mystikegg.com - A Mystical Guide to Enlightenment

VS

Step 11 in the 12 step program by the Rainforest Action Network to curb Americ’s Oil Addiction.

11. Low Carb USA

Any comprehensive strategy to break our oil addiction and put our nation on the road to recovery must include aggressive measures to reduce energy consumption. A low-carbon energy diet will increase competitiveness for American businesses by reducing energy and health-care costs, lowering emission, and producing sustainable jobs here at home. Efficiency improvements in the last thirty years have doubled the amount of work we get from each barrel of oil. According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, current proven technologies can double oil efficiency again, for less money than would be required to buy the oil we save. Visit RMI.org.

Step 10 in the Rainforest Action Networks’s twelve-step program to break America’s Oil Addiciton.

10. Wean…to green

American consumers have the right to have easy access to retail financial products that can help wean our nation off oil and other fossil fuels forever. From energy efficient car and home loans to carbon-rated mutual funds, a handful of banks have green products in the pipeline, but more is desperately needed so that small business, home owners, and car buyers can make the switch to clean energy. Imagine climate Safe Mutual Funds, energy efficient home mortgages and lines of credit, and other green products. Money isn’t the only thing we need to save our children’s future. Kudos to Goldman Sachs for getting started by establishing the Center for Environemental Markets to find efficient and effective ways to ensure that profitability does not come at the expense of people and the planet.

Here is step 9 in the Rainforest Action Network’s 12 step program to break America’s oil addiction. Click on the link above for information on one of the top performing mutual funds available that happens to invest heavily in green energy and healthy lifestyles. I have no vested interest in this fund or in the company that manages it.

9. Fund the Future

Clean energy is an imperative, not an “alternative”. For America to sober up and get off oil, Wall Street needs to rewire the global economy to run on clean energy. Every day, multinational mega-banks decide to fund some of the largest and most destructive “developments” in human history in order to access a dwindling supply of dirty energy. Between 1998 and 2003, private banks committed $110 billion to fund 51 new oil extraction projects around the world. However, renewable energy is one of the fastest growing sectors in the marketplace - one third of all energy venture capital went directly into solar in 2005, more than 30 times the amount invested in 1995. The bottom line is that we have the technology, and Wall Street needs to provide the investment capital necessary to bring wind, solar, and other renewable sources online. Already, a handful of lenders have taken their first steps towards sustainability. To find out who is still bankrolling Big Oil, visit DirtyMoney.org.

Step 8 in the 12 step program to break America’s Oil Addiction from the Rainforest Action Network. Alternative energy is the future of our energy needs. For those who see the potential in this there are huge rewards, and the promise of clean and sustainable energy for the planet. A recent study suggests that when all costs are considered including the environmental and health related costs associated with coal, wind-power is on par in terms of dollars per kilowatt with coal for energy.

8. Green the Grid

A green grid energized by the wind and the sun can power homes and businesses, recharge car batteries and help pull the plug on unsafe and unsustainable sources like coal and nuclear. With fossil fuel prices going through the the roof, grid-based renewable power is not only better for maintaining the environment and national security, but it can save money as well. Customers can now save money on their monthly bills by choosing renewable energy over fossil fuels. We must replace pollution-producing power-plants with safe, secure and sustainable sources of clean, renewable energy from winds farms and solar arrays. Because coal is deadly and nuclear is a time-bomb. Visit NewEnergyFuture.com

Step 7 in the 12 step program to break America’s oil addiction from the Rainforest Action Network. Solar power. For many the sun has set on the idea of solar power, however greater incentive and incremental advances in technology are making solar power more viable options for energy.

7. Rooftop Revolution

More energy from the sun hits our planet in an hour than humans use in an entire year. It’s time to capture that for our home, business and transportation needs. A massive transition to a solar energy economy will provide light and heat where we need it most while strengthening the economy, because solar energy supports up to seven times more jobs than dirty fossil fuels. States are already taking a leadership role. California is providing incentives to install solar systems on a million homes and business across the state, while New Jersey has a humming solar industry. It’s time for a national plan to mainstream solar and give the power to the people.

Step number 6 in the twelve-step program to break America’s Oil addiction from the Rainforest Action Network. I would agree to the use of farm and crop waste into bio-fuels but don’t think that growing corn specifically for conversion to ethanol is the solution and may produce more problems than it solves.

6. Grow our Gas

Entrepreneurs from Louisiana to Idaho to Fresno are inventing new ways of converting plant crops’ agricultural waste into efficient ethenol. Once we master making fuel oil from corn stalks instead of corn kernels, experts estimate that we could meet 30-50% of our current fuel demand with American-grown plants. And while were at it, let’s recover 100% of our waste veggie oil for locally-produced, home-fried biofuels.

Step number 5 in the 12 step program to break America’s Oil Addiction from the Rainforest Action Network.

5. Plug in America

Promote mass production of PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) and zero emission EVs (Electric Vehicles) that can power up at the plug and not at the pump. When plugged into rooftop solar or green grid, PHEVs and EVs are fossil-fuel free transportation. Today’s hybrids like the Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape are already converted by eco hot-rodders into PHEVs by enlarging the batteries and adding a plug for recharging. With no R&D support from the automakers or the government, these PHEVs are already getting more than 100 miles to the gallon and driving up to 40 miles without consuming a single drop of oil. And the movement is growing, with the city of Austin leading the way by placing ’soft-orders’ for 600 PHEVs, as soon as they’re built. Imagine how efficient PHEVs will be when they’re mass produced.

Next in the 12 steps to break America’s oil addiction is number 4 from the Rainforest Action Network.

4. Redesign American Mobility for Smart Growth

America’s energy policy must include new approaches to mobility. As our communities grow, they should be designed to maximize smart land-use, reduce commute times, and utilize petroleum-free transportation options. Today’s Amtrak trains and speedy European and Japanese bullet trains use far less oil than planes and automobiles, yet each year Amtrak has to beg for basic financing. It’s time for Congress to fully fund American train mobility and for governments to prioritize mass transit in urban planning and neighborhood zoning. Over 70% of Americans live in towns and cities; each and every one of us should have access to a bus or train for commutes. With good planning, urban communities will develop road-share bike lanes and bike transit routes, and bicycling can evolve from a recreational activity to a transit option.

This is the third step in the 12 step program to break America’s oil addiction from the the Rainforest Action Network.

3. Jumpstart Detroit

Transportation accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. oil consumption, much of that wasted in gas guzzling cars, trucks, and SUVs. According to the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, if we paid at the pump the true cost for keeping our troops in the Middle East, a gallon of gasoline would cost over $5.28. This figure would rise higher if we paid for carbon emissions, between 50-100 atmospheric tons per vehicle, and the environmental cost of oil extraction, currently the subject of a high-profile lawsuit in Ecuador. Led by Ford Motor Company, the American automobile industry remains in denial and refuses to improve failing fleets. The average Ford vehicle gets worse gas mileage today than the Model-T did almost one hundred years ago. Join the campaign to Jumpstart Ford-and the rest of Detroit by visiting JumpstartFord.com.