Brian Hightower

Denise Patterson

Butch Jewitt

Jim Dick

Martin Bradshaw

What’s the word?

—J. PATTERSON

What’s the best long-term alternative energy source?
Here’s what people had to say:

• Brian Hightower, a long-timer of Placitas had this to say: “Solar power absolutely, the only thing you have to replace are batteries. That can be a problem because of the lead sulphate in the batteries, but they last quite a while, so it’s not a big problem. There’s also wind to charge batteries, but I think solar is the cheapest, most efficient, and most renewable.”

• Denise Patterson runs her entire electric system on solar panels and had this to say, “I like solar energy, personally. We’ve been running our house on solar energy for many years now. It works great! There’s a lot of sunshine in New Mexico.”

• Butch Jewitt, another longtime resident of Placitas, said, “I think solar energy is probably the best alternative, or maybe water. Wind’s also a good source of energy; we’ve got plenty of wind around ... and we’ve got plenty of politicians with plenty of wind, too. I think those are our best resources, because they’re our natural resources.”

• Jim Dick, who drives a hybrid car said, “Solar is the answer—we’ll have it for billions of years. It’s not as efficient right now, but in the future it will be. Conversion of solar energy to electricity is probably the area where they are having the most advances in technology. But long-term, solar is best. We’ve had this car about a year, it’s a Toyota Prius. It’s a hybrid. We’re getting right about forty-eight MPG. It has a ten-gallon tank, so that’s like five hundred miles on a tank of gas. It’s been fairly comfortable, too. It’s part electric; the engine charges the battery. While you’re sitting, the engine just shuts off and all the power is coming from the engine. It’s pretty handy.”

• Martin Bradshaw, a retired electrical engineer, said, “The problem with wind systems is that they are mechanical, and mechanical things break down. I think solar would be the best alternative if they could get the cost down on solar panels. There are other power sources like steam; that’s a possibility, too. Right now, they can’t compete with what’s there, but they will be able to in the future.”

If you have an idea or question for “What’s the Word,”
send it to: email@sandovalsignpost.com, or mail it to:
Signpost, P. O. Box 889, Placitas, NM 87043.