Mason County: a chance to become a leader

author : Janet Jordan topic : Green Party

by Janet Jordan

Voters in Mason County have a unique opportunity to elect a pud commissioner who will set the district up to produce its own power from renewable sources spread across the county. Steve Garrison can make it happen.

The pud (Public Utilities District) is where the power choices are made for that community. When a county selects a clean, renewable energy source such as wind or solar power, it's one more step back from the brink of global climate change. In Mason County, that step can be taken.

Mason County will have the answers to many questions that typically make a local government hesitate to switch to cleaner energy. Such a move will mean investing in a new infrastructure when the old infrastructure, with all its faults, is ready to supply all our needs. Will the new energy always be available? What if the wind drops, if clouds cover the sun? Is the technology mature, or should we wait?

Steve has worked in the field of solar energy for many years, and knows the answers to these and other questions. Yes, the technology is available right now. With energy producing units spread out over the county ("distributed") and feeding into a network, there will be enough energy, and Steve knows how it can be stored. His enthusiasm for bio-fuels is more qualified, since energy inputs to these fuels vary, and can be greater than the outputs. He'll add bio to the mix if and when it makes sense. (Go to his website, VoteGarrison.us, for more info.)

With the enthusiasm of an idealist, Steve talks about the effects on the economy of the newer, cleaner fuels. With distributed energy sources, every homeowner can be a producer. When their energy feeds into the power grid, these producers earn money, and the money the county spends on energy stays home. Plus, of course, costs and pollution resulting from production are minimized.

Steve also has plans for the use of fiber optics cable, which will go in alongside the energy cables which will be buried underground (for much lower maintenance bills). They will be available to every household, giving them high-speed Internet access and making work at home a possibility -- very important in a rural area.

The race is non-partisan, but it is interesting that Steve has chosen to be a member of the Green Party, the party of uncompromising principles. This win on a local level will show that principles are good politics too.

Mason County is lucky to have this forward-thinking and knowledgeable worker standing ready for the pud position. I have no doubt at all that he will be elected, and once in office, will make the changes he envisions.