Happy Earth Day

This is funny. Bush, the man who realized this country is addicted to oil in January of this year, is in California (where the average gallon of gas is $3; in Beverly Hills, it's $4) on Earth Day talking about the promotion of fuel cells. "These fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the way we power our cars by giving us vehicles that will emit no pollution and will be more efficient than gas-powered cars," he said. Meantime, the price of oil broke a new record reaching $75 a barrel on Friday and people in Texas are pawning personal items to pay for gas.

Isn't it ironic that after the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, when 20 million people across America called on the government to adopt policies to protect the environment, Republicans responded by passing the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Congress even adjourned for the day so members could participate in Earth Day events. The Republicans for Environmental Protection don't have much to celebrate today:

While the GOP still has a number of conservation champions, the party leadership is dominated by people who have lost sight of the importance of conservation and environmental protection for keeping America strong and prosperous. It is time to restore the great Republican conservation tradition, and time for Republican leaders to recognize that Conservation is Conservative.

REP is out with its first scorecard to assess the performance of Republicans in Congress on environmental and conservation issues. Senators Richard Shelby (AL), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Saxby Chambliss (GA), Pat Roberts (KS), Jim Bunning (AL), Mitch McConnell (AL), Thad Cochran (MS), Trent Lott (MS), Jim Talent (MI), Conrad Burns (MT), Chuck Hagel (NE), George Voinovich (OH), Rick Santorum (PA), John Thune (SD), John Cornyn (TX), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), and Michael Enzi (WY), all scored zero. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska got a -10. Jesus would be proud.

Rather than focus on global warming, peak oil and the destruction of the planet, here are a few things you can do to make a small difference:

Don't leave the water running. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth or washing the car. Fresh water is one of our most precious natural resources.

Flick off the light when you leave the room. Power plants burn fuels to create energy for your light bulb. Burning fuel makes smog that pollutes the air and adds to global warming. The less energy you use the less they need to make. Plus you'll save on your energy bill.

Print on both sides of the page at work. It's easy to change your printer settings -- you'll use half the paper and save trees.

Wash your clothes in warm or cold water. It works just as well as hot in your washing machine and cuts back on energy use.

Ditch the paper cups. Bring in a glass to keep at work instead of using the paper ones by the water cooler.

Turn off your computer at the end of the day. A monitor left on overnight uses enough energy to print 5,300 copies.

To find out what kind of footprint you're leaving on the planet, click here.