SOUTHEAST RALEIGH'S CITIZENRY                     
FOR LENT CARR RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL
 
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Over the preceding years prior to his City Council bid, Dr. Lent Carr has envisioned Raleigh, North Carolina taking a futuristic quantum leap into the future emerging technology of wind-energy systems technology for homes and businesses. As with any revolutionized move to improvement; he understood that if we (as a City) are to successfully embark upon such an ambitious and otherwise sustainable energy source, we as a Millennium generation would have go far back into our past to get there.

That's why he has committed to pushing viable initiatives (if elected) to launch a feasible study of the practicality and cost-effectiveness of switching to wind and solar power generation. Dr. Carr believes that our Elected City Council  Officials must move collectively to ratify such a study in the 2011 Election Year for several reasons:

The back-to-the-future aspect is that wind has been generating power for Americans and others for centuries. Family farms across America wouldn’t have survived harsh conditions if not for windmills drawing water for crops from deep underground.

Today’s working windmills are very different. For one thing, they’re called wind turbines. And placed side by side, yesterday’s windmill would be dwarfed by today’s giant turbines.

City Council Hopeful, Lent Carr's working plan is to consider placing wind and solar power generating devices at locations where the general public would likely never see them — at the wastewater treatment facility, landfills or other city-owned properties.

In fact, SOLAR 2011 - The American Solar Energy Society's national solar conference - which is the longest-running educational event for solar energy professionals in the U.S., will be held in Raleigh, N.C. on May 17-21, 2011. The conference is expected to attract more than 5,000 people to downtown Raleigh, with participants traveling from across the United States and internationally. Raleigh, to its credit is already blazing a path that needs to be traveled by every other city and county government.

Now in its 40th year, the SOLAR 2011 program will be developed by solar energy experts in all topical areas - technology, buildings, policy, professional education, workforce development, and consumer education. Many sessions will offer continuing education credits for architects, installers, engineers, and more. There is no better way for City Council to begin or foster such an initiative to study renewable and sustainable energy than the National Solar Conference 2011!

There is no doubt that should this energy change go forward as proposed by Dr. Carr, there will be some equivocating by Members of Council on how to move forward on this initiative, but at the end of the day I believe a strong consensus will be in favor of making this economically friendly energy solution a reality right here in the great City of Raleigh.

My only concern is government’s inclination to clamp down too hard. In implementing the necessary rules for a major project i.e. the one espoused by Dr. Carr, I also believe that on their face (the rules) will be equitable.

When it comes to regulating renewable energy technology, we all need to understand that this is the future of energy generation, and we do not want to have it stifled at the outset.

Renewable energy is something that should be considered — and regulated — on a regional basis. There may come a time when traditional sources of electric power are restricted or simply unavailable. We’ve seen that in recent years, with rolling blackouts across Wake County during storm and wintry seasons.

Instead of worrying about blackouts, why not have a Central City grid, with wind and solar devices generating a steady supply of electricity to communities from North Raleigh to Southeast Raleigh?

The consistency of strong winds in several locations on the Central City delegated location would pretty much guarantee constant, reliable power.

That may be looking a little far into the future, but you get the idea — that the wind and sun provide ample opportunity for renewable energy.

Two things happened last year that point to the need for communities and regions to become more self-sufficient.

The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico was a graphic illustration of how fragile is our reliance on fossil fuels. And the final stages of a prolonged recession showed Americans just how different — and difficult — our lives can become.

City and county officials should be looking at all the options for renewable energy. That will be our future.





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