Where there's a Will, there's a way

Once in a while I see news stories about hydrogen cars or coal to liquid fuel technologies that may or may not be economically feasible at some point in the future after more development and millions (or billions) of dollars in proposed subsidies to industry. Meanwhile, we have several ways to increase fuel economy and decrease our reliance on foreign oil right here and now.

Treehugger blog has a post about hybrid electric cars partially powered by solar roofs. Click on the link to see how it looks.

“All the technology is there,” Johanson said. “It’s just the larger manufacturer taking the next step.” For the first 40 miles of a commute, the cars use batteries rather than gas. Forty miles a day is equal to 50 cents a gallon off the utility grid.

With gas prices expecting to break $4 a gallon in the near future, Johanson said they will be gaining in popularity. To date, the company has manufactured nearly 100 of the kits to individual buyers. “Four dollars is the break-even point for these kits,” Johanson said. “Then it pays for itself in two years. That’s where the economics makes sense for the kits. Do you want to own it or do you want to rent energy for the next three years?”

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I went to the talk by Normal Mayor Chris Koos Tuesday night, hosted by SSI, expecting to find out more about their green building program. What I got was a view of the many ways that Springfield is being upstaged by one of our neighboring communities.

Yes, they adopted the LEED environmental standards for new buildings downtown but their redevelopment plan includes a wide variety of both small and big ideas that are improving their downtown and the quality of life for residents. Check out Normal's website for information about some of what they're doing, including the multimodal transportation center and the roundabout.

In response to a question from an audience member, Mayor Koos mentioned that most local developers didn't believe their plans for downtown would work, didn't support the emphasis on improving the city center as opposed to unrestrained sprawl, and they've had to look for investment from developers outside the community for some projects.

Its hard to imagine that lack of support from developers, and other naysayers who think "that's never happened before" is a full-proof argument against any proposal, didn't stop city leaders from moving forward. Springfield can definitely learn a thing or two from Normal.

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I spent Memorial Day weekend in Chicago where I got to see the parade. A highlight was the float with some of the original Tuskegee airmen. I also saw the movie Bug, which deserves an Oscar nomination for best picture. I took a book on labor movement history and by complete coincidence the next chapter was on the Chicago Memorial Day Massacre, which I read while in Chicago on Memorial Day weekend.

Seventy years ago today, 10 demonstrators were killed and many more wounded by police attempting to break up a steelworkers strike. Workers striking for better pay and working conditions being attacked by the authorities is hardly a unique event in American history, but this may have been the first time such an event was captured on film.

Dick Meister recently wrote an article on the massacre and the newsreel that Paramount Pictures never release to the public. The article tells of the reaction of a US Senate committee that did see the film:

The committee found that strikers and their families, while noisily demanding collective bargaining rights as they massed in front of the South Chicago plant operated by Republic Steel, had indeed been generally peaceful. But that was beside the point to the police in Chicago and other cities with plants operated by Republic and two other members of the "Little Steel" alliance that also were struck. For as the committee concluded, the police had been "loosed ... to shoot down citizens on the streets and highways" at the companies' behest. The companies even supplied them with weapons and ammunition from their own stockpiles.

The committee said the companies had spent more than $40,000 on machine guns, rifles, shotguns, revolvers, tear gas canisters and launchers and 10,000 rounds of ammunition to use against strikers. Republic alone had more supplies than any law enforcement agency in the entire country.

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I want to give a last minute plug for two interesting events happening in Springfield this week.

Tonight (Tuesday) Sustainable Springfield Inc is hosting the Mayor of Normal Illinois, Chris Koos, to speak about his city's progress on developing green building initiatives. Normal is the first city in downstate Illinois to adopt these standards and Springfield should be next.

Tuesday May 29, 7:00pm
Prairie Heart Institute, Dove Conference Center
8th & Carpenter

Wednesday night is a forum hosted by the Citizens Club of Springfield, which holds regular meetings on timely topics important to the city. They hosted the forum on Springfield's Energy Future which I spoke at in January. I find all of their events to be worthwhile and I regret that I miss so many. I plan to attend this one on higher education.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND SPRINGFIELD’S FUTURE
A Conversation with the Leaders
Wednesday May 30 2007
5:15-7:15 pm
Dove Conference Center in the Prairie Heart Institute

The speakers are:
Dr. Kevin Dorsey, Dean and Provost SIU School of Medicine
Mablene Krueger, Provost Robert Morris College
Dr. Richard Ringeisen, Chancellor University of Illinois at Springfield
Dr. Charlotte Warren, President Lincoln Land Community College

Posted by Will at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I may not get to post anything over the weekend so today I'm linking to a list of US Soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fatalities in Iraq include 3,441 U.S. soldiers, of which 123 were from Illinois, and one from Springfield, who graduated from my high school two years before I did. Additionally, over 25,000 Americans have been wounded.

They should all be remembered during this weekend in particular, regardless of ones views on the war. This still angers me.

Posted by Will at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An SJ-R story today gives a perfect example of how to squander the potential of the internet. If someone gives you free publicity for your tourist destination, with the potential to reach millions of people around the globe, just say thank you or at least look the other way.

It reminded me of an item I saw in the bookstore recently, "Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War." At least Abe wasn't afraid of embracing new communication technologies. Has anyone read that book yet?

On another level, I'm note sure how I feel about the fact that Disney has the rights to decide what we do with the content of a taxpayer funded museum. Shouldn't it be up to the people of Illinois?

And since I'm on the topic of the Presidential Museum, I'm going to take this opportunity to repeat my frequent complaint that it makes no mention of Lincoln's opposition as a member of Congress to the Mexican-American War because it was an unprovoked war of aggression justified by lies and false intelligence claims from President Polk. This was his most notable act in Congress and the first thing that brought him national attention. Yet, his time in Congress gets no more mention in the museum than a spot on a timeline.

That glaring omission is what allows George Bush and other Republicans to offensively use Lincoln's name to justify a war that Abe most certainly would have opposed had he been a Congressman in 2003.

Posted by Will at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Illinois Clean Car bill I've been writing about would have Illinois adopt the California standards for auto emissions that are stricter than current federal standards. The Sacremento Union has an article today about California's fight with the EPA to get final approval for their improved standards. What's more applicable for us in Illinois is that it gives an excellent overview of what's happening nationally and how we fit into the bigger picture.

From the article:

While the federal government has authority to make air pollution rules, California has unique status under the Clean Air Act to enact its own regulations as long as it receives permission from the EPA. Other states can then follow either the federal or California standards.

Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are ready to implement California’s emissions standards, according to California officials, while six other states are actively considering them: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Mexico and North Carolina.

Tuesday’s hearing in suburban Arlington, Va., came after more than a year of inaction since California submitted its waiver petition in 2005.

I've seen a few news articles about a proposal to suspend the Illinois gas tax to give drivers a break. At best that's a short term band-aid. If the legislature wants to get serious about saving drivers money on gas they need to adopt standards that will force car companies to provide more fuel efficient vehicles. Reducing consumption of fuel is also the most effective way to reduce our dependence on large amounts of foreign oil.

As the car commercials say, "There's no better time to act than now! Hurry before its too late!"

Posted by Will at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week I wrote about the hearing for the Illinois Clean Car Bill in the House Environmental Health Committee. It turns out that the roll call for votes in committee aren't published on the General Assembly website so it took me a little while to confirm how everyone voted.

Those voting "yes" for Clean Cars.

Karen May (D - Highwood)
Mike Boland (D - Moline)
Paul Froehlich (R - Schaumburg)
Julie Hamos (D - Evanston)
Greg Harris (D - Chicago)
Elaine Nekritz (D - Des Plaines)
Al Riley (D - Matteson)

Those voting "no."

Dave Winters (R - Rockford)
Kevin McCarthy (D - Orland Park)
Patricia Bellock (R - Westmont)
Patricia Lindner (R - Sugar Grove)
Robert Pritchard (R - Sycamore)

As you can see, only one Republican voted for the bill, and one Democrat voted against it. The growing list of co-sponsors currently includes two Republicans and sixteen Democrats.

I believe the bill's sponsor, Karen May, said that she doesn't plan to bring the bill up for a vote in the full house until she's confident it has enough support to pass. That means its time to call up State Representatives who haven't signed on yet as co-sponsors to House Bill 3424.

If you live in the Springfield area you're either represented by Raymond Poe or Rich Brauer. Their contact information is:

Rich Brauer - District 100
(217) 782-0053

Raymond Poe - District 99
(217) 782-0044

Everyone else can find their State Representative on this list. If your representative is on the Environmental Health Committee you might also call to thank them for a "yes" vote or ask them to reconsider their "no" vote.

Posted by Will at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The SJ-R has a wire story today on contaminants in fish that doesn't provide any information specific to Illinois, and in my opinion, does a little too much cheerleading for fish consumption without adequately discussing the sources of contaminants.

For a little more background information specific to Illinois, I would suggest reading about the fish advisories for the state of Illinois. It warns against consumption of all predator fish for the entire state. In particular, check out the Illinois Department of Public Health's fact sheet about Illinois' Methylmercury Advisory. A few points that stuck out for me:

Q: Why has Illinois issued a statewide methylmercury advisory?

A: The Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program (IFCMP)* has issued a statewide advisory for predator fish in Illinois waters due to methylmercury. The change is based on recent studies that have shown adverse effects to the developing nervous system of fetuses that could result in lower IQ, abnormal muscle tone and slowed motor function. The advisory has been established to protect the most sensitive populations: pregnant and nursing women, fetuses, women of childbearing age and children younger than 15 years of age.

Q: Why is the statewide methylmercury advisory only for predator species?

A: Mercury stays in the environment for a long time. Small organisms absorb mercury from water and sediment; these organisms then are eaten by smaller fish. Predator fish eat the smaller fish and methylmercury is accumulated up the food chain. Larger fish have the highest amounts of methylmercury stored in their bodies. Predator species for Illinois include all species of black bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted), striped bass, white bass, hybrid bass, walleye, sauger, saugeye, flathead catfish, muskellunge and northern pike.

Q: What are the potential health effects for people who eat fish contaminated with methylmercury?

A: The developing nervous systems of fetuses and children could be damaged if exposed to even small amounts of methylmercury. At high doses, methylmercury can affect the central nervous system (causing such health problems as memory loss and slurred speech) and can cause kidney damage and failure, and gastrointestinal damage. The possible health effects depend on how much methylmercury is stored in the fish and how much fish is eaten over a period of time. Based on the amounts of methylmercury detected in predator sport fish in Illinois, it is unlikely that people would experience adverse health effects associated with exposure to high doses.

I would also suggest checking out a report entitled, "Risky Fishing: Power Plant Mercury Pollution and Illinois Sport Fish." A few points from the summary page of the website:

In April 2004, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists estimated that up to one in six women of childbearing age in the U.S. has sufficiently high mercury blood levels to put an unborn child at risk of neurological damage. Higher doses similarly impair adults and also increase the risk of heart attacks. The primary route of human exposure to mercury is eating contaminated fish....

Coal-fired power plants are by far the largest source of human-created mercury emissions. Illinois’s 21 coal-fired power plants are the source of an estimated 71% of in-state mercury pollution. A third of this mercury is attributable to just a single company, Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of Edison International. Studies of mercury cycling in the environment tell us that much of this mercury will be deposited locally. When deposited in waterways, mercury is converted by bacteria into highly toxic methylmercury, which bioaccumulates up the aquatic food chain and into unsafe concentrations in popular sport fish. Even mercury that isn’t deposited locally has local implications, as it contributes to global mercury deposition which contaminates commercial ocean fish, some of which eventually end up on Illinoisans dinner tables.

The bad news is that the Bush administration has been blocking efforts to seriously limit mercury emissions from coal power plants. The good news is that Illinois recently took action to implement mercury reductions beyond the federal standards. Here's an article and a press release about the standards that will cut 90% of mercury pollution coming out of Illinois coal plants by 2009.

Stronger action still needs to be taken at the federal level, but this is a reminder of one way that our environmental quality of life is enhanced by living in a more politically progressive state that is willing to act in the interests of all citizens.

In the local area, one project people could start looking at is what it would take to make fish in Lake Springfield safe for everyone to eat. That will involve issues beyond mercury, such as run-off from area farms. This is something I've been interested in for a while and I may finally get around to doing some research. If anyone knows about anything that has been done in the recent past or any studies about the contaminants in the lake, please let me know.

Posted by Will at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I try to focus on local issues but I'm going to write about recent news on trade negotiations because its one of those topics that is consistently ignored by the corporate-owned media. Highlighting issues missed by the media is one of the important roles blogs play and there's no issue where the financial interests of the media more clearly distort news coverage than on the free-trade issue. We get coverage about Paul Wolfowitz hiring his girlfriend at the World Bank but we hear nothing about how the World Bank impacts the global economy.

I did a google search for news articles about the Doha round of WTO trade talks and the only recent article I could find that gave a good summary was from the European Union. It states:

At the top of the agenda remain questions on trade in agricultural products that have blocked progress in the WTO's Doha Development Round, launched with great fanfare in the Qatari capital in 2001.

Negotiators are under growing pressure ahead of a June 30 deadline when US President George W. Bush's "fast track" trade authority expires.

Under current legislation, the US Congress is entitled to approve or reject trade deals signed by the administration but is unable to amend them.

Without the "fast track" provision, a Doha Round trade liberalisation accord approved by the US administration could be picked apart -- and neutralised -- by members of Congress defending constituents' interests.

Rich traders, the United States and the European Union in particular, are under pressure to slash trade-distorting farm subsidies and to lower customs duties on agricultural goods from the developing world.

A group of Senators held a press conference yesterday but I haven't seen any major media coverage of it so far. Bernie Sanders issued a press release about the event that's worth reading. Here's one of many important facts pointed out in the release:

“Over the past six years, we have lost over three million manufacturing jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, our trade deficit with China since the passage of PNTR in 2000 led to the loss of 1.8 million U.S. jobs; and our trade deficits with Mexico and Canada since the passage of NAFTA in 1994 led to the loss of over one million U.S. jobs.

“Not only is manufacturing in a state of collapse, we have also lost 644,000 well-paying information sector jobs from January of 2001 to January of 2006 – representing 17.4 percent of the workforce in that sector.

I don't think the system formed by the WTO and World Bank can accurately be called a free-trade system. They create a one-sided system that can more accurately be called neo-colonialism. Pick up John Perkin's book, Confessions of an Economic Hitman, for a compelling treatment of the subject.

Posted by Will at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nothing makes me happier to be a CWLP customer than reading the news about Ameren. I was once required to use Ameren for my natural gas and they were always a nightmare to deal with. I wasn't the least bit surprised when I read accusations that they aren't doing their part to maintain the grid. It was obvious from my experience that they cut corners on customer service. A company with a short-sighted view about its customers is likely to have the same short-sighted view about other issues such as maintaining the grid. I couldn't be happier with all the negative publicity and political problems they're having now. They deserve it.

I was also unsurprised when Lisa Madigan decided to investigate alleged price fixing by Ameren, which sounds eerily similar to Enron's role in manufacturing the California energy crisis that lead to artificially inflated prices.

When I was in Chicago last weekend I heard a feel-good radio commercial from ComEd about rate hikes. Obviously, they're nervous. It made me wonder if Ameren is going to make a similar PR effort in downstate.

At first I was shocked at the SJ-R story that Ameren is sending out notices about summer rate hikes. It sounds like a pretty stupid message to send to their customers while the legislature is still in session and considering reinstating the rate freeze. Why would they remind people that rates are going up?

Unless, of course, they're low-balling their estimates to make the rate increases appear to be small. Looking at the low numbers in the article, I have to wonder if that's what they're doing. I know that sounds suspicious and cynical but I've never been proven wrong when questioning Ameren's ethics.

Community Energy Systems is one local group working on this and related issues. Head over to their website and sign the petition opposing the rate increase.

Since Simpsons fever has hit Springfield, here's a clip from a very early episode where Lisa sings a Woody Guthrie style protest song at the Springfield power plant.

Posted by Will at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday I attended a hearing on the Illinois Clean Car bill in the Illinois House Environmental Health Committee. The bill would cause Illinois to join 13 other states that have adopted the California "Pavley Law" standards for reducing car emissions beyond the minimum federal requirement.

One of the speakers in favor of the bill was Jack Darin, Illinois Director of the Sierra Club, who chaired a working group appointed by the Governor which is making the reccomendation to adopt the California standards.

Automobiles are the second largest source of pollutants that cause global warming after coal power plants. The California standards would reduce those emissions as well as other pollutants that cause asthma and other health problems. Its expected that much of the reduction would come through increased fuel efficiency, which means car buyers will spend less on gas.

The automobile manufacturers brought in some of their big guns from California, D.C. and Chicago to lobby against the bill. Their main spokesperson was the ironically named Steven Douglas (we were short distance from the Stephen A. Douglas statue on the Capitol lawn) from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The Alliance is a joint project of the major car manufactures and they send Steven from California to all over the country to lobby against government interference in their right to pollute the planet we all live on.

I thought Steve was mostly full of crap but never more so than on his points about consumer choice and electric cars. Perhaps most annoyingly, he made some ridiculous statements about the high cost of electric cars and their limited driving range. Having just watched the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car, I know that the technology exists to make affordable zero emissions electric cars that have a reasonable driving range. The Tesla would be my dream all-electric car, just in case anyone wants to know what to buy me for Christmas.

The most shocking part of the film was that the car companies refused to let the owners of electric cars in California renew their leases. They took electric cars away from consumers who wanted them and had them all demolished. That pretty well sums up the auto-manufacturer's' commitment to consumer choice when it comes to clean cars.

Still, Steve asserted that it was Clean Car regulations that would limit consumer choice in his unlikely scenario that consumers will soon be rushing to purchase higher mileage vehicles, when finally given a choice, as gas prices surpass $3.00 per gallon.

I was very happy to see two Representatives, Mike Boland and Elaine Nekritz, make the same point about consumer choice which I wrote about in a previous blog post. They both spoke of their desire to buy an American, union-made car that gets great gas mileage, such as a hybrid. Nekrtiz said that she could only find one car that met her criteria of being green and American made. American car companies are not giving consumers good choices and the UAW is not representing its membership well when they support company efforts to resist providing a product that consumers want.

The other argument of the car manufacturers' is that they don't have the ability to meet the regulations. Historically, that's an argument that is always made, yet they somehow find a way to meet whatever requirements are passed without the doomsday scenarios coming to fruition. And historically, the car manufacturers do no more than they are required to do. One thing I do appreciate from the testimony of the opponents is that I gained an appreciation for how complex this issue is, so I plan on doing more research.

The bill passed committee on a 7-5 vote. I didn't write down how each member voted so I'll post that information when the transcript is available on the House website.

Posted by Will at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was in Chicago Sunday so I missed the SJ-R's editorial on Hunter Lake. I can't believe none of my friends mentioned it to me until yesterday.

To my surprise, they supported most of the arguments made by those opposed to the lake that I wrote about in January. I've come to expect the SJ-R to take the same business establishment viewpoint as the Chamber of Commerce so I'm impressed to see them argue for a rational policy over the desire of a few people to make a fortune at the expense of CWLP ratepayers.

One thing they didn't mention is that the only major new demand for water is coming from proposed ethanol plants, which require large amounts of water resources. If the investors and developers of local ethanol plants want a second water source then they should pay for it themselves instead of asking CWLP customers to subsidize their cost of doing business.

The editorial makes me hopeful that we might actually see a new recreational area that would supplement the Lincoln-themed tourist economy. Having a good natural area nearby would help keep young people in the area, which is something the city needs to seriously think about if we're going to follow the Q5 plan to expand the local economy. Not having good places to go hiking is still what I miss most after moving back to my hometown. I know many other people feel the same way.

Added on edit: Thanks to the commenter who pointed out that Dave Bakke's column today covers the same issue.

Posted by Will at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Springfield city council is about to destroy my neighborhood by approving a Walmart off South 6th Street, within walking distance of where I now live. I'll have to drive by the new Walmart almost every day. If I wanted to live in an area surrounded by ugly corporate box stores with nothing locally owned and constant traffic congestion then I would have moved to the west end. Its sad to see another section of town destroyed by poorly planned development.

Its pretty disappointing to see so little organized opposition but I have to take some of the blame for that myself since I've been too involved in other projects to take this on in a serious way.

The only group of citizens who have opposed the Walmart in an organized way are focusing on infrastructure and zoning issues without bringing up the many other issues regarding Walmart's business practices such as their drain on the taxpayer, illegal union busting, low wages and benefits, discriminatory promoting practices, and their role in igniting sprawl. I suppose they thought those issues were too controversial but it only kept them from building the kind of broad coalition that would have been necessary to stop this Walmart. The never-ending flow of proposed Walmarts for this area will never cease until these issues are raised in the community.

My Alderman, Frank Edwards, said he won't consider issues other than infrastructure in his decision to support the Walmart. Its always nice to hear an elected representative tell me that my opinions don't matter. But even on the infrastructure issue, I don't think the proposed road improvements are going to cover the major effect the new Walmart will have on all the surrounding roads feeding into the new development, in addition to the roads immediately adjacent to it.

One of those issues Aldermen should consider is Walmart's cost to the taxpayer. A few states track and report on which companies have the most employees on welfare and Walmart always tops the list. Studies show that:

One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:

* $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
* $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.
* $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.
* $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
* $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)
* $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance

Better yet, why not ask Walmart to chip in $1 million to help deal with the homeless problem in Springfield? That's small change for a company of that size that is accustomed to acting like a parasite, rather than a contributing member of a community. It makes sense because they don't pay their starting employees enough to live in a decent home anyway.

I know my arguments will probably fall on deaf ears. Most city councils jump when they see the chance for new development and the tax revenue that goes along with it. The proposed development is on tonight's city council agenda for those who want to make a final plea.

Posted by Will at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Marie at Disarranging Mine did one sentence reviews of the 2008 Presidential candidates and suggested others might do the same. That sounds fun so here are my quick thoughts on the field so far.

Democrats

1. Joe Biden: schizophrenic. Impressive one week, embarrassing the next.
2. Hillary Clinton: Four more years of things not getting any worse.
3. Chris Dodd: Deserves to be taken more seriously than he is.
4. John Edwards: Still a great campaigner.
5. Al Gore: The elected President. Lock-box.
6. Mike Gravel: I wonder if he would have been a better candidate 30 years ago.
7. Dennis Kucinich: He should continue to be a great Congressman.
8. Barack Obama: The Democrats' best hope in years.
9. Bill Richardson: The free-trader's backup for Hillary.

Republicans

1. Sam Brownback: If you want an American theocracy, he's your guy.
2. Jim Gilmore: Who?
3. Newt Gingrich: One of the most divisive and destructive figures in modern politics.
4. Rudy Giuliani: His nomination would be further proof that Christian conservatives are only being used and manipulated by the Republican party.
5. Mike Huckabee: Very hard to take seriously.
6. Duncan Hunter: Duncan, free societies don't need to build fences on their border.
7. John McCain: Disgraced himself and destroyed his good reputation with his strong support for Bush.
8. Ron Paul: The Republican version of Mike Gravel.
9. Mitt Romney: Won't win a single southern primary but otherwise a strong candidate.
10. Tom Tancredo: Not enough Americans hate immigrants to support two single-issue xenophobic candidates.
11. Fred Thompson: The Republicans best chance at winning in 2008.
12. Tommy Thompson: His resume won't look as impressive if he's put under the media microscope.

Posted by Will at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Alternative fuels and cars became my theme this week so I'll make a quick Friday post bringing peoples' attention to an article in Business Week that a friend sent me, which has implications for the several proposed ethanol plants in this area.

Lurking behind ADM's gloomy news are doubts about the future of corn ethanol. A growing number of analysts, once bullish on the product, are warning that an oversupply may be coming as soon as this year. On Apr. 27, a Lehman Brothers (LEH) report projected that production will outstrip demand in the second half of 2007, measuring the domestic thirst for corn ethanol at 420,000 barrels per day but supply at 445,000 barrels a day, mainly because the U.S. lacks the infrastructure to move the product to market.

"There's tremendous capacity coming online, but the infrastructure isn't there to keep up with it," says Michael Waldron, an oil markets research analyst at Lehman Brothers who co-authored the report. "We need a nationwide system to pipe it, and until that happens, we'll likely have an excess of product."

Posted by Will at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night I finally watched the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" I've been meaning to watch it for a while but I was worried it would be a little boring and depressing. Thankfully, it turned out to be pretty exciting and I was shocked by some of the things I learned.

The answer to the movie's title isn't as simple as blaming major automakers, as one might expect. For all the complexities of the issue, I still came away with the belief that US automakers have absolutely no credibility when they claim they can't meet tougher government fuel standards. They don't need more time to research better electric battery technology or start some new project like hydrogen fuel cells.

They had the electric car technology at least ten years ago and they could be producing the cars today. In fact, they might create more American jobs for those workers who have to modify existing manufacturing plants or build new ones.

One of the most aggravating things I learned is that GM once released an electric Saturn that they later took off the market. I've been wishing for years that Saturn would produce a hybrid or electric car (besides an SUV which I have absolutely no interest in owning). I like my Saturn because it has more American made and assembled parts than any other car on the market. I want to be able to buy a green car that is union made by American workers, but American car companies are idiotically not giving me that option. Hello?! McFly! Why are you forcing me to buy a foreign car, GM? I learned that Saturn is finally coming out with more hybrids in the near future but they should have had them on the market years ago.

I don't want to give away any more spoilers so just go rent the movie. Don't worry, you'll like it.

Posted by Will at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

The US Senate has been holding hearings about increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars. As they always do, US auto manufacturers had a representative claiming the requirements would cost American jobs. I've been searching for an explanation of that argument with no success. It sounds more like a scare-tactic than an argument.

A series of other articles paint a different picture. First, the list of the most fuel efficient cars on the market is dominated by foreign car companies, with the Toyota Prius topping the list. Then Toyota outsold GM for the first time, while GM lays off workers, had declining profits and falling stock value. It doesn't take a genius to see the pattern here, does it?

This post has been in my head for a while but it was a comment Barack Obama made in Detroit that made me finally type it out.

"Here in Detroit, three giants of American industry are hemorrhaging jobs and profits as foreign competitors answer the rising global demand for fuel-efficient cars," he said.

"The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time."

Lack of action on the federal level is prompting states to take their own action. Maryland is the latest state to pass their own clean cars legislation. Momentum is building to do the same in Illinois, which is something I'll write more about another day.

cross-posted from CESblog

Posted by Will at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The SJ-R has several articles on ethanol yesterday and today. It reminded me of the renewable energy forum at UIS on April 19 that I never got around to writing about so I'll take this as an opportunity.

The forum featured three speakers, the first of which was Rebecca Stanfield, the state Director of Environment Illinois. She spoke about the major sources of pollutants that cause global warming, the top two being coal power plants and automobile emissions, and proposed legislation to reduce those emissions in Illinois.

The other two panelists focused their attention on ethanol. David Pimentel, Professor of Ecology and Agricultural Sciences at Cornell University, is a leading critic of ethanol. His central argument is that the energy required to create ethanol, when you account for everything from growing the crops to the refining process, is greater than the amount of energy derived from burning the fuel.

I've heard this argument before but I still felt that ethanol is beneficial for reducing our dependence on foreign oil. So I was particularly struck by Pimentel's claim that we import 1 1/2 gallons of oil from the middle east to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. Overall, I thought his presentation was pretty devastating toward the claim that current methods of producing corn-based ethanol provide any benefits for the environment.

Unfortunately, one of the scheduled panelists, John Caupert of the Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at SIUE, couldn't attend, so I can only guess what defense he would have made for corn-based ethanol.

The third panelist in attendance was Stephen Long, professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at UIUC, who is part of an ethanol research project that received a large grant from BP. I eagerly awaited a fist fight between Pimentel and Long, but was disappointed with nothing but the kind of polite, passive-aggressive disagreement that's typical for academics.

Long made an interesting analogy for his argument by showing pictures of a Wright Brothers plane and a modern jet. He showed a chart of various studies on the efficiency of ethanol production, which suggested not all research is as bleak as Pimentel's findings, but he didn't make much of a defense of current methods of producing corn-based ethanol. Instead, he argued that we shouldn't discount the future potential of ethanol based on an analysis of today's technology.

However, Long's vision of the future of ethanol was not focused on corn, but rather other crops such as switchgrass and miscanthus in particular. I had never heard of miscanthus, but apparently it grows well in Illinois and Long believes it can be used to produce ethanol much more efficiently than corn.

If he's correct, that brings up a number of issues for policy makers. What structural changes would need to be made to the agricultural market in Illinois down the road if farmers switch some of their corn production to miscanthus or switchgrass and are their ways to minimize the financial risk involved? Will ADM, one of the strongest supports of corn ethanol, be a barrier to that change or can they be brought on board?

More locally, if corn based ethanol turns out to be a passing fad, can ethanol plants being built, such as the one in Waverly, be cheaply converted to other forms of ethanol production, or will we be left with an abandoned eyesore in 10 or 15 years? That was one of the many questions I didn't hear asked, at least publicly, by the county board when they rushed through approval of the Waverly plant. Hopefully the SJ-R articles will spur a more critical discussion since the county board tends to avoid public controversy.

Regardless of the future of ethanol, its clear that the most effective thing we can do immediately to reduce emissions is to improve fuel efficiency and require stricter pollution control equipment on new cars. You would think that improving mileage would be the easiest and most politically popular action since it also lowers the amount of money people spend on gas, but once again, the oil and auto industries are blocking action. I'll write more about that on another day.

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Sustainable Springfield Inc, a group founded by local architect Jim Johnston, is hosting an event with Mayor Chris Koos of Normal Illinois. Normal is establishing itself as a downstate leader in sustainable building and design with its adoption of the green standards in the LEED program.

The event happens May 29 at 7:00pm in the Dove Auditorium at the Prairie Heart Institute, 619 E. Mason Street. This should be an excellent opportunity to hear about some practical things the city of Springfield can do to encourage environmentally sustainable growth.

Posted by Will at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

You'll have to be a subscriber to read the SJ-R online story about two tied Sangamon County elections that were decided by cutting a deck of cards. The story includes a quote from Joe Aiello reassuring the public that the "retabulation" of 12 randomly chosen precincts produced the same results as on election night.

That's good to hear but it would be nice if the article provided some basic information about the retabulation, specifically whether it was done by machine or hand-count. Running the ballots through a machine a second time would be meaningless and proves nothing. I'm glad to see the write-in ballots for one SMEAA race were recounted by hand but the article doesn't clarify if the other precincts audited were also hand counted.

I have to wonder if this story is the motivation for the county employee who impersonated me on the SJ-R comment board yesterday. Part of the fraudulent post had me claiming that the county was stealing elections, which is the same kind of defensive straw-man argument I've heard every time I write about the voting machines. To be clear, I've never accused the county of stealing elections. There are plenty of things that could go wrong with a new voting system used in very few locations that have nothing to do with internet hacking or voter fraud.

I write about this issue for two reasons. First, every voting system should be audited by a method as full-proof as possible, and second, the public has a right to complete information about those auditing efforts.

I could easily go to the county board or county clerk's office and get more information about their auditing efforts, which is what they would prefer I do. I don't do that because it would defeat my second purpose, which is to make this a public discussion. How hard is it for Joe Aiello to put this information on the county website, get it published in the paper or otherwise make it easily available to those who can't visit the county building during work hours and aren't political insiders?

When the most recent item on the "News & Events" page of the county website is seven months old then its obvious that there's something fundamentally dysfunctional about the way county government relates to citizens. When the county believes the voting system was chosen by an "open process" because there was involvement from both Democratic and Republican insiders (but no involvement by the average voter) then its obvious that there's something gravely wrong with the way they think about public involvement.

Obviously, that still hasn't gotten across to those in county government so I'm going to keep making this point until it does. Why should it take pestering from a blogger to get the kind of basic information contained in today's article? Calling up the chairmen of both political parties and telling them everything is OK simply isn't good enough.

Posted by Will at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Sierra Club/CWLP clean energy agreement was featured on Chicago public television station WTTW CH11 as part of a four part series focusing on energy . The episode aired Monday night and will be shown again the week of May 14. I missed it but I think it will be available on DVD so we might get a chance to see it here in Springfield. Local Sierra Club member Diane Hughes and CWLP Engineer Jay Bartlett both appear in the program.

This is another indication that Springfield could be getting more positive recognition as a leader in clean energy if the city showed more pride in the agreement. I have yet to see an article in the national or regional media praising Springfield for building a coal power plant. I've seen many articles praising Springfield for its purchase of wind power, reduction of emissions, and increased commitment to energy efficiency and conservation.

Now that the attacks of the election season are over, its time for Mayor Davlin to do a little more bragging about Springfield's investments in wind energy and conservation. Springfield is a leading example to the nation and there's no longer a reason to allow those making political criticisms to stop Springfield from getting the positive press attention we deserve as a city.

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Some nations, along with Marxists and anarchists around the world, are celebrating International Workers Day today. Its ironic that it goes unnoticed in Illinois since events in Chicago were the impetus for declaring the holiday.

Four Chicago anarchists fighting for the eight hour work day were murdered by the state for a crime which there was no evidence they committed. They were convicted for espousing their political beliefs.

Its a reminder that things like the eight hour work day and the two-day weekend didn't originate with a federal law or result from the benevolence of corporate employers. It resulted from people working together to organize and fight for the rights of the average worker, and many others besides the Haymarket Martyrs died for that cause.

I've been reading labor history books lately that are reminding me once again of how many important moments in the history of the labor movement happened in Illinois. Its a shame that more isn't done to commemorate that.

Which leads me to the conclusion that Illinois should have its own labor history museum. Of course, we'd have to make sure it gets built in Springfield rather than Chicago. Just as many of those important events happened in downstate. Its just a dream but maybe one day someone will pick up the project.

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