Saturday, June 25, 2011

Barack Obama on robots

President Barack Obama visited Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, PA yesterday, where he discussed the role robots can play in creating jobs and building a clean water economy.

Video of President Obama's speech in Pittsburg:



Transcript of President Obama's speech in Pittsburg:
Hello, everybody. Earlier this week, I spoke about our way forward in Afghanistan, and I said that because of the extraordinary work of our men and women in uniform, civilians, and our coalition partners, we will soon begin bringing our troops home, just as we’ve begun doing in Iraq. After a decade of conflict, we’re finally bringing these wars to a responsible end.
That’s in the best interests of America’s security. And it’s also in the best interests of America’s economy. Even though we’ve turned our economy in the right direction over the past couple of years, many Americans are still hurting, and now is the time to focus on nation building here at home.
Of course, there’s been a real debate about where to invest and where to cut, and I’m committed to working with members of both parties to cut our deficits and debt. But we can’t simply cut our way to prosperity. We need to do what’s necessary to grow our economy; create good, middle-class jobs; and make it possible for all Americans to pursue their dreams.
That means giving our kids the best education in the world so they have the knowledge and skills to succeed in this economy. It means rebuilding our crumbling roads, railways, and runways. And it means investing in the cutting-edge research and technologies that will spur growth in the years ahead – from clean energy to advanced manufacturing.
That’s why I’m here today at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, one of America’s leading research universities. Behind me is a display from a company called RedZone Robotics. The robots they make are used to explore water and sewage pipes, and find leaks and breaks before they become expensive problems. But the folks at RedZone aren’t just solving problems; they’re working with unions to create new jobs operating the robots, and they’re saving cities millions of dollars in infrastructure costs.
This company is just one example of how advanced manufacturing can help spur job-creation and economic growth across this country. That’s why this week, we launched what we’re calling an Advanced Manufacturing Partnership. It’s a partnership that brings our federal government together with some of America’s most brilliant minds and some of America’s most innovative companies and manufacturers.
Their mission is to come up with a way to get ideas from the drawing board to the manufacturing floor to the marketplace as swiftly as possible, which will help create quality jobs, and make our businesses more competitive. But they also have a broader mission. It’s to renew the promise of American manufacturing. To help make sure America remains in this century what we were in the last – a country that makes things. A country that out-builds and out-innovates the rest of the world.
I know these have been tough years for American manufacturing, and all the workers and families who’ve built their lives around it. But being here in Pittsburgh, I’m hopeful about the future. I’m hopeful when I think about how companies like RedZone are reinvigorating manufacturing or about how what started as a small trade school is now a global research university. We are a people who’ve always adapted to meet the challenges of a new time; who’ve always shaped our own destiny, and I’m absolutely confident that that’s what we’re going to do one more time. Have a great weekend.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Schedule for Gary Johnson in NH June 24-27


Republican presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson will celebrate the official opening of his New Hampshire campaign headquarters on Sunday, June 26 in Manchester. The event is part of Johnson’s latest three day visit to the Granite State – his 12th in the past year and half.

Friday, June 24

6:00-9:00 pm

Gary Johnson will be stopping by the 2011 Porcupine Freedom Festival at Roger’s Campground and Motel in Lancaster, NH. A Free State Project event.

Saturday, June 25

9:30 am – 3:00 pm

Gary Johnson will be competing at the White Mountain Cycling Classic in Lincoln, NH.

Sunday, June 26

5:00 - 7:00 pm

Gary Johnson will host a party celebrating the opening of his New Hampshire campaign office in Manchester, located at 530 Chestnut St.

Monday, June 27

TBA

Michele Bachmann on gas prices at RightOnline (Video)

Michele Bachmann blamed President Obama for high gas prices at last weekend’s RightOnline Conference Minneapolis, Minnesota:
If you want to sum up this election I think in some of the most simple terms, think of it this way. On the day that Barack Obama took office, the price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.79 a gallon. Today, it’s about $3.75.


Video: Michele Bachmann's comments on gas prices start at 9:00 

Fact check:

Michele Bachmann is right when she calls her analysis of trends in gas prices “simple”. Gas prices were lower when Barack Obama took office in January of 2009. However, gas prices hit a record high in July of 2008, when the national average topped $4.11 a gallon. At the time, Republican George W. Bush remained President of the United States.

Follow the money:

The RightOnline Conference is officially described as “a project of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation dedicated to advancing liberty and prosperity for all Americans through greater citizen participation online.”

Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) has close ties to the oil industry. Chairman David Koch is the Executive Vice President of Koch Industries, a company that has been involved in the petroleum industry since 1940. In 2011, Koch reached #18 on Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires, with a net worth of $22 billion. Interestingly, he ran as the Libertarian Party candidate for vice president in 1980, the same year Republican Ronald Reagan was elected president for the first time.

Richard Fink serves as AFPF's Director and is also an Executive Vice President of Koch Industries. All told, members of Koch Industry’s Board of Directors control two of the five seats on AFPF’s Board of Directors.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Al Gore vs Barack Obama on global warming

In a new 7,000 word essay for Rolling Stone, former Vice President Al Gore offers both praise and criticism for President Barack Obama’s handling of the climate crisis.

On the one hand, Gore highlight’s a number of the Obama administration’s achievements on the climate change front:
  • Inclusion of clean energy and climate provisions in the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009
  • Historic passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 by the U.S. House of Representatives
  • Improved fuel efficiency standards covering 2012-2016 car and truck models
  • Got the ball rolling on EPA action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions
  • Proposed elimination of subsidies for the oil and gas industry 

On the other hand, Gore takes Obama to task for failing to lead on climate change:
  • Failed to push climate legislation through the U.S. Senate, contributing to the failure of the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
  • Called for a major expansions of off-shore oil drilling in the U.S. 

Read Al Gore’s complete essay on RollingStone.com

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Jon Huntsman cap and trade reality check

Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign has launched an innovative new website - 2012realityroom.com - aimed at providing voters with a "Reality Check" on where the former Utah governor stands the key issues up for debate in the 2012 election.

There's been a lot of buzz lately about Jon Huntsman's record on cap and trade, so I typed the words "global warming" into a search box labeled "Search by issue" and came up empty. Next I tried the phrase climate change. Bingo! Apparently, Huntsman is up to date on environmental lingo.

Here's the straight forward answer to the questions, "Does Jon Huntsman support cap and trade?":
Jon believes that reviving the economy and creating jobs must be our central focus today and doesn't support cap and trade.
And where does Jon Huntsman stand on climate science?
It’s true that Jon believes that the science behind climate change is an issue that should be answered by the scientific community, and this stance is shared by many Republicans including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Mitt Romney.
This position differentiates Huntsman from fellow Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty, both former conservative climate activists who have flip-flopped over to the skeptic side in recent years.

Watch Jon Huntsman announcement online - Video and live blog

Voters can watch Jon Huntsman’s announcement speech live online today – June 21, 2011 - at 10 AM ET right here on New Hampshire Primary 2012: Green.


Watch live streaming video from jon2012 at livestream.com

New Hampshire Primary 2012: Green will be live blogging Jon Huntsman's announcement address.

8:30 AM

The former Governor of Utah is also scheduled to visit Exeter, New Hampshire today. He will be speaking at Exeter Town Hall at approximately 12:30 PM.

8:45 AM


During previous visits to New Hampshire, Jon Huntsman has not been shy when it comes to talking about energy policy.

While talking to voters in Windham, NH in May, Huntsman warned that the true cost of gasoline is around $13 to $14 per gallon. Asked to identify the biggest foreign policy problem facing the nation, Huntsman had this to say:
I would say that leading that list would have to be our dependence on foreign oil. I think that is crippling us. I think it's an issue that, also, we can resolve. 
9:00 AM 


In June, Jon Huntsman told CNN that he supports the phase out of all subsidies, including those for oil and natural gas, while visiting New Hampshire.

9:30 AM

At 10 AM, Jon Huntsman will formally announce his candidacy for president of United States while standing in the shadows of the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero at Liberty State Park in New Jersey.

Huntsman will also be walking in the footsteps of a conservative legend. Ronald Reagan, the man who took the solar panels off the White House, launched his 1980 presidential campaign here. Will Huntsman blaze his own trail on clean energy, or take the Reagan path?

10:00 AM


Live video begins with image of Jon Huntsman strolling across the lush green grass of Liberty State Park, family walking arm in arm.

10:05 AM


Biographic video of Jon Huntsman is now playing, with images of the candidate (presumably) riding across Utah's desert terrain on a dirt bike.

10:06 AM

Among Jon Huntsman's virtues - he has a "taste for dirt" according to biographic video.

10:08


Huntsman: "Today, I am a candidate for president... my kids can't believe I just said that."

10:10


Now presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is extolling the virtues of the United States: "Character that made the deserts bloom..."

10:12


Huntsman is warning about the dangers posed by our nation debt and bad economy.

10:13


Huntsman: We must "...seize the lost opportunity of energy independence."

10:17

Jon Huntsman promises to take the high road during his campaign. "I respect my fellow Republican presidential candidates and I respect the President of the United States."

10:20

"This is the hour when we choose our future." - closing line of Jon Huntsman's announcement speech.

10:21


Short and sweet at just 20 minutes long.


Jon Huntsman is exiting the stage, leaving behind the lingering image of American flags waving in the wind and Statue of Liberty standing in the background.


Monday, June 20, 2011

Gary Johnson on coal and carbon emissions

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson was among the Republican presidential candidates excluded from last week’s CNN debate in Manchester, NH.

In this YouTube video, Johnson responds to the all of the questions posed to fellow candidates during the June 13, 2011 Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, sounding off on coal fired power plants, space exploration, food safety, the ethanol tax credit and, strangely, the long-term threat posed by the sun.


Gary Johnson on coal fired power plants
As Governor of the State of New Mexico, I think businesses went to sleep knowing that they weren’t going to have needless regulation or fees piled on to the business they conducted. As a result of that, there was certainty in New Mexico.
As an example, right now, the coal industry. We’re not building any new coal fired plants because of the uncertainty over carbon emissions. Eliminate that uncertainty and I think that you’re looking at hundreds of thousands of jobs, just in being able to build coal fired electrical generation facilities.
Gary Johnson on the future of space exploration
I don’t want to trivialize this response, but long-term – and by long term I mean over the course of millions and billions of years – the sun is going to get closer to the Earth and at a point the Earth will not be inhabitable. So the long-term survival of the human race depends on us being able to go to other planets, to actually inhabit other planets.
So in that context, but given the budgetary consequence, I’m believing that government needs to be cut by 43 percent, because that’s the amount of money we’re borrowing and printing for every dollar that we’re spending. In that context, the space program at this point needs to be reduced by 43 percent.

Gary Johnson on food safety
Look, things happen in this world and when it comes to food safety, we’re going to have incidents of food safety. We’re going to have incidents where people get sick or die from food in the system.
That the FDA, that we spend millions and millions and millions of dollars on the FDA, the notion that they are going to prevent these kinds of things from happening across the board. I think that’s government. That’s the fear that we have, that if we don’t spend money on these issues that we’re going to have these issues. And the reality is that we do have these issues.
Government should be setting standards. Government should be providing an oversight or enforcement for those companies that would be bad actors in this environment. But so much of what happens isn’t bad acting. It’s genuinely accidents that do occur. So the notion of adding more money is not going to do away with these problems in the future.
Gary Johnson on the ethanol tax
I support abolishing ethanol tax subsidies. To my knowledge, it takes more energy to produce ethanol than what it produces. And if that’s not the case, then it ought to be able to stand on its own two feet in a free market system…

Survey finds bipartisan support for global warming policies in U.S.


A new study of American public opinion conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications finds bipartisan support for clean energy and global warming policies. The study reports the results of an April 23 to May 12, 2011 nationwide survey that included interviews with 1,010 adults.

Public Support for Climate Change & Energy Policies in May 2011 examines voters opinions on a number of the key environmental issues now being debated on the presidential campaign trail, just as the 2012 election gets under way:

Clean energy
91 percent of Americans say developing sources of clean energy should be a very high (32%), high (35%), or medium (24%) priority for the president and Congress, including 85 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Independents, and 97 percent of Democrats

Renewable energy

84 percent of Americans support funding more research into renewable energy sources, including 81 percent of Republicans, 81 percent of Independents, and 90 percent of Democrats.
68 percent of Americans support requiring electric utilities to produce at least 20% of their electricity from renewable energy sources, even if it costs the average household an extra $100 a year, including 58 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of Independents, and 82 percent of Democrats.

Green jobs

82 percent of Americans (including 76% of Republicans, 74% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats) say that protecting the environment either improves economic growth and provides new jobs (56%), or has no effect (26%). Only 18 percent say environmental protection reduces economic growth and costs jobs.

Global warming

71 percent of Americans say global warming should be a very high (13%), high (27%), or medium (31%) priority for the president and Congress, including 50 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of Independents, and 88 percent of Democrats



Friday, June 17, 2011

Fred Karger takes on Big Oil

In March, Fred Karger made history by filing paperwork to become the first openly gay presidential candidate to run under the banner of either major political party. Now, Karger has become the first Republican presidential candidate to take on Big Oil.

"Big Oil is hurting American families and destroying the economy," Karger says in a new campaign ad. "All while raking in over $1 trillion in profits over the last ten years alone."



Here's a quick look at where Fred Karger stands on energy independence and renewable energy (Source: FredKarger.com)

"We must end our reliance on foreign oil."


“We need to immediately start energy conservation in this country.  We can lessen our dependence on foreign sources by this voluntary common sense approach [right now].”


“We need to explore alternative energy, wind and solar power.  My home state of California is going to have a third of all power from renewable sources by 2020.”





Thursday, June 16, 2011

Herman Cain global warming is poppycock

On Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain phoned in to the Mark Levin Show and made some rather animated comments about ethanol subsidies and global warming.

Herman Cain on subsidizing ethanol
Mark Levin: Do you still support subsidizing – not you still, but the country - subsidizing ethanol? 
Herman Cain: No I do not. I think we need to phase ethanol out. At the same time, find additional distribution for the corn product that we are burning to try to create fuel.
That’s not working on the right problem Mark. And this is why I believe we need to work on the right problem and there would be no need for ethanol subsidies.

Herman Cain on global warming:

Mark Levin: And what about man-made global warming? Do you think something should be quote unquote done about that?
Herman Cain: Manmade global warming is poppycock. I hope I can say that on your show.
Mark Levin: You know you can.
Herman Cain: In other words, I don’t believe in it.
Look, if people look at the real data, the climate had varied ever since we’ve known that the planet is here. And we know that those scientists who tried to concoct the science to say we had a hockey stick global warming and they were busted because they manipulated the data.
No! This manmade global warming is not a crisis.
Mark Levi: You know, when I was growing up I remember we called that weather.
(Laughter)

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

2011 NH Republican Presidential Debate Energy Roundup

Seven of the top contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination met at Saint Anselm College in Manchester last night for the first New Hampshire debate of the 2012 election season. Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum all commented on energy during the debate. 

Herman Cain:

“We don't just have one problem; we have a crisis of the three E's. We've got the economy, entitlement spending, and energy.”

Newt Gingrich:

“The Obama administration is an anti-jobs, anti-business, anti- American energy destructive force.”

Tim Pawlenty:

“We need to have a pro-American energy policy.”

Ron Paul:


CNN's John King noted that the federal government offers subsidies to many industries, specifically mentioning green jobs, the auto industry and research and development. He then asked Ron Paul, "Given the current state of the economy what standards to you have, if any, for government assistance to private enterprise?"

Paul's response:

Given the current state of the economy, what standards do you have, if any, for government assistance to private enterprise?
There shouldn't be any government assistance to private enterprise. It's not morally correct, it's legal, it's bad economics. It's not part of the constitution. If you allow an economy to thrive, they'll decide how R&D works or where they invest their monies. 


But when the politicians get in and direct things, you get the malinvestment. They do the dumb things. They might build too many houses. And they might not direct their research to the right places. So no, it's a fallacy to think that government and politicians and bureaucrats are smart enough to manage the economy, so it shouldn't happen.


The New Hampshire Senate recently voted to delay action on HB 648, a bill that “prohibits public utilities from petitioning for permission to take private land or property rights for the construction or operation of certain transmission facilities.” Specifically, the bill is aimed at blocking construction of new transmissions lines through the heart of the Granite State as part of The Northern Pass project. If completed, the project would supply New England’s power grid with hydroelectric energy from Canada.

John Distaso, a leading political reporter for The Union Leader, asked Ron Paul to answer the question, “Should governments at any level be able to use eminent domain for major projects that will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil?” 


Here is Paul’s response:
No. We -- we shouldn't have that power given to the government where they can take private land and transfer it to a private industry. The eminent domain laws are going to vary in different states, but we have the national eminent domain laws. It was never meant to take it from some people, private owners, and then take it and give it to a corporation because it's going to help that locality. 

And this goes back to the basic understanding of property rights. Property and free society should be owned by the people, and it shouldn't be regulated to death by the governments, whether it's Washington, D.C., or local governments. 

Right now, we really don't own our land. We just pay rent on our land and we listen to all these regulations. So I would say that courts should get out of the way, too. They should not have this right to take land from individuals to provide privileges for another group.

Mitt Romney

Distaso also asked Mitt Romney, who owns a summer home in Wolfeboro, to answer a similar question about the Northern Pass project. “There are a lot of people in the state who are concerned about this project, but they also want to have energy independence,” he said. “How do you feel about that?”

Romney’s answer:

Well, I don't believe that land should be taken -- the power of government to give to a private corporation. And so the right of eminent domain is a right which is used to foster a public purpose and public ownership for a road, highways, and so forth. And so my view is, if land is going to be taken for purposes of a private enterprise, that's the wrong way to go.
Now, the right answer for us to have energy independence is to start developing our own energy in this country, and we're not doing that. We -- we have a huge find with natural gas; 100 years of new natural gas has been found. More drilling for oil, natural gas, clean coal. We have coal in great abundance, nuclear power ultimately, and all the renewables. But it's time for us to have a president who really cares about finally getting America on track for energy security.

Rick Santorum

The words “drill” and “drilling” only popped up a total of four times in the debate, but appeared four times in just one statement by Rick Santorum. The former Senator from Pennsylvania was asked to comment on Tim Pawlenty’s economic plan, but preferred to aim his comments at President Obama:

Throw on top of that what this president's done on energy. The reason we're seeing this second dip is because of energy prices, and this president has put a stop sign again -- against oil drilling, against any kind of exploration offshore or in Alaska, and that is depressing. We need to drill. We need to create energy jobs, just like we're doing, by the way, in Pennsylvania, where we're drilling 3,000 wells this year for gas, and gas prices are down -- natural gas prices are down as a result.

Apparently, the U.S. Senate will vote today on abolishing the ethanol tax, a big issue in Iowa. WMUR’s Josh McElveen asked Santorum to weigh in on the situation.

Here is what he had to say:

Yeah, I actually had proposed that we can phase out the ethanol subsidy, which is the blender's credit, over a five-year period of time. I also proposed, as part of helping him in that transition -- one other thing. I also phase out the tariff on ethanol coming into this country over that five-year period of time. 

One of the issues for the ethanol industry is distribution networks. So I would take half of that credit every year, 4.5 cents, and use it to help expand distribution for E-85 in other areas of the country. And that all would be shut down in five years. 

And I say that because I think the ethanol industry -- I voted against ethanol subsidies my entire time in Congress. But I will tell you, the ethanol industry has matured greatly, and I think they are actually capable of surviving and doing quite well going forward under that -- under that plan.

A full transcript of the June 13, 2011 New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate is available on CNN.com.



Monday, June 13, 2011

Jon Huntsman talks oil and gas subsidies in New Hampshire

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman may be sitting out tonight's WMUR/CNN/Union Leader Republican presidential debate in Manchester, but that didn't stop the 2012 GOP presidential hopeful from making stops in Newmarket and Nashua over the weekend. CNN's Candy Crowley caught up with Huntsman during his latest visit to New Hampshire and asked him to discuss his position on oil and gas subsidies.

Jon Huntsman on oil and gas subsidies 
Candy Crowley: I know you’re opposed to ethanol subsidies, which helped frame your strategy going forward. Are you also against oil and gas subsidies? Would you phase those out as well? 
Jon Huntsman: I think phasing out all subsidies - some will have to be done on a faster track than others – but moving towards a phase out of all subsidies is going to be very important for budgetary reasons in this country.
When you look at the tens of billions of dollars that we’ve built our economy on, that create artificiality in the marketplace, they have to be addressed at some point. And I know they are politically sensitive. But we’re at a point in time where for budget reasons we can’t wait a whole lot longer. 

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Barack Obama: Clean energy creating jobs

President Barack Obama revisited the theme of green jobs on Saturday in his Weekly Address:
We know that more and more jobs are being created in the clean energy sector, so we’re investing in wind power, solar power, and biofuels that will make us less dependent on foreign oil and clean up our planet for our children. These are steps we know will make a difference in people’s lives – not just twenty years from now, or ten years from now, but now, and in the months to come.

Rick Santorum hits Obama on cap and trade (Video)

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum took aim at President Barack Obama's support of cap and trade at the grand opening of his Iowa campaign headquarters in Urbanandale on Saturday, just two days before heading to New Hampshire for the second Republican presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle.

Transcript of Rick Santorum's comments on Obama, cap and trade:
I was mentioning to some people in the back, not only did he do Obamacare which is hurt in this economy. Not only did he do this huge stimulus package that just ballooned our debt and all it did was fund government and public employee unions. But I remind everybody that he also wanted to pass cap and trade.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Massachusetts came along, he would have passed cap and trade. That would have been an even bigger expansion and takeover of our economy. 
Video of Rick Santorum's comments on Obama, cap and trade 

Note: Cap and trade quote starts at 8:38

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Herman Cain jumps into RGGI debate (Video)

Speaking at an Americans for Prosperity rally in New York City, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain weighed in on the local debate over the future of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative:

I know many of you all came out here today to because of your objection to R-G-G-I. It’s similar to the federal program that they tried to do called cap and trade and tax and kill. You see I renamed it. Cap and trade and tax and kill.
And as I looked at your R-G-G-I - they call it the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative - I renamed that one to. It should have been R-G-G-R: Regional Greenhouse Gas Rip-off.
Call it what it is. It is a rip-off. It is a hidden tax.
...............................................
A lot of people don’t realize that this R-G-G-I tax is a hidden tax. You and that’s why you’re here. I do. That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I’m fighting to go to Washington, D.C.

Rick Santorum shares disbelief in global warming


Former Pennsylvania Senator and 2012 GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum appeared on the Rush Limbaugh Show this week, where he shared his disbelief in anthropogenic global warming:

Rush Limbaugh:  And we're back, Rush Limbaugh here with Rick Santorum, Republican seeking the presidential nomination.  Mitt Romney in his announcement earlier this week in New Hampshire said, yes, he believes there is global warming, and, yes, he thinks human beings are contributing to it.  Do you?
Rick Santorum:  I believe the earth gets warmer, and I also believe the earth gets cooler, and I think history points out that it does that and that the idea that man through the production of CO2 which is a trace gas in the atmosphere and the manmade part of that trace gas is itself a trace gas is somehow responsible for climate change is, I think, just patently absurd when you consider all of the other factors, El Nino, La Nina, sunspots, you know, moisture in the air.  There's a variety of factors that contribute to the earth warming and cooling, and to me this is an opportunity for the left to create -- it's a beautifully concocted scheme because they know that the earth is gonna cool and warm.  It's been on a warming trend so they said, "Oh, let's take advantage of that and say that we need the government to come in and regulate your life some more because it's getting warmer," just like they did in the seventies when it was getting cool, they needed the government to come in and regulate your life because it's getting cooler.  It's just an excuse for more government control of your life, and I've never been for any scheme or even accepted the junk science behind the whole narrative.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Tim Pawlenty on the EPA

Speaking at the University of Chicago on Tuesday, former Minnesota Governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty laid out his plan for creating jobs and economic growth. One part of that plan: reducing the role of the EPA.

Read Tim Pawlenty's comments on the EPA below:

And the Environmental Protection Agency is now regulating carbon emissions. A policy rejected by Congress, but putting millions of jobs at risk. 
And we don’t need the unelected officials at EPA to do what our elected officials in Congress have rejected. We need less EPA monitoring of our economy. And more monitoring of EPA’s affects on our freedom.
Or watch his complete speech, "A Better Deal":


Monday, June 6, 2011

Buddy Roemer talks energy independence in New Hampshire

Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer focused on the issue of energy independence during his speech at last Friday's Belknap Republican Committee fundraiser aboard the M/S Mount Washington. Watch video of Roemer's full speech or read his comments on energy below:


Buddy Roemer's comments on energy independence:


Number two Mr. President, let’s be energy independent. Aren’t you embarrassed that American has to beg China for credit and is addicted to oil from the Middle East? Here’s my plan: let’s drill. We have new technology. We have clean technology. We have one accident in the Gulf of Mexico. If a plane goes down, we don’t quit flyin’, do we? Well, we quit drilling for one year. It’s disgraceful. The price of gasoline has doubled under this president. It can go back to $1.86. Let’s be independent and free.
And I’ll tell you what I’ll do specifically. I’ll put a tariff on Middle Eastern oil. They will quit sending their oil to America. We’ll drill and find it here. We’ll use clean coal. We’ll use safe nuclear. We’ll use natural gas. We’ll use solar. We’ll use geothermal. We will be energy free by the end of the decade. You know what that does?
That’s 5 million new jobs that pay $35 per hour. How’d you like one them, people who can’t find work?”
That’s $500 billion we’ll quit sending to the Middle East. That is the sum total of our international trade deficit - $500 billion. We’d wipe it out like that.
We would increase the value of the dollar and as it increases the price of gas will go down. And we’ll quit sending our money to nations that slip it on the side to terrorists. And we’ll quit sending Marines for oil duty in the Middle East.
By god, we will be free again and it will start with energy.

Mitt Romney on energy efficiency

Former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shared his thoughts on energy efficiency last Friday at a town hall meeting at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester. Watch video of his comments and read the transcript below:



Mitt Romney on energy efficiency: 


… I also want to see us become more energy efficient. I’m told that we use almost twice as much energy per person as does a European and more like three times as much energy as does a Japanese citizen. We could do a lot better.
I’d like to see us in our vehicles, in our homes, in our systems of insulation and so forth become far more efficient. I think that’s happening and I believe that we have a role to try to encourage that to happen.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Mitt Romney talks climate change in Manchester (video)

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney candidate made it clear he still believes in anthropogenic global warming at yesterday's town hall meeting at the University of Manchester. Watch video and read a transcript of his comments below:




I don’t speak for the scientific community of course, but I believe the world is getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer.

And then, number two, I believe humans contribute to that. I don’t know how much our contribution is to that because I know there have been periods of greater heat and warmth in the past, but I believe we contribute to that.

And so, I think it is important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that we see. 

Friday, June 3, 2011

Buddy Roemer believes in global warming (Video)

Republican presidential Buddy Roemer expressed his belief in anthropogenic global warming during a recent interview in Iowa.

"I think the globe is warming - beyond scientific curiosity, I think it's a scientific fact," the former Louisiana governor and four term U.S. Congressman said.


"...I don’t think there is any question that man’s effect on his environment is also a factor," Roemer went on to say. 

He also shared his thoughts on science, evolution vs intelligent design, and vaccination. Read his comments or watch the full video below.

Buddy Roemer on science:


Interviewer: ... concerns is science education in the United States. What would you say are your thoughts on science education in the United States?
Roemer: I’d never thought I’d live to see science actually denigrated like it’s been.
It’s like mankind has not forever in search, curious about how things work. That’s what science is.
It starts off as a theory and then the theory is not question marked, it then becomes a group of laws that are the theory of gravity or Einstein’s theory of relativity. That doesn’t mean it’s not true because it’s a scientific theory, it means it’s a group of laws that change how we operate and how things move.
I have noticed – I am 67 – I have noticed as I grew up from that cotton farm where things were scientific as to how many things now are anti-science.
It bothers me. I think you can be spiritual and scientific. I don’t think they are mutually exclusive. But to have spiritual values override science facts to me is not progressive, it’s not good, and it’s not spiritual in my opinion. 

Buddy Roemer on global warming:

Interviewer: That leads me to my next question, which is really about a lot of the science denial that we’ve been having and I’m curious about some of your opinions on some of those aspects such as global warming and then the sub-question is it anthropogenic?



Roemer: I don’t know what anthropogenic means by the way.



Interviewer: Okay… human created, man created…



Roemer: Okay… Well, I don’t think we can answer that.



I think the globe is warming - beyond scientific curiosity now it’s a scientific fact. The cause of it probably more than one thing.



There cycles in the Earth’s history where temperature rises and falls. We might be on one of those cycles. But I don’t think there is any question that man’s effect on his environment is also a factor.



So we need to be commonsensical. We need to plan out how to ameliorate, how to diffuse man’s effect.


Maybe man has nothing to do with it. How can we take the risk?

Buddy Roemer on evolution vs intelligent design
Interviewer: What about the question of evolution vs intelligent design and the issue of teaching intelligent design?



Roemer: Well, intelligent design can be taught in schools in religion class. Evolution needs to be taught in science class.



One again, I believe in both science and religion, but I don’t mind teaching in religion things of spiritual value, things of faith. That’s where religion comes in.



Things of science ought to be taught in science class. Evolution is a thing of science. We have moderated our opinion over time, it changes over time, but it is scientifically based.



Creationism is a thing of faith. I’m a Methodist, I’m a believer, but it ought to be taught in religion class, not science class.

Buddy Roemer on vaccination 



Interviewer: Right now, Iowa for the first time in 40 years is having a measles epidemic and one of the problems is that the vaccine deniers. What would you say to the mother who is trying to decide, ‘Should I give my child his vaccines?’



Roemer: I’m not a doctor. My doctors tell me and my reading confirms that reports of problems have been exaggerated with the vaccines, but the mother ought to know the history of the vaccine and the results. I think we need to look at the results and make our opinion.

Sarah Palin talks fish politics in Seabrook, NH

Sarah Palin talked fish politics with a reporter from WMUR during yesterday's stop in Seabrook, New Hampshire.


Reporter: Why was it so important you stopped at the fishing co-op your first stop here in New Hampshire today?
Palin: Well, commercial fishing is near and dear to my heart of course, you know having fished for so many years. And I understand fish politics.
I understand what these fishermen are going through as they’re trying to get their industry rolling again and government kind of gettin’ in the way because of decisions being based not only on biology, but on influence that money can buy. That’s unfortunate because an industry like this it cannot afford to have politics in such play.
Biology needs to dictate decisions in a fishery.
So it was important to get to talk to the fishermen and hear what their concerns are and hopeful at some point I’ll be able to help them out. 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Herman Cain talks gas prices in New Hampshire (Video)

On Monday, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain attended a Memorial Day house party in Rye, New Hampshire hosted by local Tea Party activist Diane Bitter. The former CEO of Godfather's Pizza dedicated much of his speech to discussing gas prices and energy policy.

Transcript of Herman Cain's comments on energy:


Let’s just talk about the energy situation. We have enough resources to become energy independent. We’ve got oil. We’ve got coal. We’ve got shale oil. We’ve got natural gas. The Congressional Research Service has documented the fact if we were smart enough to pull all of our energy resources together, we could be energy independent for 50 years, but that’s probably not going to happen because we can’t pull them all together that quick.
So that’s the good news. We’ve got plenty of resources, but we’ve never had a plan to take advantage of those resources.
Now one of the things I plan to do, which I’ve already started on, is to develop an energy independence plan and announce it to the world. As soon as we announce it to the world, speculators are going to stop speculating up and they’re going to start speculating down, and we won’t be at the mercy of King Abdullah and the boys – OPEC.
It is not only a matter of economics, because oil drives the price of gasoline. Gasoline is now hovering around $4 a gallon. When it reaches a national average of around $4 a gallon, that’s what’s called the tipping point, which means that most Americans are not able to buy gas for their cars to go to work or to take kids to school without pulling it out of another discretionary item.
And at that tipping point, the higher it goes above $4 a gallon, the more downward pressure it puts on what little economic growth we have. And right now it is anemic, just in the first quarter it was only 1.8 percent – 1.8 percent. Compare that to China is growing at 10 percent, compounded, even though it’s on a much smaller base.
So not only is it an economic threat, it is also a national security threat, because what do you think China is going to do if their economy becomes as big as ours, which on a one on one basis, they’re going to be about as big as us in about 15 years, but if you take out the differences in exchange rates they’re going to be as big as us in about 5 years it terms of what they call purchasing power parity. 5 years!
What do you think the Chinese are going to do with all that extra economy and all of that extra money that they can confiscate from their workers if they wanted to because they still are a communist country?
Military! They want a military as capable as ours. They want a nuclear arsenal as big and as powerful as ours. So it becomes a national security threat.
Oil and energy is also a national security threat. I think you haven’t heard many people running for office break it down like this. Here’s why. There was an article today by a Saudi prince who said – I read the article - they want to increase the supply so you can drive down the price of oil, so you can drive down the price of gasoline, quote ‘So the United States and Europe will not look for alternative sources of developing their own energy.’ We’re at their mercy because we have not been forward acting enough to develop the resources we have here.
And so when President Obama went to Brazil, loaned them $2 billion or $4 billion – our money – and tells them America’s going to be Brazil’s best customer for oil? Let me tell you what the Cain doctrine is. America’s going to be its own best customer for oil because we’re going to drill here…
So a reporter from the Washington Post here was asking me, he said, ‘Well Mr. Cain, how you going to get that done, why aren’t they doing it now?’
They don’t want to. Pure and simple. I believe that this administration wants us to be dependent on other people around the world, because I happen to believe that this administration and others want a weaker America.
He said, ‘Well what are you going to do to accelerate development of drilling for oil in this country and accelerate the development of shale oil, all of these other things?’
Well, first of all, the EPA is the biggest barrier. I’m going to put together what I call my regulatory reduction commission… I’m going to do one for the EPA. I’m going to do one for the Interior Department…
Audience: Education!
Cain: Education, yup education, we may not need a commission for that one.
And here’s whose going to sit on that commission. Let me first tell you about one of my management principles. If you want to know the solution to a problem, go talk to the people closest to the problem. So on my EPA regulatory reduction commission, I am going to appoint people who have been abused by the EPA.
If we want to know what we need to do to speed up the permitting process, to speed up the exploration process, talk to the people who have been abused.
Shell Oil was abused a few weeks ago. They spent $2 billion, $4 billion. They spent $4 billion off the coast of Alaska, you know, doing that work to basically get ready to drill and then this administration said last minute, ‘We’re not going to give you the permit because the fumes from your drilling might impact a small town 70 miles away with 200 people.’ They didn’t want to do it the first place.
Somebody said, ‘Well what would you do if your Environmental Protection Agency said you shouldn’t do it because there is going to be some damage to that town of 200 people?’ 
Move ‘em! Think about this!
Now I don’t have a problem… first of all I would make sure, I would want to look at the science. I would want somebody to convince me that, in fact, the people were going to be harmed by that. But you and I know that sometimes they can make stuff up to prove what it is they want to do.
I would say, ‘Show me the science.’ And if in fact the science said that’s going to be the case, move ‘em! We can find places for them: Arizona.
But my point is this: We need common sense. We need some common sense relative to energy, entitlement spending and all of these other programs. 

Video (energy comments start at 12:46)