Lecture series outlines 7-steps to  “fossil freedom”

CEC’s 7-week lecture series at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The series— will look at both tried-and-tested solutions like conservation and solar, as well as some technologies that push the envelope, such as wave buoys and aquatic wind turbines.

In addition, CEC has just published a 16-page booklet that shows how our “Fossil Free by ’33” goal can be reached even sooner — by 2020.

Tuesday, May 24 Reining in Wave Power: How Ocean Technologies Could Transform California
6:30 information faire, 7:30pm lecture.
Mary Jane Parks, AquaEnergy, a Washington state-based ocean energy company. Carolyn Elefant, Nationally recognized renewable energy law expert.

Experts discuss emerging technologies
Can beachside communities  harness the power of the ocean?

A nationally recognized expert on offshore renewables will join a representative from a research and development company that specializes in wave energy to discuss the potential for tapping the power of the ocean in the tri-counties.

The duo will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 24 as part of a seven-week lecture series organized by the Community Environmental Council (CEC) in the Fleischmann Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Carolyn Elefant a renewable energy law expert from Washington, D.C. specializes in offshore renewables, including ocean energy and wind power. A former attorney advisor with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, she will provide a big-picture view of the development of ocean energy in the U.S.

Mary Jane Parks represents AquaEnergy, a renewable energy company based in Washington state that is developing pilot projects in Port Angeles, Washington. AquaEnergy has developed a wave buoy that floats beneath the water, generating energy through the up and down motion of the waves. With each buoy generating 300 kilowatts, 1,000 of these devices along the tri-counties coast would generated 2.4 billion kilowatts hours per year enough energy to meet more than 10% of our projected total energy demand by 2020.

While wave technologies are not as far along as solar or wind technologies, the untapped power of the ocean by far outweighs the potential of sun and wind energy. According to a U.K. Marine Foresight Panel in 2000, if less than 0.1% of the renewable energy available within the oceans could be converted into electricity it would satisfy the present world demand for energy more than five times over."

The CEC series came out of the realization that we not only have an energy crisis in this country, we also have a knowledge crisis, said CEC Executive Director Bob Ferris.

People are upset by high gas prices, poor air quality, global warming, and defense costs. We need to understand that these are all linked to the use of fossil fuels. What s more, we need to understand that current and emerging technologies can get us out of this mess. If we get serious about renewable energy, fossil-freedom can be a reality.

To do this, Ferris said, the community needs to have a clear sense of the options available to the tri-counties region.

In conjunction with the series, CEC is releasing a booklet that outlines how its Fossil Free by 33 goal can be reached even sooner by 2020.

We need to get past the idea that we should try to drill our way out of this problem, Ferris said. Fortunately the tri-counties region has the creativity, technology and abundant resources that allow us to choose a saner energy path. As the fifth largest economy in the world, California has the capability becoming the front leader in renewable energy.

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Tuesday, May 31 Fueling Change: How Hybrids, Hydrogen and Other Alternatives are Remaking Transportation 6:30 information faire, 7:30pm lecture.        
Daniel Emmett, Energy Independence Now!, a Santa Barbara-based non-profit. Arjun Sarkar, UC Santa Barbara, Dept. of Transportation. Craig Schmitman, CEO of Have Blue, Inc., an Oxnard company developing a hydrogen fuel cell powered sailboat. For information: Call Tam, 963-0583

Tuesday, June 7 Power to the People: How the Tri-Counties Can Lead the Nation in Demanding a More Sustainable Energy Path 6:30 information faire, 7:30pm lecture.       
Terry Tamminen, Cabinet Secretary to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Cal EPA Secretary. Concluding remarks by Bob Ferris, Executive Director, Community Environmental Council.

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Fleischman Auditorium, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara.     
For information: Call Tam, 963-0583 ext. 122 or email. Suggested donaton $3 www.communityenvironmentalcouncil.org/events/cec_calendar.html