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The New Athena Project, a Sustainable Energy Policy Plan
by Tim Castleman
September 21, 2003
The New Athena Project seeks to promote a Sustainable Energy Policy that has global environmental sustainability as its first priority in answer to similar planning documents being offered by current controlling commercial interests who formulate their plans and goals based on sustaining economic status quo with control and dominance of the world energy marketplace as a first priority, while marginalizing environmental consequences in favor of economic development.
The following discussion points and descriptions are meant to provide a broad overview of the issues and solutions that should comprise the foundation of a Sustainable Energy Policy and should be refined and enlarged upon by the environmental and scientific communities in concert with business interests, public policy experts and other stakeholders.
Promote fuel efficient private transportation
To promote efficiency in private transportation we should reward those who choose efficient cars and trucks and provide an incentive for large inefficient vehicle owners to use them less or not at all. The most effective way to do this is through a "carbon tax" or a "pollution tax" added to the fuel as it is purchased. This would be the fairest way to distribute the true costs according to the source. All transportation choices have an impact on our environment, but highly efficient vehicles have the least impact and use less fuel and therefore will pay less, while the worst polluters will pay for the damage they do and have good incentive to change their driving choices.
Further incentives should be provided in vehicle registrations based on weight and horsepower with the heaviest vehicles that have the largest horsepower paying the most. It would be entirely fair to match the Federal tax incentives with an equal State registration fee. Hardship and special case exemptions can be made available on a case by case basis. All taxes and fees collected should be earmarked for biofuel development and public transit improvements.
Invest in biofuels and renewable hydrogen
After conservation, biofuels, including renewable bio-hydrogen are the second most important piece of a sustainable energy policy. Biofuels help balance the carbon cycle because they are derived from plants and trees that absorb carbon when they are grown. These plants and trees in turn release oxygen and provide beneficial shade and protection from the elements. Biofuels are any source of energy derived from plants & trees. A full scale investment into research and development of technologies to deploy biofuels, including renewable bio-hydrogen should be made immediately. Co-products of biofuels include biodegradable plastic (PLA), textiles, fiber for composites, chemicals, medicines and food for humans and animals. A new "Carbohydrate Economy" will emerge in place of the current "Hydrocarbon Economy" for a cleaner, healthier and more peaceful world with renewed economic vitality in rural and farm communities with new jobs in production, processing and marketing.
Develop more public transit options
Significant investment into public transit should be a top priority. High speed rail construction between large population centers and a tenfold or greater expansion of existing public transit infrastructure should begin immediately. Population centers of certain densities should ban private cars and trucks altogether and encourage bicycling and walking by providing safe avenues and facilities that support those activities and discourage private cars & trucks. Jet airline subsidies should be shifted to fund high speed rail and other public transit options.
Invest in efficient manufacturing
Co-generation of electricity and recovery of lost heat are two effective methods to improve the energy consumption profile of manufacturing processes. The State should provide incentives and assistance to manufacturers in reducing their energy use. Lower energy costs result in greater profits for manufacturers so no subsidies should be required, however low interest loans or other financial or tax incentives should be considered to encourage manufacturer's investment in greater energy efficiency. A "carbon tax" should also be implemented here.
Energy efficient homes & buildings
Building codes and permits should be modified to require greater efficiency of lighting, heating and cooling equipment and better management of heat gain and loss. Passive solar design standards should be developed and adopted as part of new building code. Re-modeling projects should be required to invest at least 20% of their budgets into energy efficiency. Incandescent lighting should be phased out in favor of fluorescent fixtures and replacement bulbs. Business signage should be regulated to reduce energy consumption and light pollution, likewise decorative and landscape lighting should be powered by solar or highly efficient fixtures used.
Improve major home appliance efficiency
Major home appliance standards for heating, cooling, water heating, clothes washers & dryers should be strengthened and improved. We should go further than just placing a notice on new appliances, we should require low water and energy use of all new appliances sold, and provide incentives for consumers to replace older, inefficient ones. Emphasis on solar water heating should be renewed and made mandatory in all new construction.
Renewable, distributed electricity generation
Distributed power generation from solar, wind, tidal, & biofuels should be encouraged and developed by providing low interest loans and access to technology that has been developed using public funds to any person or business wishing to install localized efficient power generation equipment. Priority should be given to those making use of a waste stream.
Clean up and modernize existing power generation
The national power grid provides convenient low cost access to energy and should be maintained in its present state with upgrades to generation and transmission equipment to make it as environmentally benign as possible but not to add new capacity unless it is technically unfeasible to provide distributed generation by wind, solar, tide or biomass. Distributed power generation using renewable sources of fuel should receive top priority and generous funding incentives. No fossil fuel may be considered a renewable fuel under any circumstances.
Encourage urban 'infill' and rehabilitation
Planning and zoning should undergo a complete audit and examination to reduce urban sprawl and encourage infill of cities. Workers should be housed near their workplaces and long commutes should be discouraged. Existing housing and buildings should be rehabilitated and new building permits issued on a percentage basis according to the amount of rehabilitation and urban infill projects a developer has completed.
Re-regulate vital public interest industries such as power, water and waste management
Air, water, sanitation and basic energy needs are public benefits that everyone deserves in reasonable quantities. Privatization has denied these essentials to the poor and disadvantaged, while greedy and corrupt individuals have caused untold billions of dollars in damage. These basic needs should be regulated by public bodies immune to the influence of profiteers by constitutional amendment with sufficient penalties to discourage all forms of corruption.
"New energy" technologies
Higher science holds bright promise for several "New Energy" technologies and should be fully supported by our public institutions and universities. This "New-Energy" genre includes topics such as cold fusion, hydrogen electro-chemistry and nuclear-chemistry, "scalar energy," "zero-point energy," "space power," solid-state oscillating electromagnetic systems, rotating "over-unity homo-polar" electromagnetic systems, energized rotating magnetic matter energy systems, and Low Energy Nuclear Reactions with Low Energy Nuclear Transmutation (LENR/LENT) effects which also exhibit ability to neutralize radioactive wastes, each with different and not yet reconciled theoretical understandings. 25% of the current national defense budget would be well spent on these technologies and the results freely shared with the world peace community.
To prevent any nation or group from gaining an advantage this research should be conducted in an open environment just as open source software is on the internet. Examples include the linux operating system and thousands of open source software packages freely available to anyone with a connection to the internet. Developers are always free to market their services to implement and modify the software, and so it will be for these "New Energy" technologies.
The Precautionary Principle
The precautionary approach stands in stark contrast to "business as usual" which dominates our culture and which says, "Do whatever you want until someone can line up the dead bodies and prove that harm is occurring." The precautionary principle is best summed up as "better safe than sorry." As simple as it may seem, precautionary action represents a completely different approach to the protection of human and environmental health.
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