Bill Scher has a great post up today at Blog for OurFuture about the latest offshore drilling/tire inflating madness.

On Thursday, conservative radio host Sean Hannity claimed Obama said, "All you need to do is inflate your tires. That's all you need to do. If every American would join in this effort, of inflating one's tires, then it's all going to be fine. And we can still import 70% of our oil from Saudi Arabia. Just keep those tires inflated."

Conservatives -- lovers of childish mockery over substantive ideas -- later today are apparently planning to distribute tire gauges at an Obama energy event.

However, as it turns out inflating your tires will actually save you more money in the next year than offshore drilling will save you in the next twenty. How much more? DOUBLE! Bill continues:

A critical blow was struck against the future of mass transit in New York City yesterday, as political infighting in Albany stymied the passage of Mayor Mike Bloomberg's innovative and ground-breaking congestion pricing plan. The plan would have charged an $8 fee for cars to enter the Manhattan central business district, defined as the area south of 60th Street. Revenues from the program would have been earmarked for use by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which runs the subways and buses of NYC. The promise of revenue from the program (which was anticipated to be about $200 million over three years) would have qualified the city for over $300 million in federal grants for mass transit projects.

Earlier this month I wrote about how South Africa's war into Mozambique has contributed to Mozambique checking in at one of the poorest countries in the world. It seems that the apartheid past is still too close at hand to allow Mozambique ample space to regain its footing.

After an incredible 2-year effort getting the most ambitious renewable energy standard in the nation, I'm eager to report a new action community I've had the privilege of starting. Along with a team of other Macalester students, I launched the World Energy Community Action Network (WeCAN) at the Minnesota Citizen's Conference on Climate and Energy Action about two weeks ago. The network is a diverse group of citizens collaborating for a collective vision of people-driven solutions to global warming and the energy crisis.

Now I need your help!

Good Tuesday morning folks.  I am on the road again and this time the The Café is coming to you from my hotel room in Cleveland.  I am traveling the state and recruiting for next year's class of YP4 Fellows.  I will be making pit stops in Columbus, Wilberforce, and Cincinnati over the next few days.  If you are in Ohio, let me know!  

On to the news!

Illinois Leading the Way In Energy Conservation

Since the federal government refuses to do anything about the nation's energy policy, some states are taking it upon themselves.  The Governor of Illinois recently announced a new plan to have ethanol available at all gas stations in the state by the year 2017.  Additionally, the plan calls for four new ethanol production plants in the state.  It's great to see leaders on the state level taking action to help shift our nation's energy policy. Maybe the administration and national leadership will take note.

Journalists Misrepresent McCain Statements

Shortly after John McCain's interview on Meet the Press over the weekend, Politicalwire.com put up a headline that read "McCain backs Lieberman over Republican."

I don't want to jump on the conspiracy theory bandwagon, but being the Sunday morning talk show junkie that I am, I saw McCain's statements and I have a hard time understanding why the story is being spun by journalists to say that McCain is backing Lieberman.

more after the fold

On the heels of An Inconvenient Truth, Who Killed the Electric Car? profiles the flash-in-the-pan success and mysterious disappearance of the Electric Vehicle (EV).