Long ago, when I first started writing here, I mentioned how I managed to clean up my energy usage by opting into a renewable energy program offered by Public Service Electric & Gas here in New Jersey.  I’m lucky to live in a state that has already taken steps to make the energy it provides cleaner.  But if you don’t, the We Campaign has some strategies you can use to pressure your energy provider to seek sources of renewable energy.  I think one of their best tips is to organize with the people in your community to all ask for renewable energy in one united voice.

While there are people who favor increased off-shore drilling (the oil companies already have drilling land that they are not utilizing, by the way) and so-called “clean coal” (clean coal is merely wishful thinking.  The pollutants released from it are not treated or captured in any way), I do not think that either will solve our problems.  I do think we can achieve Al Gore’s renewable energy challenge of 100% renewable energy within 10 years.  At a time when unemployment is going up, I also see this as a way to create jobs for Americans who would otherwise have nowhere to turn.  Instead of buying our materials from China, our main source of imports, if we build and service our materials with American labor, we can help our country in two ways.   While I’m a skeptic of T. Boon Pickens’ plan to use natural gas to power our cars, I do think that his promotion of solar and wind energy is dead on.  And when an oil man is ready to jump ship, I’d say that it’s time to get the hell out of this oil game.  (Rather than natural gas, I’d prefer to use the electricity from all that solar and wind energy to power our cars.  Here that Aptera!  I’m waiting for my chance to buy!)

So what are the benefits of green energy?  1.) A never-ending source of power. No more energy crises.  We have more energy falling to this planet as light that we could hope to use with present technology.  2.) Creating jobs for American workers.  We need to be self-sufficient for energy, and that means making the materials, too.  3.) Freedom from OPEC.  Iran just threatened to close of the Strait for Hormuz, a major part of the oil trade.  OPEC purposely withholds supplies for profit.  Why are we still playing their games?  4.)  Reducing the national debt.  We won’t have to borrow money from China to pay for oil from the Middle East.  Think of all that money that will stay here instead.  5.)  Cleaner skies.  Los Angeles would be able to look up and see blue sky and clouds, not smog.  6.)  Helping to close the ozone hole.  By reducing our emissions, we can start letting the ozone heal up.  7.)  Overall reduction of greenhouse gasses.  We are either the world’s biggest polluter, or second in pollution only to China (depending on which source you use).  If we steady reduced or emissions from electricity production over the next ten years until they were gone, can you imagine how much cleaner the air would be?  And the amount of leverage we could then apply to remaining big polluters.

But the pressure will have to come from the ground up.  Our nation is facing many problems right now, and the federal government can not tackle them all at once.  By starting to pressure our local providers, and even local and state governments, we can steadily move up the ladder, cleaning up power in more and more places.  Perhaps if enough states clean up their acts, the federal government will decide to have the rest go along.  (If my secret hope for an Obama victory and Gore as head of the EPA actually happens, I’m sure they will.)