Irish Evironmental Groups – You have to be serious about the environment to love a bog

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

I know, I know, they ARE valuable wetlands but….

http://www.ipcc.ie/

Welcome to the web site of the Irish Peatland Conservation CouncilYou can contact us by email using the link at the bottom of this page or you can reach us at the
Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare. Tel. +353+(0)45-860133IPCC is the charity in Ireland that takes Action for Bogs and Wildlife. CHY6829

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… IPCC’s Conservation Plan for the Bogs of Ireland – Peatland Action Plan
:}http://whoisireland.com/irishwebdirectory/Ireland-Science_and_Environment-Environmental_Groups.htmlThere be plenty o’environmental groups on the Emeril Isle:

Zero Waste Alliance Ireland : Outline of purpose, FAQ, activity summary, press releases and news on current environmental issues from this campaigning group.

The Tree Council of Ireland : The national umbrella group for organisations concerned with trees in Ireland, providing details of its work, members and publications, and contact information.

Appropriate Roads Group : Group dedicated to the overturning of a decision to build a dual carriageway between Cahir and Clonmel.

Native Woodland Trust : This group, which aims to protect remaining native woodlands, provides details about itself, its various campaigns, news and articles.

Crann : An organisation which works in the area of trees, especially re. the replanting of Ireland with broadleaf trees. Describes basics of group and work, tree-sponsorship scheme and allows online joining; form for tree sponsorship available to print.

Wildwatch (The Irish Wildlife Trust) : Formerly the Irish Wildlife Federation, this is a leading non-governmental conservation and environmental education and campaigning group. Site offers information on their structure, positions, joining up and affiliated bodies.

Irish Seedsavers Association : This conservation organisation dedicated to the preservation of Ireland’s special and disappearing varieties of fruit, grains and vegetables, provides background information, details of projects, membership and sponsorship notes, and event and contact data.

Irish Peatland Conservation Council : Information on the bogs and the wildlife they sustain. Take a virtual tour. Become a member.

Irish Peatland Conservation Council : One of Ireland’s leading environmental campaigning groups, with information on bogs, press releases, fundraising, education and contacts.

Just Forests : This voluntary group, concerned with sustainable development and global deforestation outlines its mission, involvement with the Forest Stewardship Council, campaigns and exhbitions, and provides listings of timber suppliers and links.

Environmental Protection Agency : Ireland’s statutory body for the balanced and sustainable protection and management of the environment. Organisation history, workings, educational and technical material, notes on licencing and interactive water quality maps.

GRIAN, Greenhouse Ireland Action Network : This climate change awareness and solutions-promoting network offer news, details of their work, how to help, press releases and a newsletter.
:}

Wind Electrical Generation In Illinois – #1 in 2007

Posted on April 23, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

We installed the most generation capacity in the nation in 2007! Yahoo

http://www.illinoiswind.org/news/index.asp

News

Section 9006 Program Funds for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements
Posted 3/7/2008 1:56:33 PMThis message is from Molly Hammond, USDA Rural Development- Illinois, April 7,2008USDA published a notice yesterday (4/6/08)in the Federal Register announcing it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements for agriculture producers and rural small businesses in eligible rural areas. Funding will be available in the form of grants, guaranteed loans, and combined guaranteed loans and grant applications. For FY 2008 there is approximately $15.9 million in funding for competitive grants and $205 million in authority for guaranteed loans. Funding for grant and loan combination packages will be funded from the same allocation as loan guarantees.I have attached the Federal Register document to this email. Please read it carefully. Pay particular attention to the mention of the Environmental Assessment. The environmental process should begin right away. Please contact me for information on environmental requirements for specific projects. This year there will be two competitive grant cycles. The first deadline is April 15, 2008. Applications that are not funded in the first competition will automatically be considered under the second competition. Grant applications in the second cycle are due no later than June 16, 2008. Loan applications and grant/loan combination applications will be evaluated on a bi-weekly basis until June 16. These will be funded on a first-come first-serve basis. I would suggest submitting a combination application as soon as possible. Please note that combination applications must score at least 84 points to remain eligible.

Please see the following websites for more information on the program:

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/farmbill/index.html – Section 9006 website

A copy of the regulation can be found at the above website, but a more reader-friendly version is available at this link: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/regs/regs/pdf/4280b.pdf

Application templates and other useful items can be found at the Environmental Law and Policy Center website. Please note that this is not a USDA Rural Development website.

www.farmenergy.org

http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/provider_search.asp – Link to a list of grant writers.

I look forward to working with you, and feel free to contact me with any questions.

Molly K. Hammond
USDA Rural Development – Illinois
Business Cooperative Specialist
Phone: 217-403-6210
Fax: 217-403-6215

But Illinois is not without resistance.

Rail splitter project may

be caught in turbulence

By TIM LANDIS

BUSINESS EDITOR

tim.landis @sj-r.com

One of the nation’s largest developers of wind energy hopes to have 67 turbines churning out electricity by the end of this year along a stretch of interstate highway about 50 miles north of Springfield.

The $175 million to $200 million Rail Splitter Wind Farm would produce enough power to meet the annual needs of 30,000 homes.

“Assuming we get approval, we hope to begin construction in May and to have the project online by the end of this year,” Bill Whitlock, a project manager for Horizon Wind Energy, said Wednesday.

Whitlock said the company plans to file for a construction permit in Logan County or,-Monday, and already has filed in Tazewell County for the right to build on 11,000 acres of farmland shared by the two counties.

The site is on both sides of Interstate 155 near the community of Delavan, between Lincoln and Peoria. Whitlock said 38 of the 380-to 390-foot towers — the state Capitol, by comparison, is 361 feet to the top of the dome — would be in Tazewell County and 29 would be in Logan County.

Whitlock said the company also continues to negotiate leases with farmers whose land is needed and is exploring markets for the power.

Horizon Energy’s first major project in central Illinois, the 240-turbine Twin Groves Wind Farm near Bloomington, ran into a variety of legal challenges, including from landowners, before it began producing electricity last year. The U.S. Department of Energy r nois at 16 among the top 20 states for wind-energy potential.

But the head of the Illinois Wind Working Group — a consortium of utilities, rural electric cooperatives, farm organizations and economic development agencies — said Wednesday he expects commercial wind farms to remain controversial.

“There are probably going to be lawsuits, and counties really have to be careful to make sure they follow legal procedures,” said David Loomis, who also is an associate professor of economics at Illinois State University in Normal.

Even on a residential scale, wind turbines can be a touchy subject with neighbors, according to Bill Fabian, owner of Midstate Renewable Energy Services in Champaign. The home-based business has sold about a dozen residential turbines the past two years.

“You always have the proximity issue with neighbors who may not be as enthused about wind power as you are,” Fabian said.

He said the typical home unit costs $15,000 to $19,000. The tower is usually 60 feet, tall enough to get above most treetops.

“I think it’s going to remain mostly a niche market for residents who can not only afford it, but have the commitment to make it work,” he said.

Officials in Logan County have estimated the Rail Splitter project could generate about $234,000 in tax revenue the first year. The Tazewell County Zoning Board of Appeals has set three public hearings in April on the proposal.

GateHouse News Service contributed to this report. Tim Landis can be reached at 788-1536.
:}

But Sangamon County? The leader in all things innovative? Not so much…

Flat ground won’t work

By TIM LANDIS

BUSINESS EDITOR

tim.landis@sj-r.com

It isn’t for a lack of wind. But Sangamon County is considered too flat in most spots when it comes to commercial wind development.

Nearly a year and a half since the county approved rules for wind-turbine construction, exactly two permits have been approved. Both were for what amounted to do-it-yourself home projects in the wind industry.

“It was for two mini-systems,” said county zoning and building administrator Randy Armstrong.

The wind rules were approved in the fall of 2006 after a commercial developer approached the county about the possibility of a local wind firm. After the initial inquiry, nothing more was heard, Armstrong said.

“They said they were interested, so we thought maybe we’d better get something on the books,” he said.

The director of the Illinois Wind Working Group at Illinois State University explained that potential turbine sites are graded ,m a scale of 1 to 7. The higher the number, the more suitable the area for commercial wind development.

“Most of Illinois is a class 3-plus or a 4. Usually, a class 3 or 4 is the minimum they’d consider to be commercially viable,” David Loomis said.

Loomis said Illinois also has the advantage of large population centers that make it financially feasible to build projects at lower wind speeds compared to sparsely populated states such as North Dakota that rank at a “6” or higher.

But he said the suitability of terrain varies considerably, even from county to county.

“If you look at McLean County (Bloomington-Normai), you’d say, ‘Gee, it’s as flat as Sangamon County. But in reality, there’s a slow rise upward, and it ends in a ridge on the eastern side of our county,” he said.

The Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, based in Auburn, is waiting for equipment to begin construction of a single wind turbine on a reclaimed coal-mine site about 30 miles south of Springfield, along Interstate 55 at Farmersville.

The turbine would supply about 500 homes.

Tim Landis can be reached at 788-1536.

Cars That Kill – How the gasoline powered car has destroyed the planet.

Posted on April 21, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Most people when considering the Automobile as an environmental plague think mainly of oil and its various impacts. While it’s true that the vast network of oil drilling platforms, the refineries and the gasoline spewed by billions of internal combustion engines from D13 Catepillars to Leaf Blowers has befouled the world. But lets not forget that the refining of oil led to the creation of plastics which now bob up and down all over our oceans. The creation of Rubber Tires led to the enslavement of huge tropical regions of the world. The energy consumed just to make the damn things is incredible. But what about the impact of the world’s population commuting to work?

Suburbs and Bedroom communities have been called the single largest misallocation of resources since the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. We all know what happened to those folks…..

http://www.howestreet.com/articles/index.php?article_id=6219

In preparation for doing a post on the locals that are competeing in the Progressive Automotice XPriz here is another look at the world ending car:

Originally published here:

http://www.whiskeyandgunpowder.com/

By:

Whiskey and Gunpowder is your source for up to date financial editorial and insight into the effect finance has over the world of commodities.

Together, with Jim Amrhein (personal liberties), Byron King (economics with historic and geologic intertwinings), Dan Amoss (macroeconomic trends and institutional analysis), Adrian Ash and Ed Bugos (gold markets), and Jamie Ellis who covers everything in between. Plus a rotating cast of characters that keep up the standard of excellence in both content and delivery that Whiskey & Gunpowder insists on providing its readers.

Featuring insightful articles that explore a range of topics including commodities, politics, technology, nature, history and anything else our writers could possibly dream up, Whiskey & Gunpowder offers the kind of analysis that the mainstream media will never give

Turn the Curve”By Byron King
April 16, 2008

Every automobile on the roads of the world reflects a long and complex chain of industrial production and energy usage. Yet we live in a world where many of the highest quality resources and energy supplies have already been exploited. And lower quality resources are more expensive to extract and exploit, if they are even available. So the world’s automobile industry is in the midst of a revolution in both resource availability and energy consumption.

Thinking about Basic Materials and Energy

Today the automobile business is vast. It is a global industry that has evolved by leaps and bounds in the 100 years since Henry Ford made his famous remark in 1908 about building “a car for the great multitude.” The worldwide customer base includes at least a billion people — spread over six continents — who have income sufficient to buy a car or small truck. According to figures assembled at the MIT Sloan Automotive Laboratory, there are about 700 million automobiles and light trucks in the world. About 30 percent of those vehicles are in North America.

Every car requires steel, aluminum, copper and lead. Each car requires rubber, plastic, and myriad of other petroleum and natural gas by-products. And there is much else in the long industrial ladder of automobile production. Just think in terms of the energy that goes into processing materials, fabricating parts, building components, assembling a finished product, and all the transportation along the way. In addition to the basic energy and material resources that go into manufacturing an automobile, the sheer number of vehicles reflects a lot of fuel tanks to fill with gasoline and diesel. And this does not even touch on the energy and resources that go into building road systems.

While America dwaddled,

There has been even more progress in the fuel efficiency of diesel engines over the past 25 years. Diesel power trains are no longer the sooty, “knock-knock” devices that they were back in the days of disco. Most cars sold today in the European Union (EU), for example, are powered with clean-burning, fuel efficient, smoothly running diesel engines. In fact, the demand for diesel fuel in Europe is such that EU refineries routinely ship surplus gasoline to sell into the North American market. And in North America the relatively low prices for gasoline throughout the 1980s and 1990s discouraged the use of diesel engines.

So there have been significant improvements in automobile power train efficiencies over the past couple of decades. But have these improvements translated into any overall reduction in demand for fuel? No. In 2007 motor fuel consumption in the U.S. was high as it has ever been. (Although according to the American Petroleum Institute, demand for motor fuel may be at a plateau due to price increases at the pump in 2006 and 2007.) In the past 25 years we’ve seen more people driving more cars for more miles. But compounding the fuel issue, the cars that people are buying and driving tend to weigh more and offer higher performance.

The Future of the Automobile

(sad but true even these folks think there is one)

It helps to view the age of the automobile — and its future — as a systemic whole. And some social critics are out in front of the broad discussion, with a sharp focus on the automobile and what it has brought us as a society. James Kunstler, for example, author of highly regarded books such as The Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency, believes that the car-dependent suburban build-out of the U.S. may be “the greatest misallocation of resources in all of human history.” That is, in an era of expensive energy and scarce resources, a car-dependent culture has no real future and is in fact a hindrance to progress in other directions. That is quite a viewpoint, well-presented by Kunstler in his writing. It’s depressing, but it sure gets your attention.

And criticism of the automobile culture is not confined just to social commentators like Kunstler. Another remarkable indictment comes from no less an automotive insider than Prof. John Heywood, the director of the MIT Sloan Automotive Laboratory. He has stated that “cars may prove to be the worst commodity of all.” According to Prof. Heywood, cars are “responsible for a steady degradation of the ecosystem, from greenhouse emissions to biodiversity loss. What’s worse, even if we improve vehicle efficiency, turn to fuel hybrids or make rapid advances in hydrogen-based fuel technologies, the scale for slowing down the degradation may run to the decades. Turning the curve won’t be easy.”

You can agree or disagree with the broad themes of Jim Kunstler or John Heywood. But there’s no argument with one of Prof. Heywood’s points. Wherever we are going, it will not be easy to “turn the curve.” Looking forward, the oil just is not there to fuel cars in the future in the way that we did it in the past. So a lot of people are going to have to do things differently.

Worldwide, the automobile industry has seen the handwriting on the wall. Fuel is expensive, and is getting more so with each passing year. So the industry has invested tens of billions of dollars in improving engine and power train efficiency. In addition, auto designers are coming up with new ways to eliminate weight and drag. (At higher speeds, up to 70 percent of the energy used to turn the wheels on a car goes just to push the air out of the way of the chassis.) The auto industry is looking towards different sorts of fuels, and moving towards what is called fuel-flexibility.

Hopefully this will lead us to a great new investment in the car of the future.

Until we meet again…
Byron King

State Journal Register – They publish a very good editorial calling for efforts to combat Global Warming

Posted on April 19, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

I like this approach as an educational tool.

Our opinion: It’s foolish to do nothing about climate change

Published Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Last week, representatives from more than 160 countries started meeting in Bangkok to discuss an international climate treaty to replace the decade-old Kyoto Protocol. Again, the United States is shying away from a leadership role. Some of our concerns have merit — we can’t commit economic suicide while China goes sprinting by.“The primary concern is the so-called leakage issue,” U.S. negotiator Harlan Watson told The Associated Press. “If you take commitments and you have energy intensive industries, they might want to move to other countries which don’t have commitments.”

Signing on to an agreement that then sends our industry fleeing to countries that don’t commit to pollution control would make no sense. Yet arguably our grumbling isn’t getting us anywhere, either.

Which makes us wonder: If an asteroid was hurtling toward Earth would the Bush administration likewise sit on its hands? Would it argue that since the asteroid is a naturally occurring event there’s nothing man should do to prepare for, or mitigate, its impact?

Of course not.

So I wrote this letter trying to support their point, sigh….they did not publish it so I’m putting it up here.

Editor

State Journal Register

One Copley Plaza

Springfield, IL 62701

Emailed – 04/14/08

Dear Editor:

Thanks for your recent Editorial supporting attempts to help prevent Global Warming. There is no need to apologize for supporting such efforts though, because when America stops doing things that make no economic sense, America makes money and produces jobs every time. We do 2 things that are creating Global Warming.

The first thing that we Americans do that is leading us to Global Warming is we “throw things away”. How much economic sense has that ever made? Think about it. We pay good money for stuff and then throw part of it away. We buy things in packaging and we throw it away. We buy food and we throw part of it away. We buy coal and then we throw part of it out the smoke stack. We buy gasoline and throw part of it out the tailpipe. So if we quit throwing things away we automatically make money and I might add create jobs to deal with all that stuff we now throw away.

The second thing we do that is leading us to global warming is we “burn stuff up”. Plain and simple, we strike a match and burn something up that we paid good money for. Why not just stack some paper money on the ground, pour a little gasoline on it and strike a match? We burn coal, uranium and natural gas to make electricity. There are many ways to generate electricity without burning things. Yet we persist. We burn gasoline to transport our things and ourselves. We know that there are other ways to do this, and yet we persist. If we stop burning things up, we would save money and create jobs. Conservation is not bad for any economy.

So the next time you throw something away or you “strike a match” look at your hand and ask yourself, “Do I really want to do that?” Join us at www.censys.org.

Doug Nicodemus

948 e. adams st.

riverton, IL 62561

629-7031

dougnic55@yahoo.com

Solar Power Rocks – This is a pretty cool site

Posted on April 17, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

The nice people at Solar Power Rocks asked me to link up with them. AWWWWW somebody else loves CES! Anyway they are going to explain html LINKS to me so I can try to do it.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/

In the mean time this is todays post:

Get our RSS Feed

Find a Solar Installer

Solar Power Calculator

Solar in San Francisco

California Bay Area Solar Market Analysis

Posted on April 16, 2008 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Solar Trends.

Bay Area Solar Map

We’ve noticed that there’s been quite a bit of chatter and advertising dollars thrown into solar in the bay area over the past year or so. For instance, we were just at a San Francisco Giants game last week and couldn’t help but notice the numerous PGE ads for their solar installation at AT&T park urging homeowners to consider the switch to solar. Glitzy ads from large oil companies (ahem, right right, “energy companies”) also emblazoned large billboards with solar elements. Well, the incentives in California are so good, that we started to wonder how many homeowners out of total in the bay area are already on board. So, it’s time for some good ol’ fashioned data analysis of the Bay Area residential solar market. The figures below were generated from data sourced by one of Dave’s colleagues. See the sources below for more info on their lineage.

As you can see from the image above, Contra Costa county accounts for just about half of the solar installs in the bay area over the past 3 years. The other counties pale in comparison. However, you can see from the chart below that there is a substantial way to go to penetrate the rest of the bay area market. While Contra Costa county does account for half of those installs, consider that that county is only about 2% saturated!

Key Assumptions

1. Size, Installed Price and # of installs numbers based on solar installs from 11/05 -1/08 –See

http://www.energy.ca.gov/renewables/emergingrenewableslindex.html

2. Population and Households data based on 2006 ACS Census estimates –See
http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/ for details

3. Penetration calculated as % of households with solar.

McCain’s Gas Tax Proposal – So the time for us has just about ran out

Posted on April 16, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

John McCain like every other Republican in America wants to avoid what their 30 years of dereliction of duty has wraught. Nixon, Regan and Bush (my version of lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) all increased our dependence on oil and easy Chinese money. Bush in particular ushered us to the brink of a world depression. Grover Norquist, who wants to take us back to the 1930s is about to succeed:

http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_norquist.html

BILL MOYERS: If states refuse to raise taxes to fix some of those problems we’ve just seen, that certainly won’t bother my next guest. He’s a sworn opponent of all taxes. He’s also the most powerful man in Washington not to hold a public office.

Officially, Grover Norquist heads an organization called Americans for Tax Reform where for almost 20 years now he has crusaded for lower taxes and less government. Unofficially he’s been the linchpin in Washington for the conservative revolution that now controls the government. His weekly meetings of activists became the politburo of strategy where all stripes of conservatives bear their differences in order to bury their hatchet in Democrats. From the Christian coalition to log cabin Republicans to the National Rifle Association on whose board he sits, this Harvard graduate keeps the troops on mission and on message. His success prompted Senator Hillary Clinton to muse aloud, if only Democrats had a Grover Norquist. Welcome to NOW.

GROVER NORQUIST: Glad to be with you.

BILL MOYERS: Well, you do have it all. You have the White House, the Congress, the regulatory agencies, the courts more or less. The last time Democrats, liberal Democrats, held that kind of power, they made some mistakes like the war in Vietnam that they couldn’t sustain the support of at home, emphasized parochial interests at the expense of the sort of bedrock universal values of American society. What are the errors you think conservatives running everything could make?

GROVER NORQUIST: I think it’s very important to always make sure that you’re talking to the entire coalition and to as many Americans as possible; not to go chasing after one little group or another. The Democrats would bring new groups into their party and not notice that larger groups are going out the back door. And so what I try and do whenever I work on an issue or work with political leaders is make sure that when you’re talking about a new approach, how does that…how does the entire coalition view that new approach? Is there a better or different way to do it that irritates fewer people and that satisfies a larger constituency?

BILL MOYERS: And that’s what you did at your Wednesday morning meetings? Those meetings became famous, for all kinds of conservatives being in there hammering things out.

GROVER NORQUIST: And we now have 27 versions of that at the state capital level, including one in New York City. So we’re taking the model of the “leave us alone” coalition from the national level to the state level as well.

BILL MOYERS: “Leave us alone?”

GROVER NORQUIST: Um-hmm. Look, the center right coalition in American politics today is best understood as a coalition of groups and individuals that on the issue that brings them to politics what they want from the government is to be left alone. Taxpayers, don’t raise my taxes. Property owners, don’t restrict or limit my property. Home schoolers, let me educate my own kids. Gun owners, don’t restrict my Second Amendment rights. All communities of faith, Evangelical Christians, conservative Catholics, Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, people want to practice their own religion and be left alone to raise their own kids.

BILL MOYERS: Do you have any sympathy for those states we just saw a few moments ago? Under the president’s plan, those states do not expect any direct aid from Uncle Sam. Do you have any advice for them?

GROVER NORQUIST: Sure, two things. The most important thing for President Bush and the federal government to do is to create a pro-growth economic policy because its economic growth that brings in more revenue for states and local governments. At the state level what they really have to do is take a long run view and limit the growth of spending, put limits on how much you spend. And then California, the state owns a whole bunch of land and other things that it could sell off it doesn’t need, and it needs to figure out which of those government jobs need to be in government, and what can be privatized or contracted out.

BILL MOYERS: You’re on record as saying, my goal is to cut government in half in 25 years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bath tub. Is that a true statement?

And the Holy Satanic trilogy of George Mason University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Chicago have supplied all the intellectual fire power. SMU is where George Bush, jr. will try to lock up his presidential papers and avoid jail,

Oh but I digress…One of the finest posters at The Oil Drum JoulesBurn who Blogs at:

http://satelliteoerthedesert.blogspot.com/

Had this little cutey today:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3855#more

McCain’s Gas Pains: Gas “Tax Holidays” A Good Idea?

Posted by JoulesBurn on April 15, 2008 – 7:45pm
Topic: Policy/Politics
Tags: gas prices, John McCain, politics (list all tags)

For immediate release from John McCain’s campaign:

John McCain, who just hours earlier proposed a “tax holiday” in which the 18 cent federal tax on gasoline would be suspended during the summer driving season, has reconsidered and has instead proposed that the U.S. gallon be redefined to be equal in volume to the current U.S. quart. “This will immediately lower the price at the pump by 75%, providing visible relief to millions of Americans”, quipped McCain. “I rejected the idea of setting it equal to the liter, for obvious reasons”.When questioners suggested that this move wouldn’t actually change how much consumers spend to fill their tanks, McCain responded “Well, neither would my previous proposal”.

In unrelated election news, the McCain campaign announced that P.T. Barnum has been posthumously appointed as their policy director. Also, Hillary Clinton has proposed a suspension of the law of gravity, at least during the summer flying season, to help the beleaguered airline industry. Barack Obama reportedly had no comment on these suggestions, other than to say that Americans are definitely “atwitter” about gas prices.

We interrupt this vacation from reality with the following observations…(under the fold…)

As gasoline is a commodity for which prices are determined by supply and demand, lowering the price without increasing the supply will likely increase demand (usage). Prices will rise again to compensate.
The 18.4 cents per gallon that is now flowing into the US treasury, and which is then spent building roads, bridges, and mass transit, will instead flow to oil companies — particularly those in foreign countries, since the US imports over half of its oil.
Targeting the current gasoline tax instead for the development of alternative transportation and ways of using energy more efficiently will provide more lasting solutions to the current energy and economic crises than short-term attempts to fix the problem.

For Better Or Worse – it is true, someone should take my scanner away

Posted on April 15, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

:}Its true. Our children should be worried. Our grand children? They shoul be very afraid.

Oh to see more: http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/

Why God Gave Me A Scanner – so i could violate copy right laws

Posted on April 14, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Throwing Things Away Is A Bad Idea…

http://www.familycircus.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bil_Keane

The Love Of MY Life…Marylee Orr

Posted on April 12, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Oh well I guess I just caused her to blush…and in a way it is actually true…

Come to the Public Hearing
Vicksburg Convention Center
Thursday April 17 at 7:00 p.m.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Located about 40 miles northwest of Jackson, MS and encompassing a sprawling 925,000 acres, the Yazoo Pumps project threatens the health and economy of the entire Mississippi Delta, including the habitat of the endangered Louisiana Black Bear – the original Teddy Bear.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Environmental Protection Agency is using its ‘veto authority’ to stop the project, and needs our support at the public hearing to complete the veto.

Vetoing the pumps will save 200,000 acres of wetlands, preserve the best hunting and fishing habitat in the Mississippi River Flyway, keep wildlife refuges healthy, and save taxpayers more than $220 million!

COME TO THE PUBLC HEARINGWhen: Thursday April 17 at 7 PM Central Time

Where: Vicksburg Convention Center
1600 Mulberry Street
Vicksburg, MS 39180

“Over the course of my 24 years at the EPA, I never reviewed a proposal that would do more damage to the environment than the Yazoo Pumps project in the Mississippi Delta.”– John Meagher, the retired director of the EPA’s Wetlands Division,
New York Times Letter to the Editor, Nov. 7, 2007

Transportation to the hearing from Baton Rouge and New Orleans is available!

Please RSVP to Mike Murphy (504) 865-5787 so that National Wildlife Federation may reserve a coach-style bus or a van (depending on the demand) from both Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Each bus or van will depart early in the afternoon of April 17 in order to meet at the Vicksburg Convention Center by 6 pm (where NWF has reserved a room to gather for refreshments prior to the hearing). We expect to be at the hearing from 7 pm to 10 pm then get back on the bus/van for the trip home (no overnight stay).

There is no charge for the transportation and some refreshments will be provided in Vicksburg, all compliments of NWF.

Please contact Mike Murphy ASAP if you would like to take advantage of this offer.

Contact:

Mike Murphy

Community Outreach Director

Tulane Environmental Law Clinic

(504) 865-5787

Forward email
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Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper \| P.O. Box 66323 \| Baton Rouge \| LA \| 70809

Illinois Environmental Council :} Normally I don’t post on Saturday but…

Posted on April 12, 2008 by Doug Nicodemus

Illinois EnviroBulletinApril 8, 2008
Global Warming, Lobby Day, 2008 Briefing Book, 2007 Scorecard, Legislation

NEW COALITION SAYS ILLINOIS CAN REDUCE GLOBAL WARMINGCleaner Cars Will Pave the Way
The Illinois Climate Action Network — Illinois CAN — a new broad-based coalition of environmental, conservation and faith organizations aimed at combating global warming, debuted April 1 with a Springfield press conference calling for clean cars legislation. The Illinois Clean Cars Act (HB 3424 / SB 2238) would significantly benefit both the environment and the health of the state’s residents.
For more information: www.illinoisclimateactionnetwork.org
Take action: http://illinoisactionproject.org/showalert.asp?aaid=915

CONCERNED CITIZENS FLOOD SPRINGFIELD TO FIGHT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
In a show of force not seen in years, about 150 citizen lobbyists converged on the state’s capitol April 2 to speak to their legislators face-to-face about global warming and other environmental concerns. Organized by the IEC and member groups including Faith in Place, Sierra Club and Environment Illinois, Environment Day at the Capitol revived an old tradition and was a huge success.
For more: http://www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=95

IEC RELEASES 2008 BRIEFING BOOK AND 2007 SCORECARD
Recently IEC released Priorities for a Healthful Illinois: 2008 Illinois Environmental Briefing Book, laying out the top issues that must be addressed in the coming year if the state is to make a significant difference in the quality of life for its citizens. The 2007 Environmental Scorecard casts a view back over the past year to assess how Illinois legislators responded to the IEC’s previous Briefing Book recommendations, and holds legislators accountable by highlighting how they voted on key issues.
For more: http://www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=90

IEC PUSHES PRIORITIES; FIGHTS NEW NUKE PLANTS AND FUND RAIDS
IEC has been busy working on a number of bills ranging from global warming to mercury to e-waste to recreational liability. At the same time, we’ve been playing defense on a number of issues. The governor’s proposed budget cut general revenue funding to the Department of Natural resources by 38%, cuts open space and land acquisition funds by 40 – 60%. Just last week, a bill surfaced to give the governor virtually unlimited authority to raid dedicated funds, while another bill would lift the moratorium on building new nuclear plants in Illinois until there is a solution to the radioactive waste problem.
More on the DNR budget: http://www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=92
More legislative updates: http://www.ilenviro.org/legislation/updates.php
IEC Bill Tracker: http://www.ilenviro.org/legislation/billtracker.php

The Illinois EnviroBulletin is a publication of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund.

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Jonathan Goldman

Executive Director

Illinois Environmental Council

Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund

1608 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Suite 511

Chicago, IL 60647

Tel: (773) 252-5954

Fax: (773) 252-5953

Cell: (312) 388-7358

In Springfield:

107 West Cook Street, Suite E

Springfield, Illinois 62704

Tel: (217) 544-5954

Fax: (217) 544-5958

Community Energy Systems

Censys.org

Category Archives: global warming