Status Updates From Clean Energy Nation: Freein...

...limited philosophy of our respective ideologies, we realize that we are not "Democrats" or "Republicans." We are Americans. We are all participating in a patriotic partnership called democracy. A key component of effective leadership in creating a clean-energy nation is to ensure that all values and view are freely expressed and heard in a fair and fact -based argument."

...Dickinson's opposition to Thomas Jefferson , John Adams, BEnjamin Franklin, and other in Congress proved to the British people that the American people were not embarking on this revolutionary quest for self-government without seriously thinking about the consequences... we would be wise to remember the example of our Founding Fathers and strive for a balanced and evenhanded debate. When we move beyond the...

"The balanced disagreement by Dickinson and the other conservatives members of the Continental Congress confirmed to the world that America's leaders considered both sides of the argument...

"Republicans for Environmental Protection"

So successful was the state government's prompting that the objective was met in 2005, four years ahead of schedule....Thanks to Governor Bush, the Lone Star State is now the number-on producer of wind power in America."

to develop a statewide wind-energy program to be included in the 1999 industry restructuring law. That program, the Teas Renewable Portfolio Standard, gave the stat's power companies a deadline of the year 2009 to produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity from sustainable sources...

As Wood started to leave the governor's office that day, Bush shouted out from his desk, "Pat, we like wind." The astonished Wood responded with the question, "We what?" Bush answered, "You heard me. Go get smart on wind...Under Bush's orders, the utility commission began working with the energy companies and environmentalists...

"Many Americans might be surprised to learn that George Walker Bus started one of America's most successful clean-and-green energy programs. In mid-1996, Texas Governor Bush had his monthly chat with Pat Wood, then the chairman of the states' Public Utility Commission. They were discussing the expansion of the state's power transmission grid...

"Many large American manufacturers can also gain financial savings by partnering with state and federal government energy agencies to introduce more fuel-efficient innovations and renewable-energy systems such as solar panels and wind turbines that over time pay off handsomely in substantial energy savings."

I wish I had more time to research this. Putting it here in case some appears.

Of all the solutions I’ve ever seen any politician offer for improving education, I’ve never heard any suggest make the material more interesting or even fun.

Learning should be a joyous experience but instead the solutions generally involve more strict regulations and less flexibility in what is taught.

The human soul thirsts for the new and interesting. Why not give it what it wants?

…used for food or anything else)…thrive on poor soils (rather than using up precious farmland),” and according to them, prairie plants “yield bioenergy at a very significant rate.”

Couldn’t find that this research has yielded practical application

“There are much better options than corn-based fuels for our cars. Among them is the humble prairie grass, which promises to be an exceptionally attractive alternative vegetation source for ethanol production in the future, according to a ten-year experimental study done by University of Minnesota scientists. Researchers David Tilman and Jason Hill found that “native prairie plants(which would not otherwise be..

“The year 1946 saw the peak of American public transportation, with 23.4 billion passenger trips…Public transportation decreased steadily, hitting rock bottom in 1972, with 6.5 billion passenger trips.”

“In one-third of American cities, drivers waste more than forty hours throughout the year stalled in traffic, according to the Center for Transportation Excellence.”

“Compared to many other countries’ vehicles, our vehicles have poor fuel economy. The U.S. fleet currently averages 22.4 miles per gallon. Compare that to Japan, which has a fleet achieving 60 miles per gallon, and Europe, where the average car gets 43 miles per gallon.”

25.7 mpg as of 2020 according to energy.gov

“Two-thirds of the oil used in U.S. transportation is refined into gasoline for use in cars and light trucks, with the remaining third providing diesel fuel for commercial trucks, jet fuel for airplanes, and fuel oil to run tankers and large ships.”

…supply only about 1 percent of our demand. Clearly, this would not have a very significant impact on the price of gasoline or our national energy security.”

…barrels of oil a year, so ANWR could in theory provide us with up to four years of petroleum if we include our present import level in the equation. Realistically, if ANWR were exploited at the maximum rate, it might be able to produce about 100,000 to 200,000 barrels of oil per day. The United States currently consumes approximately 21 million barrels of oil per day, so even at the best production rate, ANWR…

“When it comes to reducing our reliance on foreign oil, some of our elected officials argue the case for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, as well as areas offshore, to oil exploitation. According to a 1998 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimate, ANWR has between 4.4 billion and 11.8 billion barrels of crude under its frozen landscape. The United States consumes about 7.6 billion

The three different regions in the US are East, West, and Texas. Obviously in the time between this book being published and the big snow storm down in Texas, smaller networks were not set up. Maybe it’s time to do so.

“Technology is now available that will enable us to build decentralized electric grids to distribute power to customers in a narrowed location instead of the three large regions that currently transmit electric power…The smaller scale and diversity of the decentralized grids would also make it less likely to cause a catastrophic economic collapse in the event of equipment failure or a terrorist attack.”

“One study pointed out that about 20 percent of the mercury found in Oregon’s Willamette River comes from Chinese coal and other over seas locations.”

…These toxic substances were carried by the floodwaters into New Orleans and surrounding suburbs. They leached into the soil and buildings. If left untreated, the long-term exposure to them experienced by humans and animals can result in leukemia and other life-threatening illnesses.”

“(Hurricane) Katrina destroyed forty-six offshore platforms and caused 233,000 gallons of oil to spill. Hurricane Rita destroyed sixty-nine offshore platforms, resulting in 508,000 gallons of oil going into Gulf waters. Adding to the environmental pollution, when Katrina hit Louisiana landfall, it caused the release of 8 million gallons of oil and hazardous chemicals stored at refining plants...

“We are not helpless in shaping our destiny.”

...In Benson, Minnesota, a 55-megawatt powerstation uses about 500,00 tons of poultry letter and other biomass a year to produce power for about 40,000 homes. The production also provides a fertilizer by-product that can be sold to farms to nourish soils."

"Farm wast from animals is another important source of biofuel that is only now starting to be better utilized in the United States. Americals chicken and turkey farms, for example, produce millions of tones of poultry litter annually. Instead of having to deal with the problem of discarding this dry waste product, our nation's farmers can sell it to power plants as fuel...

The cycle continues with the war upper-layer water boilin the propane into steam again. An experimental OTEC plant in Hawaii generated up to 50,000 watts of electric power in May 1993...can only be used in waters near the equator near land sites."

The site in Hawaii is still running, but only produces electricity for about 150 homes. This is a good one for small tropical islands with few residents.

...The OTEC's generator uses the warm seawater to boil liquid propane, which has a low boiling point. This propane steam then turns a generator turbone that creates electricity. Next, the propate gas is cooled and condensed using the cold water that is pumped up to it throught a long intake tube reaching down deep...

"One novel technology, called ocean theraml energy conversion (OTEC), works on the principle that the sea collects much of the sun's energy that shines on it. As a result, the tmperature of the surface water rises. In tropical regions, the surface can be a balmy 68 degrees Fahrenheit while the ocean depths a mile below stay chilly at 36 degrees Fahrenheit....