Mpowering Madison looking for busines ChaMpions

Saturday, November 29, 2008

From the montly update issued by M powering Madison:

Mpower Business ChaMpions is a new program to help businesses tackle climate change challenges that impact their bottom line and our quality of life. Businesses that demonstrate a serious commitment to sustainability will be selected to participate and will receive one-on-one assistance to take significant steps towards reducing their carbon footprint including:

+ Participation in Mpowering Business ChaMpion Peer Learning Sessions to engage, learn and share with other select business
+ Participation in sustainability business practices training program on topics including green building, environmentally preferable purchasing, energy and water conservation
+ On-site walk-through energy assessment including a findings and recommendations report
+ A wide array of technical, financial and policy information related to solar energy options
+ Use of the Energy Stewards software program for tracking energy use history, action performance tracking, and access to online forums to learn from others
+ Opportunity to be featured by Mpower Madison media partner WKOW-TV and in web-based case studies
+ Assistance with developing a transportation demand management program to provide commuter and other alternative transportation options.

A variety of business will be chosen to participate in the Mpower ChaMpion program - no business is too large or small and non-profit organizations will be considered. Business do not need a track record of sustainability, only to demonstrate a commitment to actively partipate. Business seeking to apply can visit http://www.mpoweringmadison.com/champion to download an application form. Completed applications are due by December 31st and the selection of Mpower Business ChaMpions particpants will be completed in early Janurary.

GM must remake the mass transit system it murdered

From a column by Harvey Wasserman in The Capital Times:

Bail out General Motors? The people who murdered our mass transit system?

First let them remake what they destroyed.

GM responded to the 1970s gas crisis by handing over the American market to energy-efficient Toyota and Honda.

GM met the rise of the hybrids with "light trucks."

GM built a small electric car, leased a pilot fleet to consumers who loved it, and then forcibly confiscated and trashed them all.

GM now wants to market a $40,000 electric Volt that looks like a cross between a Hummer and a Cadillac and will do nothing to meet the Solartopian needs of a green-powered Earth.

For this alone, GM's managers should never be allowed to make another car, let alone take our tax money to stay in business.

But there is also a trillion-dollar skeleton in GM's closet.

This is the company that murdered our mass transit system.

The assertion comes from Bradford Snell, a government researcher whose definitive report damning GM has been a vehicular lightening rod since its 1974 debut. Its attackers and defenders are legion. But some facts are irrefutable:

In a 1922 memo that will live in infamy, GM President Alfred P. Sloan established a unit aimed at dumping electrified mass transit in favor of gas-burning cars, trucks and buses.

Just one American family in 10 then owned an automobile. Instead, we loved our 44,000 miles of passenger rail routes managed by 1,200 companies employing 300,000 Americans who ran 15 billion annual trips generating an income of $1 billion. According to Snell, "Virtually every city and town in America of more than 2,500 people had its own electric rail system."

But GM lost $65 million in 1921. So Sloan enlisted Standard Oil (now Exxon), Philips Petroleum, glass and rubber companies and an army of financiers and politicians to kill mass transit. . . .

GM's special role in history must now evolve into using its infrastructure to restore the mass transit system -- and ecological balance -- it has helped destroy.

Should be talking regional transit

Friday, November 28, 2008

An editorial from WISC-TV:

The discussion over bus fares has put this city in a tough spot -- and frankly it shouldn't be there.

We understand the arguments on both sides, and this editorial board has long argued that affordable, accessible public transportation is a basic service that cities provide, much like police protection and garbage pickup. It's really hard for us to justify a two dollar bus fare.

But what really irks us is we're in this position because of a lack of civic leadership and will on a coordinated, multi-modal, regional transportation system. We need a good bus system. Period. But a bus system with no support from rail, trains, street cars, trolleys, people movers in some combination isn't going to cut it. Yet we continue to insist on cars and an inefficient Metro service that now requires two-dollar bus rides.

Two bucks hurts those who can afford it least. We shouldn't be taking about two dollar bus rides. We should be talking about a regional transit system and the fares and operation needed to sustain it.

Campaign aims to turn out nonessential lights

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

From an article by Anita Weier in The Capital Times:

At the risk of being called a party pooper, a new group in town is proposing that the winter holidays be celebrated a little differently this year -- by turning out the lights.

It's a radical proposal indeed, coming at the start of the Christmas lighting season.

But Jennifer Sather, a leader of the recently formed Madison Lights Out team, says the group doesn't want to end holiday traditions, just develop some new ones.

The 17-member team, whose mission is to reduce electrical power use through community participation and "mindful living," is asking Madison homeowners to turn off nonessential lights and unplug unused electronic equipment during December and July, two months of heavy electrical use.

"The point of the holidays is to be with your family and create good memories with people you love, not to outdo your neighbors by having the biggest light display," said fellow team member Dan Agne, who works for Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp., but joined Lights Out as a private citizen. "In some neighborhoods, this has become a competitive thing."

Merely using timers for lights, so they are not shining at 2 a.m. when no one will see them, is a good step, as is installing energy-efficient LED (light emitting diode) lights, said Agne.

Residents voice pros, cons of Metro fare increase

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

From an article by Kristin Czubkowski in The Capital Times:

Nearly 100 people came to the Transit and Parking Commission meeting Monday night to give their thoughts on a proposed Madison Metro bus fare increase, with opinions ranging from outright opposition to those favoring a fare increase over service cuts.

The commission will face a decision on raising bus fares at its Dec. 9 meeting after Madison's City Council voted this month to pass on a deficit of more than $600,0000 in the Madison Metro budget. Under the model originally suggested by Metro manager Chuck Kamp, cash fares would increase 50 cents and other fares would increase proportionally, most by 20 to 30 percent.

Several attendees asked the commission to seek a new model that would help low-income riders, who could be disproportionately affected by a fare increase. Lisa Subeck of the YWCA suggested introducing a low-income fare similar to the senior and disabled cash fare, currently set at 75 cents and proposed to increase to $1. According to data from a 2000 rider survey, Subeck said more than 50 percent of Metro riders have household incomes under $25,000, with 31 percent of families using the cash-fare option having incomes below $15,000, making retaining low-income ridership a priority.

"We all love older people, we all love disabled people, but the reality is, we don't charge them a lower fare because we love them," she said. "We charge them a lower fare because we know that they can't afford the same fares as some of our higher-income folks. I'm asking that you do the same for all low-income people."

A few speakers at the meeting supported a fare increase because of the potential for the budget deficit to lead to service cuts, which they said would be more damaging to Metro than a fare increase.

Michelle Beasley, a Madison resident who moved recently from Tempe, Ariz., said a reluctance to raise fares in Tempe led to massive weekend cuts and limited service, essentially crippling their transit system.

And a letter by Dan Seball to the editor of The Capital Times:

Dear Editor: I can attest to Mike Barrett's statement that Madison's transportation woes are all of its own making.

When I lived in Madison the last time bus fare hikes and route cuts came to the table at the City Council, there was a large turnout for the public testimony period, and I can't recall a single citizen testifying in favor of such measures.

The relationship between land use and transportation has come up time and again at meetings over recent years, so there is no pleading ignorance on the part of the council or mayor. Although the City Council would spend countless hours debating an issue giving the illusion of cogitation, the prevailing vote was a rubber stamp of the city planners' desires.

An efficient city is one which prioritizes its transportation spending inverse to energy consumption: first pedestrian (mixed use and walkable communities), next bicycle (once all the rage in America, it can work), followed by mass transit, and lastly the automobile/motorcycle/moped.

Charge your I-Pod with an onion?

A little humor from a story by Andrew Williams on CleanTechnica.com:

Music fan Owen Louis was so concerned about the amount of energy used up by his iPod, that he figured out a way of charging it up … with nothing more than an onion.

Louis, 21, from Portsmouth in the UK, makes two holes in an onion, before soaking it in an everyday energy drink and connecting it to his MP3 via a standard USB cable. Incredibly, the technique (video) enables him to charge his iPod for a full hour. According to Louis, “A friend showed me the experiment as a laugh but I thought it was the greatest thing I have ever seen, and do it religiously every day.”

Various responses to the article raised a number of issues about the onion charger:

Umm, I’m pretty sure this is a hoax.

And another response:

…the only other problem is that it uses far more energy to create the energy drink and grow the onion than you get out of it to charge your iPod. Interesting experiment, though, that I have seen many times.

Run cars on green electricity, not natural gas

Monday, November 24, 2008

From an analysis of natural gas for vehicle fuel by Jonathan G. Dorn posted on Earth Island Institute:

On economics, driving with electricity is far cheaper than driving with gasoline or natural gas. The average new U.S. car can travel roughly 30 miles on a gallon of gasoline, which cost $3.91 in July 2008 (the latest date for which comparable price data for natural gas is available). Traveling the same distance with natural gas cost around $2.51, while with electricity, using the existing electrical generation mix, it cost around 73¢. . . .

Just like oil, natural gas is a finite, nonrenewable resource. This means that switching to a fleet of NGVs would be at best a short-term fix. As natural gas becomes more difficult to obtain and more costly, a fleet of NGVs and the 20,000 or so natural gas refueling stations that would be required to support them would simply be abandoned. . . .

Choosing natural gas to power our vehicles would send the United States down the same expensive and inefficient path that created our addiction to foreign oil and our dependence on a resource that will ultimately run out. Choosing green electricity can take us in a new direction—one that leads to improved energy security and a stabilizing climate.

Web site helps area energy users determine carbon footprint

Friday, November 21, 2008

From a story by Anita Weier in The Capital Times:

Want to know your carbon footprint?

It just got a lot easier for Madison-area residents to calculate exactly how much heat-trapping carbon dioxide they produce.

Madison Gas & Electric partnered with the University of Wisconsin Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin to create www.CO2gether.org, which was to be launched at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The site can be used to find exactly how much of the greenhouse gas has been produced by an individual or a household using electricity, natural gas and motor vehicle fuel. Users can calculate information for a year, and then follow up after making any changes to the way they use energy.

Visitors to the site can enter energy and transportation data, and charts are created to track use over time.

The site is especially easy for MGE customers to use, because they can get consumption history directly from MGE. Customers of the utility can sign in with the same user ID and password as they use on the MGE Web site.

Users of CO2gether.org can also create a personal journal of actions they have taken to reduce energy use and participate in discussion groups.

"The Web site shows how much CO2 you save when you take action, for example -- turn the furnace down, car pool or buy Energy Star applicances," said Steve Hiniker, executive director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.

Four new conservation priorities for Lobby Day, Feb. 25, 2009

From an announcement issued by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters:

With a new legislative session comes new opportunities AND new Conservation Priorities! At the 11 Listening Sessions held around the state, local groups and citizens like YOU had a lot to say about which issues should be top priorities. In the end, only 4 can rise to the top.

In 2009-2010, the conservation community will be fighting to make sure:

+ Wisconsin adopts a strong statewide plan to tackle global warming.
+ Wisconsin returns to an Independent DNR Secretary and has timely DNR Board Appointments by the Senate.
+ Wisconsin develops a statewide plan to protect our drinking water.
+ Wisconsin creates standards for safe agricultural, industrial and municipal waste-spreading. . . .

On February 25th, 2009, join citizens from across Wisconsin at the state Capitol to tell legislators that you expect them to vote well on natural resource issues.

RSVP TODAY for Conservation Lobby Day on February 25th, 2009!

Lights Out Madison launches new camaign

Thursday, November 20, 2008

From the new Web site of Lights Out Madison:

December of 2008 marks the first of the semi-annual Madison Lights Out (MLO)!

MLO is a citywide energy conservation and awareness campaign, which will run every December and July. The sole purpose is to encourage behavior change in Madison residents resulting in turning OFF all non-essential lighting/energy products. Imagine how contagious this could be, if we as a community are successful in achieving measurable results.

Today, we have a choice in how we utilize energy. If we act now, we may be able to keep that choice. Everyone and every switch can help. You can. You count.

We are asking you, the community members of Madison to participate in the MLO awareness campaign by:

+ Being an example! Turn off non-essential lighting/energy products
+ Download, print, and hang a poster
+ Planting a yard sign in December (and July)*
+ Be a yard-sign distribution center in your neighborhood
+ Passing the word and emailing this announcement to your friends

To take more steps towards sustainability . . . take the Mpower pledge!

Protest the Bus Fare Increase - RALLY, Nov. 24

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Monona Terrace Walkway
Monday, November 24th
5:30pm

“Buses for the People!”
“Affordable Transit for All!”

Public Hearing begins at 6:00pm
City Transit & Parking Commission

Sponsored by the Madison Area Bus Advocates
Questions: 242-9232

---------------------------------------------------------
En Espanol

Manifestacion en Contra del Alsa del Pasaje
Lunes, Noviembre 5:30pm

enfrentede Monona Terrace

Audencia Publica en Alsa del Pasaje
Comision del Transporte Publico y Estacionamiento
Comenza a la seis p.m.

Obama's secret door to peak oil

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

From an article by Julian Darley posted on the site of the Post Carbon Institute:

President-elect Obama has a lot on his plate at the moment, and much of it is probably quite unpalatable. The last thing he needs then, is a goblet of seeming hemlock to wash it all down. But sometimes some bitter medicine is necessary to alert the system to a serious new threat.

If his team does not get a hefty dose of energy reality, they are likely to make very poor strategic decisions. For instance, in the light of peak oil, is bailing out the dinosaur US auto makers the right thing to do?

Members of Obama's team have heard about peak oil and there is even a picture of Obama with Heinberg's Party's Over in his hand. The donor of the book asked him to read it after he was elected. Well, obviously he won't have time. Or will he? What if something prompts him to think about oil going into decline?

Could it be the ripping new IEA report "World Energy Outlook 2008"? Given the minuscule media coverage of this long awaited report, one might doubt it. Also, the report does not clearly say we are in the oil peak-plateau zone, rather that oil depletion is still an investment problem.

Nor is the staggering fall in the price of petroleum likely to prompt him to think about peak oil. But there is one thing that might: within minutes of receiving the call from McCain conceding defeat, Obama was thrust into a security briefing. And he will go on getting these briefings till he leaves office.

Why might this illuminate US energy policy? There are at least two groups of people who have known and worried about peak oil for a long time - the CIA and the US military. So, perhaps Obama will start getting frequent prods to delve into the complex supply-side of energy, not just the sink-side of carbon emissions.

Obama's energy challenge

Monday, November 17, 2008

From an article by Michael T. Klare from The Nation:

Of all the challenges facing President Barack Obama next January, none is likely to prove as daunting, or important to the future of this nation, as that of energy. After all, energy policy--so totally mishandled by the outgoing Bush-Cheney administration--figures in each of the other major challenges facing the new president, including the economy, the environment, foreign policy and our Middle Eastern wars. Most of all, it will prove a monumental challenge because the United States faces an energy crisis of unprecedented magnitude that is getting worse by the day.

The US needs energy--lots of it. Day in and day out, this country, with only 5 percent of the world's population, consumes one quarter of the world's total energy supply. About 40 percent of our energy comes from oil: some twenty million barrels, or 840 million gallons a day. Another 23 percent comes from coal, and a like percentage from natural gas. Providing all this energy to American consumers and businesses, even in an economic downturn, remains a Herculean task, and will only grow more so in the years ahead. Addressing the environmental consequences of consuming fossil fuels at such levels, all emitting climate-altering greenhouse gases, only makes this equation more intimidating.

As President Obama faces our energy problem, he will have to address three overarching challenges:

1. The United States relies excessively on oil to supply its energy needs at a time when the future availability of petroleum is increasingly in question.

2. Our most abundant domestic source of fuel, coal, is the greatest emitter of greenhouse gases when consumed in the current manner.

3. No other source of energy, including natural gas, nuclear power, biofuels, wind power and solar power is currently capable of supplanting our oil and coal consumption, even if a decision is made to reduce their importance in our energy mix.

This, then, is the essence of Obama's energy dilemma. Let's take a closer look at each of its key components. . . .

Eligibility relaxed for energy-efficiency assistance

Friday, November 14, 2008

From a media release issued by Focus on Energy:

More Wisconsin residents may now be eligible for Focus on Energy's assistance program which offers limited-income homeowners low-cost efficiency improvements to improve the comfort, safety and affordability of their homes. The assistance program called Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®, is now seeking applications from homeowners with incomes between 150-250 percent of the poverty level, which is a significant increase from the past maximum of 200 percent. To put the new maximum into perspective, a family of four's maximum eligible annual income increased to $53,000 from the previous $42,400. . . .

Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, is part of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR offers qualifying homeowners a no-cost energy evaluation performed by a qualified program provider. Depending on the results of the evaluation, the home may receive energy efficiency improvements, such as adding insulation, finding and eliminating drafts, replacing an inefficient heating system, installing compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and more. Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR will pay 90 percent of the costs of the energy efficiency improvements - the homeowner pays just 10 percent.

Energy efficient homes save energy and money all year long. In summer, a home that's properly sealed and insulated stays cooler and more comfortable, reducing the need for fans and air conditioners during hot daylight hours. In winter, energy efficient homes keep warm air inside, improving comfort and reducing heating costs during Wisconsin's coldest months.

Homeowners wishing to apply for Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR are encouraged to call Focus on Energy at (800) 762-7077 or visit focusonenergy.com to download an application.

City Council OKs bus fare increase

Thursday, November 13, 2008

From a story by Kristin Czubkowski in The Capital Times:

The Madison City Council finished the entire city budget a day ahead of schedule, passing its 2009 operating budget -- which included funding for a Madison Metro bus fare increase -- just after 2 a.m. Thursday. . . .

The council debated 45 amendments put forth by council members Wednesday night into Thursday morning, the most controversial being an effort to keep Madison Metro bus fares at their same prices that received widespread support at Wednesday's public hearing on the budget.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz included plans for a fare increase in his operating budget that would translate to $2 instead of $1.50 for cash fares, with other multi-ride and discounted fares adjusted proportionally. These increases were paired with service enhancements for Metro, including route expansions, transfer point security, a new marketing position for Metro, and doubling the funding in the city's Transfer for Jobs program for low-income bus riders.

While the city's quasi-independent Transit and Parking Commission will make the final decision on whether fares are changed in coming weeks, the city budgeting for an increase in fare revenues -- estimated at $682,000 -- was controversial among City Council members.

The council eventually voted 12-8 in favor of the mayor's plan for Metro, with one amendment that would move funds from the free bus ride program on Clean Air Action days to the Metro reserves, request a report on how the fare increase has affected ridership and work to find additional ways beyond Transit for Jobs to help low-income riders.

Two critics of the potential fare increase, Ald. Brian Solomon and Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway, drafted an amendment that was never voted on. It would have kept fares the same while maintaining many of the service enhancements proposed by the mayor, resulting in a $242,000 impact on the tax levy.

Solomon criticized the process for determining how much money a fare increase would result in, saying the decreased ridership from riders either choosing not to or being no longer able to afford the bus could completely offset any revenue enhancements.

Madison alders preserve City's solar program

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Lost under the avalanche of comment and discussion about bus fares, Madison’s city council preserved $100,000 in the capital budget to continue the City’s solar energy program.

Earlier in the month, RENEW sent out the following action alert:

A proposed amendment to the pending City budget would remove funds for continuation of the City’s impressive commitment to solar energy – the number one priority in the City of Madison's sustainability to-do list for 2008. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s 2009 budget would support the priority with an allocation of $100,000.

Regrettably, Alders Sanborn, Compton, and Pham-Remmele have offered Amendment No. 6 to the 2009 Capital Budget to delete the funding, even though Madison and its citizens use the existing program extensively and the need for renewable energy grows each day as concern about climate-changing pollution increases and the world’s fossil fuel supplies decline.

The headline of a recent newspaper story tells of solar energy’s success: Homeowners, businesses, city of Madison embracing renewable energy systems. The story says:

Another sign that demand is high for solar power in Madison: About 270 people have requested free solar power consultations for their homes or businesses since the city hired consultant Larry Walker in early June. Walker advises property owners on whether it would be to their advantage to install solar panels to provide electricity or hot water.

In response to climate changing pollution, Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), University of Wisconsin, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Dane County United, Citizens Utility Board, RENEW Wisconsin, Clean Wisconsin, Sierra Club, Madison Area Clean Energy Coalition, and Sustain Dane joined together to will seek ways through Mpowering Madison to reduce citywide emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 100,000 tons by 2011.

Finally, the world has most likely passed the point of maximum production of petroleum (sometimes called peak oil). Our energy needs in the future will come from renewable sources, not because it’s the nice thing to do, it will be the only thing to do. We will only inflict pain and disruption on ourselves during the energy transition if we wait until the big bad wolf of supply decline huffs and puffs and topples our flimsy economy built on the myth of limitless and inexpensive petroleum.

Please contact Madison’s alders to ask them to reject the amendment. The following e-mail address will get your message to all alders at once: allalders@cityofmadison.com.

Please contact the alders BEFORE they begin budget deliberations next Tuesday evening.

PSC rejects Cassville coal plant

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

From a story by Anita Weier in The Capital Times:

The state Public Service Commission on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposed 300-megawatt mostly coal-fired power plant proposed by Wisconsin Power & Light at Cassville.

In justifying their decision, commissioners cited the cost, inefficiency and carbon dioxide emissions of the plant.

"Based on the evidence, I find this particular project is not in the public interest," said PSC Chairman Eric Callisto.

"Public comment was really significant," said Commissioner Mark Meyer, praising the extent of public participation after he stated that he could not support the application because it did not meet fundamental requirements.

Commissioner Lauren Azar said the proposal would lock the state into a coal technology that may soon be obsolete.

Clean Technology, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability as Sound Engines for Economic Growth

From an email to promote the conference:

BANGALORE, November 5, 2008 -- Don't wait for a bailout. There is none. This deepening understanding is bringing together leading green energy experts, heads of state, top government officials, heads of large international organisations, policy makers, sustainability experts, environmentalists and global investors at Green Energy Summit 2009 (GES 2009), March 4-7, 2009 to be held at the Palace Grounds, Bangalore, India.

Going green is both a corporate advantage and an opportunity for humanity to enable change. GES 2009 (www.greenenergysummit.com) will bring together the government, civil society and private business leaders in a bid to develop and drive new initiatives, provide insights, showcase sustainable product development and green business opportunities, and facilitate interaction between entities from all over the world and India. The summit will also address policy options and practical applications that have proven successful in ramping up development of environmentally and economically sound solutions that truly benefit all stakeholders.

Don't bail out the unsustainable auto industry

Monday, November 10, 2008

A letter by Han Noeldner to Rep. Baldwin and Senators Feingold and Kohl:

I am contacting you to express my strong opposition to a bail-out of the US automobile industry. Our nation made a tragic mistake in becoming so dependent on motor vehicles in the first place. It is delusional and futile to attempt to prop up automobile manufacturing now that millions of Americans are finally waking up to the fact that we will never overcome our suicidal "addiction to oil" if we do not break free of our addiction to driving everywhere.

If the US government is going to engage in deficit spending to boost jobs, then that money (which we are extorting from our children's future) must be directed towards projects which make our economy and way of life SUSTAINABLE. After all, the greatest challenge before us is not the current financial crisis, it is our duty as stewards of Earth to shrink our economic metabolism to fit the planet we have. And topping the list should be restoring and enlarging our railroad network, vastly expanding energy-efficient mass transit, and the conversion of our automobile-scaled, motorist-dominated cities and suburbs into pedestrian-oriented, bicycle-friendly, transit
supportive urban habitat. Never forget that walking and bicycling are lower in cost, healthier, and much more energy efficient than any other forms of land transportation.

As Earth's finite supplies of fossil fuels dwindle in the decades ahead, America will have its hands full providing for the basic material needs of 300-400 million human citizens. It would be insane to try to keep on "feeding" several hundred million automobiles too. Please remember which "species" matters! (Hint: it ain't the one with four wheels.)

Ask Madison alders to support renewable energy, reject budget amendment

Friday, November 07, 2008

A proposed amendment to the pending City budget would remove funds for continuation of the City’s impressive commitment to solar energy – the number one priority in the City of Madison's sustainability to-do list for 2008. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s 2009 budget would support the priority with an allocation of $100,000.

Regrettably, Alders Sanborn, Compton, and Pham-Remmele have offered Amendment No. 6 to the 2009 Capital Budget to delete the funding, even though Madison and its citizens use the existing program extensively and the need for renewable energy grows each day as concern about climate-changing pollution increases and the world’s fossil fuel supplies decline.

The headline of a recent newspaper story tells of solar energy’s success: Homeowners, businesses, city of Madison embracing renewable energy systems. The story says:

Another sign that demand is high for solar power in Madison: About 270 people have requested free solar power consultations for their homes or businesses since the city hired consultant Larry Walker in early June. Walker advises property owners on whether it would be to their advantage to install solar panels to provide electricity or hot water.

In response to climate changing pollution, Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), University of Wisconsin, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Dane County United, Citizens Utility Board, RENEW Wisconsin, Clean Wisconsin, Sierra Club, Madison Area Clean Energy Coalition, and Sustain Dane joined together to will seek ways through Mpowering Madison to reduce citywide emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 100,000 tons by 2011.

Finally, the world has most likely passed the point of maximum production of petroleum (sometimes called peak oil). Our energy needs in the future will come from renewable sources, not because it’s the nice thing to do, it will be the only thing to do. We will only inflict pain and disruption on ourselves during the energy transition if we wait until the big bad wolf of supply decline huffs and puffs and topples our flimsy economy built on the myth of limitless and inexpensive petroleum.

Please contact Madison’s alders to ask them to reject the amendment. The following e-mail address will get your message to all alders at once: allalders@cityofmadison.com.

Please contact the alders BEFORE they begin budget deliberations next Tuesday evening.

MG&E launches renewable energy Web channel

MG&E's site now includes a page called Green View with videos and photos about its efforts on renewable energy generation of electricity:

It has been a year of tremendous growth for wind energy at MGE, thanks to strong support by Green Power Tomorrow customers.

A new wind contract with Endeavor II Wind Energy Center will double MGE's wind power capacity. Combined with expansion in January, total wind capacity increased twelve times this year alone. That exceeds the goal of MGE's Energy 2015 plan. What happened in 2008 proves that consumers have the power to drive change!

Watch this story for details on the new wind addition. And please continue to flex your consumer muscle by encouraging family and friends to sign up for Green Power Tomorrow!

Ottawa wants exemption for oil sands from any U.S. climate-change regs

From an article by Shawn McCarthy and Campbell Clark in the Globe and Mail(Toronto):

Less than 24 hours after the election of Barack Obama, Canadian cabinet ministers begin calling for a pact that would keep emissions down while protecting Alberta's oil sands projects . . .

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is proposing to strike a joint climate-change pact with president-elect Barack Obama, an initiative that would seek to protect Alberta's oil sands projects from potentially tough new U.S. climate-change rules by offering a secure North American energy supply.

Key federal ministers issued the call for a climate-change pact yesterday, less than 24 hours after Mr. Obama won his historic election victory, in a clear bid by Ottawa to carve out a key place for Canada on the new administration's agenda.

Energy security has been a major issue in the U.S. election, and Mr. Obama campaigned heavily on eliminating dependence on Middle East and Venezuelan oil. But he has also condemned the United States's reliance on "dirty oil" - his advisers have specifically criticized the oil sands - and has promised tougher climate-change action.

A Canada-U.S. climate-change pact could tie those issues together by adopting common standards and mechanisms such as a market-based emission trading system, while acknowledging the important contribution the oil sands make to North American supplies and the need to adopt technologies that would reduce oil sands emissions.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice said Ottawa is looking for a joint approach that would protect both the environment and the economy.

"When you're talking about the environment, you're also talking about energy, and when you're talking about energy, you're also talking about the economy," Mr. Prentice said in an interview.

"The election of president Obama, when one looks at the speeches and the commitments he's talked about in terms of the environment, presents really exciting opportunities for us, as Canadians."

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the proposed pact would provide uniformity and supplant the patchwork of plans that are being implemented in various states and provinces.

The proposed climate-change deal would also offer Mr. Harper's government a means to engage Mr. Obama on the president-elect's own priorities at a time when the U.S. recession and the resurgence of the Democrats in Washington have fuelled fears of rising protectionism.

"The broader importance, I think, is huge," said Tom d'Aquino, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, a big-business lobby group.

"How important is energy independence to the United States? It's a top priority for them. And where does Canada fit into this top priority? Bingo - we are essential."

Unlike George W. Bush, who set no medium-term climate-change targets, Mr. Obama has pledged to cut greenhouse-gas emissions to bring them back to 1990 levels by 2020, a reduction of about 15 to 20 per cent. Mr. Harper's government is promising a cut of 20 per cent by 2020, though critics argue his policies are insufficient to meet that target.

The Canadian government is soon expected to release its regulations for large industrial emitters that will take effect in 2010.

Mr. Obama and congressional leaders have promised to pass national emission limits that were long opposed by Mr. Bush, and some Democrats have been highly critical of the oil sands as a troubling source of new emissions.

U.S. environmentalists argue that Ottawa's approach to climate change is inconsistent with a serious effort to reduce emissions, and insist the oil sands represent the kind of dirty sources of crude oil that a new administration should be most worried about.

Some cities, utilities work to conserve electricity

Thursday, November 06, 2008

From an article by Gena Kittner in the Wisconsin State Journal:

Communities and the utility companies that distribute electricity are taking steps to conserve energy, in part by changing the way they get around.

In Dane County, a Toyota Prius used by Stoughton Utilities has been converted to a plug-in hybrid and is the first municipal utility in the state to do the transformation.

The same conversion is anticipated in Columbus where the parking lot at City Hall has been equipped with electrical outlets to encourage residents to use electric cars.

Columbus, about 30 miles northeast of Madison, also could become the first city in Wisconsin to convert its street lighting to energy-saving LED lighting.

These energy-saving steps, including upcoming hybrid conversions in Sturgeon Bay, Plymouth and Waupun made possible through grants from Wisconsin Public Power Inc., are examples of utilities trying to conserve the power they're putting out.

"It's our goal to get 25 percent of our electrical energy and fuel by green renewable resources by 2025," said Steven Sobiek, director of economic development and energy sustainability for Columbus.

The proposal in Columbus is to convert a quarter of the 500 conventional street lights to light-emitting diode fixtures, or LEDs. It's a feasible project because Columbus is a smaller city, Sobiek said.

Solar becomes attainable

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

From an article by Jeremiah Tucker in The Sauk Prairie Eagle:

The primary reason Stan Temple is installing a large solar-panel unit outside his home is environmental.

"It's the right thing to do," Temple said.

But after that, it's all about the green — and he doesn't mean energy.

Originally, Temple and his wife, Jane Rundell, were going to install the panels before Dec. 31 when a federal tax credit for solar energy was scheduled to expire.

But when Congress passed the Wall Street bailout package last month a rider was added that extended the 30 percent tax credit for eight years and removed its $2,000 cap.

"If your tax burden don't exceed that amount, you'll get a refund," Temple said.

Now Temple is waiting to activate his solar panels until Jan. 1 in order to take advantage of the new legislation.

After the federal tax credit, Temple also will receive a credit from Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program that provides financial incentives for installing renewable energy sources.

And because of a deal he struck with Alliant Energy, he won't even be using the panels to power his home.

"Alliant will buy my solar power for 25 cents per kilowatt hour, and I pay 11," Temple said.

Alliant now joins MG&E and We Energies in paying a premium rate for customer-generated solar electricity.

Peak Oil meeting, November 6

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The Madison Peak Oil Group has two important activities to discuss at its next brown-bag lunch:

Bus far increase --
http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/PublicHearing-Fares08/publichearing-fares08.html

Zoning rewrite -- http://www.cityofmadison.com/neighborhoods/zoningRewrite/meetings.cfm

We’ll meet at noon on Thursday, November 6, in the lower level conference room at 222 S. Hamilton Street.

Everyone is welcome!