ZENblog

IF IT WEREN'T TRAGIC IT WOULD JUST BE SILLY

Gary Kaye,  Publisher Zero Energy News

All signs now point to Congress calling it quits without passing tax credits for renewable energy including wind and solar power.  Unless Congress takes action, the existing tax credits for solar and large scale wind will expire at the end of the year.  The current proposals that have been approved in various stages, include tax credits for small scale wind for the first time.

At a time when every one of us is being whacked by soaring energy prices, the failure of Congress to move ahead with incentives to promote renewable energy development is nothing short of astonishing.  Our economy is in a shambles.  Home building has ground to a halt.  Yet, there is clear anecdotal evidence from across the country that energy efficient homes, especially those using active renewables such as PV or wind turbines, are selling much faster than traditional stick built homes. 

In terms of large scale renewables,  companies are poised to make billions of dollars in investments in both concentrated solar and large scale wind.  These are technologies that will almost certainly reduce energy costs in coming years, while the costs of fossil fuels are just as certain to keep rising.  Many of these investments will be placed on hold if Congress fails to act.  Thousands, perhaps millions of jobs that could be created by the growth of renewable energy,  in areas from solar panel manufacturing to the erecting of wind turbines will be delayed.  Our unemployment rate is climbing.  This could be a partial solution.  Yet Congress feuds over minor details.

To its credit, the House of Representatives passed a comprehensive energy bill, including the extension of these tax credits, only days after it was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  The bottleneck, as it has been for months, is in the Senate, where a small minority has held the measure hostage over issues of how its going to be paid for.  C'mon guys.  You're spending billions every month in Iraq.  You're talking about a seven hundred billion dollar bailout for our financial institutions.  And you can't agree on tax credits that will help us take a major step towards energy independence, create American jobs, and even help reinvigorate the moribund home building industry?  Wake up. 

It may be too late to save the tax credits before the next Congress comes in and has to start the process all over again.  Maybe not.  Sure your representative is trying to figure out what to do about the bailout bill.  But these days they need to multitask.  I urge you to get ahold of your Senators, your representatives, and tell them now is the time to resolve the impasse in favor of the American people.  Period.  There's just too much at stake.

Celebrity Guest Blog: Matthew Modine

Bicycle for a Day (BFAD), founded by Matthew Modine, is a fun, open, and proactive event designed to inspire individuals, communities, governments and corporations to take a step towards solving the current environmental issues. BFAD's goal is to raise awareness of the need to reduce carbon emissions and to demonstrate many simple things that each of us can do every day to accomplish a cleaner world. The BFAD event, 10 AM to 5 PM on September 20th is free and open to the public. Everyone is invited to join us at NYC's South Street Seaport to support a wonderful cause! Just don't drive a gas powered vehicle there! Walk, skate, blade or ride a bike to show your solidarity in improving the world we share.

Gary Kaye: So Matthew, what was the inspiration for your upcoming event, Bicycle for a Day?

Matthew Modine: I was asked a simple question, “If there was one thing I could do to improve the environment, what would I do?” “Bicycling,” was my simple reply. By choosing to ride a bike instead of driving a gas powered vehicle you can make an immediate and positive impact on the environment. When we think of the enormity of the problems of global warming, it is very difficult to think that we can do things to restore, or at least stabilize, the situation. But if we consider that one person, becoming part of a movement that would include millions of people from around the world – then the global environmental situation becomes achievable. “Bicycle for a Day” is a global effort to empower people to collectively become that positive change. And it's fun!

GK: Can you please explain why Segway was invited to participate?

MM: I wanted Segway to become part of “Bicycle for a Day” because I feel that it is one of the most progressive companies in the United States. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter said that the environmental situation, and the energy crisis that the US was experiencing, was the "moral equivalent of war." That each American had to become more conscious of the energy they consumed and to begin to use less. Carter said we had to free our country from its dependency to oil both to secure our independence from foreign oil and to protect the environment. We needed to invest in new ideas of energy and to invent new ways of transporting ourselves that are more efficient. For me, Segway represents that new way of thinking – how to get from here – and is wonderfully efficient in its use of electric energy. Like bicycling, the Segway PT is one additional way to empower yourself to have a positive impact on the environment.

GK: How about the sponsor MBT?

MM: Riding a bike is one thing that you can do to improve the environment. Walking is as well. The MBT shoe is kind of an odd miracle. I heard about them and got a pair. I have two friends that were hit by cars while walking (they had the right of way in a crosswalk), and their backs were killing them as a result. They started wearing the shoes and their backs are now fine. I am going to stop before I sound like an infomercial!

GK: What do you hope to accomplish by hosting BFAD?

MM: I want people to feel that they can be responsible and empowered by making decisions that have a simple yet powerful impact when done collectively. Bicycling is "self-propulsion." That's beautiful. Helping yourself to help others.

GK: What is your vision for the future of urban transportation?

MM: I love traveling to  Europe . Europeans seem to really understand public transportation - how to make it work and make it clean and beautiful. Maybe it’s because European countries don't have an aggressive industrial military complex so they can afford to invest in their countries’ infrastructures.  America  was made powerful by trains. Every major city had a trolley system in place that worked to efficiently transport people. The automobile changed that. I think we are going to see incredible new electric powered vehicles. Things like the Segway will become more of an everyday site because of its efficiency and ease of travel. And the bicycle will become common place.

GK: The green movement is overwhelming for many, as it’s a shift in the way we live our lives. What small steps can you suggest for helping to create a greener earth?

MM: Remember to turn the lights off when you leave a room. It's amazing how often we don't. Get the buildings you live and work in to put motion detector sensitive on/off switches in stairwells and bathrooms. Our homes and offices are the biggest consumers of energy in our country.  Look at the simple, small steps. Each journey begins with those baby steps. Start making them!

GK: For someone who has never considered alternate forms of transportation, do you have any advice on how to begin?

MM: I recommend you look at the BFAD sponsors and leaders in the green transportation space – a good place to start is the website www.bicycleforaday.org.

GK: What is in the future for BFAD?

MM: “Bicycle for a Day” is a global initiative. I hope that the “Bicycle for a Day” logo will become the image for the environmental movement. The 'Peace' sign was the symbol of solidarity for a generation. The 'Bicycle for a Day' icon will become a symbol of environmental solidarity for a new generation.

GK: For people outside of NYC or those unable to attend the event, what would you tell them about it and how can they still participate?

MM: Ride a bike. Get a group of your friends and choose not to use gas powered vehicles on Sept. 20th. Make a decision that you are going to be more conscious of what we often take for granted – our energy consumption. How much water we are using? What can I do to have a positive impact on future generations? Plant a tree! Little things make all the difference.

GK: Thank you, Matthew. We look forward to seeing you next week in NYC and wish you best of luck with “Bicycle for a Day”!

Gary M. Kaye is the publisher of Zero Energy News.

 

Defining the Debate

By Gary M. Kaye, Publisher, Zero Energy News

The energy debate is really two debates.  They overlap the way two circles overlap in a Venn diagram,  For those who advocate the use of renewable energy it’s important to realize that these two debates are not entirely synonymous and some of the people who support the first, may not agree at all with the second.  Unfortunately in the heat of the presidential debate the distinctions tend to get lost.

Energy Independence

The primary focus of the energy debate has been on  the issues of energy independence and rapidly rising energy costs.  We rely on imported oil for a major portion of our energy needs, not only for gasoline, but also for home heating oil and oil fired electric plants, especially in the Northeast.  And the number is staggering, almost two-thirds (64.72%) of U.S. petroleum consumption in 2007 came from imported oil. The issue of independence relates both to economics, and to national security.  Obviously,  the more we pay for energy, whether it be in the form of electric bills or gasoline, the less we have available to spend on everything else.  As the price of a gallon of gasoline rose from twenty something cents a gallon in the early 1970’s all the way up to two dollars plus, we were largely able to absorb the increases.  But earlier this year, as those prices soared to more than four dollars a gallon, our budgets finally hollered, “No Mas” 

The other side of that equation is where all that money is going.  Oil Man turned Renewable Energy Man T. Boone Pickens calls it the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the world.  And the transfer is going to people who don’t like us, and who are more than happy to use their energy resources to threaten us.  This includes places like Russia, Venezuela, and much of the Middle East.  We are dependent on the very people whose policies are often in violent opposition to our own.  Just this week Russia sent a 20 person delegation to OPEC to tell the cartel that it wants close cooperation.  Russia produces 11 percent of the world’s oil exports and has proven it’s willing to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk.  If, heaven forbid, we land up in a shooting war with people who some of those nations support, the consequences could be horrendous.  Four dollar a gallon gasoline would quickly become a fond memory.  And how hard would it be to imagine the U.S. being pressured to change its policies to comply with the demands of people who keep our cars running?  Talk about economic imperialism.  It’s no wonder the American Jewish Committee has begun running a series of radio ads promoting energy independence.  The AJC clearly understands the link between energy dependence and Middle East policy.

In and of itself, the need for us to become energy independent strongly argues in favor of developing alternative energy sources that can offset oil imports, especially for things like home heating oil and power plants.  Replacing gasoline for our cars is a much tougher nut to crack.

Climate Change

The other debate is over climate change.  There is overwhelming evidence that our use of fossil fuels contributes to the increase of greenhouse gases.  No debate there.  What could be debatable is the impact.  Is this leading to global warming?  There’s a lot of evidence supporting that position.  So, here too, increased production of renewable energy means less use of fossil fuels.  Using solar and wind do not generate any greenhouse gases.  And here we can replace things like coal, a pretty dirty fossil fuel with things that have no emissions like wind and solar.  By reducing our reliance on imports (the overlapping part of the Venn diagram) we improve our energy independence, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Many of those who squirm at $4.00 a gallon gasoline see the bottom line as the bottom line.  They are willing to sacrifice long term goals for short term savings.  This is a different debate.  This is the ethanol, clean coal, natural gas, debate.  It’s not the zero emissions debate. 

The issues are largely separate, but the answers are similar.  Increasing renewable energy sources like wind and solar help resolve both sets of issues.  Using more coal and offshore drilling could help energy independence, but won’t save the planet.  We need to make sure that when we debate we know the difference between apples, oranges, and fruit salad.