Tag Archives: Air

China, U.S., and Russia energy deals: bad news for Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline?

The U.S. and China made a historic deal on climate change this week.


Here’s the good (it’s real, it’s huge, and it’s positive economically
for both countries), the bad (nuclear is first on the list of those “clean energy” sources), and the ugly.
Also this week China made a second huge natural gas deal with Russia:
what does that mean to the current U.S. push for LNG exports,
including the proposed Sabal Trail pipeline gouge through Georgia?

The Deal

Rebecca Leber, The New Republic, 12 November 2014,

The World Has Waited for the U.S. and China to Take Action on Climate Change. They Just Did.

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on
Wednesday commitments to reduce both countries’ greenhouse gas
emissions. The surprise announcement, which came while Obama visits
Beijing this week, is the clearest sign yet the two countries are
serious on climate change.

After months of negotiations Continue reading →

Seven Out Superfund Assessment Public Meeting 2014-07-17

6-8PM tomorrow, Thursday 17 July 2014

Memorial Stadium, 715 Dewey St., Waycross, GA 31501



The Environmental Protection Agency, GA Environmental Protection
Division, and Georgia Department of Public Health will be present to
discuss sample collection and results from the Seven Out Tank site
in downtown Waycross.

EPD will also be available to address issues and answer questions
regarding CSX.

From Satilla Riverkeeper’s

facebook event.
Here’s
a map: Continue reading →

Solar Power Hot Topic on LAKE blog

Some like pithy posts, and others like long historical
summaries: see
the Solar Hot Topic for the latter.


I’ve just added links about solar parking lots, Oakland, CA, Dublin, GA and Lowndes High Schools, and super-lobbying group ALEC’s efforts in every state
legislature to oppose solar power.

Solar will win, simply because it’s already cheaper than anything else
and the prices keep going down. The fossil industry will delay as long
as possible to suck up more profit, but even Wall Street has turned
against fossilized utilities that aren’t doing renewables yet. We the
people will win. We just need to stop the fossil junkies from doing more
damage before they lose. The sun is already rising.

-jsq

ICLEI and sustainability

Have you heard there’s a U.N. agency going around getting
local governments to sign “Agenda 21” into ordinances that
will take away your private property through eminent domain?
If not, you’ve avoided the propaganda put out by
fossil fuel companies to subvert sustainability.
If you have, here’s why it’s bunk.

There is an organization that promotes measures for
sustainability to local governments.
Sustainability as in arranging for local resources to
be available for us and our children and grandchildren.
Clean air, clean water, forests, education, and private property
rights including not letting developers or big corporations
damage your private property.
Are you against any of those things?

An organization promoting sustainability with local governments is called

ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability.
ICLEI says it is:


the leading global network devoted to local governments engaged in
sustainability, climate protection, and clean energy initiatives. The
organization was formerly known as the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives.

ICLEI has heard about the conspiracy theories and has written up

a rebuttal. Continue reading →

FPL already dirtying Georgia air at Plant Scherer: and a pipeline, too?



Georgia Power’s Plant Scherer is #1 among the U.S. dirtiest power plants.
But FPL owns most of one of the four units there,
dirtying Georgia’s air for Florida’s power.
The same FPL that wants the fracked methane Sabal Trail pipeline
through Georgia, destroying Georgia’s environment.
It’s time for Georgia to say no to destroying Georgia’s environment
for a company in another state.

Thomas Stackpole wrote for Mother Jones 11 September 2013,

1 Percent of America’s Power Plants Emit 33 Percent of Energy Industry’s Carbon, Continue reading →

From fracking to pipelines –Michael G. Noll



LTE in the VDT today. I added the images and the links. -jsq

Albert Einstein once said that “the world will not be destroyed by
those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing
anything.” This philosophy can be applied to countless social and
political issues and speaks of the dangers of apathy. Add to this
situation a lack of information and our society is truly in danger,
as companies like SPECTRA Energy not only count on our apathy, but
will also try to hoodwink us.


The Sabal Trail Pipeline currently discussed in our community is

really part of a larger story, a process known as hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking. Fracking allows companies like Halliburton
to free oil and gas trapped in geologic formations, but in a fashion
that is extremely dangerous to our environment (especially



groundwater aquifers) and human health. Exempt from the Clean Air
Act, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, fracking
has created countless problems for communities from Pennsylvania to
Texas, and

may soon be coming to north Georgia.

The gas pipeline under discussion is literally a tentacle Continue reading →

More solar by Georgia Power –GA PSC

It’s a win for jobs and clean air and plenty of water in Georgia!
Doubled requirements on solar power, and a dozen coal plants shut down.


2, 4, 6, 8, solar power can’t wait!

The

astroturf resistance fizzled, while the pro-solar grassroots
coalition won.
(Pictures of the two demonstrations by Ted Terry.)

525 megawatts more solar power required, on top of

last year’s 210 megawatts, for more than 735 MW total.
That’s still

trailing New Jersey’s already-installed 1,000 MW,
but it’s a big step forward.

The vote was either 4 to 1 (
Ray Henry of AP)
or 3 to 2 (Georgia Sierra Club tweeting from the Commission chamber).
As

Ray Henry tweeted:

“All opposed, say aye.” Wait, what? #gapsc



I’m guessing at least one nay vote was Stan Wise, judging by these
@gasierraclub tweets: Continue reading →

A metropolitan area needs better than trash government –John S. Quarterman

My LTE in the VDT Thursday.
I’ve added links to some of my inspirations. -jsq



Local leaders worked hard to get the

Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area declared.
Why now are they acting like a Ludowici
speed trap for local businesses?

The Lowndes County Commission shouldn’t act like a private business
trying to exclude anybody it doesn’t like. State law says local
governments are supposed to have open bids and public hearings. A
promise (in the VDT) in

March 2013 of a non-exclusive contract for
trash collection turned into

exclusive in October; at least two of
the five bidders are now the same company; and the county

is suing

Applause
a

local business to the profit of

a company owned by investors in New York City.
Meanwhile,

no public accounting has ever been seen of the

former waste collection sites and

no public hearing was held before
they closed, despite state law.

Business exists to make a profit. Government exists to provide
public services like law enforcement, water, sewers, roads, and yes,
trash collection. Sure, balanced books are good. But money isn’t the
main point of government: providing what the people need is, and

the people didn’t ask the county to exchange the waste collection
centers for lower prices

that won’t last.



Businesses (except monopolies)
have to Continue reading →

Review of the misleading movie Pandora’s Promise

Here’s a trailer for the “documentary” pro-nuke film that comes out today,



Pandora’s Promise.
The film discounts solar and wind energy because its makers
don’t understand the exponential decrease in solar prices or
the night backup power ability of wind connected with a smart grid.
The vast majority of the American people already are demanding
those real renewables instead of nuclear or coal,
and the economics of wind and solar are also rapidly beating natural gas.

Atom Ecology’s promotional writeup 7 June 2013,

Pandora’s Promise – Anti-Nuclear Mob Burns Environment In Coal Fired Forges Of Industry For 30 Years begins,

A new documentary film that reveals how opposition to and voting
against nuclear power turned into massive increases in coal burning
power plants. The far worse outcome for the environment as coal has
filled energy demand is the story just coming to theatres.

The tiny germ of truth in that ten years ago is just plain wrong now
that coal is not the alternative because

solar has reached grid parity with nuclear, coal, and natural gas.

The movie plays up Stewart Brand’s conservationist credentials
and his conversion to pro-nuke.


Not in that movie, but

in this TED talk,
you can see
Stewart Brand lose a debate with Mark Z. Jacobson, who argued
we can power the whole world with sun, wind, and water.
Jacobson’s summary: Continue reading →

Alcohol, drugs, and broken nuke equipment

A broken cooling water pump at Fermi 2 yesterday plus
60% lost safety data today.


Airflow and quality problems at Kewaunee and Three Mile Island.
Drugs at Saint Lucie in Florida
and alcohol at Nine Mile Point 1 in New York and
at Braidwood in Illinois.
And four workers injured at Callaway in Missouri.
Apparently nuke employees can get terminated for off-site
recreational drug use, but not for fires or broken equipment.

We’ve already seen the

event about fire at Plant Vogtle.
Here are more events in the NRC

Current Event Notification Report for April 4, 2013
and also today,

April 5, 2013,

Continue reading →