone user is causing your brain to work only to figure out why the caller keeps saying “oh my god” and “totally“, by filling in the other side of the conversation, with “dude I was robo-trippin” and “Lindsey Lohan is like so cool“.

The thought of the energy that is wasted on listening to annoying cell phone conversations has inspired me to do something about it. I am going to Limewire right now and download some new music on my Ipod so when I ride on the train to downtown Chicago, I can listen to Radiohead and not a conversation about Paris giving…..aid to Africa.

Evil Killing Machine Frog may have had ties to Al Qaeda

The science sections of many of the nation’s most widely read papers has been set abuzz (maybe not abuzz, more like a zzzz) by Paleontologist David Krause’s discovery in Madagascar of a frog’s fossils dating back millions of years ago to the time of the dinosaurs.

According to Mr. Krause, based on the fossils found, the frog would have been around 10lbs 16 ounces with an armor coated head, a strong jaw bone and teeth possibly used to eat dinosaur hatchlings (that’s about the size of a New York rat.) They named him……drumrole please…..Beelzebufo (pronounced with a Spanish accent like Antonio Banderas in Shrek 2), or Devil Toad. Look I told you he was a paleontologist folks so what do you expect.

But this is not the most amazing part of this story (leave it to me to cut through the details to find the real story.)

Mr. Krause began collecting parts of the frog back in 1993. 1993! He is been waiting for the great frog discovery for 15 years, which either means he is extremely patient or heavily medicated. But now the great discovery has occurred and Mr. Krause is receiving some well deserved attention from press around the world.

One of the best parts of this story is how the press has to package the story in order to woo readers away from the latest news about Britney’s vagina or Paris Hilton’s whatever the hell she does. Here is a sampling of some creative titles for the frog story.

“Ancient ‘devil frog’ may have eaten baby dinosaurs” Reuters

“Paleontologist Reconstruct a Monster Frog” New York Times

“Frogzilla the Killer: The toad who like to eat dinosaurs for breakfast!” The Daily Mail

“‘Frog from hell’ that ate baby dinosaurs” Telegraph.co.uk

So here’s to you Mr. Krause, discoverer of frogzilla the ancient monstrous killer frog from hell that ate baby dinosaurs for breakfast, you are one heck of a fine paleontologist.

The Decline of the Middle Class in America?

It’s becoming increasingly difficult these days to watch the news (Lou Dobbs), turn on talk radio (Air America), or listen to the candidates for President (all of them) without hearing about the great struggles of the working people in our country and the decline of the middle class.

Could it be that the struggles of the middle class are greater now than in the past, or could it just be a perception of struggle created by the media. I mean talking about the negative is more controversial and interesting than discussing what’s positive in the economy. It seems that people pick up on the media’s bandwagon of negativity and feel worse about their current state of being, regardless of the reality. It sure wouldn’t be the first time the people allowed themselves to be manipulated by the media.

Here is an interesting video about the decline of the middle class on Reason.tv

from reason.tv posted with vodpod

What happened to the terror alerts?

Flash back to the immediate post 9/11 U.S. where Americans sat on edge, constantly aware of the possibility, probability of another attack from ‘Al Qaeda’, the terrorist organization who launched the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The threat was so real that President Bush created a whole new ‘bureaucracy’ to protect us called the Department of Homeland Security (DHS for short); their job description was simple, protect America from the evil terrorists who were planning to destabilize and destroy our great nation.

And the Department of Homeland Security kept us safe and also well aware of the imminent threat of terrorism by releasing ‘Terror Alerts’, and assigning colors to the ‘level’ of the threat. News organizations picked up the almost daily change in the ‘Terror Alerts’ and other snippets released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The ‘Terror Alert’ was the lead in on nightly news casts across the nation in the years following 9/11, “The DHS is upgrading the terror threat level to code ‘red’ based on intelligence reports of planned attacks on a McDonalds in Nebraska.” they would say. And terror attacks stopped, proof of the great job the DHS was doing, and of course the mastermind President Bush.

But a strange thing happened along the way….the ‘Terror Alerts’ escalated significantly in the months leading up to the 2004 Elections (…uh oh, here goes another conspiracy theory), however after the Bush re-election the reports, the ‘Terror Alerts’ virtually vanished.

Now am I not saying that the government would use fear for political purposes or to control people, to further there own goals or manipulate the media by releasing certain information at well timed moments. Am I really that jaded, suspicious of the powers that be, skeptical of the nature of power and its ability to corrupt? Yeah pretty much.

But what about the proof you ask. Don’t have any…just a large dose of common sense and experience. Right now we are about to come up on another election where the outgoing President, a Republican, may be inclined to release reports which favor the candidate for the Republican Party, John McCain.

So watch for reports out of Washington that would bolster McCain’s bid, a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq: reports of the great successes in Iraq, the capture of top Al Qaeda officials, Ahmadinejad the President of Iran’s great threat to the world, new terrorist plots…..and who knows they may even bring back the importance of the ‘Terror Alert’…”And now to lead off tonight’s news, Washington has reported a Terror Alert, Level Red, meaning a SEVERE risk of terror, DANGER, DANGER, and in other news Senator McCain who is extremely tough on terrorists is slightly trailing the two pacifist democratic candidates who would ‘cut and run’ in Iraq and bring Al Qaeda to our shores…..”