Editorial Vol. 2 Issue 5 (May)
It is clear that we, the whole world, must take a more aggressive approach to resolve the world’s energy crisis. Fossil fuels are not the answer! Not only is global warming increasing (Global Warming) but the environment is causing deaths and major health crises. Asthma is on the increase while in North Carolina it is estimated that a quarter of the youth in the state have some form of it and the state is in the process of suing several neighboring states and the EPA for allowing increased levels of pollution from various power plants. The World Bank estimated millions of deaths in the far east contributed to pollution. Much of the pollution is contributed to fossil fuel power plants. Now, many countries in the world are turning to renewal energy for their electrical needs. They are investing in wind and solar to get away from dependence on oil countries and the cartels. These same countries are pushing the research envelope for renewable energy while we are still committed to support large power utilities some of which have set prices or been involved in corporate corruption.
We need to turn towards a renewable energy generation on a scale of supplying 100-10,000 homes. These sites would provide thousands of jobs, a distributed energy supply system, cleaner air and energy self-sufficiency. These sites would support localize jobs that would assist the locals in generating jobs and promoting distributed energy generation while keeping energy funds local.
Citizens have to make this one of the major election issues. An issue that would be patriotic since it would enable us to avoid military actions over oil while keeping our energy funds in the USA.
We need the same attention spent on small scale electric generation as is spent on wars, sending people into outer space or on national sports events. Given support by the SBA, windfall payouts for Wall Street corruption and the tobacco payout thousands of these sites could be created. The Tobacco Windfall alone will payout billions of dollars every month which could go to correct some of the wrongs that the tobacco industry has done in the past. Tobacco has been responsible for the deaths of millions of smokers around the world. What better way to help their families and the world than to promote cleaner air?
Generating electric on these sites would also support the automotive industry to switch faster to hybrid and total electric cars. While additional incentives, like penalties for smog and areas that constantly rate high in unsafe air, will encourage sites to get away from gas cars and older power plants.
The unknowns for future electric prices are energy supplies, outages and terrorism. The recent northeast power outage lasted for several days during the fall. If the same event happened during the heat of the summer or in this past winter when we had temperatures of up to –45 degrees how many people would have died? This past summer over 20,000 people died from the heat in the summer. People need a supply of electric to provide them with cooling and heating during extremes in weather.
The real costs of our current electric supply system is far more than what renewable electric would be. The real costs of our current supply system should include the corporate corruption, pollution costs, clean air penalties, military actions, impacts to our economy, electric price fluxes, and the lost of electric sent over high power lines. Oil tanker problems alone have resulted in billions of dollars of impact to fishing grounds and cleanup procedures.
It was President Kennedy who said ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country! What are you doing to push for clean renewable electric, jobs and a legacy of less pollution for future generations? A legacy that would provide for the betterment of the whole world. The USA is looked on for its leadership but what are we doing?
Just take a look at some of the articles in this newsletter. From politics in this election year, a new section to keep track of outages and their impact,
Energy independence from clean renewable sources would
promote:
Less
economic impact from high-energy prices,
Less military actions to protect oil producing countries,
Less pre-mature births from pollution,
Cleaner air and help to those with asthma,
Healthier environment for us and a generation that leaves a legacy of electric from renewable sources,
Thousands of jobs in energy generation and associated industries,
Jobs that
are small independent businesses that families can leave as a legacy,
Less foreign aid,
A
more independent world energy supply,
A new industry and products we can export,
Lessen
the impact from outages and terrorism to the power grid,
A new clean automobile industry,
Personal and family Self-reliance
And avoid:
Every increasing medical problems from pollution,
Military actions over energy,
Energy company corruption,
Oil cartel supply reductions and price increases,
Two new Sections –
Politics Join The Fight For The Environment Write to politicians and government agencies
Kerry
criticizes Bush on environment
In its critique, Kerry's campaign said the president's air quality proposals will send 21 tons more pollution into the atmosphere, contribute to up to 100,000 premature deaths from respiratory troubles and induce millions of asthma attacks.
Bush also has opposed efforts to ban the gasoline additive MTBE, a petroleum-based product that critics argued has fouled water supplies in 28 states. The campaign critique argues that Bush has supported protections that would prohibit the petroleum industry from being forced to clean up such pollution. As a result, the report says, taxpayers will foot the bill for the cleanup that could approach $30 billion
http://www.nrdc.org/bushrecord/
Bush
The
President’s National Energy Plan
Outages
LA Airport Hit With Second Power Outage
Headlines
Shooting
the breeze about renewable energy
Blackout was
preventable, probe finds
Shell
Officer Said to Have Ordered Report Destroyed
SHELL OIL 'BIGGEST CORPORATION SCANDAL IN 20 YEARS'...
Technology should drive global warming standards
World
Bank: Changing the Energy Funding Status Quo
CON: DON'T BE
FOOLED BY BIG OIL
Town
sells its only resource -- wind power
JUST THINK
What If
The blackout, which started on
August 14, was the largest ever to hit the United States. It affected all or
most of Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Connecticut and Ontario province.
Power was restored to most
localities, including New York City, by the end of the next day, but some
places were without electricity for several days.
And it happen when …
Temperatures to rise from
dangerous to merely freezing
Friday, January 16,
2004 Posted: 8:35 PM EST (0135 GMT)
(CNN) -- New
England residents braced for another frigid night Friday
“Two weather systems from Canada moved eastward late Friday,
taking with them the arctic air they had brought to New England, the National
Weather Service reported. The historically cold weather is being pushed out to
sea, bringing some relief to the region.
Overnight in Boston the
temperature may dip to 5 degrees, with wind chills expected to be 20 degrees
below zero. “
What if it occurred during the winter when
the temperatures were –20 and more?
What would you do?
FBI
concerned about threat of terror-induced blackouts (from USA Today)
Electric power moves through a network of high-voltage
transmission lines, known as a power grid. There are more than 6,000
power-generating units in the United States and 500,000 miles of transmission
lines, above ground and underground. About 150 Control Area Operators in the
contiguous United States balance the amount of electric power as it is
generated and consumed in the three main power grids by rerouting as needed.
The computerized centers may also automatically reroute electric power.
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Blackouts,
a total loss of electric power supply, can occur due to natural, mechanical or
human causes. Severe weather, including hurricanes, ice storms, snowstorms or
lightning, is the most common cause of outages.
The inter-connected grid system is meant to ensure smooth distribution when
there is a sudden spike in demand. Grids share power, but an imbalance in one
grid could lead to a blackout if nearby grids, already experiencing high
demand, do not have spare power. Circuit breakers are installed throughout the
network to shut down a power system and prevent a blackout from spreading
across the entire grid. Power is restored in stages so electric power devices
don’t cause another shutdown when they are energized.
Outstanding
OSU wind energy expert honored
For Week, Quincy To Try Wind Power
National Energy
Network Names President
Solar Status
An Annual Review of Research and Development
Wind Status
Renewable
Energy World Article
Conservation
Cut
hydro use: Premier (Canada)
Biomass
Electric
Systems
Choosing the right
inverter for grid-connected PV systems
Autos
(Electric and Hybrids)
Electric Cars & Alternate Fuel Cars (CAR-STUFF)
Pollution
Calif. begins writing own rules on greenhouse gases
Houston's Air Pollution Above
Standard
Dealers
Please feel free
to send this newsletter to friends who are interested in renewable energy and
let your representatives know that you want them to promote renewable energy as
a major program for the country.
What better way to honor our troops that have
sacrificed to protect our energy supplies!