Connecting the dots
September 30th, 2008 | Posted by WeCanSolveIt
By Raizza Ty
Skyrocketing energy costs, thousands of jobs lost and Wall Street in shambles makes the economy the number one voting issue among, well, everyone. Gas prices, energy, the war in Iraq, and college affordability fall right behind the economy in Rock the Vote’s latest poll reporting young voters’ top concerns.
And where does global warming and the environment rank in this list of priorities to tackle? Not very high.
The good news is that Al Gore’s challenge to Repower America with 100% clean electricity from renewable energy sources within ten years can bring big solutions to these big problems and combat climate change. We just need to help government leaders and young voters connect the dots.
Young adults can fuel the new green economy
Take the economy. We can revitalize the job market by creating millions of green collar jobs, and we can do it right now. I recently attended one of the 700 Green Jobs Now National Day of Action events and found it truly inspirational. People who were struggling to find a job, people who were looking to do something positive in their lives, found a way to do both after receiving training in the clean energy sector.
And the issues of the war, gas prices, and energy are inextricably linked. We know that our reliance on foreign oil prevents our nation from being fully secure. We know that failure to produce our own resources hinders our innovation and keeps us (and our pocketbooks) at will to the oil industry. We also know that the sun, the wind, tidal waves, and heat from the earth are never-ending and they are free.
So, shouldn’t we help our leaders connect the dots — that by repowering America with clean energy we can literally REPOWER America?
10 Responses to “Connecting the dots”
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
10 years? What would you say to a plan that only takes 2 years no fossil fuels and creates thousands of jobs. The gasoline crisis in this country will still be here after this Wall Street- Housing situation is finally under control.
Don’t think our kids will be able to afford the bailout… Definately, we will not be able to exist as a nation if we continue down the fossil fueled path to depletion. The We campaign is our only hope for survival since all the others lack the gathering. I have a site promoting SPT (solar power towers) but I have no following so I go to other, larger sites to talk about this much needed arsenal. I can’t believe that there are so many people
who think that GW is just a government conspiracy to enact more control laws. That we will need, (rations), if we do not employ SPT’s (and other AE). It’s sad that the very same people who are “against” GW are also against AE, saying,”It costs too much” (and all kinds of “technical” reasons for their position). One such is viable.
Too much Alternative Energy will distrupt our energy infrastructure within too short a timespan (like two years). How, 1, not enough powerlines, 2, already existing agreements from the “bad” ones need to be honored. (Can’t just riot out of this one). 3, putting all the eggs into one energy basket too soon will prove overcostly (and less needs to be finainced if we take longer like ten years).
Finaincing is what caused our current wall street problem!
We need a pay as we go aproach, one that allows a newer cheaper tech of say, 3 years from now, to become the energy egg. Now I believe that we can put all of our eggs into just solar and wind for instance, since they are so widely distributed across this great nation.
SPT’s can store heat for electrical generation 24/7. Sure, they will have to be larger (to account for excess storage), but anything’s possible in a 50,000 square mile patch of desert.
What about all those CO2 emissions caused by said very large SPT creation. Billions of large mirrors will require mining for raw materials, tranporting, creation, more transport, and so on until final assembly. Opponents of AE routinely pitch this silly argument hoping to “woo” you away from largescale. The reason why it is silly is because from an economic point of view, this will create jobs. Jobs are required to keep this nation on track. And from the eco, sure a few mega tons of CO2 will be exuded DURING THE INITIAL PHASE! Afterwhich, solar and wind generated electric mobility will build upon itself. Oh, and to counter the energy payback urgument even more… What do you think the billions of mirrors can do AFTER the SPT’s themselves are decommissioned?
Dirty and broken as they may be, in thirty years, we should have 10 to 50 thousand sq mi of mirrors “focused flat” beaming the sun back into space from where it wants to overheat this world! The deserts shall be cooler and the icecaps shall start to reform. Only the SPT concept can do this. We could all lay out mylar (the highly reflective kind), but it won’t pay us to do so. You know, by not sending so much money overseas, GW revearsal, energy dividends, ect). Why would largescale renewable energy have to be decommisioned? Because something better and cheaper will come along, perhaps fusion or deep geothermal.
Another reason “why” we can’t have 100% alternative is because the very large nature of such will surely bring down the costs of fossils again… There is a market play (exactly that!) going on right now (and largescale isn’t even developed yet). Gas will probably stay down just long enough to destroy AE investments, unless, and this is the hopeful, big if part, IF the people are willing to overcome this having to pay less for fossils thing!
So we shall shoot for the most percentage we can get and enact laws that favor largescale AE…
That is why I believe in the WE campaign!
Enough with alternative energy sources. The REAL PROBLEM IS FACTORY FARMING.
All environmentalists should know that FACTORY FARMING is the most DAMAMGING THREAT to the environment. According to animalalliance.com, factory farming contributes the MOST greenhouse gases due to the release of methane from 10 billions animals per year. And, according to the EPA is the LARGEST POLLUTANT to US waterways.
Where is the media on this EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and CONTROVERSIAL issue that is long overdue???
Enough with the “we all need a college degree”mentality.Green collar jobs will be the equivalent of the blue collar jobs that once supported and sustained many thousands of middle class families.There was a time in this country when the”trades”were a respectable livelihood and way of life.Now,anyone with less than a basic college education is viewed and treated AND payed as a second class citizen(thus the illegal immigrant deluge),we are not all wired to be white collar,suit and tie bigwigs,but it does take a reasonable intelligence level and a firm grasp of math and our English language to be a skilled tradesman,assembly line worker,trucker and etc.to get the jobs done.Why aren’t homegrown Americans doing these jobs these days?It’s because the prevailing mentality has reduced these jobs to second rate status and second rate(or is it third rate?)pay while our politicians and let’s not forget the Wall Street Gang have robbed,pillaged and abused what wealth these”second rate citizens”produced over the last half century.
Let’s not just address clean and sustainable energy,let’s also address the whole cost to pay ratio that has developed here in the last twenty years.Skilled labor should earn enough to own a modest home and a vehicle that’s not a gas guzzling,smoke belching clunker.A substantive and fair pay scale would go a looonggg way toward reestablishing a work ethic that has gone missing for going on two generations at this point.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak,
Tommy Miller
What difference does it make if Global Warming is real? If we fight global warming right, we can lower pollution significantly, and perhaps end the brown skies over our cities. If the science proves to be right, we’ll have saved the world. If not, we’ll be able to breathe easier.
Air pollution affects everyone. Healthier people may not notice it as much as asthmatics and the very young and old, maybe not at all, but it’s one more stress to the body. Clean energy should clean up the air.
I admit, I am concerned about harnessing tidal power. What will this do to our coastlines? Perhaps if done right, it won’t be noticeable. Same concerns with windmills and other alternative energy. Perhaps we should all turn off some lights and try to ride a bike (where safe.)
Let’s face it, a single person driving a large car that gets poor gas mileage is a waste of energy. Those who call for drilling for national security need to address this problem first. I am afraid I can’t point fingers without 3 pointing back at me on this issue, but this system of one person in a gas guzzler seems to me to be in dire need of change.
People who tender drilling as a solution without conservation don’t make any sense to me. One way to get oil is to drill, the other is to conserve what we have. It doesn’t matter how much money one makes, if they waste it, they will run out. Same with oil. And we already have federal fuel efficiency standards that can be increased. Not even a new law needed.
The day is coming when oil will be obsolete. Will it be next month, next year, or 100 years? Nobody knows. But to those who think this is crazy, I tell you, we don’t light our lamps with whale oil anymore. It’s happened before and will happen again.
To the greedy: how much money do you think the next energy solution will make? Quit making decisions based on money.
Thanks Mike. I believe your first paragraph say’s it all.
Boy Mike you really hit the nail on the head!!! Conservation should be our number one goal as a nation.
I slightly disagree with you on the national security issue. I think oil dependence is a national security issue and it edges out environmental concerns where there is a clear choice. There are environmental risks to drilling but we can and have done a good job of minimizing them. Drilling is a short term solution until we get some of the other energy alternatives up and running.
I am writing to propose a way in which we can help effect a change in global warming. It may not seem like that big a deal, but maybe some people will take notice if the idea spreads, and the company’s bottom line is affected.
Basically, I was doing a web search to see how much money the big oil companies are spending on green technology. It seems that Shell is investing significantly more money than Exxon/Mobil in “green” energy projects, and what particularly impressed me about Shell is their investment in wind and solar energy projects. Look for yourself, but I couldn’t find any information about Exxon supporting a wind energy project. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s beside the point. I really don’t think any of the major oil companies are spending enough on “green” projects, but we have to start somewhere, and I think Exxon is lagging so we’ll use them as a starting point.
What I propose is this.
1. Do not buy anything from Exxon/Mobil as long as their investment in renewable energy projects remains below that of Shell. Shell has a head start, but they better pay attention, and use the increased profits to boost their commitment to renewable energy, otherwise we can take our business elsewhere.
2. Check the Shell and Exxon sites frequently, to see if they have posted how much they have invested in renewable energy, and buy your gas according to your conscience.
3. Pass this message to all the people in your e-mail downline to help spread the word. (Very Important, make it VIRAL)
We can not rely on politicians in Washington to take action, although I think they will under the new administration. We can solve it, but only if we work together. We all know that Exxon had record profits last year. Isn’t it about time that they take responsibility for their part in the global warming crisis? Or if you don’t believe in global warming, maybe they should do their part to decrease our dependence on foreign oil.
Tommy,
This is a great post. We need to revitalize the “trade” job market in this country. People need to realize that without these jobs, and some skilled enough to do them, we would not be where we are now. Skilled tradesmen (and women) built this county.
Lee
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