As you may have noticed, there are alot of things happening concerning the environment, energy, global warming, etc. Here are some news items I picked up recently:

Re: Ethanol to Fuel Vehicles: Ethanol will use 50% more corn this year, eating
into the food industry's share of the crop, according to the Agriculture Dept.
Annie's note: while the use of ethanol to fuel vehicles may seem like a good idea,
you can see where it can also create problems for the food industry. Ethanol is
not the only answer...Source: Denver post 3/02/07.

Navy To Ignore California Rule On Sonar Training: The U.S. Navy says it won't
comply w/ sonar training restrictions that aim to protect marine mammals off the
California coast, arguing that the commission that imposed the rules does not
have the jurisdiction to do so. "The Navy does not take lightly our
responsibility to the environment and marine life," said a Vice Admiral &
commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet in San Diego. The rules cannot be applied beyond the
scope of state waters; 3 nautical miles from shore. Some ecologically sensitive
areas may be affected. Source: Denver Post mid Feb '07.

Canada Cuts Quota of Harp Seals to Be Killed: Canada announced Thursday that
hunters can kill 270,000 harp seals this spring, despite environmentalists'
protests that thousands of pups too young to swim have fallen through the ice
thinned by global warming. The International Fund for Animal Welfare and the
Humane Society of the U.S., both of which have long led international campaigns
to end the centuries-old hunt, immediately condemned the new hunting quotas.
Source: Denver Post 3/30/07. Annie's note: This hunt is happening right now.
Today I heard a report on NPR that thousands of the young seals have drowned due
to thin ice. If you wish to get involved in trying to persuade the Canadian
government to decrease their quota, you can go to the Humane Society of the
United States' website. The harp seal pups are those beautiful white seals you see frequently in photos, and they are absolutely defenseless.

PUC Asked To Probe Xcel Plan for $1Billion "Clean-Coal" Plant: A pair of
environmental activists asked state regulators Wednesday to investigate Xcel
Energy's plans for a $1 billion "clean coal" power plant in Colorado. The
complaint asks the Colorado Public Utility Commission to ensure that Xcel
complies with a state law requiring disclosure about the power plant's cost,
feasibility and impact on ratepayers, and whether it can be built without
competitive bidding. (Annie's note: Shades of Halliburton in Iraq!) The complainants, Leslie
Glustrom of Boulder and Nancy La Placa of Denver...also have opposed Xcel's $1.3
billion Comanche 3 generator...under construction in Pueblo. Source: Denver
Post 3/22/07.

More Energy Efficient Buildings: A bill that would require all state buildings
to be more energy efficient passed a House committee. Measures could include
new fluorescent bulbs, insulation and wall board made from recycled products, nontoxic paints and toilets that use less water. The House Transportation Cmmittee passed the bill unanimously. It already has passed the Senate. Source: Denver Post 3/30/07.

Airline Introduces Voluntary Greenhouse Fees: Scandinavian airline group SAS AB
introduced a voluntary greenhouse charge on Wednesday for passengers who want to
offset the carbon dioxide emissions generated by their flights. The plan, which
follows a similar initiative by British Airways in 2005, lets SAS passengers
give money to environmental projects that have helped reduce the release of
greenhouse gases....A passenger flying between Stockholm and Continental Europe
would have to pay an average of 4.50 euros ($6) to such a project to offset the
approximate 300 kilos (600 pounds)of carbon dioxide released by their air
travel. Annie's note: What about that huge AirBus? Gack! Source: MSNBC.com
Travel news 3/14/07.

Kansas Getting Plant To Make Ethanol from Residues of Grass: Cellulosic ethanol is cleaner than fuel made from corn.... And the $300 million plant will help
Kansas' economy....The state is one of six getting a cutting-edge technology
that will make ethanol out of grass and crop residue typically left in the
field. Other facilities will go to Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho and California.
...The Union of Concerned Scientists stated the environmental impact of some of
these feedstocks is much lower. Source: Denver Post 3/26/07.

Roxborough Grows Into New School: ....Douglas Count, Colorado is getting a new
elementary school. No 46 is scheduled for mid-year opening January 2008...The
classroom wing is two stories because of site space; it's a small site....There
is a certain amount of construction and cost efficiencies in building two
stories. The design has sustainable design features: natural day lighting in
classrooms and circulation corridors. Also the footprint of the building is not
as large so there is less foundation work and excavation. Landscaping includes
natural elements to reduce the amount of lawn and sod. "That natural turf won't have to be
irrigated."...also, a fairly large number of deciduous trees that will drop
leaves in winter to allow sunlight in, and provide shade in summer....also,
heating and air conditioning equipment will be in a crawl space and will provide
long term savings in maintenance. Finally, Elementary School No. 46 faces south
to take advantage of winter sunshine in half the classrooms and constant light in the other sides facing north. Source: Douglas County News Press 3/16/07.

Danish Firm To Build Weld Plant: Danish wind-turbine company Vestas Wind
Systems said Tuesday it will build a $60 million manufacturing plant in western
Weld County. The Windsor facility will manufacture blades for wind turbines and
eventually employ 420 works, most hired locally. Wages will range from $30,000 a
year for production workers to more than $60,000 for managers. Construction is
scheduled to start this Spring...initial hires at the plant will be sent to
Denmark for several months of training. Upon their return, they'll supervise other
production workers....the town's access to rail services and a skilled workforce
are reasons for choosing Windsor. The company has installed more than 31,500
wind turbines in more tha 60 countries and employs about 12,000 people
worldwide. Source: Denver Post 3/21/07. Annie's note: Training in Denmark? Sign
me up! Seriously, though, to me this means that some of the more traditional
workers will indeed have a place in the new energy economy.

And finally: Something to keep the fires of desire burning:- the desire to
change the status quo: $4.5 Million An Hour in '06 for Exxon Mobil: Oil giant
Exxon Mobil topped its own record for the biggest annual profit by a U.S.
company last year, with earnings that amounted to $4.5 million an hour for the
world's largest publicly traded oil company. It reported the record net income
- $39.6 billion - despite a 4 percent drop in earnings in the final three months
of 2006, as prices for oil and natural gas fell from extraordinary levels earlier in the
year....Exxon Mobil and its predecessor companies have been producing natural
gas in western Colorado's Piceance Basin for 50 years. The company announced
recently that it will expand the 300,000-acre Piceance operations with more
wells, pipeline and a central processing plant....Source: Denver Post; not sure
of the date. Annie's note: I still am fired up over how cavalier Exxon was about
that huge oil spill from the Exxon Valdez...
.
Talk to you later!
Annie

Energy Activism and Things to Do This Week 2007

Things you can do this week to make a difference:

~ Turn out all unnecessary lights at home or at work

~ Switch to one or two compact fluorescent bulbs.

~ If in Colorado, encourage your state legislators to support House Bill 1281, which is the cornerstone of the renewable-energy agenda of Governor Bill Ritter. It would increase the renewable-energy standard for investor-owned utilities to 20 percent and set the first renewable-energy standard for rural electric cooperatives. This bill passed in the Senate.

~ Tuesday, March 20 is Climate Crisis Action Day = Cool the Planet, Save the Arctic. See www.AlaskaWild.org/ACTION

~ Have your lawn aerated. It is inexpensive, but allows air, nutrients and water to soak deeper into your lawn, which in turn makes the roots grow deeper. As a result, your lawn is more healthy and requires less frequent watering.

~ Explore www.nextgenerationearth.org, a fantastic website that provides lots of information on global warming, carbon emissions, and also shows you how to show your support for making progressive changes in our energy use. The Global Roundtable on Climate change and others have a consensus statement that could be used by everyone.

~ Sign the petition supporting The Plan for Colorado's New Energy Future at www.EnvironmentColorado.org

~World Water Day is March 22. According to an environmental talk show water expert, 47 million gallons of oil are used just to provide water bottles for Americans for one year. Most of the bottled water is just modified ground water and the water bottle companies are sucking the water tables dry. 1.1 Billion people around the world don't get adequate water. Surely there are ways we can ensure our own clean water supply without depriving others. And think about the additional problem of all those empty plastic bottles, most of which are not recyclable.

~Encourage our local, state and federal legislators to push for and create incentives for using compact fluorescent bulbs or LED bulbs instead of the energy-wasting incandescent bulbs. After all, Australia and Russia are strongly promoting this, and even Wal-Mart has begun promoting this way of saving energy. Let's not get left behind!

~ Encourage our local, state and federal legislators to push for wind-power farms where appropriate. Even 3rd world countries are going this: Cuba opened an experimental wind farm on the Isla de la Juventud, using French technology and they are already working on another one. Let's not get left behind. Source: Denver Post 2/26/07.

~ Ask your mayor to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. 162 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol to address global warming, and the Bush Administration still has it's head in the sand, denying any global warming. Some U.S. Mayors are rising to the occasion and to date, 402 mayors representing some 58.9 million Americans have signed the mayors agreement. Please ask yours to do so as well.

~ Contact your legislators regarding the U.S. Navy's decision to continue using sonar training off the coast of California, including in marine sanctuaries. Source: Denver Post mid-Feb '07.

PRACTICE THE NEW "3 R'S " : ******* REDUCE ****** REUSE ****** RECYCLE ******

The Party's Over, Turn Out the Lights

This blog is for people to exchange ideas on how to conserve energy and decrease our enormous drag on non-renewable resources. The general idea is for us to learn, communicate and implement some simple changes. We will also talk about more sophisticated methods. Whether you believe in global warming or not, most Americans have to admit that we are using a tremendous amount of energy. We have been having a party; gorging ourselves on the earth's resources, and "partying" like there is no tomorrow. But tomorrow is approaching at a faster and faster rate, and we need to help ensure a a decent, livable world that we can leave to people in the future. We need to find ways to reduce our consumption. The time is NOW! We can't wait for our government to mandate alternative energy and to reduce our consumption; we need to start showing them by starting from a grass-roots level. For example, TURN OUT THE LIGHTS !! We can do this at home and at work. If you are not using the lights in a room, turn them out. This is especially important if you are using incandescent bulbs, because they use so much energy. If you haven't started using compact flourescent bulbs, buy and install one or two. You will notice on the label that these bulbs use alot less energy. At work, if you are the last one to leave, turn out the lights! You will be amazed at how empowering these simple acts can be. Thanks