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"Just once, it would be nice if a president would level with Americans on energy. Barack Obama isn't that president. His speech the other night was about political damage control -- his own. It was full of misinformation and mythology. Obama held out a gleaming vision of an America that would convert to the "clean" energy of, presumably, wind, solar and biomass. It isn't going to happen for many, many decades, if ever. For starters, we won't soon end our "addiction to fossil fuels." Oil, coal and natural gas supply about 85 percent of America's energy needs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects energy consumption to grow only an average of 0.5 percent annually from 2008 to 2035, but that's still a 14 percent cumulative increase. Fossil fuel usage would increase slightly in 2035 and its share would still account for 78 percent of the total. "

"Energy-never has a political topic had so many bold words expended on it with so little to show. As Jon Stewart pointed out in his usual skewering fashion last week, the last eight American presidents promised to move America off oil and onto renewable energy, and all we have to show for it is increasing dependence on foreign petroleum, rising carbon emissions and an out of control gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. Energy is one of those bipartisan issues that any politician can dust off-usually whenever gasoline prices have gotten a little high-promise to change and then promptly drop until the next crisis. Most of our politicians seem to lack what you'd need to really change how America uses energy: the will to take on the strong fossil fuel lobby and the persistence to see changes through over the long-term. But we all bear responsibility for that failure, because we fail to see-and take-the hard choices that would be necessary. We'd rather live in energy fairyland, as a new New York Times/CBS News poll demonstrates. The poll surveyed the attitudes of Americans-with specific attention on Gulf coast residents-toward the oil spill, energy policy, the economy, President Barack Obama and BP. The news is not good for Obama-the economy and employment remain the top concerns of Americans, bigger than the oil spill, but 54% of the public says he does not have a clear plan for creating jobs, and 48% of the public disapproves of his handling of the economy. 60% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track."

U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: The pursuit of a new energy economy requires a sustained all-hands-on-deck effort, because the foundation of our energy independence is right here in America, in the power of wind and solar, in new crops and new technologies, in the innovation of our scientists and entrepreneurs and the dedication and skill of our workforce. Those are the resources that we have to harness to move beyond our oil addiction and create a new hybrid economy. The team that I have assembled here today is uniquely suited to meet the great challenges of this defining moment.

The sludge was a mixture of water and fly ash, a residue that is captured in the chimneys of coal-fired power plants. Fly ash is distinguished from bottom ash, which is removed from the bottom of the furnace. Fly ash is mostly made of fine, hollow, glassy particles of silica, the most abundant mineral in the earth's crust, as well as aluminum oxide, iron oxide, and lime, a white crystalline solid that humans have used for thousands of years. When airborne, some of types of silica particles have been found to be potentially harmful to people's lungs. But more worrisome are the trace concentrations of toxic metals - including arsenic, lead, barium, and chromium - that scientists think may damage the liver and nervous system and cause cancer. The ash also contains uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. Ounce for ounce, fly ash delivers more radiation into the environment than shielded nuclear waste.

Nevada's Harry Reid carries considerable influence as Senate majority leader, but you might not know it from watching him. He shuns self-promotion and avoids the social circuit; he once passed up a White House state dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II to stay home with his wife. He can be taciturn, even dour on television, and often speaks in such a whisper that, to start off 2008, he revealed a New Year's resolution: "I'm going to try to talk louder." But he more than makes up for any stylistic shortcomings by being the consummate inside player. Reid called his 2008 autobiography "The Good Fight," a reference to the combative ex-boxer's willingness to enter a tussle. As leader of the Senate Democrats in the 111th Congress (2009-10), Reid can expect far fewer scraps with the White House than when it was in Republican hands, plus an expanded base of Democrats that will give him greater leeway to operate. But he isn't assured of a totally peaceful life.

A new study done by Duke University says exposure to the fly ash from the TVA spill could have "severe health implication." Duke University scientists collected water and solid ash samples at sites affected by the TVA spill on Jan. 9. Following preliminary analysis, the solid ash samples were incubated and underwent more detailed analysis. "Our radioactive measurements of solid ash samples from Tennessee suggests the ash has radiation levels above those reported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for typical coal ash," said Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. "Preventing the formation of airborne particulate matter from the ash that was released to the environment seems essential for reducing possible health impacts." More than a billion gallons of sludge coal waste spilled from a pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston coal-burning power plant on Dec. 22.

Congress will not act until 2010 on a bill to limit the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming despite President-elect Obama's declaration that he will move quickly to address climate change, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee predicted Wednesday. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said that while every effort should be made to cap greenhouse gases, the economic crisis, the transition to a new administration and the complexity of setting up a nationwide market for carbon pollution permits preclude acting in 2009.

On Wednesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) defended Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's "experience" in "the field of national security" by asserting that "she knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America." McCain's claim to Palin's expertise was undercut the next day, however, when Palin severely overstated Alaska's energy production in an interview with ABC News's Charlie Gibson. Challenged by Gibson on her "national security credentials," Palin cited her experience as the governor of a "state that produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy" as a credential that she "brings to the table":

A look at some of the positions of the presidential candidates on energy and global warming:

Calamitous Web Bot Predictions George Ure and his colleague 'Cliff', two self-described "time monks," shared dire predictions based on their web bot technology. Their method captures changes in language patterns within Internet discussions. This aggregated data is then processed with software to determine various keywords, which they interpret in a predictive fashion. Beginning on October 7, 2008 and running through March 2009, they foresee a calamitous period on an epic scale. America will be beset by a variety of problems, which they broke down as 45-48% related to the economy, 40% concerning the military, and the rest associated with natural disasters. Between 2 and 22 million lives could be lost or seriously impacted, they estimated, possibly related to a "global coastal event" in 2009. On Dec. 10-12th, 2008, a large quake could hit the Pacific Northwest, they added. The two recommended developing self-sufficiency and the ability to live off the grid.

Will the November 4, 2008, election doom the future of Nevada? That sounds ominous, I know, but this election could be a make-or-break moment in history for the Yucca Mountain Project. This is the ill-conceived plan to bury nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Everyone in this state knows the problems inherent in this project and should be on alert. But also this should serve as a "heads-up" to everyone in the country.

About 20 House Republicans have cut short their August vacations, gathering on the floor to protest Democratic energy policy and demand that Speaker Nancy Pelosi call lawmakers back into session to vote on an energy package. The bill would include GOP demands for more domestic drilling.

In a dramatic move yesterday President Bush removed the executive-branch moratorium on offshore drilling. Today, at a news conference, Bush repeated his new position, and slammed the Democratic Congress for not removing the congressional moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf and elsewhere. Crude-oil futures for August delivery plunged $9.26, or 6.3 percent, almost immediately as Bush was speaking, bringing the barrel price down to $136. Now isn't this interesting?

DAYTON - Calling it one of the most dangerous weapons pointed at America, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama yesterday vowed to break the hold the "tyranny of oil'' has on the United States.

Cynthia Mckinney was last seen in a slap down with a White House Security guard who doesn't place much faith in his ability to remember faces. While I was feeling some sympathy when I discovered the old story on the internet recently, her position in this election is obviously to be an alternative of the same color as the the likely Democratic candidate. The little siphoning drain on what makes the candidate stand out. The 3rd party prospect can say, I voted for a better African American candidate when they subtract their vote from the Democrats.

Many years ago, during the 1970s if memory serves, neoconservative Irving Kristol, echoing John Stuart Mill, called his conservative party, the Republican Party, "the stupid party." Kristol was referring to the Republican's inability to compete on the policy front. Jack Kemp and Ronald Reagan led the Republicans out of the wilderness, but now Republicans have reverted to the stupid party, or more precisely the moronic party.

SANTA BARBARA -- John McCain came to California promoting an array of ideas to spur the market for clean cars and otherwise reduce carbon emissions. But in this coastal city, the site of a disastrous oil spill in 1969, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was dogged by critics at nearly every turn for his recent embrace of offshore drilling.

"The leading sponsors of a long-delayed energy and climate change bill said Friday they will press ahead despite losing the support of their only Republican partner. Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said they plan to introduce a bill next week. The pair made the announcement just hours after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said it is impossible to pass the legislation now because of disagreements over offshore drilling and immigration reform. Graham has been negotiating with Kerry and Lieberman for months, but said Friday that he doubts the climate bill has much chance of success."