GOP Presidential candidate John McCain has been going around touting the idea of repealing the law against offshore drilling as a way of helping America's energy crisis and relieving our dependence on foreign oil.

In response to critics who say offshore drilling isn't environmentally sound policy, Bush III says that during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, "little or no spillage took place" proving that offshore drilling's newer technologies make concerns a thing of the past.

Hold on there, buster. As Salon.com reports, 174 spills totaling about 3/4 million gallons of crude were reported during those two storms. Now that's not a huge amount of oil, to be sure, but any inadvertent spillage (can there be "advertent" spillage?) is too much weighed against the loss of wildlife, damage to beaches and waterfront homes, etc.

Lest you think, however, that I believe McCain is just as useless as the man he would follow into the White House, I think his idea of a $300 million prize for the developer of the battery technology that would led to the manufacture and sale of all-electric vehicles is a darned good one. Sure, it has some holes and the question of how you pay for it has to be answered, but that's true of both candidates' plans pre-election. The idea shows McCain is capable of having a good and at least seemingly original idea about major issues.

Let's play "what if" for a minute.

What if there was a way to get free energy to your home or business in such a way that no carbon footprint was created? Just what if it were possible to eliminate, as quickly as appropriate, all use of fossil fuels and nuclear energy and furnish power for every home and village on the planet with zero impact on the planet?

Just play along for a minute. What would happen? Could such a technology actually disrupt the $20 trillion energy business with a technology suite that nobody could put a meter on? Would the existing energy infrastructure, on the brink of collapse, find a way to prevent this from happening? Should the inventor(s) of this brilliant new theoretical energy source be allowed to bring his product to market? Or is the worldwide socio-economic impact of such a plan so disruptive that it ought not be allowed to see the light of day regardless of its potentially world-changing impact?

If Dr. Stephen Greer has his way, we may face that decision within the next 18 months. Greer, who is (in)famous for having brought the glare of publicity to bear on the UFO question by means of his highly successful Disclosure Project over the past few years, has just launched a new effort called The Orion Project. His goal is nothing less than to "inform, educate, and help supply all peoples of our planet with sustainable, non-polluting power."

Without going into details -- I encourage you to visit the Web site to read as much as you like -- Dr. Greer's first effort is to raise $3 million to put the first phase of this effort into place. He doesn't see this happening through the usual high-profile investment sources because they're all tied into the group he calls the "petro-elite." He's asking ordinary people to donate $30 or more to his 501c(3) non-profit foundation to fund this first research.

I don't know if any or all of what he says makes any sense. But I like his approach. I like his attitude. And I like his cause. $3 million is nothing. I'd like to see him have that chance. How about you?

Famed activist and spiritual leader Van Jones inspires higher thinking and clearer action in this one-minute must-see video:

Ever since former Vice-President Al Gore -- the man who used to be the next President of the United States until the GOP flat-out stole the election -- won the Nobel Peace Prize, the media has been clamoring for him to enter the presidential lottery once again.

Not one person of repute from Gore's family or circle of friends and not one knowledgeable Democratic Party leader has seriously suggested Gore might make another run at the White House. Gore, for his part, has consistently denied any interest in running or holding the office. Yet every time you hear Gore's name mentioned these days, the media focus is on the "Will he or won't he?" question rather on the "Look what he's done and is doing" aspect of this great man's life.

Until and unless Gore announces his plans to run for the White House, it is dishonest and petty for the media to continue to downplay his power, popularity and vision on the environment so they can speculate about something about which their ignorance knows no bounds.

Former Vice-President of the United States. Elected President by the people, denied the office by the GOP and the Supreme Court. Nobel Peace Prize winner. Not to mention years and years of public service in the Congress. Isn't that enough for one man's life?

Yeesh.