An eerie compilation of timelapse images taken of a coal-fired power plant south of Council Bluffs, Iowa and accompanied by chilling music from “The Shining”.
(Photo: Jeff Grewe)An eerie compilation of timelapse images taken of a coal-fired power plant south of... more
Climate change legislation is off the table for now, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still working to regulate greenhouse gasses. The organization is up against strong opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is heading the charge, with the assistance of Bush-era EPA officials, now lobbyists with clients in the energy industry.
The EPA and the Clean Air Act
In April 2009, the EPA found that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gasses pose a hazard to public health. This finding obligated the EPA to regulate these pollutants under the Clean Air Act, a responsibility the Bush administration fought to avoid. The power the agency now has to limit carbon emissions extends far beyond its usual scope, and the EPA’s decisions will have a lasting impact on environmental regulation in this country. As the agency moves to act, everyone from Sen. Murkowski to the state of California is protesting the changes. Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones reports:
“The California Energy Commission last month sent a letter to the EPA asking it to slow down on implementation of regulations on greenhouse gas emissions….The CEC argues that phasing them in too fast could hurt efforts in the state to expand use of low-carbon energy.”
Opponents in Congress are taking action to shut down the EPA’s attempts to curb greenhouse gasses, Sheppard writes. Both Sen. Murkowski and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) have filed bills that would delay or stop the EPA’s regulatory process.
Attempting to ‘gut the Clean Air Act’
Grist’s Miles Grant is also keeping a close watch on opponents of the regulation.
“At first it seemed like simply one bad idea from Sen. Lisa Murkowski,” he writes. “But now we know the real story—a tangled web of public officials, polluter lobbyists, and efforts to gut the Clean Air Act.”
It emerged this week that Murkowski had help in drafting her bill from EPA administrators from the Bush administration, as first reported by the Washington Post. These former officials now work in Washington as lobbyists and represent clients like Duke Energy and the Alliance of Food Associations on climate change matters.
“Every day it seems we’re learning more,” says Miles. “More about the revolving door between the Bush administration and polluter lobbyists; more about their influence with senators and their staffers; and more about who’s really pulling the strings on efforts to block climate action—Big Oil’s MVP, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK).”
Even the American Farm Bureau Federation…
Another opponent, as Care2 notes, is the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the country’s largest farm group. The organization approved a special resolution during its four-day convention on Sunday. The resolution supports legislation like Murkowski’s or Pomeroy’s that would “suspend the EPA’s authority to regulator greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.”
During a speech, AFBF president Bob Stallman said that American farmers and ranchers “must aggressively respond to extremists” and “misguided, activist-driven regulation.”
“The days of their elitist power grabs are over,” he said.
More opportunities to improve climate policy
The EPA’s new power is not the only opportunity that the Obama administration has to improve U.S. climate policy. David Roberts, also reporting for Grist, writes about $2.3 billion in new tax credits for clean energy manufacturing companies, announced last Friday.
“There were 183 projects selected out of some 500 applications; one-third were from small businesses; around 30% are expected to be completed this year. The winners are spread across 43 states,” Roberts reports.
Roberts calls it “better than usual industrial policy.” The credits are meant to give a boost to the new green energy economy.
But Roberts warns, “It’s also absurd that clean energy industries still depend on capricious, short-term extensions of tax credits. … Obama has called on Congress to cough up $5 billion a year for these credits, but how enduring will yearly appropriations be the next time Congress changes hands?”
Iowa and the biodiesel tax credit
The answer likely depends on how much support these projects get from the representatives of states that will benefit from the tax credits. In Iowa, for instance, the state’s three Democratic Representatives have asked the House leadership to prioritized a 2010 renewal of the biodiesel tax credit, as Lynda Waddington reports for the Iowa Independent.
“If members of the U.S. Senate do not act on last year’s program extension, however, it might be a moot point,” Waddington writes. The renewal has gotten stalled in the Senate, where both Iowa Senators are blaming the opposite party for delays.
From policy to people
When politicians jockey over regulations and renewals, climate change work in Washington can seem very abstract. But people like John Henrikson, a forester who’s committed to farming 150 acres of trees in sustainable ways, help ground lofty policy ideas down in reality.
“Henrikson’s approach embodies a new way of thinking about our relationship with forests. For years he has been processing his own trees into trim and molding, sold through a broad network of local businesses,” reports Ian Hanna for Yes! Magazine. “Five years ago he got his forest certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards, a global system for eco-labeling sustainably managed forests and the products derived from them. And, most recently, he’s developed a project to sell rights to the carbon sequestered on his property.”
Without strong policy coming out Washington, it’s harder for entrepreneurs like Henrikson to make green business a reality. If legislators like Sen. Murkowski and groups like the AFBF don’t block them, the EPA’s new rules are going to begin coming out in March. There’s a major action to combat global warming that the U.S. can take before then, though—for example, we could officially commit to our promise to reduce emissions 17% from 2005 levels by 2020. The deadline for registering climate pledges under the new Copenhagen Accord is the end of this month.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Mulch for a complete list of articles on environmental issues, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Pulse, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium Blogger
Climate change legislation is off the... more
At 12:01 AM on January 1, New Hampshire became the 5th state to grant marriage equality to same gender couples, changing Presidential politics as we know them. Arguably the most important states in Presidential politics, both Iowa and New Hampshire are equality states.
iowa.jpgIowa and New Hampshire politics are intimate. When I lived in Iowa I regularly met presidential candidates. They are extraordinarily available. One day I was walking down the street in Iowa City and I ran into Joe Biden having a conversation with a picnic table full of Iowans. They were grilling him on everything from foreign affairs to equal rights.
I ran into Al Gore at my favorite coffee shop shortly after the presidency was given to Bush by the Supreme Court. He was sporting a thick beard and and several extra pounds, but he was in Iowa so I had hope he was going to make a comeback.
I also met Bush Senior, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, and John Kerry. I didn't meet these people because I was a powerful lobbyist or because I had a lot of money to donate, but because they were candidates and they desperately wanted me to like them because I was an Iowan.
[continued at link]At 12:01 AM on January 1, New Hampshire became the 5th state to grant marriage... more
Millions awoke to one of the most widespread snow covers on Christmas morning in at least 6 years!Millions awoke to one of the most widespread snow covers on Christmas morning in at... more
Data indicates this storm was as strong as a category 2 hurricane with a minimum central pressure of 976 millibars.Data indicates this storm was as strong as a category 2 hurricane with a minimum... more
Roni Weiss travels the world on the cheap, letting you into the excitement that is his life.
In this preview of the upcoming 10 episodes of Roni On Location, we see as Roni and Tav traverse Alaska, Canada, the Pacific Northwest, etc., all around the US and into Canada, as well.Roni Weiss travels the world on the cheap, letting you into the excitement that is his... more
New reports from Iowa and North Carolina are raising concerns that the deadly H1N1 swine flu mutations that have been confirmed by the WHO in Ukraine, Norway and elsewhere have already reached the United States. In Iowa, a report that doctors are seeing "very heavy, wet hemorrhagic lungs, lungs with a lot of blood in them" in H1N1 patients is creating concerns among health experts that the deadly Ukraine H1N1 has already spread there. In addition, a report of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 swine flu in North Carolina is raising questions about the ability of medical authorities to combat H1N1 if thousands of people do start dying. If deadly H1N1 swine flu mutations have already reached the United States, what does that mean? Doctors in Ukraine have been reporting that victims of H1N1 there are experiencing violent hemorrhaging in their lungs. As the patients near death, their lungs reportedly become as "black as charcoal" and literally begin to disintegrate. Will this start happening soon inside the U.S.?
The news report causing the most concern today is the one about H1N1 patients in Iowa. Commenting on a dramatic spike in H1N1 deaths in Iowa, Dr. Gregory Schmunk told KCCI news that what doctors there are seeing "is very heavy, wet hemorrhagic lungs, lungs with a lot of blood in them."
Hemorrhagic lungs that are filled with blood?
That sounds precisely like what is taking place in Ukraine.
Last week, the WHO confirmed that an H1N1 mutation had been discovered in Ukraine. This H1N1 mutation involved a receptor binding domain change, and it is apparently causing the H1N1 virus to become much more virulent.
Just like the new report in Iowa, many victims of H1N1 in Ukraine have been experiencing violent hemorrhaging in the lungs. Temperatures inside the lungs of patients in Ukraine have been reported to be as high as 135 degrees Fahrenheit. As the patient near death, the lungs turn to mush and literally become as black as charcoal.
In fact, one doctor in Western Ukraine was quoted as saying the following about what is happening to the lungs of these patients.....
"We have carried out post mortems on two victims and found their lungs are as black as charcoal. They look like they have been burned. It’s terrifying."
If that wasn't bad enough, the WHO has now confirmed that the same H1N1 mutation has shown up in Norway.
Norway's Institute of Public Health has released a statement in which they announced that this mutation "could possibly...cause more severe disease" because it apparently infects tissue deeper in the airway than usual.
Not only that, but today Hong Kong's Department of Health has confirmed that it has found the same mutation in a H1N1 flu virus sample as the one detected in Norway recently.
Hong Kong is on the other side of the world from Ukraine and Norway.
What in the world is going on?New reports from Iowa and North Carolina are raising concerns that the deadly H1N1... more
Reports of the Ukranian mutation of the H1N1 virus spreading to other countries and Texas, Iowa, and Florida are popping up everywhere. This is it! This is the mutation our government magically warned about two years ago. Be safe and limit exposure to large crowds.Reports of the Ukranian mutation of the H1N1 virus spreading to other countries and... more
Iowa has become the second-largest producer of wind power in the U.S., and some credit an aggressive and supportive role played by local government.
That support is seen in numerous ways: Wind-energy producers and equipment makers enjoy state tax breaks, and projects of 25 megawatts or smaller don't need to be certified by the utilities board. In addition, producers know ahead of time that they will be able to recover their costs from customers, which makes them more likely to invest. Iowa counties, meanwhile, appreciate the revenue and the jobs that wind farms produce, and have few zoning regulations for wind turbines.
"Iowa shows that concentrated and consistent leadership from governors and consistent support from the state regulatory commission can get a lot done," says Hans Detweiler, director of state policy at the American Wind Energy Association, or AWEA, a trade group based in Washington, D.C.
Indeed, as more states and the federal government seek to encourage more production of renewable energy, Iowa may point the way.
"There's very little regulation," says Terry Monson, who deals with permitting and legal work at independent power developer Renewable Power Markets Access Inc., based in Juno Beach, Fla. "It's very expeditious." Mr. Monson's company has eight wind projects established or under development in Iowa.
Flat Is Good
Nature and geography have lent a hand, too, of course.
Iowa may point the way as more states seek to encourage production of renewable energy
."First, it's relatively flat, making it easy to build," says Scott Jacobson, managing director of wind power finance at Iberdrola Renewables SA, a Spanish engineering and renewable energy company that entered the state in 2003 and now has more than 300 megawatts of local wind projects. Iowa is also "relatively rural, making land control easy," Mr. Jacobson says.
What's more, winds there are strong, and the state lies in an enviable position on the grid—close to load centers like Chicago and Milwaukee.
Last year, Iowa added 1,600 megawatts of wind capacity, jumping ahead of California for second place behind Texas. At the end of the second quarter of 2009, Iowa had 3,043 megawatts of total wind capacity, compared with 8,361 megawatts in Texas and 2,787 megawatts in California, according to the wind-energy association. Iowa's wind now powers about 15% of the state's electricity consumption, which represents a lofty goal for many other states.
The so-called Corn State began promoting renewable-energy sources as early as 1978, when, in response to the oil shock, it passed a property-tax exemption for wind, solar and other types of generators whose electricity was used on site. Then, in 1983, the state adopted the first renewable-energy mandate in the U.S., requiring that its investor-owned utilities draw power from 105 megawatts of renewable generation by 1990.
That's not much by today's standards, but it got the ball rolling. During the 1990s, Iowa added a few megawatts of wind installations a year, until 1999, when the total jumped to 232 megawatts installed, thanks largely to new federal tax credits and the arrival of powerful new European turbines. Iowa met its renewable-power mandate goal in 1997.Iowa has become the second-largest producer of wind power in the U.S., and some credit... more
The 2009 Central-Iowa Farm Crawl provides the perfect model for what Iowan farming could be.The 2009 Central-Iowa Farm Crawl provides the perfect model for what Iowan farming... more
I'm from Iowa. A hog farm in rural Iowa. And I grew up picking morel mushrooms like weeds since I was old enough to hold a bread sack and my mom's beer at the SAME time.. Every once in a while I get to sneak back home from Austin Texas for the springtime morel season.. And this is what it's like to forage for the elusive cousin of the truffle.. Also featured; my uncle Sheepdog, cousin Bubba, and my mom.I'm from Iowa. A hog farm in rural Iowa. And I grew up picking morel mushrooms... more
As farmers leave the land in record numbers, agribusiness and the associated industrialization of agriculture continue to expand. The consequences—intended and unintended—of this rapid restructuring of our food system reach well beyond the boundaries of what we think of as “the family farm.” The award-winning documentary short, AS WE SOW, documents the stories of survival and failure in the real heartland, a struggle pitting family against family, neighbor against neighbor, citizens against their government, and small, independent farmers against the giants of global agribusiness. At the center is the land itself: who will control it and how, and at what cost to people and communities, to our health and our environment, and, ultimately, to our democracy.
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This is an American tragedy not only in regards to destroying agriculture as we know it, but also in regards to destroying the culture and heritage of America.As farmers leave the land in record numbers, agribusiness and the associated... more
Clipper Windpower Development Video explains the steps it takes to complete a wind energy project. During our Corporate Video class at Brooks Institute this summer, Janine Stengel, Beatriz Barragan Horn and Blake Lewis worked on this project with the help and support of Clipper Windpower Inc.
Alternative Energy will become more and more important. We need to be involved and learn about the new technologies and support it in the best way we can.
New Orleans newspaper takes Rep. Steve King to task for his ‘heartless’ contempt of Katrina victims. In an interview with The Hill this week, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) boasted that “the best vote” he ever cast while in Congress was to deny $52 billion in aid to Hurricane Katrina victims. Yesterday, the Times-Picayune, New Orleans’ award-winning newspaper, calls King’s comments “heartless” and “appalling,” especially because he is from “a state that’s also vulnerable to flooding“New Orleans newspaper takes Rep. Steve King to task for his ‘heartless’... more
One of the most commong arguments against marriage equality is that the legalization of gay marriage threatens the institution of traditional marriage. But a recent poll conducted by Des Moines Register finds that 92% of Iowans believe that "gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives." The study comes just months after the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous decision to overturn a 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage.
The poll finds that Iowans are evenly split in their attitudes toward same-sex marriage.
Buoyed by a loud fan club that made the three-plus hour trip to central Pennsylvania, the South Shore National league from Staten Island advanced to the U.S. semifinals Wednesday night against either Texas or California.Buoyed by a loud fan club that made the three-plus hour trip to central Pennsylvania,... more
A parade of Iowans touted the medical benefits of marijuana at a hearing before the Iowa Board of Pharmacy today, which is seeking scientific input on medical marijuana use.
Robert Manke of Des Moines told the board that using marijuana helps with severe nausea and pain from migraine headaches and the results of severe car accidents.
"I'm not here because I want to get high; I'm here because I want to stop being sick, and I want to stop being persecuted, and I need your help," Manke said.A parade of Iowans touted the medical benefits of marijuana at a hearing before the... more
Medical-marijuana advocates urged state regulators today to let patients use the drug to treat pain and nausea.
“I know what it’s like to crawl around on the bathroom floor like an animal every morning, vomiting with my head in the sink,” said Robert Manke of Des Moines, who said he uses marijuana to deal with pain and nausea caused by three traffic accidents. “I need your help. I’m not here because I want to get high. I’m here because I want to stop being sick. And I want to stop being persecuted.”
Manke was part of a string of witnesses at a medical-marijuana hearing held by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy. The board plans to hold four such hearings around the state, then make a recommendation to legislators about whether Iowa should join 13 other states in legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.Medical-marijuana advocates urged state regulators today to let patients use the drug... more
The Iowa Family Policy Center, an extreme right wing group whose mission is to destroy equality in Iowa, posted the video above on their website. It claims the world as we know it is doomed because not enough white Christians are breeding.The Iowa Family Policy Center, an extreme right wing group whose mission is to destroy... more
