Cuba we need to help NOW reprint of Reuters

Cuba's energy situation termed "critical" * Some factories, workshops to be closed through December * Most other economic activities to be reduced By Marc Frank HAVANA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Cuba has ordered all state enterprises to adopt "extreme measures" to cut energy usage through the end of the year in hopes of avoiding the dreaded blackouts that plagued the country following the 1991 collapse of its then-top ally, the Soviet Union. In documents seen by Reuters, government officials have been warned that the island is facing a "critical" energy shortage that requires the closing of non-essential factories and workshops and the shutting down of air conditioners and refrigerators not needed to preserve food and medicine. Cuba has cut government spending and slashed imports after being hit hard by the global financial crisis and the cost of recovering from three hurricanes that struck last year. "The energy situation we face is critical and if we do not adopt extreme measures we will have to revert to planned blackouts affecting the population," said a recently circulated message from the Council of Ministers. "Company directors will analyze the activities that will be stopped and others reduced, leaving only those that guarantee exports, substitution of imports and basic services for the population," according to another distributed by the light industry sector. President Raul Castro is said to be intent on not repeating the experience of the 1990s, when the demise of the Soviet Union and the loss of its steady oil supply caused frequent electricity blackouts and hardship for the Cuban public. The directives follow government warnings in the summer that too much energy was being used and blackouts would follow if consumption was not reduced. All provincial governments and most state-run offices and factories, which encompasses 90 percent of Cuba's economic activity, were ordered in June to reduce energy use by a minimum of 12 percent or face mandatory electricity cuts. The measures appeared to resolve the crisis as state-run press published stories about the amount of energy that had been saved and the dire warnings died down. The only explanation given for the earlier warnings was that Cuba was consuming more fuel than the government had money to pay for. The situation is not as dire as in the 1990s because Cuba receives 93,000 barrels per day of crude oil, almost two-thirds of what it consumes, from Venezuela. It pays for the oil by providing its energy-rich ally with medical personnel and other professionals. Cuba has been grappling with the global economic downturn, which has slashed revenues from key exports, dried up credit and reduced foreign investment. The communist-run Caribbean nation also faces stiff U.S. sanctions that include cutting access to international lending institutions, and it is still rebuilding from last year's trio of hurricanes that caused an estimated $10 billion in damages. In response, the government has cut spending, slashed imports, suspended many debt payments and frozen bank accounts of foreign businesses. It reported last week that trade was down 36 percent so far this year due mainly to a more than 30 percent reduction in imports.(Editing by Jeff Franks and Eric Beech)


As you know I have called for the end of the embargo, thinking now that MTV and Coke would have a huge impact on Goverment change in Cuba and trade would help both counties. Big bunis do a number on Chavez in Venezuela. Please write/call/Email your reps in Washington

Thank you

Massachusetts wind power

Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., has set a goal of developing 2,000 MW of wind power capacity by 2020. Citing new mandates that require greater use of renewable energy and sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, Massachusetts can only fulfill these obligations with a significant commitment to wind power, according to the governor.

"With the growing interest in wind turbines we see in communities across the commonwealth and the abundant wind resource we have off our coast, wind power is going to be a centerpiece of the clean energy economy we are creating for Massachusetts," says Patrick.

Massachusetts has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to house one of two wind technology testing centers in the U.S.

Patrick has directed Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles to use the 2,000 MW wind goal, as well as the mandates and incentives provided in the package of clean energy legislation enacted last year, to guide the state's efforts to dramatically increase the development and deployment of wind power in the coming years.

There are currently nine wind turbines with capacity of 100 kW or greater installed in Massachusetts, for a total generating capacity of 6.6 MW. There are also more than 300 wind turbines at various stages of planning and permitting that represent a generating capacity of 800 MW.

Installing wind capacity of 2,000 MW would meet an estimated 10% of the state's current electric load with wind power.

SOURCE: Office of Gov. Deval Patrick

Obama Names Energy Team

President-elect Barack Obama has named key members of his energy and environment team, which includes Steven Chu as secretary of energy, Lisa Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Nancy Sutley as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Carol Browner as assistant to the president for energy and climate change and Heather Zichal as deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

"In the 21st century, we know that the future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked to one challenge: energy," says Obama. "The team that I have assembled here today is uniquely suited to meet the great challenges of this defining moment."

Chu is director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and professor of physics and molecular and cellular biology at University of California, Berkeley (UC-Berkeley). He won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 and has a degree in physics from the University of Rochester and a Ph.D. from UC-Berkeley.

Jackson became the head of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection in 2006. She currently serves as chief of staff for Gov. Jon Corzine, D-N.J. She is a professional engineer, having received her master's degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and her undergraduate degree from Tulane University in her hometown of New Orleans.

Sutley currently serves as the deputy mayor for energy and environment for Los Angeles. She received her master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Browner is principal of the Albright Group LLC, where she provides strategic counsel in the critical areas of environmental protection, climate change, and energy conservation and security. Prior to her current position, she served as administrator of the EPA.

Zichal currently serves as the co-chair for the energy and environment policy team for the Obama transition team. Zichal served as the policy director for energy, environment and agriculture for Obama's presidential campaign. She is a graduate of Rutgers University.

SOURCE: The Office of the President-elect

NOTE

AS much as I think Obama is wrong for this country and will mess up our energy policy like no tomorrow I wish him and his Government the best. WE all must rember that the Government does work for us and they do want our imput (well maybe not Democrats)