Category Archives: Water

100% sun, wind, and water can power each U.S. state and the world –Stanford study

We have all the technology right now that we need to power the U.S. state by state and the world with solar, wind, and water power. No burning coal or oil or fracked natural gas and no nukes. No need for any new destructive and hazardous methane pipelines. No waiting for batteries. All we have to do is get on with it.

100% RENEWABLE ENERGY IS FEASIBLE AND AFFORDABLE, ACCORDING TO STANFORD PROPOSAL,

Stanford University researchers led by civil engineer Mark Jacobson have developed detailed plans for each state in the union that to move to 100 percent wind, water and solar power by 2050 using only technology that’s already available. The plan, presented recently at the AAAS conference in Chicago, also forms the basis for The Solutions Project nonprofit.

“The conclusion is that it’s technically and economically feasible,” Jacobson told Singularity Hub.

The plan doesn’t rely, like many others, on dramatic energy efficiency regimes. Nor does it include biofuels or nuclear power, whose green credentials are the source of much debate.

The proposal is straightforward: eliminate combustion as a source of energy, because it’s dirty and inefficient. All vehicles would be powered by electric batteries or by hydrogen, where the hydrogen is produced through electrolysis rather than natural gas. High-temperature industrial processes would also use electricity or hydrogen combustion.

The rest would simply be a question of allowing existing fossil-fuel plants to age out and using renewable sources to power any new plants that come online….

“The greatest barriers to a conversion are neither technical nor economic. They are social and political,” the AAAS paper concludes.

For Georgia, that’s 40% solar PV plants, 35% offshore wind, 13% rooftop PV (6% residential and 7% commercial), 5% concentrating solar plants, 5% onshore wind, and 1% each wind, tide, and conventional hydro power. Plus 210,200 construction jobs and 101,000 operation jobs. And saving $14.3 billion per year Continue reading →

Lowndes County Democratic Party opposes the Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline –Gretchen Quarterman @ FERC 2014-03-04

Gretchen Quarterman stood up for local landowners, the economy, and the environment, by reading the statement against the pipeline recently approved by the Lowndes County Democratic Party, of which she is the chair, at the Valdosta FERC Scoping Meeting 4 March 2014.

Here’s the video:


Lowndes County Democratic Party opposes the Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline –Gretchen Quarterman
Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline,
Scoping Meeting, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 March 2014.

Here’s the text she was reading: Lowndes County Democratic Committee Opposes Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline Continue reading →

Sierra Club Chapters Oppose Sabal Trail Gas Pipeline –read by Danielle Jordan @ FERC 2014-03-04

Danielle Jordan, VSU student and president of Students Against Violating the Environment, stood up for local landowners and the environment against Spectra’s Sabal Trail pipeline at the Valdosta FERC Scoping Meeting 4 March 2014, by reading a statement against the pipeline by the Sierra Club chapters of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Here’s the text she was reading: TRI-STATE SIERRA CLUB CHAPTERS OPPOSE GAS PIPELINE: Statement of the Georgia, Florida, and Alabama Sierra Club Chapters Opposing the Sabal Trail Pipeline.

Here’s the video:


Sierra Club Chapters Oppose Sabal Trail Gas Pipeline –read by Danielle Jordan
Sabal Trail Methane Pipeline,
Scoping Meeting, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 March 2014.

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Videos @ LCC 2014-03-10

An unexpected concern about limiting someone’s ability to expand his business was expressed by Lame Duck Commissioner Richard Raines, the same who made the motion for the exclusive franchise for trash collection by ADS, and who apparently (in executive session so we don’t know for sure) voted twice to sue local business Deep South Sanitation. They spent five or six minutes on an annexation request by Lake Park that was not on the agenda, even though they received it last week. They vote tonight at 5:30 PM, and don’t forget the budget hearings continue all day today.

One road in the Nelson Hill subdivision wasn’t up to snuff and will be omitted from the adoption of infrastructure; that’s better than the county’s previous practice for that development of staff waivers with no public hearings. Plus four rezonings, one for a former County Commissioner and another for a community well for a development. And the annual contract renewal for the MIDS on-call bus system, plus a master software service contract.

See Musical chairs in local qualifying for why John Page is no longer a Commissioner and they already removed his picture from the entryway. There’s more about that in the previous post with the agenda. And here’s the agenda again with links to the videos and a few notes.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Only four voting Commissioners Monday @ LCC 2014-03-10

With only four voting Commissioners left, and two of those lame ducks, it should be an interesting set of Lowndes County Commission meetings this week. On the agenda is adoption of infrastructure for the Nelson Hill subdivision; the one with all the waivers by staff with no public hearings. Plus four rezonings, one for a former County Commissioner and another for a community well for a development. And the annual contract renewal for the MIDS on-call bus system.

While the VDT headline yesterday said Political shuffle continues: County commissioner resigns to run for state Senate seat, actually former Commissioner John Page didn’t resign: he vacated his seat the moment he signed the qualifying papers to run for state Senator. That’s why the Board of Elections has already called a special election that Continue reading →

Videos: quick agenda and then pipeline @ LCC 2014-02-25

The County Manager’s report was about FERC’s Scoping Meetings starting next week; two citizens spoke about the pipeline. The Chairman refused to let another one speak because she hadn’t turned in a form, and then he spent 20 minutes after the meeting telling her what the county wasn’t going to do.

We sort of found out where is the unopened right of way off of US 41 South. The special tax lighting districts item went quickly this time. We found out how much the county’s sewer lift station at a subdivision with a private golf club will cost to replace. This is the subdivision for which the Nelson Hill Wells were drilled as possible replacements.

Here’s the agenda, with links to the videos and a few notes. See also videos from the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2014, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street — 2nd Floor
Continue reading →

Valdosta City Council member Tim Carroll files with FERC

Tim Carroll, District 5, has filed a request based on property rights and water issues for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to deny the Sabal Trail Transmission methane pipeline that Spectra Energy wants to run through Lowndes County. Here’s the letter: Property rights and water: please deny the Sabal Trail methane pipeline –Tim Carroll, Valdosta City Council, 5th District

Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, and at least one landowner with land in the path of that proposed pipeline lives in the City of Valdosta in Council Carroll’s district.

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Florida tired of Valdosta’s WWTP spills

Once again, Valdosta famous into Florida again for wastewater spill, and Florida residents are tired of it.

WCTV 1 March 2014, Georgia Spill Leads To Warning In Florida

[Matt] Meersman and his friends enjoy visiting the Suwannee River to train for canoe races. According to the City of Valdosta, heavy rains have caused about 7.5 million gallons of highly treated waste water to wash into the Withlacoochee River, which connects to the Suwannee. Signs are posted around the Suwannee River State Park to let people know about the possible dangers of swimming in the water.

“When it’s impacted by stuff like this, it makes it hard on us to think about it as the pristine place that we like to think of it as,” said Meersman.

Meersman says there are other rivers around the area they can practice on in the meantime, but he says he’s tired of the spills.

“It’s bad enough Continue reading →

Videos, Retreat, first day @ LCC 2014-02-27

They talked in detail about the Naylor boat ramp and park. The discussed animal shelter renovations for 2015 and 2016. And of course their paving list. Surprisingly, they actually considered whether ownership along the road right of way should be taken into account in deciding whether to pave or not. Commissioner Demarcus Marshall said he had been surprised to learn that many county citizens did not want their roads paved.

Here’s the agenda and some still pictures. Here are the raw videos so you can see for yourself.


Videos, Retreat, first day
Annual Retreat, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2014.

They’re back at it this morning, and Gretchen is there videoing.

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1,000 feet is not enough –Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson @ GCC 2014-02-20

The President of Our Santa Fe River said even much more distance than the pipeline company was proposing wouldn’t be far enough away from her river, and the Chairman said specific answers were lacking from the pipeline company, at the Gilchrist County Commission meeting 20 February 2014.

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, President of Our Santa Fe River, said:

I don’t think a thousand feet on either side is going to deal with the impacts on the Santa Fe River.

She asked for the Commission’s support.

Chairman D. Ray Harrison Jr (District 2) thanked her and added: Continue reading →