Archive for personal

All Our Energy Director named “Environmentalist of the Year”

IMG_7582

George Povall, Director of All Our Energy, was honored by Sierra Club Long Island Group as environmentalist of the year for 2016, citing worknon offshore wind and reducing plastic bag pollution.

IMG_0468

“I thank Sierra Club Long Island Group for all you do and for all the support you’ve given myself and our organization, All Our Energy. I’m very honored to receive 2016 Environmentalist of the Year award, and very humbled to be recognized with the amazing Beth Fiteni of Green Inside And Out Consulting.”

IMG_7584
“This is thanks to the work and dedication of so many people on our team who keep our work going with friendship and dedication,” he said, “and who make positive change a reality!  Thank you also to Sally Keller for the spectacular watercolor. A very special day.”

 

 

Photos Courtesy Beth Fiteni and Tara Bono.

Climate Underlies It All

Climate and the environment are the root of all we do.  Solutions are what we can do NOW.

At All Our Energy, just because we are focused on the solutions: renewable energy and stopping pollution in all forms; whether it be an LNG Port, an unnecessary fossil fuel power plant, or the needless waste of single use plastic bags- doesn’t mean we should forget what drives our actions.
Climate change and the degradation of air, land, and water for human livability is where we spring to action from.

So you want to see what climate change “looks like”?
Earlier this year, the alarming “climate spiral” visualization was released, showing the months of the year represented as a circle, with recorded monthly temperatures added in, over time. It clearly shows the spiral getting larger then dramatically larger, representing higher temperature, as we reach the present.
The original was scary enough, showing the dramatic increase and acceleration in global warming up to the present day. This new projection shows the unprecedented temperature spike we are in now…. and takes us where it leads.

heres a 3-d representation:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cVt6ximM4hE

Here’s a graph that shows “yes, this is how quick (climate change) is happening“.

No one is coming to save us. No magic carbon vacuum is coming that costs less than the immediate “benefits” of fossil fuels. The free market isn’t coming. Its been nearly 30 years since James Hansen sat in front of congress imploring action on climate. Nothing has changed. We can not afford to wait. Maybe, too, we can not afford to be so focused solely on solutions. Maybe this focus on solutions hurts our public awareness by skipping the first step of the discussion: “we have a problem- something must be done- you can continue as part of that problem, or decide to become the solution”.
We need to make that change now. We have no time to wait for polluters and their employees in the field, in their law offices, or in government to “change their mind” or agree to some watered-down version of what needs to be done: a concerted, citizen-powered changeover to 100% renewable energy, with as much transportation, heating and cooking switched to clean, renewable-generated electricity ASAP.

To survive, we must transition to a renewable generated economy that values workers, the environment, local communities and empowers all to take part however they can, to foster that transformation of our society and ensure livability of the planet for future generations. Germany did this and produce more solar than the US in a fraction of the size and the solar resource. Denmark did this and got massive amounts of wind energy (and the leading international wind industry that goes with it).

The good news: we here on Long Island are finally have the potential to lead a massive switch to renewables in the form of our potential 35000 megawatts, (with realistic expectations at about 10,000-15,000) of readily available off shore wind power.
The bad news: this process, without encountering resistance(just elected), technical issues, policy or leadership changes(just changed), or any of a multitude of potential delays, has been decided to take at least 5-7 years, with reality possibly longer. This is only for the first wind farm. Policy has rendered commercial scale off shore wind development for the entire US to merely BEGIN operations in 2022-2025. It could be another 10-20 years after that for full deployment.
This is time we just don’t have. We have much to do now to avoid new fossil fuel and dangerous nuclear from being added, before we can offset any need for them.  tick-tick-tick.

Our Work Recognized 

Long Beach Reach annual awards (l-r) Long Beach City Councilman Anthony Eramo, Long Beach Reach Executive Director Joseph Smith, State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Honoree Debora Staiano, Honoree Kevin Reilly, Honoree George Povall, Honoree Betsy Glazer, Chairman Scott Nigro and Long Beach City Councilwoman Eileen Goggin.

Long Beach Reach annual awards (l-r) Long Beach City Councilman Anthony Eramo, Long Beach Reach Executive Director Joseph Smith, State Senator Todd Kaminsky, Honoree Debora Staiano, Honoree Kevin Reilly, Honoree George Povall, Honoree Betsy Glazer, Chairman Scott Nigro and Long Beach City Councilwoman Eileen Goggin.

All Our Energy President George Povall was honored on October 23, 2016 by Long Beach Reach at their Annual Awards Brunch for our work on environmental issues.

Thanks to our team, our allies and volunteers whose work and support made this possible.

Congratulations to the other honorees we are very humbled to be included with-Betsy Glazer, Kevin Reilly and Debora Staiano.

We also thank the board and membership of Long Beach Reach for such an honor and recognition of our work. Thank you all, including Scott Nigro, George Trepp, Carolyn Cuttler, Rosalie Machalow, and the members including Eileen Goggin and Executive Director Joseph Smith, Ph. D.

img_5845

Thank you also to all the representatives and officials who also congratulated us- Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, Senator Todd Kaminsky, Nassau County Executive Mangano, Nassau Comptroller George Maragos, and Long Beach City Council-Len Torres, Anthony Eramo, Eileen Goggin. Scott Mandel, and Anissa Moore.
We’re very grateful, have huge admiration for their work, and you can donate to Long Beach Reach at this link.

Happy Global Wind Day 2013

20130615-094612.jpg
Just want to wish everybody a happy Global Wind Day today June 15.

The Global Wind Day organizers run a great photo contest annually and I will post the links to the winners.

Wind Power in the Land of Sun and Fun

The VAWT at Blue Water Terrace. Not Operating at time of picture.

The VAWT at Blue Water Terrace. St. Croix US Virgin Islands. Not Operating at time of picture.

I just had to report on a recent personal trip to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

I immediately noticed with much pleasure the number of wind turbines that have gone up since I had been there last. In a place where independence is a necessity, where there’s even people living off-grid- famously at the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute, I have to give credit to these wind pioneers, trying to make it happen.

St Croix USVI south shore mini wind farm team

St Croix USVI south shore mini wind farm team

followlogo

I guess in the land of fun in the sun, without some kind of state incentives which they don’t have, -and in the face of an entirely uncooperative utility in VIWAPA (famous picture of ex Head of the utility giving a literal “thumbs down” standing in front of a wind turbine), although widely used, person after person told me solar remains too expensive. I find it hard to believe, since that is with utility electric rates around .45/kWh plus a roving fuel surcharge that so few can understand, but most say almost doubles the bill at times.  I always think it should be a no-brainer, but residents tell me otherwise.

On second time passing some of these turbines though, I found myself dismayed. For the most part the turbines are working well, but some were sitting idle, even though I was there during the famed “Christmas Winds”.

welcome home!, too bad it wasnt spinning!

welcome home!, too bad it wasnt spinning!

too close to the street, too low to catch the wind

close to the street, hopefully not too low to catch the wind

VAWT in the valley

opposite view shows the layout.

I can only surmise that all the ones not spinning are purposely shut off for some reason (?)

I Hope so! Maybe they were just away for the holidays. I do have to say the majority of wind turbines I saw were spinning away, pumping out the kilowatt hours. You have to know by now I love the look of that!

South shore Spinnin'

South shore Spinnin’!

 

These vertical axis wind turbines are still somewhat “experimental”, are derided by wind enthusiasts unless they meet strict “lift” versus “drag” aerodynamic concepts, many are prone to “amateur situations”. The one pictured below was cranking, I wonder what the output is.

Drive on the left....VAWT cranking on the right.

Drive on the left….VAWT was cranking on the right.

I must recommend everyone to (please!) read Paul Gipe’s Wind Power or Paul Gipe’s Wind Energy Basics, before even looking into a wind turbine.
It’s pretty simple : a $20-30 investment to help figure out if you are going to make a mistake or just make the mistake for $5,000-15,000. 

When I think of those turbines not spinning, I wonder if, sometime in the near future,  we going to see ads on Craigslist-US Virgin Islands for “hardly used wind turbines”?

I hope not, I’d rather see those up and running. I guess I’ll keep my eyes peeled, and definitely let me know if you hear anything!

Point Lookout Wind Turbine 1st Anniversary

Point Lookout Town of Hempstead Wind Turbine Marking the first anniversary of our local "landmark to energy independence!" Congratulations to the town!

Marking the first anniversary of our local “landmark to energy independence!”
Congratulations to the town!

I just wanted to wish congratulations to Supervisor Kate Murray, Commissioner of Conservation and Waterways’ Ron Masters and everyone else involved in the successful first year of operation of the Town of Hempstead’s Point Lookout Energy Park wind turbine.

Obviously, I love it, and I enjoy seeing it every day!  I really do feel it is a “landmark to energy independence” and I’m proud its in my own hometown.

thank you! 

 

on a personal note… Some thoughts and comments.

Reliability. If I see it stopped… I know the grid has failed and power has gone out in town, not the other way around.

Everybody lived. Within a few months at the March civic meeting no one even complained. In fact many voiced approval generally the airing of the grievances happened prior to that meeting. Fear met reality and reality won.

misplaced comments – I love the people who don’t know me and make some kind of comment about it-which I’ve been a little remiss at putting up on the comments board. It’s not a wall of shame,(right?) after all!

I do amuse myself when I can look at them funny and leave a little dead air silence for them to hear back what they just said…

I find their attitude is more saying a joke like you would say about the opposite sex, a president (ah, “you know men/women”, wink wink) – not really so heartfelt, just banter.

I think it is them feeling out what other people think and I think that’s good.

Ok, With This, Now I’m Ready For an EV.

The new Sanya Skypump EV charging station.

The new Sanya Skypump EV charging station. Your own energy independence, right in your own driveway?

Oooh, look at that VAWT*, so clean and beautiful, the sleek stylish look of the whole system… I’m going to have to tell the TV and the iPhone… there may be another in my life!

Welcome the Sanya Skypump.
The new “fuel pump” for your EV (electric vehicle).

Vehicles are the last bastion of dirty energy proponents saying : how are you going to move everything that moves our modern world and economy without fossil fuels?!! (funny, my autocorrect corrected “economy” to “ruining”- food for thought)

Maybe we don’t have all the answers just yet. Is that any reason not to take a couple hundred million dirty cars and trucks off the road as soon as financially and technologically possible?

Wouldn’t that leave plenty of decades worth of fossil fuels for airplanes? (whoops, they don’t need them anymore either- biofuels have recently proven an alternative for that.)
Wouldn’t the industry that it would take to deploy and maintain something like this to everyone employ tens of millions world-wide while making the world a better place??

Right now, your EV could be charging in your driveway, running on kilowatt hours produced from coal, doing nothing to get off of dirty energy.

With this, you just plug in and you have a truly clean driving experience with no dirty energy footprint.
Just think:

  • No fossil fuels to war over
  • Doesn’t enrich foreign dictators and other US detractors
  • No mega profits for natural resource pirates* to funnel through and disrupt worldwide economic and political systems with crazy political Bribes contributions.
  • Won’t pollute the
    1. air
    2. land, or
    3. water

Notice that solar panels can also be attached to it’s infrastructure, backing up your wind generation!

Oh and of course the sun and wind don’t stop just because you’re not charging your car, and that generated energy can be used for

  • your other household uses
  • charging a second car, or
  • makes you money as you spin and sell pure, clean power onto the grid.

Now that’s truly giving you and I energy independence, right where you and I live.

If you and I had access to true energy inedependence, there’s no need for the government or corporations to “figure it out for us”.

Now I just have to see it in action to believe it! Oh we can do that here:

The new Sanya Skypump VIDEO LINK

CLICK HERE for Link To Video for Sanya Skypump

;

While writing this post, this timely article also hit :
Ford Goes Big on Electric Vehicles, Future Looks Bright for Wind-Powered Cars

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

*VAWT – vertical axis wind turbine”
*pirate – One who preys on others; a plunderer.

Act, I must!

Introductions: I am George Povall. Student of life with particular interests in Building, Architecture, Engineering, Writing, Music, and most passionately: Renewable Energy, especially Wind Energy.

To this point, I have sat idly by, while seemingly nothing is happening to further our country -and barring a few glowing examples like Denmark, Germany, Sweden and a select few others, the world at large- down the path towards renewable energy and energy independence, both financially and in terms of freedom. When you can really grasp the economic, environmental and social implications of that plus cleaner air, land and water; with no further contribution to climate change, it causes me a feeling of absolute disgust that we are not doing more when the solutions are well at hand.

I have realized there is no way I will be able to look into the eyes of younger family members, my son, my godchildren or anyone else in the future, and just shrug that it was too hard to change myself and even harder to change other people, much less people who make their fortunes off of nothing changing. At the very least, I will know, and have proof that I did what was right, under rights I still seemingly had in a democracy to help usher in the change we need. Yes, I do know that doing that will be VERY difficult, but that in doing so I may blaze a trail that others may follow.

I, hereby, as of today eschew my hitherto-private persona to become an agent of change; to stand up for what is right for people, for our democracy and for the environment; to claim my place in a leadership role, filling what seems to me a gaping vacuum of leadership: to bring about expansion of renewable energy on a scale as to make a real difference.  

The technology is ready. I am ready. It is economically feasible now, and that’s at today’s electric prices, which are sure to rise with the cost of diesel fuel and natural gas, unless we want to choke on more coal emissions. The pros so incredibly outweigh the cons. I will get to that in further posts. Although that pros/cons list may be beaten to death by other, more eloquent sources, I will bring what I can to this front and reiterate what is important.

I hope with this forum to motivate and educate those who are not aware of the issues and to organize like-minded individuals to gain results on these fronts.
Because it is so immense, so difficult; in a Zen-like way it is actually very easy:
It’s just a matter of DECIDING TO ACT.

Act, I must.  I start now.