Of course we can! And “a mix of energy efficiency, [energy conservation,]
and new renewable energy projects” (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal)is the
way to go. We simply need the political will and communal support to
make such a transition possible.
I am still in Germany and am amazed to see just how much progress has been
made here in these past couple of years. Solar thermal and solar voltaic
installations abound on private residences; wind mills can be seen in
many regions; cars are more fuel efficient, houses better insulated,
public transportation accessible and affordable, recycling thoroughly
organized, etc.
The capital city Pennsylvania is broke and will be skipping this month’s
multi-million dollar bond payment.
On Sept. 15, Harrisburg, Pa., was scheduled to make a $3.29 million
payment on the bonds it issued to build a trash plant. But, the
cash-strapped city doesn’t have the dough.
“The city’s budget is in deficit,” said Chuck Ardo, spokesman for
Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson. “We’re looking for ways to trim the
budget just to keep services going.”
“Now the chickens have come home to roost,” the mayor said in a statement
released Wednesday.
…the nexus between sustainability and job creation.
Every now and then, perhaps once in a generation,
there presents itself a moment, an opportunity,
for those cities that are willing to seize it,
to truly benefit the region for generations to come.
Patrick Davis points out from Macon that HB 87 is producing
Lowndes County farm employment problems, and maybe local farmers
should take that into account when they vote.
With the law passed and ready for implementation, many rural
farmers—especially in Central and South Georgia—are taking notice to
the exodus of migrant workers and immigrants which has left some farmers
without workers to pick crops.
Many of these same farmers that are hurting economically and losing
crops in these rural counties had voted Republican for years.
Valdosta’s Ellis Black who represents parts of Lowndes County as a
state representative helped to pass Gov. Nathan Deal’s conservative
and punitive agenda and consequently it has contributed to drive an
increasing number of migrant workers out of the Peach State.
At an event this afternoon at UT-San Antonio, Mayor Julian Castro
announced a suite of green energy projects that he said would position
San Antonio as the nation’s “recognized leader in clean energy technology”
and help fulfill his aggressive environmental goals.
Most notably, Castro and leaders from CPS Energy, the city-owned utility,
pledged to shut down one of its coal-fired power plants 15 years ahead
of schedule. By 2018, the city would mothball the 871-megawatt J.T. Deely
Power Plant — a bold move in a growing state that’s seemingly addicted
to coal.
Leigh Touchton, president of the Valdosta-Lowndes NAACP,
says the local and state NAACP are opposed to the biomass plant
because the community that is most affected is the minority community.
She referred to her previous presentation of a letter from
Dr. Robert D. Bullard.
She also brought up an incident with Brad Lofton and recommended
that VLCIA hire an executive director who wouldn’t act like that.
And she said she deals with VSEB all the time:
I’ve taken men through there, I’ve signed them up.
She referred to me when she said that, so what I said before
is appended after the video.
The health of the community is way more important than the job —Leigh Touchton
Regular Meeting, Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA),
Norman Bennett, Roy Copeland, Tom Call, Mary Gooding, Jerry Jennett chairman,
J. Stephen Gupton attorney, Allan Ricketts Acting Executive Director,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 17 May 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
What I actually recommended regarding VSEB, in response to
a specific request from Leigh Touchton for recommendations,
was maybe schedule a meeting with Roy Copeland to talk about
VSEB and solar job opportunities:Continue reading →
Birmingham is to host the annual Solar Power UK Conference and
Exhibitionin October 2011. Over 3000 solar industry participants, 30% of
which will be overseas visitors, are due to descend on the city during
the conference following sell out events in Munich and London in 2010,
generating a predicted £4.15m for the city.
That’s about $6.7 million U.S. dollars.
It is the only time the event has been hosted outside of London in the
UK and the first time the conference will be lighting up the city. The
decision comes as Birmingham is increasingly recognised as a hub for the
developing UK solar industry…
So becoming a leader in solar netted Birmingham a major conference,
which brings income in addition to the jobs and energy generated
directly by the solar projects.
… has made some courageous and profoundly
important recommendations in a report on how to bring more effective
control over the illicit drug trade. The commission includes the former
presidents or prime ministers of five countries, a former secretary
general of the United Nations, human rights leaders, and business and
government leaders, including Richard Branson, George P. Shultz and Paul
A. Volcker.
The report describes the total failure of the present global antidrug
effort, and in particular America’s “war on drugs,” which was
declared 40 years ago today. It notes that the global consumption of
opiates has increased 34.5 percent, cocaine 27 percent and cannabis 8.5
percent from 1998 to 2008. Its primary recommendations are to substitute
treatment for imprisonment for people who use drugs but do no harm
to others, and to concentrate more coordinated international effort
on combating violent criminal organizations rather than nonviolent,
low-level offenders.
These recommendations are compatible with United States drug policy from
three decades ago. In a message to Congress in 1977, I said the country
should decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana,
with a full program of treatment for addicts. I also cautioned against
filling our prisons with young people who were no threat to society, and
summarized by saying: “Penalties against possession of a drug should
not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself.”
Imagine that!
A drug policy meant to address the problem.
The Georgia Solar Energy Association (GSEA) is holding
a conference
Friday a week from today in Atlanta,
and you can still sign up at the advance rate today.
Sounds like a good place for networking potential projects.
Announcing Solar Summit 2011! Join utilities and policy experts from around the country as we present a full day of panel discussions and presentations on solar renewables. With the theme, “Solar Works in Georgia” GSEA will layout the roadmap for success in Georgia.
Where:
GTRI Conference Center- 250 14th Street, Atlanta, GA 30318
When:
Friday, June 24th 8a-4p
How:
Tickets on sale now
What:
$79 before June 15th — EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, 6/17 $99 at the door
Coffee starts at 7:45 AM, with the Welcome session at 8:15 and keynote speaker Col. Dan Nolan (USArmy Ret.)
speaking at 8:30 on “The Military’s integration of Green Energy”.
Another panel notes, “A recent ASU study ranked Georgia 3rd in the nation for solar development potential.”
That would be
this study.
A wide range of speakers come from industry, military, finance, and government.
Sounds like a networking opportunity.
Maybe even a good place to pitch a municipal solar project.
Banks and power companies can fund municipal solar projects;
cities and counties don’t have to wait for state or federal governments
to provide them grants.
Or at least Birmingham, U.K. has done it for public housing.
And
Quitman, Georgia did it last year, too.
Plans to fit power generating solar panels to council-owned properties
in Birmingham will be pushed forward this week after the council agreed a
“green new deal” scheme covering 10,000 homes.
In the biggest proposal for retrofitting houses through an energy
efficiency upgrade yet seen in the UK, the council agreed a £100m
proposal last week designed to create jobs and meet the city’s ambitious
targets for reducing carbon emissions.
The plan – Birmingham Energy Savers – will be jointly funded by
Birmingham council and investment from energy suppliers and commercial
banks, and follows two successful pilot schemes conducted in Europe’s
biggest local authority.
I am still in Germany and am amazed to see just how much progress has been made here in these past couple of years. Solar thermal and solar voltaic installations abound on private residences; wind mills can be seen in many regions; cars are more fuel efficient, houses better insulated, public transportation accessible and affordable, recycling thoroughly organized, etc.
