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I think we should also use the interstate and State Highways to construct wind towers and put solar panels in the bar ditches. We already own them. Put them up along railroad tracks and right of ways.

I prefer a strong economy, Jobs and Energy independence.

Has anyone estimated what all this would cost if we don't?

I recommend that we encourage apartment complexes to expand their rental capabilities by adding solar panels on all of their buildings. They could also build them for themselves. You have the customers right there and any overage can be sold back to the power companies (required by law).

I telecommute. I live in Fort Worth and my office is in New York. I have been doing it for 2 years. It saves 58 miles of driving a business day (12,860 miles a year). I have my own equipment and eliminated the needed office space required at my office. I have not been to the office in the two last years. Our company is in the process of expanding the program. I am much more efficient and effective in this environment.

What was their plan to solve the problem? Anyone can define the problems. It takes action to find the solution.

Energy Independence Constitution

We the people of the United States, in order to create energy independence, reduce and eliminate imports, insure national security, capture our natural resources, promote national jobs, and encourage innovations, do ordain and establish this Energy Independence Constitution for the United States of America.

I have reduced my electric bill by 40% by using a Dow Corning's FORMULAR rigid polystyrene insulation product I purchased from Home Depot. It is a pink 4' by 8' insulation panel that I cut to fit behind my blinds of my windows. It cost me $40. I have used it for over 2 years and saved about $1500 a year. I placed white shelving on the outside to make it look white from the outside. I live in an apartment complex. When renting, you can't put up double pained windows and this is much, much cheaper.

Another good idea would be to use abandoned wells to store nuclear waste(fuel rods, etc).

And while you're thinking, we need to put into place a new network of businesses that convert current cars so that they can utilize new sources of energy, while waiting for the car manufacturers to produce the future cars that have those capabilities.

Apartment complexes should promote rental or ownership of their roofs to solar power investors. They have a captured customer base, their own electrical usage, and can sell excesses back to the energy companies as required by law.

We could set up temporary toll boothes and collect monies to build these Wind and Solar projects.

Once built and paid for:
The boothes would be removed.
The money generated by the power collected would support reducing Government and State Taxes.
Only the users of the road would be paying for the project while buillding it.
The Wind generators would aid in dissapating the current exhaust from vehicles on the road.

Now, the Gas Taxes would be converting to Wind Generation Revenue, generating themselves.

If you really wanted to make it fun. Keep up with those that pay a toll and pay

Also, there are multiple types of right-of-ways:

Railroad
Oil and Gas Pipeline
Utility

I worked in a building in downtown Dallas. I observed a bird that flew directly into the window of the building. The bird definitely died. Do we tear down all tall buildings with glass in all cities in the nation because they kill birds?

I am also an inventor. I hate to see great ideas die, simply because there is no outlet for getting the idea from the planning phase to a point where the idea becomes the social norm. I have a concept that I have tried to give away. I have begged and pleaded for someone to listen to the concept of allowing energy users to save 40% on their energy costs. If that became the social norm, think about how much it would save.

But, instead, I sit here and think about all the money I save using the concept, and, how much everyone else is wasting.

Renewable energy has a huge cost and no one is stepping up to figure out how to finance such a project. I live in Michigan and I hear alot of talk from our state on this topic.
It intrests me because i have the knowledge and the know how to start up a business in renewable energies. So I investigated to find out how little the demand is and how much our state really supports renewable energy.
Here is what i found out. First i called local businesses in the field. I was told they may put in one or two systems a year at an average cost of $25,000. Needless to say they do not sell many. They explained untill the cost of the product comes down the price goes up. Most people can not afford something for their home or property. Hence we need bank financing to perchase these items. I would suggest to our govt. is to help out with grants to help finance the power change over. I also believe that we have to change over from AC to DC, it only makes sense to me.
Homes could become self sufficiant.
Second, my state has licenses for this field and you have to have a HVAC license to install solor equipment. Thw state also only gave up money to build 5 spec houses through out the state to become 75% efficiant to qualify.
I look around me everyday and wonder why the greatest minds are not getting together to solve our problems.
I studied motors and have found some pretty unique motors out there. Believe it or not the RC car motor is probably the most advanced motor out there, we should be applying their technologies in the micro generator area. Lap top battery technology is unreal and should be shared.
But I have yet to see how my state is really supporting renewable energies for any growth in this sector.
We do however have alot of water and natural gas.
Which brings me to my conclusion is that we need to transform our fuel needs to natural gas and hydrogen. I believe H2O when seperated has three parts and they are all explosive. If we can spit an atom, and what ever happened to the super conductor?

I have invented the greatest method of using and generating energy, however I need to secure my discovery before I share it. It will satisfy all of Carol Bronners concerns. I'm also very sorry that their is only one Albert Einstein in America, have a good day.
steave9@yahoo.com

I watched Frank Sesno and the Planet Forward program. I was anticipating some comments on Hydrogen Fuel Cell automobile engines. Ballard inc. located in Canada has done over 20 years of research and development of these engines. Honda just delivered 100 vehicles to Los Angeles powered by hydrogen. L.A has three hydrogen fuel pumps which operate the same way as a normal gas station. The cars create no pollution, just a small amount of water vapor and oxygen. According to Ballard officials I spoke with a couple of years back the problem is the cost of extracting hydrogen. At present the best source is natural gas. I was told that using natural gas as a source of hydrogen for use in a fuel cell is three times more efficient than using natural gas as a direct fuel. That is good but not good enough. My guess is if we could convert 50% of American vehicles to hydrogen in 20 years, two things would happen. First, the global warming issue would be substantially mitigated and second, the Middle East's oil customer base would shrink. What is needed is a Manhatten type program charging science to find a way to cheaply extract hydrogen from seawater. Ballard told me the Japanese are ahead of us on this. I wonder why hydrogen as a solution to power supply problems is rarely mentioned as an alternative energy resource. It seems obvious to me that carrying with you an electric generating system is far more efficient than looking for a plug. And isn't it true that most electricity being used by electric cars is made with coal or oil?
Sincerely, Robin Lawson an interested observer. 4/15/2009

Dear Planet Forward,
During most of your show nuclear power is referred to as 'CO2' free. It is well documented that nuclear power is far from CO2 free. Although the figures are debated. The CO2 from fossil fuels used in constructing, fueling, and operating a nuclear plant is about the same as the CO2 produced by a natural gas fired electrical plant for the first 12 to 15 years of operation of the nuclear plant. If you then add the CO2 from fossil fuels used to decommission a nuclear plant at the end of 25 years and to develop waste storage and to store the waste, it adds considerably more CO2 to the 'nuke'.
Over a 25 year lifetime a nuclear plant may produce 60 to 100 percent as much CO2 as a natural gas fired electric plant for the same amount of electricity generated
Thank you for your consideration

I would like to provide information in 2 parts - the first is how much damage this Environmental rush to change is doing and it is based on false premise. The second part would be simple changes that could provide tremendous reductions immediately without destroying our economy.

First "Global Warming" (less 2deg F) caused by man-made CO2 is such a small part of the earths total production of CO2 that it is of little consequence and nearly all real climatologist now agree that most earths warming is consequence of the Sun. The 12 active volcanoes & rift ocean floor produce more emissions than all of man's industry/cars globally (ie Mt St Helens produces more than all industry on West Coast). Next the natural state of Earth is to be locked into an ice age for 100,000 years with brief 12-18,000 years interglacial warming periods - we are at end of one longest cycles on record. Kyoto produced a huge setback in Global emissions control - it pushed industries out of developed countries where there were oversights/monitoring agencies & into undeveloped countries like China where no emissions/controls were required - China & Russia went from #7 & #9 polluters into #1 & #4 rankings in 2008. None of the 18 signature countries met any of Kyoto goals thru 2008 - so nothing should be done in developed countries until the 20 year loss in emissions is corrected in China & ect from this mistake.

Also - all the forward projections on demand Oil/Energy are false because of the false growth expectations. Someone needs to read the demographics of depopulation to understand that most countries have growth rates that show shrinking replacements (US would be too if werent for all illegal immigration).

Now for what we can do overnight - first electric cars are never going to work economically until a battery is developed for 400 miles/tank equivalent travel. Car companies have good alternate that never got funding or much interest due environmentalist interference - which is using stored mechanical energy (along lines of how spring mechanisms work) at the slow/stop-go driving where mileage is worst. Next all our US car companies survived by making SUV & Lt Trucks and because they need horsepower for cargo & lots people - electric isnt going to work here. These vehicles are also the backbone of small business from farms/shops/daycare or any mom-pop stores on up. But 3 things can be done to shift them off gasoline: 1) put back in 1970's style carberator (cost ~$75) to also burn propane. Half US alternate fleet now runs on this (Airport/City busses, business fleet, UPS & ect). Or 2) Change over all motors to burn the new Europe Hi-efficieny diesel engines (like Mercedes Series E). Now that we have Low Sulfur diesel the catalyst makes exhaust cleaner than gasoline & diesel gets 20% more MGP than gasoline so all roadblock against making govt. MGP improvements would be met. 3) We need to get Ethanol back out of gasoline because every 5% ETOH in Gas blend loses about 2-3 MPG plus because of its higher vapor pressure - it backs out Butane that has 104 Octane & has alternate sources than Oil and gives better MGP gas. Ethanol will never be functional until it is made from bio-waste.

Each one of us can do so much right now to help solve our energy problem. I suggest that we start simple, and then move to more complex ideas.
The simple starts with a clothesline. To dry a load of clothes takes between two and five Kilowatt-hours. A simple rope and some clothespins cost very little, and will save both money and fuel right away. Next thing to do is to dust off that bicycle, and use it; walking works well too, and costs nothing. After your walk, take those empty plastic bottles, and fill up the empty spaces in that freezer; this prevents more cold air from escaping each time the door is opened. Be sure to use empty bottles because they take less energy to cool than bottles that are full of water.

Keep a log of your vehicle milage and fuel efficiency. The more that you know about your own usage paterns, the more that can be done to improve them. Make a challenge to your friends and family; the most improvement being the goal. This can also be done with daily electricity use.

Now for the stuff that gets a little complex; the alternative energy sources. Solar heating of water is a proven technology, and is something that will pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time. If you are handy, and watch Craigslist for deals, A system can be less than $ 500.00. Photovoltaic panels can also be found on Craigslist, but you have to be quick to respond to get a good deal. A simple system which operates dedicated circuits is easy to set up. Some PV panels, a charge controller, and inverter, and some golf cart batteries will get you all charged up.

I have applied all of these things to my daily life, and have seen the results already. My solar water heater provides all of the hot water I need, and cost less than $ 700.00 to install. My PV system runs my fridge, computer, TV, and some lights about 75% of the time. That system cost me about $ 2800.00. My siolar heated hot tub is always hot, and uses only about 0.3 KWh per day. The clothesline works quite well, and if it rains, the clothes are just softer! My bike now gets me all over the place, and I feel better too. That minivan that used to get 22 MPG now gets 25 just because I slowed down, and drive smarter.

A bunch of little things really add up, and it is the many facets of an energy conciousness that will save our planet.

Ballard told me the Japanese are ahead of us on this. I wonder why hydrogen as a solution to power supply problems is rarely mentioned as an alternative energy resource.