The U.S. must start adopting all feasible alternative energy modalities

Even President Bush now grudgingly admits that climate change is a real problem, though only pathetic lip service is paid to any meaningful green power alternatives by most Republicans.

We must have a master plan to save the Earth, and undo the lack of any sensible energy programs in the last century – the inevitable result of subterfuge by big and dirty coal/oil/nuclear and our politicians, especially the present administration. This was notable in the secret backroom maneuvers hosted by Vice President Dick Cheney.

The bilaterally supported Lieberman/Warner America’s Climate Security bill is moving onto the Senate floor. It’s a great first step, and should be supported by all patriotic Americans. Sen. Susan Collins is a co-sponsor.

The argument that meaningful climate actions would “destroy our economy” is far overshadowed by economic effects from a potential 20-foot sea-level rise. This will happen if the Greenland Ice Sheet continues to slide into the sea at an ever accelerating rate – far faster than even the International Panel on Climate Change recently predicted. Millions of potential green economy jobs will be lost.

We must start adopting all feasible alternative energy modalities, rather than let them fight it out on a so-called “level playing field” in the mutually assured destruction of a so-called “free market economy.” The economy is actually a closed market ruled by a small oligarchy of international corporate and political interests, which subsidized coal, oil, nuclear power and Detroit, while neglecting our railroads for generations.

We’ve also failed to anticipate any of the unaccounted, external costs which would truly determine a proposal’s real economic success: potential for increased cancer, lung, and other diseases and a generally decreased quality of life. Not to mention paying for basic research, military interventions and highways.

Huge solar power banks in the desert Southwest, extensive windfarms in the northern plains, total carbon dioxide sequestration by coal and oil utilities, and well-managed forests, smart buildings, smart mass transportation, and hydrogen-powered vehicles are a start. “Cellulosic ethanol” using native species and organic wastes must replace the use of corn kernels, a process that barely saves energy.

Seemingly bizarre ideas like windmills suspended from balloons in the stratosphere might prove useful on a small scale. If we adopt some of each we can preserve our scenic beauty, wilderness, rivers and other natural resources, and still power our economy and our lives. We can also recover “the freedom of the open road” and “open skies” we all love, but see less and less of due to rampant overuse and congestion.

We must take a serious look at fourth generation nuclear power, assuming we can somehow trust entrenched interests at all levels to explore and mitigate nuclear power risks. Preliminary studies indicate more than 99 percent of energy is extracted by this “fast-neutron” cycle versus 6 percent in the present process. It can use up almost all of the dangerous plutonium and other “trans-uranic elements” now stored at high risk at poorly defended civilian facilities.

It would leave behind only the makings of dirty bombs which, although truly horrible, will not be Hiroshima resurrected. The radioactive waste generated is less than 1 percent of present processes and decays to the background levels of the mined ore in several hundred years, rather than tens of thousands.

These experimentally validated concepts will need at least another 15 to 20 years to be scaled to proven viability. Then a Yucca Mountain-like storage site could adequately store the remaining waste in a “glassified” state.

Waste nuclear heat from the very high temperature facilities could be used to generate hydrogen, rather than kill native fish populations when returned to its sources. Many nuclear plants may have to close temporarily because our latest drought cycle doesn’t leave enough water for them, let alone us. Ramping them up and down is a precarious process that leads to much wear and tear on equipment and even less efficient burning of present fuels.

It’s time to wake up, and wake our politicians to think long and hard about our present civilization being destroyed by sea level rise and acidification, with the resulting extinction of much of our world’s sea life and natural environment, the loss of water and arable land with inevitable resource wars and the spread of dangerous human and agricultural tropical diseases. Let’s all get involved.

Paul A. Liebow is a past Maine delegate to the National Wildlife Federation and an advisory board member of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. He lives in Bucksport.