More from Greg at the group Architects for Obama on Energy Independence:
"I have a plan to bring about energy independence in the United States. The first nation on Earth with the opportunity to become fully independent of fossil fuels is the tiny island nation of Iceland. By exploiting the vast renewable energy resources found on the island, Icelanders have been able to grow their economy and cut dependence on foreign energy. Renewable energy resources currently tend to be more expensive than traditional sources, although with gas at over $4.00 across the United States, things are starting to balance out. Still, the most cost effective use of renewable energy tends to be in remote locations far from electric grids and fossil fuel resources.I believe that if Iceland can become energy independent then certainly the small island territories of the United States can be. Many of them have resources that Iceland does not such as solar, sugarcane ethanol, and ocean thermal energy conversion. If one island territory can be made independent of fossil fuels, then why not another? If each island territory eliminates the need for fossil fuels then why not Hawaii, the state most dependent on foreign fossil fuels? And if Hawaii can succeed, why not the rest of the nation?I believe that Barack Obama, commited to renewable energy and having been born and raised on an island, is uniquely well suited to implementing this plan.The United States is planning to spend over $15 billion dollars in the next six years to relocate our troops from Okinawa to Guam as we pull our troops out of Japan. It is the largest expansion and construction effort in the history of Guam. Our military owns about one-third of this island, and much of the remaining jungle will be bulldozed to build military headquarters, housing, hospitals, schools and commissaries to support about 8,000 additional marines. The construction effort will require 25,000 temporary workers. To put this project in perspective, Guam's current population is about 173,000 people and the total annual GDP for the island is $3.2 billion.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/30/asia/30guam-gates.php
"As long as we are going to spend $15 billion building in Guam, why don’t we take the opportunity to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner? Let us build the military bases, hospitals, schools, and housing on Guam using green building design methods. Let us expand power plants to meet the energy needs with local renewable resources. Let us require environmentally friendly cars and trucks on the island - a miliary truck running on diesel can just as easily run on biodiesel. Lets not wipe out the native habitat and eco-system found on Guam in the process.
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