AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

The Apollo Alliance

Hey AFSCME 3357 fellow brothers and sisters, you know what! Our parent union is a member of the Apollo Alliance. So is the UAW.

What is the Apollo Alliance?

As I understand it it is a coalition of organizations that are calling for a massive investment in alternate energy and energy efficiency technology in a coordinated effort with the national priority of the original Apollo man on the moon project. I think that's a wonderful idea. A great idea. The question is, is anybody doing anything about it - really?

The UAW lobbies against fuel efficiency increases. When was the last time that you heard about AFSCME getting involved in any public issue?

I recently tried to buy compact fluorescent lightbulbs for my house. I could find hardly any lamps designed to use them. I was eventually able to buy $200 of CF lightbulbs. All the CF lightbulbs that I could find were made in China. As for the future of lighting LED lights - Oh please!

As for EnergyStar appliances - hardly any of the appliances that I saw had the stickers on them.

Judging from press reports I've read, the Bush Administration has raided funding (which was only in the tens of millions of dollars to begin with) for the EnergyStar program to pay for other programs. We apparently have enough money to fight a war for oil, but we don't have enough money to make sure your refrigerator doesn't cost you double to run every month. Man, that's an energy policy.

I think the Apollo Project is on to something. I don't know how to get there from here, and it doesn't look like they do either. I think first we need to say that before we need a space policy, we need a science policy. When we set our national Science policy, we need to weigh government sponsored science projects in relation to important goals. Environmental preservation, energy independence, long term employment security and public health.

Bill Gates has done this with his Gates Foundation, and he appears to be on the right track in terms of putting the money to a good civic use.


Apollo Alliance : Apollo Alliance: Ready for Lift Off