Time Magazine, Rainforests, Guitars, Global Warming, and the Iraq War

Rain forests have been disappearing at an alarming rate for decades. That Time Magazine has suddenly decided to blame bio fuel for the disappearing rain forests is proof positive Time is working for the oil companies. Guitars made out of Brazilian Rosewood started being priced through the roof in the 1970s when a premium was placed on the wood due to disappearing rain forests. Environmental movements pressed to have logging slowed or stopped back in the 1970s. But Bio fuel is a much more recent development.

Besides, the world has a long history of clearing land for farming. The first thing the pioneers did when they arrived in North America was clear the land for farming to grow food - a very natural thing to do. So don’t blame bio fuel for the absence of trees. Besides, we can always plant more trees and we should. Plant a tree today!

The real solution is to have solar, wind, geo thermal, and wave technology, generate electricity for the grid instead of coal and nuclear. Then plug in hybrid cars can plug directly into the grid and be recharged each night. None of these technologies require that we cut down any trees or that we burn anything.

Factories that create solar panels can be run by solar powered electricity and thus you have solar energy being used to create solar products. Same for wind, geo thermal, and wave technologies; alternative energy can be used to create alternative energy products. Nothing is burned. Solar panels last up to thirty years without repair or replacement so the cost of investment is well worth it over the long run and will go far in reducing the threat of global warming.

Bio fuel is burned and that creates more CO2 (big negative) but bio fuel does make us more energy independent from terrorist nations that hate us. It may also lower the price of crude if we can flood the market with bio fuel.

Indian Rosewood is now used in acoustic guitars with good results. Apparantly India doesn't mind giving up their Rosewood trees for guitars. There is also a Madigascar Rosewood that is sometimes used for guitars. Other tonewoods used in guitars such as Mahogany, Koa, Maple, Walnut, are available from areas other than the Amazon.

It is essential that we develop and deploy the new alternative energy technologies to reduce the stranglehold the oil companies have on our American economy. Unless we force the issue big oil will continue to take advantage of a willing public who refuses to be weaned from the teat of the oil barrel. When oil becomes unnecessary, the Iraq war becomes useless.