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Phin's Progress: Clean My Ride, Flex My Fuel The Clean My Ride campaign is non-partisan effort and does not support the election or defeat of any candidate for public office. Comments should reflect the same standards. See our Terms of Use in the first post for more info.

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Phin



Last Updated: 7/27/2007

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Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 34
Sign: Cancer

City: Springfield
State: Vermont
Country: US
Signup Date: 7/16/2007

Blog Archive
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August 20, 2007 - Monday 
Last week I sent out a request to our email list for ideas on how to convince Congress, automakers, and energy companies to take serious steps to reduce our dependence on oil and reduce emissions.  I have received more than 700 replies.  That is a lot of reading for me, for sure.

That said, I thought it might be nice to share some ideas with you (a few at a time).

Out of respect for privacy, I won't disclose who sent these ideas, but feel free to claim them if they are yours and you want to.  That said, the ideas I am sharing were contributed by you...  so thanks :)

Here are a few great ones:

"I think you should play to the auto manufacturer's need to differentiate their products and turn a profit.  If you can show them how supporting alternative fuels will support their bottom line, they should be more willing to listen. Then, they will help push our elected officials to support tax breaks and the like for companies that develop alternative fuels and actually get these vehicles on the road.  As far as the oil industry goes, they need to understand that it's not a question of if, it's when.  They can be a profitable part of it, or they can get left by the wayside.  With their distribution and knowledge and infrastructure, they are in a unique position to help rather than hinder the availability of alternative fuels.  Like the auto manufacturers, they too need to be thinking about diversifying their product line instead of keeping all their eggs in one basket. "

"Yes pressure key congressional members and consider a nationwide boycott of the big oils like Exxon/Mobil who show profit and little environmental commitment."

Another suggestion, focused on what you can do yourselves, is to convert your engine to burn flex fuels.  We are not endorsing this conversion, since we are not mechanics, but it is always good to explore your options and check with your own mechanic.  The suggestor of this tip gave has a website for his product. http://flexfuelus.com/

"Everyone needs to be pressured, including consumers...every light in my house is the new florescent energy saver type.  I just replaced my refrigerator.My thermostat is adjusted to 80o in the summer and 69o in the winter.  Everything in my house is recycled thanks to our Garbage Collection company.  Unfortunately my brother lives in Castro Valley, CA. 20 miles away and Allied Waste just empties his recycle can right into the same truck and same section as the regular garbage.  Our mounds of garbage wastes energy.   I restrict water use, never just leave it running...it takes energy to pump water into our homes."

"I believe that you have to change the demand. We need to pressure people into energy conservation. A humorous TV show would be great similar to your video. Make it cool to conserve. Create the demand for cleaner fuels and whatever else there is that we can clean up and the industry will follow."

"Your wasting your time pressuring big oil companies, they make far too much money to care about you idea, and unfortunately they spend a lot of that money buying people like congressmen, you need a lot of pressure from people to get a good bill, that means convincing congressmen that if they dont do what your asking of them they're out of a job. Sheer volume of emails and letters and faxes will do it."

Well, those are few.  As I said, i have many more.  Some suggest specific policy recommendations.  Others suggest strategies for convincing the key actors to implement solutions.  I will share others in my nex tfew posts.  And we will incorporate a lot of these ideas into our own efforts.

If you see ideas you like and think you can implement them with your friends... go for it and let me know what you are doing.

'til next time... Take Care!

And if you want to sign up for our email list, you can do it on our campaign website... CleanMyRide.org.
3:44 PM 
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August 16, 2007 - Thursday 
While most of the electric and hybrid cars are very utilitarian, I just came across a car that breaks the mold... sure it is expensive, but, wow, what a sweet ride.

It is the new Tesla Roadster..


This baby goes 0-60 in 4 seconds, packs 248 HP, and get the equivalent of 135 mpg.

Wow!
Sure beats my scooter.
6:49 PM 
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August 9, 2007 - Thursday 

Category: News and Politics
I went off to the YearlyKos conference last week.  Heard a bunch of the candidates talk.  They said some good things about addressing global warming and creating energy independence, but we need to hear more from them.

So does Congress.  You can use the form on our CleanMyRide.org website to send a letter to Congress.  We have a letter pre-written there, but you can change it anyway you want to make the message YOURS.  In your own words, you are most powerful when writing Congress.

Tell Congress to put stronger measures to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions into the energy bill this fall.  Tell them why it is important to you.  That is what they need to hear.
2:48 AM 
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July 31, 2007 - Tuesday 

Category: News and Politics
Project Phin is about how a regular guy sets out to create an effective message that would mobilize all of us to take seriously the problems of our dependence on oil and global warming.  The videos focus on ways to convince people to pressure Congress to implement policies that will reduce emissions and increase fuel efficiency for cars and trucks.  Given the huge response to the videos (we are approaching 200,000 views), I thought, "If I can do it, so can anyone."

In fact, that is what this is all about, making all of our voices heard in Washington.  And anyone with a webcam and an internet connection can create their own message to Congress, put it on YouTube, MySpace, or any other video website and share it with the world.  Whether you create just a talking head video of you making your case or something more elaborate, it is all good.

So if the urge hits you and you make your own video about the need to solve these important issues, tag it "cleanmyride.org" so we can find it. 
3:26 PM 
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July 26, 2007 - Thursday 

Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
Did you see Matt Damon on the Tonight Show last night?  I am still floating on air.  They showed a clip from our video and told the world about CleanMyRide.org.  AWESOME!!!  Now the message is really getting out there.

You can watch the interview here.

Tell your friends to check it out!!!

Thanks,
Phin
4:14 PM 
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July 24, 2007 - Tuesday 
People Magazine has featured the Clean My Ride campaign on its website (here).  Check it out.  I can't tell you how exciting it is to get press coverage like this.  Maybe we have struck the right messaging to get people to talk about global warming and our dependence on foreign oil.  Maybe Congress will finally do something to significantly increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions... before it is too late.

Regardless of whether you support one type of fuel or another, it is sooooooo important that we fight to achieve these important goals... Again... increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.  That will take us much closer to our big goals of stopping global warming and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Am I sounding repetitive?  I suppose so.  But I heard repitition makes people remember the message.  Repitition helps us remember.  (I know... old, bad, dumb joke, but, hey, I am trying real hard here.)

So, go check out the People article... help make it the most popular article on their site!!!

Then go to Clean My Ride and send a message to Congress.

As always, thanks for your help.  We can do this together!
3:59 PM 
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July 23, 2007 - Monday 
Hi, I'm Phin.  If you are here, you probably already know that I am trying to make people aware of the need to lower car emissions and increase fuel efficiency.  One way that makes such complete sense to me is to make flex fuels like ethanol (e85) available at gas stations everywhere. 

I mean, think about it… what is the point of having a flex fuel car if you have to drain your fuel tank just to find a place to refill it?

That is why I started this Clean My Ride campaign.  We have to do something, now!  And we have to put pressure on Congress to make it happen.  After all, we have to take care of Mother Nature if we expect her to take care of us.

So, I set out to find a way to spread this message to everyone. 

Since you found me, my message must have reached you.  But we need more people to join us… so I am asking you to carry the message out into the world… tell your friends and family to get involved.

You can start by watching some videos I made with some pretty cool movie and TV stars at www.CleanMyRide.org.  Then, you can sign up to send a message to Congress…. And then spread the word.

We can do this together.  I know we can.  We have to!

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Phin's Blog Terms of Use

PHIN'S BLOG IS A PROJECT OF CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS ACTION FUND.  THESE TERMS OF USE SERVE AS NOTICE OF OUR RIGHT TO TAKE DOWN YOUR BLOG POSTS AND COMMENTS

Last updated: July 19, 2007

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Your comment or post may be taken down for any reason, including if you:
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8:35 PM 
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July 23, 2007 - Monday 

Category: News and Politics
What a awesome weekend! The second webisode of the "Clean my Ride, Flex my Fuel" campaign come out on Friday and I couldn't be happier with the success so far. It's great to see people commenting on the blog, watching the videos and getting their friends and family involved in this worthy cause. The more people we can reach the better, so keep it up!

I'm extra excited about this campaign because no matter what your top priorities are, chances are that almost everyone agrees it's important to take care of this Earth so we can all be here to enjoy it! It's something we can all relate to and raising awareness is a common goal we can all work towards together.

And remember, the videos will only get better with guests such as Matt Damon, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck coming up. Where else are you going to see Ben Affleck in a corn suit? Seriously…

4:00 PM 
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July 22, 2007 - Sunday 
We handed a bunch of flyers out in DC Thursday about the video webisodes.  Here is a great video on how we took the Clean My Ride campaign to the streets of DC.  Thanks to everyone who turned out Thursday.  And if you see them again, Monday morning, tell 'em hi from Phin :)


12:48 AM 
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July 20, 2007 - Friday 

Current mood:  energetic
Category: News and Politics
It is so great to see the strong support we are getting for this campaign.  Together, we can make a difference.  

Some of you have raised questions about our focus on corn-based ethanol fuel.  I hear you loud and clear.  First, let me say, we thought about dressing Ben up in a switch grass costume, but quickly nixed that idea.  I mean, how funny would it be to have him dressed as a piece of grass.  And can you imagine how much weight he would have to lose just to fit in the costume?!?!  So we went with corn.  It's recognizable. It's funny (I hope).

But there is obviously more to this than just sight gags.  So I asked my friends at the Center for American Progress Action Fund to put together a more comprehensive and technical answer to your questions.  Here is what they sent me:

"Many thanks for your thoughtful comments. You have raised some very valid points regarding the overall sustainability of corn-based ethanol and we share your concerns.

"As you know, strategies that enlist agriculture to diversify our energy sources and meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming are gaining fresh momentum from rising public concern about the increasing global demand for oil and the costs and consequences of global warming. Farm-based renewable energy, particularly sustainably produced biofuels, may offer a way forward. At this juncture, corn-based ethanol can play an important role as a transitional fuel to to replace oil while we develop biofuels made from better sources -- such as switch grass, wood chips, and agricultural waste.   The 2005 energy law requires the production of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol, which will come from corn.  A form of this fuel, e-85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) can power flexible fuel vehicles, which reduces oil use and global warming pollution.   The Wall Street Journal reports the oil companies aren't making e-85 (or flex fuel) very available -- by keeping e-85 prices off signs for instance.  Less than 1% of the 4.4 million flex fuel vehicles use it.  We want congress to mandate that big oil make e-85 available. Nonetheless, we agree with you --- we must proceed with caution.

"In order for homegrown fuels to be most effective, the Center for American Progress Action Fund is convinced we must move rapidly and deliberately beyond corn and toward the commercial development of the next generation of biofuels—advanced cellulosic biofuels derived from bulk plant matter or from sustainably grown dedicated energy crops.

"As demand for biofuels increases, we will need to enhance environmental safeguards, monitoring, and access to information regarding production processes, carbon management, and land use practices. It is essential that we provide incentives for biofuel producers to conserve land and water resources, maximize lifecycle greenhouse gas reduction methods, and grow energy crops in a sustainable manner. The use of transparent certification and labeling criteria to encourage sustainable production of biofuels is one innovative idea being promoted by the Center for American Progress. See
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/biofuel_certification.html
Biofuels are not a silver bullet solution to all of our diverse energy needs. We still have a long way to go to make the transition to advanced sustainable biofuels and to increase dedicated energy crop yields and reduce costs. We remain optimistic that an investment in advanced biofuels combined with our primary action request --- improved fuel economy --- and cleaner cars, and stronger conservation efforts, offers us an opportunity to build a better energy future. Thank you again for your input."

So there you have it.  We understand that the answer is much bigger than corn ethanol.  But, as you know from my videos, our goal is to find messaging that works…that makes people take notice of the pressing need to reduce emissions, to increase fuel efficiency, and to make available alternative fuels.

Again, thanks for your support.
5:57 PM 
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