To Be Afraid of Dubaic Dinosaurs

There is a dilemma making its way to the dinner tables of industrialized countries more and more today in the 21^st Century. Amen. It is a problem that affects every family worldwide. I take that back. It exempts those Dubai-ians, who are rightfully excluded from most problems facing the globe. The reason for this, obvious- after all life becomes distinct, these people will remain prehistoric Dubaic dinosaurs, perfected by riches and the incredible evolution that capital causes. And any previously insurmountable conflict that has plagued the natural world (from colon cancer to Noah’s wave to Apocalypse to the 5 o’clock traffic jam) could certainly be bought off and dispelled with a wave of their Golden Palms. And if any problem becomes so large the Dubai-ians can rest assured that they will always have requisite insurance in order to buy a new world- and if this is in doubt, look no further than their current paradise.

No this new dilemma does not involve a single baby of Dubai, though the problem I speak of faces every other current and future generation. It is something that poses an imminent threat to all life and indeed this Earth which, Lovelock has hypothesized, is also living. It is something that we didn’t see back when Natale Olivieri sold Tru-Fruit soft drinks in Richmond, Virginia during the Staggering ‘30s. Still to this day, we cannot see it in our bibles.

I foresee a day when human waste builds and molds and devours and eventually surmounts even the transient skyscrapers. I see it brighter than any sun. I have Trash Fever.

The Europeans say once a substance or object has become waste, it will remain waste until it has been fully recovered and no longer poses a potential threat to the environment or to human health. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day and 750,000 people in China die every year as a result of pollution-related diseases.

Oh, but I can assure you- these numbers are just pixels on a screen, only faintly recognizable to the brain. Our minds cannot comprehend the fury that would result from the total inebriation of the circle of life. Neither can the world.

So even though we are the most terrific species on Earth (or at least the most cubicle tested species on Earth) there’s little hope that we can overcome such an environmental degradation as we’ll see in 40 years.

And that’s nothing to get tied up about. After all, there is no precedent for such a day of reckoning and if there was such a day, the entire religious community surely would have seen the warning signs.

Needless to say, this planet is disposable. It is not heaven. And there are a few justifications I have for such an assumption. Life here is not one large Burger King ball-pit. Life here does not always have equitable plumbing or dentistry. People here are normal- everyone is not born with an operatic range (I’m not even going to mention that some amongst us cannot even sing); we don’t wear white robes or even see beauty in tennis. So you see there is no heaven on Earth. And anyways, species extinction isn’t so bad when you get to go to heaven.

Coal-based fuel plant proposed for Butte; Schweitzer says many hurdles remain

The article covered a Florida entrepreneur’s angle of coal production in Montana. William Bruce, president of EcoSphere Energy of New Smyrna Beach, apparently sees coal extraction as an inevitable endeavor, so he has proposed a 160- to 170-megawatt plant in Butte that would be "the most environmentally friendly coal plant that has ever been built." His plans include the creation of a 130-acre algae farm that would turn coal into electricity, ethanol and biodiesel. According to the article, “microscopic organisms would consume the greenhouse gas as they grow. The algae then would be harvested, and the oils extracted and used to produce biodiesel.” Montana’s governor and secretary of state each met, along with their aides, to discuss this opportunity with Bruce on Friday December 30.

First of all, the article commended the work of Governor Schweitzer and the Montana Secretary of State for their initial steps to sidestep partisanship. Their efforts to think outside the oil-box are equally commendable in my mind. Breaking our dependency on foreign oil is no simple task. But I don’t think they’re distancing our dependency for the right reasons. I’ve listened to climatologist Steve Running describe Global Warming as the trial of my generation- this country, and indeed the world, must part with 80 percent of our carbon emissions in 43 years. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has suggested policies that factor in the current science and this simple fact. An elected official like Schweitzer has to decide what is in the public’s interest. For example- is it in the interest of my neighbors and I to hand out state subsidies to King Coal in order to develop carbon fighting substances like this algae? Or is it more sensical to employ that creative focus (and public funding) to develop sustainably?

My opinion on this matter is established. It’s foundation- we have one Earth, and one Montana, state and national governments have a responsibility to promote the general welfare, and I take this to include the public’s environment. Environmentalists do not base their opposition to coal and oil on political grounds- meaning they don’t play with the environment for political reasons. And this issue is no different. Government has the right to regulate industry’s illicit spewing of toxins into the public atmosphere. For me it’s that simple.

The other issue that Montanans who are pro out-of-state industries (including Governor Schweitzer) point out consistently is that Montana will be unable to recover from a coal-less world. In Montana, coal-fired power plants generate two-thirds of the total electricity produced in the state but the Energy Information Adminstration reports that "Just over one-fourth of Montana's coal production is used for state electricity generation; Montana delivers the remainder to more than 15 states." Doesn’t this make the argument that we won’t be able to turn on our own light-switches in Montana irreverent? With this in mind, does it make any sense for our state government to claim eminent domain of our coal? Why do officials list reasons for sustaining our dependency on such a fossil fuel when there's no need to produce the amount we're producing for other communities in other states?

The question of short term vs. long term prosperity arises. Short term economic gains based on resource extraction and electricity generation vs. long term “bright green” technologies that help us develop sustainably, where we distance ourselves from the thought that “oh, we’re going to face the same struggle of developing tech 20 years down the line.” The struggle between Montana’s environmental community and national corporations is historical. Since the establishment of the Coal Severance Trust, we have defended our resources from raping by external interests. We need the green thoughts of other states, but we should not sacrifice our environment for their short-term. I see the encroachment of

I attack this article’s bias on the basis that it failed to research this Florida Company that is attempting to sway our politicians. This article was published online in the Great Falls Tribune where readers are able to comment. One reader, Florida Treefrog, had some of the same concerns about the lack of research that went into this article. This person said, Hi, I'm a Florida energy activist - just checked and there IS a registered corporation in Florida called EcoSphere Energy Solutions, based in Stuart, FL, but very little info on the company is available through the Dept of State, corporations. Have found no info on "William Bruce". I've checked with other energy activist friends, and no one down here has ever heard of Bruce or the corporation. The coal industry wants to make liquid fuels out of coal, but their claims of “clean” don’t add up. Relying on coal-derived liquid as an alternative fuel could nearly double global warming pollution for every gallon of transportation fuel produced and used.
Coal to liquids is snake oil.