BP, Obama, and what Real Hope and Change might look like

[bondwooley]

Run time: 03:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpLjEDeW6xc   Posted on YouTube: June 23, 2010 By YouTube Member: MaxFolger Views on YouTube: 109   Posted on DU: June 25, 2010 By DU Member: bondwooley Views on DU: 1020

 
Sure, every president since Nixon has said we have to cure our addiction to fossil fuel.

But turning down the air conditioner isn't going to solve the problem. It might be the best advice that ever came from the Oval Office (thanks, Jimmy) but it ain't gonna work.

Shouldn't we leverage this BP spill to finally establish a NASA-like organization that can tackle this monumental problem?

What's the DU opinion?

[scrubthedata]

1. I love the "Bush Twins" ...

... But no politician can do more than talk the talk on this one. That's just my opinion. I'll be dead when the last drop of oil is drilled, so will Congress, the Senate, etc. ... there's no motivation to take real action.

[bondwooley]

2. You sound like a Republican!

I'm not convinced that this is the next (or next or next) generation's problem. This is *our* problem.

A year ago, that might have sounded cliche. But today, oil is literally choking us on various levels. Spill aside, remember the gas price explosion that threw off our entire economy? This is a *big* issue, it's overdue that we address it, and we're at that precipice where it's no longer the next generation's problem, it's ours.

[RobbNYC]

3. Sure, the politicians themselves can't solve it...

...but the politicians didn't put a man on the monn either. They've got to marshall the resources (financial and intellectual) to make this happen.
And it seems to me there's plenty of incentive...

[Alpha Numeric Wanda]

4. Plenty of incentive?

I wish that were true. But as long as no one expects to get together on this issue, we won't. We don't just need a tax on petroleum, we need a tax on anything item that needs to be shipped more than 500 miles (medications and other essentials excluded of course).

Long and short: Someone needs to tell us exactly what it will cost us to get off of oil -- and who and what businesses will be hurt, and who will benefit. Transparency is urgent.

[bondwooley]

6. I think that the corporations that would be most impacted ...

... have a good idea of what it's going to cost, and that's why nothing is happening. It's the same mentality that Ford had in the Pinto era - cheaper to pay off some families whose cars blew off than recall all the calls.

[Alpha Numeric Wanda]

7. There must be smart businesses

...that would benefit from it. Mom & Pop businesses that benefit from local traffic, for one. I wonder if they even realize it. Can't we add THEIR voices to the clamor?

[scentopine]

5. very good - yes, I agree money better spent tha n wars and wall street bailouts -nt

[bondwooley]

8. Belated thanks for your comment -

- and I totally agree. Let's put minds, money and labor to work on something that matters!