Nevada City non-profit seeks energy questions for candidates

Tom Grundy is the author of Energy Matters, a regular feature of the Nevada City Advocate.

It's also becoming clearer that our elected officials have the power to determine our energy future. Just a few of the thousands of energy programs put into motion by our elected officials are: cash-for-clunkers; nuclear loan guarantees; ethanol production mandates; renewable portfolio standards; continuing oil subsidies in the form of billions in depletion allowances.

These days, we're all becoming aware that there are multiple ways to vote.

You can vote with your pocketbook (even if your name ends with “Inc.”). You can vote with your fork, three times a day. This June, in addition to various primaries and county elections, we will hold elections for two City Council seats here in Nevada City.

It's also becoming clearer that our elected officials have the power to determine our energy future. Just a few of the thousands of energy programs put into motion by our elected officials are: cash-for-clunkers; nuclear loan guarantees; ethanol production mandates; renewable portfolio standards; continuing oil subsidies in the form of billions in depletion allowances. The list goes on.

There are plenty of examples at the local level as well: local implementation of AB811, which allows for property-tax-assessed efficiency and renewable-energy projects (including Placer County's recently enacted version); the no-holds-barred fight to enact or suspend or repeal AB32 (California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006); city-scale energy projects that are up and running.

You get the picture: the elected officials we choose today are affecting our energy future for decades to come.

As a registered 501c3 nonprofit, APPLE-NC (Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy of Nevada County) does not campaign for or against any specific ballot measures, initiatives, or candidates: APPLE is accountable to taxpayers of all political tendencies.

But a few years ago, we received a very good piece of advice: we cannot pass up the opportunity to help educate voters on the questions that are important to us.

So beginning in 2008, we assembled a set of energy-related questions for local candidates. The candidates responded and various media outlets offered to publish their responses. We've posted the questions and responses for the November 2008 elections online at apple-nc.org under the Projects menu.

Now, we're asking for your input and feedback to help determine our local energy future: what energy-related questions would you like to hear your local candidates respond to?

We'd like to send the questions to candidates with plenty of lead time, so we will finalize the list of questions by early April. There will probably only be space for eight to 10 questions for the candidates – but we will try to post all your questions online.

Take control of your own energy future!  Send your energy questions today!

Tom Grundy is the author of Energy Matters and the president of Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy of Nevada County. He can be reached at tom@apple-nc.org.