I'd never had guessed I'd be sipping green tea with the energy czar to United States Presidents, and current General Manager of the Port of Los Angeles--our area's biggest polluter--yet there I was.
S. David Freeman arrived to the Marina del Rey restaurant with his characteristic brown derby hat (I think that's a derby), and we sat down to talk the usual:
Coal (POISON!)
Nuclear (POISON!)
And, no I have enough tea, thank you.
Solar (Now we're talking) Renewable, yes! Let's get a federal program advancing renewable energy.
I'd requested the pleasure of Mr. Freeman's company after reading his new energy book, Winning Our Energy Independence, which truly is a breath of fresh air.
There are a lot of energy books on the market today. Market. Wisdom is a different story, and that's why I wanted to meet the man who wrote wisely about real clean solutions to dirty problems.
He confirmed my intuitions and personal sensibilities regarding cap and trade, and coal.
There is no such thing as clean coal.
Cap and trade can unleash more harm than good.
"Cap is alright, but trade is the worst part," he said, lifting up his green tea. "You don't have to meet your cap. Instead you pay someone to plant trees in Afganistan, and he may be taking farm land to make a forest that otherwise feeds people. And we don't even know if he planted trees, and the polluter's actions may do more harm than good.
We need a federal program advancing renewables, and we need to go for plug-in hybrid cars."
Donna, "Why'd CARB just nix hybrids?"
David, "CARB sold us out to political pressure."
Donna, "Lets talk about carbon sequestering."
David, "Think how much coal comes up, and then you want to put it underground? What about earthquakes, tremors, people working and living around area. Carbon is just one of its poisons. Carbon sequestering--they're talking only for new coal powered plants... It's like a low nicotine cigarette. Coal is inherently dirty."
I learned the Air Force is soliciting bids for a plant to make jet fuel out of coal.
According to Freeman,
"One giant step backwards. Haven't we learned anything of value yet?"
Air Force. Think clean fuels. Wonder if our Air Force can get good ideas at next week's Low Carbon Fuels Conference 2008 in Sacramento?
Meanwhile, Waxman and others are trying to stop the Air Force from making a "filthy" mistake. Contact Waxman here to let him know you don't want the air force using coal.
Coal is filthy.
There are clean fuel alternatives but there is no clean coal.
More of us need to write Waxman and others to give our support to stop the Air Force from going back in dirty time, and move forward into clean, instead.
There was a lot more spoken on this point but it's been a long day, and I want to touch on highlights for now, and move on. This computer screen is getting to my eyes.
In addition, I learned the Port of Los Angeles and Mayor Villaraigosa are teaming up like flower, soil, and water under the sun of cooperation to shed light on new agendas for their Green Growth Program.
Double-paned windows will be installed in schools near the Port of Los Angeles, and more, which we didn't get into.
The L.A. Times will break the rest of the story tomorrow.
But it got me wondering, Mayor Villaraigosa, will you install double window panes where I live too? I'm within 500 yards of the freeway, which is not good.
I think everyone living within 500 yards of the freeway should get government incentives/rebates for double-paned windows and air purifiers. Both should at the very least be tax deductions.
After tea, I stopped by the Marina and took this photo and the one above.
The weatherman called for rain.
I wore black boots.
