100% U.S. Made Energy

The U.S. is again one of the world’s leading natural gas and oil producers yet it still imports foreign oil on a daily basis and that’s why we need to get 100% of our own needs right here and right now.

As of today, renewables account for approximately 10% of America’s energy sources. If we increase that just up to 20% in the next several years, a lot of the oil politics that dominate our news cycles and affect us personally may be a thing of the past. Fossil fuels, like the name suggests, come from remains from long ago and whose own extinction may now be in sight.

Our future lies in constantly moving forward with ways to reduce our dependency on others, producing all the power we need here at home and removing our heavy, carbon footprint on the Earth.

Let’s Transition Now

Natural Gas Opportunities

We are still going to need natural gas for a while and there are ways of getting it out of the ground other than just fracking. Natural gas from sources, such as landfills, is referred to as renewable natural gas and can be a great alternative.

We can do much more at this level while new ways to carbon capture can further reduce methane emissions and be safer on the environment.

Communities Should Benefit

A carbon tax on the oil and gas industry will help put money back into communities most affected from oil and gas projects. These funds will also help communities in the long run transition away from fossil fuels.

Reforming How We Use Energy

States, like Ohio, need to increase their solar power future and they can do this by speeding up and reforming the permit approval process. Solar farms in our counties are seeing political push-back because of the hold the fossil fuel industry still has on our leaders.

These projects give our farmers rental income, thousands of construction jobs as well as hundreds of permanent jobs are made in rural areas and the farmland gets some badly needed rest.

Green Travel for Americans

It is important that we do our part to help reduce our need for fossil fuels and start using renewables for our transportation purposes. Ohio should encourage this growth in both the private and public sectors.

Large fleets such freight companies, public transit buses and waste management have switched to compressed natural gas (CNG) engines which burn cleaner than diesel and need much less maintenance. In time, many of these same fleets will be switching to all-electrics.

Increasing electrically powered mass transit use with buses, trains and cars will not only help reduce emissions but give Americans more travel options for work and fun.

Righting the Energy Wrongs

Ohio cannot afford to continue to bail out aging coal and nuclear plants and with no plan to stop doing so. Taxpayers have been paying for years for politicians to keep kicking this can down the road and it needs to stop.

We can also right the wrong of fracking by repurposing abandoned fracked horizontal and vertical wells shafts for building a network of new underground pipelines and wells for clean, renewable geothermal power generation. It has the potential to produce enough power for thousands of homes and businesses and will revitalize whole sections of eastern and southern Ohio ruined by the fracking industry. The Bank of Ohio could be a prime lender for projects of this scale.

Another Ohio Fuel Source

Northeast Ohio leads research in hydrogen fuel cells that use natural gas. Hydrogen fuel cells are going to be critical for energy storage and transportation industries for cars, trucks, trains and even spacecraft. Recently, Hyperion, a hydrogen fuel company, announced it’s moving to Columbus from California.

Liquid hydrogen is the fuel of choice for heavy lift purposes and can be extracted from methane (CH4). We have an enormous opportunity to provide the raw materials for these growing industries and use these resources to finance its own transformation.