Exxon Mobil profit = $1,486 per second

By now you've probably heard about the astounding profit that Exxon Mobil is reporting for this past quarter: $11.7 billion. And yes, that is an American record. (Woo hoo for Exxon Mobil and their new American record, just in time for teh Olympics!)

The Guardian breaks that figure down for us: Exxon Mobil is making $1,486 per second. Per second! So as you read "per second," they've made another $1,486. And again. And again.

But, ABC provides by far the most disgusting figure in all this, as reported here by ThinkProgress:

Exxon Mobil today broke its own record for the highest-ever profit by a U.S. company, with net income this quarter rising to $11.68 billion. While Exxon officials regularly tout the company’s investment in alternative energy, ABC reported today that Exxon spends only 1 percent of profits on alternative energy sources.

“They’re probably spending more on the advertising than they are on the research,” noted an oil analyst contacted by ABC. BP invested the most out of the big five oil companies, at 2.9 percent.

The Pickens Plan

While I was on vacation, I happened to see a commercial from T. Boone Pickens that made me sit up and pay attention. He wants America to stop our dependence on oil. It's called the Pickens Plan.

Normally I'm no fan of T. Boone, as he's as right-wing as they come. But I think it is a sea change when a man who's fortunes have come from oil recognizes that that is a dying industry. He's a businessman first and foremost (a real Texas oil man, not like the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., who has a Harvard MBA, family riches, and still managed to fail in the lucrative Texas oil industry of the 1980's).

The main reason why there has not been a push for alternative energy in this country is that there's been no obvious profit motive. We are, for better or for worse, a capitalist country. If there's money to be made, we'll do it. Otherwise, not so much.

Now, we've had some discussions here at the House of Jello about one issue being "more important" than another. You may think energy is not important, or at the least a rather dull topic. But the truth is, energy affects everything in your life. Look around you right now at the things on your desk made of plastic, paper, or metal. They were manufactured and transported using energy. As was the food on your table, and the clothes on your back.

It's not just about the price of a gallon of gas.

President Bush's idea is a plan to open up more land for drilling for this limited resource (again, showing his inferior business acumen). But our future is not in oil. Pickens is correct in looking to wind and natural gas as alternatives for America. This is a major business opportunity for America, not an energy crisis.

Barack Obama is by far the stronger candidate on the issue of energy. However, I would love to hear him frame the issue in terms of the opportunity it provides rather than the standard line that we should work toward oil independence.

Will either candidate acknowledge the groundbreaking move by a wealthy Texas oil man to "get out" of the business?

About that survey ...

Last week I really started feeling the effects of the $4 gallon gas. I try to do everything I can to use less gas, but sometimes it just doesn't seem like enough. (I suppose the costs of the total overhaul of the bathroom isn't helping much right now, either!). So I started wondering what other folks are doing to cope with expensive gas and the resulting high cost of everything. Nine of you voted, and here's what you said:

• Started carpooling 2 (22%)
• Started taking the bus 1(11%)
• Ride my bike more often 0 (0%
• Sold my SUV 0 (0%)
• More careful to turn off the lights at home 7 (77%)
• Run the AC less often 6 (66%)
• Go out to dinner less often 3 (33%)
• Drive the speed limit now 6 (66%)
• Other 5 (55%)

I'm one of the two who has started carpooling -- I wonder if my carpooling colleague is the other one? I have tried taking the commuter train, but that's a whole 'nother post. A nightmare, and a long one at that. I thought I would ride my bike to the store, etc., but haven't had trips to stores near enough. I do try to combine all trips together, though. Sell my SUV? Does an '89 Toyota wagon with a "Hillary" bumper sticker count? Eh, I didn't think so. Anyway, she's not going anywhere (yeah, and neither's Hillary).

It seems that most of us are being more aware of energy use at home, which is good. Seven of 9 of us say we turn off lights more often -- I bet the remaining 2 already have all the lights off!

We definitely eat out less, and are more aware of prices when we do go out. Any higher priced meal has to be purchased with the understanding that there will be leftovers for more meals. (That's how we justified Indian food last night, anyway. Chicken korma for dinner again!).

What's up with the speed limit? Are the 3 of you who didn't check this one already doing the limit, or do you know a secret to gas mileage that the rest of us don't? Someone must have a secret, because other cars (and SUVs) continue to fly past me on I-95, with no concern for burning the gas.

And 5 of you said you're doing something else. I know from some of your comments that you're combining trips, walking when you can. What else can you pass along that's helping?

image from treehugger.com

$4 a gallon: Is this what it takes to make us change our oil consumin' ways?

I put $20 into my gas tank this morning and watched the needle go "blip." Hardly made a difference at all on the gas gauge (it got me about 5 gallons). With a major bathroom renovation going on, a commute from hell, and the price of everything going up, I'm becoming even more penny-pinching than I ever was.

I've heard a lot of stories in the news about what people are doing, what changes we are making in our lives to save a dime. And it got me to wondering what some of you have been doing to deal with this sudden increase in the cost of living. So please take a minute to answer the poll to the right, and then feel free to leave a comment at this post if you want to tell us more.

Image from savingadvice.com

The McCain energy plan: Drill, drill, and drill some more!

As Barack Obama gains the endorsement of Al Gore, John McCain announces his plan for solving our energy problem int he US: Lift those pesky offshore drilling moratoriums!

"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

As the Washington Post notes:

McCain's announcement is a reversal of the position he took in his 2000 presidential campaign and a break with environmental activists, even as he attempts to win the support of independents and moderate Democrats. Since becoming the presumptive GOP nominee in March, McCain has presented himself as a friend of the environment by touting his plans to combat global warming and his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in the Everglades.

He probably wants you to spend your rebate on heating oil, anyway

From Grist Magazine:

President Bush will sign an economic stimulus bill Wednesday, meaning you may have a check winging your way after tax time. Not included in the bill: funding for clean-energy credits and green jobs, which were dropped from the Senate version after narrowly failing to get enough votes. Undeterred, Democrats in the House of Representatives may introduce separate legislation this week that would extend clean-energy tax credits and slap taxes on big energy companies.

Please sir .... can I have some more?

There's an excellent post by Scarecrow at Firedoglake about G.W.'s begging trip to Saudi Arabia. You know the trip he just took:

George: "Can we have more oil, please?" Saudis: "No."

From Scarecrow:

President Bush was in Saudi Arabia yesterday to pursue the linchpin of his Administration's energy policy: He asked the Saudis to produce more oil. Roughly translated, the Saudis said, "No. We will do it only if it's in our interest, not yours."

As Hillary Clinton noted in last night's Democratic debate, Bush has been reduced to pathetically begging the Saudis to sell us more oil at nearly $100 per barrel. The image is even uglier when one realizes that some portion of that record price may consist of risk premia caused by the Administration's own war mongering, including pumping up an obviously ambiguous naval incident with Iran, another of the world's largest oil producers.

Read the rest here.

Back to the tap: good for your wallet, good for the planet

If you ever doubt the power of good marketing, look at the bottled water industry in America. This country, which has by far the largest supply in the world of clean water available to its citizens, leads the world in consumption of bottled water. The ultimate irony: more than a quarter of that is simply bottled tap water.

We spend more than $15 billion a year on bottled water in the United States. Bottles of water costs up to several dollars a gallon (and more for designer brands). Tap water, on the other hand, is delivered directly to homes and offices for less than a penny a gallon.

From the Earth Policy Institute:

In contrast to tap water, which is delivered through an energy-efficient infrastructure, bottled water is an incredibly wasteful product. It is usually packaged in single-serving plastic bottles made with fossil fuels. Just manufacturing the 29 billion plastic bottles used for water in the United States each year requires the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of crude oil.

After being filled, the bottles may travel far. Nearly one quarter of bottled water crosses national borders before reaching consumers, and part of the cachet of certain bottled water brands is their remote origin. Adding in the Pacific Institute’s estimates for the energy used for pumping and processing, transportation, and refrigeration, brings the annual fossil fuel footprint of bottled water consumption in the United States to over 50 million barrels of oil equivalent-enough to run 3 million cars for one year. If everyone drank as much bottled water as Americans do, the world would need the equivalent of more than 1 billion barrels of oil to produce close to 650 billion individual bottles.

Fortunately, there is a movement toward tap water. More from the Earth Policy Institute:

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, which represents some 1,100 American cities, discussed at its June 2007 meeting the irony of purchasing bottled water for city employees and for city functions while at the same time touting the quality of municipal water. The group passed a resolution sponsored by Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City, and R. T. Rybak of Minneapolis that called for the examination of bottled water’s environmental impact. The resolution noted that with $43 billion a year going to provide clean drinking water in cities across the country, “the United States’ municipal water systems are among the finest in the world.”

So how easy a choice is this to make: by choosing to forgo bottled water and instead drink from the tap, you can save money and reduce waste and fuel consumption. I call that a no-brainer.

Saudi gang-rape victim is jailed, appeals conviction, now sentenced to 200 lashes

While the Bush Administration media machine attempts to convince the American people that things are going great in Iraq and democracy is spreadin' round the world, Saudi Arabia — you know, home of the real 9/11 terrorists — continues in its archaic and inhumane treatment of women:

An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.

According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago.

But the victim was also punished for violating Saudi Arabia's laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man.

On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence.

The Bush Administration has long been willing to overlook transgressions by the Saudis. After all, there is a long and well-documented history between the Bush family and the Saudi royal family. So despite the fact that most of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that six years later the Saudis continue to funnel millions to al Qaeda, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is repeatedly cited for human rights violations such as the woman mentioned above, the Bushes do HEART them some Saudi Arabia.

After all, blood is thicker than water, but oil is the thickest of them all ....

George W. Bush will bankrupt this country

President Bush today vetoed a bipartisan education and health bill, at the same time approving an increase in the Pentagon's budget.

Thanks to Bush's greed for oil and vengeance for a supposed assassination attempt on his father by Saddam Hussein, (you didn't forget about that in all the rhetoric, did you?), our health care, education, and yes, security systems are a shambles. We lag behind all other Western nations in these areas, yet today Bush continues to lead this country down a path of destruction.

From the AP:

Since winning re-election, Bush has sought to cut the labor, health and education measure below the prior year level. But lawmakers have rejected the cuts. The budget that Bush presented in February sought almost $4 billion in cuts to this year's bill.

Huge procurement costs are driving the Pentagon budget ever upward. Once war costs are added in, the total defense budget will be significantly higher than during the typical Cold War year, even after adjusting for inflation.

Meanwhile, today's Washington Post reports that the real cost to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is more than $20,000:

President Bush's six-year invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq will end up costing Americans about $1.5 trillion, or nearly twice as much as the White House has actually spent to fight its wars, because of unseen costs like inflation, rising oil prices and expensive care for wounded veterans.

This will be the legacy of the Bush Administration when he is finished playing at being president. A nation that has lost the respect of the rest of the world, that is broke, uneducated, and unhealthy. And we'll still be paying $4 per gallon of gas, while Bush, Cheney, and all the rest of the oil mongerers sit on their ranches and count their money.

Shame on anyone who voted him into office.

Of wall warts and phantom loads

While you're away from your house, electricity is slowly being sucked out through the many seemingly harmless appliances you left plugged in. Actually, the appliance itself doesn't even need to be plugged in: if you left your charger plugged in when you grabbed your cell phone this morning, it's still draining some juice from the outlet.

While one charger may not use much energy, think about all of the appliances in your home that are “off” — except that is, for the LCD clock on the front. It's not off, it's running day and night.

The power these items pull is called “phantom load,” or more derisively “wall warts.”

Before you panic and start unplugging all your appliances, Grist magazine has some helpful suggestions for lightening the phantom load:

Many of us solve this environmental and financial problem by plugging the offenders into a power strip with an on/off switch. When we are through using the appliances on a strip, we turn off the strip, which cuts the electricity to the appliances. Power strips control the electricity coming from the wall, and when they are off, the power is off to the attached equipment. Then, though the evil appliances wish to continue sucking power from the grid, they are thwarted. Trolling on the web will bring you persuasive testimonials from people who shrank their power use this way.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, around 75 percent of the energy used by our home appliances is drawn while we think they are "off." Typical offenders include microwaves, stereo equipment, televisions, chargers for cell phones or iPods and co., and all the computer equipment.

As the price of gas approaches $4 per gallon, investing in a power strip might not be such a bad idea ....

If this was my money ... oh wait! It is!

Oil prices broke a new record, $93 a barrel. Yes, for a non-renewable energy source. As in, one day it will run out.

The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are expected to be at least $2.4 trillion.

Crazy me, I wonder if that $2.4 trillion wouldn't be a little more wisely spent to research renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and water.

Just sayin'.

Burma: Trying to make sense of a senseless situation

The stories coming out of Burma, such as they can, are disturbing on so many levels. The sheer violence is sickening. The fact that so many of the victims are peaceful Buddhist monks makes it more unbelievable. Added to this horror is the fact that there's not much you or I can do about it. But I cannot simply shrug and say “oh well,” and I'm sure you can't either, or you wouldn't still be reading this. So I offer some suggestions on what you (and I) can do.

First and foremost, get informed about the history. Learn some background information on Burma, such as the history of the National League for Democracy and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under military detention for 12 of the past 18 years. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

Next although news is very hard to get directly from Burma (the government has cut off Internet access, and has imprisoned and even killed journalists) try to stay updated on events. Many people are trying to get the truth out, and a few good sources for news are the BBC, Global Voices Online, The Telegraph, to name a few. Also, visit sites such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Go to google news, and search on Burma. Then look for a variety of news sources. No one source will give you all you need to know. Today's facts, as I can find them:

• Ibrahim Gambari, the UN envoy, has left Burma after meeting with the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi hours after talks with junta leader Than Shwe.
• Outrage over the junta's reaction to the protests continues to mount in capitals in the region. In Malaysia, lawmakers from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) called for the expulsion of Burma from the 10-nation organization.
• Foreign Minister George Yeo of Singapore, which now holds Asean's chairmanship, said in a newspaper interview that Asean - which consists of Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - had "no choice" but to deliver a tough position on the violent repression of the demonstrations.

Lastly, private companies and countries doing business in Burma must be the driving force behind bringing democracy and stability to Burma. Most notably absent in the public outcry over the current violence: China and India. No surprise, the biggest market in Burma: oil. Policymakers and the business world has seen this crisis coming for many years. The Bush Administration, for all it's recent talk at the U.N, has done very little, putting their sites on oil and gas, and away from human rights.

The situation in Burma will probably get worse before it gets better. Public outcry from around the world is the only thing that will force governments and companies to force the military junta to stop the killing and violence.

My best advice to all of us: it's time to step up and face our responsibility of global citizenship. I look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions, as well.

Iraq oil ministry refuses to work with unions

Whether you belong to a union or not, I think most people in this country agree that a basic principle of democracy is the right to join one if you wish. Which is the all the more reason you should be outraged that the Iraq Oil Ministry has refused to recognize or have any dealings with the Oil Workers Union.

If you think there is no need for these workers to organize, imagine the working conditions they must endure. Do you think either the government or the private sector cares about their safety or well-being? Of course not. In fact, the Oil Ministry is busy drafting the “Hydrocarbon Law,” which will give foreign oil companies huge access to Iraqi oil. The law contains 3 sentences on Oil Revenue Sharing and 33 pages on Privatization. And the Bush-Cheney Administration, with its undeniable ties to the world of private oil money, are pushing this law at the expense of the Iraqi people.

Dennis Kucinich, my candidate for President in 2008, wrote his colleagues recently,

“The law, if passed, is expected to open the country's billions of barrels of proven oil reserves, the world's third largest, to foreign investors....Under the new law, the Iraq National Oil Company would have exclusive control of only about 17 of Iraq's approximately 80 known oil fields.”

According to our Leader/Decider/War President, our troops are in Iraq for the purpose of bringing democracy to that country. Why then are we trying to (a) take their oil and (b) reinstitute policies of Saddam Hussein?

Saddam Hussein outlawed worker organizing in the public sector; subsequent U.S. occupying powers and now the Iraqi government do not recognize the workers' rights to organize.

A nice summary of this situation written earlier this year is Iraq Labor vs. ExxonMobil, BP and Shell at Truthout.org.

photo of an Iraqi oil refinery worker by David Bacon at Oil For Freedom.

If you still don't believe it's all about the oil, read this

From AlterNet:

Iraqi Oil Workers' Union Founder: U.S.-Backed Oil Law Is "Robbery"

The proposed oil law facing the Iraqi cabinet would allow Western oil companies to take about 50% of all production as their share, an "obvious robbery of the Iraqi oil," says oil workers union heavy.

US lawmakers have demanded Iraq advance the measure before Congress approves additional war funding, but critics say the law would leave Iraq's oil open to foreign takeover. A parliamentary boycott by Sunni and Shia factions is expected to slow the bill's passage.

Last month, the Iraqi oil workers union went on a strike to protest the law.

We don't hear about any of this this in the mainstream media, and we certainly don't hear the politicians mentioning this. Why not? Well, who in the Bush Administration has connections to the oil industry. Uh, just about everyone.

Read the entire story here.

The majority of Americans support the impeachment of Vice President Cheney

According to a poll released Friday by the American Research Group, 54% of adults favor proceeding with impeachment proceedings against Cheney

In case you have any doubts about the basis for impeaching Cheney (!) please watch the following video clip from Robert Greenwald. It includes an excellent collection of Cheney's lies and deceit.



Crooks and Liars has more. You can also read about Rep. Dennis Kucinich's bill for impeachment (H.R. 333) at his site.

What have you done for me lately?

That might be a nice caption for this photo of President Bush and Crown Prince Abdallah of Saudi Arabia. It's also a question we should be asking of President Bush.

Think back to his state of the union address in January 2006, when he made the bold statement, "Here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil ...." Then he told us his plan:

"Tonight, I announce the Advanced Energy Initiative -- a 22 percent increase in clean energy research at the Department of Energy, to push for breakthroughs in two vital areas. To change how we power our homes and offices, we will invest more in zero-emission, coal-fired plants; revolutionary solar and wind technologies; and clean, safe nuclear energy.

"We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars, and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We will also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips, stalks,or switch grass."

How's that grass thing going, Mr. President? It's a year and a half later, and we're still headed down a dangerous path of relying on foreign oil and polluting the environment. In Maryland, consumers are being hit with a massive rate increase in our utility bills. Gas prices hover around $3 for regular unleaded. And when states such as California try to be proactive and require stricter automobile emissions standards, this administration tries to block them.

Clearly, it's up to us to change the course of this nation. The war in Iraq is based on our voracious appetite for oil. If you doubt that, then please tell me why have we not stepped in to help all of the other nations around the world with tyrannical, demonic leaders? It is simple, dear readers. It's because they don't have anything we want. Guess what? Sudan does have oil! So maybe the U.S. should start getting involved in ending the suffering in Darfur. Guess what? Rwanda doesn't have anything! So we'll let them work things out among themselves.

What can you do to change this situation? Each one of us can, and does, make a difference. Reducing your car trips even slightly does help. Using compact fluorescent light bulbs does help. Writing to your elected officials — both local and national — does help. Tell them to increase funding for renewable and green energy sources. Tell them to stop funding this war for oil. The Bush dynasty and the rest of this administration have their fingers in the oil profits pot. They won't change unless we insist on it.

This planet and all of its citizens are asking, "What have you done for me lately?"