Draft Sixth Power Plan Comment

I have been an advocate for renewable energy generation for more than 30 years (since the Reagan administration dismantled the Carter administrations efforts to establish long-term alternative energy systems -- thanks to the well-funded nuclear, coal and oil lobbies). We must develop decentralized, renewable energy in the next 10 years. I have a perfect roof on my house for 3kw of solar energy and there are sites all over Washington state that could produce solar, wind, biofuels, yielding many gigawatts of very inexpensive, long-term, non-polluting power. Please establish funds to help home-owners and small businesses and munincipalities to install such facilities, and phase out costly, polluting and inefficient fossil-fuel based large-scale power plants like the one in Centralia. Help communities to produce bio-diesel and fuel high-efficiency diesel cars (and assist American car companies to produce the equivalent of the Smart Car diesel which gets 62 mpg!) and home heating systems. Ban incandescent lighting and foster the development of LEDs, providing very low power lighting. Reward conservationists of power and penalize inefficient power consumers, with graduated power costs (the more you use, the more you pay per kw). The worse waste of gasoline comes from short trip automobile users who don't have access to electric scooters and safe bicycling options. Why shouldn't every neighborhood have a bank of electric scooters available for short-trip use? Cars pollute the worst on short trips and get the worst gas mileage. Incent gasoline/diesel cars to only be used on highways where they are most efficient. In winter people should be rewarded for banding together in libraries and common houses so they can turn their private home thermostats way down. This could save an amazing amount of power and fuel. Night-time lighting in cities could be radically reduced with motion detectors, light-sensors and other intelligent scheduling technologies. Other intelligent power sharing options include building apartments over businesses, a pizza-making business could send its heat slowly up radiant heating floors instead of venting it directly into the air. Same for the already used hot-water in laundromats and restaurants. Renters and small businesses could both benefit by sharing the same hot water heaters. Millions of gallons of hot water are shunted back through city systems instead of slowly dispersing their heat through living spaces. (This is the kind of change President Obama was referring to!) On demand water heaters save millions of kilowatts in Europe, why do we still have inefficient large hot water heaters that sit leaking heat 24 x 7. Why don't neighbors share lighted/heated spaces by web-based bulletin boards. e.g my e-board entry: "I will be watching such and such movie/tv show from 6-8pm and can seat 12 people"? Reducing the multiplicative factor in power consumption might be disastrous for Tide advertising but it is exactly what will solve our energy problems. I have noticed over the years that every time I am heating liquids on the stove if I place a heavy object on the lid the pot makes better contact with the coils and reduces the cooking time. Also most ovens vent through the back right burner and another pot placed there will make use of the "waste" heat. Refrigerators could be sited near back porches and take advantage of chilly overnight temps. And why aren't their self-cleaning coils on refrigerators to maintain their efficiency? Dishwashers could be sited near furnace rooms and the racks could slide into that heating space and dry without additional loads. I line dry all of my clothes from April to October, also a simple pulley and rack system could pull clothes through a hot air solar panel even in winter! A hair dryer could be replaced by a vent in the forced air heating system thats heating up the house in the morning. My name is Aaron Silverberg and my brainpower is reachable via (206) 527-6108.