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Vice
President Cheney developed his 'Energy Plan' in secret - with the
Oil companies providing guidance to assure their continued
profitability. Below is a rough draft of an Energy Plan and place
for readers to contribute your ideas.
HYPOTHESIS
It seems obvious that in the
LONG RUN (decades to centuries), mankind will need to
derive the majority of energy from renewable resources, plus
potentially fusion and fission - it is only a matter of time!.
Renewable resources include:
- Solar radiation providing
heat and electricity.
- Solar heating of the Earth
producing wind and hydro power.
- Tidal action caused by the
Moon and Sun
- Geothermal energy that
uses heat produced deep in the Earth's mantle & core.
Any long term plan that depends
primarily on the use of fossil fuels is bound to set the
stage for conflicts between societies that will inevitably arise as
countries vie to control the ever-diminishing supply. The invasion
of Iraq is a current example of this conflict as the US and Great
Britain attempt to retain control of the oil resources in the Middle
East.
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Area |
Objective |
Methodology |
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Heating/Cooling |
- Decrease need for heating by:
- Improved insulation
- Recycling heat
- Using solar energy
- Timing heat needs to
occupancy
- Decrease need for cooling by:
- Improved insulation
- Ventilation
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- Increase taxes on fossil fuels
substantially (300% in real terms over 20 years) to
motivate energy savings
- Subsidize R&D in all areas of
insulation and solar energy capture
- Offer tax rebates for all
heating/cooling saving achievements
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Driving |
- Reduce need for individual travel
- Reduce incentives for individual
transportation.
- Improve Public Transportation
infrastructure
- Improve efficiency of all travel
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- Increase taxes on fossil fuels
substantially (300% in real terms over 10-20 years)
to reduce private driving.
- Reduce investment in highways for
individual travel and increase it for public
transportation ranging from trains and light rail to
buses and minibuses.
- Dictate/Encourage development of
public transportation in all metropolitan areas of
the US so that people can get to their destinations
in the same amount of time as it currently takes in
a private vehicle.
- Increase fleet mileage
requirements as a matter of National Security for
all auto manufacturers to approximately 60 mpg.
- Provide incentives for cluster
housing that minimizes individual travel and
penalize housing that is isolated and forces
significant individual travel.
- Eliminate the mortgage deduction
for all single family housing.
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Home |
- Improve efficiency of appliances.
- Dictate minimum energy efficiency
standards for appliances.
- Migrate US to use more efficient
light fixtures
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- Increase taxes on fossil fuels
substantially (300% in real terms over 20 years) to
motivate energy savings
- Impose $5/bulb tax on all
incandescent light bulbs - tax them out of
existence!
- Provide financial incentives to
recycle Compact Fluorescent bulbs to recapture any
toxic chemical, such as mercury.
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Consumer Products |
Improve Efficiency |
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Packaging |
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Impose taxes on packaging materials equal
to the cost of returning all packaging and recycling it
into raw material for new products.
Change tax treatment of food |
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Entertainment |
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Communication |
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Industrial Power |
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Food |
Increase amount of food grown locally
Increase amount of 'healthy' food grown |
Add/increase taxes on food transportation
Remove Farm Bill incentives for sugar and
products that go into 'junk foods' |
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Air Transportation |
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