I haven't yet posted anything on Focus Organic of a controversial nature, so why not start today? With all the talk of gas prices lately, it seems appropriate. I noticed that gas prices here have recently dropped about 20¢ here, and, although it's good, I figure it's just a way to hype it up and get more people to buy. If you see gas at a certain price one day, and then it drops 20¢, wouldn't you be tempted to fill up, afraid it might go back up again? I, for one, am quite tired of the whole debacle and part of me wonders if we might not be better off now if cars had never been invented. There, I said it.

Anyway, I got an email from MoveOn.org that prompted this post:

Dear MoveOn member,
Standing before a room of oil company executives in June, John McCain flip-flopped and declared support for coastal oil drilling. Now the Washington Post is reporting that, within days, oil and gas execs ponied up nearly $1 million to elect McCain.¹ It's another piece of evidence that in a McCain White House, oil companies will call the shots—just as they have with President Bush.

Yesterday, MoveOn members jumped into action in response to the Post story, placing "For Sale" signs on McCain headquarters in 10 battleground states to call public attention to it.² At the same time, McCain made our point for us, holding a photo-op yesterday in front of a California oil well and renewing his push for offshore drilling.³

McCain's hoping to use gas prices as a wedge issue to win the election. That's why it's so critical that we keep spreading the message that McCain's been heavily influenced by the oil companies—and so we can't count on him to solve the energy crisis. When people think of Bush, they think "oil," but that's not true of McCain yet—even though his energy policy is almost identical to Bush's and his campaign is literally run by oil lobbyists!⁴

Here's a video that makes the case, from our friends at Progressive Accountability. Please check it out, then forward it to a few friends, post it on a blog, or stick it on your Facebook page.

The energy crisis is shaping up to be a decisive issue in the election. MoveOn's ongoing campaign on the energy crisis has two goals: 1) highlight the progressive solution—a huge plan to shift our economy to clean energy, prevent climate change, and create millions of jobs, and 2) work together to block McCain and the Republicans from pushing gimmicks like drilling to win votes.

Sources:
1. "Industry Gushed Money After Reversal on Drilling," Washington Post, July 27, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3985&id=13351-9538277-qv1SsQx&t=3

2. "Activist group protests at McCain headquarters," WHP CBS 21 Harrisburg, July 28, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3986&id=13351-9538277-qv1SsQx&t=4

3. "Offshore Drilling is Something We Have to Do," Time Magazine, July 28, 2008

http://thepage.time.com/2008/07/28/oil/

4. "Oil Money: John McCain's Close Ties to the Petroleum Industry," Campaign Money Watch, July 11, 2008

http://www.campaignmoney.org/mccainoil

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A comment on the video on YouTube pretty much sums it up for me:

We have a moral responsibility to save wild places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for future generations. Six months of oil is not worth the plunder of ANWR. Money spent on drilling would be much better used for energy alternatives. Thanks to our country's over-dependence on oil, gas prices have reached record highs, global temperatures are climbing, the polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, and the U.S. is forced to import millions of barrels of foreign oil every day.

And now I'm going to put out a call for some guest posters in the political arena. Do you know how the candidates feel on the eco issues? Want to post about it for Focus Organic and get a free link (we now have a PR4, yayyyy!)? You know you want to! All other guest posters are welcome, too