Yes, America, it’s all about Wind!

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You can’t fix something if you don’t know how it works.  Period.  That’s how mechanics work in the real world.  Facts and details are what matters.  Opinions and guesses don’t cut it, so can we stop acting like total idiots, pull our heads out of our asses, and actually fix our problems?

I don’t know why it strikes me as so weird that I find myself in complete agreement with the iconic Texas oil-man, T. Boone Pickens.  Maybe it’s personal style.  Who knows, but we both arrived a the exact same conclusion – that the US should move to renewable wind power as the smartest solution to replacing our dependence on imported oil.

About a year ago, last November, I wrote a piece called, How-to keep America No. 1 in the World | 2 Steps to can save both the US economy and the health of the planet at the same time where I had arrived at the same basic conclusion.  The important difference, however, between my article and the PickensPlan is in the details.  Many of you, I’m sure, have seen T. Boone’s commercials but do yourself a favor.  Spend a couple minutes and actually check out his plan on-line for yourself.  It’s not heavy reading, and besides, it’s just plain smart to know something about the nuts and bolts of how his proposal is constructed.

I’m not going to pretend that I understand, or agree with everything, but the essentials seem logical enough.  His plan estimates that 20% of the US electrical needs could be met at a combined initial turbine-transfer investment of $1.2 trillion in the right location – a bargain compared the the $700 billion we spend every year for oil.  True, but I think those numbers are somewhat deceiving.  Unlike the $700 billion which is an expense, the $1.2 trillion is an investment into the broader economy – not money that would be simply be paid out of the US Treasury.  If you recalculate the private profits, jobs, taxes, and the full economic circulation that would result, the “real” cost of this investment in wind energy is likely to be far far less.  Think of it more like the Hoover Dam, or the Internet Highway road system.  The true pay-off is huge.

My hat is off to Mr. Pickens, not merely for coming up with a comprehensive energy plan – and by the way, he has put his money where his mouth is by investing in wind power – but for something equally as essential; for embodying the “can-do” American spirit.  After all, we are a nation of “can-do” individuals (or at least we used to be) – from Benjamin Franklin, who invented innumerable social and technical solutions, to the guy down the street who learned how to cut his own energy use though personal research and ingenuity.  And that’s also very important.  If you think that any of this is beyond the average person’s ability to do anything about, you’re dead wrong.

Let’s be proud of ourselves again – not by paying it lip-service, by bragging to the rest of the world about how great we are.  Why not just prove it, instead?  I don’t think we should delude ourselves into thinking that the government is going to do it all.  Each of us can and should contribute to the effort.

You can count me in.  And you?  Listen all you commie-pinko xenophobic freaks – either put up or shut up and stop whining ;-p

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URI REFERENCES

• The Picken’s Plan web site: http://www.pickensplan.com/theplan/
• T. Boone Pickens: Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Boone_Pickens

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How-to keep America No. 1 in the World | 2 steps that can save both the US economy and the health of the planet at the same time.

By Sterling Kekoa | November 18, 2007

Two basic steps that every American can understand and get behind, if we really wanted to:

1. Congressionally mandate a nationwide wind power electric generation project.

How much do you think it will cost to build and install all the needed wind turbines and related distribution infrastructure to meet our energy needs?

If the government can coordinate mammoth projects like the Tennessee River Valley Power project, and the Hoover Dam project, to name only two, then surely the government can set-up enough wind turbines across the country in 5 years.

The History Channel’s episode on Renewable Energy clearly stated that wind-generated electrical power in only two states, such as North and South Dakota, is enough to meet all of the electrical power consumed currently in the US. Similarly, US Department of Energy studies have concluded wind harvested in just three of the fifty U.S. states could provide enough electricity to power the entire nation, and that offshore wind farms could do the same job.

Regardless of who has the most accurate statistics, what this boils down to is that there’s more than enough wind power potential across the country to meet both our present needs but also all our demands in the foreseeable future.

2. Congressionally mandate that all cars and trucks sold in the US be hybrid electric/multi-fuel, such as bio-diesel and ethanol, within 5 years – by the time all of the wind turbines are up and running.

In case you’re wondering, the world’s largest auto manufactures would have no problem complying with this simply because they already manufacture these types of vehicles at their own plants in Brazil and many of those either have hybrids on the market in the US currently or plan on having hybrid models available to consumers in the next year or two.

Aside from the enormous ecological benefits of switching over to wind power, ask yourself this question:

What would happen to the US economy and it’s financial position in the world, if we were able to generate 100% and more of our total energy needs within 5 years, and were no longer dependent on imported oil?

First, the dollar will rise, sharply. And second, when all businesses, including manufacturers, in the US pay a whole lot less for power, it ought to give them a huge competitive edge in the world marketplace. How’s that for turning things around and improving the potential for real job creation in the US?

Don’t you think we’ve made places like Dubai rich enough? Shouldn’t we be putting those billions of greenbacks back into our own economy – and perhaps even pay for the mounting Social Security and Medicare costs coming down the pipeline?

I bet you can guess who “won’t” like this idea. That’s right – oil companies! Yes, Chevron and Exxon-Mobile will definitely not like this plan, at all. In fact, they will fight tooth and nail to prevent it from happening. And it’s a safe bet coal producers aren’t going to like it either. Well… I don’t know about you but I’m willing to find out who “owns” America – us or them?

Now, you may ask, what about solar? Isn’t it a renewable resource just like wind power? Sure. You can substitute one for the other, or you can do a combination of both, but success favors simplicity. Put another way, for something of this size and scale to work, and work quickly, choosing one option first is the smartest way to keep such a project within “workable” parameters, with less chances of SNAFUs.

But in terms of using something simple like wind technology to solve the current crisis we are facing, the real question is, as Americans – as the sort of people who can do anything once we set our minds to it – why aren’t we doing this!?

-SK

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Data & URIs

• Wikipedia: Windpower: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
• History Channel: Renewable Energy: http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=187050&action=detail
• Wikipedia: Renewable Energy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_Energy
• Wikipedia: Battery Technology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_%28electricity%29
• Wikipedia: Ethanol fuel in Brazil: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazil
• Department of Energy: Brazil Oil Report: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Brazil/Oil.html
• Energy Information Association: Basic Petroleum Information: http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil.html
• FastCompany.com: Johnathan Goodwin can get 100 mpg out of a Lincoln Continental, cut emissions by 80%, and double the horsepower. Does the car business have the guts to follow him? http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html
• Daily Kos: Doing what Detroit says is impossible: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/30/14161/066
• Ethanol Producer Magazine: GM’s New Flexfuel Engines: http://www.ethanol-producer.com/article.jsp?article_id=951
• Google Answers: Structure, Players in Brazil, Brazil economy: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=763620
• Springfield News Sun Article: Running your car on veggie oil or grease? http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/l/content/shared/money/stories/clark/0504/050816car.html
• BNET Research Center: Dubai’s wealth and the greening of the Emirates – United Arab Emirates:
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2242/is_n1554_v267/ai_17281263
• BBC News: Dubai reaches for the sky: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4746097.stm
• GotWind.com: Everything wind powered: http://www.gotwind.com/

Podcasts, Videos & Feeds

• e² energy: 201 harvesting the wind: http://www-tc.pbs.org/e2/rss/media/201_harvesting_the_wind_podcast.mov
• Fast Lane Daily: Hybrids at the LA Auto Show: http://origin.libsyn.com/editions/42/216/fld_20071116.m4v
• YouTube: Puget Sound Energy’s Wind Power (9:10): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhI8Y_sKcWI
• YouTube: Helix Wind Turbine (2:30): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9flSPAdOLk
• YouTube: Building a Wind Turbine (9:59): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyehD1j0kUU
• YouTube: Inside a Wind Turbine (3:42): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRwGcGa3Vf0