A National Call To Action

You would probably think that we as a planet should have reached a critical mass by now in our desire to clean up our home. 

But again, I find myself asking, "What is taking so long?  Why isn’t government stepping in, in a big way, and giving the thumbs up to renewable energy, basically saying ‘yes’ to an inhabitable planet?"  

(Picture of Senator Wirth (D-NM)

Well, in a way, I could already eat my words since nearly $2 billion from the $862 billion in economic stimulus funds was very recently awarded to build needed and welcomed solar plants in Arizona, Colorado and Indiana.   This is definately a small step in the right direction.

I hate to be repetitive in these blogs, but I just have to again ask this question to you.  Have you, in your life, ever said anything to your local representative about your desires for your world?  If you haven’t, then I’m not really repeating myself for unimportant reasons.  I just personally don’t like hitting the snooze button…

A couple of weeks ago, while our CEO, Henry Herman and Vice President of Production, Chris Champion were at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories in California, Eric Martinez Jetstream Wind’s Vice President of Government Relations and I met with Senator Peter Wirth for breakfast here in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We met to discuss the addition of Hydrogen Consumer Tax Credits (HCTC’s) and Hydrogen Production Tax Credits (HPTC’s) to his Senate Bill 647. 

I was impressed with his genuine desire to find that needle in the haystack which would help to move renewable energy forward, since this industry is not finding an easy path in which to be birthed properly.  It, like our children, are coming into a world that is already bogged down with the heavy remnants of our under-educated and yes, sleepy ways.

Senator Wirth expressed his disappointment that the bill he sponsored, SB 647, was unanimously approved on both the House and Senate Floors and signed by Governor Richardson, yet still sat quietly in the recesses of government.

Why?

The clean and intelligent system that it is trying to birth, is coming into a current system that can’t allow it.  It is already too bogged down.

Due to our "economic crisis" that began a few years ago which was either caused by or resulted in home and property values drastically dropping, not enough people would securely financially qualify for this program.  It would, according to mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leave them too vulnerable because tax liens take precedence over mortgages.

You see, if you wanted solar panels (for example) on your property to produce clean energy for your home and even supply it back to the grid, the government would happily assist you.  They would do an assessment on your land, add the value of the solar panels to your property taxes which you would pay off over many years in small amounts.  You’d even get a tax credit of up to 40% as if you had actually paid for the system yourself!

With so many having financial difficulties already coupled with the lost value in their properties, however, the financial backers who own the mortgages won’t touch this even though it’s already been authorized in 22 other states.

On a Federal level, the passing of time for needed action also continues. 

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass) and Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) have drafted sweeping legislation designed to cut emissions produced by coal-fired plants and other large carbon producers by 1/3.  Yes, it does come in the form of a tax, but that tax is only imposed upon those who produce large amounts of the stuff that is hurting us.

It is currently stalled in the Senate because democrats and republicans can’t seem to agree on many things.  This also has the probability of being further stalled since there’s not much time left on the legislative calendar…and it is an election year…?

In fact, I found 857 bills (please scroll down to "energy") introduced to Congress since January of 2009 on energy, its production, use, research, revenues and storage and 435 bills introduced to assist our environment through protection and technological measures.  That’s 1,292 bills…

It almost feels like something should give, huh?  Or at least it feels like there’s already enough focus on things like bills being written…

My question then goes to you, the reader.  As this energy debacle we’re going through doesn’t just effect the government, but also and intimately, you, your family, your friends, everyone you’ve ever known and everyone you will ever know, what are you doing or have you done to be the captain of your own destiny?  If you were on a ship and it was sinking, would you just stand there and complain or would you lend a hand to the crew?  Yes, you…with the voice, the hands and the heart, what would you do?

In reality. there are only a few (in comparison to the whole) who are steadily trying to solve all of the issues hitting them from every side.  And these "few" political representatives, celebrities, environmentalists, business professionals, scientists and forward thinkers who are meeting with each other to make the decisions are basically doing all of the work for you. 

Feel powerless?  Well, it’s time to get over it, take control and lend a hand in the creation of your own life.  Want to see the earth come out of this messy situation?  Then do what you personally can to see it happen or stand behind and give support to someone who is.

Contact us if you’d like more information on how you can get involved.

Our thanks to Senator Wirth for his time and all of his efforts in cleaning up our planet.

Peace ~
 O