U.S. to go GREEN in Iraq

United States frontline Iraq commander Marine Major General Richard Zilmer has made a 'Priority 1' plea to the Pentagon for "solar panels and wind turbines." This may be the first time such a high ranking military commander has done so.

The per gallon cost for delivered fuel in Iraq is $13 to $300. By example fuel delivered to Fallujah runs about $100 per gallon. These are old figures, more than two years old, that predate the spike in oil prices. Up to 70% of the U.S. troop traffic on Iraqi roads is fuel deliveries.

Roadside Bombs

My general reading of the news of the last few weeks is that roadside bombings are up to record levels. Hmmmm? 70% of the traffic is fuel?

Insurgents

The 'people of Iraq' must see those 18-wheeler tanker trucks going down the road toward the U.S. base where the generators give our troops lights, etc. 24/7 while they have to settle for electricity 2-3hrs per day. Would 'insurgent' be the definition of an ordinary citizen of Iraq who has decided they are mad as hell and won't take it anymore?
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Every day we hear reports of pipelines sabotaged and electric grids shut down due to tampering. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the anger of an Iraqi citizen. No wonder that a high ranking General, Richard Zilmer, has made the request for Green Power!

Today's column could go in a lot of directions. I will limit it to a few...

• We are at war atop the 2nd largest source of oil in the world. The Iraqi's can't get any, we pay up to $300 per gallon, and we have a top commander asking for solar panels and wind turbines.
• Advances in society sometimes come in the strangest 'head up the butt' way. Light weight canoes and bicycles are a result of incredible amounts of money spent in research by NASA for space programs over the decades. The internet (as we know it) was about to be tossed in the dumpster by the Pentagon until Al Gore spearheaded the drive to allow the general public to put it to use. Seventeen tons of solar panel hardware was recently delivered to the International Space Station. Could it be that Mr. Zilmer's request for green power will spark that industry stateside?
• My rant starts here: Major General Richard Zilmer made the high priority request for Green Power on July 25, 2006. It was reported August 23, 2006 by Defense Industry Daily, which was one of my sources for writing this and your source for buying tanks, guns, rocket launchers, etc. in large quantities. The Christian Science Monitor, in which I have complete trust in all areas except medicine, wrote about it on September 7, 2006. CBS had a short blurb on September 9. We have 24/7 news sources, CNN, MSNBC, and the 'knews' source FAUX KNEWS and they didn't have room for this story. I guess we need more than 24hrs in a day so they could squeeze it in. Congrats goes to the Christian Science Monitor for it's timely reporting. Are we truly getting timely reports in the media?

One more for the rocky road. One of the items being considered comes from Skybuilt. It is a container system. You have seen those standard size containers on railroad cars, the same ones used by the Merchant Marine. The container is delivered, the contents (solar panels) unloaded and set up, and the inside of the now vacant container can be used as an office, barracks, or communication center. These would've been ideal when the sun came out in New Orleans a year ago. Displaced folks were asked to register for aid online, but how and where?

Whoops! There I opened another can of worms! In case of an emergency in Oshkosh does the community have the necessary computer access? The local FEMA meeting is coming up and the Oshkosh Public Library and UWO Polk Library should come up with a plan and ask FEMA for the promise of $$$ to implement same.

Peace.