[Marxism] Chavez Takes Up Energy Conservation

["Walter Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

(Who ever heard of conservation in a country where gasoline is cheaper 
than bottled water. Well, that's exactly what Chavez is doing today, 
and it seems to be gaining popular support. Maybe we in the U.S. and 
other wastefully-living countries can learn something from this?)

======================================================================
(Taking Cuba's lead, Venezuela has distributed millions of fluorescent
bulbs in recent months, giving a blue-gray glow at nighttime to slums
that used to be swathed in common yellow incandescent light.

("We see the savings," said Francis Izquierdo, a single mother in
Caracas who said her power bill is about half what it was before the
bulbs were replaced in her barrio.)
=====================================================================

Associated Press
Chavez Takes Up Energy Conservation
By IAN JAMES 02.04.07, 2:51 PM ET

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/04/ap3392926.html

His ambitious social programs are built on Venezuela's petroleum
wealth, but President Hugo Chavez is increasingly talking up
environmental causes and urging the world to cut back on oil use to
fight global warming.

He wants to use some oil revenues in a venture to manufacture solar
panels and has begun doling out millions of energy-saving fluorescent
light bulbs to homes nationwide.

Some critics say Chavez's campaign is mostly rhetoric, noting this is
a country where government subsidies have gasoline prices at 12 cents
a gallon, car sales are booming and vehicle exhaust chokes
litter-strewn streets.

But Chavez says Venezuela can be an example, and he has begun
exhorting his followers to drive less and take public transport. 
His government plans a windmill farm to generate electricity on the
Caribbean coast and is exploring more uses for cleaner-burning
natural gas.

"Venezuela is one of the countries that least contaminates the
environment, but nevertheless we want to give an example and be at
the vanguard," Chavez said at a news conference Thursday.

He called U.S. oil consumption - which handsomely funds his
government - a leading cause of the world's environmental troubles.

"They're destroying the world," Chavez said, citing melting glaciers
in the Andes and predictions of rising sea levels. "The human race
will be finished if we don't change the world capitalist system."

Leftist ideology colors Chavez's views, and he has spent time
discussing the dilemma of climate change with Cuban leader Fidel
Castro, his friend and mentor.

Castro's obsession with energy saving has been caused in part by
Cuba's dependence on oil imports. Before he underwent intestinal
surgery last summer, Castro was in the midst of an energy-saving
crusade in which he distributed pressure cookers and offered
household tips on TV.

In contrast, Venezuela is the fourth-largest oil supplier to the
United States and has traditionally had little reason to worry about
saving energy.

Internationally, some environmentalists warn that Chavez's plan to
build a South American natural gas pipeline across Brazil to
Argentina could be an ecological disaster.

Others, such as Venezuelan activist Deborah Bigio, say Chavez has
interesting ideas but add that the government needs to put even more
emphasis on environmental issues.

"I don't see clear environmental policies in Venezuela," said Bigio,
who heads the Foundation for the Defense of Nature. She said
Venezuelans need to be given more concrete incentives to encourage
them to save energy and protect their natural surroundings.

Venezuela, a country of 26 million people and about twice the size of
California, has huge tracts of grassland and jungle in a sparsely
populated interior. Most of the population is in the north, where
Caracas and other cities generate the bulk of air and water pollution
and use much of the energy.

Taking Cuba's lead, Venezuela has distributed millions of fluorescent
bulbs in recent months, giving a blue-gray glow at nighttime to slums
that used to be swathed in common yellow incandescent light.

"We see the savings," said Francis Izquierdo, a single mother in
Caracas who said her power bill is about half what it was before the
bulbs were replaced in her barrio.

Chavez also said recently that he will raise gasoline prices to
encourage Venezuelans to drive less, although he hasn't said by how
much.

The country's heavily subsidized gasoline price hasn't been changed
for years and is among the cheapest in the world, encouraging strong
sales of fuel-burning sport utility vehicles. Filling up an SUV's
tank takes roughly $3 - less than the cost of two jugs of drinking
water.

Chavez said he also plans to open a solar energy research center to
eventually produce solar panels "in massive quantities" to supplement
hydroelectric dams and reduce the need for oil-fired power plants. It
remains unclear when that project may begin.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed


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