New Legislation Could Cripple Wind Industry
In an era when global warming is increasingly seen as the number one problem facing the nation, and our president has said we are addicted to foreign oil, the last thing we need is legislation that would cripple the wind industry. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) , a man known for his support of large coal subsidies and who once said about coal “For so many, filthy coal is a dirty four-letter word, these individuals, I tell you, have their heads buried in the sand.” (via) has just introduced a bill (H.R. 2337 full text of bill .txt file) that would place enormous, wrong-headed restrictions on America’s growing wind energy efforts. If enacted, the bill would severely hurt farmers, ranchers and other landowners who have – or want to have – clean, income-producing, wind energy turbines on their property.
Anti-Wind Energy Section of H.R. 2337, establishes onerous standards for siting, construction, monitoring, and adaptive management that must be satisfied by all wind projects to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts on migratory birds and bats despite the fact that wind turbines cause less than 0.003% of human-cause bird mortality.
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Early Morning Solar Gadget – Sunprint Solar Photograph Paper
First introduced in the late 70’s at the Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley Sunprint paper allows you to take “solar Photographs” by laying things on top of the paper and then exposing it to the sun. When you have finished exposing the image you want you dip it in water and the picture stays. You can get it just about anyplace, but here are a few links. I think what I like best about this process is that the pictures have that haunting blue color to them that for some reason makes it feel “old fashioned.” It’s also a good way to teach students about solar energy.
With the right kind of eye the effects can be pretty interesting. (more pictures after the fold)
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Bring Us Your Carbon Neutral Transport Yearning To Breathe Free – Solar Wind Hybrid Ferry To Ply Waters Around Statue Of Liberty
Circle Line (the company that runs the ferry service to the statue of liberty) has unveiled a state-of-the-art solar and wind powered hybrid electric ferry named Miss Statue of Liberty that they predict will join their Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island fleet and will bring a green revolution to waterborne transportation in New York Harbor.
The solar and wind powered hybrid vessel, uses a “solar sail” covered in solar panels to collect energy from both the sun and wind. The boat will emit almost no noise, vibration or fumes.
“This is the first vessel of its kind and represents the very latest in environmental and nautical technology,” said JB Meyer , President and CEO of Circle Line – Statue of Liberty Ferry, Inc. “Miss Statue of Liberty will quite simply revolutionize how we move on water. With its exceptional comfort for passengers, and the fact that it emits zero emissions while docking, it will change the nature of transportation in New York’s harbor forever.”
Bill McKibben – Deep Economy
A while ago I wrote about Bill McKibben’s Excelent new book Deep Economy, here he is talking about the ideas in that book.
Early Morning Solar Gadget – Solar Powered LED Illuminated Road Signs
Carmanah has come out with a bunch of really interesting solar powered road signs. Here is a taste of some of the more interesting. (we have talked about some other Carmanah products before)
Because these signs can achieve such a dramatic savings on energy costs (PDF), they can often pay for themselves in just a couple of years. More pictures after the fold.
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