I spoke at the OPPD public meeting today. Many other people spoke and said many great things expressing disgust with the utilitys long term investment approach. This is what I prepared: Public comment for OPPD 5/15/14 My name is Gus Von Roenn. I live at ________. I am speaking today on behalf of the Douglas County Nebraska Farmers Union. I have a background in anthropology and sociology. I speak from this perspective. Therefore, I instinctively draw a direct line from humans and their resources as the most important correlation allowing humans to coexist peacefully with others and the earth. In this respect, I would like to start with an analogy we can understand. The geopolitical struggle to commandeer energy resources is only becoming more contentious as we can see in Ukraine, Turkey, California, Japan, China, Canada and everywhere else. It is for this reason I equate 21st century energy production with pre-20th century warfare. A general who is weighing his options when confronting an imminent engagement, would indispensably rely on the information provided by a scout. A scout would inform the general information on the sizes of enemy rank, their location, the artillery, supply lines, their health and the topography. A general’s decision would be highly influenced by the scout’s information. In this OPPD community outreach initiative, it has become very clear to community leaders that the scout’s ear is not placed against the ground, but rather the ear seems to be placed against the trouser pocket. This process COULD show progress if OPPD acknowledged ANY of the community’s concerns. Practically everyone in this room has been advocating for increased renewables for years. WE have been calling for CLEANER solutions for YEARS! As we found out this last Tuesday at the Open House meetings, OPPD is NOT listening to the community. For OPPD, only ONE option phases out the oldest and dirtiest coal plant in the country. Only ONE option even mentions solar as a solution. As coal prices continue to climb while solar prices continue to descend, how is solar power not considered as a base load power source? Solar power should not scare an energy utility company, especially a PUBLIC energy utility company. Climate change is changing the earth right in front of our eyes. Farmers can no longer depend on seasonal cues for farming. A riparian state with a small population like Nebraska should have home-grown energy solutions. Instead, we still like to burn coal from other regions with 19th century technology. Neil de Grasse Tyson on FOX’s new show COSMOS:A Spacetime Oddyssey makes a powerful statement. After equating our current industrial emission levels with the asteroid impact of 74 million years ago, Neil goes on to say “The dinosaurs never saw the asteroid coming. What will be our excuse?”
Posted on: Thu, 15 May 2014 18:14:09 +0000
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