Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Wind Power – A Viable Alternative Energy Solution

Although initially it is less expensive to get connected onto the local electric company's grid than it is to get set up with wind turbines, over time one can save more money by utilizing the wind for one's energy needs while also becoming more independent by not receiving an electric bill while enjoying the advantages of the modern electrically-driven lifestyle.

Electric and fuel bills are steadily rising, but the cost of wind turbine energy is zero, and the cost of installing and hooking up a turbine is steadily decreasing as demand rises and companies realize more commercial success will come by producing turbines and researching technologies to make them ever more efficient.  In addition, people are moving away from the traditional electric grids and the fossil fuels for personal reasons, including the desire for greater independence, for the ability to live remotely without having to “go primitive”, political concerns such as fear of terrorist strikes on oil fields or power grids, or concerns about the environment.  Again, this motivation to get away from the traditional energy sources is similar to the reasons people are seeking the power of the wind for energy, providing more business opportunities to profit from wind turbine production and maintenance.  This drives down consumer costs. 

In approximately thirty states, homeowners who remain on the grid but still choose to use wind energy (or other alternative forms) are eligible for rebates or tax breaks from the state governments that end up paying for as much as 50% of their total “green” energy systems' costs.  In addition, there are 35 states where these homeowners are allowed to sell their excess energy back to the power company under what is called “Net Metering Laws”.  The rates paid by the local power companies for this energy are standard retail rates; in other words, the homeowners are actually profiting from their own energy production.

Some federal lawmakers are pushing to get the Federal Government to mandate these tax breaks and other wind power incentives in all 50 states.  Japan and Germany already have national incentive programs in place.  However, “A lot of this is handled regionally by state law.  There wouldn't really be a role for the federal government,” the Energy Department's Craig Stevens says.  Also, as might be imagined, there are power companies who feel that it's unfair that they should have to pay retail rates to private individuals.  “We should [only have to] pay you the wholesale rate for ... your electricity,” according to Bruce Bowen, Pacific Gas & Electric's director of regulatory policy.  However, the companies seem to be more worried about losing short term profits than about the benefits, especially in the long run, of increased use of wind turbines or wind farms.  Head of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies of California V. John White points out, “It's quality power that strengthens the grid.”

Search Amazon.com for wind power

Monday, July 4, 2011

The Declaration of Independence

If you had to think of one document besides the Bible that people can easily quote without even thinking about it, then that would be the Declaration of Independence.  The comparison to the Bible is fitting.  Not that the Declaration of Independence is holy in a religious sense of the word, but it has a place of reverence in the hearts of the American people and in the history of the founding of this great nation.

While not the first words of the Declaration of Independence, these stirring words have that kind of prophetic power that anyone who hears them is immediately inspired by the beauty, the poetry, and the deep truths that were so beautifully expressed in that historic document.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

This one statement from that famous declaration so beautifully demonstrates some core principles that show why this document has such a deep impact on the American mind and heart.  The statement that the truths in this document were indeed truths is a profound statement in its own right.  The Declaration of Independence does suggest that what is being declared in those pages are theories, possibilities, even political ideology.  These are truths that are put on the same value as statements of values as often taught in a religious setting.  Truths are eternal values and values that are not changed by circumstances, by whomever or whatever is handling the government of the land or by the whim of lawmakers.  These truths exist above those temporal earthly ideas and live on that plain of the eternal. 

“Self evident” is a powerful phrase and it reflects on the founder’s belief in what was called natural law.  Natural law is the belief that there are laws that are part of our natural state of existence and that they cannot be taken away (inalienable).  These laws are our rights as creations of the almighty and any government must recognize these laws because they are above government.  It is a simple belief of the American system that ALL people are entitled to these rights and that they cannot be taken away.

The mention of a creator in the Declaration of Independence is very important because there are those who would maintain that the separation of church and state tells us that the government is at heart a secular institution.  Clearly the founders did not lay the foundation of our country on that groundwork.  They saw the inheritance we as Americans have in our rights and freedoms to be part of our legacy from God and as such, above the government and something the government must back off and leave alone as well as prettiest and defend.

The Declaration of Independence is truly an amazing document especially when you consider the “primitive” state of the nation when it was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed on July 4, 1776 to become the backbone of our American system of government.  This document has been often referenced and quoted, even becoming a part of President Lincoln’s famous inaugural speech when he said with such deep conviction…

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

Because these words are a deep part of our American heritage, American history, and the American spirit, they are often a crucial part of any study of history in the schools in this country.  That is why school children in every state are so familiar with these words. 

Yet it would do us all well to take some time once a year or so and take our copy of the Declaration of Independence and read it either as a private moment of reflection or out loud with our families.  What a wonderful Fourth of July tradition that would make.  Then as you watch the fireworks celebrating the birth of this country and its independence, you will have those words fresh in your heart and mind to remind you that it was our creator that gave us our freedom and independence, and nobody has the right to ever take them away.