Ideas For Change: Establish An Alternative Energy Infrastructure

What ideas have you submitted so far?

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My first:

Establish an Alternative Energy Infrastructure

The lack of an infrastructure has been used for several years as an excuse by the auto industry for not building the automobiles of the future. At the same time, the oil industry, and fuel vendors (gas stations) have also been reluctant to move in the direction of alternative energy… they see it as not being in their interests…when in fact, they should be taking advantage of the opportunity to harness the new technologies available and establish themselves in new markets.

If they don’t want to be forward looking (and they have made clear that they don’t want to participate in this fundamental change) then the Government must act to either motivate these industries to change, or take the place of these industries where necessary…. Or as I will suggest… you must do BOTH.

The U.S. needs a comprehensive plan to make the Country less dependent on foreign oil (I should point out that this means oil outside of North America… I don’t necessarily include Canada and Mexico as foreign when it comes to energy…. and we should strengthen the energy partnerships with these two Countries). We must eventually encourage Canada and Mexico to move towards alternatives as well.

The Obama Administration should establish a Secretary of Science and Technology (long overdue) who would coordinate this fundamental change. This Cabinet level position (or at least Sr. Advisor post) would coordinate planning between Agriculture, Department of Energy… Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, and would oversee the national transition to alternative energy and eventual energy independence. In addition he/she should push for new high speed rail. This person would also have oversight over NASA, and would work to put America back on top when it comes to innovation in science and technology. The transition to alternative energy should be treated with the same urgency as the Manhattan Project, the creation of the first railroad lines, or the building of the Interstate Highway system.

There are a few basic steps that the new government should take from the outset.

1. Establish a Semi-private Quasi governmental organization (like the Governments Corporation for Public Broadcasting) that would be responsible for all things related to R&D for Energy Independence. It could be called “The Corporation for Energy Independence”…or whatever is most appropriate. The title is not important. The important thing would be its mission. Some of the responsibilities of this new entity would be the following (but not limited to):

A. The main mission would be to act as the Governments own Research and Development entity on Alternative energy.

B. This organization would help spur innovation in private industry by acting as competition. The government could either award grants or contracts to private companies or to this new Government backed corporation. This corporation would have its own research facilities, scientists, factories, etc. It would also itself be a source for creating jobs (just like the folks that worked on the Manhattan project).

C. The government, either on its own, or through the corporation, could hold open competitions for the best technologies or ideas. As reward, individuals and companies would get fast tracked for patents, and could receive grant money or government contracts .

D. This corporation could build a limited number of automobiles….as competition to American car companies. It could build enough cars (a few thousand or so) to allow it to be an incubator for developing the cars of the future that run on Hydrogen, ethanol, Natural gas. There should really be a focus on Hydrogen technology… if harnessed…. It holds the most promise. Existing efforts seem to be focused on hybrids, and electric plug-ins… both rely on traditional fossil fuels (directly or indirectly) for their power…. Though in the short term (10 years) they are still good options. But hybrids still need gasoline.

Without such an entity to help spur innovation, private American industry will continue to move slow on this problem. The Government has to step in when & where it is clear that private industry will not act, or will not act appropriately. Private industry just doesn’t have the sense of urgency that is required for the kinds of changes that the Country needs.

2. Develop a comprehensive plan to establish an alternative energy infrastructure. This is essential. The groundwork for this has to be laid before the Country can really move forward full steam. One of the reasons that things are limping along, is because there is not enough of an infrastructure in place for the technology and energy of the future.

I believe there should be a 2 phased plan for building an alternative energy infrastructure for automobiles.

Phase 1

Choose 40 of the largest Metropolitan areas in the Country and pick 4 or 5 fuel stations in each. Provide grant money for those fuel stations to install Hydrogen pumps, Ethanol pumps, and electric plug-in boxes. This grant money could be provided by holding a lottery….or through some other means. The Country should also come up with a Universal symbol for Alternative fuel Stations or Stations taking part in this program (just as there is the “H” symbol for Hospital… there should be an officially recognized symbol for alternative energy stations…at least during this 10-15 year period of transition). This will make it easier for drivers of alternative energy vehicles to know where they can fill up or recharge.

Why do this? Why only a few stations in each metro area? Well, the idea here is not to Socialize the entire industry. The idea behind this would be for the Government to act as a seeder…to create new markets and new competition. Once there are 4 or 5 gas stations in a community that can serve alternative energy vehicles, what do you think the other gas station vendors will want to have for their stations? In order to stay competitive with the guy down the Street…. Jo Blow Gas station operator will be compelled to install Hydrogen refueling machines and ethanol pumps…and plug-in boxes at his station. Within 5 years, you’ve just transformed our system of refueling cars. And car manufacturers will no longer be able to use the excuse that Americans don’t want these new vehicles because there will be no place to fill-up.

The Government could also provide coupons for gas station operators (who didn’t get the initial grant money) to reduce the price of installing new equipment.

Phase 2

Do the same in rural areas, particularly putting these stations along all the major interstates in the Country. There should also be plug-in boxes for electric cars at highway rest stops…where drivers could use their credit or debit cards to recharge their vehicles while they wait, rest, etc. These boxes should be available in big cities as well. This kind of infrastructure must become a normal part of the American landscape… like it already is in parts of Europe.

Major plus: Creating these new markets will help create jobs…. Someone has to build the new pumps for the gas stations, someone has to build the electric car rechargers, someone has to install them….someone has to repair them, etc.

3. We must harness solar energy. Government buildings should use solar power where possible, but that’s not going to be enough to transform the Country. You must come up with a viable and effective plan to get private industry to buy into this transition to alternative energy.

To do this, the Government will have to do the following:

A. Find a way to build solar panels at lower costs. At the moment, solar panels aren’t seen as a cost effective option for most Americans. Finding a way to do this, either through better technology or through better manufacturing methods, could be one of the major missions of the new Federal Government created corporation that I mentioned in #1 above.

B. Provide Tax incentives or other incentives for Private corporations to install solar panels.

C. Provide grant money for new Startup companies and existing companies in this particular industry to help spur R&D and manufacturing, and eventually a cheaper product for the consumer.

D. Provide incentives for homeowners to install solar panels. A Tax break might be nice. Also, the Government could provide a coupon system to lower the price for those Americans who may have more moderate incomes.

E. Reduce labor costs for the installation of these panels. Either create a DIY system, or lower labor costs through some other means. Labor often accounts for half or most of the costs for this type of work.

F. Don’t forget about apartment buildings. Provide a law that would require landlords and building managers to allow (when and where possible) tenants to use solar panel technology. A large number of Americans are apartment dwellers.


4. Establish a high speed rail system. The U.S. is a generation or more behind other nations, even developing Countries, when it comes to high speed rail. Even the limited high speed rail that we do have (the Acela) is old and inadequate. It is based on technology that is a couple of generations behind systems used elsewhere. It is time for bold new thinking on this issue.

While in college I did some research on problems with Amtrak, and what I found to be one of the main stumbling blocks in this Country is the lack of dedicated track. Currently, U.S. passenger rail has to take a back seat to Commercial rail cars… this is because most of the existing track is owned by the Commercial rail industry. So what is needed is new track. This is probably for the best anyway, since many of the high speed rail technologies depend on newer, non traditional tracks….such as magnet rail and others.

In Europe and Asia, Commercial rail and passenger rail are for the most part kept separate… particularly as it relates to track usage. This improves safety (not as many accidents between passenger trains and commercial trains) and it also improves efficiency, since there are much fewer delays with track that is dedicated to…(owned and controlled by) the passenger rail industry as opposed to the commercial industry. Passenger cars in these Countries don’t have to stop as often to provide right-of-way to Commercial trains, and when there is damaged track… they don’t have to wait for another industry to decide when and how repairs are made.

And again, laying new kinds of track would create thousands of new jobs.

5. Establish a strategic fuel reserve. We have a strategic oil reserve….but the nation really needs a strategic fuel reserve that could provide extra fuel to regions of the Country in times of emergency.

The oil reserve is not that effective because the U.S. has inadequate refinery capacity. The U.S. has not built a new major refinery in about 30 years. Also, many of our biggest refineries are in vulnerable locations like the Gulf of Mexico, where Terrorists could strike or where Hurricanes could knock out production for weeks. The result is the scene this Summer in the Southeast where drivers could not get gas for weeks…. Or the scenes in 2005 in Texas and Louisiana where drivers had to abandon their cars by the sides of the highways because they could not get fuel during evacuations.

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I didn't want to include my ideas on my own blog...but I ran out of room on the change website. Will they adopt any of my ideas? Not likely... this probably won't even be read by a policymaker... but I can say I at least submitted something. I actually came up with most of the above ideas over a year ago...

Remembering Pearl Harbor

(Doris "Dorie" Miller (October 12, 1919 – November 24, 1943) was an African American cook in the United States Navy and a hero who went above and beyond the call of duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor awarded by the US Navy at the time, after the Medal of Honor and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal (today the Navy Cross precedes the Distinguished Service Medal).

Dollar Bill Jefferson FINALLY is beaten

Anh 'Joseph' Cao beats Rep. William Jefferson in 2nd Congressional District
by Michelle Krupa and Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune
Saturday December 06, 2008, 11:40 PM

Indicted U.S. Rep. William Jefferson suffered what may be the final blow of his storied political career in the most improbable way Saturday, when an untested Republican opponent took advantage of Louisiana's new federal voting rules -- and an election delay caused by Hurricane Gustav -- to unseat the nine-term Democrat.

With the upset victory, Anh "Joseph" Cao, a eastern New Orleans attorney who fled war-ravaged Saigon as a child, becomes the first Vietnamese-American in Congress. He will represent a district that was specifically drawn to give African-Americans an electoral advantage and one in which two of every three voters are registered Democrats.

Jefferson, the first African-American to represent Louisiana in Congress since Reconstruction and a force on the local political stage for three decades, finished a close second among four general election candidates after beating back stiff challenges from within his own party during earlier rounds of voting.

His defeat came on a day of abysmally low turnout, which political pundits had predicted could be Jefferson's undoing despite his demographic and political advantages.

Ironically, had Gustav not postponed the voting schedule one month, the general election would have been held the same ballot as last month's presidential election, when high turnout among African-American voters likely would have carried Jefferson to a 10th term.

Van Jones Discusses the Green Economy

Black people and 'Class'.

The issue of Black folk and class has come up several times in the past few months. I admit, I've been curious, but asked for folks to give me an angle. Give me a jumping off point.

Trumystique has done that today:

The pearl/bead comments just reminded me of something.

You know those super upper crusty cotillion-debutante ball black folk? Yeah them. It occurs to me that on some level they are fuming that Michelle and Barack are making it to the White House. You know these people are GENERATIONS OF MONEY, and generations of black money, while Michelle and Barack are new money.

Old money never likes new money. So I am sure that the Obamas and especially Michelle are going to get rolled eyes, hmmphs and lots of under the breath comments of "thats so declasse!" or "thats the Southside for you" for whatever they do. Because I guess none of those old money black folk would have ever invited the Obamas to their functions back in the Chicago days.

Middle class black folk like to look down on poor black folk. And old money black folk REALLY like to look down on new upper middle class folk. Dirty little class secrets we rarely talk about.

This topic pushes a lot of buttons.

But, I don't think it's as black/white as it seems. The Obamas have been embraced by some of the Our Kind of People crowd. What do you think Valerie Jarrett is? or Desiree Rogers? She, and more importantly, her former husband, is pure Our Kind of People. Though, I do wonder what will happen with the entire D.C. crowd, who are entire PhD study unto themselves. Though, I believe Valerie Jarrett has already been greasing the wheel for that too, considering that Ann Dibble Jordan - Vernon's wife- is family. Of all the Black folk in Camp Hillpatine, it was very interesting that Vernon never clowned for Hillpatine, a la Andy Young, Bob Johnson, and others.

I think that this is a generational shift, too, for the younger crowd, even those who grew up in the Our Kind of People world, are more inclusive than their elders.

And, sigh, I know it will come up, so let's just put it out there: Michelle Obama would NEVER have gotten into any of those organizations a generation ago, and we know a big part of the reason why. Hint: paper bag.

So, discuss.

The President-Elect's Weekly Youtube Address

" The People's Inauguration"

Naomi Klein Profile at the New Yorker

Visit the New Yorker for an excellent profile of the work of Naomi Klein, political author, activist and critic of neoliberal globalization economics.

The profile contains a synopsis of Klein's latest book, The Shock Doctrine:

The central thesis of the book is that capitalism and democracy, free markets and free people, do not, as we’ve been told, go hand in hand. On the contrary, capitalism -- at least fundamentalist capitalism, of the type promoted by the late economist Milton Friedman and his “Chicago School” acolytes -- is so unpopular, and so obviously harmful to everyone except the richest of the rich, that its establishment requires, at best, trickery and, at worst, terror and torture. Friedman believed that markets perform best when freed from government interference, so he advocated getting rid of tariffs, subsidies, minimum-wage laws, public housing, Social Security, financial regulation, and licensing requirements, including those for doctors -- indeed, virtually every measure devised to protect people from the market’s harsh logic. Klein argues that the only circumstance in which a population would accept Friedman-style reforms is when it is in a state of shock, following a crisis of some sort -- a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, a war. A person in shock regresses to a childlike state in which he longs for a parental figure to take control; similarly, a population in a state of shock will hand exceptional powers to its leaders, permitting them to destroy the regulatory functions of government.

Full article at the New Yorker.

The Oil Conspiracy

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post asking why the gas in my area was $ 1.93, when less than six months ago, it was over $4.00. Well now, it's down to $ 1.77. I see I'm not the only one wondering what has happened.

From Politicalinaction.com:

Thursday, December 4, 2008
My oil conspiracy......

I do not believe the oil markets are telling us the truth. The sudden rise in oil, followed by the sudden collapse, are just too coincidental for everything to be on the up and up. When viewed from a far, meaning outside of 'supply and demand', it seems to me that the oil companies were trying to maximize their returns before having to cut prices dramatically to boost Republican chances in November. I was called a fool when I said, in July, that gas would be $2 by election day. I said that the oil companies would try and help McCain win by taking the gasoline worry off of the minds of the American public...but the oil companies lost and the drive by media fired everyone up about the cratering economy. Now, faced with Obama, Democratic majorities, and a mandate for real change, oil has fallen precipitously. My question is why....and I believe the answer makes the oil companies out to be nothing more than criminal.

Oil was $150 a barrel in July, and gasoline was over $4 a gallon in late July of this year. Barack Obama had just returned from his successful overseas trip, and he was 10 points ahead of John McCain. Then oil and gas prices began to fall and basically halved themselves by election day. I believe the oil companies were trying to take gasoline off the minds of consumers so they wouldn't elect Obama, and as many Democrats. While that is criminal in and of itself, whatever, what I am more concerned about is how far oil has fallen since Obama won. I believe the oil companies think they're fighting for their very survival. I think they view the incoming Obama administration as radically dangerous to their business models. I think that the drop in prices right now is an effort by oil companies to take away the public will for green energy. I myself have been a victim of their nefariousness. I drive a pickup, and it gets decent gas mileage. But even now I'm not even thinking about how much I spend on gas or drive, when all summer with gas at $4 a gallon I religiously watched my total mileage each day. I've even caught myself looking at Hummers and Ford F150s the other day, thinking how it wouldn't be that much more to drive one of those. I was astonished at myself given how much of a gasoline Nazi I was over the summer. If the drop in prices put fuel efficiency on the back burner, I know it done the same for Joe the Plumber.

I don't believe this is a result of supply and demand, but that this is blatant manipulation by the oil companies. Prices don't sky rocket in a global slowdown, given that a report came out last week that said our economy has been in a recession for over a year, then suddenly plummet. Sure, we can say the world was still booming, but we use 25% of the oil. If we are in a recession, oil should not go up. It means we aren't buying Chinese products, therefore they need less oil. The oil companies are doing this because Obama has 2-3 initiatives he can implement immediately when he gets into office. He'll get his way with hardly any pushback from Republicans as long as he includes them in the process. The first is going to be an economic recovery package of some kind. My guess is that Paulson leaves Obama some money from the remaining $350 Billion, but not enough to really do anything, which forces the Democrats to pass a new bill, which Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will load with welfare giveaways, union giveaways, 'training programs', and other complete wastes of money when the money should be given directly to you and I in a rebate check. I'll spend my money better than my government will. For example, the American people have already rejected the bailout of the Big 3 by buying Hondas and Toyotas. The second is going to be Iraq, continuing the gains there, but funding veteran's healthcare and redeploying and reconstituting our force in Afghanistan. Everyone has pretty much agreed to this already, but the Republican genie is going to say this is one of his wishes. So that leaves one more initiative, combat energy independence or healthcare. If the oil companies can remove the problem of oil and gas prices from the American mind, not only will they take away Obama's political capital, but they can then say any Obama energy initiative will return prices back to July, and blame any future price hikes by them on Democrats. They're trying to make universal healthcare reform more appealing to Obama than revamping our national energy policy.

To get around this, Obama could group all the domestic stuff into one big stimulus package....take care of the healthcare and energy monkey while stimulating the economy. Put the energy lobby up against fixing the economy. My personal opinion is that within 6 weeks we will see $.99 a gallon gas. Thankfully, when asked 2 weeks ago if that the fall in oil put energy independence on the back burner in light of all that is of pressing need to the country, Obama responded that now that prices have dropped, it is even more pressing, so we can use this time of price relief to our benefit.
Labels: Barack Obama, CNN, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats, Economy

posted by Brian Francis

Just cause you're paranoid, doesn't mean folks aren't out to get you.

I think Henry Waxman should investigate.