by jboullion | May 21, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Urban Economic Development Association, NAACP Milwaukee, Spotted Eagle, Inc., ACLU of Wisconsin Foundation, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Citizens Allied for Sane Highways, Transit Matters, WISPIRG, Sierra Club – John Muir Chapter:
A coalition of community and environmental groups is urging Governor Doyle and the Department of Transportation to devote economic stimulus money to expand and improve Wisconsin’s public transportation system. In a letter to WisDOT Secretary, Busalacchi the coalition urged that money allocated to Wisconsin by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009’s Surface Transportation Program (ARRA STP) go to projects that will deliver the highest return on investment.
“Particularly in light of Wisconsin’s $6.6 billion current budget deficit, it is especially important that we invest these funds wisely in areas where they will have the greatest impact in our economic recovery,” said Megan Carr, Project Coordinator with the Urban Economic Development Association. “Recent studies show that mass transit projects generate more in terms of jobs and economic growth in comparison to new roads and bridges.”
The coalition particularly urged that funds be spent to improve transit in low income communities. The letter states that “Sustained economic development depends on engaging as many people as possible in the economy. For the broader economy it is better for someone who is unemployed to get a job than for someone who is already employed to switch jobs. Putting or keeping transit in communities with high unemployment produces up to 2.5 times more jobs than putting transit in communities with low unemployment.”
by jboullion | May 21, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources:
MADISON – The public is invited to comment on an Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared by the Department of Natural Resources for the Enbridge Alberta Clipper petroleum pipeline system project.
Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., 119 N. 25th Street East, Superior, WI 54880-5247, has applied to DNR for waterway and wetland crossing permits, and air quality permits for the proposed project. The company will also need a stormwater permit and an endangered resources review for the project.
The proposed pipeline project consists of constructing a new 36-inch diameter petroleum pipeline (known as the Alberta Clipper pipeline), a new 20-inch diameter diluent return pipeline (known as the Southern Lights pipeline), an associated pump station for the Southern Lights pipeline, and five 250,000 barrel breakout tanks. The proposed pipelines would be constructed along a 13 mile route in Douglas County from the Wisconsin-Minnesota border to the Enbridge Superior Terminal in Superior, Wisconsin.
The pipelines would be largely constructed in parallel within an existing pipeline right-of-way that includes four other crude oil pipelines. The pump station and the breakout tanks would be constructed at the Enbridge Superior Terminal at Superior.
The purpose of the Alberta Clipper petroleum pipeline and breakout tanks is to bring crude oil from the tar sands area of Alberta, Canada to refineries in the Midwestern U.S. The Southern Lights diluent pipeline and pumping station are intended to return diluent from the Midwestern U.S. refineries to Alberta, Canada. Diluent is similar to gasoline, and is used to thin crude oil so that it can be pumped through pipelines.
The proposed pipelines would require 17 water body crossings, including 10 tributaries to the Pokegama River, three un-named waterways, two tributaries to the Little Pokegama River, one crossing of the Pokegama River, and one crossing of an un-named tributary to the Nemadji River.
The proposed pipelines would temporarily impact approximately 75 acres of wetland. The pump station and breakout tanks at the Superior Terminal would fill approximately 12 acres of wetland, and temporarily impact approximately 3 acres of wetland.
Air emissions directly associated with the proposed pipeline project at the Enbridge terminal in Superior are from the proposed construction and operation of five new external floating roof tanks having capacities of 8.7 million gallons each, and from associated fugitive emissions from pumping and piping on site. The estimated potential emissions from the tanks and associated fugitive sources are 39 tons per year of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The project will also increase the facility emissions of hazardous air pollutants from crude oil (e.g. benzene, n-hexane). Construction and operation permits from DNR’s air management program will be public noticed separately. . . .
Copies of the environmental assessment that led to the DNR’s preliminary determination can be obtained from Benjamin Callan, Water Management Specialist, at DNR (OE/7), PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921, or via E-mail at benjamin.callan@wisconsin.gov.
DNR has scheduled a public informational hearing where individuals can learn more about the proposed project and submit written or oral comments about the EA and any DNR wetland and waterway determinations associated with the project. The public informational hearing will be held on June 4, 2009 at the City of Superior Public Library, Large Meeting Room, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Public comments on the environmental assessment are welcome and must be submitted to Benjamin Callan no later than 4:30 p.m., June 8, 2009.
by jboullion | May 20, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Orlando Business Journal:
The Orange County Convention Center’s $8.8 million solar project that will turn sunlight into electricity is ready to go on line.
The photovoltaic array, the largest in the Southeast, uses solar panels on the center’s roof to generate 1.1 megawatts of power, enough to provide electricity for 80 to 100 residential houses. The array is expected to considerably reduce the center’s energy demand.
The panels cover about 200,000 square feet of the north/south building’s rooftop. Visitors to the center will be able monitor the system’s output at an on-site education center. The education center also promotes the environmental and economic benefits of solar and other renewable-energy technologies.
by jboullion | May 20, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article in the Stevens Point Journal by Nicole Strittmater:
Students in P.J. Jacobs Junior High School construction class are doing their part for the environment.
On Tuesday, 18 ninth-graders spent the day building a 10-foot-by-20-foot garden house behind the vacant Jackson Elementary School. The garden house is meant to supplement a new organic vegetable garden established by the Sustainable Communities Committee, a group of citizens promoting efficient practices.
Stevens Point residents can set up a 12-foot-by-4-foot garden box for free, and once the students are finished, the building will be used for storage and garden prep work.
“We think it’s going to help the neighborhood. We’re in the heavily forested area, so we don’t have sunlight in our backyards for our gardens at home,” said committee member Wes Halverson, 68, adding the land near the school is exposed to sunlight. “We want to get a lot of things planted this spring.”
Construction teacher Dave Rasmussen said he hopes to have the structure done before May 27, but the $5,000 floor plan is short on funds.
Halverson, a retired University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point environmental management professor, donated $2,000, but the students are looking for the extra cash.
“The economy is killing us. We need somebody else in the community (to help us),” Rasmussen said.
Andrea Stafford, one of Rasmussen’s former students who is now an architect in the Chicago area, has teamed up with the class to design the facility, and Kulp’s of Stratford LLC in Wausau is donating a steel roof.
The students’ work will help with rooftop rain collection and storage for tools.
“There’s no electricity and therefore, there’s no water. So, we have to be sustainable,” Halverson said. “We have to put in rainwater collection and the hand pump to pump up water from high ground water. We’d like to put in a solar water pump eventually once we pay for the building.”
by jboullion | May 20, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an Associated Press article by Ryan J. Foley, pubished in The Capital Times:
Uncertainty about the availability and cost of biomass fuels makes Gov. Jim Doyle’s $251 million plan to overhaul a University of Wisconsin-Madison power plant somewhat risky, according to a report released Tuesday.
Doyle has proposed converting the coal-fired Charter Street plant, long a major polluter in the area, to run on cleaner-burning biomass fuels such as wood chips and paper pellets. His administration says it would be one of the nation’s largest biomass projects and the plan has delighted environmentalists.
A report from consultants hired by the state recommended Tuesday running the plant on a mix of natural gas and biomass and installing a more expensive boiler that can burn any type of biofuel. But the report also warned the state’s biomass market must be expanded for the project to be successful.
The report said the state should get its money back over 25 years from building the more expensive boiler as long as enough biomass fuel supplies are developed and they cost less than natural gas over time. . . .
The report said there was “a significant risk” that not enough biomass supply would be available for the boiler when it is expected to begin running.
Wood products would likely be the main source of fuel for the plant in the beginning while others are developed, the report said. Paper pellets are another cost-effective biomass source, but they are currently in short supply. Switchgrass and agricultural waste currently cost more than natural gas.
by jboullion | May 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a report published by Focus on Energy:
Computers waste a lot of electricity if they remain turned on when not in use. As the Chippewa Falls Area School District recently discovered, the cost savings from reducing computer-related energy use can make a real difference. The district began turning computers and monitors off during evenings and weekends and saw an immediate budgetary impact. The cost reduction from this one energy saving measure saved a staff position that would have been eliminated due to budget cuts.
“We always tell our schools they can cut energy costs in a lot of different ways,” said Charlie Schneider, program manager for the Focus on Energy Schools Program. “Many steps are small, but they can really add up.” Focus on Energy’s Schools Program maintains an on-line maintenance listserv for over 100 school building and grounds managers around Wisconsin. When participants have a good idea or a question about any maintenance issue, including energy efficiency, they share it with colleagues by posting it to the listserv. Recently, a Focus on Energy staff member alerted participants about a free software program created by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This program automatically puts networked computer monitors “to sleep” when they are not being used.
Bob Severson, the director of buildings and grounds at Chippewa Falls Area School District saw this message and was intrigued by the energy savings potential. His district currently owns and operates 1,150 computers. And he knew that his schools, like many around Wisconsin, do not have a formal system for putting computers into “sleep” mode or turning them on and off during evenings and weekends. . . .
The energy savings are real: this one energy saving step will save the district approximately $30,000 each year. And, at a recent school board meeting where difficult budget issues were being decided, it became clear that this unexpected reduction in energy costs will help offset a proposed staff cut.
For more information about computer use in schools, call Focus on Energy at 800.762.7077.
