Tradewind Energy of Lenexa turns wind into electricity

Will the U.S. military lead the way to greener technologies? That argument was made at the Capitol Wednesday by members of Operation Free, a coalition of veterans urging the U.S. to decrease dependence on fossil fuels. Robin Eckstine is a native of Neenah who started thinking about the issue while driving trucks in Iraq. “I wondered to myself as we were hauling fuel and water everyday, if we had less trips outside the gate, that would mean less risk to American lives, less risk to my life,” Eckstine said. “Why weren’t we being just a little more energy efficient, and solving this problem?”

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By Roger McKinney / Joplin Globe / March 5, 2010

Tis the season.

The monthlong filing period for candidates for the U.S. Senate seat that is being vacated by the retirement of Christopher “Kit” Bond this year only opened last week, but the central and peripheral campaigns for federal offices most likely have been in gear for quite some time.

Two veterans of the Iraq war were in Joplin on Friday pushing against U.S. dependence on foreign oil and for legislation they say would bolster clean-energy alternatives.

“The reason why we are entangled in the Middle East is because of our addiction to oil,” said Sgt. Chris Miller, of Carbondale, Ill. Miller served two Army tours in Iraq and has a Purple Heart after being injured by a roadside bomb. “As long as we need oil, we’re going to be embroiled in conflict.”

U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri’s 7th District, and Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, are the leading contenders for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Bond.

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By David Lias / Vermillion Plain Talk / March 5, 2010.

There is a natural link between the present and former members of the U.S. military, and the American freedom they have strived to protect for over two centuries.

One of the biggest threats to our nation’s freedom doesn’t loom necessarily on the battlefield, according to a group of veterans associated with Operation Free who spoke on the University of South Dakota campus Tuesday afternoon.

The growing risk to the United States’ security comes from the country’s growing dependence on foreign oil, according to Operation Free, a coalition of veterans, and national security organizations that have come together and are spreading the word of how the U.S. dependence on fossil fuels, specifically oil from overseas, is causing global  climate change and threatening the nation.

“Our current energy policies are leading to the deaths and injuries of our men and women overseas in Afghanistan. We don’t think about this, but it’s the truth. We get 60 percent of our oil from overseas right now,” said Matt Victoriano, a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps from Texas who served two stints in the Middle East.

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By Gabrielle Biondo / St. Louis Globe-Democrat / March 4, 2010

Operation Free, a coalition of veterans against using foreign oil, launched a new ad campaign tying U.S. foreign oil dependence to terrorist funding and attacks on U.S. soldiers.

The Veterans for American Power Tour, a campaign of Operation Free, was in St. Louis Thursday morning where members launched the television ad campaign connecting America’s oil dependence to Iranian terrorist funding. Veterans, including Chris Miller, the veteran featured in the ad, attended the announcement.

Operation Free organizers said members are veterans and national security organizations dedicated to securing America with clean energy. They said U.S. dependence on foreign oil is funding our enemies, making America vulnerable, and causing destabilizing climate change.

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