So, after six weeks, it's getting clearer that this really is not a crisis that is going to go away anytime soon. We should have been investing sooner in wild and crazy energy ideas, but maybe it's still not too late. So, while you're thinking about how to cope today, take some time to think about how to help down the road...

Our duly elected House of Representatives has prepared a bill to establish an organization to research means to reduce our dependence on oil. That bill, H.R. 364, is called, "Establishing the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) Act." It:

establishes an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy within the U.S. Department of Energy. Modeled after the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, ARPA-E is a new program charged with the mission of reducing US dependence on oil through the rapid development and commercialization of transformational clean energy technologies. This bill follows on the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences’ report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.”

So here's the mission. Three steps.

Step 1: Read the proposed bill; here's the text: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h4435ih.txt.pdf

Step 2: Write to your representative and tell him or her what you think of it. Good or bad. Even if you don't think the bill is good, you can tell your representative that you think it IS important to reduce our dependence on oil and that the Congress should keep trying. Here's where you can get the contact information to learn where to send your comments on the legislation: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Step 3: Add a comment to this entry to report in that you read the bill, formed an opinion (the unstated step!) and add the name of the representative with whom you shared your opinion to the tags for this entry.

For extra credit, round 1, find the references in the National Academy of Sciences report on which this legislation is based. Here's the link: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11463#toc

For extra credit, round 2, forward the information to others you know who are concerned about our energy crisis and encourage them to communicate to THEIR representatives.

Ok, enough political action for one day. I'm going to go take a nap!

Tags: alternative, energy, house of representatives, legislation, mission, research
Current Mood: determined