America’s Most Effective Weapon Against Iran
Would you believe — a strong carbon cap.
Iran would lose $100 million per day if only the United States would impose a strong cap on carbon. Iran has the world’s second largest oil reserves. Their oil production is worth $120 billion per year.
If we can reduce global warming pollution by 80% by the year 2050, Iran will have lost $1.8 trillion in oil revenue by that date. That’s over $100 million a day.
The same effect — in much smaller dollar amounts of course — would apply to that commie America-hating regime in Venezuela.
If any conservatives were to stumble on the above linked article, their reactions would fall into one of two categories: “Uhh, too many big words. What’s it mean?” or “NOOOOO!!!!!”
So, are there any Democratic spin doctors out there who could take this and run with it? If the Democrats had anybody one tenth as shrewd as Karl Rove or Lee Atwater, America would be bombarded 24/7 with “You’re either in favor of a carbon cap or you’re with the terrorists!” Etc.
Just a thought.
And speaking of “just a thought” — Massey Energy owns that coal mine in West Virginia where scores of people have been killed. And this accident is only about the umpteenth tragedy to occur in one of Massey Energy’s mines. Now, I don’t suppose there’s any sort of connection here, but Massey Energy has also been spending jillions of dollars to defeat any and all efforts at curbing pollution and promoting renewable energy sources.
Now — going waaay out on a limb here — if Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, had spent just a teensy weensy bit less money trying to squelch clean energy legislation, and a tiny bit more money to upgrade the safety of his mines…
Oh well, anyway…
UPDATE: Please check out this one-minute video. (Hat Tip to TomCat, who provided this link in the comment section.)
This is a very powerful message put out by VoteVets.org and Operation Free, telling us pointblank how our oil addiction is sending billions of dollars to Iran. Clean energy legislation is our only way out of this stranglehold.
I hope you'll link to this video and/or forward it to your friends. This message needs to get out there.
Labels: carbon cap, Don Blankenship, Iran, Iran $100 million a day, Massey Energy, Venezuela
posted by Tom Harper @ 11:46 AM
22 Comments:
Well said Tom. There's an ad out there, from VoteVets I think, that makes the dame point.
Wow, great information, Tom. Thanks for sharing it.
TomCat: I hope this information will get out there and go viral.
J: I was glad to read about this too.
I told people to come here and read your piece. That ought to bring at least four five readers!
Yeah, stop using so much oil, they start to go broke. A little. I like it!
Most of the enemies we have in this world are living high on the hog on our money. It hasn't made any sense to me since the oil embargo of the early 70s, nearly 40 years ago, and we are no closer to telling to stuff their black gold back down the well.
Fine, when you bring down the free market and the bounty it provides to all of humanity, I hope you'll enjoy scouring the dirt for delicious roots and pebbles.
Rather than punishing Americans with a carbon tax in an effort to punish our enemies such as Ahmadinejad why don't we work with our allies to embargo refined oil (gasoline) that goes back to Iran?
Iran may have large oil reserves, but they have no refining capabilities to speak of and must import their gasoline accordingly.
This would grind the Iranian economy to a halt quickly and possibly create the uprising amongst the Iranian people to finally overthrow their thugish theocratic government.
Of course this is not in line with Greenpeace or the Sierra Club's agenda, so progressives probably won't support something that might actually work to solve the damned problem.
But then I am a staunch conservative that does not have the ability for the excessive use of elaborate cicumlocutions(big words), so what do I know?
Not to be like a troll here but:
1. All of the oil Iran produces is not refined there, so a carbon cap will not only hurt the country where Iran's oil is refined.
2. While it is an Islamic Theocracy, Iran is not a terrorist state. It doesn't commit extrajudicial murders, it hasn't invaded another country in over 300 years, and it's funding of Hezzbollah in Lebanon is intended to do what the US and UN will not do: keep Israel within it's own borders.
3. The John Hagee's of the world don't want to wait another forty years, they want their rapture now, and will never accept this as a solution to the Iranian "problem" as long as we have 900 nukes in Turkey and all those bunker buster bombs waiting at Diego Garcia.
I also find it a bit distressing that all those "progressives" at Think Progress have lined up with left-over Bush administration propaganda that Iran needs to be "dealt with" for exercizing it's rights as a signer to the NPT.
J: Thanks for the link.
Bee: Yup, a win-win.
Holte: You're right, we're no closer than we were 40 years ago. And this information, like the Think Progress report, has been out there for a long time. We've always known that conservation and renewable energy sources were the way for us to get off the Middle Eastern teat. We just don't want to know. We'd rather nuke any country that looks cross-eyed at us, and drill everything that doesn't move in our quest for more oil so we can keep driving 2-ton behemoths that get 4 miles to the gallon.
Randal: What, you haven't heard about the roots and pebbles diet? It's the newest trend.
T. Paine: I wasn't aware of that, that Iran doesn't refine its own oil. Thanks for the info.
But I'm not in favor of a carbon tax because it would "punish Americans." I'm in favor of it because it's what we need to do. This carbon cap might suck, but so does exercising because you have to lose weight, or giving up your favorite food and drink when your doctor orders you to.
That Think Progress article specifically mentioned Iran and Venezuela, so I'm assuming that their point was to show that "drill baby drill" and military action against our "enemies" is not the way to solve our energy problems.
Lew: Get away troll. (Kidding!)
I must be the last person to know that Iran doesn't refine its own oil. I also don't think Iran is a terrorist state. I'm assuming that Think Progress article was partly aimed at people who think Iran and Venezuela are terrorist states, and we need to attack them before they attack us, and we need to "drill baby drill" so we can use our own oil instead of theirs.
Good point about the Rapture. Who cares about some 40-year timeline when Jesus could reappear any minute to whisk us up to Heaven.
As do I Tom. Here's the URL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZnzxuT_sZA
TomCat: Damn, that's a powerful ad. Thanks for the link.
I would politely disagree with those that think Iran is not a terrorist state.
Let alone the fact that Hezbollah is a militia proxy for Iran that specifically targets civilians in order to achieve a political victory on the world stage, which sounds quite like the definition of terrorism to me, but they also were continuously intervening in our war in Iraq.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been proven to provide intelligence, material support, and training to terrorist insurgents in Iraq to include Moktada al Sadr's militia. It is likely that they have also engaged in covert combat operations against American and ally troops.
Not only are those things terroristic in the attempt to destabilize a neighboring country, but they are acts of war! (Not that our Congress follows the Constitution and actually declares war anymore, and I am talking about both parties here.)
YVW, Tom. Seeing that is supports your view so well, I thought you might want it.
The US is so full of hypocrisy.
Say what you will about Iranian "terror", they are small fry compared to the hundreds of thousands dead because of the Bush/Cheney War OF Terror on Iraq. Every violent death in Iraq from March of '03 onward is blood on the hands of Bush/Cheney and the voters who re-elected them in '04.
War based on falsehoods for political and financial gain is pure terrorism.
There's no reason we can't be civil and negotiate with Iran, other than our servitude to our partners in state sponsored terror, the Israeli hard right.
Dave: What you said.
And the impact to our economy would of course be nothing, right? PFFFFFT!
Yes, there'll be an impact from all the green jobs that get created. Renewable energy sources don't just appear out of a genie's lamp. People have to manufacture, sell and maintain the windmills, solar energy panels, etc. Other people will make their livings manufacturing, selling and servicing the cars that run on alternative fuel and/or get more miles to the gallon. When millions of buildings get refurbished for better insulation, hence lower utility bills, people are doing this work and getting paid for it.
This whole "jobs vs. the environment" myth was dreamed up by rightwing think tanks, and it was debunked a long time ago.
Dubya, I am afraid I must strongly disagree and point out the fallacy of your assertions, sir.
Even the Obama administration has Iran listed as the chief state-sponsor of terrorism in the world.
Further, despite the inept handling of the pacification after the war, Bush was right to put together a multi-national coalition of allies to enforce numerous U.N. resolutions, including resolution 1441, that Saddam Hussein had violted.
Saddam was mandated by the world community to allow unfettered access to international weapons inspectors to ensure that his WMD programs were dismantled and to account for his remaining WMD's. (Which still remain unaccounted for to this day, which should scare the hell out of everyone, because these weapons DID exist.)
What America and its allies did after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on innocent civilians seemed quite prudent to me, as Saddam had already proven that he was willing to use WMD's on his enemies and indeed on his own countrymen. What was to prevent his to use these against us or our friend Israel, if left unchecked?
I am sure there are millions of Iraqi's that are thankful to Bush and the world for deposing Saddam and his evil sons so that the people of Iraq could determine their own political destiny through democratically elected leaders instead of being persecuted and tortured at the whim of an evil tyrant.
Because of Bush, there is now another democracy in the Middle East besides our friend and ally, Israel, that President Obama takes great pride in snubbing.
I think the vast majority of Iraqi's are strongly in opposition to your opinion regarding the war in Iraq, Dubya.
There is PLENTY to rightfully criticize Bush and his presidency on, but the war was not one of them.
He hardly benefitted personally on a political or economic standpoint, and I challenge you prove otherwise, sir.
Tom, please do your homework. There isn't enough energy generated by wind or solar to satisfy 1/3 of our energy needs.
Sorry, but it ain't there!
Now if you want to talk nuclear....
Joaquin: And speaking of homework --
"Sorry, but it ain't there!" --
Here's your homework assignment. Read this post AND the articles linked therein.
I consider, that you commit an error. I can defend the position. Write to me in PM, we will discuss.
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