Happy Holidays from the Solar and Wind Expo

There is no intellegent life down here

2011 was filled with so many distractions that it is hard to pin point the biggest. 2012 could offer a lot of the same – especially since it will be an election year. In fact, it may be difficult to make predictions for 2012. But all is not lost even though politicians will continue to thrive on accentuating our differences,


Just as in other countries, the population is fed up. The current politicians are ill-equipped to stop the bickering and to work out the problems of today to allow for a future that will benefit us all, equally. Politics-as-usual is coming to an end and we will be witnesses.

The focus of the Solar and Wind Expo is to move the country forward towards a clean energy independent future. I bet most of you agree that this will not be possible without using the current available energy sources (like the Keystone Pipeline) while making the change to a new clean energy a priority.

The good part is we can and will do this. But we can’t wait until the left and the right stop fighting or the next election. If Obama wins and the House and Senate stay as they are, the conservatives will be unhappy and block everything that is proposed – more gridlock for four years. But if the Republicans win the Senate and the Presidency, I can’t see a much brighter future for clean energy either.

Let’s tell the President and Congress that we do not want to make this election about abortion, Mormons or putting judges in jail or we’re going to replace them all.

Action is what is needed in 2012. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is now occupying people’s homes and they are making a difference because of action not in-action. Whether you disagree or disagree with OWS you have to applaud positive action. We all have our opinions, but this coming year let’s put the differences aside and focus on our commonalities. Clean energy is one of these commonalities and if we need a pipeline now to make things easier while we transition to the future, then okay. But this needs to be the discussion, not blackmail as it is being presented now. Environmentalists will need to compromise as well those who support the expansion of fossil fuels.

The Solar and Wind Expo will continue its mission of showcasing clean energy products and techniques in 2012 and we are planning bigger and better shows than last year. In 2012 we are bringing a new event call Electropalooza to Maryland with the help of electric motorcycles manufacturers and race teams. Electric Motorcycles will race in time trials around a track with chicanes. This should be a good time. The event is coming together well and we have developed a website for those who want to participate. We will eventually incorporate the website into the expo website soon.

Speaking of websites, we are working on redoing The Solar and Wind Expo website and will be hosting our own blog in the near future with some interesting surprises. So if you’ve noticed very few blogs lately, that is because the focus has been on the redo. Stay tuned.

So another year goes by and another approaches, let’s make the necessary changes in 2012 to make a clean renewable energy independence possible. Don’t look back, make it happen. Happy Holidays.

Here is a list of who is up for re-election:

• The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections will be held on November 6, 2012. Elections will be held for all 435 seats, representing the 50 U.S. states. Elections will also be held for the delegates from the District of Columbia and five major U.S. territories.


• 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections whose winners will serve six-year terms from January 3, 2013 until January 3, 2019. Additionally, special elections may be held to fill vacancies that occur during the 112th United States Congress. Currently, Democrats are expected to have 23 seats up for election, including 2 independents who caucus with the Democrats, while Republicans are expected to have only 10 seats up for election.

1. Democrats/Independents retiring (6 seats)

 Joe Lieberman of Connecticut (Independent)

 Daniel Akaka of Hawaii

 4.1.3 Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico

 4.1.4 Kent Conrad of North Dakota

 4.1.5 Jim Webb of Virginia

 4.1.6 Herb Kohl of Wisconsin

2. Democrats who have not announced intentions

 4.2.1 Dianne Feinstein of California

 4.2.2 Ben Nelson of Nebraska

3. Democrats/Independents seeking re-election (15 seats)

 4.3.1 Tom Carper of Delaware

 4.3.2 Bill Nelson of Florida

 4.3.3 Ben Cardin of Maryland

 4.3.4 Debbie Stabenow of Michigan

 4.3.5 Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

 4.3.6 Claire McCaskill of Missouri

 4.3.7 Jon Tester of Montana

 4.3.8 Bob Menendez of New Jersey

 4.3.9 Kirsten Gillibrand of New York

 Sherrod Brown of Ohio

 Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania

 Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island

 Bernie Sanders of Vermont (Independent)

 Maria Cantwell of Washington

 Joe Manchin of West Virginia

4. Republicans retiring (2 seats)

 Jon Kyl of Arizona

 Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas

5. Republicans seeking re-election (8 seats)

 Richard Lugar of Indiana

 Olympia Snowe of Maine

 Scott Brown of Massachusetts

 Roger Wicker of Mississippi

 Dean Heller of Nevada

 Bob Corker of Tennessee

 Orrin Hatch of Utah

 John Barrasso of Wyoming