by jboullion | Aug 26, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article on BizTimes.com:
The West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition is hoping that opponents of high-speed rail in the state will reconsider their position after its analysis of their arguments show them to be based upon incorrect data and misplaced assumptions.
“It’s time for everyone to hit the ‘reset’ button, look at the facts, and resume the historic bi-partisan support of passenger rail development in Wisconsin,” said Scott Rogers, an Eau Claire businessman who co-chairs the coalition along with long-time transportation professional Owen Ayres.
The group, which advocates a Chicago-Twin Cities route via Eau Claire and Hudson, also recently issued a joint statement with the La Crosse-based Empire Builder Coalition urging continuation of the state’s development of high-speed rail, which was begun under the administration of former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson. The two groups jointly sent letters to public officials and candidates for state and federal office with the same message.
“If everything the opponents were saying about high-speed rail were true, even we would have a hard time supporting it,” Rogers said. “But the reality is, this is a good deal for the state of Wisconsin and a project important to our future economy.”
The group is urging officials and political candidates who have opposed rail to “look fully and fairly at the costs, value, return on investment and priority of building a high-speed rail system for Wisconsin.”
The coalition has posted a blog that rebukes Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker’s points of opposition against high-speed rail.
by jboullion | Aug 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Department of Workforce Development:
PARK FALLS – Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today announced a $463,488 Wisconsin Industry Partnership grant to train workers for biofuel production in Northern Wisconsin, further advancing Governor Doyle’s agenda to grow the state’s clean energy economy.
“This training grant is another example of Governor Doyle’s strategic investments to help Wisconsin create jobs and seize the opportunity to be a leader in the clean energy economy,” Secretary Gassman said. “These funds will help ensure that workers will be job ready as the biofuels industry expands in northern Wisconsin.”
Secretary Gassman awarded the grant to the Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board, DWD’s regional partner that proposed the Bio-Energy Sector Training project. The board worked with 15 employers in the biofuel, logging and paper production sector, including Flambeau River Papers, which will be powered by the new Flambeau River BioFuels bio-refinery plant once it is operational in 2013.
Through the grant, current employees and unemployed or underemployed workers will receive training in technology covering areas such as biomass harvesting and management. Chemical plant and system operators, chemists and first-line supervisors are among the jobs that will be supported through the 12-month grant project. With over $490,000 in local matching resources, total funding for the training project will surpass $900,000.
by jboullion | Aug 18, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Kevin Featherly in The Daily Reporter:
Minneapolis — Looking to get their share of transit money, leaders from eastern Twin Cities suburbs are planning a $1.4 million, 18-month study to identify mass transit options for the Interstate 94 corridor into Wisconsin.
The leaders, known as the Gateway Corridor Commission, hired CH2M Hill, a global engineering, consulting and construction firm with offices in Mendota Heights.
Ted Schoenecker, transportation planning manager for the Washington County Public Works Department, said the commission is approaching the study with no preconceived notions about which mass transit option would be best for the stretch of I-94 from St. Paul into Wisconsin, known as the Gateway Corridor.
Some options include a light rail line from St. Paul to Woodbury; a light rail line to Woodbury with a bus rapid transit link to Eau Claire; and a commuter rail line from St. Paul to Eau Claire that could share infrastructure with a high-speed passenger rail line that might one day run from St. Paul to Chicago.
Schoenecker said those are a few among many possibilities. “There could be 400 options beyond that,” he said. “So determining the best options is really the gist of what this study is going to do.”
The commission will launch its study in September and should complete it by spring of 2012. The study will determine potential ridership, project alignment, transit mode and costs for a transit way along the corridor.
Clint Gridley, Woodbury’s city administrator, said developing a mass transit strategy along the corridor is one of his city’s economic development priorities.
by jboullion | Aug 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Randy Hanson in the by Hudson Star-Observer:
The electric car is about to become a much more commonplace sight on the streets of American cities, a former Ford Europe engineer told an audience in Hudson last Thursday evening.
Jukka Kukkonen, a native of Finland and president of the Minnesota Electric Auto Association, spoke to 55 people who attended a presentation on electric vehicles at The Phipps Center for the Arts. The meeting was sponsored by The Purple Tree, a downtown Hudson retail shop that specializes in fair trade products and ones made from recycled or organic materials.
“This is the cool part, because there is so much new stuff coming out each day,” Kukkonen said before introducing a dozen or more electric vehicles currently available or about to be produced.
They included the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Mini E by BMW and Ford Focus Electric.
“Everybody’s on board. Now it’s just for us to think about which one we want,” said Kukkonen, who moved to St. Paul eight years ago after marrying an American he met while working for Ford Europe.
“The train is moving. The question is who is going to jump on board and who is going to stay at the station,” he later said of automobile companies. “Definitely, there is a new market and a new industry. The question is who is going to be a part of it.”
by jboullion | Aug 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Sierra Magazine:
Sierra magazine has named the nation’s top 20 “coolest” schools for their efforts to stop climate change and educate students about sustainability. From Green Mountain College’s innovative biomass electricity generation to Georgia Tech’s sustainable engineering classes, the magazine’s September/October cover story spotlights the schools that are making a true difference for the planet, and marks Sierra’s fourth annual listing of America’s greenest universities and colleges. The complete scorecard is available online at www.sierraclub.org/coolschools.
“With all of the environmental challenges we face, it’s heartening to see the leadership these schools demonstrate when it comes to protecting the planet,” said Michael Brune, the Sierra Club’s executive director. “This generation of students cares deeply about protecting the environment, stopping global warming, and increasing our prosperity through innovation.”
From small, environmentally focused liberal arts colleges to the largest research universities, schools across the country are helping to move the country towards a more sustainable future.
Sierra’s Top 20 coolest schools of 2010 are:
1. Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vermont)
2. Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
3. Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington)
4. University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
5. Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)
6. University of California, Irvine (Irvine, California)
7. Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin)
8. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
9. College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine)
10. Hampshire College (Amherst, Massachusetts)
11. University of California, Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
11. [TIE] Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont)
13. University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
14. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, North Carolina)
15. University California, San Diego (San Diego, California)
16. University of California, Davis (Davis, California)
16. [TIE] University of Vermont (Burlington, Vermont)
18. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
19. New York University (New York, New York)
20. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)
