Giving Congress a Bad Name

Posted on May 29, 2007
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constructionWhen Congress is good, it’s pretty good. But when Congress is bad, it can be very, very bad.

Not only has the federal government utterly failed to provide strong leadership on the development of renewable energy, now a bill in Congress would all but ban new wind power projects. Really, I’m not exaggerating: the bill carries a fine of up to $50,000 and a year in jail for building new wind turbines, even at your home for private use.

The premise is that the legislation would create a national standard for wind turbines. The reality is it is an attempt to cripple the development of an industry that might threaten the near monopoly fossil fuels have on our nation’s energy supply. The bill was introduced in the House by Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall, a Democrat from West Virgina. That’s right: West Virginia. The number two coal-producing state in the country.

Specifically this bill would place a moratorium on all new wind power construction until the Fish and Wildlife Service goes through a years-long process of creating rules and regulation governing the construction of new wind turbines. Then, all existing wind generating facilities would have to shut down within six months of the issuance of the new rules until they can be certified as being in compliance.

The hook that Rahall and his supporters are trying to hang this twisted piece of logic on is the supposed threat to bird populations posed by wind turbines. The truth is more birds are being killed by running into bridges and windows than the tiny number who die as a result of a wind farm. (Specifics are here in this well-documented article on the subject.)

Research on bird behavior and migratory routes is important. And anyone putting up a large scale wind project ought to take those factors into consideration and do what they can to mitigate the damage to bird populations. But to throw up roadblocks to the development of this clean, non-polluting form of energy in the name of wildlife is just plain dumb. When we are faced with wide spread, large scale damage to the entire ecosystem from global warming, how can anyone turn away any potential solution just because it is not entirely perfect?

It’s like being a passenger on the Titanic refusing to get into the lifeboats for fear of getting wet.

(The provisions I’ve talked about are part of H.R. 2337, and if you are as outraged about this as I am, write your member of Congress. Go to this site to send an email.)

Bill Richardson on Meet the Press

Posted on May 28, 2007
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richardsonstillIf you saw New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Meet the Press this morning, you might have wondered “where did I hear this before?”

While talking with Tim Russert about clean energy, Richards reiterated much of what he said to us during our interview with him earlier this month (the SmartPower interview is here.)

Here is a sample of Richardson’s appearance:

Hartford’s SmartPower Commitment

Posted on May 28, 2007
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Hartford, Connecticut’s commitment to SmartPower’s 20% by 2010 campaign is getting some media attention (here, for example.)  The latest news is that the city has announced it is purchasing 8,575 megawatt-hours (MWh) of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

To follow up on something that has been a bit of a theme on the blog lately, I’m told that city officials have made it clear they know that leadership on renewable energy isn’t coming from the federal government right now, so it is up to them to step up to the plate on the local level.

SmartPower is closing in on our 50th Connecticut city in addition to the 20 communities in Pennsylvania to commit to 20% by 2010.

Living Off the Land in Germany

Posted on May 25, 2007
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The German broadcaster Deutsche Welle ran an interesting story last weekend about some farmers in southern Germany who are making a good living off the land, but not from the cows and beef cattle they have been raising. In the face of falling commodity prices, the Schneiders are turning their farm into a renewable energy facility.

cowwindThe biggest addition to the Schneider farm are four wind turbines that, at peak output, earn them about $180 an hour. They also have a few solar panels and burn the liquefied waste from their cows (there still are a few on the farm) to generate even more electricity. This transition from farming to clean energy production, which hundreds of farmers in the region are in the midst of, is only possible because of European laws requiring utilities purchase clean energy at an above market rate. In the Schneider’s case they are getting about 10 cents per kilowatt hour. It is an excellent mechanism for encouraging clean energy production and an idea that has been bandied about in a limited way here in the US.

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You Say You Want a Revolution?

Posted on May 24, 2007
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I must admit I didn’t exactly take a shine to this entry (view below) in the SmartPower YouTube Clean Energy Ad Challenge. But something made me go back and watch it again and it’s really grown on me. It’s got a sort of 1984 feel to it and definitely reminds me of the Apple’s famous Big Brother commercial.

In case you haven’t heard, the contest was a huge success. Nearly 140 entries rolled in–all 30 second spots extolling the virtues of clean energy. The grand prize is $10K and will be announced this week. And everyone who Everyone who enters is getting a free month’s worth of electricity from SmartPower and our friends at Native Energy.

KT Tunstall Talks to Kids

Posted on May 23, 2007
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If you haven’t had a chance to sit in on a “sound check” before a concert you might imagine it as a technician standing in front of each mic saying “testing, 1-2-3.” The reality is much different. It’s really a chance for the band to warm up and a chance for the star to get a feel for the room and try out a few songs. And I try to weasel my way in whenever I can.

kt 1The last sound check I got to sit in on was a few months ago. Mark Knopfler was playing a small theater and early in the afternoon two or three of us watched for three hours as he got comfortable with the band he recorded his “Sailing to Philadelphia” album with, but apparently hadn’t played with for awhile. The music wasn’t as good as it was later that night during the “real” show, but it was priceless to be able to watch these guys work through their music in such an informal way.

So you can imagine how cool it is that KT Tunstall is inviting elementary school kids to sit in on her sound checks and even help her choose which songs she’ll warm up with. And she is also taking advantage of the rapt attention she gets from the kids to talk about renewable energy and global warming.

I love playing for kids and, as they are the ones who are going to have to deal with the consequences of our behavior, the least we can do is tell them what we did wrong and offer them some real alternatives.

She has an excellent point there–and it’s exactly the sentiment behind SmartPower’s presentation of the Unseen Green Machine at dozens of schools this spring. (More on the show here.) As you well know, it’s a lot harder for an adult to change a habit than it is for a kid to learn the right habit in the first place. And one of the right habits we need to teach kids is using clean, renewable energy.

Tunstall first hit it big after a Today Show performance of “Blackhorse and the Cherry Tree” last year and will be returning to the show in July. Her second album comes out in September and before then she’s going to get busy playing with Dave Matthews, the Police and Kayne West.

AND….this song of hers is rumored to be a front runner for the campaign song for Hillary Clinton:

A Little Help for Clean Energy

Posted on May 22, 2007
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OILCASHRemember the other day when I was talking about the importance of government involvement in clean energy projects? Here’s a great example: Utah is getting it’s first commercial wind farm, thanks to a tax break by a local government and the reinstatement of the state’s renewable energy tax credit.

The project is going to be built on the site of an old gravel pit and the mouth of a canyon where the wind, literally, blows a gale every night. The school district was getting a few thousands dollars a year in tax revenue from the land but now will take in about $5 million over 40 years.

The state level involvement was key when John Deere, an investor in the company, pulled out after the state tax credit for renewable power expired. The legislature and governor got the credit restored and the project came back to life.

It’s important to keep these subsidies and tax breaks in perspective. Compared to the billions of dollars that the oil and gas industry gets every year in tax breaks (and they aren’t exactly an emerging industry, by the way) things like clean energy tax credits are small change.

A Shot Across the EPA’s Bow

Posted on May 21, 2007
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SchwarzeneggerTwo Republican Governors–Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut’s Jodi Rell–have an OpEd piece in today’s Washington Post in which they send a clear message to the Federal government: since you won’t get serious about global warming, we will. And if you don’t let us, we’ll see you in court.

At issue are tougher tailpipe emission standards enacted by a dozen states. The feds have refused to allow those standards to be implemented, so the states took it up with the Supreme Court. (The states won.) But even now, Schwarzenegger and Rell write, the Bush Administration continues to throw up roadblocks.

It’s bad enough that the federal government has yet to take the threat of global warming seriously, but it borders on malfeasance for it to block the efforts of states such as California and Connecticut that are trying to protect the public’s health and welfare.

It’s worth a read.

Dirty Energy: Bad/Clean Energy: Good

Posted on May 21, 2007
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The judges in the SmartPower YouTube Clean Energy Ad Challenge are working hard on picking the thirty second spot that is going to earn someone $10,000. Even though I have no inside knowledge of the process, it’s got to be a difficult job.  (The YouTube SmartPower group page features all the entries–nearly 140 of them.)
The spot that I want you to look at today does a great job driving home the simple concept that a lot of the power we use comes from sources that are just plain gross.  I don’t know what the power plants pictured in this commercial are spewing.  But it sure ain’t pretty.

Clean Energy and the Candidates

Posted on May 20, 2007
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I like Ike In a column about the energy policies of the presidential candidates, Robert L. Borosage & Katrina Vanden Heuvel point out that the American public has gotten the message on global warming and want policy makers to do something about it. But, the authors wonder”whether the presidential candidates have caught up with the voters.”

Ahh….that would be a “no.”

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