Polar bears listed as threatened!

It took three years, a LOT of work, and a lawsuit to finally make the U.S. Department of the Interior make a decision on whether polar bears are at risk due to climate change. One day before they HAD to make a decision, polar bears have been listed as THREATENED, which is the first step before becoming endangered. Read the official release from the U.S. DOI.
I hope that history will look back and see this as the turning point that the US recognized climate change and global warming due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emisions. Bush has messed up badly. He will be leaving office as the least popular President in decades, that delievered a horrible response to one of the greatest natural disaters in US history - hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy, rising inflation, agreeing to use of "harsh interrogation techniques", continuing the second longest US war, misleading the US in regards to climate change and not acting on it, leaving when fuel prices are at record highs, food prices are going up, the economy is essentially in a recession, and the US popularity is at an all time low with governements around the world. Someone has to serve as the bad example.
I really hope the next President of the United States of America takes climate change as his top priority. Change is good, and necessary at times. It may be painful at first, but good things will happen.
Greenpeace has a 96 page document that they've defined as a blueprint to a sustainable energy future. I'm about to read it now. I'm pretty sure that for the $1.5 TRILLION dollars we spent on trying to wage an oil war in Iraq (Iraq has the second biggest oil reserved in the world), we could have secured an independant, renewable energy future for the US, which would also lead to better national security because we wouldn't be dependant on foreign oil.
No, I'm not really happy that my tax dollars will be going to pay for a messy war for many, many years into the future.

One year already

Wow, time flies by when you're working your ass off. It's almost hard to believe that Dena and I have been in Scotland for a year now. We spent the first 3 months in temporary housing and numerous rental cars. Then, we bought a couple of motorcycles, happily moved into a great house in a nice neighborhood, and picked up our BWM. I started travelling for work, and Dena spent time making our house into a home. We flew home for Decemeber to visit friends and family, and to have surgery on my back. Dena spent the next couple of months updating Marine Turbine's website. I've spent the last couple of months working longer and longer hours on various projects.
Because time is flying by, we have made a commitment to see and experience more things while we are here. I'm looking forward to taking a motorcycle trip over to Lock Ness. Dena and I plan to go down to Glasgow. We're also making plans to go visit Frederique in France and spend a couple of days on the beach in Nice.