theCLog

OK, maybe not everyone — but Environment North Carolina would like to see a lot of solar panels installed in our state. Plus, they say Mecklenburg County is a great place to get started with their solar aspirations. Oh, and make it snappy.

The big snag, as always, is money. Though, if the state — and especially Charlotte — wants to become an alternative energy leader, I’m sure they’ll find a way to step up supply — which will lead to lower prices — to meet rising demand.

An environmental advocacy group that says North Carolina’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising proposes a solution: Putting solar panels on nearly 700,000 rooftops.

Environment North Carolina, in a report to be issued today, says that based on current solar energy development in the state, the sun could supply at least 14 percent of the state’s energy needs in two decades.

The group’s report identifies Wake and Mecklenburg counties as having the greatest number of rooftops suitable for solar panels.

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The goal set out by Environment North Carolina would require the state to develop 13,900 megawatts of solar energy, which would make this state nearly equivalent to the 14,730 megawatts of solar energy currently available worldwide.

Megawatt for megawatt, solar power is the most expensive form of electricity today, but green energy advocates say planning can’t be based on current costs.

“The cost of solar power is coming down, while the cost of dirty energy is going up,” said Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for Environment North Carolina. “In the not-too-distant future, the cost of solar will be cheaper than building a new coal-fired power plant.”

The solar report comes a day after the group released a study saying North Carolina’s greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere have risen 39 percent from 1990 to 2007. The data come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s “State Energy Consumption, Price and Expenditure Estimates.”

The rise in emissions is caused by more cars on the road burning more fuel, and more electricity being generated by the state’s 45 coal-burning units.

Read the entire Raleigh News and Observer article here.

Further reading:

• N.C. to get $950K for green jobs
• Report details ‘coal’s assault on human health’
• IRS Disclosures Show Extent of Oil and Coal Groups’ Outreach
• Doctors call for cleaner coal
• Local firms get grants for green projects

“You know what a green economy is? It’s jobs and opportunity.”

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Bank of America isn’t the only banking show in town.

While many of his peers are hunkering down in the financial crisis, U.S. Bancorp chief executive Richard Davis is on the offensive.

This spring, for instance, the Minneapolis-based bank announced plans to open a new capital markets and corporate banking office in Charlotte. On Monday, Davis, 51, was in town to meet employees, visit with clients and check out a trading floor set to open Monday in the bank’s Hearst Tower offices.

The bank has nearly 150 employees here in corporate banking, capital markets and a corporate trust business purchased from Wachovia Corp. in 2005. It has said it’s adding a total of about 70 employees here by the end of next year, although Davis said the number could be higher. He said he hasn’t put a cap on hiring here, led by former Wachovia bankers Jim Kelligrew and Dee O’Dell.

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In addition to Kelligrew’s investment-grade bond unit and O’Dell’s Southeast corporate banking business, the Charlotte office has also added employees with expertise in syndicated loans, compliance and municipal bonds. The bank could also make hires in commercial real estate, portfolio management and treasury management.

In retail banking, U.S. Bank recently hired a Wachovia executive, Becky DeGeorge, who helped the Charlotte bank become the leader in customer service among large banks. She will remain based in Charlotte, although U.S. Bank doesn’t have any retail banking locations in the Carolinas.

Read more from The Charlotte Observer here.

In slightly related news:  Wells Fargo workers pledge $42M

Just remember to take everything big bankers say with a grain of salt shot of whiskey.

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Say Griffin Brothers and I think oil changes and tires, not recycling and alternative energy.

Say the words reclamation center or landfill, and you might think of recycling. But alternative energy?

Yet, that’s just how Mike Griffin looks at his family’s North Mecklenburg C&D Recycling Center on Holbrooks Road. Griffin Brothers already produces one form of alternative energy – wood – and in just a few years, it could tap the sun with a solar energy farm.

Griffin Brothers is recycling half of the construction debris – measured by weight – trucked to the center. The two largest sources of recycled material are wallboard that is reused from construction projects and “clean wood” leftover at building sites.

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By grinding up the leftover wallboard, Griffin Brothers gets gypsum dust, which it can sell to fertilizer makers, and bits of gypsum-encrusted paper, which provides a great floor covering in large chicken houses.

The company also recycles pieces of concrete block, bricks or stone, grinding them into large and small pieces that construction companies can use for riprap, to stop erosion, or in building roads.

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And if the town [of Huntersville] allows Griffin Bros. to also fill 2 to 3 acres of land between its two existing fill sites, the company has plans to use all that land – once finished – for a solar farm. Mike Griffin said the company’s research shows such a field could produce a “significant” amount of electricity.

Read the entire Carolina Weekly Newspapers article here.

RocketBoom covers construction debris recycling:

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If you’ve been screwed by Vonage, you have until March 16 to file a claim by calling 1-877-5-no-scam.

Telephone company Vonage will refund customers and pay $3 million to North Carolina and 31 other states under a settlement involving the company’s cancellation policies.

The N.C. Department of Justice will use the settlement to enforce consumer-protection laws.

The settlement requires Vonage to make refunds to eligible consumers who filed complaints regarding unauthorized charges after January 2004. According to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office, 65 North Carolinians have complained to the consumer-protection division about Vonage’s customer service and cancellation policies since 2007.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article here.

Former Vonage customer goes all “Office Space” (the movie) on their Vonage modem:

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About a dozen protesters hung out in front of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse this afternoon, some in costume. There were the usual picket signs, then there was the depiction of a coal industry executive forcing a blindfolded Justice to her knees. (Photos below.)

Originally, the group — which includes members of several environmental organizations — planned to protest during the trial of Ken Davies. He’s a local attorney who was arrested during the April protest at Duke Energy headquarters in Uptown, along with roughly 40 of his fellow protesters. (See photos from that protest here.)

The crime? They became trespassers when they voluntarily crossed a pink line spray-painted on the sidewalk. Of the 40 arrested in April, 30 have already paid their debt to society — either through community service or by paying court costs. The final 10? Their charges were dropped last week.

Davies attempted to subpoena Jim Rogers, the company’s CEO, to testify at his trial. He hoped Rogers would show and defend the company’s Cliffside Steam Station (a coal plant), located about 50 miles from Uptown Charlotte.

Bruce Lillie, a supervisor in the D.A.’s office, says — despite appearances — the court’s decision to drop their charges against Davies, and nine others, was coincidental and doesn’t have anything to do with Davies’ attempt to subpoena Rogers. More, Lillie says, he wasn’t aware Rogers was being honored tonight by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.

“Our feeling was we had convicted a lot of people already involved with this case,” said Lillie. Plus, he added, he heard that the protesters who didn’t plead guilty planned to use their court time to draw attention to their cause — and, he said, that isn’t a good use of the court’s time.

“From a practical standpoint,” he said, “the court doesn’t have the resources to turn a trespassing case into a 2-3 day trial.”

When Davies’ trespassing charge was dropped, plans for the protest got confused said Brian Seaton, one of the protests organizers. He expects a bigger crowd of protesters to show up tonight, at the Convention Center. The protest will begin at 5:30 and the group plans to hold their own award ceremony at 6:30.

Tonight, while Rogers is inside accepting the 2009 Citizen of the Carolinas Award, the protesters plan to honor him as Hypocrite of the Year.

They say he’s a “greenwasher” because he says he’s in favor of promoting alternative energy production while constructing a new coal fired plant.

“Among the things that are harmful to our planet,” said Donna Lisenby, of Appalachian Voices and the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, “coal-fired plants are among the worst things.”

Duke Energy representative, Tom Williams, isn’t bothered by the protests. Instead, he says, “We admire the people who are protesting. We admire their passion and enthusiasm.”

He says his boss, Jim Rogers, has already testified under oath about Cliffside — to the North Carolina Utilities Commission and didn’t have anything to do with the protesters’ trespassing cases.

So far, all efforts by environmentalists to halt construction at Cliffside have failed.

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This morning, the staff of Creative Loafing Charlotte received the following news release from officials in our corporate office:

TAMPA, FL — A prominent Florida newspaper executive has been named chief executive officer of Creative Loafing, the alternative newsweekly group, its owner announced today.

Marty Petty, 56, is the former publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and the Hartford (CT) Courant. She will succeed Richard W. Gilbert who has been interim CEO since the reorganized company emerged from bankruptcy this fall under the new ownership of Atalaya Capital Management LP, a New York investment firm.

The news was shared with the Creative Loafing staff today through a memo. Creative Loafing (www.creativeloafing.com) publishes six alternative weekly newspapers and other Web sites, such as (www.straightdope.com), in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Tampa, Sarasota, Fla. and here in Charlotte.

The announcement of Petty, who began her newspaper career in 1983 at the Kansas City Stay and Times, marks the second significant appointment of a notable news veteran this month; having named James Warren, former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, to the publisher and president post at the Chicago Reader.

“I’m invigorated by the possibilities to deepen relationships with our readers and advertisers and expand our influence in our communities,” Petty said. “The coverage areas which have differentiated and distinguished the alternative press historically may be more important than ever.”

“This is an opportunity to lead a truly unique company in one of the most economically challenging times we have known. But these remain vibrant markets and it’s a wide open field as all media are challenged to redefine themselves to meet consumers changing lifestyles and information needs,” Petty said.

Gilbert described Petty’s expertise as “an unique mix seldom found in one publishing executive. She has solid journalistic values honed from her early career in the newsroom and her long-standing commitment to hard-hitting journalism. All three of her last papers earned Pulitzer Prizes during her leadership. As publisher of two of the nation’s most highly respected newspapers, she has also earned a reputation as a skilled and creative marketing and sales executive who knows how to build strategic alliances to ensure success. “

In addition to her CEO role, Petty joins the company’s board of directors. Gilbert, who has been at the helm of the business since Atalaya took ownership on August 25, will continue as a member of the board as well.

Creative Loafing is headquartered in Tampa, FL. It publishes six alternative newsweeklies: the Chicago Reader (www.chicagoreader.com) the City Paper in Washington DC www.washingtoncitypaper.com, Creative Loafing/Atlanta, Creative Loafing /Tampa, Creative Loafing/Sarasota and Creative Loafing/Charlotte (www.creativeloafing.com). Its national Web site presence also includes www.StraightDope.com. It has combined weekly print circulation of more than 400,000 copies and monthly online unique visitors in excess of 1.5 million.

Look for more on this appointment later on The CLog.

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When will they stop lying?

The coal front group American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity has been in hot water lately for employing an astroturf group that forged letters to Congress opposing the House climate bill—and then for possibly lying under oath about their position. Now ACCCE is in trouble again—for misrepresenting the views of two major veterans groups in an email hyping coal’s role in energy security.

The email, sent in anticipation of Veterans’ Day, argues that coal can play a vital role in reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and cites two groups—VoteVets and Operation Free. The problem: both of those groups are strong supporters of climate legislation—in part because of the national security threats posed by global warming—while ACCCE has been working energetically to undermine a bill.

Read more, including the e-mail in question, from Mother Jones here.

In related news, check out the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ Web site to learn more about Veteran’s Day, which is today.

Operation Free visits Washington:

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Why in the hell do these crazy fools still work for our government?

In the aftermath of the 2007 Nisour Square massacre in Baghdad by operatives working for Blackwater, top company officials including then-president Gary Jackson “authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support,” according to the New York Times. Seventeen Iraqis were killed and more than twenty others wounded in the shooting, prompting the Iraqi government to announce it would ban the company from Iraq with officials vowing to prosecute the shooters. Blackwater, however, remains in Iraq to this day.

According to the Times, “Four former Blackwater executives said in interviews that Gary Jackson, who was then the company president, had approved the bribes, and the money was sent from Amman, Jordan, where Blackwater maintains an operations hub, to a top manager in Iraq. The executives, though, said they did not know whether the cash was delivered to Iraqi officials or the identities of the potential recipients.” The Times notes that the bribes “would have been illegal”:

[A] federal grand jury in North Carolina, where Blackwater has its headquarters, has been conducting a lengthy investigation into the company. One of the former executives said that he has told federal prosecutors there about the plan to pay Iraqi officials to drop their inquiries into the Nisour Square incident. If Blackwater followed through, the company or its officials could face charges of obstruction of justice, and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans bribes to foreign officials.

Ten days after the Nisour shootings an FBI team arrived in Baghdad to begin a criminal investigation. If Blackwater officials bribed or attempted to bribe Iraqi officials that would have amounted to tampering with the investigation. Blackwater and its owner, Erik Prince, are also being sued by the Iraqi victims of that shooting in civil court in the United States. On Tuesday, a settlement in that case fell through and its future course remains unclear.

Read the rest of this article, from The Nation, here.

Further reading: GOP Rep Sue Myrick Won’t Denounce Call For Backlash Against American Muslims

“Essentially a renegade force on the battlefield, something that was beyond the military’s control.”

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Since Charlotte was recently included on a list of the best cities to start a small business, thought you’d like to know how health care reform will, and won’t, affect the Q.C.’s local business owners. Here’s one story, from ProPublica.org:

Using results from a questionnaire we did with American Public Media’s Public Insight Network, we’re looking at how the proposed health care reforms will actually affect people facing common health care coverage situations. This is the second in a series (Part 1).

Their story:

Fairfield Lighting and Design has been in business since 1972, but it is struggling to cope with tough economic times. It has 12 employees, whose average wage is about $20 an hour. Because of the recession, opportunities to work overtime have dwindled, and the regular hours of some employees have been cut.

The recession has also made it difficult to keep paying their health care costs: Fairfield offers health insurance to 10 of its employees, at a company cost of $550 per employee each month.

The costs to each employee are relatively low. They pay only 20 percent of the premium, or $110 per month. Their co-payments are $15 to see a doctor or $500 for a hospital, and medications cost them $15, $25 or $50, depending on the type of drug.

But that could change. Fairfield Lighting and Design was recently notified that its coverage will be taken over by a new company, probably around the beginning of the year.

“Hopefully when this whole thing goes through maybe we can find something less expensive,” D’Agostino said. “Otherwise the employees may have to contribute a bit more.”

What health care reform would mean for them:

Two of the reform bills require that employers provide some minimum health insurance to employees or pay a penalty. The exception is the Senate Finance Committee bill, which has no employer requirement.

But small businesses are exempt. Because Fairfield Lighting and Design has only 12 employees and a payroll of less than $500,000, it would not be required to provide health insurance under any of the health reform bills.

Each of the three bills gives small businesses tax credits for several years to provide relief from high insurance premiums until more comprehensive reforms are in effect – until 2015 for the House bill, and 2017 in the Senate Finance bill. The Senate health committee bill would offer a credit until state exchanges are up and running—up to three years. But some plans offer a lot more help than others. The health committee bill would offer Fairfield a tax credit of about $10,000 per year. The others use sliding scales based on employee income, and because Fairfield pays near the top of those scales, it would get a credit of only about $5,000 under the House bill and $2,500 under the Senate Finance Committee bill.

Small businesses would also have the option under all three bills to buy insurance through a health insurance exchange, a pooling mechanism that would allow them to choose from a menu of private plans, which the Congressional Budget Office projects would be cheaper [4] than private plans currently out there for small businesses.

Help won’t arrive right away under any of the proposals. The House bill, which phases small businesses into the exchange based on their size, would make Fairfield wait until 2013. The Finance Committee plan would make Fairfield wait even longer – it won’t set up exchanges for small businesses until 2017. The Senate health committee plan would authorize the Health and Human Services secretary to start giving grants to states to start up health care exchanges right away, but it is unclear how quickly states would move.

Further reading: ProPublica’s “What health care reform means for the uninsured” post.

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Did the cost-savings carrot we call a tax-free weekend lure you into stores? No, me either.

Just because a discount is offered — brace yourself shop-a-holics — you don’t need to take advantage of it. In my house, we’d rather fix something than replace it.

Remember: Reduce, reuse, renew, recycle, rethink.

Retailers were expecting a boost in appliance sales this weekend as North Carolina’s second tax-free holiday for energy-efficient electronics lured in customers ready to purchase the big ticket items.

Most washers, dryers and refrigerators which carry the Energy Star seal are among the purchases which qualify for tax-free sales.

“The newer models use up to 50-percent less energy,” said Mike Wilson, a manager at the Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Iverson Way.

Lowe’s was among several stores that offered discounts on energy efficient appliances during the sales tax holiday.

Read more from MSNBC and NewsChannel 36.

So what happens to all of those old appliances? Good question.

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