The Time Has Come...

The time has come for us to change our power structure.

The time has come to for us to generate our own power.

The time has come for us to save some money!

This may be the very best time to invest in sustainable energy for your home. Many people are deciding to buy now. The rebates and incentives have really brought our effective costs down. I was quite surprised.

Of course, you could wait to see what incentives the Obama administration might add. But, if demand goes up, near-term prices are bound to go up too. And the longer you wait, the more CO2 gets emitted into the atmosphere.

Of course, you could wait a few years for new technology to bring the price of some of these components down. But remember, the longer you wait, the more monthly payments you keep sending away. Many of us have put this off for up to 30 years. Imagine how many power bills you could have saved on already.

With your own power generation comes

• independence (wouldn't it be great to not care about energy policy)

• self sufficiency (wouldn't it be great not care about fuel prices)

• sustainability (wouldn't it be great to know you're doing the right thing)

We want all these – as soon as possible.

Besides, your own power generators are a very tangible and practical investment. For example; home wind and solar are far better investments than stocks right now.

US currency isn't stable now either. Market Watch reports, in their article; Fault Lines Emerge At The Fed “they believe an inflation storm is already in train” and “the danger of inflation is very high.” Inflation robs your savings. At 3% inflation – your money's worth half as much in 24 years. At 6% inflation – your money's worth half as much in 12 years. And at 12% inflation – your money's worth half as much in 6 years! The 1970's saw inflation rates over 14%. (We presently have some of the same economic conditions that caused the inflation of the 1970's. Most notably; a long, protracted, expensive war financed by deficit spending. Hyper-inflation could happen again – maybe even worse.) Translation; the price of energy independence may never be cheaper!

But (of course) the price of fossil fuels are down. Why would you want to buy now?

I think we all know that the price of fossil fuels will rise again and again. Somebody's playing us... again.

60 minutes has pointed out that the speculation tactics that Enron used during the 2001 rolling blackouts (in California) were used during the run-up in gas prices in 2008. Sadly, with deregulation, 7 years later, our government still hasn't put in place laws to protect us from another Enron.

However, we saw something even more frightening this winter. In the CNN article; Freezing Europeans Suffer As Gas Dispute Drags On Russia shut down whole economies in Bulgaria and Slovakia, during the dead of winter – because they couldn't afford to pay. Let's hope this doesn't happen here in America... But when you think about it, this happens every day here – to individuals. (Good news; with your own generator, you'll still be warm, no matter how broke you are.)

But hey, with global warming, in a few years we won't need to heat our homes!

Seriously though, Wired Magazine reports that scientists have found that “our atmosphere has 28 percent more carbon dioxide now than any time in the past 800,000 years.”

You'd think that fact, in itself, would be enough to make any reasonable person want to do whatever they can to fix this. But there's more...

Guess what? The coal industry has been lying to us about “clean coal.” Time magazine reports, in their article Exposing The Myth Of Clean Coal that the toxic coal ash spill in Tennessee contained “100 times more waste than the Exxon Valdez disaster.” ... “This is hazardous waste, and it should be classified as such.” But it isn't. ... “Though the EPA in the past has come close to imposing stricter rules on the treatment of coal ash, the agency has repeatedly backed down in the face of opposition from utilities and the coal industry.”

Government is definitely the problem now. Our government has been privatized. And just when we thought things might change. The Wall Street Journal reports in the January 15 article; Coal industry (miraculously) Digs Itself Out Of A Hole In The Capitol that “Big Coal is on a roll in the nation's capitol.”

What???

Didn't America vote against Big Coal. We voted for that other guy. Didn't he win?

We can't allow him to back down now.

It looks like we have to vote again.

But this time with our check books.

This is the only vote they really understand...

They won't build the coal-fired power plants when they realize they don't have the customers...

I don't hate the power companies. I just want them to do the right thing. And until they see us leaving in mass, their customers' health won't be the priority.

We can make a big difference. And I hope to accomplish this for even less money than we would expect purchasing these systems ourselves.

I would like to get together with others and buy sustainable energy components at volume discounts. If this works out locally, I would like to organize a nationwide buying cooperative.

Email me at rickspils@excite.com

If you live in rural Nevada, Utah, or Idaho; we can buy together and negotiate a better price.

If you live elsewhere, email me anyway so that I can gage how big the demand is for a cooperative.

No Excuses Left

Yale University spin-out company Oasys has developed a desalination technology that uses ONE TENTH the energy of conventional desalination systems.

The paradigm has changed...

SNWA now has no excuses left for the watergrab.

Toxic Sludge from "Clean Coal"

Democracy Now! has reported a huge spill of toxic sludge that has buried a part of Tennessee in as much as six feet of coal-fired power plant toxic coal ash. CNN has reported that the toxic spill was over a billion gallons – “enough to fill 1,660 Olympic-sized swimming pools.”

The toxic spill is more than fifty times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill. “Coal ash typically contains high concentrations of toxic chemicals like mercury, cadmium, (arsenic, lead, selenium, uranium, thorium,) and other heavy metals.” The New York Times has reported the EPA found that “concentrations of arsenic to which people might be exposed through drinking water contaminated by fly ash could increase cancer risks several hundredfold.”

“The sludge has flowed into the Emory River, a tributary of the Tennessee River, which provides drinking water to millions of people downstream in Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky.”

And this isn't the first time. Toxic sludge floods also happened in Martin County, KY in 2000 and in Buffalo Creek, WV in 1972.

Moreover; “The toxic sludge we are seeing pollute Tennessee today is actually from air pollution control devices.” That's right. The cleaner the air is from a coal-fired power plant, the dirtier the toxic sludge. And this disaster shows us again that a real threat exists that coal-ash toxic sludge will not be contained. The regulations for landfills are far more lax than regulations for air quality. High Country News has reported extensive health problems near coal-fired power plant toxic landfills in Arizona. In Arizona, however, there have been no huge breaches. The toxins just blow in the wind.

This disaster in Tennessee is just a catastrophic example of what we already know. There is no such thing as clean coal.

Environmental disasters such as these continue to remind us of how important it is for us to utilize safer technology to generate power. Unfortunately, the coal industry won't do this FOR us... For them, it costs too much to do the right thing. For us, it costs too much not to.

Customers Want Abundance – Suppliers Want Scarcity

What if I could show Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) that desalination is cheaper than the watergrab pipeline?

Would it matter? I have my doubts.

If SNWA were always going to be a municipality, they would want to keep the price of water down. And the best way to keep prices down is to increase supply. (In case you didn't realize, draining water from the Central Great Basin ultimately reduces overall water supply.) Actually, the only way to increase the long-term supply of fresh water is to make it from non-potable or saltwater.

However, there is no guarantee that SNWA will not privatize. In fact, they already claim to be a QUASI-municipality. What does that mean? Well, they haven't clearly explained that. But their actions tell us more than they've been willing to tell. They're acting like a corporation. Corporations want scarcity. It means more profits.

From the first day the watergrab pipeline starts pumping, there will be less and less water available. Who benefits from that? Not the customers.

Desalination, on the other hand, increases the overall long-term supply of water. That's what we want. We want abundance, not scarcity.

So, is desalination do-able? Sure.

Spectra Watermakers sell a portable desalination unit with triple the efficiency of conventional desalinators. It's so efficient that it runs on attached solar panels and/or a small windmill. Spectra Watermakers “Solar Cube” desalination system is already installed and working in a number of countries. It costs between $40 thousand and $80 thousand dollars – and desalinates almost 1000 gallons per day.

Here's the math (you can skip this part if you have an aversion):

The watergrab pipeline is designed to “steal” up to 200,000 acre feet per year from Rural Nevada.

200,000 acre feet per year x 326,000 gallons per acre foot

___________________________________

365 days per year x 1000 gallons per day

= 180,000 Solar Cube units

Now, obviously this is not how to best build up this desalination system. Building larger systems could vastly reduce the number of units necessary, and the economies of scale would greatly reduce the costs.

But, for rough a comparison, that would mean:

180,000 units x $40,000 per unit = $7.2 billion

180,000 units x $80,000 per unit = $14.4 billion

So, what we're looking at is the costs of desalinating an equivalent amount of water, AND the cost of power generation to do it of between $7 and 15 billion.

Yes, that sounds like a lot. But remember, the cost of power expenses for the watergrab hardly ever gets discussed by SNWA. Those costs will be enormous!

And moreover, anyone who has been seriously following the construction cost estimates for the watergrab pipeline knows that they're low-balling us. Everyone in the know expects cost overruns. One independent estimate ranges as high as $20 billion!

So let's just guess that the watergrab pipeline is double what SNWA claims – and Spectra Watermakers can build large scale desalination facilities at the cheaper end of their price estimates.

That would mean they would both be about $7 billion... about the same!

But, with the desalination system, we would also get power generation – worth billions in savings.

And better yet, with desalination, water facilities could be built as needed. Meaning we don't have to come up with all the money up front.

Yes, there are a number of other things to consider, such as whether to build these desalination plants offshore – or how much the (ultimately) rising price of coal or gas fired power will effect the cost of power to SNWA. But my point is simple.

Desalination is NOT prohibitively expensive.

Therefore, SNWA must be considering other variables in their decision to build the watergrab pipeline. My guess is that SNWA executives do NOT want there to be an abundance of water. That would cut into future profits.

Time To Start Planning Better

I've got some really good news. Its starting to look like some of those experimental medical procedures are starting to pan out.

1. Cancer: Nanotechnology has brought with it the ability to kill cancer without harming surrounding tissue. Proteins can be attached to gold nanospheres which can be injected into the body. The proteins chosen will only attach themselves to cancerous cells. Infra-red light can then be used non-invasively to cook the cancer cells, without harming healthy tissue. Someday, cancer treatment could be little more than an office visit to the doctor.
2. HIV: Recently, a bone marrow transplant has effectively cured an AIDS patient. The bole marrow donor had a genetic mutation that was “resistant” to HIV. This finding could inspire scientists to pursue gene therapy to suppress or even cure HIV.
3. Heart Disease: Gene therapy has shown promising results for advanced heart failure.
4. Organ Replacement: Stem cell therapy has shown promising results in regrowing tissue in the eye, the windpipe, the bladder, the skin, the immune system, the brain, the face, the heart, the pancreas, the ovaries, the testes, and the muscles.
5. Aging: An immune system drug based upon a Chinese herb has possible applications in slowing the aging process.

Wow! The probability that many of us today may live much longer, healthier lives is becoming ever more likely.

However, so is the likelihood that we will destroy our habitat on this planet.



Imagine a future where people live for hundreds of years in a overheated, polluted cesspool of a planet. Doesn't that sound a lot like the biblical description of Hell – living forever in a miserable place? This may be our future.

You may think you only have another 30 years or so to live. But that might not be true. What if you're going to live another 130 years? What do you want your future to be like?

Understand The Problems... To Fix Them

Lesson #1: Sicko

Lesson #2: Why We Fight

Lesson #3: the Corporation

Americans have finally gotten off our tails and made a difference – by coming together to vote for change. This gives me hope.

• It's starting to look more and more like America will be generating our future power from sustainable sources.

• Our government might start to respect our constitution again.

• And maybe, just maybe, we can start to fix the rampant corruption so entrenched within our systems.

However, many of us don't have a clue what the magnitude of the problems really are. Moreover, a significant portion of those in power are making way too much money to consider the true costs of their actions. For these people, I suggest you see these three videos; Sicko, Why We Fight, and the Corporation. Seen together, these films give us a better overall understanding of how bad things have become... Really, really bad.

Which in a way, also gives me hope. Now we're paying attention. If enough people see all three of these films, we might start to think of ways to fix our government, control the criminal element within the corporate world, and even work around the intractable flaws in our systems. Together, we can overpower the antiquated, corrupt ways of doing things.

Creative and well informed people are often the most frightening to the powers that be – we represent change. Of course, we do need conservatives to reign us in once and a while. But as long as the change makes sense, try it. The consequences of making the same old mistakes are mounting – to the breaking point. We really need to fix things. And together, working in new ways, I believe we can make our world a better place overall.

I wouldn't be here, trying as hard as I do; if I were not fully convinced this change is better for all of us. That's right – all of us. There is even irrefutable evidence (on the video Sicko). Just consider mortality rates of Americans vs many European nations. Americans die younger, even the rich. We can do better.

The Biggest "Patriot" = The Biggest Sucker

Last week I wrote a letter to the Ely Times on how the Air Force intends to turn Steptoe Valley into a supersonic war game area – and set our mountain ranges on fire with their errant dogfight flares. In spite of the obvious ramifications, I was really surprised by the number of online comments for the airspace grab. WTF?... This is far more complex than one of the comments about “kick(ing) some terrorist butt.” (Terrorists don't have jets to get into dogfights.) Actually, this is more about money than it is security. But this is really about freedom. There are people who have convinced us that high taxes for military spending will bring us freedom... that's right, high taxes bring us “freedom.” (That makes about as much sense as gutting the Bill of Rights in the name of “freedom.”)

First, I want to make it very clear that I realize that our country needs military defense. And of course, our military pilots need to train. But haven't they already been doing that for decades?

American fighter pilots are already well prepared. F-15s have a combat record of 101 victories and zero loses in actual air to air combat. The F-16 has a combat record of 71 victories and zero losses in actual air to air combat. We don't need an expert opinion. Our fighter pilots have done an extraordinary job. And part of that is because these days, pilots avoid a dogfights by just launching a missile or two.

Moreover, in the past 20 years, there just haven't been that many aerial conflicts. US fighters shot down 5 Iraqi jets in 1991. And in 1999, 5 enemy jets were shot down over Kosovo. That's it. Which leads us to the question: Why? Why do they want more?

The answer is obvious – because there is REALLY BIG money in it.

The F-22 fighter plane cost over $300 million dollars each! The total program cost for all of the F-22s has been $62 billion! And the CEO for Lockheed Martin (builder of the F-22) received $37 million – just in 2007! (Hey, the CEO of General Dynamics received $60 million!) For 2007, the average CEO compensation among aerospace and defense companies was $20.6 million – 60% more than the average fortune 500 CEO!

With that kind of carrot, is it any wonder that the military/industrial/congressional complex always wants more?

I used to work for a military contractor. I have a sense of how they think. Sure, they want to defend America – but let's face it, they're in it for the money. And they'll tax us into the poorhouse if we let them... actually, they already have.

My point is simple; we can find the money to help people amongst the money that is wasted on what we spend to kill people.

The money to be spent on these additional dogfight exercises is just wasted money that could be better spent on humanitarian needs. If you agree with me, please write to our Senators and Representatives.