Clean Energy Needs to Be a National Priority

The BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is turning into the worst man made disaster in the history of, well, history. People’s jobs are impacted, lives have been turned upside down and visions of success have dwindled away. But there is something we can do to at least mitigate the blow, to turn it back around.

We can all stand together as a nation and demand that changes are made.

We can all stand together as a nation and say ‘I want to reduce my dependence on fossil fuels.’

We can all stand together as a nation and call for clean-energy!

A few days ago I added my name in support of a clean-energy future by signing a petition that is backed by the group Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee. Since signing the petition I have received a few emails requesting that I forward the link on.

This morning, following right behind President Obama’s Oval Office Address last night*, the committee sent another request to share the link to sign in support of clean-energy and I decided to do a little more digging.

I responded to the Director of Organizing for America, Mitch Stewart and simply inquired -- what are you going to do with all of these names?  I haven't yet heard back but will certainly keep everyone apprised of what he has to say as soon as they get in touch.


With regard to our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, and the impact the depletion of this finite resource will have on our nation (as well as nations around the globe), The President said last night:

“We cannot consign our children to this future. The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean-energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”

Yeah baby!

So because I firmly, unequivocally, and without doubt believe in every single word of the paragraph above, I am including the link to the petition for Organizing for America. If they can get even 1,000 more signatures to propel this initiative in front of the President and help ensure new jobs are created while we make use of the rapidly renewable natural resources our planet has to offer as our primary energy sources, then I say more power to them!

Now I know this will meet with negative comments from many of the ‘hippie’ generation -- that they attempted to do this too and got nowhere, that gas was a commodity in the 1970’s -- and they are absolutely correct. And 30 some odd years after they started the fight it sounds like a pretty great idea to finally finish it.

Let’s be the generation that prevails, the one which elicits positive change.

Let’s take what our former generations started and finally bring it to fruition.

Clean-energy is not a pipe dream. It can happen, and on the heels of this Gulf Coast disaster there is no more apparent time than right now to support it. Fully.

If you believe in clean-energy and all it can provide for our country please sign the petition today by visiting:

Organizing for America

*If you missed the President’s address from last night you can read the full text here.

President Calls for Higher MPG and Lowered Emissions

Yesterday President Barack Obama stood out on the White House lawn and addressed members of his cabinet known as his “Energy Green Team”, representatives from the auto industry, environmental advocates, key Governors from a few states, the residents of this nation and others.

He made the announcement that for the first time in our nation’s history we will now have a policy in place for all new cars and trucks to increase fuel efficiency by an average of 5% each year from 2012 - 2016 to a new national standard of 35.5 mpg (average) and a decrease in emissions which would be equal to taking 377 million cars off the road over the next six and one half years. Taking California’s stringent requirements, working with members of the auto industry and environmental leaders this policy will be fully enforced on US auto makers by the year 2016.



HOORAY!

Closing the Carbon Loophole

President Barack Obama calls for clean energy; investing in it and the workers who will create and install these advances. He sees that the future of the planet depends on closing the loop and expresses those thoughts for the world to hear.

On a day like this, Earth Day, it is more important than ever to act on both the local and global levels to ensure our clean energy and economic future.

This is from President Obama’s press conference on April 14, 2009.



Happy Earth Day everybody!

The Cutest Eco Car From GM and Segway

It is common knowledge that United States auto makers are not only struggling in this current economy but some are flailing to the point of potential shut down. President Obama has encouraged these manufacturers to conceive of innovative solutions in order to offer a fresh face to the consumers of the country and reestablish their ability to turn a profit, keep thousands of people employed and provide financially viable solutions. As President Obama is also a supporter of smart environmental practices, it was only a matter of time before the two concepts met, fell in love and got married. The happy couple in this case is GM and Segway.

The baby that these two companies produced is the most adorable and efficient thing I have ever seen. The vehicle, known as PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), is an electric, two seat vehicle that only weighs 300 pounds, can reach speeds of 35 mph and can run up to 35 miles per charge of the lithium-ion battery, making it the ideal city car. In addition, there will be an interconnected network between vehicles that allow users to discuss impediments in their way. In an even more futuristic development, the eventual ideal is to have the vehicle run itself via a GPS transponder ensuring it would never be part of an accident or stuck in traffic. Fun! The cost has not yet been revealed but has been estimated to be around a quarter of the cost of the average vehicle.

Because of their attention on the environment, the American consumer’s wallet and the desire to begin thinking outside the SUV as a means to keep their company from drowning in the proverbial economic sludge, I am granting this little baby Four Green Leaves and allowing both GM and Segway to bask in the glory of the rating as well.

Keep up the amazing innovative partnerships and your company will be right back on top again GM!

President Barack Obama Discusses His Proposed Budget

In his most recent radio address on February 28, President Barack Obama discussed the assurances he made for increased support in key areas, and those promises which he truly plans to keep, with the new fiscal budget. He has indicated he is ready to “fight for it” but this raises the issue of understanding what is going to be supported under the new budget; what is the “it”.

I strongly encourage everyone to visit The White House and click on over to the Office of Management and Budget page to review the proposed financial outlay for each department, as well as the Full Budget pdf. The Full Budget is well worth the read as numbers, graphs and real in-your-face information is put to us plainly. It is a long document (142 pages including cover, etc) but something every American should allow themselves the time to review so President Obama’s goal of transparency can begin to be achieved. Only when we are completely informed can we understand what we are fighting for!

In Support of the Arts

As an independent, artsy type person it makes me crazy to hear that programs, or other essentials toward the development of creativity in America’s youth, get cut from public schools. Many of you know that aside from my love for writing, I also run a multi-faceted company called Chucka Stone Designs which is 100% artistic work and I would not be where I am today without the ability to try out different artistic endeavors through encouragement of teachers while I was growing up.

Math, English, Science, History -- yes these are the big subjects deemed most important by the school system as they provide a foundation of knowledge toward expansion of that information down the line. It is true that without at least a moderate and basic level of learning in these subjects it would be very difficult to function in daily society (2+2=4, house is a noun, H2O creates water, Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776). My concern is that without the addition of creative based subjects to a curriculum, such as Art or Music, there will be less and less distinction between children as they are not encouraged to express their individuality and interests openly.

So what can we do to ensure the Arts remain a supported and important part of the school curriculum across the nation so every child has a chance to decide if there is something of interest for them personally within that arena?

One of the strongest ways we can show support is to donate! Get in touch with your local school system and see if there is an organization or program set up which accepts donations in any form -- monetary, product or even time. Time can be one of the best donations so do not overlook this. Do you run your own successful business in an artistic capacity? Why not go and talk to students about it or better yet, schedule a demonstration for how to create one of what you do!

Another great way to show support is to purposefully become a patron of independent artists. Go out on a Friday night and listen to an unsigned band play and then pick up their disc after the show while you thank them for doing what they do. Get over to a site like Etsy and browse through the thousands of shops run by independent owners then pick up something completely unique for your Mom’s birthday gift. Pop into a local poetry reading, buy furniture hand crafted by the guy down the street, paint your own picture to hang on your living room wall -- the opportunities to show thanks for the many ways artists contribute to our culture and society are endless!

Why not sign a petition indicating your support of art as it would trickle down from the highest level? Something I came across recently while checking out Bushwalla’s tour schedule was he provided a link to an online petition encouraging President Barack Obama to create a Secretary of the Arts position in his cabinet. I felt this was a fantastic idea as many other nations have similar positions and we never have. The idea was started by Quincy Jones and I was signature number 235797. It was one small step but it felt good knowing I was doing even a little something to encourage arts remain a strong part of our country’s daily life. Please consider signing the Secretary of the Arts petition.

I will continue to create through words, paint and fabric on a daily basis as well as continue to support the creative endeavors of as many artists as possible. What do you do to show support for the arts? I want to hear about it so we can continue to learn from each other!

Thank You Mr. President

While doing some research this afternoon I came across a link to a noteworthy blog over at my friend Charmaine’s place. It is called Post to the President and the entire purpose of the blog is for anyone and everyone to voice their thanks to President Barack Obama. Comments are disabled so those who wish to offer thanks must do so via email and it will go up on the blog as a post (don’t worry, you can remain anonymous if you like). I think this is a wonderful idea and certainly if it picks up a lot of steam (hint, hint: pass it on!!) it might be something the White House staff picks up on so maybe President Obama will be able to see that amidst all of this stimulus controversy or foreclosure bailout brouhaha that there are still many people out there who want to express their gratitude to him and his staff for doing the best job they can possibly do.

Please take a moment to check out the site and if you are feeling it, send him your own letter of thanks! Click below to be taken directly to the blog.

It’s, It’s An Email Blitz!

In the past forty eight hours I have received a bunch of emails and many of them are related to causes that are dear to my heart -- The Environment and The President. In fact two emails in particular not only show support for one or the other but managed to combine both the environment and President Barack Obama into one message. Now that is something I can sure get behind!

Let’s start by talking about 1Sky. This is an organization dedicated to creating alliances with politicians to effect real change in the realm of fighting global warming on a larger scale. Yesterday they sent all of us supporters a message to let us know that when President Obama signed the recovery plan into effect it included $87 billion in green investments. From what they have indicated this is the largest expenditure the government has ever made in the area of clean energy. Hooray!

Of course 1Sky was not simply letting us know about this wonderful turn of events, they have asked us to please send a thank you note to Congress and President Obama showing our willingness to continue to support the efforts they are standing behind with this package. The great news is they made it easy to express our gratitude! Simply go to http://www.1sky.org/green-recovery-thankyou and enter your zip code. A pre-written message of thanks (and thumbnails of our local Senators) will pop up. Enter the required information (name, email, zip) and hit submit. Then please pass this link on to as many people as possible. Showing our support for their support ensures the gratitude loop for positive change keeps revolving!

Speaking of change…

Is it time to change that old, worn out T-shirt yet? Well perhaps I could interest you in one of these:

Jason Mraz and Rock the Vote have partnered up to bring us this 100% Organic cotton t-shirt in two fun colors. As if that wasn’t enough the inks are water based and all solvents are environmentally safe. Considering all of these factors, the shirts are not expensive like many tend to be -- small to XL, men’s or women’s, silver or blue will not cost you more than $25.00 (plus shipping -- please note that I found the shipping cost to be a bit pricey but I feel the cause is worth it!). They will ship within the next couple weeks and 50% of the purchase price proceeds will go directly to Rock the Vote efforts.

That gives a whole new meaning to ‘Rock On’ as these folks spend countless hours educating and encouraging voter registration. Plus how cool will it be to walk down the street with the caricature version of President Obama emblazoned on the front of a shirt?