Houston mayor's environmental to-do list is lengthy

Bill White is my favorite Houston mayor of all time. He generally gets the difference between nutty environmentalists and real environmentally friendly policies. Under his watch the energy consumption of the city government has gone down 6% - and he never mentions the fiction of human caused global warming.

White's major downfall is failing to recognize vehicle emission's role in air pollution in Houston and focusing too much on industry as the evil doer.

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Nationalize Big Oil!?!?!?! The Transcript

My new hero, John Hoffmeister, the soon to retire head of Shell Oil in the U.S. tells it like it is. Maxine Water responds with a little Hugo Chavez action:

From congressional testimony on 5/22/08:

Here is the transcript of the exchange in Congress with Rep. Waters:

John Hoffmeister from Shell Oil: I can guarantee to the American people because of the inaction of the United States Congress ever increasing prices unless the demand comes down and the five dollars will look like a very low price in the years to come if we are prohibited from finding new reserves and new opportunities to increase supplies.

Rep. Maxine Waters: And, guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be about socializing... uh, will be about, basically taking over and the government running all of your companies.

The oil executives answered: "We've seen this movie before. It's called Hugo Chavez in Venezuela."

Nationalize Big Oil? Puhleeze!

Maxine Waters threatens to nationalize US oil companies HERE. Nationalize them for underperforming, I guess? If my plant made just 7.3% or 9% internal rate of return heads would be rolling. That is all the oil majors are making right now!

Oil Majors Earnings in Perspective

Lets cut the federal gasoline tax! We reduce the price of gasoline by $0.18 overnight! Demand goes up! Prices go up! Within weeks the cost of gasoline is the same as it was before! Here is hoping that McCain and Clinton get remedial education in supply and demand.

OK, lets tax the windfall profits of oil companies! The average return on investment for the oil majors was 7.3% last year. My company would fire me for that kind of poor performance.

ExxonMobil: Responding to world energy needs

API: Putting earnings into perspective

U.S. Senate Report Debunks Polar Bear Extinction Fears

Link: U.S. Senate Report Debunks Polar Bear Extinction Fears

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that the polar bear population is currently at 20,000 to 25,000 bears, up from as low as 5,000-10,000 bears in the 1950s and 1960s. A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey of wildlife in the Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain noted that the polar bear populations “may now be near historic highs.” The alarm about the future of polar bear decline is based on speculative computer model predictions many decades in the future. And the methodology of these computer models is being challenged by many scientists and forecasting experts. (LINK)