Articles by Adam Browning

Except not really

The NYT had an article this weekend that might as well have been titled "Dems Corrupt, Green Companies Gorging on Bonanza of Earmarked Pork and Wasting Your Money."

Really? Let's look at the evidence they present.

Exhibit A is Sunpower Corp, which received a $20 million grant from the DOE. Where did those funds come from? The President's Solar America Initiative, announced in his February 2006 State of the Union address -- which, as I pointed out at the time, merely returned funding for solar research to the levels enjoyed under the Carter administration (a modest $148 million). Hardly a bonanza.

So, here we have a competitively bid project, out of a ridiculously small program that was contained in the president's budget and passed by the Republican-controlled Congress, used as proof that Dems are giving away the house to green companies.

Dems? No. Earmarked? No. Pork? No.

And all of this about a bill that Republicans are fighting and the president has threatened to veto specifically because ... wait for it ... it has the temerity to reduce tax incentives and subsidies to fossil fuel industries!

Your liberal media at work.

State Senator Andrew Rice gears up to run for Inhofe’s seat

David. Joe Namath. The 1980 U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team.

Where am I going with this, you might be asking yourself? Here's a better clue: Jerry McNerney. And now, Andrew Rice.

Yup, the climate's least favorite Senator, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, now has a challenger. And Andrew is getting great reviews from the eco-community: Smart as as whip. Has a masters degree from Harvard Divinity School. Articulate and charismatic. A committed environmentalist, and a man of deep conscience. When his brother was killed in 9/11, he dedicated himself to social justice and political reform. Especially for the latter, what better place to start from than Oklahoma's Senate seat?

This is going to be entertaining.

A green band that’s really green

Last week, headed to the Lanesplitter for a Tune-Up, quite by accident I ended up seeing the Ditty Bops at the Freight and Salvage.

I'm glad I did. The music was sweet and smart and catchy. But music aside, the show was eye-opening. Bono, step aside: Here's the new standard for what it means for musicians to engage in activism.

At Vote Solar, we are periodically invited to table at shows where big name acts have decided to incorporate an activism component to their tour. It's kind of them to do -- but unless the artist is willing to talk about your issue from the stage, we've found that we might as well set up in front of a supermarket. People come to shows to get drunk and have a good time -- they are not generally interested in talking about, say, the importance of net metering policies.

And not to dis themed benefit concerts like Farm Aid, Live Aid, Live Earth, Tibet Freedom Concert, etc. Raising money and awareness is a good thing, irrespective of whether the bands that participate live what they preach.

But the Ditty Bops take it to a whole new level:

Leo’s new eco-flick

I saw The 11th Hour last night, a new movie produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie is a pastiche of interviews of about 50 different thinkers and scientists, interspersed with stock footage of obligatory mountains and seal clubbings. Here's how Leonardo describes it: