The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Waxman-Markey bill, a piece of legislation aimed at curbing global warming through energy-efficiency standards, clean energy technologies and a cap-and-trade system.
And despite the bill’s good intentions, not everyone’s exactly thrilled with what it contains.
The U.S. House of Representatives has begun debating one of the most monumental energy and environmental bills it’s ever considered.
The legislation, the so-called Waxman-Markey bill, is a measure to help curb global warming by pushing for more energy efficiency, renewable energy standards, and limiting carbon emissions from industries and utilities. Its most controversial provision includes placing a cap-and-trade policy in which carbon emissions could be bought and sold. The Associated Press has a concise rundown of the bill.
Environmentalists have heralded the bill as a necessity at a time when climate experts say action must be taken within years. The Sierra Club has its list of its advantages — as well as what could be improved — on its website. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy applauded lawmakers for its efforts, but said the cap-and-trade policy could essentially create a polluters’ market.
As we mentioned yesterday, Mayor Shirley Franklin on Tuesday night rubbed elbows with the Young Democrats of Atlanta at its fundraiser and award ceremony.
Roughly 100 people attended the event at Sweetwater Brewery, including politicos from the local (Atlanta City Council President and mayoral candidate Lisa Borders, Councilwoman and Council President candidate Clair Muller, Councilman Kwanza Hall, and City Hall hopefuls Amir Farokhi and Adam Brackman) and state level (Reps. Rashad Taylor, Kathy Ashe and Pat Gardner, all of Atlanta.)
For nearly 30 minutes, the mayor addressed the crowd on issues ranging from the environment to her online jousting habits. Afterward, she spoke with CL about the recent disputes over how the city’s reacted to what is widely considered — perceived! — to be a rise in crime.
After the jump, a bulletpoint summary of the mayor’s remarks to the Young Democrats crowd.
State Environmental Protection Division Director Carol Couch announced today that Georgia’s drought — the headline-grabbing phenomenon that forced Georgians to take shorter showers and watch our lawns turn brown — was officially over.
That also means the watering restrictions, which irked lawn-doting residents and hamstrung metro Atlanta’s landscaping industry, have been eased. (Here’s Georgia’s new outdoor watering schedule.)
Couch said she hopes residents — who surpassed Gov. Sonny Perdue’s 10 percent conservation goal — will continue using less water. But Georgians have very short memories.
Keep in mind that a drought can — and will — happen again. And Georgia lawmakers, who were quick to jump on the crisis but hard pressed to create actual reforms, squandered several opportunities to make the state better prepared when the next one arrives.
Number of Georgia rivers, lakes and streams with fish that, according to the state, people should never eat: 7
Percentage of “do-not-eat” fish advisories Georgia issued in 2008 because of mercury contamination: 74
Percentage of Chattahoochee River’s analyzed area that exceeds acceptable levels of fecal coliform bacteria: 39
Number of places in Georgia the state has deemed contaminated and harmful to humans and animals: 566
Number of illegally dumped scrap tires the state recovered in 2007: 268,000
Number of days in June that air has been considered unhealthy for sensitive groups: 2
Average pounds of trash a Georgian disposes of each day: 6.4
Average pounds of trash an average American disposes each day: 3.08
Percentage of trash Georgians toss in landfills that could be recycled: 40
Sources: Georgia Environmental Protection Division, YouGottaBeKidding.org
It’s hard to read through the clean-energy jargon, but an article in PV Tech — “your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news” — has some big news.
Georgia Power, the Atlanta-based utility that has insisted time and again that solar power won’t work in the Peach State, is conducting a yearlong project — on its downtown headquarters’ roof — to test which solar power technology offers the biggest bang for its buck.
[Georgia Power] plans to have seven “representative” module technologies installed on its headquarters’ roof, all with the same position and orientation to the sun, run them for a year, sort through and analyze the data, and see which ones perform best (and provide some clean juice to the building in the bargain).
Four of those techonologies are already in place on Georgia Power’s roof, PV Tech’s Tom Cheyney reports. Norcross-based Suniva installs its technology next week.
What caught my eye were the quotes from the utility’s clean-energy experts that says “yeah, for years, we didn’t know how effective solar power works in metro Atlanta” — even though the utility’s suits have repeatedly told lawmakers and electricity rate-setters that the zero-carbon technology just somehow wouldn’t work in metro Atlanta.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson made her first official visit to Atlanta today to award a $1 million grant that’ll help clean up toxic sites in the city and along the Beltline.
The grant, which will be used to start a revolving loan fund, will pay for clean-ups of hazardous or polluted properties along seven of the city’s redevelopment corridors: Memorial Drive, Pryor Road, Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, Simpson Road, Campbellton Road, Jonesboro Road and Stadium Area/Summerhill.
The Beltline, the city’s proposed 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit, overlaps some of those selected areas.
After the jump, some more info about the grant — plus the requisite photo of public officials holding a giant plastic check!
Tommy Krenshaw krushes kans for no man
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is ramping up a statewide recycling education campaign called “You Gotta Be Kidding” in which fictional characters give the idiotic reasons why they don’t recycle, only to have their MINDS BLOWN BY THE FACTS.
The state agency has unleashed the full power of the Internet to support its mission, creating a presence at Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, every damn thing you can imagine. That makes sense, as the campaign is targeted toward the 25- to -34-year-old demographic, one that is least likely to recycle.
After the jump, meet Tommy Krenshaw, one of the hilariously named fictional characters who lives in Atlanta. Of course, our hometown representative is a classic chatch. He wants to own waterfront property on the new planet Earthlings will colonize once we turn this one into a festering pile of broken remote controls and nonbiodegradable diapers. Tommy, WTF?!?!
Two more utilities have backed out of a coalition that wants to build a proposed coal-fired power plant in Washington County, Ga.
From the Macon Telegraph:
Electric cooperatives representing half the stake in a proposed coal-fired power plant in Middle Georgia have pulled out of the deal, electric membership corporations confirmed Tuesday.
The $2.1 billion Plant Washington project is being developed for a site eight miles north of Sandersville by Power4Georgians, which originally consisted of 10 partner EMCs. The two with the largest stakes, Jackson and GrayStone Power, have pulled out, as have the smaller Excelsior and Diverse Power.
All the cooperatives that have stepped away from the plant cited uncertainty about future federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants, which seems eminent.
…
The four EMCs that withdrew represented 50 percent to 55 percent of the total stake in the plant, said Chip Stewart with Cookerly Public Relations, which represents Power4Georgians.
The Telegraph has a thorough report as to why the EMCs are leaving the project. Check it out.
Two Georgia utilities have backed out of a coalition that wants to build a coal-fired power plant in Washington County, Ga.
GreyStone Power and Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation’s exit from the $2.2 billion project now leaves eight investors, all EMCs, to pay for the 850 MW plant.
From the AJC:
Led by Cobb EMC, the project was a departure for the state’s electric cooperatives. Co-ops distribute power in Georgia, but had not built a large-scale generating plant before.
GreyStone cited an uncertain regulatory environment in Washington for the decision.
…
Dean Alford, a spokesman for the coalition, said the remaining co-ops are committed to the project. In a statement, the coalition said Georgia’s future energy needs can’t be met without coal.
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., visited the Atlanta Press Club today and spoke about rail, water woes and the nation’s standstill economy. (He said it might take five years for the nation to recover.) Isakson also said the closing of the Hapeville Ford Plant might have hurt the region’s chances for the Atlanta-Lovejoy rail line.
Maria Saporta and the AJC’s Kristi Swartz wrote great summaries of his speech. Grayson Daughters also produced a video of Isakson’s talk.
All this week, the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign encourages residents to leave their cars in the garage, hop on the ole Huffy, and participate in Bike to Work Week.
The nonprofit has banded together with Atlanta Transportation Management Associations, the Clean Air Campaign, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other velocipede advocacy groups and clubs to host cycling-related events and activities.
Tonight you can find a number of deals and discounts at participating bike shops to gear up for the week. Tomorrow you can find a Bike Buddy to help bring you up to speed. On Wednesday, downtown’s Woodruff Park will be the site of Bike Fest, a lunch hour celebration of all things cycling. On Thursday, you can participate in carpool-esque bike trains.
Visit the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign to register for an emailed discount coupon, enter into a prize drawing, and learn more information about this week’s activities. Be sure to also check out the city’s other cycling groups and resources such as Sopo Bicycle Cooperative and Faster Mustache.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the Beltline will receive $1 million as part of a $1.8 million grant package from the U.S. government to clean up brownfields.
The grants, which include $400,000 from the federal government’s stimulus program and $1.4 million from the EPA brownfields general program funding, will help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, EPA said. Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.
The Southeast’s politicians, business leaders and environmentalists will be watching Jacksonville, Fla., today.
From the AJC:
In a Jacksonville courtroom Monday, a federal judge will consider the question: Is metro Atlanta entitled to rely on Lake Lanier as its primary source of drinking water?
Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson, appointed to oversee a number of related water lawsuits, will preside over the much-anticipated hearing. Last year, the St. Paul, Minn., judge said the answer to the question over Lake Lanier’s water may make other disagreements in the high-stakes case “obsolete.”
The tri-state battle has been raging for nearly 20 years.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
Of course he signs it on Earth Day. The legislation, House Bill 473, creates a grant program that provides incentives to businesses that install solar panels, produce heat from geothermal heaters, and invest in energy efficiency.
From the governor’s office:
“HB 473 provides Georgia companies with additional incentives for investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Governor Perdue. “These clean energy grants will also help the private sector meet the state’s goal of reducing energy consumption by 15 percent.”
HB 473 will be administered by GEFA under similar terms and conditions of the current Clean Energy Property Tax Credit (HB 670) passed last year. Quality standards, such as Energy Star criteria for geothermal heat pumps and a high efficiency standard (exceeding ASHRAE 90.1.2004 by 30 percent) for lighting and buildings, determine eligibility for the grant program. The grants will be available on a first come, first served basis; installation of the qualifying clean energy property must be completed before a grant application can be submitted. The maximum grant for each applicant is limited to the lesser of 35 percent of the cost of the clean energy property or the statutory caps.
There’s a hitch though — the size of the grant program depends on how much stimulus cash our benevolent federal overlords decide to give us this summer.
While HB 473 authorizes Georgia to use ARRA funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy grants to non-residential consumers, the state will not know whether this is possible or how much will be available until its application for recovery funds is reviewed this summer by the U.S. Department of Energy. GEFA is expected to receive a total of approximately $82.5 million for the State Energy Program through ARRA, which will support many other efforts in addition to HB 473.
Atlanta is the most wasteful city in the country.
So says Nalgene, a company that manufactures reusable plastic containers.
How can Atlantans reduce their wasteful ways?
Fill up a reusable water bottle with filtered water and good things happen! You save money and the environment. The same goes for reusable containers. You’ll save money on disposable wrappings like plastic bags and tin foil. And with nice reusable containers, you may be more motivated to bring your lunch to work, also saving you some cash.
So says Nalgene, a company that manufactures reusable plastic containers.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
In Washington State, there are good Cascades, and bad Cascades.
Peach Pundit/Red State maestro Erick Erickson is angry because Washington State just banned dish detergents containing phosphates.
“Angry” doesn’t quite capture it.
At what point do the people tell the politicians to go to hell? At what point do they get off the couch, march down to their state legislator’s house, pull him outside, and beat him to a bloody pulp for being an idiot?
At what point? Probably not this point.
(Hat-tip to Andrew Sullivan)
A bill that would allow local governments to build big water-filled holes even if they’ve signed service agreements with other providers is winding its way through the Georgia General Assembly — and the City of Atlanta in none too pleased with the legislation.
Why? Because the bill is tailor-made for three cities in South Fulton that are planning a 440-acre reservoir. And two of those cities purchase water from the city.
Rob Hunter, commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, said House Bill 406, which passed the House and the Senate Natural Resources Committee, will “throw the bond market into chaos.”
Hunter said Atlanta’s $4 billion water and sewer overhaul is partially dependent on revenues from the south Fulton cities. He also said the proposed Bear Creek Reservoir is not needed since Atlanta can meet south Fulton’s water demand through 2060.
Harold Reheis, the former Georgia Environmental Protection Division director turned Gold Dome lobbyist who’s pushing the bill, tells the AJC that the cities’ contribution to Atlanta’s revenue is a fraction of one percent. He also points to the constant threat of droughts — but it’s over, yippee! — and the state’s ongoing “water war” as reasons for the giant hole.
According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers documents mailed to CL, the reservoir will feature a 42-foot-tall dam and, once built, will fill with water pumped from the Chattahoochee River.
(Photo of Hickory Log Creek Reservoir by Joeff Davis)
Amount of carbon dioxide, in metric tons, Atlanta’s city government emits every year: 540,000
Amount of carbon dioxide, in metric tons, the city will emit in 2012 if it meets its carbon-reducing goal: 502,200
Percentage of the city’s carbon footprint that comes from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport: 28
Number of energy-efficient light bulbs that will be distributed to West End homeowners as part of a pilot program: 26,041
Amount, in dollars, the bulbs will save homeowners in energy costs: 2.3 million
Atlanta’s rank, nationwide, among cities with the highest number of energy-efficient buildings: 3
Percentage of Emory University’s transit system powered by recycled cafeteria cooking oil: 50
Atlanta’s rank, out of 50 cities, in terms of air quality: 42
Atlanta’s rank, out of 50 cities, in terms of metro street congestion: 45
Source: Sustainable Atlanta inaugural report, SustainLane
Brown Middle School students today will plant nearly 1,000 trees and shrubs to help build the Beltline’s “arboretum.” The 22-mile loop of parks, trails and transit is planned to boast one of the country’s largest “tree museums” once complete.
From the AJC:
Trees Atlanta and the Atlanta Audubon Society are working with Brown Middle School to plant fig and black walnut trees, blueberry bushes and other bird-friendly trees and shrubs at the West End school. The project was largely funded by a $42,400 grant from TogetherGreen, a National Audubon Society program sponsored by Toyota.
Trees Atlanta spokeswoman Cheryl Kortemeier said the middle school is along the first piece of the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum, a one-mile path next to the abandoned train tracks. It is accessible from the school and Gordon White Park. Kortemeier said the arboretum’s theme for the West Connection is ethnobotany, or how trees and plants are used as medicine.
Residents who want to help out by mulching, watering and planting remaining trees can visit the work site on Saturday at 9 a.m. Contact Trees Atlanta for more information. To download the arboretum’s conceptual plans, visit the Beltline’s webpage on the project. (The plans, which are PDF files and located along the right column, are very large but incredibly resourceful if you’re a tree-loving Atlantan.)
(Image courtesy of Atlanta Beltline Inc. and Trees Atlanta)
Do you or one of your neighbors have an extra closet — maybe some storage space or a shed out back — where a mom-and-pop nuclear facility can dispose of their low-level radioactive waste? Plant Vogtle might need to borrow it.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other environmental groups recently raised a red flag about two new reactors proposed for the nuclear plant near Augusta that’s owned and operated by several Peach State utilities, including Georgia Power.
At issue is whether the nuclear facility, already home to two power-generating white elephants, has sufficient plans to safely dispose of low-level radioactive waste produced by the new reactors.
And late last week, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a three-judge federal panel that’s part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and one of the many steps in the complicated process of approving nuke plants, said the environmental groups’ concerns merit a closer look. Should Southern Nuclear, the Southern Co. subsidiary that operates Plant Vogtle, not produce a better long-term plan, the federal agency might not issue the company a permit to build the new reactors.
Environmentally-friendly construction product maker GreenTech is coming to Coffee County! And it’s bringing jobs, people! Wonderful, delicious jobs.
From Gov. Sonny Perdue’s offfice:
Governor Sonny Perdue today announced that environmentally-friendly construction product maker GreenTech Manufacturing plans to locate a new facility in Douglas. The company will create 320 jobs and invest more than $20 million in a manufacturing and distribution facility.
…(Ed. This is the part where we skip Perdue’s quote about “moving forward,” “real solutions,” “dynamic synergy,” etc.)
GreenTech Manufacturing has contracted a 103,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution center located on nine acres in Douglas’s Southwest Industrial Park. GreenTech is wholly owned by Gulf Coast Arms, a nonprofit trust incorporated in Texas, whose mission is to foster sustainability and affordability solutions across the country and abroad.
GreenTech uses the innovative Powder Impression Molding (PIM) system to produce stronger-than-steel, lightweight construction products using up to 95 percent recycled materials from single-stream solid waste sources. The result is an environmentally sustainable, efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional construction products such as metal, wood, concrete and fiberglass.
Jobs! Full release after the jump.
State Sen. Jeff Chapman
State Sen. Jeff Chapman, R-Brunswick, has been the most vocal critic of developer Linger Longer’s plans for Jekyll Island, the idyllic state park on Georgia’s coast. In this op-ed, entitled “They’re At It Again,” the senator says the governor-appointed board tasked with overseeing the island either misunderstands a recent study of the proposal or is misleading the public.
The Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) is at it again, this time endorsing a density study conducted by the Bleakly Advisory Group, which claims that the proposed 150 percent increase in the state park’s year-round residences and rental accommodations by the year 2023 would still make Jekyll “significantly less developed than other comparable coastal destinations in terms of resident and seasonal population, housing density and traffic volumes.”
Truth be told, Bleakly based his calculations on a U.S. Census Bureau Report that includes more than 5,000 acres of marshland, most of which surrounds the six-mile long Jekyll Causeway, as part of Jekyll Island. By artificially doubling Jekyll’s real size, Bleakly attempted to show that, on a per acre basis, the built-up Jekyll of the future would not be overdeveloped or overcrowded, when, in fact, the exact opposite would be true.
Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise told Congress today that the state lacked sufficient wind, solar and biomass potential — which means it’s unable to meet proposed renewable energy standards.
Not so, says Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. After hearing the commissioner’s testimony, Smith said Wise — who has been accused before of being too close to the utilities he regulates — was “doing the bidding of Southern power companies” and singing the same ole song when it comes to Georgia’s energy potential. Smith also takes issue with U.S. Congressman John Barrow’s claim that Georgia doesn’t have enough trees for a robust biomass program.
Smith’s full statement, with links to research included, is after the jump.
Want to yell your representative’s ear off about Senate Bill 31? Maybe applaud them for listening to your input? Courtesy of a little birdie who flew onto my windowsill, here are the vote counts for the bill.
