Picked up from CoolCleveland.com Mittal Steel & Your Health

Join Cleveland area doctors, nurses, and community leaders for a public hearing on the topic Wed 11/14 at 6:30PM at Tri-C’s downtown Metro campus in room CC10. Light refreshments will be served. Come to find out why 375 Cleveland area doctors and nurses have written to Cleveland’s biggest polluter, Mittal Steel, urging pollution prevention. Dr. Kathleen Fagan from University Hospital's Swetland Environmental Health Center will speak at the event paneled by Dr. Anne Wise, Kim Foreman, and Dr. Dan Brustein. For more information or ridesharing contact Liz Ilg with Ohio Citizen Action at 861-5200. http://www.ohiocitizen.org

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Ontario, Canada has recently exempted all bicycles which sell for less than $1,000 from Provincial sales tax.   Toronto, the largest city in the Province of Ontario, has  sophisticated bike transportation management - an official part of the City government.

While looking on Green City Blue Lake for a posting on the Breuer, I came across an interesting article by Marc Lefkowitz called "Warm up to district geothermal in Cleveland", which writes "Representatives from Case, UCI, Cleveland Clinic, city of Cleveland, Flats East Bank and Neighborhood Progress, Inc.— which is considering geothermal district power at its St. Luke’s development—met yesterday (October 22, 2007) at the Cleveland Foundation" to discuss "The economics of district-wide geothermal". It seems these groups are exploring large scale geothermal projects to help meet large energy needs, like for University Hospitals.

September 21, 2007

First Renewable FIT Introduced in U.S.

Prices for solar and biogas introduced in the Michigan Renewable Energy Sources Act would be the best in North America.
by Paul Gipe
Lansing, Michigan [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]
Patterned after Germany's highly successful Renewable Energy Sources Act, Veteran Michigan Assemblywoman Kathleen Law submitted a bill to the Michigan House of Representatives earlier this week that creates the first comprehensive renewable energy feed-in tariff (FIT) introduced into any U.S. legislature.

Like the German law which has powered the country to world leadership in wind, solar, and biomass energy—and created nearly one-quarter million new jobs in its booming renewable energy industry—proponents of the bill are hoping the tariff will revive Michigan's flagging economy.
"We are extremely excited that Michigan has joined the ranks of so many progressive states in making the commitment to reduce our carbon footprint," said Subhendu Guha, President of United Solar Ovonic, which is headquartered in Michigan and is a leading manufacturer of thin film solar cells. "Policies like this will create new jobs in Michigan and will help maintain a cleaner environment."
The tariffs proposed in HB 5218 (2007) are equivalent to those in Germany and would be the highest in North America if the bill is made a law.
• Hydro less than 500 kW: $0.10 USD/kWh
• Biogas less than 150 kW: $0.145 USD/kWh
• Geothermal less than 5 MW: $0.19 USD/kWh
• Wind: $0.105 USD/kWh
• Wind energy from small wind turbines: $0.25 USD/kWh
• Rooftop solar less than 30 kW: $0.65 USD/kWh
• Solar façade cladding less than 30 kW: $0.71 USD/kWh
Other legislatures in the U.S. and Canada have considered or are reviewing similar FIT programs. The province of Ontario launched its Standard Offer Program (SOP) in 2006, and a bill for solar energy tariffs was introduced into Hawaii's legislative assembly earlier this year. However, neither are as comprehensive as the FIT proposed by Assemblywoman Law.
While Ontario's SOP is seen as a very important step for FITs in North America, the proposed tariffs for solar energy in the Michigan bill are more than 50% greater than the equivalent tariffs in Ontario. Likewise, the proposed tariff for biogas is nearly one-third greater than that in Ontario. The Michigan proposal also includes tariffs for geothermal energy, a technology not covered by Ontario's SOP.
Renewable tariffs, like those in HB 5218 (2007), encourage homeowners, farmers, and businesses to sell their renewable energy for a profit by allowing them to "feed" their electricity into the grid. Many people call such tariffs "Advanced Renewable Tariffs," because the price paid per kilowatt-hour of electricity differs by technology.
For example, because solar is more expensive than wind on a cost per watt basis, the tariff for solar energy is much higher than that for wind energy so that homeowners can profitably install solar panels on their roofs across the state.
HB 5218 (2007) is also the first bill to propose wind tariffs differentiated by wind resource intensity, as is used in France. These differentiated tariffs limit potentially excessive profit from commercial wind farms at windy sites while allowing profitable development in less windy areas. This is important in a state like Michigan so farmers in the interior of the state can profitably develop their wind resources.
The bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology. Before becoming law, the bill must pass both the House and Senate and must be signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm who has made renewable energy a key element of her administration.
In the spring of 2007 Governor Granholm traveled to Germany. After returning she was quoted in the Detroit News as saying, "In Germany they created 170,000 jobs by changing the incentives for the use of wind and solar. We ought to be doing the same thing in Michigan."

The Cuyahoga County Energy Task Force is scheduled to conduct a public meeting on Thursday, September 13, 2007 at the Offices of Thompson Hine LLP on the 39 Floor of the Key Building, Downtown Cleveland.   

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So what is the proper decision for police and prosecutors evaluating a collision between the operator of a bicycle and a motor vehicle? What, if any, is the criminal conduct? Well,of course, that depends on the circumstances of the accident, but if the cyclist is lawfully in the road, the answers could be many.

Asleep on the job....                  photo courtesy Tim Littler                            Xian,  China

Who's my candidate, the pollster asks?

I will pledge to support what ever candidate does more to make the world hate America less. At the outset, I want to say how truly appalled I am at myself for having such an abysmal standard for evaluating candidates. How can I tolerate, much less espouse, such a bleak, cynical prism to separate the candidates? Yet, I am more troubled by America and an America political system that is content to operate in denial.

 

Here's the photo of the Breuer Building which respectfully reflects the Breuer neighboring buildings.    Where has the Cleveland Foundation been during the discussion of the removal of the Marcel Breuer Building out of downtown Cleveland, Ohio? 

The CF hasn't been shy about lobbying for wind energy, for which the Foundation is to be applauded.   And the wind energy issue certainly has a political side – the other side from the republican oil and gas industry.  Why doesn't the CF jump in on this historic preservation issue?

 

Beauty inside the mind of the beholder? sure, but education from our peers who know the difference helps get us up the ladder of appreciation.  Here's a shot from the plebian street...GOT UGLY?  Marcel Breuer – do you get it?

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If Ohio can’t make the move on its own, perhaps the federal government will force the issue.  Senator Bingaman (D-NM) is trying again (after an unsuccessful attempt in Jun ’05) to require a national renewable portfolio standard. The proposed RPS would require that 15% of the country’s electricity come from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020.  Read more

Ted Kennedy, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, Robert Kennedy Jr., Senator John Warner, Mitt Romney, Christy Mihos, and Walter Cronkite all have direct personal and family connections to Cape Cod.  They or their family or relatives have vacation houses on the Cape, they have money, and they don’t want Global Warming to be fought in their own back yard.   And you can’t see carbon dioxide. 

I had the annoyance of going to Beechwod Place Mall today for a meeting. What an astounding celebration of sweatshop labor and wasted resources. This pan is the first floor corner by some silly place called Nordstom, where not only does the coffee shop not provide wifi but the barista doesn't know what wifi means.

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Join the nonprofit organization ClevelandBikes on its annual “Bike to Work” rides, now bigger than ever! ClevelandBikes hosts commuting rides downtown, led by experienced ride leaders, every day during National Bike to Work Week, May 14-18, with rides continuing on the final Friday of every month, May through September. ClevelandBikes also supports a major health initiative, with a “Bike to Work”ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.livestrong.org) and “LIVESTRONG” day on Wednesday May 16. National “Bike to Work” Week is sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists (www.bikeleague.org), which offers bicycle advocacy and support programs for more than 125 years. Here's the summer “Bike to Work” ride schedule:

 

US National Archives & Records Administration Facility,
Waltham, MA. Photo courtesy of Sika Sarnafil Roofing Systems, Inc.

CLEVELAND “BIKE TO WORK WEEK, MAY 14-18 -- PART OF NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK; LANCE ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION “LIVESTRONG” DAY, WEDNESDAY MAY 16; AND SPECIAL EVENTS FOR THE SUMMER!