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- Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?
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- What excites you about this campaign?
- That there is a plan that can be put into action. We have waited much too long, but the time for change is now.
- What do you want to do to help?
- Tell as many people about the plan that I can and increase excitement that we finally have something to reduce our dependence on foreign oil as well as help the environment!
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I have started a Regional group, welcoming comments, ideas, and suggestions for Renewable Energy in the NW Region. Including states from the Pacific, Cascade and Rocky Mountain areas. I realize that some of my Pickens Plan friends are outside this region, but you are always welcome to join and add your thoughts to the discussion. We should be looking at best available sources of energy in our region, and ways to improve the power grid to transfer energy from region to region as it is needed.
Robert Schultz
Pickens Plan
WA-05 District Leader
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27FEB09
Honorable Speaker of the House Congresswoman Pelosi,
I am an Electronic Technician Chief in the US Navy with 27 years service stationed overseas. I’m outlying an idea to assist and work with current plans for achieving energy independence. I urge you, as speaker of the house and the driving force to form the select committee on energy independence and global warming, consider for discussion and introduction into the house US Treasury Savings Bonds for Energy Independance.
In WWII America sold war bonds supporting the war effort. When young, my mother told me her primary school raised enough money through bonds to build a tank to support troops. I am impressed with the patriotism and purpose of our greatest generation that accomplished so much.
Selling energy bonds for RE (Renewable Energy) development would lower foreign oil imports and assist with the complex problem of funding. Bonds sold as “Energy S” could support new solar trough plants, “Energy W” to support wind farms, Energy “H” to support hydroelectric plants, Energy “T” to support RE transportation such as electric bullet train routes powered by RE, Energy "C" COOPS for small communities only needing a small quantity of turbines, and Energy “I” for needed infrastructure high voltage power lines to the RE site. Bonds will have the project name and include an artist’s perspective of the project and an American flag. President Obama had great success with the internet during his campaign. In a similar manner, using the internet, energy bonds could have a website listing current projects and an “electronic checkout” could purchase a bond $25 or higher. Simpler methods of payment such as “PAYPAL” and credit cards would be available and after an electronic purchase is complete a color print out of the bond is available with a follow up of the bond in the mail. The website would limit quantity of projects for each category until funding is complete. After a project becomes funded, a new project will be available. A tab on the site will show history and status of previous projects. Purchasers may take great pride in “collecting” and displaying bonds of various RE projects and participating at different levels of financial support. Solar trough plants in the multi-hundred MW size capacity with molten salt energy storage in California, Arizona, and West Texas can provide a major portion of electric needs. North Dakota has potential to support 1/3 of our nations electric needs in it’s class 4 wind zone areas. There are plenty of suitable proposed wind turbine farms now around the nation to significantly increase our RE if funded. Mid sized hydro-electric has not been used in America to it’s full potential. Following the example of our neighbor, Canada, it would provide a significant increase in percentage of electric production. Developing all three we could provide the majority of our electric and heating needs through renewable energy in a "New New Deal" fashion allowing natural gas for transportation as T. Boone Pickens is working for. Bullet train routes have proven a viable alternative to commercial domestic air service and when powered by electricity provided by RE suppliers America would be in the forefront of world technology. Example, I heard of discussion for a commuter train from Denver to Colorado Springs. Such a route built as a renewable energy project with charter requirement legally requiring to only purchase electricity from available renewable energy sources would be a model example. There are many train routes, city bus systems, and government vehicles that can be converted to run from alternative energy sources and fuels. Jobs created would bolster the economy, lower trade deficit, and strengthen national security. I would take great pride in print outs of bonds with graphics of each project I supported and many other Americans would also. The energy bonds could have tax breaks. BLM lands may be a viable place to start for some projects.
I contacted the US treasury department and was told that the marketing department for savings bonds closed several years ago. I was told there would be problems because savings bonds are at the federal level while the projects will be at the state and local level. I disagree and believe that these can easily be figured out in the way of grants to the state and local level using money from the bonds for those specific projects. I was told to check out auctions on the www.treasurydirect.gov website and found them to not apply to citizens wanting to buy savings bonds to support a cause such as energy independance. I was told by the treasury department to look into CREB (Clean Renewable Energy Bonds). I found CREB to be large scale funding that a citizen would not be able to participate in as a US Treasury Energy Independance Bond would provide. If given the tools to participate directly, the power of the citizens of the United States to help achieve energy independance could not be denied. Americans mean well and the Energy Independance Savings bond program will give citizens the power at their level to make it happen. If marketed through a web page, commercials, and to federal employees the word would get out and participation would spread like wildfire.
Mr. Paul Gipe, a resident of Bakersfield CA, an author of several books about wind energy, and recipient of multiple awards as a pioneer in the industry since the 1970's has put a letter I wrote to Senator Dorgan on this subject as well as an older letter I wrote on wind COOP in JAN07. These websites are:
http://www.wind-works.org/coopwind/RenewableEnergyBondsforEnergyIndependence.html
and
http://www.wind-works.org/articles/AmericanEnergyIndependencethroughCooperativeInvestmentinWindEnergy.html
Sincerely and very respectfully,
ETC(SW/AW) Mike Kendall USN
Mailing address: PSC 476, Box 879, FPO AP, 96322 USA
Telephone (803) 265-4756, Email: michael.kendall@ymail.com
Please visit www.FAREnergy.org - The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy would like to make Florida a leader in solar energy. Since 1991, Germany, Spain, Denmark, and over 40 other nations, states, and provinces, have pioneered legislation that have proven to promote the fastest, cheapest, and widest growth of renewable energy. In many of these countries these policies are called "Feed-In Tariffs" (FITs). Producers of renewable energy are paid a premium rate or "tariff" for each kilowatt of energy they "feed into" the grid. Here in North America FITs are being called, "Renewable Energy Payments" (REPs). The name has changed but the fundamental principles of these policies stay the same: Everyone who produces renewable energy is guaranteed that they can connect to the power grid and sell their energy to their utility company. There is no limit to the amount of renewable energy that can be sold to utility companies.Utility companies sign 15-20 year contracts with all their renewable energy producers. All contracts are transparent and open for inspection.
The contracts include long-term agreed upon prices that the utility companies will pay for the energy they buy. The prices are set high enough to be an incentive to new producers and for existing producers to expand their production capacities. Prices vary according to the source of the energy (i.e, sun, wind, water, bio-mass, etc.) and the size of the energy-producing installation.
The utility companies can recoup their increased costs of paying higher prices for renewable energy by spreading these costs among all their customers.
An Independent Review Board is established by the government that periodically sets the prices and terms for new contracts.
How do REPs work?
Renewable Energy Payments are the mechanisms or instruments at the heart of specific state, provincial or national renewable energy policies. REPs are incentives for homeowners, farmers, businesses, etc., to become producers of renewable energy, or to increase their production of renewable energy. As such, they increase our overall production and use of renewable energy, and decrease our consumption and burning of fossil fuels.
Thank you! Happy Holidays!
Faye Roller - Administartive Director
Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy
1-888-501-FARE
www.FAREnergy.org Delete Comment
I just wanted to take a second of your time to invite you to view, A Solar Solution!
www.powur.com/homeenergy1 - click View Our Mission and if interested click the back arrow to Become an Ecopreneur.
Also you can see what we offer home owners - www.glenburniesolar.com
Thank You For Your Time
(Please feel free to add me as a friend)
Thanks for joining the Pickens Plans community. We Need You!
Good News is Blowing Our Way:
* Claim: Barack Obama says his energy policies would create 5 million new "green-collar" jobs in the economy.
* Rocky Truth Patrol says:
* This is a maybe only because it's an economic estimate based on a job category that no one officially tracks - at least not yet. And depending on which economic models are used to make these estimates, Obama's forecast of 5 million green-collar jobs might actually be too low, some experts think!
Obama says his administration would invest $150 billion over 10 years in a "clean energy economy" and "help the private sector create 5 million new green jobs."
Obama takes his figures from two recent studies. The University of California at Berkeley said energy efficiency alone could create 5 million jobs nationwide in the next decade. Note that this study counts jobs created directly in this field, but also indirect jobs created by the demands of the new workers and "induced" jobs created by overall growth in the economy.
The University of Tennessee recently estimated that 5.1 million new jobs could be created by 2025 if the nation got a quarter of its energy from renewable sources. That job number also includes indirect jobs.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the nation should expect 15.6 million new jobs in the decade between 2006 and 2016. Adding 5 million "green" jobs would represent just a 3 percent boost in the total employment, which hovers at about 150 million.
The Apollo Alliance, a nonpartisan organization of business, labor, environmental and community leaders, has said they wouldn't count indirect jobs, as do the studies on which Obama relies. However, spokesman Keith Schneider said the alliance actually believes, based on analysis of these studies and others, that the 5 million figure might be too low!
"It's going to be more than that," Schneider said. "The demand for this sector of the economy way outpaces the capacity."
For example, Schneider said, wind energy - a big issue for Coloradans - is facing a capacity crunch because there is currently a three-year backlog for the plate steel needed to make the wind turbine blades. The industry needs people to make the steel, then the blades, then install them, then maintain them, he said. But federal policies - including a tax credit that has expired before and is about to expire again - have made business bumpy, he said.
"The Apollo Alliance's research on the jobs question shows us clearly that if the United States pursues a new national economic development strategy to replace fossil fuels with clean sources of energy and the tools to use them, the economy will generate 5 million new jobs, and likely much more than that," Schneider said.
Welcome and THANK YOU for joining Pickens Plan with the rest of us. We are glad you are here and we need your help.
You will have lots of fun on this site, meet a lot of people and learn more than you ever imagined. Start by joining some groups.
Be sure to check out my friends, as they are so smart, creative, educated, talented, hardworking, wholesome, friendly, helpful and very passionate.
Please remember why we are here, as we must help get our numbers up at a faster much pace and share ideas and resources.
Have a Green day,
Kim (Texas)
p.s. If you would like you can add me as one of your friends so that we may keep in touch and share ideas and information. Click the button (hyperlink) below your profile photo on your page + Add as friend.
Thanks for joining Live Carbon Free. Jump right in and let your voice be heard. Comments, Questions, Concerns and Ideas are all welcome
Wayne
Welcome and THANK YOU for joining Pickens Plan. We need your help.
There is a perfect storm of events happening right now that create the possibility of a paradigm shift that is urgently needed. We have an angry citizenry due to pain at the pump, a presidential election on the horizon, and a man with a plan to dramatically and imminently reduce our dependance on foreign oil, and provide a bridge to future solutions, who has the resources, contacts, knowledge, wealth and "will" to get it done.
Please share this plan with your circle of friends, family and associates. Urge them to JOIN. As you know, it is simply like signing a petition. With large numbers of supporters, we can put pressure to bear on Congress to incentivize alternative and renewable energies, and insure that our future president will be a leader that will push for domestic energy solutions. JFK once said. "in the next 10 years we will put a man on the moon". He got it done. We need that kind of leadership on energy.
Time is of the essence. If gas prices retreat the public will forget the pain, and our moment may be lost. How frightening to be looking back and apologizing to our children that we could not get this done when we had the chance.
For more information:
Check out an informative video "Topeka, Kansas Town Hall Meeting": http://www.pickensplan.com/news/2008/08/04/video-of-the-topeka-town-hall
Please friend me if you like.
If you know someone in the press- get them to cover this.
If you know someone who blogs- get them to cover this.
If you can write to a Congressman/woman- get them to understand this. You can call them at (202)225-3121. Ask them if they support 100% clean electricity in the next 10 years.
If you know someone who is in the public eye- ask them to support this.
If you can write a letter to the editor of your local paper- please do.
If you want to print downloadable flyers and put them in your car and/or business window- please do.
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TODAY to ask 5 people to join this historical effort. Thanks again for support!