GREEN ENERGY, WHO WINS, WHO LOSES

Eminent Domain (land taking at reduced prices) -
Who Owns? - Who Pays?

On Monday, February 23, 2009, T. Boone Pickens, a wealthy oil billionaire hosted a 2 and 1/2 hour National Clean Energy Power Summit http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php, along with the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Harry Reid, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Podesta, Former President Bill Clinton, Former Vice-President Al Gore, Secretary of the Department of Energy, Steven Chu, Senator Wurth, along with representatives of labor unions, Owens Corning, and Walmart. In total 28 "important" people at the big table. Their mission is to form a coalition and consensus across America to put in place a National Power Grid or a "Unified National Smart Grid" whose purpose is to supply energy, to build a new economy on green, renewable energy and, primarily, reduce our dependence on foreign oil in the interest of our national security.

What is green energy? It is the geothermal systems that use heat from under the ground to heat water systems that in turn provide the energy to warm houses, businesses, etc., along with solar and wind energy. These are renewable sources of energy. There is no questions about it, we need renewable sources of energy and we need a National power grid or grids to supply that energy. With that said, we, also, need to make sure that, once again, considering the powers at the table (summit), that the poor, elderly and disabled or Differently Abled citizens, along with the masses are not left out. We certainly had no one at the table representing the Poor or Disabled. Why is this important?

Let's not forget that President Obama just signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus package) for almost 1 trillion dollars. Wealthy people (like T. Boone Pickens, etc.) will now apply for taxpayer dollars and low interest taxpayer loan dollars to build a grid of windmills and solar energy cells down the center of the country or three different grids (east, west and Texas). Well, in order to do this, instead of a Nationalized green system that serves the good of all (for example: Cleveland Municipal Power, people owned power supported by Kucinich to provide competition and low cost power), T. Boone Pickens wants to have private citizens (like himself) build it with tax payer dollars and then own it or his heirs own it (he's is 85 years old). Then, he will sell the energy that we paid for with our tax dollars back to us. In order to do this, he needs a whole lot of land down the center or across our country that is currently owned by other citizens. For the most part, citizens like you and me (some farmers, elderly, disabled, and poor citizens).

Now, I'm not against eminent domain (the constitutional taking of land for government purposes for the public good) when it is for the public good (schools, fire stations, etc.), and, as long as the public has an interest and owns the facilities, and, as long as the individuals are aptly compensated for the taking of their land against their will. This needs to be done with full and complete disclosure. (The word "eminent domain" was not used in the summit but referred to as having access across America for transmission lines.)

I am against wealthy billionaires, whoever they may be, trying to sell the concept of the taking of land for private purposes with our own tax dollars so that they and their heirs can solely benefit while we all beg to to be served and have to pay back by way of taxes the monies and interest on the bailouts and stimulus packages and, then, have to pay for services for solar and wind energy that we paid to construct in the first place and will be paying for by way of taxes for years to come.

This is not new, privately discovered technology. This is old technology. If the government is going to fund it, then the people should own it and benefit from it, just like Cleveland Municipal Power (saving this public utility almost cost Congressman Kucinich his life). We now have to pay for liquid rock (oil), and next, instead of paying for liquid rock, we will have to pay for the sun and wind energy, after our public tax dollars have already funded it. If the government has seen fit to nationalize the banking system for security purposes (make no mistake about it, regardless of what they call it, it has already happened), surely, the public utilities are as much of a vital national security interest as the banks and should not be left to the wealthy to own at the expense of the tax payer and the private land owner.

When I voiced this concern to Mr. T. Boone Pickens in an email, the response I got back was "It’s important we focus on what we’re trying to get in, not the parts we don’t want some other guy to get." Make no mistake about it, T. Boone Pickens, along with the other corporate participants, serve their own self interests and care about the masses to the extent that they receive a benefit.

It was cited that Russia almost let the people of Ukraine freeze to death by cutting off their energy, and, that it was a national security interest to reduce our reliance on foreign resources. Well, I might remind everyone, that right here in the United States of America, in the state of Michigan, it was not too long ago that 93 year old Martin Schur, a World War II veteran, froze to death in January, 2009 after his electricity was shut off. Martin Schur was $1,000 behind on his utility bill. Allowing private citizens or corporations to own a necessity of life just creates a foreign entity on our soil. An entity you can't escape and are beholding to whatever they want.

Our elected officials deserve a lot of credit for bringing these energy issues to the table, and, I have no problem with paying T. Boone Pickens and others like him a fair wage for his work on a PUBLIC power grid owned by the people for the good of the people. But, and it is a big but, we need to adequately compensate those whose land will be taken with a fair market value (not the current intentionally caused depressed value) and ensure that the people of the United States of America will own the grid and the power. If wealthy billionaires want to own the power grid, they need to build it with their own dollars.

Contact your Congressional Representatives (http://www.house.gov/)
and your Senators (http://www.senate.gov/) and
President Obama (http://www.president.whitehouse.gov/)
and let them all know that we need to protect the masses from the greedy.

Next Week: Living Within Your Budget: Does the System Want or Allow You to?