Category Archives: Economy

“Solar power at one time was a theory, and now it’s in practice” —Sen. Tim Golden

State Sen. Tim Golden used Yogi Berra to illustrate that solar power is no longer just a theory: it’s now implemented in practice.
Yogi said, and I quote:
In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, there is.
…

I thought about that quote because solar power at one time was a theory, and now it’s in practice.

A very good point.

(This is also where Sonny Murphy got the idea to quote Yogi Berra.)

Sen. Golden mentioned that he and Sonny Murphy grew up with Gov. Nathan Deal.

He said he met Pete Marte of Hannah Solar at the governor’s office the previous day, at the signing of HB 346, which includes solar tax credits. That’s the bill that Wes Hudson said “extends the renewable energy tax credit to the year ending Dec. 31, 2014, and for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 it newly expands the total statewide credit amount from $2.5 million to $5 million in each of the years 2012-2014.”

Sen. Golden once again said we’d gone from theory to practice.

He lauded Jimmy Carter for putting solar panels on the White House Continue reading →

Come back and expand on this one —Valdosta Mayor John Fretti

Yes, let’s celebrate Hannah Solar and this solar array! But why do people have to keep gilding the lily and claiming it’s the largest in the state when it wasn’t even back at groundbreaking? So if Valdosta Mayor John Fretti and County Commissioner Crawford Powell have agreed to expand this solar array if somebody leapfrogs it, time to get cracking! It was already leapfrogged before it was built.

After lauding his class of Leadership Lowndes over others, Mayor Fretti complimented various local organizations and said:

…not only that it has a good quality of life, it has the infrastructure that is needed for industrial recruitment, but that you will be successful when you locate in Valdosta-Lowndes County, and I think Hannah Solar is evidence of that.
All true, and note which comes first: “a good quality of life.”

Mayor Fretti quoted the first law of thermodynamics (conservation and conservation of energy) and remarked:

But now we have some energy sources in our area that we can take advantage of. Unfortunately we don’t have an ocean for tidal power. Unfortunately we don’t have geothermal as much as other areas of the country.

We do have sunlight. Certainly not as much as some areas of the country, but we have an abundance enough that we could put out what is currently the largest array in the state of Georgia.

That’s all good stuff, except this wasn’t the biggest solar array in the state even the last time Mayor Fretti stood on the same spot and said the same thing.

Maybe he (and everyone) should double-check what VLCIA tells him.

Brad Lofton knew Continue reading →

The United Methodist Church declares its opposition to the privatization of prisons and jails

We already heard from the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches, against private prisons. Now let’s hear from the United Methodist Church:
Our Lord began his ministry by declaring “release to the captives…” (Luke 4:18 NRSV), and he distinguished those who would receive a blessing at the last judgment by saying, “I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:36b NRSV) Jesus also declared that one cannot serve two masters and condemned the idolatry of mammon, or wealth. (Luke 16:13).

Christians, therefore, must have a special concern for those who are captive in any way, especially for those who are imprisoned, and for the human conditions under which persons are incarcerated. Individual Christians and churches must also oppose those policies and practices which reflect greater allegiance to the profit motive than to public safety and to restorative justice for offenders, crime victims, and local communities.

Therefore, The United Methodist Church declares its opposition to the privatization of prisons and jails and to profit making from the punishment of human beings.

ADOPTED 2000

The statement has further practical explanation of why this opposition: Continue reading →

How to get public officials to respond to the citizens?

Leigh Touchton asked me,
Mr. Quarterman, what can we do, do we have to go to the state legislature to get a law passed to force these so-called public officials to answer questions and respond to the citizens?
First of all, my compliments to anyone such as Leigh Touchton who has been doing politics around here longer than me for asking my opinion, because that indicates they are pretty good at it and are probably asking many people their opinions.

My answer: carrots along with sticks, and shine some light! That all builds political capital, which will be needed for elections.

We need many people building a community doing many things. If I knew a simple answer that would change things magically overnight, I’d recommend it, but I don’t. I don’t even know if I know a long answer, but I’m pretty sure that any answer will require a community, because Continue reading →

What does this mean? —Leigh Touchton

This comment from Leigh Touchton came in last night on It’s not over until it’s over. I have added links and pictures. -jsq
I asked VLCIA Board member Roy Copeland afterwards whether this means the biomass incinerator is STILL going to be built? He shrugged and walked away.

Karen Noll asked Allan Ricketts what does this mean, since we all heard Lowndes County Commission Chairman Paulk give us a very different scenario at the last LCC meeting, and his remarks were covered in the Valdosta Daily Times. Mr. Ricketts said he was not aware of Chairman Paulk’s remarks.

Continue reading →

Cheap prison labor used to build U.S. military weapons?

Destroy local labor while building weapons to destroy foreign enemies!

Mike Elk wrote for Alternet 28 April 2011, Defense Contractors Using Prison Labor to Build High-Tech Weapons Systems

It is a little known fact of the attack on Libya that some of the components of the cruise missiles being launched into the country mayl have been made by prisoners in the United States. According to its website, UNICOR, which is the organization that represents Federal Prison Industries, “supplies numerous electronic components and service for guided missiles, including the Patriot Advanced Capability Missile (PAC-3)”.

In addition to constructing electronic components for missiles, prison labor in the United States is used to make electronic cables for defense items like “the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing (BA) F-15, the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16, Bell/Textron’s (TXT) Cobra helicopter, as well as electro-optical equipment for the BAE Systems”.

Traditionally these types of defense jobs would have gone to highly paid, unionized workers. However the prison workers building parts for these missiles earn a starting wage of 23 cents an hour and can only make a maximum of $1.15 an hour.

Maybe you’re out of a job. Can you compete with 23 cents an hour?

More detail in Noah Schactman’s Danger Room story

And Justin Rohrich, who apparently broke the story, says Lockheed Martin demanded a correction because they claim: Continue reading →

It’s not over until it’s over —Chairman Sonny Murphy of Sterling Planet

As one of many speakers at the Wiregrass Solar commissioning this morning, Sonny Murphy said many good things about solar, and then, almost alone among the speakers, he volunteered some remarks about the biomass plant, in which he made it pretty clear he intends to go ahead with it.

About solar, he praised Hannah Solar for perseverance: Continue reading →

Georgia #3 state that could benefit most from solar electricity

Matthew Croucher wrote 29 November 2010 in asu news, Who would benefit most from solar energy?”
The Top 10 states that would benefit from solar deployment through generating and exporting energy to other states are:
  1. Arizona
  2. Colorado
  3. Georgia
  4. Texas
  5. Hawaii
  6. Arkansas
  7. Wyoming
  8. Alabama (tie)
  9. Missouri (tie)
  10. California
This is according to a study from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, “Optimal Deployment of Solar Index,” published in The Electricity Journal,

This article found on WACE facebook page; thanks for locating it, WACE!

-jsq

“Maintain our focus on educating children” —Jeana Beeland

Leigh Touchton mentioned that
I had heard that some Board members were elected with intention to support consolidation but that I hadn’t heard anything about that from any of them when they were running.
They didn’t say much about it when they were running, either. Back in 2009, the only one who got elected who was asked about this issue, Jeana Bealand, pretty much dodged the question at AAUW’s Lowndes County Political Forum on 15 September 2009.

This was the forum that was the day after the VBOE meeting that drew 400 people because of Superintendent Cason’s decision about President Obama’s speech. Very few of those 400 people showed up at the forum to ask questions of their likely school board members. Maybe more people should take an interest in who is going to represent them on their school board.

Here’s the video:


Jeana Beeland answers a question about school system consolidation
Lowndes County Political Forum, AAUW, 15 Sep 2009
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Rezoning on Old Pine Road again: is anything different this time?

Has anything changed since the contentious Glen Laurel rezoning on Old Pine Road? Maybe yes.

The new case decided yesterday (REZ-2011-05 – Laurel Brooke), was also represented by Bill Nijem, who got up and started speaking for it, and after a bit said:

First let me introduce myself, there are new faces up here. Bill Nijem. I represent the applicant.
Assuming that Commissioners should just know who he is may not sound like a good start, But, as he already said, nobody was speaking against this rezoning. Why is that?

I would like to note when the applicant first submitted this application, it was submitted as planned development, and worked with Mr. Davenport, we did tweak the site plan somewhat, made larger lots, and now it’s R-10.
And that’s what the opponents of the Glen Laurel rezoning asked for. At least a couple of them were present this time. Gretchen talked to them later, and they told her that since this subdivision had what they asked for last time, they had no objections this time.

Bill Nijem even discussed traffic and accidents, which you may recall Continue reading →