by jboullion | Dec 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Mark Jaffe in the Denver Post:
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission voted Monday to shut six aging Front Range coal-fired power units and allow Xcel Energy to replace them with a new $530 million gas-fired plant.
Pollution controls, with a $340 million price tag, also were approved for the coal-burning Pawnee plant near Brush and the Hayden plant.
The commission still must decide what to do with the largest coal-burning plant in the Denver area — the Cherokee 4 unit.
“Cherokee 4 is the largest source of air pollution in the Denver area, and it needs to be shut,” said John Nielson, energy-program director for the environmental-policy group Western Resource Advocates.
The closures, which will occur between 2011 and 2017, are part of Xcel’s proposal to meet the state Clean Air- Clean Jobs Act, which seeks to cut nitrogen-oxide pollution by 70 to 80 percent.
Xcel would receive accelerated cost recovery for the investments in a comprehensive plan to cut pollution under the law.
The state is out of compliance with federal clean-air health standards and has to submit a plan next year to the Environmental Protection Agency showing steps to cut pollution.
by jboullion | Dec 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a column by Robert J. McCunney, Robert Dobie and David M. Lipscomb in The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon:
While opponents of wind energy have attempted to use self-published reports to block projects, the science is clear. Independent studies conducted around the world consistently find that wind farms have no direct impact on physical health. In fact, with no air or water pollution emissions, wind energy is essential to reducing public health impacts from the energy sector.
A minority of residents living near wind projects may sometimes find the turbine sounds annoying and the same is true with any environmental sound. Annoyance is a subjective effect that varies among people and circumstances. Many residents in Oregon and across the United States find wind turbines to be a non-intrusive neighbor.
In 2009, we participated in an international multidisciplinary scientific advisory panel to review current literature on the perceived health effects of wind turbines. The panel found no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects. It is important to note that while this effort was funded by the American and Canadian Wind Energy Associations, we are independent scientists who had no involvement with the wind industry prior to this engagement.
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council also conducted peer-reviewed research on the issue: Its findings: “There is currently no published scientific evidence to positively link wind turbines with adverse health effects.”
Robert J. McCunney is a research scientist in occupational and environmental medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Biological Engineering. Robert Dobie is a clinical professor of otolaryngology at both the University of Texas-San Antonio and the University of California, Davis. David M. Lipscomb is president of Correct Service Inc. in Stanwood, Wash.
by jboullion | Dec 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a column by Robert J. McCunney, Robert Dobie and David M. Lipscomb in The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon:
While opponents of wind energy have attempted to use self-published reports to block projects, the science is clear. Independent studies conducted around the world consistently find that wind farms have no direct impact on physical health. In fact, with no air or water pollution emissions, wind energy is essential to reducing public health impacts from the energy sector.
A minority of residents living near wind projects may sometimes find the turbine sounds annoying and the same is true with any environmental sound. Annoyance is a subjective effect that varies among people and circumstances. Many residents in Oregon and across the United States find wind turbines to be a non-intrusive neighbor.
In 2009, we participated in an international multidisciplinary scientific advisory panel to review current literature on the perceived health effects of wind turbines. The panel found no evidence that the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects. It is important to note that while this effort was funded by the American and Canadian Wind Energy Associations, we are independent scientists who had no involvement with the wind industry prior to this engagement.
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council also conducted peer-reviewed research on the issue: Its findings: “There is currently no published scientific evidence to positively link wind turbines with adverse health effects.”
Robert J. McCunney is a research scientist in occupational and environmental medicine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Biological Engineering. Robert Dobie is a clinical professor of otolaryngology at both the University of Texas-San Antonio and the University of California, Davis. David M. Lipscomb is president of Correct Service Inc. in Stanwood, Wash.
by jboullion | Dec 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by John Meyers in the Duluth News Tribune:
The board of the proposed Northern Lights Express passenger train line is reacting this week to a state consultant’s report that paints the railroad as a poor economic investment for public money.
Members of the NLX board will meet in St. Cloud on Wednesday and approve a response criticizing a Minnesota Department of Transportation consultant report that shows the proposed high-speed rail line between Duluth and Minneapolis would offer only 29 to 38 cents in economic benefit for every dollar invested.
The report also found poor returns for possible high-speed passenger lines from the Twin Cities to Fargo, Eau Claire, Rochester and Mankato — all well below the Federal Railroad Administration minimum guideline for economic return of $1 earned for every dollar spent.
by jboullion | Dec 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
From Scenic Valley:
Scenic Valley Farms recently installed the first subterranean solar thermal high tunnel at our farm in Readstown. The novel system is designed to significantly extend the growing season while also providing winter protection for blackberries.
The system works by capturing the energy of the sun and releasing it to moderate temperatures. Throughout the day, thermostatically controlled intake fans draw heated air from near the peak of the high tunnel and store the energy below ground in a thermal mass. When supplemental heat is needed to maintain optimal growing conditions, these same fans pull the cooler air through the thermal mass where it is warmed before circulating back into the high tunnel.
Solar thermal heating and cooling systems are a key technology in the SHARE farms being developed by our company. They are also ideal as a standalone technology for high tunnel growers who want to improve the profitability and sustainability of their farms.
The initial system was placed in operation in late November and we have installed temperature data loggers in both a traditional and the solar heated high tunnel to compare the results.
We have also applied for a 1603 grant to offset 30 percent of the installation costs and will be notified within 60 days if our request is approved.
by jboullion | Dec 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Jessica Vanegeren in The Dunn County News:
MADISON — Train boosters in Wisconsin aren’t the only ones frustrated with Gov.-elect Scott Walker’s promise to kill the proposed rail link between Madison and Milwaukee: so are our neighbors to the west.
“Obviously, if we don’t have a willing partner, it makes it more difficult to move forward,” says Dan Krom, director of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s passenger rail office. “We all have our state politics to deal with, and the fact Wisconsin is in the middle (between Minnesota and Illinois) is a problem.”
If Wisconsin refuses to get on board and Walker turns away $810 million in federal stimulus money to pay for rail service between Milwaukee and Madison, it is unlikely Minnesota would see its largest metropolitan area connected to the proposed nine-state Midwest rail line anytime soon.
