by jboullion | Jul 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
Now in its seventh year, the Kickapoo Country Fair is the Midwest’s largest organic food and sustainability festival. In La Farge, Wisconsin, nestled among the ancient hills of the Kickapoo Valley, the fair serves up a generous helping of fun for all in celebration of family, culture, and community, all the while looking toward a healthy, sustainable future.
Held July 24-25, 2010, on the grounds of Organic Valley headquarters Kickapoo Country Fair will bring together thousands of attendees for two fun-packed days of food, music, bike and farm tours, cooking demonstrations, theater, kids’ activities, dancing, author readings, and speakers—all offered at an affordable price for families.
*Authors, activists and innovators including Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human
*Live music all weekend on two stages
*Musical headliner Miles Nielsen — Good ol’ heartland rock ‘n’ roll, main stage, Saturday night
*Wisconsin Author Michael Perry reading from his latest book Coop and performing with his band, the Long Beds
*”Green Village,” green building and lifestyle workshops
*Delicious local and organic food
*Farmers market
*Farm tours and exhibits
*Vendors and artisans
*Fourth-annual Butter Churn Bike Tour
*Children’s activities
*Stiltwalkers and other surprises!
by jboullion | Jul 12, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a commentary by Michael Vickerman:
Commentary
by Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
July 12, 2010
About 100 people gathered in downtown Madison in early July to take part in “Hands Across the Sands,” an internationally organized protest against continued oil drilling in and along the world’s coastal waters. Against the backdrop of the weed-choked waters of Lake Monona, they joined hands for 15 minutes to express their fervent desire to see a cleaner, less destructive energy future emerge from the liquid melanoma spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.
No doubt the protestors would like to do more, much more, than simply engage in ritualized protest in front of a few camera crews. But we live in a society that is organized around the expectation of a limitless supply of nonrenewable hydrocarbons feeding concentrated energy into our economic bloodstream. Most of us have not bothered to comprehend the yawning gulf that lies between our best intentions and our abject dependence on the wealth-producing properties of petroleum. Nor how this addiction fills us with delusions of godlike mastery over our environment while blinding us to the reality that we humans have grossly overshot our planet’s carrying capacity.
For those who read and still remember the science fiction classic Dune, the “spice” on Arrakis remains the quintessential literary analogy to the reality of Earth’s oil. Like our oil, the spice held a special place in that world as the ultimate prize worth waging wars and plundering hostile environments for. . . .
Need I mention that once you begin to appreciate the finitude of the Earth’s endowment of petroleum, there’s nothing to stop you from taking immediate steps to curb your personal consumption of this irreplaceable fuel. Whatever you do to lessen your dependence on petroleum will turn out to be a much more satisfying and meaningful response to our energy predicament than any canned protest promoted through Facebook.
As for myself, I made two resolutions since the Macondo well erupted. The first is to go through this summer without activating the household air-conditioner. So far, so good, I can report. (Luckily, we were spared the triple-digit temperature swelterfest that gripped the East Coast last week). It wasn’t that long ago that life without air-conditioning was the norm rather than the exception. If we all resolved not to turn on air-conditioners, we could force the retirement of two to three coal-fired plants in this state.
The other change was to ratchet up my reliance on my bicycle and make it the default vehicle for all my local travels, irrespective of weather conditions. I have been a fair-weather bicycle commuter for many years, but after watching everyone on TV blame someone else for the catastrophe, I felt the need to push myself a little harder. My objective here is to regard my car as a luxury that one day I might do without.
Though the extra perspiration and the occasional dodging of raindrops may take some getting used to, you are going to sleep better at night. Trust me on this.
If the oil spill has prompted a similar response from you, feel free to describe them and send them to the moderator of our Peak Oil blog or post them in a response.
by jboullion | Jul 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by RENEW Wisconsin:
Collectively drawing upon the individual roadblocks that developers experienced in permitting wind energy projects in Wisconsin, a group of renewable energy stakeholders urged the Public Service Commission to adopt standards that can’t be undermined by additional restrictions imposed by local governments.
The comments, submitted on behalf of 38 signatories, addressed the draft siting rule published by the Commission in mid-May. The draft rule proposed standards applicable to all wind energy systems — large and small — erected in Wisconsin. In the next phase of this proceeding, the Commission will review the public comments before issuing a final rule in August.
The rule will specify, among other things, setback distances from neighbors, sound limits, shadow flicker durations, procedures for decommissioning inoperable turbines, and mitigating electronic signal interference.
Noting that local governments would have discretionary authority going beyond the legislation’s intentions, renewable energy supporters recommended specific changes to give developers a greater sense of certainty in the permitting process.
“We are willing to work collaboratively and cooperatively with political subdivisions to establish mutually agreeable provisions beyond the requirements of the rules,” the stakeholders said in their joint comments. “However, we cannot develop wind projects in Wisconsin if current uncertainty regarding political subdivision requirements continues.”
by jboullion | Jul 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Dustin Kass of the Winona (MN) Daily News:
WINONA, Minn. – Funding for a high-speed rail line in Minnesota is in jeopardy after federal delays have put the project months behind schedule.
A route for high-speed rail service between Madison and the Twin Cities likely will not be selected until this winter, nearly half a year after originally estimated, Minnesota Department of Transportation officials say. The delay could torpedo the chances of the project receiving federal funding – and of cities such as La Crosse or Winona gaining the economic boost the service would bring.
“The longer we delay, in my view, the less chance you get any money,” Winona Mayor Jerry Miller said.
MnDOT received a $600,000 federal planning grant in January to cover half the cost of a preliminary study examining possible routes between Madison and the Twin Cities. But officials have not even started the study because they are waiting on Federal Railroad Administration officials to review the results of a separate Midwest regional study completed in 2004, said Dan Krom, director of the MnDOT office of Passenger Rail.
Officials are considering lines that would run through Eau Claire or La Crosse, with the second route passing through either Winona or Rochester, Minn. Winona leaders have banded with representatives from municipalities along the Mississippi River to form the Minnesota High-Speed Rail Commission and advocate for the line to follow an existing train route along the river. Miller is the commission’s chairman.
Krom attributed the FRA delays to the burden the agency faces as it administers $8 billion in high-speed rail projects awarded in January. FRA officials did not respond to a call for comment on this story.
The Madison-to-Twin Cities study now will likely start in September, Krom said, with a
preferred route indicated “by the end of they year.” The full study isn’t expected to be finished until September 2011.
by jboullion | Jul 2, 2010 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by Governor Jim Doyle on the success of the ten communities in Energy Independent (EI) Pilot — Brown County; Chequamegon Bay (including the cities of Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn, the towns of Bayfield and La Pointe, the counties of Ashland and Bayfield, the Red Cliff tribe and the Bay Area Regional Transit authority); Columbus; Evansville; Fairfield; Marshfield; Oconomowoc; Osceola, including the school district; Platteville and Lancaster; Spring Green, including the school district:
MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today announced ten Energy Independent (EI) Pilot Communities are well on their way toward achieving “25 x 25” – getting 25 percent of their electricity and 25 percent of their transportation fuels from renewable sources by 2025.
“Through the EI Pilot program communities have found ways to reduce their overall 2025 fossil fuel-based energy consumption by 30 percent,” said Governor Doyle. “This is significant considering we spend $16 billion on fossil fuel energy every year in Wisconsin, and all those dollars go outside of our state. We are finding ways to reduce our dependence
and generate jobs in Wisconsin.”
Two independent reports released by the Office of Energy Independence revealed how the ten EI Pilot Communities were able to accomplish 98 percent of their collective 25 x 25 goal.
The communities reduced their overall 2025 fossil fuel-based energy consumption by 30 percent and reduced their 2025 carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.
The information gathered by the EI Pilot Communities will assist Wisconsin local units of government including the 140 EI Communities to decide which strategies will work best with their unique assets and capitalize on the diversity of their resources.
The reports were conducted by two non-partisan research and policy organizations: the Local Government Institute and the Energy Center of Wisconsin.
