J. N. McLarty's Groups
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- Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?
- Yes
- Tell us about your experience with alternative energy:
- I'm a young, motivated, engineer and investor. I have an insatiable appetite for knowledge about the science, after I took a few courses on the topic in my fourth year of post-secondary education.
- What excites you about this campaign?
- The idea that Canada won't have to live next door to a homeless USA, with their hand out for fresh water and financial support. The thought of Americans being put to work on innovative sustainability. The concept of cleaner air.
Also, super impressed with the entire delivery of the campaign so far.
- What do you want to do to help?
- Blog. Twitter. Public Speaking. Spread the Word. Donate.
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We are a voluntary community of individuals who are placing our combined support behind T. Boone Pickens and his efforts to send our government a clear (heard) message that we must reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil through the use of all domestic energy alternatives. This site is a place to interact with fellow Pickens Plan supporters, keep up with events and opportunities to help get more involvement. Look up your local leader from map on home pg.
Please, I ask the first sites you visit to get accurate info and articles to see pretty much what the plan is about and where the plan stands.
On the home page, click on About The Plan ~ Boone Cam ~ Blog
We need to Push.PickensPlan.com – or “Push” as we like to call it.
Our future really does depend on us at this point in time!
If not now, WHEN? If not you, WHO? I am proud to put my efforts towards this cause.
Well as they say (the large lady voiced the end). Neither candidate openly gave his support outright for our plan. Both knew about it and to a degree felt the intense support behind it. It goes back to another old saying, on the political platform be careful how far you put your foot in the door.
There is a group for almost everything. The Forums/discussions on this site are many and you’ll probably find something that interests or concerns you. Some are very long and were started months ago. For the ones that concern you, Please keep in mind, events are remembered and relayed differently by those commenting, which as we all too well know equals at least three sides to the event.
Again Welcome; Tom- Welcome wagon crew
Kelly Zito
Friday, August 15, 2008
After a recent layoff ended his 20-year construction career, Javier Hernandez turned to what appears to be one of the rare sunny spots in an otherwise murky economy. Literally.
This summer, amid soaring U.S. fuel prices and increasing worldwide focus on global warming, Hernandez, 63, took the kind of step presidential hopefuls, low-income advocates and Silicon Valley tech lords dream about: He enrolled in a solar panel installation class at San Jose City College.
"We are definitely destroying our planet, and if we destroy the planet, we're destroying ourselves," said Hernandez, who lives in Sunnyvale and considers himself an environmentalist. "Hopefully, I'm going to find a good job after I finish this course, and I can get more experience and eventually bring this technology to (Mexico)."
From a political and economic view, much has been made about "green-collar" jobs. They are "clean" and in the renewable energy arena, are not as likely to go overseas, and could bolster a country hemorrhaging industrial, blue-collar jobs, the argument goes.
But there remains a wide gap between the projected demand for solar, wind and geothermal energy and the expertise necessary to make, install and sell the systems.
That's where Hernandez's class comes in.
He and about 20 others took the second class in solar installation ever offered at San Jose City College. Two evenings a week, the group is learning their way around terms like "photovoltaic modules" (solar panels) and "power inverters" (which convert electricity from direct current to alternating current). During half-day lab classes on Saturdays, they get to design, put together and dismantle systems with their own hands. All for $20 per credit, or $80.
The new green-collar classes - some variations are offered at other community colleges around the Bay Area, such as Cabrillo College - grew out of talks that began two years ago between the education establishment and Silicon Valley's growing solar industry. Eventually, the group was named Solar Tech, and it set out several objectives. Along with streamlining the building permit, utility connection and state rebate systems, the group aimed at advanced training.
Filling the need
Tom McCalmont is the chief executive of Solar Tech and founder of REgrid Power, a Campbell solar design and installation firm. According to a survey by the group, there are currently between 6,900 and 8,000 solar industry workers in the nine-county Bay Area - far short of the 20,000 to 40,000 projected to be needed over the next decade.
"That's a huge need," McCalmont said. "And the nice thing about these jobs is they are green-collar jobs - the types of stable, middle-class jobs that we haven't had in the Bay Area for a number of years now. We have low-paid service jobs or highly paid white-collar jobs."
Roughly speaking, a starting solar panel technician earns up to $19 per hour - about $40,000 per year. Within a couple of years, that can go up to as much as $35 per hour - or nearly $73,000 annually, McCalmont said. Classrooms have primarily focused on solar training because wind, geothermal energy and other sources aren't as widespread and have fewer local businesses.
Savings for home projects
Like Hernandez, Marc Fontana is pursuing solar technology as a second career. Fontana, 52, worked as a software support engineer for Hewlett-Packard for 26 years. After taking early retirement in 2005, Fontana has been getting educated about renewable energy. He also volunteers with a program that puts solar arrays on low-income homes. Eventually, he may become a solar system designer or a HERS rater - someone who uses technology like infrared sensors and blowers to evaluate the energy efficiency of homes and businesses. HERS stands for home energy rating system.
Recently, he installed a 2,500-watt solar system on his own house - another reason some take solar installation classes. Between generous rebates from his local utility, tax credits and savings from his own labor, the system cost him $2,500 - a tenth of the cost of a typical system.
"You won't find a lot of people who can do that because I did the installation myself and I took advantage of the best (local rebate) system in the state," he said.
Rebate deadlock
Though the popularity of renewable energy systems is expected to soar, there are some factors clamping down on the industry's recent growth.
Congress is deadlocked over whether to renew federal tax credits for wind and solar systems for homes and businesses. Though the credits - which max out at $2,000 for residential customers - have helped bolster the industry, they are set to expire at the end of this year. While the House has proposed funding the credits by ending tax subsidies for oil companies and closing a tax loophole for hedge fund managers, Republicans have rejected the ideas, arguing they are stealth tax increases.
As a result, it has been challenging for some recent local graduates to find jobs. Educators who hope to expand renewable energy training classes hope it's just a hiccup. But they are staying in close touch with the industry to tailor classes and curricula during troubled economic times.
"I don't want to flood the market with graduates who can't find jobs," said Kathy Werle, dean of applied sciences at San Jose City College. "Right now we're waiting to see if people get more state and federal incentives. If that happens, there will be growth. But if it doesn't happen... people won't be willing to spend $25,000 on solar systems for their homes."
- Kelly Zito kzito@sfchronicle.com
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/15/BA1C125J23.DTL
http://push.pickensplan.com/group/greenjobsnow
I have found one in N. Dakota
Promana ticker PSLU did a reverse stock split and its assets were taken over via a merger by Crownbutte Wind Power on July 31st 2008, Crownbutte board replaced Promana board July 31st 2008
Crownbutte completed a private placement Aug 1st 2008 to build, own
and operate an approved 200 megawatt wind project with 134 turbines in
southwestern North Dakota estimated cost to build $30,000,000.
Project value upon completion and before tax credits is $50,000,000.
CBWP has been consulting for and building wind power farms in North
Dakota since 1999.
Crownbutte Wind Power
111 5th Ave NE
Mandan, ND 58554
www.crownbutte.com
Stock in new entity is available next few days ticker CBWP .
Any feedback would be appreciated.
The PickensPlan to transition vehicles to natural gas is a great start toward 100% energy independence, but is a stop-gap measure till we can transition to all electric transportation. Electric energy is strained without adding transportation demands; so we must drastically improve efficiency .
Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) is a patented technology where travel occurs without air friction or rolling resistance (like “Space Travel on Earth”); ETT can accomplish 50 times more transportation per kWh (or carbon credit) than electric cars or trains. ETT is silent, low cost, safe, faster than jets, and is electric so it can make maximum use of wind or PV power. I invite you to visit my page to learn more about ETT
Vacant Buildings - Holyoke
Download the pdf (4 MB) and get a sense of where we have to start.
Then watch us grow and implement a plan to install grid tied solar pv systems on all rooftops, and most importantly, bring an entire City back to life as Carbon Free as possible.