I was stretched out on my deck tonight gazing at the sky while a storm rolled in.
I came to the conclusion that only the sun and the rain, as long as they fall above my property, are free. What comes from the sky above my head cannot be taxed nor can it be repackaged, marketed and sold back to me at compounded profit and then taxed.

Harnessing these things in my backyard, I could take control of my increasingly squeezed and controlled by corporate entity - life.

The secret is in the invention, not buying the product.

I am going to build a rain collection system to water my garden. I can tell you right now that it will probably take 40 years to pay for the parts since water is pretty cheap, but it will be an exercise in securing freedom and independence. A working sculpture of hope for my future.

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BUSKIRK, N.Y. (AP) — A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.

That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear.

Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore off plane travel. She began relying on a wood-burning stove.

These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves. (AP)

I can't say that I would choose to live on the edge of peril. I find too much hope and enjoyment in life to risk that for even one day by adopting a doomsday view of the future.

However, how cool would it be if everyone cut their driving in half, came up with a random alternative to heat their home that the commodities market wouldn't harness for profit. Gather the tax free, corporate free, sun, wind and water on their own properties and use their own soil to provide themselves food and fuel. The price oil, natural gas and electricity would plunge from the lack of demand and the individual would gain a degree of independence.

Doomsday averted.

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Loganville-based Komax Systems York was one of the businesses at the York County Cooperative Job Fair (YDR, 04/23)

Komax Systems, a division of the Komax Group based in Sweden, is front-runner in the world of building machines that produce solar panels, said Elizabeth Gillespie, a human resources representative with the company.

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Southern California Edison plans to install a huge network of solar cells, 10 times bigger than any previous such installation, on more than 100 large rooftops around Southern California. The solar panels, covering more than two square miles of rooftop, will be able to produce 250 megawatts of electricity when the sun is shining, enough to power about 160,000 homes.

Edison’s order is roughly equal to all the solar cells produced in the United States last year.

Edison is under orders from the state if Califonia to produce 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2010.

The largest solar installation in this country is 14 megawatts, at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The largest in the world, in Spain, is 23 megawatts. Of the top 10 worldwide, all are in Spain or Germany, except for Nellis.
nytimes.com/business

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Plug-in hybrids have been touted as a short-term squeeze on foreign oil. The concept is that you plug into your home outlet and run on the energy grid for a 100 miles or so until the batteries deplete before a gasoline engine needs to fire.

Electrical generation likes consistency and using non-fossil fuel sources during low demand that are already in place like nuclear, hydro and wind could cut oil use.

However, consider if everyone had a plug-in hybrid and started plugging them in during peak energy demand on a hot summer day. More power plants and peak demand plants that run on natural gas and oil would have to be built and fired up to meet the demand. Humans by nature seek convenience.

For plug-in hybrids to become part of the short-term energy solution incentives for time-of-day metering and consumer education need to be part of the sales pitch, otherwise, we will just have another ethanol quandary to sort out.

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Martin Library will host an environmental panel discussion on February 21 featuring:

I was interviewed, via keybord of course, since I will be one of the moderators. Below is the text of the interview:

5. In your opinion, how does the level of environmental awareness in York County compare to that of other similar-sized communities?

York is a land of plenty. We have enjoyed low population congestion and are blessed with resources. California is tuned into air pollution because congestion and climate patterns demanded action. The desert southwest is tuned into water supply because of the lack of it. Other than the Codorus Creek, a stray landfill and an occasional bad ozone day, York County generally has not been confronted in the face with major environmental issues. High oil prices, wars and global cries that we need to act have brought these concerns home to York.

6. What do you believe the typical Yorker can do to improve the environment?

Use less to do more. Nothing will lower pollution, lower oil prices, and stretch resources more than choosing to use less through product choice and lifestyle. This concept runs contrary to our financial model that, up until now, has promoted and thrived on people using more energy.

7. As editor of Greenmesh.com, what do you see as the most promising alternative to oil-based energy?

Experimenting with many alternatives is the best was to transition away from an oil based economy. It takes time to understand the repercussions of any form of energy production. Solar collection is the lowest impacting source of alternative energy, but in places like Pennsylvania, solar isn’t practical most of the time. We have already experienced the implications of diving head first into corn-based ethanol by higher food and feed prices.

All methods of energy production have environmental implications and placing all our eggs in one basket gives power to a new monopoly and will accentuate any negative effects of pushing a single solution of energy production....

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The race is on to become leaders in self preservation. States and communities that become innovators and solution makers will have an edge.

With electricity rate caps set to begin to be lifted at the end of 2009, they said, there is urgency to get conservation measures in place. Increased competition for "green" companies from other states could hurt Pennsylvania's economy down the road, they added.

"New Jersey and New York each are spending $200 million a year," said John Hanger, president of PennFuture, a statewide environmental advocacy group. "We need at least $150 million a year or we're not going to be a competitor in locating clean-energy producers here." www.philly.com

What's undecided in government is whether consumers are willing to pay now for promoting alternative energies though subsidies that are often risky investment due to the undeveloped nature of many technologies. Thinking green often pulls money away from entrenched capitalization (oil,coal...revenue streams) and money fuels government.

The urgency is reality: California has long tried to push tougher pollution laws often blocked by federal government. California has a dense population and a climate that makes controlling pollution a more in-your-face issue than most of the country.

In 2009 when electricity caps are lifted in Pennsylvania, consumers can expect and 20-30% increase in their electrical bills. One of the reasons that will be given will be high energy prices. A high cost is an in-your-face issue for consumers.

We stand at the crossroads made in all great investment decisions, only there aren't any safe government backed securities to bank on with this one. The worst decision is to make no decision.

Some community leaders are taking their destiny into their own hands.

In Parkland, Fla, there is free hybrid-car parking. Cash rebates for installing solar panels. Low-interest loans for energy-saving home renovations. Money to tear up desert lawns and replace them with drought-resistant landscaping.

Starting next year, San Francisco will offer home owners rebates of up to $5,000 for installing solar panels if they use a local contractor.

The city of Berkeley is financing the cost of solar panels for homeowners who agree to pay the money back through a 20-year property tax assessment.

Baltimore offers at least $2,000 toward closing costs for people who buy new homes close to where they work. It is called the "Live Near Your Work" program.

n Arizona, many cities pay residents to replace grass with artificial turf or plants that use less water. Scottsdale, outside Phoenix, will pay up to $1,500.
AP

Pennsylvania Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency

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The energy bill fell flat in the Senate Friday after the house passed it. The White House issued a statement saying,

"“Their proposal would raise taxes and increase energy prices for Americans. That is a misguided approach and if it made it to the president’s desk, he would veto it.” nyt.com

The bill is more of a panic reaction by a few well intentioned to a dire situation than a solution.

Well true, the bill would have increased the price of energy for Americans because a majority of the taxes were on oil companies that would have passed the cost along to consumers; before the money taken away from consumers could catch up by creating competition with alternative energy. Also people affected by feed prices like cattleman lined up not liking it because the huge ethanol mandate would push the price of feed up squeezing them against consumers.

The love for corn based ethanol is mind boggling requiring production of ethanol and other bio fuels, from about 5 billion gallons a year of bad science and impact of the food supply today to 36 billion gallons of the same and yet to be discovered methods of production by 2022.

Old school oil wants to clutch it's money as long as possible and government is here to empower status quo economic highways. Meanwhile, no one with power is enough of a hero to see the big picture and force change. The planet continues to die.

Nothing is going to get done here until consumers start using some things, stop using others and conserving what we must use but don't want. The great part about capitalism is that there has to be a market for something to gain power. Ultimately, an educated consumer holds all the power.

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Solar Electric Vehicles, of Califonia, makes a system of solar cells conformed to the roof of a vehicle by embedding the solar cells into fiberglass and custom molding it.

With the SEV solar system, the Toyota Prius can operate up to 20 miles per day in electric mode thus improving fuel economy by up to 29% (depending on driving habits and conditions).

The company soon will be producing solar panels for Toyota's Rav4 EV and Highlander, two vehicles with very flat roofs. Solar Electrical Vehicles has sold about 130 conversion kits for the Prius. The system drinks up solar power and uses motorcycle batteries hidden in the rear well to supplement the manufacturer's battery.

Solar Electrical Vehicles' solar-conversion kits can supplement "plug-in" hybrids conversions. A traditional hybrid charges its electrical battery from energy created when the gas engine is running and from braking. The plug-in hybrid can plug it into a regular wall socket overnight and start the day with a fully charged battery. That can reduce the amount of gas the Prius uses, however, fuel is still burned to make the electricity.

The solar kit takes it one step further, pushing the motorist further off the grid.

more info: scrippsnews.com

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$159 a barrel by 2030 with 270 million cars in China

As gasoline prices quietly scrolled past $3 a gallon locally this week and a barrel of crude nears $100 there wasn't much to say here at greenmesh, though it's an oozing fissure in the dome of the volcanic energy crisis.

Those in the energy industry who can profit this quarter are not saying much as those who just "need" a 7-liter pickup truck to commute to work from their well heated, over-sized house. Life, aside from accelerating dollars in and out of a pockets, goes on.

The International Energy Agency in it's annual World Energy Outlook has taken a more pessimistic view over previous projections that in the past said pumping trillions of dollars into sucking oil out of the earth could meet global energy needs.

$100,000,000,000 in today's dollars could shift us to Hydrogen according to Peter Schwartz, a former futurist for Shell Oil, who is an investor in two companies developing hydrogen power technologies and Doug Randall, Global Business Network.

With that investment, the nation could shift the balance of power from foreign oil producers to US energy consumers within a decade. By 2013, a third of all new cars sold could be hydrogen-powered, 15 percent of the nation's gas stations could pump hydrogen, and the US could get more than half its energy from domestic sources, putting independence within reach.

All that's missing is a national commitment to make it happen. wired.com

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Iraq War Cost

I welcome $3 a gallon for gasoline. These small warning signs dotting the landscape are a wake-up call of what is to come. There is a price at the pump where an informed democracy will force a solution with it's tax dollars; perhaps that number is $4, $5 or $10.

Here are some projections by the IEA:
The staggering pace of Chinese and Indian economic growth in the past few years, outstripping that of all other major countries, has pushed up sharply their energy needs, a growing share of which has to be imported. Free trade means increased standard of living for developing countries. The world’s energy needs would be well over 50% higher in 2030 than today.

Oil demand for transport almost quadruples in China between 2005 and 2030, contributing more than two-thirds of the overall increase in Chinese oil demand. The vehicle fleet expands seven-fold, reaching almost 270 million. New vehicle sales in China exceed those of the United States by around 2015.

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