by jboullion | Jul 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Larry Sandler of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
But expansion of I-94 finds increased support
Support for new rail transit systems has dipped below 50% in the Milwaukee area, while I-94 expansion receives stronger backing but still falls just short of a majority, according to a recent poll.
At the same time, The People Speak Poll found majority support throughout the four-county area for a new half-cent sales tax in Milwaukee County only to fund the county’s transit system, despite skepticism about empowering a regional transit authority to levy a broader sales tax.
The Public Policy Forum’s People Speak Poll is a tracking poll, designed to follow changes in public opinion on key local issues over time. The latest telephone poll of 386 residents in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties focused on transportation issues and was the third such poll in a year to ask about plans for high-speed trains, commuter rail and streetcars.
Last fall, 57% backed plans for high-speed trains linking Milwaukee to Madison and Chicago. Narrower majorities supported plans for commuter trains from Milwaukee to Kenosha and Racine and modern streetcars in downtown Milwaukee. Those results didn’t change much in the spring.
But when the latest poll was conducted June 1-4, support had dropped to 41% for high-speed rail and 42% each for downtown streetcars and commuter rail, the Public Policy Forum reported.
By contrast, a new question about adding lanes to I-94 between Milwaukee and Waukesha drew 49% in favor to 39% opposed, with the rest voicing no opinion.
Those results reflect inroads by vocal rail transit opponents, as well as public concern about the economy and strained government budgets, Public Policy Forum President Rob Henken said.
by jboullion | Jun 1, 2010 | Uncategorized
Each year the MREA Energy Fair transforms rural Central Wisconsin into the global hot spot for renewable energy education. The Energy Fair brings over 20,000 people from nearly every state in the U.S. and several countries around the world to learn, connect with others and ready them for action at home. The Energy Fair is the nation’s longest running energy education event of its kind.
The Energy Fair features:
•Over 275 exhibitors – sustainable living and energy products
•Over 200 workshops – from introductory level to advanced hands-on education
•Clean Energy Car Show – demonstration vehicles and workshops
•Green Home Pavilion – focused on building and remodeling in a sustainable way
•Green Building Demso – see sustainable building techniques in action
•Sustainable Tables – workshops, chef demos, and a farmers’ market bringing sustainability to your dinner table
•Inspirational keynotes, lively entertainment, great food, and local beer.
The Energy Fair is held in Custer, WI just seven miles east of Stevens Point. Join us for the 21st Annual Energy Fair June 18-20, 2010. For more information about the Fair, contact the Midwest Renewable Energy Association at 715-592-6595.
by jboullion | Mar 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
A letter to the editor of the Vernon Broadcaster by Todd Ossman:
Thanks for covering the E3 Coalition’s work with Viola and other communities to help southwest Wisconsin achieve energy independence.
In addition to the $65,000 planning grant we were awarded, we have applied for more than $1.1 million in efficiency upgrades and renewable energy projects for seven communities in the region, including Viroqua. This EECBG award should be made public within days or weeks and our prospects are very encouraging.
What “energy independence” means, in this case, is getting 25 percent of our electricity, heating and transportation fuels from renewable sources by 2025. That may seem idealistic, but it’s an achievable goal. More importantly, each step towards that goal reduces our energy costs, which means more resources stay with our families and in our communities.
The state Office of Energy Independence grant allows us to start down that road. We’ve already begun collecting data on communities’ current energy and fuel use. Then we can determine which energy efficiency measures allow us to meet all our needs while reducing our electricity and fuel use. The last step in our energy planning process will be to explore potential sources of renewable, home-grown power. Each step along the implementation path from efficiency to biomass or solar power generation spells more local jobs and income.
It’s true that having an energy independence plan will help Viola and other Driftless Region communities secure other stimulus funding, but that’s not the only—or even the main—benefit. We’re building a stronger and self-sufficient local energy economy that will serve the Driftless Region for decades to come.
by jboullion | Mar 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Richard Mial in the La Crosse Tribune:
On a map of northern Canada, Fort McMurray marks where the highway ends. But it’s the starting point for much of the fuel that runs vehicles in the Coulee Region.
The sands of north Alberta — not the Middle East — provide most of the petroleum that becomes gasoline sold in the La Crosse area.
A pipeline channels that Canadian crude to the Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount, Minn.
La Crosse-based Kwik Trip is among its primary customers. A fleet of 110 tanker trucks ferries gasoline and diesel fuel 24 hours a day from the refinery to the company’s 363 convenience stores in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.
The Tribune traced petroleum’s path from the forests of Canada to the pumps.
It’s a route that keeps the region from relying on crude oil from overseas. But it also has raised questions about the environmental costs, both to Canada and Wisconsin.
Oil sands
Alberta’s oil sands region yields about half of the petroleum converted into local gasoline. Production averages about 1.5 million barrels a day, and that’s expected to go up to 1.8 million by 2012, according to estimates by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
The mixture of sand and thick, tar-like bitumen is mined from the earth with huge shovels, many of them Wisconsin-made.
Large amounts of water are used to separate the oil from the sand — about two to three gallons of water for every barrel of oil, said Don Thompson, president of the Oil Sands Developers Group. Natural gas-fired power plants provide the electricity needed for the energy-intensive process.
Large-scale oil sands mining in the Fort McMurray area dates back to the late 1960s through the Great Canadian Oil Sands, now known as Suncor Energy Inc., said Thompson, a former oil company executive who now lives in Calgary.
Another company, Syncrude, began mining the oil sands in the late 1970s, Thompson said in a telephone interview.
But oil sand production remained limited until the price of a barrel of oil rose enough to justify the expense of oil sand mining, and the quality of technology improved, Thompson said.
Now, about 208 square miles of northern Alberta have been cleared for mines, tailing ponds and “upgraders,” plants that provide some refining before the oil is sent by pipeline to the United States and elsewhere.
A story in National Geographic Magazine includes dramatic photos of tar sands mining.
