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December 10, 2009 Global Warming, Fact of Fiction? As I see it, the question of whether or not Global Warming, or Climate Change, is fact or fiction is a moot question. The bottom line is simply this. All of the proposed solutions to Global Warming and Climate Change are good for the environment, good for the economy, create jobs and make for a cleaner, and safer world. No one in their right mind can reasonably complain about a cleaner, safer world with less pollution. The only ones that can complain about that are those threatened by change such as the real Axis of Evil, Big Oil, Big Coal, and Big Nuclear. Oh, and how can I forget, those elected officials that the Axis has in their pockets. The big news these days are the e-mails that supposedly expose some great big conspiracy among scientists to hide information that reportedly indicates some kind of cooling trend taking place. That means nothing to me. Even if it is true, you have to look at the intention. Those that oppose alternative energy and the other solutions to our energy problems and environmental issues are claiming the whole thing is a hoax. Well, I think we all know the answer to that. Remember, these are the same people that defend the Bush Administrations war with Iraq that was based on lies fed to the United States Congress, the American People and the entire world and that has affected hundreds of thousands of lives. So I say, get over it, move on and do what needs to be done for a safer, cleaner world through the use of alternative energy.
October 02, 2009 Something to Think About Here is a quote I found on the FAQ page of the Yes Men website (http://theyesmen.org), that I though was very appropriate for this day and age with some of the problems facing us in this country and around the world. As a foot note, check out the Yes Men website and another one that I find interesting is Beyond Talk, (http://www.beyondtalk.net). If you want to be involved, here is a place to do that. The Quote: "For
Obama's election to bear real fruit, we need public outrage. That's
the missing ingredient, a crucial part of democracy. There's nothing
mysterious about it: when Obama finds himself cornered by industrial
lobbyists, he needs to be able to point out the window (or at CNN)
and say "Sorry, I can't do what you're asking me to - those
people won't let me."
October 02, 2009 The Point of Critical Mass Sorry for being gone for so long. We have had to take a step back, we, that
would be me and the mouse in my pocket. It has been a difficult
summer not just for me, but as we all know, for millions and
millions of us. As it would appear, things are looking up a bit as
far as the economic catastrophe we have been facing. The interesting thing about these problems we
currently face, the economy, the environment, energy etcetera, is
that they are all intertwined in a way that cannot be untangled. As
I see it, you cannot deal with one without dealing with all. Taking
it a step further, you cannot address energy, the economy, health
care, and the environment without also addressing government reform.
I say this because our government is tainted and has little or no
interested in what is actually best for the PEOPLE in regards
to the above mentioned issues. Most of our Congress, Senators and
Representatives, are on someone's payroll, and I am not talking
about ours. A great deal of these bozos are being paid more money
that what we pay them to represent the interests of those
corporations who are the highest bidders. It is so painfully obvious
at this point in time and it absolutely must stop. This country
cannot survive otherwise. To give you an example of what is going on in
Washington, according to opensecrets.org, in the first nine months
of 2008 the pharmaceutical industry spent $171.7 million dollars on
lobbing our Congress and projects that the total spent in 2008 will
be greater than the $225.9 million spent in 2007. That's a quarter
of a billion dollars folks, and that's just the pharmaceutical
industry and does not include health care, big coal, big nuclear,
big oil and so one, and so on, and so on. Much of this money spent
has come in the form of campaign contributions for both Republicans
and Democrats; both parties are guilty of sin. We have to put a stop
to this; we have to take our country back. As long as this type of corruption continues,
and I use the word "corruption" intentionally, there is
simply no way we will ever get reform on any of these issues. Health
care is owned by the insurance and pharmaceutical industries as is
our Congress. Big oil, big coal, and big nuclear own our energy
industry and our Congress. The war machine, the defense contractors
who are in cahoots with the energy industry own not only Congress,
but the Pentagon as well. Right now we are fighting wars for oil,
and they are gearing up to fight wars for water. It’s coming.
Check out what the World Bank is doing. The Pentagon has plans in
place to deal with the water wars. The powers that be are working
very have to make water a commodity just like oil is now, to be
traded, bought and sold. This all has to be stopped, and it can be,
it’s simply all about the will of the people. Who are the people,
you, me, our neighbors, everyone. There are many groups out there
working hard to make real change in this country and around the
world, but as I see it, unless these groups start working together
there is no way to counter these corporations that are currently
setting policy in Washington. These companies have virtually
unlimited resources and will fight as hard as they can to defend
their turf. It will take a concerted effort to combat these entities. None of what I have talked about here is
conspiracy theory; it is all real and current. Don't believe me;
check it out for your selves. Over the course of the next few
months, I will be working on trying to get certain organizations
including the ACGE to pool resources and efforts to make a
difference. If you are interested in being involved then please let
me know. Change has to start somewhere, and unfortunately it would
appear that it did not start in January of this year. I still
believe in President Obama, but even the President by himself cannot
fight and win this battle. It’s going to take all of us. We need
to make much more noise than the tea baggers and Fox News who of
course are pawns of the corporate machine.
Here is an article from the Nuclear Information and Resource Service written by Michael Mariotte THE DIRTY DOZEN ONLY YOU CAN STOP THEM Below is a list of 12 Senators: the Dirty Dozen. These 12 Senators are the ones who are leading the charge to force new nuclear reactors on the American public, regardless of the costs, regardless of the dangers, regardless of the lethal radioactive waste these reactors would create, regardless of the plentiful safer, cleaner, cheaper energy sources available. They are the ones who are this week pushing amendments to President Obama's FY 2010 budget, trying to pave the way for more taxpayer subsidies for new nuclear reactors later this year. They are the ones who tried to get $50 billion in taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactors in February--but they were defeated then. And they can be defeated now--with your help. Pick up the phone and call your Senators, and tell them to vote against any and all amendments (and there are a number of them) to the budget bill that would provide subsidies for nuclear power. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121. And if your Senator is listed below, you might want to call him (this list is all men) and give him a piece of your mind: tell him to try representing his constituents for once instead of the nuclear power industry! If you haven't yet sent an e-mail to your Senators, please do so here. If you have sent your e-mail, forward this Alert to five of your friends and ask them to contact their Senators as well. Votes on these amendments are likely to begin tonight (appropriately, April Fool's Day, in honor of the fools pushing nuclear technology), and continue throughout the day Thursday and perhaps Friday. We know we've been asking a lot of you already this year. That's because the nuclear industry is getting desperate, and they're doing everything they can to get more of your money, since they can't raise any of their own. We thank you for all your activism and action, and we hope you'll keep it up now and throughout the year. And we also thank you for your contributions to support this campaign to stop taxpayer subsidies for new nuclear reactors. We're only able to do this with your help: if you haven't made a small donation yet, please do so now. Your support is very gratefully appreciated. Thanks for all you do, Michael Mariotte Executive Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service THE DIRTY DOZEN Sen Barrasso, John [R-WY]Sen Bennett, Robert F. [R-UT] Sen Brownback, Sam [R-KS] Sen Cornyn, John [R-TX] Sen Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY] Sen Graham, Lindsey [R-SC] Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] Sen Inhofe, James M. [R-OK] Sen Risch, James E. [R-ID] Sen Vitter, David [R-LA] Sen Voinovich, George V. [R-OH] Sen McCain, John, [R-AZ]
The Big Green Solar Bus With our commitment to the education of Alternative Energy in this country, we are formulating a plan to go to the schools to help educate our children about energy in this country, its past, present and future. One of the key components of this program will be "The Big Green Solar Bus" and it will be exactly that. We will be purchasing a old school bus as pictured and converting to a class room on wheels and painting it green of course. The bus will run on B-100 (100% bio-diesel).
As soon as funding is available we will embark on this project. As important as Alternative Energy is to us now, it is much more important to the kids. This mess we have created, we created but it is their future unless we take action. It is our responsibility to start to fix the problems now and teach them not to make the same mistakes we have and to be better stewards of the environment. That is the purpose behind the Big Green Solar Bus. We would like to have a fleet of these all over the country.
The "Solar Fair" in Los Angeles
January 18, 2008 Rechargeable Electric Lawnmowers According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lawn mowers are responsible for 5% of air pollution, use 800 million gallons of gas a year, and one gas powered lawn mower produces the same emissions as 43 cars traveling 12,000 miles each. 17 million gallons of gasoline is spilled each year while refueling lawn and garden equipment.Neuton Power Equipment of Vergennes Virginia is now offering two models of electric battery operated lawnmowers and a electric battery operated garden cart. These rechargeable machines help put an end to all of the above as far as the machine its self is concerned and if you link it to a solar charging system it becomes (post manufacturer) a 100% emission free machine, and is much quieter then its conventional predecessor.
Neuton has teamed up with the South Coast Air Quality Management District in Southern California to offer a Lawn Mower Exchange Program allowing people to sign up to exchange their working gas powered lawn mower for a new Neuton mower for $100.00 for the 14 inch or $160.00 for the 19 inch model, a tremendous savings. One would be hard pressed to find a good gas lawnmower for $100.00 much less one of these environmentally harmless electric ones. If you live in Orange, Los Angeles or San Bernardino, (except high desert) counties you can and should take advantage of this program if you have the means. Here is the website: http://www.aqmd.gov/tao/lawnmower.html For more information on Neuton Power Equipment please go to: http://www.neutonpower.com Its well worth the visit.
December 15, 2008 We are surrounded Everywhere you look these days, if you look, you will see answers to so many of our problems. We have solutions to all of our energy problems, we have solutions to our economic problems (see solutions to our energy problems). We have breakthroughs in the health and medical fields that are nothing short of miraculous. We have solutions to solve food shortage problems around the world. I would like to talk a little about that, humans need alternative energy too.As the earths population rises, and it is rising, the question of feeding all those people has been pondered for a very long time. The answer has been to use more and more land for farms however that involves putting our forests at risk, water issues and continually using pesticides and fertilizers that are harmful to not only the environment but to people and animals as well. Then there is the problem of farm land continually being snatched up for urban expansion, and it is a problem. We strip the forests, grow food for a while then build houses on the land. People would argue that there is plenty of land and will continue to make that argument until there isn't any left. It should painfully obvious to everyone at this point that the so called doom sayers are generally right and they say that yes, we will run out of land and food. There is also the question of conservation.
You build a tall building, 20 or 30 stories near or in large urban areas, in the cities. You use advanced hydroponics and grow vegetables and fruit and raise chickens and other farm animals. You utilize wind and solar energy generation, water recycling and geo thermal systems for climate control. Methane from the animals can used as fuel and all the plant waist can be used to make bio fuel as well. These high rise farms can be almost completely stand alone without the need for any outside energy sources with the exception of less then 5% of the water that a conventional farm uses and much of that is recycled and can also be collected through rain water collection systems. Advanced hydroponics yield 15 times more crop per acre then a conventional farm and there is no need for heavy equipment, pesticides, fertilizers, runoff or long range OTR shipping since the building is in or near urban centers. Based on the carbon footprint of a conventional farm, these buildings have none in comparison. That frees up all that farm land to return to its natural way or it can be used to grow lets say switch grass for bio fuel. At least it solves the problem of food vs. energy or biodegradable materials grown. Think of what these farms could do in places like Africa. Each 30 story building is projected to have the capacity to feed 50,000 people and feed them well. They can be built and operate virtually anywhere where there is sun and wind and access to a very small amount of water. With water desalination technology where it is today water is not an issue in this case. Once again problem solved, just a matter of will to make it happen. There are several countries preparing to build full scale prototypes. I am looking into whether or not this country is preparing to do the same, if not we need to. We will be working on that. Want to help?
November 25, 2008 The Price of Gasoline With all the other major problems we face today there is real relief in the fall in the price of oil and the slowly receding price of gasoline. It always amazes me that when the price of a barrel of oil goes up $5 the price of gas goes up accordingly within just a few days but when the price of the same barrel of oil drops, don't hold your breath for that drop in the price of gas.Some claim, such as the oil companies, that the huge price increase we saw over the summer and the recent drop in price of oil are due to the oil futures market. When oil almost hit $150.00 a barrel it sparked much public discussion about alternative fuel sources. I am not a futures investment expert nor do I have a inside track on the oil companies but it seems strange to me that right when this discussion peaked the price of oil started to drop dramatically, and its not the first time in our history that this has happened. Exxon Mobile posted yet again record breaking quarterly profits this year and they claim the price is due to futures speculation? You cant tell me that the oil companies are not directly responsible for the fluctuation in the price of oil and gasoline. I support corporations desire to be profitable but again, there is a line of social responsibility especially during these troubled times and once again the oil companies have crossed that line. Please, do not be fooled by this big drop in oil prices. I can assure you that the rapid increases we saw over last summer will repeat again and again until we as a country put a stop to it. I am not a huge supporter of federal regulation in the free market but in some cases it makes sense. The major drivers of our economy such as energy and credit should be regulated in a way that maintains the markets ability to be profitable but not in a way that puts us in the situation we find ourselves in today. In the immortal words of Gordon Gekko in the motion picture Wall Street... "The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good." I agree with what Mr. Gekko says as well as just about every CEO out there, but I agree that it works only in moderation. The major global financial crises we are muddling through is due to excessive greed and lack of oversight and regulation. So as we make this transition from a oil based economy to a renewable clean energy economy we must take a hard look at fair, equitable and mutually beneficial regulations and federal oversight to benefit us all.
November 12, 2008 The Proposed Gas Tax Oh, boo hiss. Everyone cringes at the possibility of a increase in gas taxes and understandably so, if you look at it in a short sighted manner.If you look at the long term big picture your view should change. If you live in Europe you are well versed in gas taxes. When gas in the US is $2.50 a gallon, it is over $5.00 a gallon in over there and its not a so much a difference in what they pay for a barrel of oil. The difference is gas taxes. Now I don't believe that those kind of excessive gas taxes are remotely necessary, I do however believe a small gas tax is very viable and necessary. This country uses 400 million gallons of gas a day. That's over 1.4 trillion gallons a year. Say we had a .50 cent a gallon gas tax increase, that would create $700 billion in additional tax revenue. If we took half that money, $3.5 billion, and say put it into our infrastructure, roads, bridges and such think about the jobs that would create. If we took the other half and used it for improving our public transportation system, same result. Give the money to the states to be used for those purposes. Some of the money could be used to further our alternative energy infrastructure as well. Nothing is free, everything cost money. If want to have the best roads, the best and safest and if we want to catch up with many other western countries in the public transportation arena its going to cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere. With all the other problems facing this country, we cant continue to borrow the money we need to fix those problems from other countries, we have to generate it here. It may hurt a little for a while, but if handled properly, only for a while. If we can make the transition from the traditional forms of energy to renewables and do it right then we can get away from the out of control fluctuations of energy prices and the extreme threat to our economy and national security it poses.
October 30, 2008 The Auto Industry Bailout There is a big discussion going on with many supporting and many against the proposed US Auto Manufacturers bailout. Here is our take on that. The US Automobile Industry is vitally important on two fronts, first is the economic front that speaks for its self. Then there is the alternative energy opportunity that presents its self here. It should me mandatory that if we, the taxpayers, pump money into the US Automotive Industry that there be many strings attached. Such as, any retooling done must be for the manufacture of flex fuel, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. No money should be used for any vehicle that gets less then say 40 MPG, or more.All new vehicles within the next two years must flex fuel, built to run on both regular gasoline (E15) and E-85 (85% Ethanol, 15%gas), mandatory. Every year the minimum fuel economy standards should go up by 2 to 5 percent. A percentage of every vehicle built should be either all electric or plug-in hybrid, say 40 percent within the next 5 years. Its not as if the technology doesn't exist. It is also imperative that the Government offer good tax incentives for businesses and and individuals to purchase these autos, preferable those built in the US by Americans. This would include foreign manufactures building cars here in the US. If a foreign manufacturer that is not building cars in this country wants to take advantage of the incentives, then they need to build plants here, hire American workers and build cars here. We also would support a increased import tax on non US build automobiles. When it comes to domestic car manufacturers and foreign car manufactures the line has become very fuzzy. GM, Ford and Chrysler build a large percentage of their cars in foreign countries. If you look at any price sticker on any domestic vehicles it will tell you the percentage breakdown of domestic manufacture vs. foreign. You will be hard pressed to find one listed at 100% US. The same goes for foreign manufactures, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Honda all have manufacturing plants here in the US, to name a few. These cars built here should be included in the incentives since these companies have created good jobs here in the US. It is true when someone says that we don't owe the "Big Three" anything. They have been slow to react and seem to operate with a fear for change. That must change and now. The fact is that the Automobile Industry is a large part of our economy and should be supported, but in a way the beneficial for all. We must create new jobs and protect those existing jobs especially during this fragile economic time. So, if you agree and even if you don't, speak your mind. E-mail, call or send a letter to your representative in Congress and make your voice heard.
October 30, 2008 Ah, Natural Gas As our country struggles to make decisions over our energy future, there are those working very hard to protect their interests. I don't fault anyone from doing so however, there are those that do not take into consideration the over all picture, those that cant see past the dollar signs. Everyone, regardless of who they are or how much money they have are bound by the same thing as the rest of us. We all have to maintain a acceptable and reasonable level of social and environmental responsibility. For those that don't, it is our responsibility to force them to do so.We do not support "Clean Coal", they are the extreme example of gross social and environmental irresponsibility. We do not support Nuclear Power for the same reasons as Coal. We do not support drilling off the coasts or in protected areas, its not necessary. We also do not support oil shale or oil sands due to the damage done through strip mining or situ leaching processes needed to extract the oil. WE DO support the wide spread use of Natural Gas as a transitional fuel while we fine tune the alternatives. It is much cleaner then any of the old school fuels. Natural Gas is abundant, we have lots of it, the infrastructure is basically in place, cars and trucks can be converted and ALL coal fired power plants CAN be retrofitted to burn the much cleaner Natural Gas as opposed to coal. Write your Congressmen, tell them to force the energy industry to make the change over to Natural Gas, stop the environmental and social devastation currently being created by "Clean Coal" and Nuclear power.
October 30, 2008 Bakken oil, North Dakota, Montana and T. Boone Pickens. Well folks, I thought this might be something that would buy some time to aid us with bridging the gap between the old and the new when it comes to fueling our vehicles without the "perceived" need for drilling in the ocean or ANWR. Apparently I read two wrong articles. It just goes to show you that the truth is not always apparent and readily available whether intentional or accidental. So here is the truth about the so called "oil boom" in North Dakota and Montana, the Bakken formation.What I had read and heard is that there is hundreds of billions of barrels of oil in these areas, that it is a "American Saudi Arabia". Well the truth is that according to the USGS there is at best 4.3 billion barrels of "technologically recoverable oil". To put this into perspective the Saudi reserves are estimated at 250 billion barrels and 4.3 billion barrels of oil is roughly nine months of oil consumption here in the US. Not very exciting. Then you have to consider the meaning behind "technologically recoverable oil". This is not a pool of oil under the ground, it is oil shale, to put it simply oil mixed in with rocks. Some can be pumped out of the ground but the bulk has to be either strip mined or force extracted which requires huge amounts of water and can potentially contaminate ground water sources. Shell Oil is working on a process where they can reduce the possibility of ground water contamination but it is very expensive. So again we are faced with the reality of the true cost of oil as a fuel. We stand behind our position supporting alternatives now as opposed to later. We agree with T. Boone Pickens when he calls for a greater use of Natural Gas now as a bridge to alternatives and the aggressive use now of wind and solar,. However we do not support any additional drilling for oil in the ocean, ANWR or any other protected environments. Natural Gas is abundant, cheaper and far less polluting then oil. According to the USGS we have 164 Trillion cubic feet of Natural Gas reserves. If forced to choose between oil or Natural Gas I would pick Natural Gas every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Our ultimate goal of course is to move totally to alternative green sustainable energy resources in the very near future. We have the technology, we just need the will, there are no more excuses.
October 08, 2008 Beware of Scammers Please, if you are considering installing a alternative energy system, pay very close attention to the company you hire to install the system. As with everything else, there are a small percentage of alternative energy companies that are not doing business in a above board way and are either not giving you correct information, inflating output estimates and some are simply taking the money and running off. This is the exception to the rule however be diligent and protect yourself. Check references and see the work they do in advance and never make full payment up front. There are many good honest businesses out there but it only take one time to really hurt so please be careful.
September 25, 2008 President Bush, John McCain and Barack Obama all support "Clean Coal". We Disagree "Clean Coal" is a technology that dramatically reduces the carbon output along with reductions in the other toxic emissions from the burning of coal. This technology is still in the development stage. This is a very exciting technology and can have a tremendous positive impact on our energy needs, that is until you read the fine print.There are three stages to "clean coal". First is mining, then the cleaning, then the burning. Back in the old days, coal was mined underground, there are still a very few underground mines in this country. Remember the coal mine collapse in Utah? The one that killed six men? In the latter half of the 20th century, coal companies found another type of mining that was faster and cheaper then underground mining. It is open pit mining, AKA strip mining. This is the widely accepted process in the coal industry today. It is also the most environmentally destructive form of mining known to man. "Strip Mining" includes open pit mining and mountain top removal mining. Mountain top removal mining is exactly what it describes. Starting at the top of the mountain, it is pulled down until the coal is reached. This process is currently being used on a large scale in the Appalachia Mountains in West Virginia and surrounding states.
There is continuing negative impact on the environment after the coal has been mined. For more information please go to the "Coal" page on this website. The bottom line here is that "Clean Coal" simply does not exist, not now, not later, it is an oxymoron. Yes, it is hugely abundant and with the use of mountain top removal mining and open pit mining it is very inexpensive to harvest. However when taking into consideration the damage done to the environment and the cost of creating clean burning coal it is not nearly as viable as wind, solar, tidal, hydro, thermal and bio fuel technologies. If the coal industry can prove that it can function in as environmentally friendly way as the alternatives mentioned we would welcome it with open arms.
August 31, 2008 President Bush again pushes for Off Shore Drilling The President again has stated his position on off shore drilling for the purpose of relieving this countries dependence on foreign oil and the high cost of fuel. The President is blaming the Democrats in Congress for blocking relief for Americans. This may be true, if you really stretch the truth and that's not to say the the Bush administration knows anything about stretching the truth.The president claims that by drilling off shore, and that includes east coast, west coast and areas in the gulf not yet being drilled will bring down the cost of oil and bring relief to all Americans. Every study I have seen states that any new drilling, off shore or in ANWR will not bring any relief for at the very least five years and the latest Energy Information Administration study states no noticeable relief until 2030.
The Democrats claim that the high price of oil is due to speculation in the oil futures market. The Republicans claim that it is supply and demand. Our question is what does it matter? High oil prices are here to stay no matter what we do. It could be much worse, look at UK, Italy and Denmark. We are ranked 6th worldwide.
Here is a very good article on offshore drilling and oil shale mining. If this country took the money and resources required to undertake this plan to drill for oil and used it to move alternative energy and bio fuels forward then there would be no need to pursue this proposed additional drilling. I challenge anyone on that statement. It is my personal opinion that our President's short sightedness is supported by his interest in making sure the Oil Industry is secure for a very long time. Remember just a few months ago his response to the question posed by a reporter about the possibility of $4 a gallon gasoline was that he had not heard anything about that. This is the same President calling for a solution to a problem that could take up to 22 years to propagate. This is a President that simply ignored the experts who predicted our current situation many years ago with a blatant disregard for for the well being of all Americans. Congress is just as guilty if not more so. It is our position that the solution does not lie in more drilling. The solution comes from a well orchestrated combination of alternative fuel technology, dramatically increased fuel economy standards and a aggressive implementation of electric and plug in hybrid technology for cars and trucks. We must develop and build large scale efficient mass transit systems such as high speed rail lines such as the one going before voters in California's November ballot. Alternative energy systems today have the potential to replace a huge portion of our energy needs in the form of wind, solar, tidal, hydro and bio fuels right now. Can you image where they will be in 22 years, about the time this drilling pays off? The bottom line is that we have the technology, we just need the will to make it happen. People need to understand that there may be some minor sacrifices, but very little. The alternatives are real and very exciting. We must make the right choices and decisions for both long term and short term. There is no longer any reasonable arguments against the alternatives but there are certainly reasonable, responsible and logical arguments against the past and present oil based system that some are trying to push into the future.
August 15, 2008 California Residence Vote for High Speed Rail California Residence have the opportunity in November to vote in the first real high speed rail system in the US. A 220 MPH line from San Diego to San Francisco and Sacramento.We support this. It should be the beginning to a nationwide high speed rail system. For more information go to "Transportation" on this site or click here for the state website.
July 10, 2008 There is a battle ramping up in this country. It will be a fight between "Big Energy" or as I like to call it the Real Axis of Evil being the Coal Industry, the Oil Industry and the Nuclear Energy Industry against the Alternative Energy Industry, Bio-fuels, Wind, Solar, Tidal ect. Its obvious which side I will be fighting for. This is not a battle being fought using conventional weapons, it is a battle being fought with information, popular opinion and with our elected public officials as weapons. The Axis is a formable foe in the fact that they have relatively unlimited resources and some very carefully thought out and delivered propaganda. If you watch television you know what I mean. Coal under the guise of the American Coalition for Clean Electricity is touting "Clean Coal Energy" which is nothing short of a lie. There is no such thing as clean coal, it is by far the dirtiest form of energy we use and is the worst threat to our environment. See the Coal page on this website for more information. The Nuclear Industry is is playing the same game under the guise of "Areva". This is their alliance group and they are talking about how clean and safe their energy source is, well again, have a look at the Nuclear page on this site and decide for your self. Then their is Big Oil. I don't need to say much about this, most everyone knows about these guys. There are several companies playing the alternative energy research card as well as pushing their old fashioned agendas, drill drill drill. I can not at this time say whether or not their talk about alternative energy is real or just a public relations ploy, we are looking into it. It is also important to understand what oil shale is all about. This is another source the oil companies want to tap. Have you ever heard of strip mining? For more information on this go to the oil and coal pages. The other side of this struggle is Alternative Energy. One can no longer make the argument that it is too expensive and that the technology has not reach the point of reliability and availability. The best weapon Alternative Energy has in its arsenal is the truth. There is nothing to hide and there is no need to lie when talking about these sources. Sure, its not perfect but I can assure you it is by far the very best most logical solution to our energy problems and the threat to our national security that the oil, coal and nuclear industries pose. In order for the truth to get out, it is imperative that we educate the people of this country. If you walk down the street and ask 10 people what they know about coal most will tell you that "clean coal energy" is a good solution to our energy needs. Why do that say this? Well, because the coal industry is talking and in a big way. Unfortunately they are not speaking the truth. Its all about marketing and the Axis knows this. They use marketing and media to their full advantage while shoveling lies upon the American people. I believe that we need to fight fire with water. We need to start a very aggressive marketing campaign in the name of Alternative Energy that speaks only of the truth. In association with our ally Clean Green Productions we are planning this marketing strategy starting out with documentary film and moving into all other forms of media. This is a overwhelming undertaking and it will require major cooperation and a great deal of money. If you are interested in helping please contact us. In conclusion: Please do not believe anything you read on this site. You can believe it but do your own research. Find out for yourself but PLEASE whatever you do make sure you are making a well informed and educated assessment of our energy present and future. Spread the word and make sure your representative in Washington knows your position. Thanks for your time
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18 2008
President George Bush stood up in front of the country today in an attempt to apply pressure on Congress to allow drilling in Anwr and off the west coast and to pursue strip mining for shale oil as a response to the high cost of oil. I would like to respond to that speech. The President claims that opening these areas to drilling would in fact lower the cost of oil and move us closer to energy independence. Before I continue it is very important to note that this President is an oil man. He and his family are deeply invested in oil not to mention a great deal of his buddies including Mr. Cheney. I wont say that has anything to do with the Presidents decision making, I will leave that up to you, do the math. The President also made a point that this country has not built any new refineries in the last 40 years and claims again, that building new refineries is also part of the answer. Also mentioned was the extraction of shale oil which is simply rocks with oil in them and involves "surface mining" which is a nice way to say strip mining. This was the bulk of his speech. Congress, namely the Democrats claim that the oil industry is sitting on millions of acres of untapped leased land for drilling and simply does not need more. I cant speak to that, perhaps it is true but for me that means nothing and I will explain. This country has reached a crossroads, we need to make a decision and a commitment. Do we continue to pursue the old way of drilling and strip mining for our energy? Do we continue to keep our dependence on imported oil as one of if not the biggest risk to our national security? Do we spend billions of dollars on locating new oil reserves and building new refineries to service them and deal with the environmental impact of that decision? Or, do we take that money and invest it in alternative green renewable energy resources? If this countries government wishes to continue to drill and strip mind for oil in an attempt to lower the cost like our President wants the bottom line is that any new drilling or any new mining for shale oil will not have any affect on our energy situation for at least 3 to 5 years. Perhaps even longer, 10 years. It does create some jobs, but it also creates a hazardous risk to our environment. The cost in the long run is considerably higher then anyone now claims and does very little to nothing in both the long term and the short term to relieve the high cost of energy we now face. No matter what we do at this point with fossil fuels, we are stuck with the high costs and the negative environmental impact. It wont get better, it will just just get worse. For about the same cost of what the President has proposed we can start a very aggressive alternative fuel program and build up the infrastructure. We focus on plug in hybrid technology for cars that get 100+ MPG and electric cars that simply don't use liquid fuel. We start a very aggressive Ethanol (E-85) program using switch grass instead of corn and build refineries, AKA Biorefineries instead of oil refineries. Make it mandatory that every car sold in this country be flex fuel including plug in hybrids and standard hybrids. Basically any vehicle that uses gas be capable of running on E-85 within say two years. There is a company called Flex Fuel US that manufactures kits to convert any car built since 1995 to a flex fuel capability that has just passed all EPA requirements. If a rebate program or tax incentive program could be put in place so people could afford to convert their cars to E-85 capability this would cover considerably more then 50% of all the cars on the road today. Once the supply of E-85 is sufficient for nationwide distribution then we take every gas station that offers three grades of fuel and simply replace one of them with E-85. At least 80% of the cars on the road today can run on regular gas, the others have to run on premium so you replace the mid grade. Keep in mind that E-85 is a much higher octane fuel then premium at 105 octane. No need to drill for more oil. This is of course the readers digest version but I challenge anyone to make a reasonable and logical argument against it. If we are considering building new refineries, then why not make them biorefineries. If we are going to spend the money to search and drill for more oil for fuel, why not just plant it? If there is any question in your mind about the benefits of switch grass as a bio fuel source go to the switch grass page and look at the information linked there, it will simply amaze you. The fact of the matter is with technology where it is today and where it will be tomorrow there is an intelligent, reasonable and logical argument against the continued use of fossil fuels as biggest reliance for our transportation energy. The argument also stands against any further major investment both financially and environmentally for the purpose of drilling or mining for oil. We either need to trump Big Oil in this venture or force them to move rapidly in this direction and I don't think it is unreasonable for this country to reduce our need for foreign oil by 50% within 5 years and 100% within ten without any new drilling. That's foreign oil imports, not just oil. This country still produces 8.2 million barrels of oil a day, more then enough using the above technologies in the short term. The bottom line is it is up to Congress to make this happen, write to them, call them, demand this.
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