HGC_____________
High Ground Communities -
Getting 60 US Cities Off Fossil Fuels by 2020 with
Renewable Energy and Locally Grown Organic Food
High Ground Communities Executive Summary
Due to rapidly approaching oil and natural gas depletion, coupled with global warming, High Ground
Communities has one goal: to encourage 60 cities to get totally off fossil fuels by using federally and
corporate assisted implementation of clean renewables, including solar, wind, hydrogen from solar and wind,
geothermal, biofuels for fleets, trucks and farmers, cold fusion, ocean wave energy, and locally derived
organic food and food products programs, who then help others here and globally do the same. Getting these
cities off fossil fuels will sharply reduce U.S. carbon emissions quickly while ensuring that these 60 cities are
prepared for oil and natural gas depletion –which is predicted within 40 years. This network of cities will also
work with others.
12 of the chosen cities will be literally on high ground due to growing concerns over sea level
risings from global warming:
1) Missoula, Mt
4) Austin,Tx.
7) State College ,Pa. 10) Binghamton, NY
2) Albuquerque, NM 5) Pasadena, Ca. 8) St. Paul, Mn.
11) Atlanta, Ga.
3) Denver, Co.
6) Nashville,Tn. 9) Des Moines, Ia.
12) Spokane, Wa.
48 more, most of them fairly major population centers so carbon emissions are reduced quickly as these go
off fossil fuels, others included for cultural, climate or distribution purposes are: (changes in these names
may occur if another city in that state of a major population size selects to be a High Ground Community
before the city in that same state elects to draft a ten year plan):
San Francisco, Ca., Seattle, Wa., Boston, Ma., Los Angeles, Ca., New York, NY, Chicago, Il., Detroit, Mi.,
Dallas, Tx., New Orleans, La., Omaha, Ne., Kansas City, Ks., Stockton, Ca. Allentown, Pa., Portland, Or.,
Phoenix, Az., Madison, Wi., Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pa., Amherst, Ma., Bangor, Me.,
Birmingham, Al., Charleston, W. V., Orlando, Fl., St. Louis, Mo., Boise,Id., Concord, NH, Annapolis,Md.,
Houston, Tx., Milwaukee, Wi., Billings,Mt., Cheyenne, Wy., Salt Lake City, Ut., Browning, Mt.,
Cleveland, Oh., Olympia, Wa., Bismarck, ND, Pierre, SD, Honolulu, Hi., Fairbanks, Ak., Burlington, Vt,
Santa Fe, NM, Little Rock, Ar., Tucson, Az, Bend, Or., Hollywood, Ca., Oklahoma City, Ok., Lexington,
Ky., Raleigh, NC., Roanoke, Va.
For example: Missoula Project city Overall Ten Year Plan goals:
Within ten years, every home and business in Missoula, and every public building would be
superinsulated with a goal of R-38-60 in the roofs, R-19-40 in walls, double pane windows and
low e light bulbs to lower energy use. The highest economically and structurally insulation
possible would be the goal in each building.
Within ten years, wind and photovoltaics systems would be powering all electrical needs,
including the water pumping system,. and some of the heating needs of Missoula
Geothermal and pellet stoves fueled from grasses and sawdust pellets would provide additional
heating supplies for the greater Missoula area.
Within ten years solar hot water heaters and low energy lighting systems would be in homes, in
businesses and in municipal buildings and on streets.
By 2017, organic farms amounting to an acreage enough to provide roughly 80% of the food
needs of the population would be in operation in the local area.—estimated at roughly 80,000 –
100,000 acres in production. A distance of roughly 50 miles would include those primary farms.
Some products, including beef cattle requiring larger grazing areas, would be brought further if
farmers had biofuel, rail, or clean hydrogen transportation systems.
Food processing plants using local foods would have been opened in the local area and in
Montana to such a degree that product variety based on local food production would be sharply
expanded for market needs, aiming to replace many of the main staple processed and packaged
foods, including baked, frozen, and canned foods.
Ten varying sized local GreenBuilt housing communities using advanced building materials and
meeting stringent codes for energy efficiency/solar/geothermal and pellet heating combined with
roof, yard and community garden areas for food and ornamental productions,w/ inclusion of work
areas would have been created for new housing needs.
Bicycle paths were be expanded to facilitate easy biking and walking through the city;
60% of all vehicles would be operating on hydrogen made from wind or pvs, biofuels, or
electricity from wind or pv panels. Hydrogen production from wind and solar for the entire
community would be operating in the local area, requiring about 20,000 acres of land purchases up
front for such production accommodation.
The Missoula water system would be pumped by wind and PV (solar) power.
Green building standards would be passed and enforced by the state and city council.
Roof and yard gardens would be commonplace, created from a city incentives program.
The following is a possible legislative project list determined as needed to assist in national
development of High Ground Communities:
1) Authorize establishment of High Ground Communities as a federal project designating specific cities
as part of such an effort.
2) Establish authority for HGC cities to establish and operate public utilities or cooperatives for their
entire resident population.
3) Authorize National Forest district managers to repair roads and culverts to sustainably selectively log
the national forests for fire, pellet fuel and carbon sequestration purposes, while putting aside another
20 percent of national forests into wilderness areas. Grants for local recycling of waste lumber for
pellet fuel.
4) Provide grants for purchase of farmland, energy and hydrogen production land in the HGC areas to
be managed by development rights and farmland protection organizations.
5) Establish a set of economic and community development grants, managed by HGC where necessary
(when formed with Board of Directors), but preferably local organizations and businesses with
current track record (see Ten Year Plan) that provide for the following areas: (Residents are not to
experience increased costs.)
a) Sufficient incentives to businesses to rapidly establish meat packing and food processing
plants near and in HGC cities.
b) Grants and no interest loans to organizations in HGC areas willing to operate alternative
housing development communities, 70% of which are low-to-moderate income
alternative communities, that utilize sustainable, low energy heating systems; and/or the
superinsulation of homes and businesses in HGC cities, that include the additional costs
above breakeven. (Platinum LEED level is target here.)
c) Grants and no-interest loans to HGC cities and businesses therein for repair of
infrastructure that results in major energy savings.
d) Grants to rail companies to rapid deploy rail in the country, beginning on a regional basis
for purposes of encouraging local distribution systems.
e) Grants to Farmer-farmland organizations, development rights management organizations,
and directly to farmers for farmland purchase if land is within 50 miles of HGC cities,
and permanently held as farms, to quickly shift farms closer to communities.
f) Grants to businesses and organizations to install low energy light bulbs in all low to
middle income homes in HGC cities, and/or to manage the installation of geothermal
heat convertors with pellet stove and test sites for new, climate protection wood stoves.
g) Grants to medical communities, municipal water businesses, and school districts to
convert their energy systems to renewable energy ones, including wind & PV to
hydrogen to run backup generators, car fleets; and to farmers and businesses developing
clean biofuel and hydrogen systems to assist in fueling farm, municipal, and critical
needs machinery.
Contact: Peggy Miller, Highland Winds -- HGC, 406-541-7577, highlandwinds@gmail.com