Sustainably Energizing, Yes We Can!
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High-Altitude Winds Have Enough Energy to Power the Entire Planet. A study published in the journal Energies maps the best spots for harnessing high-altitude winds. The challenge: coming up with the technology to extract and distribute it globally...
Happy bEARTHday Boone for your Pickens Plan. Thanks for including us in the party. Today is Energy Independence Day. We are interdependent with a myriad of energy producers. How do we invite them to our party as well?
Comment Wall (33 comments)
- At 5:43pm on September 10, 2009,
John Wesley Nobles said… - Hi Kat,
On day I will find my way to Alaska. My dad went down on the USS Grunion off Kiska during WWII. Thanks for all your hard work up there. Let us hope in the near future we will no longer have to import oil.
- At 1:11pm on August 31, 2009,
Keith Schaub said…
- Hi Kat,
I just got a 3KWHr solar panel system installed on my roof. With the stimulus funds and the city of Austin rebate, it pays for itself within 2 years!
- At 2:54pm on August 6, 2009,
Robert S. Poston said… - The Pickens Plan is not about promoting alternate energy to the exclusion of fossil fuels. It is all about eliminating oil imports. BP
- At 3:39am on June 19, 2009,
Michael Knight said… - C O N S E R V A T I O N :
Free Alternative Energy Available Now !
America Continues to Waste over 70% of the Energy it Consumes.
100's of millions of lights unnecessarily burn during the day and night, over heating and over cooling is the norm, over packaging, inadequate recycling, toxic landfills, horrendous road congestion, and our perverted obsession with road construction. Public and Private buildings, Schools, Churches, Homes, ... America's blatant energy waste and overuse is culturally pervasive, and abominable !
1- ONLY with a substantial and tangible economic reward/consequence will most Americans care to conserve.
Crude oil must be taxed at $200 per barrel and offset by making income tax begin at $60k.
Taxing energy is simple, fair, economically sound, and available TODAY.
2- The American auto industry must quickly transition to the 6.4 BILLION people reason$ to manufacture solar, wind, and other alternative energy producers. They already have the needed infrastructure. Every home and building in the world, could be using solar energy. We are fast running out of fossil fuels !
Humanity is racing toward extinction, via global warming, for our failure to stop our energy waste.
Taxing energy (in lieu of income taxes) is the ONLY incentive that will stop energy waste and cause renewable energy sources to be employed.
Michael Knight, PhD Energy Conservation Policy mk.ConservationMatters@gmail.com
- At 7:31pm on June 2, 2009,
Kat said… - The Military Responds to Global Warming
BY EMILY GERTZ
CATEGORIES: CLEAN ENERGY, FOSSIL ENERGY, POLICY & LEGISLATION, POLITICS, SECURITY
PUBLISHED MAY 25, 2009 @ 04:47PM PT
Could the U.S. military help lead the nation into a clean energy future?
Even as the Bush administration sought to suppress science and delay action on climate change, the Department of Defense began working on freeing itself from reliance on oil, and to plan for the risks of global warming.
I first encountered this myself in 2004, when I wrote up the Pentagon's report on the military and environmental risks of extreme climate change for a news service. Global warming "should be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a US national security concern," declared the authors of that study.
A couple years later I was reporting and writing two articles about community biodiesel plants for Grist in in 2006. One of my sources told me that the Air Force was among those most interested in small-scale biodiesel and wind power technologies -- viewing it as a national security risk to remain dependent on foreign oil imports, and vulnerable to the volatility of oil pricing.
Since then, the information's become much more common knowledge, and Defense cites both green and security concerns in its push for energy independence. As Reuters & New Scientist reported jointly last year,
The US military has a history of fostering change, from racial integration to development of the internet. Now Pentagon officials say their green energy efforts will help America fight global warming.
By size alone, the US Department of Defense can make waves. It accounts for 1.5% of the nation's energy consumption.
The military has set a goal that 25% of its energy should come from renewable sources by 2025 and aims to create machines and methods to help "Main Street America" reach similar targets, says Alan Shaffer, a retired air force officer who leads the Pentagon's research and engineering arm.
"It's only the Department of Defense that is big enough and has the federal mandate for the necessary scope of development" of new energy technologies and products, he says.
...These energy technologies may one day spread to households, as a byproduct of a more efficient military, said Colonel Dave Belote, commander of Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada. The biggest solar power array in the US has been operating at Nellis since November in a public-private partnership.
On the downside, even the pragmatists in the Department of Defense sometimes fall prey to magical thinking. Last year, the US Joint Forces Command issued a long-range planning report, "Joint Operating Environment 2008," claiming that the scientific data on what's causing climate change was still open to doubt. Recycling this tired disinfo meme earned the agency rebukes from both strategic and scientific experts, as the Boston Globe reported:
Sharon Burke, a former Pentagon and State Department official who is now a specialist at the Center for a New American Security, said the report was factually "wrong" and "out of line," saying that there is a wide consensus that human activity, namely the production of greenhouse gases, is responsible for global warming.
Other specialists had similar reactions when they read the report.
"It's very wrong," said Kerry Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose work was cited in the military report. "The jury is not out" on what is causing global warming, he added. "I don't know where that statement came from, but it's pretty bizarre."
Emanuel also took issue with the report's assertions about future storm intensity.
"Everyone pretty much agrees that the intensity of events could go up with global warming, although we argue how much," he said in an interview.
The Joint Forces Command redeemed itself a bit by backing off the "causes" kerfuffle in favor of more pragmatic concerns. "We are in complete agreement that climate change will be a national security driver in the future," Rear Admiral John M. Richardson, director of strategy for the command, told the Globe. "We are focused on the implications of climate change. We see what is happening. What is causing it is not in our purview. The commanders have to deal with the effects...Don't take away that we think it is any less important."
In a recent high-profile report, the Navy affirms the connections between climate change, economics, energy and security, and argues that "confronting these converging risks is critical to ensuring America’s secure energy future."
The Military Advisory Board (MAB) of the Center for Naval Analysis report, "Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security," reaches the following conclusions:
U.S. dependence on oil weakens international leverage, undermines foreign policy objectives, and entangles America with unstable or hostile regimes.
Inefficient use and overreliance on oil burdens the military, undermines combat effectiveness, and exacts a huge price tag—in dollars and lives.
U.S. dependence on fossil fuels undermines economic stability, which is critical to national security.
A fragile domestic electricity grid makes our domestic military installations, and their critical infrastructure, unnecessarily vulnerable to incident, whether deliberate or accidental. Looking forward, the report warns that continuing business as usual is perilous because of the converging national security risks of energy demand and climate change:
The market for fossil fuels will be shaped by finite supplies and increasing demand. Continuing our heavy reliance on these fuels is a security risk.
Regulatory frameworks driven by climate change concerns will increase the costs—both economic and geopolitical—of using carbonbased fuels.
Destabilization driven by ongoing climate change has the potential to add significantly to the mission burden of the U.S. military in fragile regions of the world.
According to this 2007 report from the Brookings Institution, the Defense Department uses 93% of all energy consumed by the federal government. "The DOD spent approximately $13.55 billion on energy as a commodity in FY 2006," the study notes. "Of that, DOD spent roughly $10 billion on mobility fuels and $3.5 billion on facilities and infrastructure. A $10 per barrel increase in the cost of fuel increases DOD 12 operating costs by roughly $1.3 billion per year, which roughly equates to the entire 2007 procurement budget for the United States Marine Corps."
No doubt these vulnerabilities contributed to the $20 billion in stimulus money being directed at the military for energy efficiency and other improvements, as Wired.com reports, as well as "$75 million to each of the services for "near term" energy efficiency technology demonstrations and research."
With the transition in Washington to a more rational, science-friendly administration, hopefully the military will embrace the moment to solve its own strategic concerns, back strong action on greenhouse gas pollution, and help promote clean energy in civilian society as well.
-----
Image: Solar power array at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
- At 9:21pm on May 25, 2009,
Kat said…
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Find more photos like this on PickensPlan
- At 12:27pm on May 1, 2009,
Kat said…
- Check this out http://www.pickensplan.com/news/2009/04/30/the-wall-street-journal-on-the-100-year-supply-of-natural-gas/
Natural gas is a major focus for Alaska.
- At 1:56pm on March 28, 2009,
Kim Anderson said… - Hi KAt!
Great results for you district! Just fantastic. Have you or anyone in your area brought aboard 100 new suporters personally - we would love to have them in the 100CLUB!
Best,
Kim
- At 8:36pm on March 13, 2009,
Marilyn said… - Hi Kat,
I would appreciate if you would check on a new member from Chitina, Alaska. She could use some local contact and coordination with an energy plan. Sometimes the warriors are so busy fighting, they do not see the immediate needs.
Have a great weekend!
Marilyn
- At 6:26pm on February 23, 2009,
Robert S. Poston said…
- KAT, Just read carefully what I said. Pickens is not crying to the gov't for money or special incentives. He will use private capital to build wind turbines. A lot of the environmental wackos don't want to use CNG for transportation--after all it is a fossil fuel!! Nobody wants to drive an electric car. You can't run heavy equipment and trucks on electric so we are always going to need gasoline and diesel. If PV/solar was economical Orlando Utilities would be permitting one rather than the new nuclear plant they just proposed. Again I tell you, use proven clean coal technology to capture CO2 and transmitt to old oil fields for half again more oil production and use in hothouses to accelerate food and fiber growth and yields. This means CO2 sequestration has a payback and will not turn the economy upside down. Dr Robt S Poston PhD
Profile Information
- Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?
- Yes
- Tell us about your experience with alternative energy:
- Founder of Sustainable Homer, former president of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, trustee of WILD Foundation.
- What excites you about this campaign?
- Everything. The time is right. The need is great. The solution is simple with political will and informed citizens.
- What do you want to do to help?
- Spread the word while campaigning for Obama, promoting wilderness conservation, and delivering speeches on Climate Change in Alaska.
Grandfather's Old Ways...refreshingly, what was old is now new and needed!
Our grandfathers knew how to live in harmony. They did not create poisons or technologies that destroyed things. They did not make their decisions based on greed or for selfish reasons. They did not take more then they used. Their thoughts and actions were about respect. The Elders conducted themselves in a respectful way. We need to consider our actions around respect for Mother Earth.
Kat's Blog
The World is waiting for US to get renewables...
Congratulations, T. Boone!
I will stand up with you for the wisdom of your plan in Alaska, Colorado, and California. I invite you to present your solution to the Ninth World Wilderness Congress in Merida, Mexico November 7, 2009 hosted by Presidente Calderon. Your plan is part of an answer to a global complex of challenges. Perhaps we might create multinational interest in your wind plan? To do this effectively global cooperation with the conservationists and the wilderness communities the plan… Continue
I will stand up with you for the wisdom of your plan in Alaska, Colorado, and California. I invite you to present your solution to the Ninth World Wilderness Congress in Merida, Mexico November 7, 2009 hosted by Presidente Calderon. Your plan is part of an answer to a global complex of challenges. Perhaps we might create multinational interest in your wind plan? To do this effectively global cooperation with the conservationists and the wilderness communities the plan… Continue
Posted on August 3, 2008 at 8:27pm — 1 Comment
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