Here is where I would like all planning of the coal night to happen. Remember coal night is March 17 at 7:00 PM here at the high school. This presentation is part of the 2009 WEST Energy Week. Here is a poster advertising the week.

Promotional Quotes

The Night

6:45 - 7:15 Energy Fair with The Well open in Main Street. Main Street presenters set up by 6:45.
7:20 - 8:00 Why we use it and why we should reduce it groups alternating in the Lecture Hall.

Why we use coal:

1. It's how we have always done it.
2. Advocates claim it is cheaper than the alternatives.
3. It's more reliable than the alternatives and thus meets the "base load" need... something that is always there when you need it, not just when the wind blows or sun shines... the coal pile is the storage mechanism.
4. Pollution can be controlled through smokestack scrubbers and, some day maybe, CCS.

Why we might want to minimize our use of coal:

1. Coal prices will increase rapidly over the next 50 years.
2. Burning coal harms environment.
1. Mining Practices.
   
2. CO2 and global warming.
3. Burning coal harms health.
1. Mercury and fetal development.
2. Particulates and asthma.
4. Coal burning depletes a non-renewable resource needed for steel-making, medicine, fertilizer.

What are our alternatives for generating electricity:

1. Conservation and efficiency can reduce demand by 20% or more
1. Time magazine cover story of Jan 12, 2009.
2. Per capita energy use in California has been constant for 25 years while it has doubled in USA overall.
3. Compare to your neighbors on your utility bill.
4. Green Competition.
   
2. Renewable Energy solves many of coal’s problems

1. Wind
1. Kevin, Rebekah, MattB, Jordan, Lynnae, Joe, Drew, Patrick, ChrisS, Ryan, Seth
   
2. Michigan one of best wind states in USA
3. talking "real" wind farms with windmills 100's of feet tall, so still a "centralized" source.
4. What upgrades does the power grid need to accommodate wind?
5. how does wind work over water (like lake Michigan)
6. How efficient is Wind compared to Coal? Solar? Geothermal?
7. How practical is Wind Power in West Michigan?
8. What advances in Technology need to be made in order for this type of energy to be used commonly?
   
2. Solar Power
   
1. NateS, Marcus, Andrew, AdamW, MattK, Luke, Kristin
   
2. Solar Power even works even on cloudy days(contrary to popular belief) in Michigan – EGR real time output at http://216.120.143.134/
3. most expensive of the 3 for now.
4. can be decentralized... house by house... perhaps networked.
5. Use the Link to the Solar Energy Page to read more detailed information there.
   
3. Geothermal-General link about Geothermal: Geothermal Technologies Program
   
1. Toby, DanA, AlexL, AndrewVW, NateH, Phil, AndrewR, Lucas, Chris, Josh, Alex, Kristen
   
2. How does it work? Topher, Al, and Daniel
   
3. Currently the most doable but underutilized - AndrewR, Lucas
   
4. Disadvantages of Geothermal - Toby, NateH, and Jacob.
5. Industrial uses of Geothermal- Alex L., Andrew, Kristen
   
6. See Steve Hamstra at GMB architects

Resources

1. Kilowatt Ours
1. Watch the DVD and streaming video, script, full interviews available.
2. Tons of supporting material at kilowattours.org
2. Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Tom Friedman…
1. more info and excerpts at http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/bookshelf/hot-flat-and-crowded
2. There is a book discussion night on this during Energy Week… maybe some of us will be interested in participating and contributing.
3. Forgotten Fundamentals of the Energy Crisis – a classic physics paper and video from the1970’s energy crisis still relevant today.
   
4. Google “Peak Coal” to find out it maybe even worse.
5. National Renewable Energy Lab – http://nrel.gov
6. Midwest Renewable Energy Association – the-mrea.org
7. Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association – http://flrea.org
8. Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center -- http://www.gvsu.edu/marec/
9. American Wind Energy Association – http://awea.org
10. American Solar Energy Society – http://ases.org

Hints on Presentations, Online research and Wikis

1. Brain dump to get started in a wiki.
2. Search creative commons for pictures.
3. Stories, pictures, and graphs that tell a story are a hook. Statistics are great for followup.
4. Always link to where you found stuff.