People of the Bluegrass for Sustainable Energy

Comment

Comment by V. H. Hammontree, D. Min. on November 18, 2008 at 10:23am

Boone wants us to think about it. He wants us to figure out the cost to us and to our children of continuing to do nothing. He wants us to relentlessly pursue our elected officials until they are sick and tired of hearing about it. He needs us to realize that the future of our civilization is at stake. More than our economy is on the line.

The other point is that if we will do the work then the solutions we come up with will benefit our nation and then the entire world. It is not just for our children...it is for all the children...everywhere.

Comment by V. H. Hammontree, D. Min. on November 13, 2008 at 4:34am

I watched Boone on the Daily Show last night. I think the group would have followed him out and stormed congress and the White House. Leadership creates excitement. It was electric.

Comment by V. H. Hammontree, D. Min. on November 10, 2008 at 5:29am

CNN has a tremendous article today which challenges us to think of our relationship to oil in a unique way.

For the children...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/10/what.matters.niger/index.html

Comment by V. H. Hammontree, D. Min. on November 5, 2008 at 12:41pm

Now that the election is complete it is time for us to focus on Boone's 100 day strategy. Our job is a little harder with the economy in turmoil and the price of oil being down. We have to remember this is the point at which we failed in the 1980's. We have to keep the energy crisis at the front of the line even though the conditions have eased.

This is not a time to ease up. It is a time to RAMP UP !!! We have an opportunity to be proactive and address the matter NOW rather than wait until it becomes urgent again. We have to contact our Congress people and let the Obama people know we are watching. The cost of inaction is more financial pain. We have a chance to be ahead of the curve but the margin is small and time is short.

For the children...

Comment by V. H. Hammontree, D. Min. on October 28, 2008 at 2:50pm

I think we should be glad that Boone at least has a plan. A plan is more than I have heard from any elected official. It is easy to find all the problems that will come up. Bring on the problems. People thought JFK was nuts in 1961 for saying we would put a man on the moon in 10 years. For 5 years scientists debated the best way to get to the moon. Imagination got us an new way of thinking it through. Anyone remember what Neil Armstrong did in 1969?

"Drill, Baby, Drill" is not a plan. It is surrender. Boone has a better idea that will give us time to develop the technologies which will set us free from dependence on fossil fuels.

Boone is smart enough to know that his plan is a "bridge" to the use of more renewable energy sources. It at least gives us a place to begin.

It is time to begin the discussion and our job is to stiffen the resolve of politicians and enable the imagination of inventors and technicians. The "Dream" always comes first. Then we figure out how to implement the dream.

Comment by V. H. Hammontree, D. Min. on October 20, 2008 at 8:29am

The Washington Post reports today that with the fall of oil prices the "urgency" of alternatives will wane. It is up to us to make sure that our friends and the people in Washington do not forget what is at stake. We have an opportunity to deal with the energy crisis NOW. We should keep calling, keep emailing and keep alerting while we have the time. The oil crisis has already changed our habits. I was eating at a popular restaurant chain yesterday and I noticed that the prices were up at least .50 and on some items 1.00 or more. THIS IS THE TIME TO ACT !!!!

Comment by Tom Hurt on August 3, 2008 at 10:47am

Why our state government is so slow to pass legislation to explore the use of CNG equipped vehicles doesn't make sense.
The use of natural gas as an alternative to fuel our vehicles would be especially beneficial for our state. The coal fields of eastern and western Kentucky are some of the richest natural gas fields in the nation. Hundreds of gas wells already exsist throughout these areas. It simply makes sense that the use of our own resourses is economically sound for the state.

We need to lean on our legislature in order to get the ball rolling. We, also, need to educate the public. Although, the avaliability of CNG eqipped vehicles are limited in the state of Kentucky, compamies exist in neighboring states that will covert existing vehicles to CNG vehicles or bi fuel vehicles. A bi fuel vehicle is a vehicle which will operate on both CNG or gasoline. I agree that the state needs to offer larger tax breaks for the energy efficient consumer. Still, in the long run, the initail cost of such vehicles will pay for themselves with the savings.

The next question is the locations of CNG fueling stations in our state. The down side is at the moment their isn't any. On the upside, a company exist that allows the consumer to fuel his CNG vehicle at home. FuelMaker, a company based in Toronto, Ontario has developed a fueling station that can be purchased by the home owner with access to natural gas. The name of this product is Phill. This unit converts natural gas, using the existing gas lines used to heat the home, to comprresed natural gas or CNG. The unit is small and can be placed on the wall of the homeowners garage. Two fifths of Kentucky households currently have natural gas for heating their home. These households would greatly benefit from the use of a CNG vehicle and Phill unit in their households. Others would quickly learn of the savings and would have natural gas lines installed in their homes. The impact would be like a snowball rolling downhill.

Lets all work together to educate the consumer and government of the benefits and existing programs for the use of natural gas as an alternative fuel.

Comment by seth sprouse on July 31, 2008 at 8:30am

THe state tax incentives Kentucky offers on renewable or alternative projects, for homeowners or businesses are laughable at best. It's like they came together to offer the least amount of incentives and worded it in the longest possible way to make it look like a lot to someone who isn't really paying attention.
(if that makes any sense) We really need to let our lawmakers know that they need to offer some real incentives, but then they will argue that Kentucky is a poor state for wind and solar. The data is old , outdated, and probably in some cases just incorrect.
There is a state funded agency that is helping to gather better data called Kentucky mesonet. you can look them up at www.kymesonet.com THey need land owners to donate site locations, eventually they will have 100+ of these sites across the state, right now they have about 10. ONce we get better data, we can show our lawmakers that some parts of kentucky will work and then justify the tax incentives that would spur more industry in our state to off set their power cost with renewables.
I hope you'll check out Kentucky mesonet and spread the word about them. Kentucky is going to be a tough nut to crack but I know we can do it.

Comment by Bill Mollring on July 17, 2008 at 5:20pm

Thank you for starting this site. I am very interested in seeing how alternative energy ideas develop across the country. Please include me on your updates and notices. I wish you much success. We are listed on the Pickens Plan as Mariah Power. http://www.push.pickensplan.com/group/mariahpower
To see our other alternative energy sources please go to:
http://www.emsystems.net
Aloha, Bill