In the new
era of good feelings,
Dr. Noll asked the Lowndes County Commission
whether they thought all the medical associations
and doctors who oppose biomass plants are lying,
same as he later
asked the Valdosta City Council.
He also offered to
discuss with biomass proponent Nolen Cox,
who spoke immediately before.
Here’s
the video.
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Local resident Nolen Cox says government grants are more addictive than drugs,
and “all the federal money is my tax money.”
He mentions federal debt, and lists only social programs.
Regarding grants, he’s specifically referring to a proposal to
accept a grant for NOAA weather radios, which we’ll come back to later.
His other topic is that he thinks we need more oil, more nuclear, and biomass. His recommendation: “I would stop discusssing it.” He thinks it’s like global warming, which he thinks is a lie. He sums up:
Build the plant, employ people, get on with the program.It’s interesting that these are about the best arguments biomass proponents have. Perhaps he’s not aware that shutting off the debate was tried recently and doesn’t seem to be working too well. Here’s the video.
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At the February VLCIA board meeting, Col. Ricketts said groundbreaking
for the solar plant is scheduled for February 21st with production
less than two months after that.
Here you can see his timeline slide.
It’s a bit hard to read, but he mentioned at least these items:
|
| Daniel Mayer, November 2006 |
Valdosta Utilities Director Henry … Hicks addressed the sewage spills, saying they are caused by excess rain which overloads the Withlacoochee River Water Pollution Control Plant. He said growth along the river and throughout the regional watershed area has contributed to the amount of excess water running into the river.Some of the comments on the VDT page are also interesting. Guest remarked: Continue reading“When you have all this growth and you create more impervious surface area (through paving and development), more and more water is running into the Withlacoochee. On average, the plant handles six million gallons a day and is equipped to accommodate twice that, but in recent rain events, we’ve gotten upwards of 15 million gallons extra in stormwater runoff and the system can’t handle that,” Hicks said.
And now a word from Wendell Berry:
The mentality that exploits and destroys the natural environment is the same that abuses racial and economic minorities…. The mentality that destroys a watershed and then panics at the threat of flood is the same mentality that gives institutionalized insult to black people and then panics at the prospect of race riots.Source: “Think Little” in A Continuous Harmony: Essays Cultural and Agricultural, by Wendell Berry, 1972. Forty years later, that mentality is still a problem.
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A University of Georgia researcher has found that Georgia’s forestlands provide essential ecosystem services to the state worth an estimated $37 billion annually.That’s substantially more than the $28 billion annually from the conventional wood-products industry.This is in addition to the value of timber, forest products and recreation. This is the first time these indirect benefits of Georgia’s private forests have been estimated.
What are these ecosystem services? Continue reading
Dan Chapman
writes in the AJC:
The premise, and the promise, were brilliant in their simplicity: Turn tree waste into fuel, help break the Middle Eastern choke hold on America’s economy and bring hundreds of jobs to rural Georgia.Hm, who was involved in that?What wasn’t there to like?
Plenty, starting with the closing last month of the Range Fuels cellulosic ethanol factory that promised to help make Georgia a national leader in alternative energy production. Then there’s the money — more than $162 million in local, state and federal grants, loans and other subsidies committed to the venture.
“Range Fuels represents a new future for our country,” proclaimed then-Gov. Sonny Perdue, flanked by dignitaries and beauty queens. “With Georgia’s vast, sustainable and renewable forests, we will lead the nation.”That reminds me of this press release from 15 Sep 2009:
“Georgia’s status as the nation’s Bioenergy Corridor continues to grow with the location of a renewable energy power plant in Valdosta,” said Governor Perdue. “Our vast supply of biomass, technology innovations and business-friendly environment are very attractive to companies such as Wiregrass Power.”Will history repeat itself?
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Abraham Lincoln said, “The probability that we shall fail in this struggle should not deter us from the support of a cause that we believe is just.” Such a cause for us is opposition to the biomass plant.Continue readingGiven its support from city and county officials more concerned about doing the bidding of the rich and powerful than they are about the health of children, it is likely a “done deal.” Done by those who will profit from the deal.
None of the national health organizations endorse biomass plants as safe for children. The American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, and the World Health Organization have concluded that biomass plants pose serious threats to children.
None of the deal makers, investors, or politicians who signed off on their deal live in the community which will most be affected by the poisonous toxins that will fill the air. Their children don’t attend the schools, nor do they attend any of the seven area churches.
Meetings have been held on the biomass project. Some by the Industrial Authority, WACE, the NAACP, and SCLC. And not a single citizen has spoken in favor of it. When I asked a council member about this, he said, “They are afraid of you.”
It is not the proponents who have anything to fear.
Valdosta has a local museum that may generate some local business,
sort of like the
Homerville Genealogical Library that opened today.
Christian Malone writes in the VDT today,
Valdosta Wildcat museum renamed in Waller’s honor:
The David S. Waller Sr. Valdosta Wildcat Museum is filled with things related to Valdosta High football. Many of Valdosta’s state and national championship trophies reside in the museum. So do many photos of past Wildcat teams and players. There are Valdosta jerseys, jackets, shirts and helmets there. The plaques of the members of Valdosta High’s Sports Hall of Fame are also housed in the museum.Now since I went to Lowndes High School, I must note that the Wildcats have lost to the Vikings pretty much every time they’ve played in the last decade or so. And a county-wide or south-Georgia football or sports hall of fame would be a much bigger draw. But in a sports-mad community any sports museum is a good idea.
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Sure, everyone wants jobs for the people right now and jobs
so the children don’t have to go somewhere else to find one.
But what good is that if those jobs suck up all the water
those children need to drink?
This is the problem:
“What I believe the three most important things are, not only for our community, and our state, and our country, but for our country, thats jobs number 1, jobs number 2, and jobs.”
I shook Brad Lofton’s hand after that speech and told him I liked it, because I did: in general it was a positive speech about real accomplishments. I’ve also pointed out I had a few nits with that speech. This one is more than a nit. This one is basic philosophy and policy.
Now one would expect an executive director of an industrial authority to be all about jobs. And that would be OK, if Continue reading
