H13541
Headlines : EnvironmentBiofuels and the Green Resistance
A battle rages on the campus of the University of California Berkeley between basic academic freedom and the commercial interests of BP Global.
The unrecognized force in this unbalanced equation is the vested interest that the State of California has in protecting its agricultural base from becoming recognized as a primary contributor of anthropogenic water vapor and climate change.
It seems that profit motive, preserving market share and protecting vested interests are winning in this battle against the freedom to use our best minds to intelligently assess and address the environmental problems of modern day America.
Stop BP Berkeley is about more than undue influence. It is also about the freedom of thought and the triumph of sound ideas over political dogma and vested interests.
Academic freedom and the provision of means to pursue the sciences objectively depend upon eliminating corporate and political influences from the process of academic research.
Sound policy for a secure future depend upon academic freedom.
It is a cornerstone of democratic process.
Justice, then Peace.
[Posted By GWHunta]Republished from Infoshop News
Now that Al Gore has his “green” Oscar and George W. Bush has closed a deal in Brazil by which American will burn up the cane fields in the name of environmental salvation, it is time to get serious about the realities of biofuel. Clearly research into biofuels is necessary, but few people are aware yet how this research will be carried out, how constrained ideologically it will be, how corrupting an influence it might become on American universities, and how dangerous its products might be to the ecology of the planet. Fortunately, a movement is a foot on the campus of UC Berkeley that may create a wave of resistance to and awareness about consequences of a biofuel economy, especially one governed by oil companies.
The still nascent Stop BP movement began as a response to British Petroleum’s offer to fund a secretive half-billion dollar bio-energy laboratory on the University of California at Berkeley campus. Ostensibly, the idea is to genetically engineer plants to yield more ethanol, but other likely projects include research into better burning ethanol. BP learned awhile back in New South Wales that high ethanol content burns out engines.
Posted by GWHunta
Small town, working class from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 1990 went to work for the MDOC; the very forefront of the U.S. Prison / Industrial Complex. Learned there, the hard way, that if I wasn't one of them; "they" would be pit against me. ...
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Posted by gaanjah_mama on Friday, September 22nd 2006
ignorance meets PR. The biofuels that we begin to consume will surely be just as deadly as what we already consume… It seems to be the way of things. Anyone who has a reasoably sustainable idea, must meet the large brick wall of American greed, which continues to support any and all measures to attain anything it can, at the cost of future generations, and without any consciousness of it.
“The solutions of today are the problems of tomorrow.”
At least until we get rid of the one big problem: global corporate capitalism.
At least until we get rid of the one big problem: global corporate capitalism.
Or vise versa.
Sometimes no Peace,
Gore’s Global-Warming Testimony Expected to Draw Big Crowds: When former Vice President Al Gore testifies on Capitol Hill Wednesday about the dangers of global warming, committees in both chambers expect huge turnouts. ‘‘We’re seeing extremely strong interest in all quarters,’‘ a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee staffer said.
Not that this has any particular relevance, but I find it a bit of a curiosity when new words and terms or names that haven’t fully come into being as of yet are run through a computer spell check.
For instance biofuel, biofuels, biofueling = befoul, befouls, befouling
Peace,
Run this through your spell check
Hemp for Victory
I hope you haven’t drawn the conclusion from my objection to sugar cane, sugar beets and corn based fuels that I’m in favor of continuing the ban on growing hemp.
I am not.
Cotton is one of the most wasteful crops grown in terms of water, pesticides and fertilizer needs. Cotton could be largely replaced by hemp fiber as could many products currently made from wood pulp.
This would help considerably with the shortage of surface water available for agriculture and cut down on the amount of agricultural runoff and pollution.
If you remember the 2000 election, Nader’s running mate Winona LaDuke was a hemp advocate and the legalization of growing hemp was part of the Green Party Presidential platform.
As for motor fuel, I’m not an advocate of liquid fuels of any sort, as any non food biomass can already be gasified with current technology and compressed to provide cleaner burning and more efficient power than can be provided with liquid fuels.
I do believe that there is a role and a need for the legalization of hemp and with its re-introduction it could make a substantial contribution in reducing emissions of anthropogenic water vapor while providing needed food and fiber to the economy.
Peace,
Biofuels Boom Spurring Deforestation
THE GORACLE: Gore gets a warm welcome on Capitol Hill, and a few heated exchanges
Al Gore got a superstar reception in Congress yesterday when he made the case for sweeping federal action to fight global warming. Politicians from both sides of the aisle welcomed him back to his old stomping grounds and listened intently as he put forth 10 bold proposals for staving off the climate crisis, from an immediate freeze on CO2 levels to a carbon tax to a ban on incandescent light bulbs. Of course, there were a few grumblers in the hall (one of whom mentioned Grist, as it happens) — but would it be any fun without them? Muckraker reports from the scene.