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Renewable energy: Liberation Day
Phil Yorio is the general manager of Micronesia Renewable Energy, Inc.-CNMI. (Contributed Photo)
With America and the CNMI celebrating their Independence Day on July 4th it was a great day to reflect on what exactly does this mean. America’s greatest generation, the generation that grew up in the worst financial depression in history, which was starting to ease up in early 1940, were thrown into on Dec. 7 1941 one of the bloodiest wars ever fought on this planet, World War II, and fought they did. The CNMI was liberated from the Japanese on July 9, 1944. The battle for the liberation of the CNMI started on June 15, 1944 and we as an island were finally liberated on July 9, 1944.
The greatest generation on Earth liberated the CNMI and again gave us our freedom back, now I believe it is up to us to keep this freedom that many have died for in our hearts never forgetting the suffering and sacrifice that our people faced in this most difficult time and the sacrifice that members of the military also gave for this freedom.
While reflecting on this special day I cannot help thinking of the correlation between our liberation and what I believe we can have for this island which is energy liberation. I live for the day when this island can also be free from fossil fuel and the CNMI can have our “day in the sun” of total liberation from fossil fuel. Now living on the CNMI we are faced with supply and demand, political, weather, and the ever present manipulation of the oil industry for our energy costs. To me this is just another avenue of being a prisoner to an industry that has controlled how much we pay for energy for over 60 years when in reality we have the means as far as technology to map out our own future and truly liberate this island and have total energy security for life. With an election coming in November, oil on its way up again, the islands infrastructure is in disarray and no real plan on our energy future except to burn more fossil fuel. I believe it’s time, we as the people of the CNMI, who the greatest generation on Earth have entrusted this island with, safety guide her down the path now to energy liberation. We as the people left now in charge need to be very careful to elect the Legislature that also hold this islands future dear to their hearts.
