It’s payback time, Exxon. Let’s take Cordova off the grid

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Arctic Sounder (AK)
July 2, 2008
www.thearcticsounder.com
By Bruce Cain

Here is something we can all work on that will benefit us individually and as a community and will send a message to the world.

We are all suffering from high energy costs from the astronomical cost of oil. We are all disappointed in Exxon and our judicial system.

So, lets quit using oil. Just stop. It’s up to us. Some of this will cost us money but not doing anything will cost us more.

Eventually we will all save tons of money and it will dry up the demand for oil and cause Exxon stock prices and profits to go way down.

Some of us will have to make some sacrifices to do this stuff, but we can all do something on the list and we just need to get going on it and head for the goal. Be petroleum free.

Add to this list if you know more ways to not use oil. Forward this to every man, woman and child in Cordova. Lets get together and make this happen. Some of this is simple and some will really take work. The important thing is to get on it.

• Things to do individually.
Get an energy audit of your home done and fix all the energy leaks. Replace energy hog appliances with new super energy-efficient ones. Put in compact fluorescent bulbs.

Put in a wood stove with a hot water coil and turn the oil furnace off, better yet rip it clear out so it can never burn oil again. Turn off the lights.

Ride a bike or walk and park the car. Install a Skystream wind turbine at your home or business and generate petroleum-free electricity, donate your excess to the grid so we can shut off our diesel backup generator.

Get an electric bicycle and charge it from hydroelectric or wind-generated power. Again, park the car.

Buy an electric car. Go online; there are some good cheap ones. Charge it with hydroelectric or wind power and take the gas-burning car to the dump so it can never burn oil again.

• Things to do as a community.
Install a 250-kilowatt test turbine above Whitshed water tank. Put a big sign on it that says “Payback time, Exxon.” Get a 10-megawatt community battery bank installed so we can shut off our backup diesel spinning capacity.

Get the Humpback Creek hydroelectric project finished. Get a three-megawatt wind turbine installed at Point Whitshed with another payback sign on it. Set up an alpine lake hydroelectric and storage system using Crater Lake as supply so we don’t have to run the diesel generators for backup at all.

Generate hydrogen fuel from excess power available from peak wind and hydroelectric supplies. Get the Chenega fast ferry converted to hydrogen so it doesn’t burn any oil anymore ever. We don’t need a sign on this one. Exxon will just know.

Get the fishing fleet converted to hydrogen so we can afford to fish again and we aren’t burning oil and sending our fishing money to Exxon. Get an electric vehicle program going so everyone can get an electric vehicle and charge it with renewable energy.

Install district-heating project in down town area that burns waste wood and paper to save our landfill and so our schools, hospital, swimming pool, and businesses don’t have to burn oil for heating.

Smile to ourselves when we think about the money we are saving the oil we aren’t using.

Start a Website that keeps track of all the things happening and how much oil we are not using any more.