Today with tongue in cheek we thank our Government for their new found interest in thermo. Today the Senate will not take up a vote on the energy bill as it stands with added taxes on oil companies. The end to the filibuster was one vote short.
The thermodynamic genii will take up the vote minus the added taxes provision. Hopefully the part on increased efficiency in energy use will remain intact.
While Congress was debating our energy future, a global meeting was held in Bali and the US remained the sole holdout on the Kyoto Protocol.
I had suggested the Gangrene Award for politicians and celebrities who pretend to be green while spewing more than average amounts of carbon dioxide. Steve Malloy of Junk Science must be a reader of TT. He blogged about the Greenest Hypocrites of 2007. He listed old Alfalfa as his numero uno pick. His number ten pick is the California Hypocritenator.
Enough about cold hearted politicians who pretend photosynthesis was intended to propel 800 million vehicles that weigh on average 3,000 pounds. Talking about cold, Oklahoma got nailed with an ice storm of epic proportions. Can you see the truck that is hidden in the ice covered tree in this photo? For precipitation to occur as ice, a warm front actually has to traverse over and above a cold front and then thermo takes over and it rains water in a solid form.
I am glad to inform the TT readership that Smell Oil is getting into the Algae-to-BioDiesel game. I have opined that algae to BioDiesel is a far better thermodynamic and social idea than using corn to produce BioEthanol. A lot of the research is being performed in Hawaii, so I may just have to take a trip out there to investigate. I am asking TT readers to donate their frequent flier miles so I don’t use my personal Learjet and increase my carbon Bigfootprint.
The word of the day is cacophony. This is the sound of the phonies in Congress disagreeing on how much to tax the poor oil companies. Interestingly, the opposite of cacophony is euphony. I guess the European Union (EU) had something to do with this definition.
cacophony \kuh-KAH-fuh-nee\, noun:
1. Harsh or discordant sound; dissonance.
2. The use of harsh or discordant sounds in literary composition.