Obama to meet with Canadian Prime Minister to discuss climate, tar sands

Obama is set to make one of his first offical trips abroad to Canada tomorrow (eh?) to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss climate change and US use of tar sands for oil production.

Canada is actually our largest source of our foreign oil. We import more crude oil and petroleum from Canada than we do from Saudi Arabia. Whoa, really? Really.

I didn't think it could get worse than production of coal (see mountaintop removal). But it turns out that production of oil from the tar sands creates three times the global warming emissions of conventional oil. Obtaining tar sands is one of the most environmentally damaging processes in the world. And a majority of the oil we import from Canada is from tar sands. In fact, the US imports over 60% of Canada's tar sands. Uh-oh. No me gusta!

Obama has not ruled out the production of tar sands in our energy strategy. This makes me a bit nervous, and by nervous I mean that it is time to take action to convince the Obama Administration to exclude the use of tar sands as a source of oil for the US.

Obama believes that the production of oil from tar sands can be an option for the US energy strategy by developing carbon capture and sequestration technology. Hmm. Carbon, capture and sequestration (CCS) is not a great idea (let's stick all the carbon under the ground and hope it doesn't leak!), nor is it exactly feasible (we've already dumped loads of money into R&D for this technology). Don't get me wrong, I think that CCS will become an important aspect of our energy strategy, but more to help capture greenhouse gas emissions from the already existing coal-fired power plants that are in place. We shouldn't rely on CCS to solve all of our problems.

Technology will not save us from climate change unless we change our ways of consuming energy. This means that we must discontinue our use of producing oil from tar sands, and make a commitment to switch to clean energy, such as wind, solar, geothermal and even ocean power.

If Obama is serious about combating climate change, then he must realize that tar sands are not a viable option for the US. Instead of relying on dirty fossil fuels, we can switch to clean energy sources (such as wind, solar & geothermal energy) that are already available to us. The switch to a truly green, clean energy strategy (not one masked under CCS) will create jobs in the US, make us more energy independent, and stimulate the economy.

UPDATE:

President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn't talk any specifics about climate change on his visit, they mainly both committed themselves to an "open climate dialog" and delegated the task of sorting through the dirty specifics (literally, since we're dealing with tar sands, oil, and coal here) to their senior officials. Bummer.

Obama and Harper agreed in investing in tech fixes to transform these dirty forms of energy into "clean" energy. Hmm. I'm not very pleased. Read more here on my fav enviro blog, Grist.org's Muckrucker

Shoe Art

Remember when Bush had a shoe thrown at him while he was in Iraq? Now we will never forget! That great moment has been immortalized and turned into a beautiful piece of artwork.

President Obama's First Weekly Address

President Obama gave his first weekly address this morning, stressing the need for swift and bold action, or else the "bad [economic] situation could become dramatically worse."

Reminiscent of Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats," President Obama will post a new video on WhiteHouse.gov every Saturday morning. I know my Saturday's just became a little bit better...

Obama pledged to get us on the road to economic recovery by building a "Clean Energy Economy." I love how incorporating environmentalism with economic recovery has now become mainstream. He mentioned utilizing solar, wind and biofuels, and to my pleasure he DID NOT mention using clean coal (oxymoron of the century).

Remember, Obama. 10,000 young people are descending upon Washington, D.C. February 27-March 2 for Power Shift '09 to ensure that you take bold action on climate change. Young people from all over the world are watching to make sure that you act responsibly for our future!

Enjoy the video!

Obama Action Figure

So this is basically the coolest toy ever. I was sold when I saw Obama holding a lightsaber dueling darth vader. Check it out!

http://gamu-toys.info/sonota/sw/obama/obama.html

Be the POWER behind the SHIFT

President-elect Obama is set to take office next Tuesday which means that all the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere will turn into gold coins and rescue us from the economic recession as soon as he takes the Oath of Office, right? Wrong.

Unless Barack Obama has magical powers that rival Harry Potter, our problems are far from over. Electing Barack Obama as our next President is a step in the right direction to solving the climate crisis, but it only means that we must work even harder and demand bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action.

How can you demand bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action? Well you could try dancing around in a polar bear suit and see how far that gets you, but I have a much more effective option: PowerShift 2009!

From February 27th to March 2nd, 2009 thousands of young adults will converge on Washington, D.C. for Power Shift 2009, the second national youth summit to solve the climate crisis. At Power Shift 2009, young people from across the country will take a message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action to Washington, D.C. We will leverage the momentum that has been built through the Campus Climate Challenge, Power Shift 2007 and Power Vote to pressure our politicians to take bold, comprehensive action.

Our window of opportunity is short; the first 100 days of the new administration is critical in achieving real and significant changes immediately. We must use the time we have to redefine what is politically feasible to achieve what is scientifically and economically necessary to safeguard our future. At Power Shift 2009, we will also strengthen the movement for real climate and economic solutions by learning skills and solutions, building bonds, and setting clear plans for action in our communities for 2009 and beyond.

I'm headed to DC February 27 for PowerShift '09 and I can't wait. Maybe I'll dance around in a polar bear suit, maybe not. Either way, this is our chance. Come with me to DC to be a part of the Power Shift!


"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
- President-elect Barack Obama

Obama, Gore set to meet tomorrow in Chicago

In the meeting tomorrow, I hope Gore makes it clear to Obama/Biden that clean coal is NOT an option to solve our energy crisis. Even better, I hope he explains to President-elect Obama that "clean coal" is actually an oxymoron. There is no such thing as clean coal. It does not exist. It is not a viable option for our energy strategy. Lay the smackdown, Gore. Go get 'em.

I don't expect Gore to take a position in the Obama administration, he's stated several times that he's a "recovering politician" and that he has no interest in becoming the "Climate Czar" or returning to politics. Nevertheless, I believe it's important for Gore to stay involved in the political debate surrounding global warming and energy policy. I mean, he did win an Oscar. Obviously, the man's a climate genius.

There are still 150 coal fired power plants on the drawing board in the U.S. If just one of those plants are built, it will completely "negate in just eight months, California’s recently passed legislation that would cut GHG emissions in new cars by 25 percent and SUVS by 18 percent starting in 2009."

If you don't believe me already, take a look at the Rainforest Action Network's Global Finance campaign, it has a bunch of details about the truth behind "clean coal."

Oh, and if Obama doesn't listen to Gore tomorrow, come with me to Washington, D.C. Feb 27-March 2 for Power Shift 2009, to help me (and the 10,000 other young people at the climate summit) make it crystal clear to our politicians: NO COAL.

Having Thanksgiving with Republicans? Read this

Some pointers from 236.com for what to do if you're having Thanksgiving dinner with Republicans.

Make sure to point out that young people voted overwhelmingly for change this election!

Have a delicious day, everyone!