I've been thinking about George Lakoff's ideas on framing the debate, as presented in "Don't Think of an Elephant" and I think about solar power and wind power more than I think about food.
I just heard that there was a big fight in Minneapolis over drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR. The rank and file and the "machers" of the Republican Party, the people I call "Republicanista," want to drill in ANWR. Their presumptive standard bearer, John McCain, wants more offshore drilling. He wants to drill in Alaska, and in California, Florida, New Jersey, and everwhere else. McCain, however, is opposed to drilling in ANWR "at this time." (Be very careful when a politician says "At this time." This phrase, "At this time" when used during a political campaign, means "At this time during a political campaign.")
I think we should be building more solar and wind power systems, we should be using ocean current, cogen, and conservation, and figuring out how to do "Deep Geothermal." And most of the people I talk to, regardless of whether they are "conservative," "progressive," or "liberal," as long as they are "intelligent," agree that solar and wind power are available now, and are pretty good for the environment, the economy, and national security. Even John McCain. But not the movers and shakers of the Republican party.
McCain want 20% of our electricity to come from clean renewable sources by 2030. Barack Obama has a more aggressive goal: 25% by 2025. Al Gore makes Obama look conservative. He thinks we can do 100% in 10 years, sees the US "Clean and Green by 2018."
I agree with Gore.
And I have figured out how to get McCain and the "Republicanista" on my side. We should just call it "Drilling." "Drilling for solar power!" After all, the roofers, mechanics, and electricians use drills when assembling solar energy systems and wind turbines. Who says you have to drill down? Why not drill up? Google "mines" the Internet. We could be Mining the Winds.
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fantastic idea - drilling up
Great twist on the expected plus a very positive, forward and forward-looking, things-on-the-up-and-up way to
discuss something that benefits EVERYONE and for which I cannot see a downside, except that the upfront costs are currently high
and not subsidized like the oil industry.
I agree with Furman and Gore that we can be much, much cleaner and in a matter of years, not a number of years if we just do it. Just put our minds to it, our American drive and our American dreams to it, just put our own energy and action to it, just put money into the energy around us and not into oil. And to stop framing the energy issue as if it were only about which vast reserve of oil to tap next. We need to tap the vast reserves of sun and wind. Very simple.
We never have to make specious, spurious alliances, thus no more lurking variable ** just so that we can drive to pick up one item from a grocery store when with a little American ingenuity, we could add that item to our list on paper or on a handheld gadget. Which soon enough, will be re-charged by discrete solar panel.
**
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurious_relationship
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