How Our Rural Power Co-op Could Be Improved

I recently sent this letter to the Editor of the Ely Times:

The General Manager of Mt. Wheeler Power (MWP), Randy Ewell, recently wrote an article titled “Co-op Advocates for Members” in the Ruralite. In my opinion, Mr. Ewell could do a much better job of advocating for MWP members by focusing less on minimizing rates and more on maximizing value.

In his article, Mr. Ewell noted that “utilities have proposed the Ratepayer Protection Act” as a counter to living by standards of the Clean Air Act. Moreover, he wants politicians to legislate coal ash as “nonhazardous.” Now wait a minute. Shouldn't scientists be deciding whether coal ash is hazardous or not (it is). And the highly respected journal SCIENCE has just published a prediction that “one out of every six species could face extinction if global warming continues on its current path.” Let's face it, you shouldn't feel protected by this Act... And to advocate the extinction of the Sage Grouse by denying its classification as “endangered” is much worse than irresponsible.

Yes, the EPA seeks to “fundamentally change how electricity is generated, distributed, and consumed.” That's a good thing. Besides, the coal-fired power plant we rely on is reaching the end of its projected service life – which means rates are bound to go up do to increased maintenance costs. Consequently, MWP co-op now has an extraordinary opportunity to focus more on what this community really needs.

MWP has already become a power broker for distributed renewable energy by paying low rates for net-metered power. When my solar panels generate more power than I use, MWP can sell that power to others, with a higher mark-up than coal-fired power. Energy storage is becoming a reality for utilities. MWP can store excess renewable power for use during peak hours (when costs for fossil fuel generated power is the highest). And also, MWP can finance the installation of solar panels and windmills. Don't panic Mr. Ewell. MWP will still be making money. Besides, our need is growing. Many of us will be buying electric cars, and will want even more electricity.

Someday, MWP might want to purchase a small fleet of electric cars to taxi people around town (or ride share). MWP will have access to the cheapest electricity, which will keep costs down. Not as many people will need cars, keeping money in the community. And MWP's need for an electric car mechanic will result in a shop to fix electric cars locally – meaning more people will be willing to buy electric cars here.

MWP might even be interested in leasing use of electrically powered manufacturing equipment (3D printers, CNC milling machines, etc.) The community will benefit by manufacturing things here – and MWP will sell more electricity.

MWP's future looks bright. We just have to be willing to consider multiple income streams and the changing economic paradigm that can make this community more self-reliant.

Our Post-Modern Parallel Universe

• Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
• Almost every civilization that has ever existed has collapsed.
• Some civilizations did not collapse because they adapted.
• The Internet is a tool capable of stimulating massive, rapid adaptation.
• If monopolies control the Internet, our civilization will be less capable of adapting – which could be disastrous on a scale we have yet to imagine.

Have you ever noticed how economists never seem to talk about science? Sure, economists have all kinds of technical looking charts and graphs. And they have a whole language of scientific sounding terms. But rarely do you hear them mention the pure sciences. It's as if economics is a separate study unaffected by the rest of the world. It's as if economics is a parallel universe – where only money matters.

And politicians aren't much better. They pretty much defer to the economists. 

On the other hand; real scientists (such as conservation biologist and Professor Emeritus of University of Arizona, Guy R. McPherson) have published books that warn of dire consequences of continuing on our path of environmental exploitation. Guy R. McPherson's book, Going Dark, even warns of a possibility of humanity's extinction by 2040!

There are conspicuous signs we are already straining the Earth's capacity to support us. We have already witnessed recent mass unrest worldwide due, at least in part, to lack of food – due, at least in part, to Global warming – due, at least in part, to human activities.

...And recently on The Cobert Report, Edward O. Wilson (one of the smartest scientists I know of) reminded us that humanity isn't just experiencing the Earth's sixth extinction event on Earth – we are the extinction event.

When legitimate scientists warn us that we could drive ourselves to extinction in the near term, we need to pay attention. But even though scientists have been warning us since the 1960's, humanity has not acted with real commitment.

Evidently, our money obsessed culture has tried to create a “parallel universe” society that doesn't reflect the actual world we live in – so that we won't have to face our planet's limitations. However, of course; pretending there is no precipice does not take it away.

In our dysfunctional society; it's not about the balance of life on the planet, it's about the balance sheets that tell us our profits and losses. We have become disconnected with our world, and yet we've somehow convinced ourselves we see a clearer view (on television, of course).

Far too many people have been convinced that our fossil fuel dependent economy matters more than our environment. But it is so blatantly obvious that every economy on Earth combined are just a subset of our planet's Environment.

Example: Our present economy relies heavily on fossil fuels. Through the main stream media, those who sell and use fossil fuels have conned us into believing our economy would collapse without them. So, we continue to burn fossil fuels. Now, scientists have found that we have consequently pushed the West Antarctica ice sheet past its tipping point – which guarantees a 10 foot sea level rise... NASA scientist Thomas P. Wagner has said; “This is really happening.”... “There's nothing to stop it now.” And NASA glaciologist Eric Rignot has said; “The system is in sort of a chain reaction that is unstoppable.” … And a 10 foot sea level rise pretty much guarantees a collapse of everyone's economies.

Nonetheless; one in four Americans take no stock in Global Warming. That's right, one in four Americans get their science education from advertiser supported main stream media “news.” What's astounding about this is that they have to wait for that “education” while watching countless advertisements from fossil fuel companies. Haven't they ever heard the term; “follow the money”? Though this is the epitome of gullibility, one in four Americans would rather believe that Global Warming is some sort of scientists' conspiracy than seriously concern themselves with cutting back on fossil fuel consumption.

Obviously, far too many of us simply don't want to know the truth.

The truth is just too depressing... and horrifically scary.

In the real world; every technological innovation humanity has ever invented has had (sometimes far reaching) consequences.

In the parallel universe; it's OK to build nuclear power plants, because somebody will soon invent a way to deal with all the nuclear waste.

In the real world; our planet has only a limited number of resources.

In the parallel universe; we can make out like bandits selling scarce resources.

In the real world; climate change is beginning to disastrously effect every place on the planet.

In the parallel universe; we won't have to wear jackets in the Winter.

In the real world; almost every civilization that has existed has collapsed.

In the parallel universe; our super-superior civilization cannot fail – no matter how hard we push it to the brink.

In the real world; the Earth is now in it's sixth great extinction event – and most of this extinction is human caused.

In the parallel universe; we can't know this – or we don't care to remember it.

In the real world; when you die, you rot.

In the parallel universe; if you pray to the right God, he will rescue you from the predicament humanity has created.

(Now wait a minute... God is going to save us from killing off all of his creations? If you believe that after destroying life on Earth – all of God's creations, we will be welcome in Heaven; then you really are thinking in a parallel universe.)

So...

What if the “sky is falling” scientists are right?

What if we are on the short road to extinction by going the direction we are headed?

Then we obviously need to change that direction.

We need to start thinking in the real world.

It has basically come down to; adapt or die.

(I'm reminded of the scene in the movie Blade Runner, where Eldon Tyrell, the insanely-rich oligarch, says to the engineered human; “The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. And you have burned so very, very brightly....”)

Blade Runner depiction of Los Angeles in the future

It may be that, in order to get where we are today, our civilization had to “break some eggs”. (In case you're not familiar with the quote; “If you want an omelet, you have to break some eggs.”)

Maybe we had to create an unstable society to nurture the innovations we have seen. Maybe our fatal weaknesses are unavoidable hidden consequences of our greatest strengths. Maybe intelligent life is its own greatest enemy. But then again maybe, if we accepted our predicament; we might change our behavior – and fix our problems.

Money is just a tool. All tools can be misused. But we have the capacity to learn how not to misuse our tools.

Humanity's extinction by 2040?

...We can do better than that.

But how?

...Not by thinking in an imaginary parallel universe – by honestly assessing our real world situation and creatively devising better ways to deal with it.

We need to work together. We need to notice everyone's ideas. We need to fix our systems and to develop new ones that work even better.

That's why the Internet is so important.

That's why the monopolization of the Internet might just be the hindrance that blocks us from fixing critical things – which could lead to humanity's extinction. 

So, why wouldn't everyone want net neutrality? Because if they can control the flow of information, they can make money for doing nothing.  

In the real world; life is full of predators, parasites, and swindlers. There are people who want us to think in their parallel universe. That's how they control us. That's how they enslave us. That's how they keep up their outdated multi-billion dollar income streams. That's how they crush better ideas. That's how they ruin our future.

Throughout history, there have always been scheming demons who have wanted to control others, to manipulate them, and to dominate their minds. These lying thieves want your wealth. They want you to be their part-time slave. They want you to fight and die for their exploits of greed. And they want you to think that they are your “friend.”

...But first of all, they want to control what you know.

They have controlled mass media ever since they monopolized print media over a century ago. But they don't have control over the Internet – yet.

 

Net Neutrality assures that the scheming demons can't buy their way into your mind.

Which is why the ISPs want to get rid of net neutrality – there's really big money in accessing your mind.

They tried to buy off Congress. But killing net neutrality was far too unpopular. So they tried taking their corrupt case to the corrupt Supreme Court. They won. But only if the FCC allowed them to sell access. They had that covered too. They had convinced President Obama to appoint an industry mole, Tom Wheeler, to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

President Obama's FCC chief is lying to us about his position on net neutrality. He is on the fast track to ignore the people, enrich the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and destroy the free flow of information humanity so desperately needs. 

Now would be a good time to urge President Obama to fire Tom Wheeler from the FCC. But we can only assume Obama, the first President elected by the Internet, wants this. He hired him. 

The good news is that individuals are not the only ones fighting this. Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, and Yahoo are on our side. We can win this... again. (And of course, they will try again... eternal vigilance...)

You only have a few more days to make a comment to the FCC.

To make a comment to the FCC: click here

...And if the FCC fails to act in the best interests of America and the world?

Then we need to build our own Internet. This isn't as hard as it sounds. We could connect in an open mesh network. Essentially, we could eliminate the need for ISPs. This is already being done in other parts of the world – for far less money, much better connection speeds, and better privacy from the NSA.

The ISPs have been overcharging us for connection to the Internet for too damn long. And now they're using our money to steal control over the Internet to ultimately charge us even more. What's worse, they may make it very difficult for small websites to be accessed. Essentially, the ISPs want to make the Internet like cable TV – devoid of fresh ideas.

We don't need the ISPs. They charge far too much. And we certainly don't want them to control what we know.

The information we share on the “neutral” Internet may include the tools to save our civilization – maybe even our species.

It's that important.

An “All of the Above” Energy Strategy Shouldn't Mean Absurd Subsidies and Loopholes

In the recent issue of our local rural power cooperative's publication, Ruralite, the National Rural Electric Cooperative tried to convince us that coal is still a cheap source of power. I appreciate their efforts to keep electric bills affordable. However, just because they are heavily invested in coal doesn't mean Mt. Wheeler Power has to live by their flawed economic calculations. In the real world, coal is far more expensive than the coal industry wants us to know. The reason your coal fired power bill seems cheap is because they have been taking some of their profits from your taxes (and worse, they have left you with the bill for dealing with their poisonous and climate altering wastes). 

Since 1950, the U.S. Government has provided the coal burning industry with over $70 billion in tax breaks and subsidies. Additionally, over the past 30 years, coal mining has received almost $30 billion in U.S. subsidies. Our tax dollars are being used to make it appear that coal power is cheap. They are using our own money to hoodwink us. Face it; there is no legitimate reason financially successful companies should be receiving absurd subsidies such as this. This isn't free market economics, it's welfare for established monopolistic industries! Every tax-paying American is being forced to support an industry that is taking our nation's resources to pollute the rest of our resources.

...Eventually humanity will have to stop burning coal for power. Either a competing technology will be better or we will someday run out of coal. Either way, coal is not a long-term option. (And besides, if we burn up all that coal for power, how are we going to smelt our minerals?)

The estimate the coal industry quoted in this article for how much coal remains in the ground is practically laughable. “236 years.” Like they were able to accurately estimate, down to the year; how much coal is left in the ground and how much America will burn it. What are the error tolerances? I'd say about 236 years plus or minus 200 years (but most likely minus).

When I hear of pie-in-the-sky estimates like this, it reminds me that coal mining corporations' investment dollars are dependent upon estimates of recoverable coal reserves. If they say they have a lot of coal, investors will invest more. The U.S. Energy Information Agency probably just takes every one of these over-optimistic estimates and adds them up. Of course, the coal industry doesn't complain because it gives us a false sense of plenty.

...Nonetheless, the obvious reality is that this isn't really about the coal. This is about the money. Ideally, in a more just society; our subsidies wouldn't be going to the highest bidder. Ideally that $100 billion would have gone towards the development of safe, reliable, sustainable energy production. But quite likely, much of those subsidies ultimately went into the oligarchy's off-shore bank accounts.

Worldwide, all fossil fuels together have received half a trillion dollars in government subsides every year! Could you imagine where the people of the world would be if we had given those subsidies to renewable energy companies instead? We would have been breathing healthier, instead of having to live with a trashed atmosphere. We would still have the tops of the Appalachians. We might have still had a reliable climate. But, most important to the coal industry; we would have been more self-reliant, instead of reluctantly propping up an industry far past its prime. The coal industry doesn't want us to be independent. They want us to be dependent – upon them. And for that, it appears that they intend to fool us into paying any price.

A Harvard study has calculated that the hidden cost of coal in America (over and above what we pay to the power companies) is half a trillion dollars a year. Somebody's got to pay for the health care for all those black lung disease patients – and asthma – and lung disease – and cancer etc.

So, why didn't the author of this article on coal power want to talk about those costs? My guess is that they don't want us to think about them. They don't want to pay for those costs – and as long as they control the focus of the argument, they don't want us to focus on “externalities.” “Externalities,” you know; the economists' term for costs they don't have to pay because... well, they made a deal with our government. As long as they live within the rules they helped write, ignoring the consequences of their actions is perfectly legal.

The medical journal Lancet lists air pollution in its top 10 disease risk factors. And, of course, burning of fossil fuels is the greatest emitter of air pollution. Environment America has rated the Intermountain Power Project in Utah the 29^th dirtiest power plant in America. That's right, the coal-fired power plant Mt. Wheeler Power buys most of its electricity from is one of the dirtiest power plants in the country. This is what they are trying to prop up.

...The title of the article in the Ruralite publication I am commenting on is “When it Comes to Providing Energy, 'All-of-the-Above' Strategy is Critical.” Or in other words; “give coal some loopholes.” Now for a moment, think about a term they used; “critical.” When I think of the word “critical,” I think of the condition of the most desperate people in hospitals. I think of crisis or emergency. But if the coal industry doesn't get their absurd subsidies or environmental loopholes, nobody is going to die. On the other hand, if they continue to get away with not having to deal with the consequences of their actions, lots of people are going to die – lots of people who wouldn't have died, if we weren't burning poisons.

A World Health Organization study has revealed that 3.3 million people die every year worldwide from outdoor air pollution.

This is an enormous catastrophic cost. But this cost rarely even gets mentioned. How can any rational economic system just ignore the highest cost to humanity? People are dying. A lot of people are dying. If the fossil fuel industry were shooting these people, the world would be in an uproar. But since they (and we) are poisoning them; hey, that's just the cost of doing business?

...I guess if the coal industry doesn't want to talk about the health effects, most likely they don't want to talk about the effects on the environment either? Nope. All the article mentioned was Carbon Sequestration, and... well, forget about it.

Of course, what we can't forget about is that coal pollution seriously effects our environment. For example; the drought in the American West for the past 13 years has severely effected our water supply. And a Department of Energy study has shown that coal soot melts snow pack.

…But that's just an inconvenience compared to what coal pollution, that witches brew of tons of dangerous and poisonous chemicals emitted by every coal-fired power plant (both into the air and onto the ground), does to plants and animals.

A USGS study has found widespread mercury contamination in American “fresh” water. It simply isn't as safe to eat anything anymore... Nonetheless, mercury is just one of the many dangerous and poisonous effluents from coal-fired power plants – even ones with “scrubbers” (because what doesn't go into the air ends up on the ground).

We've been poisoning ourselves. We've been allowing others to poison us. But we don't have to do that any more. Just this one benefit of renewable energy is absolutely priceless! We no longer have to poison ourselves, our families, and everyone we know to get electricity. Even if it cost a little more at first, eventually inflation will drive the cost of coal generation up – and renewable energy will be cheaper in the long run.

So, here's the deal; we can get something priceless for the price of what we're going to have to do eventually anyway. Any reasonable economic system would favor wise decisions. But apparently, our economic markets are so perverted by manipulated laws that somehow poisoning ourselves looks like a thrifty idea.

The fatal flaw of our economic system is that we can't seem to think long term. In most companies, long term planning is five years out. Just five years. But those five years keep on adding up. Global warming started to become a real issue back in the '80s. It's been almost 35 years now.

If you were born after April 1985, you have never seen a month on Earth cooler than what was once the average Earth temperature. This has had a direct effect on the quality of your life. This has had a substantial effect on the quality of life on Earth. Every ecosystem on the planet is in decline.

I'll say it... We are already firmly in the grip of climate change.

The price of food and food security have already been significantly effected by climate change.

In the West, the recreation and tourism industry has suffered due to drought, pestulance, and fire. This will likely get significantly worse as climate change progresses.

According to the international humanitarian organization DARA; extreme weather and climate change are already costing the world $1.2 trillion a year.

And the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research claims that if the world puts off cooperative efforts to fight climate change until 2030, the costs will triple.

...What costs? There's no mention of these costs in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association article... Personally, I consider that the epitome of irresponsibility. But that's just how our economic system is focused. Everybody does it. Unfortunately however, what we ignore in real world doesn't go away. And if we ignore the consequences of dumping millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, there will likely be Hell to pay – starting now and lasting for a thousand years. Because much of the carbon dioxide we are emitting will stay in the atmosphere for the next thousand years.

On top of that, carbon dioxide can naturally become carbonic acid. Due to the high concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere, the oceans are becoming more acidic faster than they have in the past 300 million years (a period that includes four mass extinctions). Already some life in the oceans is being disintegrated by this acidic water. Eventually, and possibly much sooner than we think; we may lose our coral reefs.

What price would you pay to keep the oceans' coral reefs? I believe that if we really knew the consequences of our actions, we might act far more responsibly. Which is why so many of us must not want to know the consequences of our actions. Sadly, I have watched for decades as the problem continues to get worse – while so many people continue to pretend that they aren't a part of the problem. Our economy, our nation, even our civilization is now likely at critical risk. (And unlike the coal industry article, I really mean “critical.”)

We are already seeing vast methane plumes North of Siberia. Methane is 20 times the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is – and there are vast of frozen methane pockets worldwide on the verge of a tipping point – where the melted methane could heat the Earth enough to develop a self-reinforcing cycle of melting even more methane, and more, and more. Oh, and one more thing, over a 20 year period, methane is 86 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

A study printed in the science publication Nature predicts that by 2050, as many as a million species may go extinct due to climate change...

Nobody wants to pay high power bills. But the cost of coal-fired power has become far higher than we ever imagined.

The Mt. Wheeler Power (MWP) cooperative doesn't generate power. They deliver power. Financially, it doesn't really matter to MWP how our power is generated – as long as they can make enough money to continue to provide needed services. Herein lies an opportunity.

MWP already offers wind generated power. And with net metering, some of us locals could even generate solar and wind power ourselves – to intermittently be shared with others here. This provides the opportunity for MWP to be the middleman between local generators and customers.

Fossil fuels were the fuel of the 20^th century. But they were so successful that everybody did it. And when everybody does anything, the consequences pile up. We still need power, however. And photovoltaic solar power keeps getting cheaper.

In time, inflation will drive up the price of coal-fired power generation – even if the coal industry doesn't have to clean up their act. But most renewable energy is an up-front cost. Which means once it's paid for, there is nothing to drive up the cost. MWP needs to rethink their business model. Steptoe Valley is an excellent place to generate photovoltaic energy. MWP needs to consider power purchase offers for truly clean power generated right here locally.

The coal-fired power plant in Utah (where MWP buys its power from) is getting near retirement age. The time has come to adapt – or suffer the environment and economy crushing consequences.

The OK-NIMBYs

In case you didn't know, NIMBY stands for “Not In My Back Yard.” 

 

Polluting industries have used this “NIMBY” accusation to marginalize resistance to polluting for years now. But there is a converse attitude that never gets mentioned. The financiers of the polluters appear to find destructive and poisoning behavior perfectly OK as long as the pollution is not in their own overpriced back yards.

I would like to call these OK-NIMBYs.

OK-NIMBYs find it OK that they make money on others' suffering. But don't get me wrong. OK-NIMBYs may not be so much evil as callus (or even ignorant). They invest their money in hedge funds, the stock market, or even their retirement plan with no real idea how the money gets invested. All they want is to maximize their investment.

But what are the real-world consequences of that?

Their back yards get polluted too.

They get poisoned too.

Their future gets compromised too.

That is the inherent fatal flaw of paper profits.

...My story begins in 2006.

That was when a power utility paid $100,000 to a global warming skeptic. Now, this wasn't just any power utility. This was a rural cooperative. Which means the board spent $100,000 of its customers' money to pay an opinionated “scientist” to speak out against global warming science.

Now, your first question might be; what in the world is a rural cooperative paying a scientist for anyway – to do anything? That has nothing to do with their mission. However, many members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association burn coal. And Intermountain Rural Electric Association General Manager Stanley Lewandowski must have believed so much in the cooperatives' decision to burn coal without pollution “controls” that he wrote a memo to the National Association to convince other rural cooperatives to send money to global warming skeptics also.

(Did more contributions come from other rural electric cooperatives? We don't know yet. If it happened here with Mt. Wheeler Power, no one who would be critical of the act is likely to have checked.)

The “scientist” who was paid (off) was Patrick Michaels, former Virginia State Climatologist – who was drummed out of his position for his controversial industry funding.

Here in lies a paradox. When you think about the thousands of scientists who have contributed tons and tons of evidence for man-made global warming, it seems very peculiar that a dozen or so vocal global warming skeptics should carry so much weight. But there it is, right on mass media news for all of us to see. What they call fair and balanced reporting just happens to weigh greatly in favor of their fossil fuel sponsors. Ain't that a coincidence? NOT!!!

So, after five years of do nothing politics on global warming, I'm looking out my window here in the mountains of Eastern Nevada. It's new year's eve day, and there isn't any snow. In fact, it's quite warm for the middle of the Winter in the mountains. If there were snow, it probably would have melted. WHERE'S WINTER???

...But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Russian science vessels have located huge fountains of methane evaporating from the oceanfloor. “We found more than 100 fountains, some more than a kilometer across... there should be thousands of them.” Said Dr. Igor Semiletov. (In case you didn't know; methane is 30 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.)

Can you say “tipping point”?

(In case you didn't know what “tipping point” means; that is the point in time where there is no turning back. In the case of global warming; it is when, even if we totally stopped emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the Earth would continue to get hotter.)

This isn't just evidence.

This is proof!

Methane is melting in mass amounts!

We're already at the point of no return.

We can believe the scientists, or we can believe the sell-outs.

If he's still getting paid, I'd bet our Cato Institute “scientist” would still be claiming that either there is no global warming, global warming is not caused by human activity, we are not near any tipping point, or “sorry, it looks like we're past the tipping point – there's nothing we can do about it now. You may as well buy more fossil fuels.”

This is exasperating! Air temperatures near the poles have increased by about 4° F! Water temperatures are higher too. The polar ice caps are melting! And the only people excited about this are the oil companies!

Oh, and one more thing. If you have read my blog before, you may recall a post where I suggested that some of the recent earthquake activity may have been caused by global warming. Well, more evidence is in. Read here.

So, with all this bad news, one would expect that we might see some changes... Nope.

The big issue at the end of the year wasn't extending the renewable energy rebate. No, it was extending unemployment benefits. That was important, of course. But in the long run, it's going to look like re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Without an environment to support us, no government can keep extending unemployment benefits indefinitely.

The very best America (and the world) can hope for won't happen until year after next. If the Democrats (or some Party even more enlightened) win many new seats – and take over the House, maybe – just maybe; we can get a comprehensive Energy Bill Passed.

But don't expect that to be the end of it.

Even though we've had another big oil spill...

Even though closer analysis shows that that big American natural gas strike is all on paper – and the supply most likely won't last anywhere near 100 years (more likely 10 to 20 years)...

Even though The Daily Show gets more viewers than Fox “News” now...

Even though most Americans want clean energy, and are willing to pay for it...

...The exploiters have been able to keep this in court for years.

A Federal Judge just blocked one of California's greenhouse gas emission regulations. The regulation was written to force producers and refiners to reduce their fuel's carbon footprint by 10 percent by 2020. Though the law would have only reduced California's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, it would have been a major step in the right direction.

And another Federal Court just delayed an EPA rule on coal-fired power plants. These rules were originally mandated by a bipartisan Clean Air Act in 1990! It's been over 20 years, and it's still in court. Amazing! ...Amazingly stupid. This EPA rule would limit emissions of mercury, arsenic, and other poisons. In fact, the EPA claims that 11,000 Americans might not die every year if the rules were adhered to. This isn't about doing what is right. It's about holding the door shut until they've taken everything – and left us with the mess to clean up.

And have we learned our lesson?

With all of the damage that has already been caused by global warming, which has been documented by the insurance industry; we still hear people claiming that the answer to our problems is to drill for more oil.

This is the biggest conspiracy in the history of humanity.

It is so big that it permeates our entire information system.

For, example; the Discovery Channel is airing a seven part documentary with only one of the parts missing – the issue on global warming.

...Of course, this happens every day on the mass media news channels.

The OK-NIMBYs are getting their way. And if we really are about to run out of fossil fuels, they're about to make a killing... on us. Which means we will be double-over-charged. We will have to pay the over-inflated prices of diminishing fossil fuels (and the peculiar rate increases such as Nevada Energy's recent 10% rate hike). And much worse, we will have to pay the huge environmental consequences of burning fossil fuels.

We know better.

It's not OK.

Even if it's not in my back yard.

The Smoking Gun That Just Might Bring About Real Change

The words “criminally negligent” are getting tossed around a lot about Don Blankenship, CEO of Massey Energy, since the deaths of 29 coal miners at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. Just so far this year, Massey Energy has received 2315 violations!

However, some more very important issues need to be considered also:

Should Massey Energy be able to blame it all on their CEO, and go on with business as usual?

Should CEO Don Blankenship go to jail while his corporation's investors sneak away with all their profits?

What is to keep Massey Energy, or any company for that matter, from just hiring another Blankenship clone? Don Blankenship may be criminally negligent, but this is a systematic problem that won't go away, even if he goes to jail. If America doesn't deal with this type of failure of our political, economic, and justice systems, we will continue to be the victims of it. True justice should insure that not only people, but organizations do the right things.

Legally, corporations are considered people in America. So:

If corporations are people, they should be subject to the death penalty when they murder.

What the death penalty for a corporation means is the revocation of their charter. Shut them down. Sell off their assets. And most importantly, fire everyone at the top.

Would miners lose their jobs? Maybe. But most likely some other coal company would buy the mine and keep it going. If not, the mine wasn't profitable to run safe – and shouldn't have been open anyway.

But there's more.

Don Blankenship has pulled every string. He spent millions manipulating his state's elections. And he is the director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That's right. This man, who is practically a murderer, is the director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – fighting for Climate Change.

Watching this coal industry corporate executive call Obama, Pelosi, and Reid “crazy” about Climate Change really points out who the puppet masters are, and what they are all about. Money. Money. Money. If people die, and his corporation makes money – well, that's just the cost of doing business. If our climate goes haywire and thousands (if not millions of ) people die, and his corporation still makes money – well, at least they'll profit while he's CEO.

Our political system is simply callus to the damage and death it allows for the profits of those puppet masters – who want to take everything they can get. (And I'm not just talking about corporate boards, I'm talking about investors – because they are the driving force.) ...It just stuns me that it doesn't have to be this way.

Our politicians talk about clean energy – and then talk some more. And then they keep on giving out billions in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and overlooking those death and destruction “externalities.”

America has what are essentially National Sacrifice Areas; where coal, oil, and nuclear power leave places literally uninhabitable. And sometimes our “laws” simply amount to regulated manslaughter. What's worse, these regulations don't have any teeth.

We know that many types of renewable power are safe. And yet we put up with three American miners dying every day of coal miner's black lung – and it's getting worse.

On top of all of that, when the World Bank was considering loaning billions to South Africa to build one of the largest coal-fired power plants in the world, the U.S. abstained from voting against it.

Our political system is broken.

Some people like it broken.

We will have to confront them to fix it.

Our sheer numbers will be the force that pressures our government to execute some criminally negligent corporation like Massey Energy.

Our sheer numbers will be the force that changes the World Bank's mind.

...Or... the sheer numbers of our deaths (that the puppet masters won't care about) will be the force that pressures us to act.

What Went Wrong With Rural Electrification

It appears quite obvious that our local power co-op is now firmly against renewables. For more information about that, you can read my letter to the editor of the Ely Times.

To understand why Mt. Wheeler Power and Deseret Power are the way they are today, we need to remember their history.

Deseret Power was founded in 1978 by six rural cooperatives, one of which was Mt. Wheeler Power. Within 7 years, the co-op of these co-ops had built the Bonanza coal-fired power plant. But they didn't do this all on their own. This power plant was heavily subsidized by the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).

The REA was initiated back during the Great Depression to bring electric power to Rural areas of America. And the program worked. Nonetheless, as late as the 1970s, various places in the Central Great Basin still didn't have power. The construction of the Bonanza power plant and related rural power infrastructure changed all that.

Looking back, they did accomplish their mission, but they could have done a better job. By the 1970s, the technology to generate distributed power locally was beginning to be marketed. Windmills and solar power were expensive, but so was bringing in a power line from hundreds of miles away.

During the 70s, President Carter was trying very hard to promote and develop alternative energy. At the time, rural homes had the most competitive conditions for the installation and development of home power generation. But the inertia of the established fossil fuel power generation system was too much for even the most powerful man on the planet to shift.

The coal industry knew our environmental situation back then. They didn't care. Scientists and engineers knew about greenhouse gases back in the 70s. They also knew about the substantial number of other very dangerous effluents from coal-fired power plants. But scientists and engineers weren't making the decisions.

By the 1970s, the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) had become a conduit for money for established industries that had figured out how to milk the system for millions (if not billions) of dollars. The REA could have been an impetus for the development of new cleaner power technology, but it had become just the opposite. By subsidizing old technology, the REA ended up holding back new cleaner and safer technologies.

In 1980, President Carter's re-election was unsuccessful – in part due to generous contributions from the fossil fuel industry to his opponent. In the end, our engineer President was gone – and so were his pro-renewable power policies. Everything we had learned during the 60s and 70s about the environment, our unsustainable economy, the limited supply of fossil fuels, and the potential for end-game wars over resources seemed not to matter anymore. The press stopped paying attention, and so did the people. It was amazing.

That was when Deseret Power built a coal-fired power plant.

More recently; Deseret Power has attempted to build another coal-fired power plant facility. They could have built solar or wind generation facilities. They could have financed the construction of home power generation. But they stuck with their game plan since their formation – coal power.

Two years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permitted Deseret Power to build another coal-fired unit. This created quite a national outrage, because the US Supreme Court had earlier ordered the EPA to regulate Carbon Dioxide – and by giving this permit without any CO2 restrictions, the EPA essentially ignored the US Supreme Court.

One year ago, the EPA Environmental Appeals Board essentially shut the expansion down (without best available control technology).

Now we are facing the creation of legislation to Cap and Trade Carbon Dioxide emissions – and Deseret Power is up in arms.

Since the Appeals Board stopped the construction of the new coal-fired unit (without CO2 sequestration), Deseret Power, to my knowledge, has not made any effort to build any renewable power facilities. It appears that they are still sticking with their game plan; coal-fired power.

It looks to me like Deseret Power wants to turn the clock back. They want back their REA subsidies. And they want to get away with emitting as much Carbon Dioxide as they please with no financial consequences. It looks like they essentially want the “freedom” to pollute – and get subsidies for doing it. Moreover, they don't want any other form of power generation to share in the advantages coal has benefited from. It sure looks like they don't give a damn about anyone else, anything else, or the future. And they're willing to “influence” our political system (with our money), to get their way.

…..........................................

Now of course, there are going to be a number of people who know this story far better than I do. I'm only generalizing... I only wish to make an important point – from the perspective of an outsider.

...And my point is this:

Deseret Power was formed to build a coal-fired power plant. Deseret Power's primary purpose, from its beginning, is to supply coal-fired power. Its founders did what they did because coal seemed safer than nuclear (after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident) and less complex than renewables. But the main reason Deseret Power chose a coal-fired power plant was because there was substantial government funding (taxpayer money) available in the form of subsidies. Even today, there are still a number of huge subsidies for the coal industry.

Which leads to the almost schizophrenicly mixed signals our government is sending to the power industry. For all these decades, we have been giving billions of dollars of subsidy money to the coal industry. Now, while we're still giving them billions more in subsidies; we're essentially saying we don't want them anymore.

How can we not to expect the coal industry to feel a little frustrated over the issue?

However, those who truly love America should feel a lot more frustrated.

The fossil fuel industry has spent decades manipulating, subverting, and redesigning our American governmental system. And they have profited immensely from these actions – at the expense of the American taxpayer and consequent instability of America and the planet's environment. Moreover, they do everything they can legally get away with to see that we don't fix these problems.

Regulations, taxation, and subsidies for the fossil fuel industry are totally unmanageable and unsustainable within our government – because that's what the fossil fuel industry has been striving to achieve for well over 50 years.

But I don't want to blame this all on Deseret Power. Deseret Power didn't create the conditions from which it was formed. Deseret Power is simply the organizational creature that has adapted to the economic environment that we, as a society, have allowed to form. The beast (though it has the best of intentions) is gnawing on the hand that feeds it. Can we reign in the beast – or are we going to wait until it gnaws further up our collective arm?

Already scientists from Oxford are predicting that “a rise of at least two meters in the world's sea levels is now almost unstoppable.” Stefan Rahmstorf, from Germany's Potsdam Institute, has said; “There is no way I can see to stop this rise, even if we have gone to zero emissions”

(say goodbye to the Everglades)

The world, and especially the established American energy companies and co-ops, have ignored this truth for decades now. And apparently, in the name of short term profits, want to keep us ignoring the truth.

All I want is for them to do the right thing.

And the right thing to do is to either help or stay out of the way.

A Darwin Award for the Fossil Fuel Industry

A recent survey by Kelton Research shows that 94% of Democrats, 93% of Independents, and 89% of Republicans think that it's important for the U.S. to develop and use solar power.

So where's the controversy? Surprise! It's contrived.

If you go to the Mt. Wheeler Power website (our local power cooperative), you will find a link to “keep our power rates from going through the roof.” When you follow that link, you will find yourself on the Deseret Power website. Sure, the top of the page says Mt. Wheeler Power, but the actual address is www.deseretpower.com/mwpower

The very first line in their letter to you is; “We are continuing our grassroots effort...” (italics mine). Excuse me, but just because they show a picture of a cowboy, this is not a grassroots effort. This is a letter from a company that operates one of the 200 dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the world. The Delta plant emits 16 MILLION TONS of carbon per year!

No wonder they don't want a cap and trade of carbon emissions.

To what lengths will they go to maximize their profits? Well, they just might be willing to lie to us. This poster is on the front door of the Mt. Wheeler Power facility.

Sorry about the grainy picture. My phone camera doesn't have a flash. But the poster essentially says that the Waxman/Markey Carbon Cap and Trade Bill is just about the worst thing that could ever happen. In my letter to the Editor of the Ely Times, I pointed out that the EPA estimates of the cost to American families was about 5% of what this poster states. To see the letter, click here. To see the EPA Preliminary Analysis, click here and see page 5.

...Do I support the Waxman/Markey Clean Energy Security Act? Well, sort of. It's better than nothing. But it is far from the best idea. Unfortunately, with the weakened political power that America now has (due to the partial corporate takeover of our government), this may be the best we can get for now.

Personally, I would prefer a straight carbon tax. The tax could be balanced out with a reduction in income taxes. A simple carbon emission tax would provide the incentive to convert to cleaner power generation technologies. And a simple carbon tax could not be played, manipulated, or cheated like the Cap and Trade program has been in Europe.

Here is a video from a couple of rouge EPA attorneys that explains a better plan than Cap and Trade.

This isn't just about how much money we will have to spend. The stakes here are likely to be unimaginably high. Our environment is going out of balance. Think about it like riding a bike. The consequences of going out of balance on a bicycle are far greater than the act of losing balance might indicate.

Moreover; the genie we have let out of the bottle may be far more dangerous than we ever expected. Scientists are now starting to suspect that the most devastating mass extinction on Earth was caused by prehistoric burning of coal deposits. Explosive encounters between magma and coal 250 million years ago likely led to a combination of climate change and ocean acidification that led to the extinction of 70% of the Earth's species on land and 95% in the oceans.

My greatest fear is that Carbon Cap and Trade legislation is only one more ineffective act in 30 years of typical governmental bureaucracy foot dragging – too little, too late.

But nature has a way of dealing with arrogance and stupidity.

Even if Carbon Cap and Trade fails to reduce CO2 emissions, we are running out of oil. Worldwide oil “production” has been flat for 5 years now. And though the “officials” don't want us to panic, we may already be on the downside of peak oil. It is now very likely that fossil fuel prices are on the verge of skyrocketing – whether we tax them or not.

Ironically, with rising fossil fuel prices may come rising industry profits. The fossil fuel industry just might welcome these shortages. They have been profiting from the suffering of future generations, and may soon profit from the suffering of ours. That's how out of touch they really are.