But First We Need to Stop It
Mark Z. Jacobson giving the Keynote at Barnfest 2012[/caption] Mark Z. Jacobson, director of Stanford’s Atmosphere/Energy Program mesmerized hundreds of Mountainkeeper supporters at last Saturday’s Barnfest with a doable plan to forgo fossil fuels and convert the globe to sustainable renewable energy by 2030. Based on the findings of the research he did with Mark A. Delucchi, UC-Davis researcher, he said, “there are no technological or economic barriers to converting the entire world to clean, renewable energy sources....
It is a question of whether we have the societal and political will." Jacobson’s message is that we can do renewables now. We don’t have to wait. They are efficient, economically feasible and will ultimately cost us no more than what we are currently paying. The plan proposes a world run largely on electricity with wind and solar power contributing 90% of all needed energy and the balance of energy supplied by geothermal, hydroelectric, wave and tidal power. It would be paid for by a 30 percent reduction in world energy demand by converting combustion processes to less expensive electrical or hydrogen fuel cell processes, plus a huge savings from reducing the human death toll due to air pollution, thus make the costs of the plan relatively similar to what we pay today.
The biggest challenges that face the large-scale implementation of renewable energy are the variability of wind and solar, the specialized elements needed to build turbines, solar collectors and other equipment and the footprint of the wind turbines and solar devices. But Jacobson said that all of these hurdles can be overcome. Of course, Jacobson admitted the changeover to renewable energy would involve a large scale transformation and “would require an effort comparable to the Apollo moon project or constructing the interstate highway system." But he left us with hope that there is a way forward without even having to go to new technologies. For more detailed information on Mark Z. Jacobson's work, click here. (TO SEE MORE GREAT PHOTOS FROM BARNFEST VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HERE) But our first order of business is to convince our government officials that natural gas is a bridge fuel to nowhere and there is no reason not to move aggressively to renewables right now. Please join us to send this message at the Stop the Frack Attack Rally on July 28, 2012 at the U.S. Capital in Washington, D.C., where people from all over the country will gather to tell Congress, the President and the world to end the rush to drill and STOP THE FRACK ATTACK. We are pleased to announce that the following 14 people have been chosen to speak at the Stop the Frack Attack Rally! They are a group of impacted community members and environmental activists who are on the front lines of this nationally important issue. 1.) Bill McKibben (350.org) 2.) Allison Chin (Sierra Club) 3.) Josh Fox (Gasland) 4.) Calvin Tillman (Former Mayor of Dish, Texas) 5.) Laura Amos (Affected Community Member, CO) 6.) John Fenton (Affected Community Member, WY) 7.) Kari Matsko (Affected Community Member, OH) 8.) Dayne Pratzky (Aka,”Frackman”, Australia) 9.) Lori New Breast (Affected Community Member, MT) 11.) Mike Tidwell (CCAN) 12.) Jameson Lisak and Kelly Humphreys ( Affected Youth from PA and WV) 13.) Dr Catherine Thomasson (Physicians for Social Responsibility ) 14.) Doug Shields (former member of the Pittsburgh City Council) Catskill Mountainkeeper is sponsoring a bus to the rally in Washington, DC on Saturday, July 28th — click here to register for the bus Departs: Liberty Elks Lodge Parking Lot at 6:00am Returns: Liberty Elks Lodge Parking Lot at 12:00am (midnight)*** Visit the StopTheFrackAttack.org website for more information.
