Tag Archives: Economy

China $375 billion conservation and pollution investment

Fayen Wong and Ruby Lian wrote for Reuters 30 July 2013,

China to invest $375 billion on energy conservation, pollution: paper,

China plans to invest 2.3 trillion yuan ($375 billion) in energy
saving and emission-reduction projects in the five years through
2015 to clean up its environment, the China Daily newspaper reported
on Wednesday, citing a senior government official.

The plan, which has been approved by the State Council, is on top of
a 1.85 trillion yuan investment in the renewable energy sector,
underscoring the government’s concerns about addressing a key source
of social discontent.

China has set a target of reducing its carbon emissions per unit of
GDP by 40-45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level, and raising
non-fossil energy consumption to 15 percent of its energy mix, Xie
Zhenhua, deputy director of the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC), was quoted as saying.

The article continues about tiered power pricing for energy intensive
industries and carbon trading markets.



Given that most of the world’s increase in energy usage comes from one country,
China,

according to OECD figures,
anything China can do to slow that increase is good.

-jsq

Transparency not a problem –Bill Slaughter @ VLMPO 2013-10-23



Defining away another problem,
like he already did

Internet access,
Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter

said:

I can’t honestly just buy into the real problem of transparency in
this community.



This was after numerous people in the room at the

VLMPO Open House on Common Community Vision at Mildred Hunter 23 October 2013
expressed concerns about needs to
video local government meetings and put them online,
and to make various processes more open.

Regarding videoing, Slaughter trotted out former Valdosta Mayor
John Fretti’s old chestnut about allegedly in cities where meetings
are televised citizens grandstand and the meetings drag on forever.
Nevermind that there are numerous ways to do it, such as putting
videos on the web and not simulcasting, and in places like Tallahassee
that do both not many citizens usually show up.
The people I’ve seen grandstanding consistently at local government
meetings around here are Continue reading →

Open House at Mildred Hunter on Common Community Vision @ VLMPO 2013-10-23

“We have broadband”, said Bill Slaughter, while other people had
different opinions on that and other topics Wednesday night at
the Mildred Hunter Community Center.



Corey Hull introduced the session and a small but vocal group of citizens
discussed all

the main topic headings.
He noted that there are more than twelve plans already in place
in the various cities and counties in the Valdosta Lowndes Metropolitan
Planning Area.
Yet there were many common themes in those plans, and VLMPO was looking
for other common areas in these meetings and online,
and more specifically strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
If you have a community group of any size, VLMPO can come talk to it.
They’ve been to the Chamber, to Rotary, to churches, etc.
They expect to wrap this process up in December,
with common vision and goals for the next ten or twenty years.


Matt Martin
Local officials present included Matt Martin,

Planning and Zoning Administrator for the City of Valdosta,
and Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter.
Martin didn’t say much, but Bill Slaughter was quite vocal.
I thanked him for speaking up, even though I didn’t agree with everything he said.
He helped clarify current county codes for stormwater retention,
and Martin helped clarify the city’s codes.

As a long-time participant in
local development (he’s CEO of Waller Heating and Air)
Slaughter said when people are buying houses all they look at is Continue reading →

Solar tariff damaging to solar growth in Georgia –GSEA

GSEA PR of yesterday about

Georgia Power’s attempt to tax rooftop solar generators.


Proposed Solar Tariff Unfair and Damaging to Solar Growth in Georgia,



Atlanta, GA — The Georgia Solar Energy Association Chairman Mark Bell said today
that the tariff on solar installations proposed in the Georgia Power rate request now
under consideration by the Public Service Commission is unfair to solar customers.

The tariff, which will add roughly $22 a month to residential solar customers’ bills
beginning in 2014, will have a significant
“chilling effect” on the robust growth
of solar development now under way in
Georgia. Solar investment currently is
providing jobs and new infrastructure throughout the state, including its rural areas
where economic investment is badly needed. Solar energy is making Georgia farms
more cost-effective and productive, and high-demand manufacturing more efficient.

“This proposal penalizes solar at
the exclusion of other energy saving methods,
which Georgia Power supports. Georgia Power has traditionally Continue reading →

Dominion buying up solar projects

A Virginia electric utility bought a solar project near Georgia Power’s
nuclear plant Vogtle, and has been busily buying up four more,
in Indiana and Connecticut.
The Georgia electric customer is

recent coal-to-solar convert Cobb EMC, not Georgia Power.
This is the same Dominion Power that got Virginia to legalize its

“standby charge” of a monthly fee for individuals to connect solar to its grid.
Is Dominion trying to beat
Edison Electric’s warning of the disruptive challenge of rooftop solar
by building large solar plants?
If so, it’s a start, with quite a few construction jobs.
And all of this new solar power is expected to be online this year,
a lot faster than nuclear….

Dominion says of its

Azalea Solar Power Facility:

Location of Azalea Solar Power Facility Dominion announced on March 1, 2013, that it has acquired a solar energy development project in Georgia from Smart Energy Capital and Jacoby Development. The expected start of commercial operations is Dec. 1, 2013. (> View our news release for complete details.)

Dominion’s Azalea Solar Power Facility is planned to produce approximately 7.7 megawatts (AC) using photovoltaic technology. Dominion will select a contractor and oversee the construction of the project. The 40-acre project is located on Continue reading →

You gonna take him, too? –police illegally arresting journalist



It all started with someone handing out DVDs in a Federal Reserve museum,
continued with people being arrested on a public sidewalk for doing nothing,
and ended with a judge reaffirming that yes, you can video police.

John [?] wrote for Next News Network a 19 October 2013,

Federal Reserve Bank Settles Counterclaim with Journalist,

In May of 2011 in Missouri, Bruce Baumann was peacefully passing out
DVDs with his local media chapter, WeAreChange Colorado, outside the
Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. However, when Baumann and
fellow activist Ronald Lewis attempted to enter the Federal
Reserve’s money museum, they faced resistance from the private
bank’s security, which led to both of their arrest. Although this
resulted in ongoing litigation for nearly 30 months following the
incident, Baumann was confident that he would not only be successful
in defeating the charges, but he would also be victorious in
trampling the Federal Reserve Bank with a counterclaim.

Unbeknownst to Lewis, his name was previously recorded on a list Continue reading →

Striping and citing @ LCC 2013-10-08



Catching up with the Regular Session of 8 October 2013,
why is the county going to pay

$150/month for a traffic signal
and

$2200/month for offramp lighting
(both at Exit 22, North Valdosta Road)
when they could install solar panels and batteries once and pay nothing ongoing?

They tabled
Nottinghill
like the Planning Commission did.
They voted to let
Barrington subdivision
sprawl into the county with no conditions, taking staff’s
recommendation instead of one about a fence by the Planning Commission..
They voted to rotate the mostly ceremonial
Vice Chairman position every eight months.
They decided on a price for tentants in the
Leila Ellis Building
and will get around to drawing up a lease agreement.
Commissioners finally did get that list of roads for
striping.
Fiddling changes to percentages
evidence for juvenile justice
and hardware and software for
fining people coming off of I-75.

Here’s

the agenda with links to the videos and a few notes.
See also

videos of the previous morning’s Work Session.

LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

PROPOSED AGENDA

WORK SESSION, MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013, 8:30 a.m.

REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor

Continue reading →

Request pipeline town hall –Tim Bland to LCC

Received yesterday. Tim Bland wrote
“This is what I emailed to all of the commissioners on Friday.”
I added a few links and pictures.
-jsq

Commissioners,



I would like to start by thanking Demarcus Marshall for attending
the meeting held by Sabal Trail at Wiregrass Tech on Wednesday. It
is nice to know that some of our elected officials are concerned
about this project.

After talking with many of the affected landowners at this meeting,
it appears that there is a general misconception about the
certainty of this proposed pipeline. The officials from Sabal
Trail, both in writing and in person, are telling landowners that
this pipeline is coming and there is little any of us can do to
prevent it. This appears to be the main reason for the high
approval rating for the initial surveys. We were told that if we
did not willingly participate in the survey, there would be little
consideration given to our input and opinions when the pipeline is
built. We were also told Continue reading →

Another October LAKE meeting Tuesday 22 October 2013



Pipeline and
local governance: Water (sinkholes, aquifer recharge,
runoff,
drinking water, and wastewater), trash (how about that Exclusive Franchise!),
and money (no-bid contracts and plus SPLOST VII).
If you want to help, we have a little list of tasks you can do.
Why another meeting in October?
The first one was at a time when many of the regulars couldn’t come, so here’s one for them.


What: Another October LAKE Meeting
When: 6:15PM Tuesday

after the

Lowndes County Commission meeting

7 October 2013
Where:


Michael’s Deli

1307 N Ashley St.

Valdosta, GA 31601

If you're on Facebook,
please Like the

LAKE facebook page.
You can sign up for

the meeting event there,
Or just come as you are.

-jsq

Against rate hike and solar fee by Georgia Power

If you missed Savannah, Columbus tomorrow, then Gainesville, Athanes, and Atlanta: you can speak up against Georgia Power’s

attempt to charge you for saving them money by generating solar power.

Mary Landers wrote for SavannahNow Friday,

Ga. Power proposed rate hike, solar fee blasted,



“Unconscionable” and “theft” were two of the
words used Thursday evening to describe a residential rate hike and
fee on solar installations proposed by Georgia Power.

More than 50 people attended a meeting sponsored by Georgia Watch
and the Sierra Club at the Coastal Georgia Center to discuss the
issues.

The rate hike, proposed in July, would have average residential
customers paying almost $8 more a month. Some homeowners with solar
panels would pay a new monthly fee of about $22 by Georgia Power’s
estimations.


Video by WJCL News: Continue reading →