Category Archives: stewardship

Last Day On Earth Day – Its a twofer for Friday

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From opposite ends of the spectrum.

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/lawrence/?p=126&b=58&i=161901

Plant a Tree with LEC!

April 11, 2011

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Springfield, Illinois – Lawrence Education Center will distribute trees to students in order to celebrate Earth Day. During the event, students will be educated about trees and how they help the environment. The trees will be given to students along with a postcard to give back to the Lawrence Education Center that will mark the location of where the trees are planted. The school will create a map that will include the location of the trees that were planted. This event is made possible from the Illinois Department of Transportation who is teaming up with a national initiative called Living Land and Waters.

Students who want a tree to plant can come to the library when they are finished with classes for the day on the following dates:

Thursday, April 14, 2011 Room 109 , Lawrence Memorial Library, Michele Romence
Friday, April 15, 2011 Room 109 , Lawrence Memorial Library, Michele Romence

Earth Day is Friday, April 22, 2011.

Click on the map to the right to see where our trees were planted!

1900 West Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62704
217/525-3000   Fax 217/525-3005   TDD 217/525-3023
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http://www.sj-r.com/breaking/x1225332212/Quinn-speaks-at-Earth-Day-transportation-summit

Quinn speaks at Earth Day transportation summit

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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announces at a news conference that Illinois plans to repair more than 3,200 miles of road and replace or fix 611 bridges over the next six years as part of the latest update to the state road program Thursday, April 7, 2011 in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

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Posted Apr 19, 2011 @ 12:32 PM
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CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn wants to see electric cars in the state fleet.

Quinn talked about transportation at an Earth Day summit in Chicago on Tuesday.

In addition to electric cars, Quinn says he’d also like to see a universal card system for public transportation and Wi-Fi on the commuter rail system Metra. He was the opening speaker at a seminar that featured state and local transportation agencies.

Quinn says Illinois is working to encourage electric vehicle manufacturers to bid for state vehicle business. He says one place they’d fit in are as vehicles on the state’s university campuses.

Quinn says the rising cost of gas makes electric cars even more appealing. He says a proliferation of charging stations is the key to successfully deploying electric vehicles.

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More next week.

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Earth Day All Week – Cool sites

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The environmental influence on the web has spread like wild fire. So this week I am going to post some of that. First up websites devoted to the general idea.

http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011

Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green®

April 22nd marked Earth Day 2011. This year, we saw an enormous outpouring of support for the environmental movement, evinced by our 100 millionth Act of Green! Visit our blog for a first-round recap of Earth Day 2011 acomplishments.

Earth Day 2011 has passed, but the Billion Acts of Green campaign continues. Our goal is to reach a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20. Here is how you can join the campaign and become part of the solution.

Share your commitment to the environment this Earth Day – declare your Act of Green. Now, you can also join the campaign on Facebook.
Organize an environmental service or advocacy event in your community.
Find and attend events near you.

Learn more about the campaign elements of Earth Day 2011:

Athletes for the Earth™: Bringing the voices of Olympic and professional athletes to the environmental movement, Athletes for the Earth™ has a proven track record of illustrating the interaction of athletes with their environment and connecting popular athletic activities with environmental stewardship.  Participating athlete/celebs include Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Demong, Olympic Bronze Medalist Andrew Weibrecht, World Champion Freeskier and founder of the Save Our Snow Foundation Alison Gannett, Boston Bruins Defenseman Andrew Ference, Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Aaron Peirsol, and NFL linebacker Dhani Jones.

The Canopy Project: In 2010, Earth Day Network planted over 1 million trees in 16 countries under the Avatar Home Tree Initiative. In 2011, EDN will continue that effort with another 1 million trees in large-scale, sponsor?supported tree-planting projects in partnership with non?profit organizations throughout the world. Locations where reforestation is most urgently needed include Haiti, Brazil, Mexico and urban areas of the US.  Help us green our future, one million trees at a time.

Women and the Green Economy (WAGE)™: To accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy, Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its “Women and the Green Economy” (WAGE™) campaign. Our goal is to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and relevant generate national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.

Arts for the Earth™: Arts for the Earth is an innovative education program developed to teach sustainability and environmental education through museum and arts community networks.

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More tomorrow

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Earth Day 2011 – Here is the first post

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I am probably going to post Earth Day stuff for the next week. I see it as a way to hook up with old friends like today’s Shawna Coronado or new friends unknown.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/gardening-nude/2011/04/green-tip-6-earth-day-is-every-day-just-ask-my-plastic-bag-thong-underwear-oak-tree-art.html

Green Tip #6-Earth Day Is Every Day, Just Ask My Plastic Bag Thong Underwear Oak Tree Art

Plastic Bag Thong.jpg

Earth Day should be every day. Just ask my oak tree which currently has a plastic bag hanging in it 28 feet up that remarkably resembles a pair of thong underwear. No kidding.

Why are we celebrating the earth just one day of the year? It has given us everything we have, wear, and eat – yep, even thong underwear. Without the earth humanity would not exist. With the earth we exist. Pure and simple.

Stop messing around people – pick up your trash so it does not get caught in a tree for some bird to get tangled in. Recycle your glass, plastic, and paper, so we save our natural resources. Make a difference every day, not just on Earth Day – it is the right thing to do.

Now. Who’s going to climb 28 feet up to help me get the thong out of the tree? Volunteers?

www.shawnacoronado.com

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Power Plant Rewarded For Doing The Right Thing

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Povse, Nadel, and the entire press room have disappeared from my newspaper. But they still have one of their best writers left. Tim Landis wrote this article and it is pretty good.

http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1225333763/Company-head-lauds-power-plant-upgrade

Company head lauds power plant upgrade

Posted Apr 19, 2011 @ 11:00 PM
Last update Apr 20, 2011 @ 06:25 AM
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COFFEEN — The head of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp. welcomes the creation of 400 temporary construction jobs during a major upgrade of the Coffeen Power Station.

The fact that owner Ameren Energy Resources announced this week it would upgrade a nearly 40-year-old, coal-fired boiler at the plant is even better news for the long term, Heather Hampton-Knodle said.
“They are one of our largest private employers,” Knodle said. “It’s a good sign of their ongoing commitment to that plant.”
The Coffeen facility is about 60 miles southeast of Springfield.
Even as state and national unemployment has fallen, Montgomery County joblessness has remained high. The 13.9 percent rate in February compared with 8.9 percent statewide and nationally, and 8.1 percent in Sangamon County.
Much like neighboring Macoupin County, where the February unemployment rate was 11.4 percent, Montgomery County has been hurt by job losses in manufacturing and the coal industry in the past decade.
Crews at Coffeen Power Station are replacing 14 “cyclones” used to pulverize coal for the Unit 2 boiler, said Ameren spokeswoman Susan Gallagher. She added that the 400 contract jobs are in addition to a regular work force of nearly 180.
Gallagher said the company has not put a timetable on completion of the work or how long the contract workers would be on the job.
“They are working around-the-clock, I’m told,” she said.

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More tomorrow.

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Mercury Is Good For Us – Just like the other coal pollution

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There are times when I wonder WHY is this a story? I have been leery about running articles about the environment because the state of it is so bad that any comments would be dreary. What with the Gulf Spew, Russia catching on fire and the nuclear accident in Japan, is there anything left to say? I saw this article earlier this morning and I thought, Ok this is a little different and I love Albatrosses. They are such  magnificent birds. Then I read the article and could not grasp the point of it. The headline seems pretty clear, but the body of the article seems not to support it. Read the whole thing at the site below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13121088

18 April 2011 Last updated at 17:07 ET

Feathers tell century-plus tale of mercury pollution

Richard Black By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News

Albatross feathers from museum specimens have allowed scientists to construct a record of mercury pollution dating back more than 100 years.

The feathers, from the black-footed albatross, contain traces of mercury that the birds picked up when they fed.

The species is endangered; and although fishing is the main cause, the team suggests mercury levels may have been high enough to impair breeding.

The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The team analysed feathers from 54 birds kept in museums at Harvard University and the University of Washington in Seattle, US.

The oldest samples are 120 years old.

There was no trend in overall mercury concentrations over time.

But the level of methylmercury – a toxic form of the metal, formed often by bacteria, did show a rise.

Methylmercury is easily absorbed by marine lifeforms such as small fish; and predators of those lifeforms, such as birds, can end up with big concentrations in their tissue.

It can cause developmental defects in humans, and there is evidence that it can damage reproduction in birds and fish.

“People have looked at mercury levels using museum specimens before, but mostly in the Atlantic,” said Scott Edwards, a biology professor at Harvard who also curates the university museum’s ornithology collection.

“Ours is one of the first to look at patterns in the Pacific basin; this has the largest number of seabird colonies, has the most endangered colonies, and is under severe threat from mercury emissions from Asia.”

“They’re fantastic birds, and a very tractable species to study” Scott Edwards Harvard University

About half of the mercury going into the atmosphere comes from natural sources such as volcanoes.

Of the other half, the biggest source is coal-burning, with mercury ocurring as a trace element in many coal deposits.

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More tomorrow.

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New Energy Produced A Bananza – At least for this blog

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This is another cool site that popped up after I typed New Energy into Google:

http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/

Welcome to New Energy Technologies Inc.

New Energy Technologies, Inc., publicly traded under the symbol NENE, is focused on the research, development and eventual commercialization of emerging next-generation alternative and renewable energy technologies.

We are developing a novel MotionPower™ technology which generates electricity from the motion of vehicles, and the first-of-its-kind SolarWindow™ technology capable of generating electricity on see-thru glass windows.

. MotionPower™

Our novel MotionPower™ energy harvesting systems generate sustainable electricity by capturing the excess kinetic energy produced by moving cars, small trucks, and heavy commercial vehicles.

Our MotionPower™ devices are engineered to generate electricity from the 250 million vehicles registered in America, driving an estimated 6 billion miles on our nation’s roadways every day

click here to read more…

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.SolarWindow™

Our first-of-its-kind SolarWindow™ technology enables see-thru windows to generate electricity by ‘spraying’ their glass surfaces with New Energy’s electricity-generating coatings.

These solar coatings are less than 1/10th the thickness of ‘thin’ films and make use of the world’s smallest functional solar cells, shown to successfully produce electricity in a recently published peer-reviewed study in the Journal.

click here to read more…

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More tomorrow.

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Alternative Forms Of Energy Are Winning – At least it looks like it

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Is this the beginning of a wave whose crest will be high? Or the crest of a wave that is spent? It depends on the impact that events in Japan have. Already Germany has abandoned Nuclear Power and has limits on the carbon products it can produce. If everyone follows suit, the future could be bright.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/business/energy-environment/07electric.html

G.E. Plans to Build Largest Solar Panel Plant in U.S.

By TODD WOODY
Published: April 7, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO — In a move that could shake up the American solar industry, General Electric plans to announce on Thursday that it will build the nation’s largest photovoltaic panel factory, with the goal of becoming a major player in the market.

PrimeStar

Workers were reflected on a panel built by PrimeStar Solar, the Arvada, Colo., manufacturer that was bought by General Electric.

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A blog about energy and the environment.

“For the past five years, we’ve been investing extremely heavily in solar,” said Victor Abate, vice president for G.E.’s renewable energy business. “Going to scale is the next move.”

The plant, whose location has not been determined, will employ 400 workers and create 600 related jobs, according to G.E. The factory would annually produce solar panels that would generate 400 megawatts of energy, the company said, and would begin manufacturing thin-film photovoltaic panels made of a material called cadmium telluride in 2013. While less efficient than conventional solar panels, thin-film photovoltaics can be produced at a lower cost and have proven attractive to developers and utilities building large-scale power plants.

G.E. has signed agreements to supply solar panels to generate 100 megawatts of electric power to customers, including a deal for panels generating 60 megawatts with NextEra Energy Resources.

G.E., a manufacturing giant, operates in a range of energy businesses, from nuclear power plants to natural gas turbines. It has been aggressively expanding its energy portfolio, particularly through acquisitions.

Mr. Abate said G.E. had completed its purchase of PrimeStar Solar, the Arvada, Colo., company that made the thin-film photovoltaic panels. G.E. said the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently certified that a PrimeStar solar panels manufactured at its factory in Colorado had set a 12.8 percent efficiency record for cadmium telluride technology. Conventional solar panels typically are 16 to 20 percent efficient at converting sunlight into electricity.

“We believe we’ll be a cost leader, a technology leader and we’re excited about our position in a 75-gigawatt solar market over next five years,” said Mr. Abate.

The global conglomerate’s entry into the highly competitive photovoltaic market is likely to prove a significant challenge to First Solar, the thin-film market leader and the dominant manufacturer of cadmium telluride panels.

Also at risk are start-ups like Abound Solar, a Colorado company that in December obtained a $400 million federal loan guarantee to build factories to manufacture cadmium telluride panels.

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More tomorrow.

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Local Food Lobbying Day – What a lot of work

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Sorry this post is so late but I had to go to lobby today. It was fun. Exciting in some cases and I got to attend a hearing on the Fraking Bill in the Ag Committee. But it makes this post way late. Anyway here was the deal:

http://www.ilstewards.org/blog

Posted 2/11/2011 5:09pm by Lindsay Record.

On April 6th, local foodies, farmers, and citizens from across the state will come together in Springfield to encourage their legislators to support local food and farms. Illinois Stewardship Alliance invites you to join us for our 2nd annual local food and farm lobby day in Springfield on April 6th, from 10a.m. – 3p.m. at the Pasfield House and IL State Capitol Complex in Springfield.

Local Food Awareness Day will consist of a legislative update, orientation, lobbying 101 training, and lunch at the Pasfield House. Following lunch we will descend upon the capitol to educate legislators about the importance of local food systems and advocate for positive policy solutions that promote and support local food systems in Illinois.

Cost: $15 (FREE for members) – includes lobbying training, orientation and lunch at the Pasfield House

*Additionally you may become a member now for $25 (1 year membership) which will allow you to attend lobby day for free.

Registration: To register for the 2011 Local Food Awareness Day @ the Captiol click here. Registration deadline is March 30th.

Payment can be made by sending a check to Illinois Stewrdship Alliance, 401 W. Jackson Parkway, Springfield IL, 62704 (Please make sure you register at the link above before sending a check) or by calling the ISA office at 217-528-1563 (ask for Dee). Or use paypal online by clicking here.

For more information contact ISA’s Policy coordinator, Wes King at wes@ilstewards.org

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Posted 2/3/2011 6:06pm by Lindsay Record.

Removing Barriers to Local Food Entrepreneurship

We are excited to announce that Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria) is introducing and sponsoring the Illinois Local Food Entrepreneur and Cottage Food Operation Act. The legislation removes prohibitively burdensome barriers to aspiring entrepreneurs producing non-potentially hazardous food and enables preparation in home kitchens for sale at farmers markets for Illinois.  The legislation is in line with at least 17 other states that have similar cottage food laws allowing the production of non-potentially hazardous food items in home kitchens for sale at farmers markets; including most of Illinois fellow Midwestern states.

The cottage food operation bill is one step in an on-going effort to create food rules and regulations that encourage and support local food producers and entrepreneurs by applying scale and risk appropriate regulations. The Illinois Local Food Entrepreneur and Cottage Food Operation Act creates a stepping stone for potential local food entrepreneurs to experiment with recipes and business models by eliminating the costly barrier of constructing or accessing a certified kitchen as the current regulations require.

The proposed legislation will allow entrepreneurs to produce non-potentially hazardous food in their home kitchen to be sold at farmers markets provided certain conditions are met:

  • Products are labeled to include: the name and address of the producer, the common or usual name of the product, the ingredients of the food product, the date the product was processed and the following phrase: “This product is homemade and no subject to state inspection.”
  • Gross receipts from the sale of products does not exceed $25,000 in a calendar year.
  • The name and residence of the person preparing and selling products as a cottage food operation is registered with the Department of Public Health and the Department of Agriculture.
  • The person preparing and selling products as a cottage food operation has an approved Food Service Sanitation Management Certificate.

ISA is a small non-profit so if we are going to make the Illinois Local Food Entrepreneur & Cottage Food Operation Act a reality in Illinois we are going to need your help spreading the word and lobbying your elected officials to support our efforts. Please keep your eyes peeled for more information about this legislation coming soon!

You can access the legislation by clicking here.  View a factsheet about the legislation here. If you are interested in supporting or learning more about the Illinois Local Food Entrepreneur & Cottage Food Operation Act contact ISA’s policy coordinator

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More tomorrow.

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SB 1821 Is Dangerous – Carbon dioxiode sequestration is wrong

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I know. Barack Obama, Dick Durbin and every other person on this planet is in favor of this Clean Coal technology. But how advanced is it to use a process created in the late 1800s in 2011. The easy answer is it ain’t. Please call your representative to protest.

http://www.riverbender.com/news/wbgz/rfullstory.cfm?newsfile=2011-03-20-20_FutureGen%20Pipeline%20Issues

FutureGen Pipeline Issues

WBGZ Radio | Mar 18, 2011

The pipeline that’s going to carry carbon dioxide from one place to another as part of the FutureGen clean-coal project is the subject of a bill which has passed a Senate committee.  The bill writes a process for Illinois to oversee the construction and operation of such a pipeline.

“This bill is patterned after what the Illinois Commerce Commission currently does with regard to petroleum pipelines, crude oil, water utility lines, and electric transmission lines,” said sponsoring State Sen. John Sullivan (D-Rushville). Opponents include farmers in Morgan County, where the pipeline would be built.  They say the property owners who do want it are the ones who don’t live there.  FutureGen would use a former Ameren plant in Meredosia to convert coal into carbon dioxide, which would be stored near Alexander.  SB 1821 has passed the Senate Executive Committee.

(Illinois Radio Network)

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More tomorrow.

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Cheap Energy Is The Problem – Until we change that more disasters await

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This is an excellent article on why we have had the disaster in Japan.

http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2011/03/17/how-much-are-you-willing-pay-nuke-free/

How Much Are You Willing to Pay to be Nuke-Free?

Posted by Robert Rapier on Thursday, March 17, 2011

A Plan to Phase Out “Dirty” Energy

After the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, someone said to me “We have to stop all offshore drilling.” My response was that I could get behind that idea, but I wanted to know what sacrifices the person was willing to make. That turned out to be the end of the conversation, because usually the people campaigning against these sorts of things believe that the consequences will be all good (no more oil spills) with no real downside (like less energy available). I can tell you with absolute certainty that we can live with no offshore drilling, but I can also tell you that the price of your fuel would be greater — and probably far greater — than it is today.

Nuclear power plants fill a need — cheap energy — that consumers demand. Are you willing to give it up?

I believe that the reason we have so much “dirty” energy is that we demand cheap energy. I spoke to a reporter in Japan this week about the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, and he said he couldn’t help but notice that despite some rolling blackouts now, Japan remains very much a country with all of the lights on.

Root Cause: Consumers Demand Cheap, Abundant Energy

This gets right to the heart of why we have nuclear power: We demand cheap energy; energy so cheap that we can afford to leave all of the lights in the house on all day long. Both coal and nuclear-generated electricity are viewed as cheap relative to many other options — admittedly debatable given charges of government subsidies and the occasional environmental calamity — as well as reliable (again, environmental calamities notwithstanding).

My response to the reporter was that I love lobster, but I rarely eat it because it is so expensive. If they served $2 lobster at McDonalds, we would all consume much more lobster and of course the supply of lobsters would be under pressure. If we all demanded cheap lobster and got angry when our lobsters became more expensive, politicians would work to give us what we want lest they be voted out of office. We would see all sorts of lobster-related subsidies designed to bring us all cheap lobsters (which have to be paid through taxes and/or deficit spending). Consequences of our cheap lobster demands — higher deficits and possibly no more lobsters — would be pushed onto another generation.

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What he does not say is why we were sold cheap energy. That is sold on the idea instead of sustainability. It’s because resources are seen as free. Buy them, dig them up and sell them. More next week.

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