While delayed in a New York Airport (LAG) this past weekend because of mechanical failures of our US Airways plane I had the opportunity to relax and read some newspapers and magazines. Have you ever notice how much of the print media has junk articles? We are trying to make people aware of a product they all use and one that may make their lives easier and give them a career.
It was amazing to see the speed in which the congress acted in reaction to the telemarketers’ plans to fight the do-not-call-list. How non-partisan the action was and reflected the true strength of the American government. We need the same reaction to the problem of pollution from fossil fuels, the many illnesses and deaths from their effects on the environment. We need a major battle to become "energy independent"!
The current weekly edition of Time Magazine has an article on “The Great Energy Scam”, please check it out and spread the article (along with this Newsletter)! Where is your money going?
In this issue we have some new sections;
Inventors - Hopefully we will have some possible ideas in the energy field to report on. Send in your energy ideas and we will add them to our list!
Wind Ideas - design the site to increase the wind current. Have you ever heard of the canyon or tunnel effect of the wind in the cities? Well I have two garage doors and a door from the garage that is across from my porch door. When I open all the doors I get a good wind passing through. We need to not only pick sites for their wind capability but to think about how we can increase the efficiency of the wind.
What if the rotors where longer and passed through several stators so that one rotor would handle several motors? The rotor could be balanced with magnetic fields so that very little friction would be present.
Solar Ideas - USA's Peacemaker latest show was about a solar engine back in the 1800's. The idea was that Standard Oil wanted the solar engine because if you can't shut them up you buy them out to preserve your market. What a novel idea!
Hydro Ideas - A tube that could be inserted into a stream that would allow water to flow through, not disturb the environment, and have a deflector at an angle to direct fish and other materials to be pushed out the side without passing through the fins. Thousands of these tubes could be used in fast running streams throughout the country to produce electric.
Blackouts - we start to record the history of blackouts and how they occurred along with what was done to prevent it in the future.
Farmers - Energy generation as a crop! Combine energy and farm crops for income building. A new "back to the land" movement! Solar, wind and hydro need little intervention and farms have land.
New Materials - what and how new materials will effect energy generation.
Short Notes:
This past week the entire country of Italy was blacked out and several countries are debating its cause. Italy is blaming Sweden, France is saying it was a limb that shorted a line in Sweden. Sweden says it was due to a problem with how a French electrical system handled the grid. Sounds similar to the recent blackout in the northeast. All accusations but no solutions.
+++++
This week’s TV show NCIS was about terrorists who were going to blow up three power towers which would knock out the power grid from the east to the mid-west. Have you yet read “Brittle Power”?
+++++
Why are there so many venture capitalist looking for deals in the renewable energy field? The anticipation of better short term returns and once the equipment is paid for all the electric is income for a great long-term return. The need for electric continues to grow and if the current polluting electric companies are sued for polluting the price will also go up.
+++++
How about more of an effort being applied to advances and information on products in the home electrical generation field. What if every home was a generator rather than a consumer of electric. If apartment houses had solar arrays and wind turbines on their roofs? Remember when roofs where loaded with TV antennas before cable came along? Some may even remember the old water tanks on some. Designers could improve on the aesthetics of the devices and give them eye appeal and may even add to the appearance of the whole architecture of the building.
+++++
Department of Prisons should manufacture solar cells and wind turbines to keep the costs low, payback the society they offended and to teach a career to inmates. It would benefit society more and give them an opportunity for a career when they are released.
+++++
Are there any mutual funds that invest in renewable energy companies?
+++++
There are currently 104 nuclear power plants in the USA and they generate almost 20% of our nation's electric. No new ones have been licensed since 1979 and Three Mile Island. Since then they have had increased approval and operating costs. Whether it is increased approval time, additional insurance and safety costs, and greater oversight from regulatory agencies the startup costs have made it a poor bet to start a new plant. The Federal Government should avoid subsidizing these poor bets but put the incentives into clean renewable electric. Not only are their waste long-term polluting sources from radioactive waste but they are also terrorist targets and ring down real estate values in a wide area around them.
+++++
Clean renewable energy should be a non-partisan issue. Shouldn’t it or will the parties divide on this issue too?
+++++
Will utility companies welcome independent power producers? We would like to hear from our readers with their stories.
+++++
Who should control the power grid? Current estimates are that over $50 billion will be needed to upgrade it. Not only does its capacity needs to be upgraded but also segmented better so that gateways to other segments can be shutdown to avoid wide spread blackouts but also to provide connection should additional electric be needed. Our current grid consists of three independent grids that cannot assist each other as many of us in the northeast have found out in the last blackout. Currently almost half of the electric generated is lost over the grid due to distance, older transformers and other problems. The end user pays for these problems whether directly in their rates or by taxes that subsidizes power plants. Supporting distributed generation would lower the loses, allow for quicker restoration in power outages and create more independent power producers. While our capacity increases it isn't keeping up with demand.
+++++
Utility and energy trader corruption while greatly impacting the consumer has had little enforcement activity.
+++++
Check with these agencies for news in the renewable energy field, business financing and mortgages.
+++++
Quick Links:
How Does Our Current
Power System Work?
+++++
The Senate proposal of each utility getting 10% of their electric from alternate fuels by 2020 is poor. We should create a national program to drive for renewable electric generation right away. Many venture capital firms are investing in renewable energy so there must be a reasonable business case to justify it, we should share the logic behind it so that many more individuals could justify it. Imagine one family making a success from generating electric so that the concept can be duplicated thousands of times and continuously improved upon.
+++++
Texas unlike California promotes local power production, mainly from their own oil production, and was able to realize commercial gains while California was experiencing just the opposite. Wouldn't it be an incentive to each locality and state to help independent electric production so that they can improve pollution, gain a broader tax base, create jobs and attract businesses to their area.
+++++
What if homes came equipped with a battery system that would provide backup in case of a power failure? Similar to a clock that has battery backup to keep the time during an outage. Once the system is in the homeowner could select how much backup time they would install. It could be from one hour or maybe days. The system could also condition the power coming into the home. When it is used it could recharge itself once the power is available again.
+++++
Rates - We will add the rates for reported utilities under our states link. It would allow people to compare the rate that their utility charges versus others. We would like to find a site that does this so we can link to it. If you know of one please submit it.
+++++
CBLs’ - Computer based learning or streaming tutorials or product demos
If you know of a product that has streaming videos or online tutorials about their product or generating electric we would like to add their link to our site, again we are counting on our readers to send in information.
+++++
Family Life - Anyone that has been married for a while knows of the stresses that are encountered. Not only financial but going off to different jobs, bosses, discrimination, layoffs, low pay and having a tight schedule that you cannot afford doing things together. Well many telemarketers and others may try to tell you that they have the solution for you but either want you to pay or join under their organization. But, what if you had your own home based business that needed very little intervention, allowed you to borrow money to get started and provided you with information and a group to support your efforts. No boss (except your spouse) and no ceilings on income. A business that all the family could partake in and that you could leave as a legacy for future generations. One that also would help your country, the environment, world peace and the standard of living in other countries. Well we have that as our goal, the creation of Energy Farm sites would do all this. By promoting renewable and clean energy for more than your home but to sell to utilities families can have continuous income, be free of brownouts and blackouts, have time to perform other income opportunities or to vacation whenever they would like.
+++++
Isabel was not the major hurricane that it could have been yet look at the damage that resulted. Tax payers’ bail out those with flood insurance over and over again. When will we learn to stop building in flood zones? Remember our information on concrete homes? Many generations in Europe have appreciated the benefit of having a home passed down that has lasted hundreds of years. Why don't we encourage more homes that can last throughout strong storms and have safety spaces that would protect the owners even in a tornado! Every year we see lives impacted by having their home destroyed. What if it happened to you? I for one am very happy when a major storm passes and very little damage is done to my home. I would love to retire to a home made of concrete or concrete blocks reinforced by rebar with a steel roofing system that could survive a major storm.
+++++
Also, shouldn't everyone who experiences serious damage from nature be eligible for FEMA assistance and not just those who live in an area that was officially declared a disaster area? Many people each year have their homes destroyed but the area has not been declared a "federal disaster area" yet they have experience the same impact that others have and have been helped by FEMA.
+++++
Most, if not all, religions indicate that we are stewards of this planet which has resources given to us by God for our own welfare. That we need to protect the environment to pass it on to future generations. What better way to end pollution and to promote unlimited electric along with all its benefits for future generations than to urge development of and support renewable energy. North Carolina has just approved Green Power support. We need to check out the Clean Energy site and write representatives NOW!