OFG-HowToFreeYourself.svg

Elect Cynthia Thielen to Senate

Cynthia Theilen, receiving nomination
Theilen – has not taken Meth

Off-Grid endorses Cynthia Thielen in the race for United States Senator from Hawaii. Thielen has made an unequivocal committment to off-grid energy provision for emergency services and schools as well as switching all State and Federal funding away from oil or nuclear, and solely to renewable energy sources. She is the voice of the future in Hawaii which has an island perspective on energy — different from most US regions.

Although we are amazed to find ourselves endorsing a Republican, the incumbent Democratic Senator from Hawaii is a waste of space. Thielen has also supported abortion rights, physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill and industrial hemp. She has opposed legalizing gambling and expanding the right to carry concealed firearms. (Source: Honolulu Advertiser Oct 1, 2006). She has not had sex with a male prostitute as far as we know, nor taken meth, but we would not mind if she had.

In Texas, Off-Grid reverts to its traditional support, coming out in favour of Democrat Chris Bell rather than Independent candidate Kinky Freidman. The reason – although Freidman supports measures such as solar and wind power and bio-diesel, Bell goes a step further and has called for a law encouraging local prosecutors from going after polluters.

But we are hoping for an upset in Hawaii. I pledge to introduce and tirelessly advocate for a forward-thinking energy policy that will increase our national security and our energy security by reducing our nation’s dependence upon oil, Thielen told voters this week.

She promised aggressive energy efficiency measures, and wholesale promotion, development and implementation of renewable energy sources.

Unlike my opponent, who voted to continue subsidizing the mature and established oil and nuclear industries, I will insist that all federal subsidies must shift to the renewable energy and efficiency fields.

Significantly for us, Thielen also pledges through private-sector incentives and a public infrastructure program to install off-grid, renewable energy systems on our public health and safety services, to ensure our citizenry are safe during any interruption in the power grid; and to invest in reliable maintenance and upgrades of our nation’s grid systems.

For decades Hawaii has endured an energy system that burdens residents with escalating energy costs and a dependency on fossil fuels. No other state relies so exclusively on oil for all their energy needs; Hawaii has a staggering 77 percent usage of fossil fuel for energy production. For an isolated land mass, this is an extremely dangerous practice that leaves it vulnerable to international politics, fluctuating supply, interruptions in shipping and escalating prices. Every year Hawaii sends approximately $2 Billion to oil companies on the mainland; that’s the equivalent of approximately $2,000 for every Hawaii resident per year. Yet the State has the most abundant supply of clean, natural renewable sources of energy: wind, wave and solar.

Wave energy systems, particularly suited for Hawaii and other coastal states are being commercially installed in Portugal and Scotland. These systems can provide 100% of the power needed on all islands, said Thielen, except Oahu, where they can produce 80% of the power for industry, business and consumers.

2 Responses

  1. You are right to endorse her for these reasons. Please can you publish a state by state guide to senators opinions on renewables? In my own State Edward Kennedy has a poor voting record on this issue, so I will vote for his opponent. Please could anyone who has news about the candidates in their area write in and tell us.

  2. Yes, we would like to hear from everyone who has any suggestions about the candidates in your area.

    Please let us know who is in favour of renewables and who is in the pocket of big oil.

    Off-Grid are preparing a report on politicians who are in the pay of the big energy companies.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

off-grid.net

Join the global off-grid community

Register for a better experiencE on this site!