want to subsidize renewable energy, but he maybe doesn’t know
that the state of Georgia subsidizes Georgia Power’s new nuclear
plants through an indirect tax, and that fossil fuels are far
more subsidized than renewable energy.
That plus the chickens.
Continuing Gov. Deal: the good, the ugly, and the bad on prisons, quoting again from David Rodock’s interview with Gov. Nathan Deal in today’s VDT.
Jane Osborn talked about two health issues:
the downside of coal mining,
and no institutions for mental health.
…also related to the solar discussion that was begun yesterday, I think a piece we don’t talk about very often is the extraordinary negative side of coal mining. We are taking the tops off of mountains in Appalachia, leaving pristine streams clogged with the debris and the toxic waste of that. So coal is not just the price you see that we pay for it. Coal is seen in the price of people still dying of black lung, every time a mine collapses, and every time another mountain is taken down. I would guess if they were taking mountains down in North Georgia, we’d be fussing about it.She said she has been a social worker for 33 years. She said starting June the DBHDD there would be a new service she recommended the county advertise on its website.
As of June 1st no person in the state of Georgia with a developmental disability may be placed in an institution.The new service is a 24/7 toll free number to call for help.
Here’s the video:
The extraordinary negative side of coal mining —Jane Osborn @ LCC 13 September 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
The VDT picked up that I referred to Ashley Paulk’s
personal attention of the day before
as flattery.
Sorry, elected officials who can’t even get recognized by the Chairman:
bring a camera next time; then he’ll notice you!
First I pointed out that the Mayor of Hahira was in the room. The Chairman had recognized the new Mayor of Valdosta, his replacement on the Valdosta City Council, and the Chair of the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce, but not the Mayor of Hahira. I didn’t want anyone to think the County Commission doesn’t care about Hahira!
Then I commended the voting Commissioners for their comments
Continue reading
Dr. Noll made the case for the cost-effectiveness of solar energy
through, among other things, an analogy to finaninc buying a car.
First Dr. Noll thanked people who had supported WACE’s anti-biomass work, and hoped people had had time to read his recent LTE in the VDT, Waste Not, Want Not. Then he addressed Commissioner Raines’ comments of the previous day. Dr. Noll pointed out that solar is fast becoming less expensive and with financing costs little more than a car or truck.
Here’s the video:
Solar is cost-effective —Dr. Noll @ LCC 13 September 2011
Regular Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
William Branham talked about solar initiatives he’s involved in
and a variety of public officials he’s talked to who are positive
on solar and renewable energy for generating jobs.
He pointed out that solar grew faster than any other energy source.
He mentioned the Chamber’s
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Network
(of which I am also a member).
After Branham spoke, Commissioner Raines cited one solar company that had failed together with financing concerns and indicated he didn’t think it was time for solar here.
I don’t agree with Commissioner Raines. What do you think?
Here’s the video:
Solar for Georgia —Bill Branham @ LCC 12 September 2011
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 12 September 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
Jerry Grillo wrote for the July 2011 Georgia Trend, Partly Sunny In Georgia: The state’s solar industry is growing steadily, but slowly, as the national industry explodes
“Georgia is shackled to the 20th century,” Peterson says.All it would take to fix this is the political will.“If all I did was look at Georgia, I’d think we were doing well. But I work all over the country, and I’m not kidding when I say we’re dealing with $500-million solar projects that have no chance of coming here because of systemic problems that keep Georgia from participating in the 21st-century economy, which has renewable energy as a major component.
“It’s disgusting, considering our potential, how much opportunity is lost, how much capital investment is passed up.”
Maybe if the people and elected and appointed officials look at the handwriting on the wall: Continue reading
Well, you have to qualify.
That costs
$750 down at the Board of Elections.
According to the City of Valdosta’s website, there are a few other requirements:
Qualification Mayor. To be eligible for election or appointment and service as Mayor, a person must be a minimum of 21 years of age, be a resident of the City of Valdosta for one year prior ro the date of qualifying, and a registered and qualified voter of the City of Valdosta at the time of qualifying.Then you have to campaign and win. Some people will doubtless spend a lot of money running for mayor. However, some recent elections to Lowndes County Commission and Valdosta Board of Education indicate Continue reading
Richard Florida wrote in the Atlantic in December 2009,
How the Crash Will Reshape America:
Big, talent-attracting places benefit from accelerated rates of “urban metabolism,”The question we need to address is how to be a small talent-attracting place, and even more a smallish place that grows its own talent and jobs.
This part is especially relevant: Continue reading
Georgia Tech Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones spole January 2010 at TEDxAtlanta, Retrofitting suburbia
Here’s the video: Continue readingIn the last 50 years, we’ve been building the suburbs with a lot of unintended consequences. And I’m going to talk about some of those consequences and just present a whole bunch of really interesting projects that I think give us tremendous reasons to be really optimistic that the big design and development project of the next 50 years is going to be retrofitting suburbia. So whether it’s redeveloping dying malls or re-inhabiting dead big-box stores or reconstructing wetlands out of parking lots, I think the fact is, the growing number of empty and under-performing, especially, retail sites throughout suburbia gives us actually a tremendous opportunity to take our least-sustainable landscapes right now and convert them into more sustainable places. And in the process, what that allows us to do is to redirect a lot more of our growth back into existing communities that could use a boost, and have the infrastructure in place, instead of continuing to tear down trees and to tear up the green space out at the edges.
Liane Yvkoff wrote for cartech today, Solar Roadways to build solar-powered parking lot
Solar Roadways received a $750,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration to build a parking lot paved with solar panels.
Last year the green infrastructure company demoed a 12 square-foot prototype of its solar road as phase 1 of this new technology. The prototype was made up of solar panels, heating elements, and a grid of wireless LED lights encased in durable glass that has the same traction as asphalt and doesn’t cause glare. The panels generate a total of 7.6 kilowatt hours of electricity per day that can be used to melt snow and ice, spell warnings for motorists, or be connected to weight sensitive panels that illuminate a crosswalk when activated. The solar road can also be connected to a smart grid to power nearby homes and businesses, or even electric cars.
-gretchen