The New York Times has a he said/she said story about the potential hazards of second-generation biofuel crops, which generally aren’t edible and hence don’t contribute to famine and associated political difficulties, but are often unfriendly to local ecosystems and domestic crops. On one side of the story are ecologists and others who point to the proliferation of the fuel crops as potential environmental disasters in the making; on the other are biofuel proponents who say “Oh, pshaw.”

The two potentially problematic crops mentioned in the story were Jatropha, a hardy specimen which grows well in a variety of climates and is poisonous, and my personal favorite, the giant reed—”a fast-growing, thirsty species that has drained wetlands and clogged drainage systems in other places where it has been planted [and] is also highly flammable and increases the risk of fires.”

What, indeed, could go wrong?

The biofuels story reminded us of another recent Times article on another energy source and the unlikely leader of that pack. The Washington Post ran a piece a while back on Germany’s emergence as the world’s solar power powerhouse. The country, which has a history of gloom, generates about half the solar-powered electricity in the world. Almost exactly a year later, the Times uncovered much the same set of facts, but with an update reporting that the current conservative German government, led by Angela Merkel, of whom George Bush is fond enough to fondle, wants to essentially dismantle the system of subsidies and price supports that led to the boom not just in solar power production, but in manufacturing solar power equipment for export as well.

Granted it was a story about Germany, but it’s something of a mystery why the writer passed on the opportunity to compare and contrast the German initiative with the comparative neglect of solar power here in the sunny U.S. of A, which is at present both experiencing some problems with non-renewable sources of energy, and lagging behind in the development of new technologies for solar and other alternative energy generation systems (while at the same time aiming massive federal support at the beleagured oil industry).

All of which reminds us of yet another Times piece, this one by the most valuable and undersung member of the paper’s opinion columnist stable, Bob Herbert. Lots of people assign significance to lots of presidential elections (most vital in decades, etc.), but Herbert is right in doing so with the upcoming one, which he says is potentially “one of the most pivotal since World War II”, which is perhaps a minimization given the case he makes for the designation. The piece is essentially a plea to his colleagues in the press to force material discussions of the issues upon both candidates by refusing to trivialize the issues in play, and to participants in the electoral wars to refrain from cheapness and thuggery.

Let the candidates wrestle with this issue of increasing economic inequality, rather than President Bush’s spurious and deeply offensive rant comparing advocates of international diplomacy with those who appeased Hitler and the Nazis.

Let the candidates wrestle with the war without end in Iraq that is not just destroying lives but is taking a toll on this nation’s soul. The war is sapping the resources and energy needed for the hard work of putting the U.S. back on a sound socioeconomic footing.

And the way we are treating the troops belies the pretty words that never get farther than a bumper sticker.

…

Let them talk about health coverage, which is a scandal, and the vanishing American pension. Let them offer competing plans for rebuilding the American infrastructure and creating real employment opportunities for the newest generation of workers. Let them go at it over energy policy.

Forget the foolishness for a change. No Willie Hortons this year. No Swift boats. No attacks on John McCain like the mugging he endured at the hands of the Bush crowd in South Carolina some years ago.

Fat fucken chance, as we used to say when I was a cub reporter, but it’s nice to see the effort and the recognition that the stakes are pretty high even given the dimness of the Democrats’ all-star cast.

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