One recent workday when I had to drive to work instead of taking the bus, I found myself, not surprisingly, stuck in traffic. However, I had some great news to think over as I inched along - EHC's statewide game-changing victory at the PUC. This victory will create more energy efficiency education in more homes and help produce more green jobs for San Diego and California
Just before I turned off the engine of my Prius, I looked at the thermometer - winter is coming and the evenings are getting cooler. But I knew that once I got in the house it would be nice and warm. Nice and warm not from heating the house all day, but from all the energy upgrades we have done over the past two years. We put in new windows, and the white glove guys at ASI tested our house and figured how to make our house energy efficient. We got a new furnace and new heating ducts, and we got new insulation to keep our indoor temperature moderate.
We also got a nice check from SDG&E to help cover our costs. (Thanks to the ratepayers for that! You and I are funding SDG&E's rebate program - the funds don't come out of their profits or the goodness of their hearts. They are required to spend money to help people reduce energy use).
I walked to the front door thinking about our 37 SDGE bill that I had just opened-all smiles. And there, right in front of the door, was a box. I saw that SDG&E sent it. My first thought was to write "return to sender" on it and send it back, but curiosity got the better of me.
Inside were "eco friendly" gifts and a note thanking us for our energy upgrades. We got a ball cap and a t-shirt with the SDG light colored clothes reflect heat and make you cooler.
I looked at the tags and found out that the shirt was made in the Dominican Republic.
RULE NUMBER TWO: to reduce fuel consumption, don't buy clothes shipped long distances to reach you.
But there was more: plastic herb garden containers, a plastic lunch bag, and a plastic water bottle.
RULE NUMBER THREE IN BEING ENERGY EFFICIENT, don't buy things you don't need as it takes energy to make the product, energy to bring the product to you, and energy to bring the product to the landfill.
MEMO TO SDG&E:
We don't want more "stuff." Stuff creates greenhouse gases. Moving it around creates more. We also don't want three more fossil fueled power plants in our region. What we DO WANT from SDG&E is for them to move quickly toward a sane energy future, with policies and resources that put local, renewable energy sources ahead of fossil fuels. EHC's victory at the PUC in early November established groundwork for those improvements. No, we didn't suggest that t-shirts be a different color, or that they give out lunch-boxes instead of lunch-bags. We said that low-income families benefit more from one-on-one education vs. radio commercials to help save energy. We said that more middle-income families like mine need access to energy upgrade rebates. We said to expand green job training and get people back to work.
Beyond our recent victory, I'd like SDG&E to get out of the way of progress and let localities form their own nonprofit electric cooperatives that offer choices to residents about what kinds of energy solutions they want.
That would be the perfect gift to thank me for energy conservation.
"SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR PLANET EARTH" described the Tipping Point as follows:
The tipping point is that threshold when all hell breaks loose, as when water is heated to 212 degrees F, and liquid boils into vapor.
Are we now at this critical phase on Planet Earth for Humanity?
The largest tropical cyclone (Yasi) in a century just blew through Queensland (Australia) and a monstrous winter storm with temperatures as low as 30 F below zero dropped up to 2 feet of snow through half of the USA, even canceling flights to Dallas, where the Super Bowl will be held on Sunday. Trust me, weather will not stop the game, for spectators will find a way to get there and they can close the roof if necessary. Anyway, while scientists say these wild swings in weather are just what they are predicting, the average person trying to drive through these conditions can only hope for more global heating.
Well, its happening, as last year was the warmest ever. The ten hottest years have occurred since 1998. However, a Rasmussen poll this year indicated that 38% of American voters are not concerned about global warming, and worse, 60% felt that human activity was not the cause, anyway. About two-thirds believe that renewable energy is the best investment for the country. Yet you've got to wonder why in 2010, in the USA:
1. Wind power installations dropped by 50%.
2. New geothermal facilities declined by 92% (only one 15 MW plant was built).
3. Shell pulled out of the partnership with Cellana in Hawaii to produce biofuels from algae. Shell has given up on all fuels from algae initiatives. Part of the reason is that the best that can done today (Solix) is a product that costs 33/gallon (nearly 1400/barrel, when oil costs less than 100/barrel). Can we improve the process by more than a factor of 10? Maybe yes, for there is a swarm of companies out there still trying.
Any hope for Congress making the right decisions? Nope. Here is a poll that explains why:
Yes, global warming was second from the bottom, getting a 26% rating. Of course, this survey was taken by the American Enterprise Institute, which after Tucson tragedy reported that only 29% of respondents had negative feelings about the National Rifle Association and 77% believed that prayers helped Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survive. AEI is supposedly nonpartisan, but it represents current Republican thinking.
So, regarding our weather, we are not at the so-called tipping point for something like The Venus Syndrome. Not even close, in fact. However, as we continue to dither, at some point in the future we will reach that threshold and the tipping point...unless the following scenarios prevail.
So much for Planet Earth, but regarding Humanity, the African and Middle Eastern revolution is showing that the tipping point has been reached and exceeded. Many of these countries are Islamic, run by despots (and their family) for eons. It does not matter if some of them have been halfway humanitarian, for just the appearance of public justice in your general neighborhood succeeding is viral, and there will always be a critical mass angry enough in any country to galvanize the populace. The combination of the virtual network and desperate people can be deadly.
If all this leads to the fall of Saudi Arabia, oil prices will shoot upwards, the economy will enter into a greater recession, if not depression, triggering even more dissatisfaction, leading to a spiral decline close to what some doomsdayers have been predicting as the beginning of the end of humanity as we have known it. Mind you, society will survive, but that ridiculous notion of the world population, currently at nearly 7 billion, declining to only a billion, could well actually happen. But not all is gloom, as the survivors will be in great shape to build a sustainable society in the 22nd century. I'm ever the optimist.
I can be even more upbeat, for even under these really bad case conditions, the odds are that Humanity will likely remain at something close to 7 billion for a while, with American lifestyles for the current and next few generations almost surely dropping. The plus side is that we will still be solvent, productive and the only world power. China will get old and never become anything close to a supreme force, Russian will age and sink, Europe will fall in and out of bankruptcy, and global recovery will take a generation or two. All this turmoil will provide time for greener technologies to be developed before Peak Oil strikes, carbon dioxide emissions will drop and the world could well become a better, but still warmer, place by 2100. All in all, not exactly doomsday.
-The Dow Jones Industrials was +28 at 12,090, while world markets were mostly up. Gold fell 4/toz to 1349, while NYMEX oil fell below 90/barrel and the Brent Spot under 100/barrel.
-
Origin: amosrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
