The energy summit in Bozeman
Kari Chisholm
Governor Ted Kulongoski is headed today to Bozeman, Montana for an energy summit convened by the Governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer. They're taking a look at the full range of energy topics, according to the AP: "skyrocketing energy prices, the economic impact of energy development, environmental concerns, coal-to-gas technology and tribal perspectives on energy development."
Earlier today, I joined a group of bloggers chatting with Governor Schweitzer and he made clear his view about where leadership is coming from on energy issue. The energy summit, Schweitzer argued, is going to "challenge everything we think we know about energy consumption, production, and conservation." And he argued, the bold ideas "are going to come from the states, from these governors."
As for our nation's leaders?
"If you've looked to Congress to lead, forget about it. This is the best Congress money can buy. There's enough money in big oil to buy Congress for years into the future. We have to look to the states for leadership."
He argued that President Bush should have stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center and made a Kennedy-to-the-Moon or Nixon-to-China -style declaration and pledged to invest $300 billion in eliminating our dependence on foreign oil.
Instead, said Schweitzer:
"I look at the $250 billion on budget for the war, $300 billion off budget for iraq, and we've doubled the price of a gallon of oil. ... Let's be honest: If we weren't dependent on oil from the Mideast, we wouldn't be there."
What's Schweitzer's solution? Well, he's arguing for the full range of solutions, including conservation, biodiesel, wind power, etc. Recently, Montana moved from 50th in the nation in wind power production to 15th - when he cut the ribbon on their first major wind project. He also praised Governor Kulongoski for Oregon's leadership in the production of wind power.
In addition to the usual-suspects solutions, Brian Schweitzer argued for building a "bridge to the future" in the form of zero-emission coal liquifaction. What's that? In short, it's a way to "convert coal into individual hydrogens, oxygens, and carbons and then synthesize diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuels."
Schweitzer's clean coal idea (vastly different than the coal industry's all-PR "clean coal" scrubbers) isn't some futuristic dream. Again and again, he argued, "We can do this now. This isn't someday, somewhere over the rainbow."
The environmental questions, he agreed, "are fair game." But, he argues, making diesel and gasoline in America is critical to our foreign policy: Referring to Saudi support of Wahhabbist extremists, Al Qaeda, and Hamas, he said "a portion of the money that you put in your gas tank is making it to the pockets of the people who are opposed to our way of life."
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connect with blueoregon
2:36 p.m.
Oct 17, '05
See The Apollo Alliance for Good Jobs and Clean Energy.
2:39 p.m.
Oct 17, '05
See The Apollo Alliance for Good Jobs and Clean Energy.
Oct 17, '05
Nice link Chuck,
I think there is something to be said about growth potential for our economy in the clean energy sector. Over on the Oregon Coast, we just started a project to investigate wave energy technology and have begun to think of Oregon as a forefront in development of these new clean energies. Now we have to focus on eliminating subsidies in the forms of tax breaks to polluters and encourage the developers of clean technology to come here.
Oct 18, '05
Unfortunately, state governments are generally much less expensive to buy than is Congress. Research, for instance, the sordid history of utility company ownership of the Oregon Legislature, governor's office, and Public Utility Commission.
As to coal, there's lots of it in the ground, but its use is problematic. Although energy from any source can be stored and transported in hydrogen, coal's energy is in carbon. No hydrogen at all. Sulfur oxides and CO2 are just about all you get from coal. sequestering all that pollutant is no small job. That's not to say that the idea is not worth pursuing, but we should be wary of a bait-and-switch from clean coal dream to dirty coal reality.
Oct 18, '05
I would like to see a serious conversation about what communities can do on a local level about the coming energy crisis. John Hickenlooper, Mayor of Denver and a former petroleum geologist is co-hosting a conference on this issue Nov 10 and 11. One session, for example, is entitled 'Land Use and Transportation Planning as if Peak Oil Mattered.' Organized by the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, this conference will feature experts such as the former chief engineer for BP. I can't go, but I would love to hear from anyone who does decide to attend. Thanks
Oct 18, '05
This is a great post and I am glad to see some live blogging from the energy summit back home. I want to take a minute to tip my hat to the tireless efforts of Montana's conservation community. Both Montana Conservation Voters and Montana Public Interest Research Group played vital roles in dragging Montana from 50th to 15th in the nation in terms of wind production with the alternative energy bill, SB 415.
If anyone in this thread follows Montana's politics you would know that we cleaned up in Nov. 2004, taking the state house, senate, and governor's mansion. You would also know that Gov. Schweitzer is a badass. If this kind of thing gets you fired up, you should know that the sponsor of the alternative energy bill, Jon Tester, is running for U.S. Senate in Montana. He is a great progressive Montanan and he will be just as great of a Senator in D.C. Check out Jon's blog at testertime.com.
Oct 20, '05
Helen, there are a couple of groups going in Portland (not sure where you live). One group is Portland Peak Oil. The other is a group which I have been taking part in that is being coordinated by Living Earth. A group of us recently spent four weeks discussing an incredible book by Richard Heinberg called "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World." You can read notes from our discussions at http://www.livingearthgatherings.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=8
The co-creator of the Apollo Alliance spoke in Portland just a few weeks ago. I attended his speech and took a brochure back to the Powerdown group. One of the key problems with the Apollo Alliance (which was pointed out to me by others in the discussion group) is that it's just more of what continues to get us in trouble.
Essentially, we were given an incredible inheritance by this planet in terms of fossil fuels. The utilizing of that energy (through larger and larger food production/transportation/preserving capabilities, year-round shelter, instant heat, instant cool air, etc) enabled us to create six billion beings dependant on that energy. From the book, "We have become accustomed to a high standard of living - indeed, to an unsustainably high standard - and we wish that standard to be available to a constantly growing population." So if some new energy idea or plan (i.e., hydrogen or free energy or whatever is found within an Apollo Alliance brochure) were to become available tomorrow, you could make a very safe bet that this new energy would lead to an even bigger increase in population which would only exacerbate the problem.
We are bound by the same rules as any other species that has walked, swam and crawled on this planet. Population pressure, resource depletion and habitat destruction spell disaster. Always have, always will.
Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Portland in January (thanks to Betsy Toll and the fine folks at Living Earth for coordinating his visit).
Also, I encourage anyone interested in this topic to Google "The Uppsala Protocol" which offers about the best option out there for powering down from this unsustainable peak on a global level. It's an intriguing idea. Anyone is welcome to join our ongoing discussions next Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Environmental School on SE 34th Avenue (just a few blocks north of Hawthorne).
Take care everybody, Nicole
Oct 20, '05
Helen, there are a couple of groups going in Portland (not sure where you live). One group is Portland Peak Oil. The other is a group which I have been taking part in that is being coordinated by Living Earth. A group of us recently spent four weeks discussing an incredible book by Richard Heinberg called "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World." You can read notes from our discussions at http://www.livingearthgatherings.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=8
The co-creator of the Apollo Alliance spoke in Portland just a few weeks ago. I attended his speech and took a brochure back to the Powerdown group. One of the key problems with the Apollo Alliance (which was pointed out to me by others in the discussion group) is that it's just more of what continues to get us in trouble.
Essentially, we were given an incredible inheritance by this planet in terms of fossil fuels. The utilizing of that energy (through larger and larger food production/transportation/preserving capabilities, year-round shelter, instant heat, instant cool air, etc) enabled us to create six billion beings dependant on that energy. From the book, "We have become accustomed to a high standard of living - indeed, to an unsustainably high standard - and we wish that standard to be available to a constantly growing population." So if some new energy idea or plan (i.e., hydrogen or free energy or whatever is found within an Apollo Alliance brochure) were to become available tomorrow, you could make a very safe bet that this new energy would lead to an even bigger increase in population which would only exacerbate the problem.
We are bound by the same rules as any other species that has walked, swam or crawled across this planet: namely, population pressure, resource depletion and habitat destruction spell disaster. Always have, always will.
Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Portland in January (thanks in large part to Betsy Toll and the fine folks at Living Earth for coordinating his visit).
Also, I encourage anyone interested in this topic to Google "The Uppsala Protocol" which offers about the best option out there for powering down from this unsustainable peak on a global level. It's an intriguing idea. Anyone is welcome to join our ongoing discussions next Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Environmental School on SE 34th Avenue (just a few blocks north of Hawthorne).
Take care everybody, Nicole
Oct 20, '05
Helen, there are a couple of groups going in Portland (not sure where you live). One group is Portland Peak Oil. The other is a group which I have been taking part in that is being coordinated by Living Earth. A group of us recently spent four weeks discussing an incredible book by Richard Heinberg called "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World." You can read notes from our discussions at http://www.livingearthgatherings.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=8
The co-creator of the Apollo Alliance spoke in Portland just a few weeks ago. I attended his speech and took a brochure back to the Powerdown group. One of the key problems with the Apollo Alliance (which was pointed out to me by others in the discussion group) is that it's just more of what continues to get us in trouble.
Essentially, we were given an incredible inheritance by this planet in terms of fossil fuels. The utilizing of that energy (through larger and larger food production/transportation/preserving capabilities, year-round shelter, instant heat, instant cool air, etc) enabled us to create six billion beings dependant on that energy. From the book, "We have become accustomed to a high standard of living - indeed, to an unsustainably high standard - and we wish that standard to be available to a constantly growing population." So if some new energy idea or plan (i.e., hydrogen or free energy or whatever is found within an Apollo Alliance brochure) were to become available tomorrow, you could make a very safe bet that this new energy would lead to an even bigger increase in population which would only exacerbate the problem.
We are bound by the same rules as any other species that has walked, swam or crawled across this planet: namely, population pressure, resource depletion and habitat destruction spell disaster. Always have, always will.
Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Portland in January (thanks in large part to Betsy Toll and the fine folks at Living Earth for coordinating his visit).
Also, I encourage anyone interested in this topic to Google "The Uppsala Protocol" which offers about the best option out there for powering down from this unsustainable peak on a global level. It's an intriguing idea. Anyone is welcome to join our ongoing discussions next Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Environmental School on SE 34th Avenue (just a few blocks north of Hawthorne).
Take care everybody, Nicole
Oct 20, '05
Helen, there are a couple of groups going in Portland (not sure where you live). One group is Portland Peak Oil. The other is a group which I have been taking part in that is being coordinated by Living Earth. A group of us recently spent four weeks discussing an incredible book by Richard Heinberg called "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World." You can read notes from our discussions at http://www.livingearthgatherings.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=8
The co-creator of the Apollo Alliance spoke in Portland just a few weeks ago. I attended his speech and took a brochure back to the Powerdown group. One of the key problems with the Apollo Alliance (which was pointed out to me by others in the discussion group) is that it's just more of what continues to get us in trouble.
Essentially, we were given an incredible inheritance by this planet in terms of fossil fuels. The utilizing of that energy (through larger and larger food production/transportation/preserving capabilities, year-round shelter, instant heat, instant cool air, etc) enabled us to create six billion beings dependant on that energy. From the book, "We have become accustomed to a high standard of living - indeed, to an unsustainably high standard - and we wish that standard to be available to a constantly growing population." So if some new energy idea or plan (i.e., hydrogen or free energy or whatever is found within an Apollo Alliance brochure) were to become available tomorrow, you could make a very safe bet that this new energy would lead to an even bigger increase in population which would only exacerbate the problem.
We are bound by the same rules as any other species that has walked, swam or crawled across this planet: namely, population pressure, resource depletion and habitat destruction spell disaster. Always have, always will.
Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Portland in January (thanks in large part to Betsy Toll and the fine folks at Living Earth for coordinating his visit).
Also, I encourage anyone interested in this topic to Google "The Uppsala Protocol" which offers about the best option out there for powering down from this unsustainable peak on a global level. It's an intriguing idea. Anyone is welcome to join our ongoing discussions next Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Environmental School on SE 34th Avenue (just a few blocks north of Hawthorne).
Take care everybody, Nicole
Oct 20, '05
Helen, there are a couple of groups going in Portland (not sure where you live). One group is Portland Peak Oil. The other is a group which I have been taking part in that is being coordinated by Living Earth. A group of us recently spent four weeks discussing an incredible book by Richard Heinberg called "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World." You can read notes from our discussions at http://www.livingearthgatherings.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=8
The co-creator of the Apollo Alliance spoke in Portland just a few weeks ago. I attended his speech and took a brochure back to the Powerdown group. One of the key problems with the Apollo Alliance (which was pointed out to me by others in the discussion group) is that it's just more of what continues to get us in trouble.
Essentially, we were given an incredible inheritance by this planet in terms of fossil fuels. The utilizing of that energy (through larger and larger food production/transportation/preserving capabilities, year-round shelter, instant heat, instant cool air, etc) enabled us to create six billion beings dependant on that energy. From the book, "We have become accustomed to a high standard of living - indeed, to an unsustainably high standard - and we wish that standard to be available to a constantly growing population." So if some new energy idea or plan (i.e., hydrogen or free energy or whatever is found within an Apollo Alliance brochure) were to become available tomorrow, you could make a very safe bet that this new energy would lead to an even bigger increase in population which would only exacerbate the problem.
We are bound by the same rules as any other species that has walked, swam or crawled across this planet: namely, population pressure, resource depletion and habitat destruction spell disaster. Always have, always will.
Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Portland in January (thanks in large part to Betsy Toll and the fine folks at Living Earth for coordinating his visit).
Also, I encourage anyone interested in this topic to Google "The Uppsala Protocol" which offers about the best option out there for powering down from this unsustainable peak on a global level. It's an intriguing idea. Anyone is welcome to join our ongoing discussions next Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Environmental School on SE 34th Avenue (just a few blocks north of Hawthorne).
Take care everybody, Nicole
Oct 20, '05
Helen, there are a couple of groups going in Portland (not sure where you live). One group is Portland Peak Oil. The other is a group which I have been taking part in that is being coordinated by Living Earth. A group of us recently spent four weeks discussing an incredible book by Richard Heinberg called "Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World." You can read notes from our discussions at http://www.livingearthgatherings.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=8
The co-creator of the Apollo Alliance spoke in Portland just a few weeks ago. I attended his speech and took a brochure back to the Powerdown group. One of the key problems with the Apollo Alliance (which was pointed out to me by others in the discussion group) is that it's just more of what continues to get us in trouble.
Essentially, we were given an incredible inheritance by this planet in terms of fossil fuels. The utilizing of that energy (through larger and larger food production/transportation/preserving capabilities, year-round shelter, instant heat, instant cool air, etc) enabled us to create six billion beings dependant on that energy. From the book, "We have become accustomed to a high standard of living - indeed, to an unsustainably high standard - and we wish that standard to be available to a constantly growing population." So if some new energy idea or plan (i.e., hydrogen or free energy or whatever is found within an Apollo Alliance brochure) were to become available tomorrow, you could make a very safe bet that this new energy would lead to an even bigger increase in population which would only exacerbate the problem.
We are bound by the same rules as any other species that has walked, swam or crawled across this planet: namely, population pressure, resource depletion and habitat destruction spell disaster. Always have, always will.
Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Portland in January (thanks in large part to Betsy Toll and the fine folks at Living Earth for coordinating his visit).
Also, I encourage anyone interested in this topic to Google "The Uppsala Protocol" which offers about the best option out there for powering down from this unsustainable peak on a global level. It's an intriguing idea. Anyone is welcome to join our ongoing discussions next Tuesday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Environmental School on SE 34th Avenue (just a few blocks north of Hawthorne).
Take care everybody, Nicole
Oct 22, '05
Washington state proposes coal gasification power plant