More needs to be done to curb energy, climate problemsIn the critical early years of World War II, the allies lost their supply of natural rubber to the Japanese invasion of Indonesia. By a massive federal effort, the United States was able to develop and implement the technology and infrastructure of synthetic rubber in what we would think of as amazingly fast now. Today, we face another threat, our oil supply, which may be more economic than life-threatening – but certainly with dire consequences. Why not use our great resources of wind, water and forests and a truly outstanding east-west transportation system of highways, rail and water? Why not a crash program to develop a new generation of electric vehicles? They could be plugged in at night to 110 or 220 volt outlets. They could be recharged with green renewable energies, particularly our abundant wind power. Wouldn’t General Electric, RPI, Lockheed Martin, and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) be the core of research and production technologies to make this a practical goal? These vehicles would work particularly well in concentrated metropolitan areas where distance of travel is relatively short, but pollution and time of operation are high. On a large scale, they would contribute a great deal to the reduction of pollution, greenhouse gases and global warming. For those still in denial that this is a reality, I will repeat a paragraph taken from the August 2007 NYS Conservationist in this next paragraph. “Is climate change real? Yes, say more than 3,700 scientific experts from 130 countries who make up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A recent IPCC report concluded that the earth has warmed during the last century, that warming is changing the planet’s climate, and that much of the warming comes from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) to generate electricity and to power vehicles and buildings. They conclude that we can head off the worst effects of climate change in our area by improving the way we produce and use our energy.” Now, more specifically, could our Senate and Assembly members, as well as our county legislature do everything in their power to support our wind projects? These projects ask nothing from the state and counties but instead will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in county and state infrastructures. We ask only that we be allowed to exercise the power of “Home Rule.” Bruce Banks Jordanville
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