Woops, I just heard about this one, but I’ll be sure to stay tuned in.

At Power Shift ’09, they are striving to:

1. Push the new administration and Congress to pass bold, comprehensive energy and climate legislation.
2. Prepare our leaders and our movement for the international climate negotiations in December 2009 where we will help build and ratify a strong global climate agreement – one that allows all communities to participate and benefit.
3. Develop a comprehensive strategy for continued political pressure and accountability and a shared vision to facilitate the development and implementation of individual and group action plans for local, state and national campaigns.
4. Strengthen the bonds between diverse youth constituencies while we train and empower each other with the skills needed to create one movement that tackles climate change, environmental injustice, and economic failure.

Instead of spending gobs of money to build a dirty coal fired power plant here in S.C., one possible resolution to high energy costs is something that could lie underground, but it’s not coal or oil, it’s CAES – compressed air energy storage.

From Uncle Sam’s Sandia National Laboratories:

CAES facilities function like big batteries. Electric motors drive compressors that compress air into an underground geologic formation during off-peak electric use times like evenings and weekends. Then, when electricity is needed most during high-demand times, the pre-compressed air is used in modified combustion turbines to generate electricity. Natural gas or other fossil fuels are still required to run the turbines, but the process is more efficient. This method uses up to 50 percent less natural gas than standard electricity production.

If Santee Cooper and DHEC get their way, expect to breathe in more than 90 pounds of poisonous mercury a year from now on.

The proposed coal-fired power plant for Florence County will be allowed to release that and other air pollutants under the air quality permit DHEC granted Santee Cooper yesterday.

DHEC claims mercury, ozone, particulate matter and greenhouse gases were addressed, but unless the permit gets turned down, our only savior now may be the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. If they determine “that an alternative energy source is the preferred approach to meet Santee Cooper’s need, DHEC’s air permit will be modified accordingly.”

btw: The American Geophysical Union just said today that oil is not the worst global warming problem, coal is!

Dear President-elect Obama,

It’s time to Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America.

We need to get our economy moving by building a clean energy future. We applaud your efforts to make energy a top priority, and look forward to working with you toward these goals:

* Move to 100 percent electricity from clean sources such as wind and solar.
* Cut our dependence on oil in half.
* Create 5 million new clean energy jobs.
* Reduce global warming pollution by at least 80 percent.

We call on you to announce a plan that will reach these goals and to use every opportunity including the federal budget and economic stimulus initiatives to get us started.

“It became clear to me the competitive dynamics in the railroad business had changed from when I last thought about them,” – Warren Buffett last year.

Tell the truth now, did you invest in railroad stocks like the ‘Oracle of Omaha‘ did last year?

It would’ve been a better bet than getting behind The Pickens Plan since wind energy has hit a snag in today’s economy.

While there are high hopes of wind-powered technology for all of us in the future, even nature’s free blowing winds have an uphill battle against that other source of energy: natural gas. It’s falling price is too great a force for wind-powered technology to go up against right now.

When Obama takes office, he’ll have quite a few items on the agenda that need immediate attention. Not counting the two most obvious ones – the economy and ending our wars. This image displays a few more I learned about back in school.

Here’s to hoping we can kick it up a notch!