The SJR has a story about Amtrak being promoted as an eco-friendly travel option. I like taking it to Chicago whenever I go. I don't have to pay for parking or deal with city traffic. And as much as I like Amtrak, I'm in love with the L. I [...]
One of the most interesting parts of the two hearings on the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) was learning about the process of coal gasification and carbon capture. The TEC, proposed by Tenaska Inc, uses a gasification process that turns coal into syngas, which is converted into Substitute Natural [...]
Tenaska Inc is busy trying to convince people that the coal gasification and carbon capture plant proposed in Taylorville won't raise electric rates. They have to try very hard because all evidence indicates that it will. To get the real story, you have to ignore what they're telling the [...]
Five out of seven Republicans running in the primary for Illinois Governor "claim rising temperatures have nothing to do with pollution from cars, factories or power plants." A sixth declined comment.
Dan Proft outdid himself in pandering to the tea-bagger fringe when he called Al Gore and others "enviro-terrorists." [...]
This is the big one. The biggest hearing on the biggest polluters contributing the most to global warming. The EPA is holding a hearing November 19 in Chicago to take public comments on regulating major sources of CO2. It's one of only two hearings on the topic nationally.
A proposed [...]
The next Liberty Brew & View will be a showing of "Food, Inc." sponsored by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Food Fantasies.
Food, Inc.
Tuesday, November 17, 7:00
City Nights Theater at Capital City Bar & Grill
3149 S. Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield
Free admission
Food, Inc. Trailer from [...]
I wonder how much of the left is too cynical to participate in any political victory. I'm hearing two attitudes often.
"Obama will hurt the progressive movement because his supporters think he's going to solve all our problems for us."
"Obama betrayed us because he didn't immediately pass everything through Congress" [...]
State Representative Mike Boland filed his nominating petitions for Lieutenant Governor Monday. He's the only downstate Democrat running for statewide office in 2010. He filed petitions with signatures from every county in the state. I haven't heard of another candidate doing that this year.
Three Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor [...]
I attended two public hearings in Taylorville recently about the coal gasification and carbon capture plant proposed by Tenaska company. It's a similar project but completely separate from the FutureGen plant proposed in Mattoon. Local press coverage was lacking so I hope to write several posts over the next few [...]
It's easy to forget that there's any industry left in Springfield until the company announces they're moving the jobs to Mexico. It's even sadder that the Honeywell Hobbs plant has been here for 71 years. Apparently, the company is showing its patriotic support for American workers with the usual' [...]
Sierra Club is encouraging people to have house parties for the TV premier of Coal Country. It's airing on the Discovery Channel's Planet Green the week of November 14. You can buy it on DVD November 10.
The film filled the room' [...]
It took a while to get pollution data on the coal plant that provides steam to the Illinois State Capitol complex. I found out how difficult it can be to interpret that data, so luckily the Illinois Times did a follow up article. Some pollutants were under allowable [...]
City Water Light & Power is making major investments in energy efficiency and one of their first new efforts is the Refrigerator Roundup program. In the first year since the program launched they recycled over 1,000 inefficient refrigerators taken off the grid, and helped bring green jobs to Springfield.
Today's' [...]
I was glad to read the SJR article about the CWLP Refrigerator Roundup program after the negative Illinois Times column that I've been meaning to write about.
The IT column had several flawed arguments. It states, "More energy-efficient machines reduce the effective cost of energy, so people tend'" [...]
Illinois is ground zero for public dollars going to clean coal projects. Besides FutureGen, there's another carbon capture and coal gasification plant planned by Tenaska Energy Company. Tenaska didn't get the funding together to start construction before their permit expired so the Illinois EPA is holding a new hearing' [...]
I just got home from a lecture at UIS on Lincoln & the Environment by environmental historian Mark Fiege with an introduction by Lincoln historian Michael Burlingame. It combined two of my favorite topics so naturally I had a good time.
Fiege made a number of interesting points including [...]
It's the annual blog action day for change.org and their suggested topic is climate change. I write about energy all the time so I'll do a post or two from a big picture perspective.
The fossil fuel industry has gone from denying the existence of global warming to claiming that [...]
The top political agenda of the Sangamon county board is to not significantly raise property taxes. They raise other fees and enact annual percentage increases in the tax cap. But they creatively describe those increases in a way that allows them to campaign on the slogan that they don't raise' [...]
350.org is doing another international day of action and this one is to support a strong climate treaty coming out of Copenhagen.
Springfield environmental groups are teaming up to host a bike ride and rally downtown October 24.
BIKE! 350 - Biking into Clean Energy
[...]
The Sierra Club is holding an informational public meeting in Springfield about the Taylorville Energy Center. It's one of two large projects proposed for central Illinois that would use coal gassification and carbon capture technology. The meeting is being held in advance of an EPA public hearing on the proposed [...]
I caught the very tail end of the IDOT hearing on high speed rail in Springfield last night. They were nice enough to leave the powerpoint presentation running for me while they packed up.
I learned some interesting things I don't remember hearing before in this debate. Such as:
- The' [...]
The next Liberty Brew & View movie later this month focuses on free speech issues and will be followed by a program from the Springfield area ACLU. I'm excited about having the ACLU sponsor another showing because they always draw a large crowd and put together a good post-movie program.' [...]
An Australian news crew came to Illinois to do the kind of report on clean coal technology that you aren't likely to see on local television. "The Coal Nightmare" is a tough, 44 minute reality check for poeple who think clean coal is a magic wand that will allow' [...]
Tuesday was the "Coal is Dirty Business" day of action and the Sierra Club held a lunch forum in Springfield.
The first speaker, Dennis Ruez, Jr., gave an interesting perspective on global warming, coal, and carbon sequestration efforts from a geological perspective that I hadn't heard before.' [...]
Most of this post is from a press release that went out for the event. We'll have post cards asking Governor Quinn to clean the capitol building and a photo area for anyone who wants to be part of the national photo-petition to the EPA.
Brown Bag Luncheon on Old' [...]
I saw this in the Springfield "Neighborhood News" and remembered that I often hear people complain about the lack of glass recycling.
Glass Recycling Collection
A free drop-off recycling collection for ALL COLORS of glass bottles and jars will be held soon:
Saturday, October 3, 2009
8:00 am [...]
When my nieces were younger my brother had a trick for getting them to do what he wanted. He would present one of his daughters with two options and say she could make her own choice. One option was always a more undesirable one that he knew she wouldn't choose.' [...]
Like most public utilities, Springfield's CWLP has worked on energy efficiency for many years, and those efforts are reaching a new level. Several new funding sources are about to dramatically increase investments in saving energy and reducing global warming emissions.
The CWLP agreement with the Sierra Club states that a [...]
One cause of the controversy over high-speed rail in Springfield is the popular view that passenger rail is primarily a Chicago-area issue. The impact and possibilities for downstate seem to be considered an afterthought, if at all.
A few news articles suggest that Springfield isn't the only downstate town' [...]
It has been a few years since the clean energy agreement with CWLP had the talk radio crowd calling the Sierra Club a bunch of blackmailers, extortionists and eco-terrorists. The State Journal-Register runs a lot of mind numbing letters-to-the-editor from the talk radio cult, which I usually avoid the pain [...]
Earlier this week, the Madison county board passed a resolution opposing the expansion of destructive long wall mining methods into their county and calling on state and federal governments to protect agricultural lands from the practice. That's pretty impressive for a county where the coal industry has so much [...]
I never got around to writing about Springfield being named one of the top mid-sized green cities by NRDC's Smarter Cities rankings. We're ranked #4 overall and #1 in air quality. We even beat out liberal towns like Eugene, OR and Berkeley, CA.
The city profile highlights' [...]
Stephen Colbert had an interview with Leymah Gbowee who appears in the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell. He points out that she's from Africa and not a Hollywood celebrity. Apparently, American TV shows are allowed to have Africans speak about African issues. Does CNN know about this?
[...]
Progress Illinois linked to the post I wrote yesterday morning about the behavior of John Shimkus and other Republicans during Obama's speech. The Shimkus walk-out got more attention after a Chicago Tribune blog posted a response from his office.
"Congressman Shimkus was frustrated that the president" [...]
Today is the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance as established by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. If you're looking for ways to become involved in central Illinois check out the Community Volunteer Center website. You can also share your story of service.
Personally, I'm [...]
I only read a few news stories today but I guess everyone is writing and talking about the Congressman who yelled "liar" during Obama's speech. I couldn't make out what he said so that's not what bothered me at the time.
It really got on my nerves that after years of' [...]
If we're going to be honest with ourselves, we have to recognize that the more extremist voices like Glenn Beck are not the only problem when it comes to the red-baiting of progressive leaders. It's also the tyranny of conventional wisdom that dominates the for-profit press.
Happy Labor Day!
The red-baiting and retirement of Van Jones remind me that labor unions were always the first target of McCarthy style campaigns. Unions became very strong after the 1930's and conservative corporate leaders knew they had to fight back. Red-baiting has divided and crippled the labor movement throughout its [...]
We have a new Joseph McCarthy and his name is Glenn Beck. His biggest victory so far is the red-baiting of Van Jones. He won't be satisfied to stop after just one victim.
Anyone who studies the long history of red-baiting knows that it was never about fighting' [...]
I know most Springfield residents didn't get to see the Energy Citizens polluter rally Tuesday, and not because they were banned from entering like I was. Most of the crowd were bussed in from out of town and obviously had jobs related to the coal, oil or' [...]
I think the awareness that we have a coal plant in downtown Springfield just increased by 1,000% after the Illinois Times cover article.
What's most troubling is how close it is to Springfield's main hospitals and the widely promoted regional Medical District. The plant has no equipment to [...]
Several environmental organizations sent press spokespersons to the "energy citizens" rally organized by the oil industry in Springfield today. I went for the Sierra Club and gave several interviews. We decided not to stage any sort of counter-demonstration and things went smoothly.
However, I did manage to get banned [...]
Any farmer who would like to see the next generation stay in the business has an interest in taking strong action on global warming. The federal report on impacts of climate change describes the many challenges it will present to farmers, including unpredictable spring flooding, new heat extremes, and [...]
We know that the "energy citizens" rally coming to Springfield Tuesday is part of a national propaganda campaign organized by the oil industry.
Greenpeace exposed a strategy memo in which the CEO of the American Petroleum Institute explains that economic scare tactics are their best approach. They found [...]
Usually, the fossil fuel industries are content to use their massive wealth, financial entanglements and teams of high-priced lobbyists to rig the political system in their favor. But they must be getting nervous because this year they're riding the wave of manufactured talk-radio hysteria with a series of rallies against' [...]
The September Liberty Brew & View movie is "Pray the Devil Back to Hell."
It's sponsored by Springfield peace & justice groups as part of a week of events around the International Day of Peace. They wanted something with a more positive message and this sounds looks like a [...]
I was in Conservation World at the State Fair last week wearing my shirt of Smokey swinging a shovel at a boy scout who started a camp fire. When Smokey the Bear walked by I knew it was my only chance to get this picture.
[...]
"Business Casual" attire is a way of saying that they pay you enough to make you wear boring clothes but you're still not important enough for a suit and tie.
I hate business casual. I'd rather be in a t-shirt or a suit. Either be casual or be formal. Pick one [...]
If you missed last week's showing of Coal Country, or want to recommend it to friends, you'll have a chance to see it again at the September Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group meeting. Tuesday, September 22, 7:00pm, Lincoln Library, Carnegie Room, 326 S. 7th St., Springfield, IL.
[...]
Tuesday night's showing of Coal Country was one of the most fun and successful events I've had for Liberty Brew & View. The movie drew 60-70 people and most stayed to hear videographer Jordan Freeman talk about spending the last three years in West Virginia working on the' [...]
State Representative Mike Boland is running for Lt. Governor. He's a downstate progressive Democrat who has been a strong voice for reform for over a decade. I think he's the kind of candidate Democrats need on the statewide ticket this year. If you're at this fundraiser you'll see me.
[...]
I just got the exciting news that Coal Country videographer, Jordan Freeman, will be in Springfield to speak and answer questions after the film's Midwest premier hosted by Liberty Brew & View and Sierra Club.
Jordan Freeman is an independent videographer based in Rock Creek, WV. He was a [...]
The Illinois State Fair started Thursday night and earlier today I stopped by tents for the two parties and a few statewide elected officials. When it comes to state party tents the Republicans are doing it better again this year.
I picked up handouts for a dozen statewide Republican candidates, [...]
Speaking of 5MW solar farms, the climate crossroads blog happened to post yesterday about Sierra SunTower, the new solar thermal power tower. They use mirrors to direct heat into a steam boiler.
The company's news page has an impressive quote from their CEO.
[...]
People are talking about the possibility of CWLP building a solar farm in Springfield. The city council passed ordinance 2009-395 at their August 5th meeting to study the feasibility of a 5MW solar project. It supplements funds CWLP is receiving from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
[...]
Not long after the election, Organizing for America called its first meeting. Voters who supported Obama's campaign were asked to meet in small groups across the country and discuss our top issues. We were told this would influence the priorities of the new administration.
I took it as an encouraging [...]
You can download and print a one page flier for the Springfield showing of Coal Country.
And here's the trailer.
I'm very excited that I was able to get next month's Liberty Brew & View movie, Coal Country. This is the Midwest premier of the new documentary that will hit home for many people in downstate Illinois. I'll post details about the after-movie speaker soon.
Coal Country
Tuesday, August [...]
Despite his office being bombarded with calls from rabid, out-of-state Rush Limbaugh listeners, Mark Kirk did a good job of representing his district when he became one of eight Republicans who voted for the Waxman-Markey energy and jobs bill.
Now that he's running for US Senate, his district is [...]
Obama's Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, wrote an editorial about the energy, jobs and climate bill now before the Senate.
Here is the future that I see. In the coming decades, the laws of supply and demand will almost certainly force oil and gas prices to rise. At the same [...]
A free showing of The Take is tonight! I've shown some controversial movies and this is one of the best and most controversial yet.
City Nights Theater at Capital City Bar & Grill in Springfield. Movie starts at 7:00 Tuesday.
One argument fossil fuel industry lobbyists often use against renewable energy is that it's too expensive compared to conventional coal power plants. So it's almost funny, after seeing them feign concern for the consumer, to watch as they push for expensive "clean" coal technologies like the proposed Taylorville Tenaska [...]
Count me in with the crowd that's happy to see funds to replace the Stratton Office Building. I've always called its design Stalinesque. The SJR did a fine job describing its "Cold War Civil Defense Fallout Shelter style."
Pictures of when the building was new make it look nearly' [...]
I'm glad to see a group like the Capital Area Independent Business Alliance and I'm eager to find out what they do next.
It's not always easy, but I shop local and skip the big-box stores as much as possible. I haven't bought anything at a Walmart in at [...]
Don't let anyone in the Illinois General Assembly tell you they passed a budget. They didn't pass the budget; they passed the buck.
At least two proposals would have created new criminal penalties and regulations related to the Burr Oaks cemetery tragedy. There wasn't a vote and no action was taken.' [...]
Lake & Prairie, the Illinois Sierra Club's newsletter, ran my short update on the state buying wind power and the CWLP agreement. Illinois Times readers may notice that it's similar to my editorial in May since both were written at the same time for different audiences.
I hate' [...]
The Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign made a major announcement today.
As of today 100 coal plants have been defeated or abandoned since the beginning of the coal rush, including Enviropower, Indeck and Rentech coal plants in Illinois. In their place, a smart mix of clean energy [...]
Jeff Biggers writes at HuffPost about a new documentary, Coal Country.
As a groundbreaking clean energy counterpart to this summer's extraordinary Food, Inc. documentary on the agribusiness, the long-awaited Coal Country film on the cradle-to-grave process of generating our coal-fired electricity will be hitting the theaters next [...]
Happy Independence Day!
I'm going overboard filling out "pick your five" quizzes on facebook. One is "the 5 proudest moments in American history." Not easy, but here's what I came up with.
Adoption of the Bill of Rights
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
[...]
Illinois Issues has an excellent article on the growing wind industry in Illinois that mentions the Sierra Club agreement with CWLP.
One of the coal industry's most effective tactics is to create a sense of inevitability about their product.
They present coal as the first, last and only realistic [...]
I shouldn't read Thomas Friedman. It irritates me every time.
Friedman's main purpose in life is to sell a kinder-gentler version of free trade to liberals and intellectuals. He soothes bleeding hearts by convincing us that the downsides of WTO, IMF and World Bank globalization policies can be fixed with' [...]
It passed! The most important energy and climate change legislation in American history passed the House and next stop is the Senate.
Everyone in Congress claims to care about clean energy. Here's how the Illinois delegation voted when it mattered most.
Yes -11
Bean
Davis
Gutierrez
Halverson
Hare
Jackson
Kirk
[...]
Aaron Schock is a new Congressman, so even though his previous environmental record isn't very impressive, I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Soon we'll find out if he was serious about the windmills and promises to protect rivers that appeared in his campaign ads. It isn't [...]
In a recent New York Times article Illinois Congressman Tim Johnson said, "I've always through the whole process been open-minded, but I also wouldn't want to leave anybody with the impression I'm likely to vote for something when pretty clearly my constituents are not enamored with the bill," Johnson is' [...]
The next Liberty Brew & View movie is "The Take" on Tuesday, July 21, 7:00pm, Capital City Bar & Grill, Springfield, Free.
The short synopsis:
In the wake of Argentina’s spectacular economic collapse, Latin America’s most prosperous middle class finds itself in a ghost town of abandoned factories and [...]
The much anticipated federal report on the coming impacts of climate change was officially released today. It's at whitehouse.gov and at a turbo-cool new site for the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
All the big enviro blogs will write about this and Grist is doing a coverage round-up. [...]
I was flipping through the FM dial and stopped on a voice blaming the ills of society on the poorest and least powerful. Immigrants in this case. It turns out that the local station blasts in a daily dose of fascism from Glenn Beck.
The part that surprised me was [...]
New Congressman Mike Quigley showed courage by speaking the hard truth about coal that you don't often hear from Illinois politicians. "Nothing about coal is clean." I spotted the video at Progress Illinois.
I don't mind the coal industry researching carbon capture technology but it's disappointing' [...]
As the environmental movement enters it's third stage to focus on global warming, it has long been recognized as a human rights issue. But it's still uncommon for leaders to speak about it in those terms.
In contrast, polluters are quick to adopt the language of freedom, rights and liberty. [...]
At last night's CWLP Energy Forum, Bill Mills spoke about the new program to offer customers renewable energy credits (RECs). An official announcement should happen next week.
Since federal offices are encouraged to use renewable energy, CWLP already has their first customer: Lincoln Home National Historic Site. [...]
Last Friday I was lucky enough to attend a talk with famed NASA scientist James Hansen at the Sierra Club Midwest new energy future conference. He was the first scientist to testify before Congress about global warming in 1988. If climatologists were rock starts he would be Mic Jagger [...]
CWLP's next Smart Energy Forum is Thursday, June 11, 6:00pm, Illinois National Bank Downtown Conference Center, Fourth and Jackson Streets, Springfield. Things are happening rapidly so we'll probably hear updates about federal stimulus projects CWLP is applying for, progress on the power plant, and new efficiency programs being developed.' [...]
The next Liberty Brew & View movie is:
Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train
Tuesday, June 16, 7:00pm
Doors open at 6:30 pm for food and beverages
On the big screen in City Nights Theater at Capital City Bar & Grill
3149 S. Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield, IL
Free' [...]
I'm getting information overload with all the blogs and quickly outdated news articles on the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act. Most environmentalists believe the bill is too weak in it's current form but how should we ask Congress to strengthen it?
Kate Sheppard, my new favorite blogger,
I'm at the Sierra Club's Midwest Energy Conference. I just heard about Code Black, a program on the public health impacts of global warming by Physicians for Social Responsibility. I'd like to work with them in Illinois.
[...]Last week I wrote about a public forum by Congresswoman Judy Biggert on the Waxman-Markey ACES bill to curb global warming. Congressman Peter Roskam didn't participate, as originally announced, and Biggert said she's still undecided on the bill.
I wasn't there but the Naperville Sun [...]
I forgot to post about the passage of the Illinois Green Buildings Act, HB1013, earlier in May. It requires state funded construction projects and major renovations of state buildings to meet energy efficiency standards, including LEED certification.
It was sponsored by Representative Mike Boland, who spoke at [...]
Clean energy advocates and consumers won several victories at the tail end of the Illinois General Assembly session. A major bill setting statewide efficiency standards for new residential construction, HB 3987, passed Sunday night. It makes Illinois eligible for additional federal stimulus dollars tied to adoption of the latest [...]
Over 200 people participated in a fast "to call attention to the need for the United States to give leadership to the world on the climate issue." Nine of them fasted between 25-40 days, including Springfield resident Diane Lopez Hughes. They want Congress to pass:
-legislation that mandates a definite [...]
The Illinois General Assembly couldn't agree on a budget but the House did pass a resolution to express support for improved fuel economy and vehicle polluting emissions standards that President Obama recently proposed at the federal level. This was an easy vote since it doesn't require the state to [...]
