Nuclear and Indigenous Items of Interest: A new Apollo project needed to solve the energy crisis

Sunday, August 3, 2008

A new Apollo project needed to solve the energy crisis

A new Apollo project needed to solve the energy crisis

Pete Ashdown
Article Last Updated: 08/02/2008 01:50:55 PM MDT

Last month we saw a Utah Republican congressional full-court press in favor of the oil and gas industries.
Heir-apparent to the 3rd Congressional District Jason Chaffetz flew to Alaska and returned with the startling revelation that the energy crisis was solely the fault of Democrats. First Congressional District Rep. Rob Bishop notified his constituents via a slick newsletter that we need more oil, gas and coal.
Finally, our senior senators joined forces to write an op-ed that gored the Democrats for all our energy woes, declaring all this country needs is a second dance with costly oil-shale and subsidized nuclear power.
With a dysfunctional Congress, both parties can claim a portion of the blame for high gas prices and a lack of sensible energy policy.
The question still begs as to what Bishop and Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett were doing to further their current goals for the oil industry from 2001 to 2007, when their party controlled Congress and the White House. It is more revealing to look further back to the much-maligned President Carter who, in 1979, during the first oil crunch, set goals for our country so we'd never see a second energy crisis.
Carter proposed that U.S. automakers attain a whopping 48-mile-per-gallon fuel efficiency by 1995. He demanded that we curtail imported oil by imposing fees. Finally, Carter proposed windfall taxes on oil
companies to fund alternative energy and a goal of generating 20 percent of our power from solar by 2000.
What happened? It would be nice to see an explanation from Hatch, since he was a three-year senator in 1979. His explanation not forthcoming, my presumption is Carter's visionary energy goals were tossed on the trash heap, along with the solar panels he'd installed on the White House, when Ronald Reagan moved in.
America then increased dependency on foreign oil and forfeited automobile innovation to Japan. Middle East oil-rich dictatorships went on to become even wealthier and more entrenched.
A small patch of Alaskan wilderness, coastal drilling, oil-shale magic, nuclear power subsidies, less regulation on fabulously wealthy companies - these will make us energy independent and gasoline inexpensive again?
How many times will we buy these fables before our elected officials are laughed out of office? What party repeatedly fought any increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards until a pathetic compromise of 35 mpg by 2020 was passed last year?
GOP mocking of Carter's energy policy has been redirected toward Al Gore, who challenged this country with an apparently hysterical goal of energy independence using renewable sources within a decade.
This country retooled its entire industrial sector nearly overnight in order to fight World War II. America fulfilled President Kennedy's challenge to land on the moon in under a decade. Yet become energy independent with renewable technology in the same amount of time? Sorry, we'll leave that kind of innovation to advanced countries like Brazil, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden.
Solving our energy problems by loosing the reins on the oil, gas and coal companies is a deal that requires us to forget 30 years of history. This bargain ignores the hidden health costs of polluted air and water and insists that consumption of energy is not correlated to the price.
In spite of their feel-good commercials, these companies are not here to solve our energy and pollution problems. They're here to make a profit.
America not only needs leadership that understands the full spectrum of energy sources, but also has the courage to seek the unknown again. The Manhattan and Apollo projects were not efforts undertaken for a profit.
Rather these projects are an example of an uniquely American way to solve difficult problems: Our best scientists were given a goal and full support to reach it quickly. Science is the solution to the energy crisis.

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* PETE ASHDOWN is CEO of XMission, an Internet provider.

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Public Statement by Corbin's Immediate Family

July 10, 2007 (TurtleIsland). Corbin Harney Spiritual Leader of the Western Shoshone Nation crossed over at 11:00 a.m. this morning in a house on a sacred mountain near Santa Rosa, CA (Turtle Island). He had dedicated his life to fighting the nuclear testing and dumping.

That battle claimed his life through cancer.

According to witnesses present, in the morning fog, the spirits of four Shoshone dog soldiers were outside on horseback before Corbin’s passing. But then one of the Shoshone present, Santiago Lozada, yelled “Tosawi Tosawi!” (White Knife). And then the fog shifted and there were thousands of spirits waiting.

Corbin passed peacefully at the end. He was only worried that he still had more to do. When he finally let go and went with the dog soldiers, Red Wolf Pope, grandson of Rolling Thunder, was present and sang him the Tosawi death song to call the dog soldiers to come take him home. Golden eagles continue to circle the house hours after his crossing.”

True to form Corbin joked around several days ago that he was going to go at 11:00, and kept his promise.

Over his lifetime, Corbin traveled around the world as a speaker, healer and spiritual leader with a profound spiritual and environmental message for all. He received numerous national and international awards and spoke before the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Corbin also authored two books: “The Way It Is: One Water, One Air, One Earth” (Blue Dolphin Publishing, 1995) and a forthcoming book, “The Nature Way”. Numerous documentaries have been made about his work and message.

In 1994, Corbin established the Shundahai Network to work with people and organizations to respond to spiritual and environmental concerns on nuclear issues. He also established Poo Ha Bah, a native healing center located in Tecopa Springs, California. He will be missed but always honored for his work and dedication to traditional ways.

Corbin Harney is descended from generations of Newe (Shoshone) traditional healers and was always grateful for the many extraordinary teachers who shared their knowledge in his lifetime.

Corbin is survived by his daughter Reynaulda Taylor; granddaughters Ann Taylor and Nada Leno; grandsons Keith, Jon and Joel Leno and William Henry Taylor; seven great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; and his sister Rosie Blossom’s family and many cousins and other family members as well as many, many friends around the world. Corbin was preceded in death by his mother, father, sister, grandparents, uncle, great granddaughter, cousins, and friends. A very special thanks to Patricia Davidson, Corbin’s caregiver in his final months; Dominic Daileda, Corbin’s friend and companion for his support and compassion in hard times, and the family of Dixie and Martin van der Kamp for opening up their home and their hearts to Corbin and his family and friends during his time of need.

Dates and times for services are being made with official announcement to follow. Three day services are planned at the home of Larson R. Bill, So Ho Bee – Newe Sogobe (Lee, Nevada –Western Shoshone Territory) with burial services at Battle Mountain Indian Community, Battle Mountain Nevada.