Kids Before Trees

Kids Before Trees

By Geoffrey S Sander

Copyright Geoffrey S Sander 2011

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The author will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every book to a legitimate charity committed to helping children.

Dedicated to all who hunger for freedom and thirst for knowledge.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs: 31:8-9

Table Of Contents

Preface

Introduction

I. The Complete And Utter Failure Of The Doomsayers

Chapter One: The Sky Is Falling

Tropical Rainforests

Aluminum And Alzheimer’s

Chapter Two: What Energy Crisis?

Oil Reserves

Unconventional Oil

Undiscovered Oil

Reserves Growth

The Hubbert Theory of Peak Oil

Who Is Fueling The Energy Crisis?

II. Why Should I Care?

Chapter Three: The Empty Wind

Windy Politics, Big Winds Blow Through Empty Spaces

Chapter Four: The Hydrogen Car

The Inconvenient Law

Hydrogen From Hydrocarbons

The Energy Pool, Oil And Natural Gas

More Nails In The Coffin

What’s Going On?

A Natural Gas Economy

Chapter 5: The Cost Of Saving The Planet

Humanitarian Or Environmentalist?

So How’s That Working Out For Ya?

III. More Energy For The Energy Crisis

Chapter Six: Natural Gas

Gas Production

Gas Reserves

Reserves Growth

Undiscovered Natural Gas

Unconventional Natural Gas

Shale Gas

Other Unconventional Natural Gas

The Future of Natural Gas

Chapter Seven: Other Energy Sources

Coal

Nuclear

Hydrogen

Hydropower

Chapter Eight: Bio-Fuels

Does Ethanol Usage Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions?

Does Gasoline Take More Energy To Produce Than It Yields?

Does Ethanol Production Have A Positive Energy Balance?

Does Ethanol Reduce Pollution?

Our Cost

Chapter Nine: Wind And Solar Energy

The Cold Hard Facts

Solar Power

Costs

Environmental Impacts

IV. The Uncomfortable Truth

Chapter Ten: Science And The News

Science

The News

V. Conclusion

VI. Resources

About The Author

Connect With Me Online

Evaluating Your Sources

Endnotes

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all my family and friends who helped me through this very long endeavor. Noelle, Sarah, Stephen, Andrew, Rose, Pat, Shirley, Joanne, Gillian, John, Brad, Paul, Keith, Marianne and all the others, too numerous to mention.

Preface

The environmental movement is being permanently damaged by phony claims and sensationalist headlines. Did you know that bio-fuels actually increase CO2 emissions, or that the hydrogen fuel cell increases our reliance on foreign oil? If wind generated electricity costs five times more than conventional electricity and doesn’t reduce emissions, does it make sense to build windmills? We want to take care of our environment, but if we take tax dollars away from legitimate environmental causes to support bogus ones we are hurting the environment, not helping it-even if we mean well.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and hurting the environment in the belief that we’re helping it is still hurting it. But how are we supposed to know what is the right thing to do about global warming, or the energy crisis? How do we separate the lies from the truth? These are the questions I asked myself, and this book is the answer to these questions.

This cold winter morning I’ve been watching the birds at the feeder in the tree outside my kitchen window. I love to hear the birds sing. I consider myself a true environmentalist; I believe that mankind has an obligation to preserve nature, leave a lasting legacy for our children and share the Earth with all of God’s creatures. I want to preserve the environment, but I am not an alarmist, and I am not a fanatic. I believe that humanitarian needs should not be overlooked in our rush to be green.

We are surrounded by people in need. From the child growing up in the ghetto, whose only future is violence, drugs and prostitution to the grandmother who cannot afford medical treatment or the disabled veteran who can’t make ends meet. The homeless, the poverty stricken and the uneducated, destined for a life of crime, surround us. Our jails are full to overflowing and our graveyards are filling with the victims of cancer, Alzheimer's, AIDS and other incurable diseases. These people need us, but we can’t help them if we are scrubbing rocks with a toothbrush. Our society will fail if we don’t address the needs of people.

I want our children and their children to experience and enjoy the natural world, but I also want them to have freedom, peace and prosperity. There is no reason that we can’t enjoy our freedom, peace and prosperity and preserve our environment for future generations.

You and I are probably not so very different. I’m a family man, I have a steady job, I work hard and I pay my taxes. I make time to vote, but I find that I don’t have a lot of spare time for community service or politics. I think I’m a good person: I don’t litter, I donate to charity, I take good care of my kids. I’m not perfect but I do what I can with the time and money that I have.

I developed a love of nature while growing up in a farming community on the prairies. I learned to love and respect the land, and all of God’s creatures. In thirty years of working in the energy and petrochemical fields since leaving the farm, I’ve learned the truth behind a lot of the things most people never hear about.

It’s time for you to be told the truth. It’s time to fight back against higher taxes, higher prices and the constant erosion of our freedom. You need to know both sides of every story, so you can decide for yourself where your money should go. You have the right to know, and more importantly you have the power to do something about it.

Introduction

Table Of Contents

We know that there are people in the world who, perhaps because they have too much time, money, or guilt on their hands, make it their duty to become advocates for various causes, often doing it without regard for the possible consequences. They may think they are supporting something that is good, but they sometimes never think through what their support might mean and what will result from it. If many of the causes out there were actually followed through to the end, we would be living in a socialist or communist state, and no one would like it. Nobody would be free.¹

Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Be careful what you wish for, you might get it. King Midas thought it would be wonderful if everything he touched turned to gold, but alas, when his wish came true he discovered that he could no longer hug his children or even enjoy a simple meal. He did not think it through. He was not careful what he wished for.

Today there are certain people telling us what we should wish for. They tell us we should wish for bio-fuels, windmills, and electric cars. Are these really the right things to wish for or are we being set up for a fall, like old King Midas? We need to think these things through.

People who have too much time on their hands, and a notion to save the world often become zealous and fanatical in their zeal: but they don’t think about the down side of their actions. They become the dupes of far less scrupulous people. There are powerful people in the world who want your money, and they’re only too happy to create another global crisis to get it from you.

They want you to fear that things are far worse than they truly are. Special interest groups, the news media and researchers who are only concerned with their own self-interests constantly bombard us with warnings of coming catastrophes. Whether its global warming, Y2K or the energy crisis, they work to spread fear among us.

These special interest groups are all after one thing: your money. Whether they get it through government grants and regulations, taxation, or higher prices, it’s all the same money and it all comes from the same place: your pocket. But there is only so much money to go around, and every dollar we waste fighting imaginary problems is one less dollar that we have to spend on health care, education or law enforcement.

We see money taken away from worthwhile causes like cancer research and better schools for our kids, to pay for dubious things like windmills and hydrogen fuel cells. We all want to do the right thing, but what if the right thing turns out to be the wrong thing? It can be very confusing: if you buy an electric car you won’t be polluting the air in your city but electricity is generated from coal, and coal causes more emissions than gasoline, so which is better?

Who do you believe? Every scoundrel who wants a piece of your pie claims that funding his or her ideology is critical to preservation of the environment. They slap a Green label on their theory and it becomes sacred and untouchable. Advertisers have picked up on this trend and now everything you buy is supposed to be environmentally friendly in one way or another. Yesterday their product had low cholesterol, today it’s green, but all they changed was the label! They’re just riding the wave of popularity! They care about getting your money, not preserving the environment.

If you’ve stayed in a hotel or motel in the last couple of years, chances are you’ve seen the little cards in the room telling you how environmentally friendly the proprietor is. They will tell you that to save the planet you can use your towels over and over again and not have the sheets changed. What they really mean though, is that they want to reduce their laundry costs. They care more about their laundry bills than the environment: sanctimonious bastards!

A battle is raging for your money and you don’t even know it! There are terrorists fighting bitterly over your hard earned savings, but they’re so well disguised that you can’t recognize them. They are fighting against each other but they are fighting over you, or more precisely, your money. They are terrorists because they try to terrorize you into submission so they can gain control of your money. Every day of every week they bombard you at work and even in your own home. It’s hard to tell who’s winning, but it’s easy to see who’s losing: you are! At stake is nothing less than your money and your freedom!

Global warming, rainforest destruction and dwindling energy supplies are just some of the terrorizing battles being waged for your money. The terrorists are the assorted and numerous researchers and environmental organizations that rely on your money to keep them afloat. They battle each other in a bid to terrify you into funding and supporting their particular cause. The battles are not against deforestation or global warming, they are battles to frighten you, and the winners are the ones who frighten you into supporting them.

These battles threaten our future-but not for the reasons we are led to believe! You see, we are not running out of oil, but if we try to replace oil with windmills we will soon run out of money. The rainforest continues to thrive forty years after it was supposed to be gone, but we’re still being asked for money to save it. As for global warming, it turns out the only real concern is all the hot air being pumped out by politicians and misguided environmental fanatics, but they want us to spend trillions of dollars to fight it-even when the whole theory is as hollow as a political promise!

Meanwhile, Blue Whales are on the verge of becoming extinct. These benevolent creatures need our help to survive; yet we hear almost nothing about them. Their plight has gone out of vogue, and the news is devoted to the threat of global warming. Legitimate environmental concerns are ignored while we spend billions of dollars on bogus issues peddled by the false prophets of doom.

People are suffering too, even dying, because money that could be helping them is being wasted on meaningless research. Cancer, heart disease and AIDS kill millions of people every year. Poverty and crime are rampant and gangs and drugs threaten our youth. Our jails are full, taxes are too high and prices keep rising. Every one of these and many other very real issues impact our way of life. These legitimate problems can’t be solved without funding, but funds are limited. There’s only so much money to go around.

Want to stay out of it? Sorry, that’s not an option. You see, you’re footing the bill to battle these global threats, and you don’t have enough money to take care of your family and fight them all. You care about your children’s future, you want to preserve the environment and you want a decent life. You are a good person, but you’ll be letting your kids down if you turn away from the battle for your money. The real threats to our future need to be addressed, the phony threats need to be pushed aside.

This book is about you. You are the taxpayer, and you are the consumer. You are only one among millions, but you are the star attraction. You are the voter. You have the power and you are the prey. The prey? Yes, the prey: phony scientists, self-serving politicians and money-grubbing news people are predators who stalk you. They need your money, they need your votes, and they need your power. And so you are victimized: used, manipulated and deceived to serve their self-interests.

This book is a tool for you to use, to benefit yourself. It is easy to read and easy to use. You can use it to find the answers that you need to can regain control of your money. Every dollar you earn is being eroded, eaten away by higher taxes and higher prices. Your money is being used to address issues that you may not fully understand, because you are not being told the whole truth about these issues. You deserve to hear the whole truth about global affairs that are changing your way of life and threatening your standard of living.

You play a big part in the political direction of your country and the moral direction of your society. As a voting citizen you need to know the truth about the big issues of the day, because politicians and policy makers are basing the future of your country on elections and polls that reflect your opinions. The less fortunate members of our society are often trampled in the stampede for tax dollars, and it’s up to us to make sure that they too are treated fairly and that tax dollars go where they will do the most good.

Are CO2 emissions really more important than education? Should money be taken from health care to provide more wind-powered electricity? Are more people dying from the energy crisis and global warming or from AIDS, drug abuse and gang violence? Do you want to take money away from health care, education and social programs to pay for solar panels? Remember, millions are already struggling to keep their heads above water, trying to educate their children, protect them from gangs and drugs, and break the cycle of poverty. Can they afford a higher cost of living to pay for initiatives that don’t deliver what they promise? Do we want to spend our money on real, pressing issues, or insurance against things that might happen?? Oprah, where are you?

In this book we will cut through the propaganda and simplify the complexities surrounding the most powerful issues of today. We will find the untold side of the story, present the facts objectively, and allow you to make up your own mind about these critical issues. Most importantly of all, we will identify simple but effective steps that you can take to make a difference.

We’ll also have a laugh or two, at ourselves and at our politicians and everyone else on our spinning blue planet as we travel our few allotted trips around the sun. I hope that by the end of this book you will have a better understanding of some of the major issues affecting our lives, feel more confident in making up your own mind about things and more empowered to do something about it. After all, it’s your money that’s being thrown around; you deserve to have some control over it.

We’ll also look at the good news in the world. Good news makes your day better and gives you a lift. Wouldn’t you like to hear some good news today? Surprisingly there is a lot of good news out there; we just don’t seem to hear it very often.

Fight back! Your money must remain in your hands! If it falls into the hands of the scoundrels, your freedom and prosperity will be lost. Only while your money is in your hands can freedom and justice thrive. Preserve it for yourselves, your children and your grandchildren. Don’t let them down. Learn the truth, make a difference, fight back, and keep your money. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem.

The Complete and Utter Failure of the Doom-Sayers

Table Of Contents

Today’s headlines predict another global disaster, crisis or pandemic. The bestsellers list features conspiracies, cover-ups, scams and meltdowns. Doom-and-gloom sells, and one of the hottest topics today is the environment! Anything Green is deemed newsworthy, and preserving the planet is the fashionable and noble pastime.

Whether it’s global warming, fresh water consumption or the rain forests, we can be sure that we humans are somehow responsible for some looming disaster that threatens mankind. An entire industry thrives on selling us this message, and then using our own conscience to manipulate us for their gain.

Advertisers, being the opportunistic buggers that they are, assure us that their products are now environmentally friendly, even if the only thing they changed was the label. They care about profit, not the environment. Hotel proprietors tell us that to save the planet you should reuse your dirty towels, but what they really mean is that they want to reduce their laundry costs.

Environmental issues are the flavor-of-the-month in the highly competitive business of fear mongering, but they aren’t the only tools in the fear mongers chest. Let’s look at some of the other world-shaking crises we’ve been badgered about in the past.

Chapter One: The Sky is Falling

Table Of Contents

Let’s start this chapter with a joke (it’s not mine, and sorry I don’t know who started it), it goes like this: A university professor was telling his students that the sun would burn out in about five Billion years, thus ending all life on Earth. One of the students became very agitated and alarmed, jumped up and in an anguished voice begged the professor to repeat what he just said. The unnerved professor replied, "Well, I said the sun would burn out in five Billion years and all life on Earth would end." Oh, thanks heavens the relieved student replied, I thought you said five Million years!

The world is going to end! How many times have we been told that? Shucks, how many times a day are we told that the world is going to end if we don’t hurry up and change the things we do? Here is a short list of just some of the warnings of doom