Author Archives: admin

The backfire effect, and how to leapfrog it

If you have evidence against something that will harm public health or waste money, just tell everybody and they’ll understand and stop it, right? Nope, humans don’t work that way. More likely you’ll provoke the backfire effect, reinforcing beliefs in the bad information that caused the problem in the first place. Here are some ways to jump over that effect to get at solutions to the problem.

Shankar Vedantam wrote in the Washington Post 15 Sep 2008 about The Power of Political Misinformation, illustrating with a couple of well-known examples of misinformation (you’ll recognize them), and continuing:

Nearly all these efforts rest on the assumption that good information is the antidote to misinformation.

But a series of new experiments show that misinformation can exercise a ghostly influence on people’s minds after it has been debunked — even among people who recognize it as misinformation.

Countering bad information directly just reinforces it.

Chris Mooney wrote more about why that is in Mother Jones 18 April 2011, The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science: Continue reading →

Wiregrass Solar is the first of several projects —Sonny Murphy

Let’s look at Sterling Planet’s own press release about the Wiregrass Solar commissioning. What’s this about a first phase? And what’s the second phase?

Sterling Planet announces completion of one of Georgia’s largest solar generating projects: First phase of Valdosta solar project now supplies green energy to Georgia Power.

Sterling Planet, the leading national retail provider of renewable energy and other clean-energy assets, today announced at a commissioning ceremony the completion of a 200 kWAC output solar generating project in Valdosta. One of the largest solar arrays in the state of Georgia, the Wiregrass Solar, LLC project began commercial operation on April 6 and is now generating annualized output of approximately 350,000 kilowatt-hours. This is enough clean, emission-free electricity to power 350 Georgia homes using the average amount of 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity monthly.

Developed by Sterling Planet, Wiregrass Solar supplies green power for the Georgia Power Green Energy program, an option for the utility’s customers who voluntarily choose to support renewable power and help generate more of it in Georgia.

OK, that’s all good. Congratulations!

Also notice Sterling Planet doesn’t make the mayor’s mistake in saying this is the largest solar array in Georgia, like WCTV after Pete Marte of Hannah Solar corrected it, Sterling says “one of the largest”.

But what’s this about “first phase”? Continue reading →

Why biomass will never cleanly end —jsq

In Harrisburg, PA, same size as Valdosta, in a county of similar size, a trash incinerator bit the dust once, but got revived anyway, and will now probably only go away because: Harrisburg, PA loses solvency and trust over incinerator. There are many parallels here, especially the old boy network. However, the main point I want to draw everyone’s attention to at the moment is that although local activists may have gotten that incinerator closed down once, it came back anyway.

Why? Because their local old boys thought it would make money, and Continue reading →

The Biomass Mystery —Karen Noll

This comment from Karen Noll came in Saturday on It’s not over until it’s over. -jsq
It is unfortunate that such a wonderful event ; the commissioning of the large solar facility in our community, was sullied by Mr. Sonny Murphy’s comments about the viability of biomass. I was then compelled to ask the players in attendance the very pressing question, so where is the biomass issue. Mr Murphy & Mr Ricketts spoke of milestones to be met. The mystery continues.

THE BIOMASS MYSTERY: We all love a good murder mystery. The sleuth that finds the murderer of the dead biomass plant. Oh, that would be fun, but for the plot to work we need a dead biomass plant.

If they want to quietly disappear Mr. Murphy is sending the wrong messages. A disappearance has been the favored outcome from the officials I’ve spoken with. If they want to walk away quietly- fine. I can handle that. Just give us the proper clues that this monster is simply going to wander into the woods to die…, we’ll all look away politely, and then take a peek before celebrating. The mixed messages make for a very poor mystery novel.

-Karen Noll

Putting power on the grid at Wiregrass Solar Commissioning

Congratulations on the commissioning ceremony for Wiregrass Solar!


Allan Ricketts (Acting Executive Director, VLCIA), Georgia Power rep., Roy Copeland (VLCIA Board member), Crawford Powell (Lowndes County Commissioner), John J. Fretti (Mayor of Valdosta), Therrell “Sonny” Murphy (Chairman of Sterling Planet), Tim Golden (Georgia State Senator), Pete Marte (CEO of Hannah Solar).

Continue reading →

Community Building vs Anonymity

LAKE aims to provide transparency through citizen involvement and publishing information on the web and through the press.

There is a balance between citizen participation when saying things which one believes may be controversial and being protected from retaliation for having those potentially unpopular views. Because retaliation can happen there are times when anonymity is appropriate. If someone were to obtain, and want published, important documents about a local issue, they might choose to remain behind the scenes. This does happen with press sources and could happen here.

However, in the realm of community participation and community building, it is important for those who have a say to do so in public: both citizens and elected officials. Leigh Touchton has commented on this comparing people who speak at the citizen portions of public meetings or signing petitions with those who only meet privately with elected officials. People who are willing to put their name on their opinion are more respected than those who will not.

We recognize that people often share an IP address because they have one DSL or Cable connection at their home (like John and Gretchen Quarterman do). Or, they are using a shared network (say at the library or at a coffeeshop, as Gretchen Quarterman and George Rhynes have also been known to do). So, we recognize that an IP address is not a personal identifier. However, when comments from mulitiple people come from the same IP address (leigh.touchton, wow, duh, amen, thankyou, sludge) it behooves the address owner to take care with their network access. We agree with what jsq wrote about sockpuppets .

Everyone has a voice and this forum is an opportunity to have yours heard, if you choose. If you are too ashamed of your opinion to put your name on it, perhaps this forum is not for you. Community building comes from people building relationships and having dialog. We may not all agree, but if light is shined on issues, informed decisions might be made and in building community, fears may be decreased.

– Carolyn, Gretchen and jsq for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange

Congressional redistricting meeting for Georgia in Valdosta

According to the Moultrie Observer, Redistricting meeting set for Valdosta:
A joint meeting of the House and Senate Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment committees will be held in Valdosta on Tuesday, May 24, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Brooks Hall Conference Center of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. The meeting will a public hearing.

For more information or for directions, visit the Wiregrass Technical College Web site at www.wiregrass.edu. Parking is free for the meeting.

That’s at the Brooks Hall Conference Center at 4089 Val Tech Road.

Here’s some further information on redistricting from Ballotpedia. This is the only redistricting meeting in the current Georgia First Congressional District (GA-01) and I think the only one in the Second Congressional District (GA-02).

That’s the same evening as the next Lowndes County Commission meeting, so LAKE could use some owls to get video at both locations. We can loan cameras. Interested parties please contact information at l-a-k-e.org (yes, the hyphens are part of the address).

-jsq

Using oil to move an automobile down the street … not something you’re going to see in 20 to 25 years. —Pete Marte

Pete Marte of Hannah Solar predicted that within a generation cars will run on electricity generated by solar arrays like the one commissioned last Thursday.

Col. Allan Ricketts introduced Pete Marte, CEO of Hannah Solar.

Here’s Part 1 of 3: Continue reading →

New Valdosta Council Districts (Proposed)

Valdosta City Councillor Tim Carroll (District 5) sent this map to LAKE for publication. I think District 5 is the one that sticks out to the northwest. The cover letter appears to have been addressed to his constituents. -jsq
Date: Friday, May 13, 2011, 8:07 PM

All –

I wanted to share the attached council district map changes with all of you. This map shows in the dark lines the existing city council districts.  The color area shows the changes.

As you can see my district, which is purple will change some as a result of the census numbers.  District 5 is giving up a little on the south border to District 6 and picking up on the eastern middle borders from District 4. The target average was 9084 citizens per district based off of the city wide count of 54,518.  District 5 will end up with a little more than that, but within the margin allowed by the census department.

I have enjoyed representing those that will move to district 6,

Continue reading →

Do you miss him yet? Brad Lofton in SC

He may be gone, but he’s still up to his old tricks, and he’s using us for a reference.

Adva Saldinger wrote in The Sun News 8 May 2011, Lofton hits ground running in new post; CEO asking taxpayers for $1.6 million:

The new Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. president and chief executive is by many accounts aggressive and personable, and he says, ready to take charge and bring much needed jobs to the area quickly.

Brad Lofton said he will bring 500 jobs in the first 18 months, and an average of 500 jobs each year over the next five to 10 years.

And a pony!

Has anybody verified the jobs Lofton claimed he brought to Lowndes County? Continue reading →