Election Update

With this post I would like to encourage all to also vote for the two following for RUSD Board.
I am sorry not to endorsed them before.

John Leiber and Karen Norton

St Jude/St Barbara

Might be off the Topic in some minds but it is My Blog!

So Thank You St Jude for Favors Received!

Thank You St Barbara for your compassion!

Earth Hour!

Tonight millions of people around the world are joining together to make a
statement about climate change by turning their lights off for an hour. It's
called Earth Hour and I just signed-up to participate, maybe you will be
interested in doing it also. Earth Hour is on March 29 from 8 - 9 p.m. local
time, and it looks like it's going to be really big. So far 25 cities around
the world are taking part, including Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San
Francisco in the U.S. Downtown Chicago is turning off the lights, what an
amazing sight thought should be!

Sign up for Earth Hour by visiting www.earthhour.org/sign-up and join the
movement with me.

Green Racine Mission

After talking to supporters of Green Racine the following changes will take place:
1) Each Green Racine show will have a segment on Cuban Agriculture
2) Green Racine will move to also having a segment on Agriculture in an African County we will also attempt to find a group of farmers in this country for information exchange. This country has yet to be picked.
Green Racine is doing this to help show the power of agriculture in economic development.

Cuba

Green Racine would like to see an end to the US Embargo on Cuba. We have a great opportunely to create markets for U.S. Goods and services as well as obtain the same from Cuba.
Green Racine believes that the day of the embargo is over and to continue this would be a failure of U.S. Policy.
I further call on the State of Wisconsin to organize a Agriculture( This is the only group of goods that can be sold to Cuba) Trade Mission to Cuba as soon as possible, one of our goals should be to establish working relationships with local farming Co-Ops and other such groups.
Cuba has the potential to be a great friend and Ally of this county.

Green Racine endorsements

Green Racine Endorsements for The Spring 2008 City of and County of Racine:

Racine City Council


District 2 Robert Anderson
District 4 James E. Kaplan
District 9 Terrance A. McCarthy
District 12 Aron Wisneski


Racine County Board
District 2 Gaynell Dyess
District 3 Lou D'Abbraccio
District 4 James E. Kaplan
District 15 Brian Dey

Racine School Board

The only one we can support
Carly-Anne Ravnikar


Racine School maintenance referendum

Vote NO!


No matter your views please vote on the 1st!

Racine's new Farmer's Market!

Racine makes a great move in working to create more sustainable food.

Buy Local! Buy Wisconsin!

From the Racine Journal Times

RACINE — When no new business is sprouting, do the next best thing: Have farmers sell what they raise.

That is the present philosophy of the West Racine Business and Professional Association. On Wednesday, the group will ask the Racine Redevelopment Authority if it can host a weekly farmers market on the city-owned 3100 block of Washington Avenue, near West Boulevard.

The city acquired the block in 2005 and cleared away the former, mostly dilapidated buildings. But since then, the block has stayed barren.

The most recent stumble in a string of failures there was when an Illinois developer with a contract to develop the block lost interest. That leaves West Racine without either a developer or a renewal plan for the block.

Getting permission from the city for a market should be a snap. "We have let the association use the space for special events in the past," City Development Director Brian O’Connell said Thursday. "I expect that we will let them use it for this."

West Racine businessman and Alderman Jim Spangenberg said the idea is for a farmers market there one or two days a week throughout harvest season.

"It’s a top 10 intersection in the City of Racine," he said. And so far, farmers have been receptive to the idea.

"They were excited," Spangenberg said, but added: "It’s just in the formation stage. We’re going to keep working to still get

somebody."

He said the association will ask the city to add gravel in some areas so farmers can drive in, and plant grass on other parts of the block.

Another source of money could be the West Racine Business Improvement District, which is funded by assessments on district properties.

This is a great idea. Helping to get folks closer to the source of their food! Helping small farmers!

Why not Wisconsin?

From an article by in the Green Bay Press-Gazette:

Wisconsin Public Service Corp. plans to build a wind farm in Minnesota that could help it achieve its renewable energy requirements. WPS said Friday it signed a letter of intent with High Country Energy LLC to acquire a portion of a wind project in Dodge and Olmsted counties, just west of Rochester, Minn.

Wisconsin utilities are required by state law to increase their renewable energy portfolio 2 percentage points by 2010 and to have 10 percent of their electricity supplied from renewable sources by 2015.

The agreement Friday could provide WPS with up to 150 megawatts of wind-generated electricity, about half of the planned park’s capacity.

The Green Bay-based utility is also in negotiations for 99 megawatts of electricity from an Iowa wind farm.

“Assuming Iowa comes to fruition, this would enable us to be nicely prepared for the next step-up in 2015,” said Charles Severance, WPS general manager for renewable resources.

Mayor Barrett and Milwaukee Bio-Diesel CO-OP

Mayor Tom Barrett spoke at the Wisconsin Renewable Energy Summit interesting speech I like how he talked about having Bio-Diesel to sell at Jones Island and how he was so much pro renewable energy.
Great!
Please then Explain Mayor Barrett why after the City of Milwaukee shut down The Milwaukee Bio-Diesel CO-OP why your office has not returned any of their phone calls asking for your help in finding a better place to set up shop?
How can the City of Milwaukee shut the CO-OP down when they where following the City’s guidelines?
Here is a great opportunity for the City of Milwaukee to prove that actions speak loader then words.

Jobs in Cuba City, why not Racine?

CUBA CITY, Wis. — Operating in what was once the Cuba City Machine building, now known as the Wausaukee Composites building, the burgeoning wind energy industry sounds a clarion call in the city of 2,000.

“Wausaukee Composites is excited to play a contributing role in the rapidly developing wind energy industry in North America,” said David Lisle, president and CEO of Wausaukee Composites Inc. “We have been actively developing new manufacturing opportunities in this emerging market segment for more than two years.”

That opportunity includes Cuba City. Wind turbine nacelle cover assemblies are being manufactured in the 42,000-square-foot facility located on the city’s south end. Production began on Feb. 18 with about 12 employees.

“The Cuba City plant will be a dedicated facility to the wind energy industry,” Lisle said, explaining the facility has the capacity to produce up to 800 wind turbine nacelles a year.

Idea for Racine City Hall?

Photo by Tom Romundstad courtesy of St. Louis County)

In January St. Louis County added wind power to the roof of the Government Services Center at 320 W. 2nd St. in Duluth.

The St. Louis County pilot project will use six turbines, each six feet in diameter and producing an output of one thousand watts. They will perch on the east edge of the rooftop to catch wind off Lake Superior. Being placed at the parapet enables the turbines to take advantage of the “chimney effect” of wind hitting the side of the building and traveling upwards at increased speed.

Rooftop micro wind turbines for urban and suburban settings are a fledgling technology.

They are still in the demonstration phase, used mainly by government buildings and large companies interested in green technology, said spokesman Stan Michelson for AeroVironment Inc., the company that provided the turbines for St. Louis County.

Founded in 1971 and based in Monrovia, CA, AeroVironment is perhaps best known for creating the first human-powered airplane, the Gossamer Condor. It has since developed solar-powered and fuel-cell powered cars and planes. It also makes unmanned aircraft for NASA and the military.

In 2007 the company installed 18 wind turbines on the roof of the Kettle Foods manufacturing plant in Beloit, WI. AeroVironment also has turbines on five other buildings in California, Texas, and New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Chicago-based Aerotecture International has placed rooftop systems in the Windy City on Mercy Housing Lakefront Near North Apartments, a new homeless shelter built with green design; on the law office of Magee, Negele & Associates; and on the new green-designed headquarters of Christy Webber Landscapes. Plans are in the works to install turbines atop the Daley Center.

Johnson Controls Inc. plans to include wind turbines, green roofs, and solar panels in the $54 million upgrade of its headquarters in Glendale, WI. The facility management company announced Jan. 18 that its fiscal first quarter profit rose 45 percent in part because of its offering to improve energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions on commercial buildings.

Construction on the St. Louis County project began Jan. 17, when a crane lifted sections of a 40-foot infrastructure support I-beam onto the roof. On the same day Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced the state will offer up to $20 million in low-interest loans for businesses and homeowners to use renewable energy sources, including wind power.

A day later on Jan. 18, the American Wind Energy Association ranked Minnesota No. 3 in the nation for existing wind capacity and No. 9 for potential capacity. Minnesota produces 657 billion kilowatts per year through wind power and has 46 wind energy projects under construction.

The county hopes the turbines will shave costs from its $11,000-$12,000 per month electric bill. If it doesn’t produce results in the first year, the county has the option to move it to another county building, for instance, in Pike Lake or Hibbing, where it may be more productive, said Tony Mancuso, St. Louis County property management director.

Unlike residential electrical rates, commercial rates include a “peak demand” charge to meet the customer’s maximum 24/7 load requirement. “We pay $4.36 per kilowatt hour while a homeowner pays eight cents,” Mancuso said, noting the turbines should help reduce the peak demand charge.

The entire project will cost $51,100. Minnesota Power will provide an energy rebate of $6,000. The county also is applying for a rebate of up to $12,000 from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

St. Louis County purchased the Government Services Center from the state in 2002. “The energy consumption for the facility due to the poor condition, design, and age of the electrical and HVAC systems is very high,” wrote Tom Romundstad, project manager for county property management, in a December 2007 letter to Minnesota Power.

County administration considered a larger scale wind energy project, but the cost, requirements, and permits proved “daunting,” Romundstad wrote. Instead, the county opted for the pilot project.

“We don’t know if it’s a good idea or a bad idea,” Mancuso said. It’s unknown how long it will take for the turbines to pay for themselves through savings. Romundstad conservatively projects the turbines will reduce costs $1,200 a year, but expects rising energy costs to reduce the payback period. He also projects they will reduce carbon dioxide output by 23,600 pounds annually.

The turbines’ power output will be monitored with data fed to the property management department’s Web site. A weather station also will be installed on the roof with conditions posted on the Web site.

Large windmills have raised debate over whether they kill birds. The issue is less of a concern for micro turbines. “In the six year operational history of these units there has been no reported or documented bird kills,” Romundstad wrote. The turbines on the county building have canopies to keep birds away from the blades.

Wind turbines are among numerous ways St. Louis County has turned to renewable energy for its buildings. The county’s goal is to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent per square foot of building space from year 2000 to year 2010.

The county already has solar panels on its motor pool building and its parking ramp. Repainting the garage white and using solar panels has reduced the ramp’s lighting bill from $960 per month to $200, Mancuso said.

This spring the county will add a “green roof” to the motor pool building, adding three inches of soil and alpine plants. In addition to reducing storm runoff, the greenery extends the life of the roof to 60 years, whereas standard rubberized roofs have a lifespan of 10-15 years due to weathering by sunlight, Mancuso said.

The county annex building in Hibbing uses a solar water heater for its public restrooms, photovoltaic panels on the roof, and a perforated solar wall to keep fresh air circulating.

Mr Fury Fur Fur

Mr Fury Fur Fur a kids puppet show out of Chicago is showing how to bring great Green education to kids of all ages. (I love this show!) Good idea from some great folks.
Please check it out if you can send them a few bucks.

http://www.friendlyearthfriends.com/

Calumet County board is made up of silly folks

Clean energy advocates expressed frustration over the Calumet County board’s adoption of a 70-day moratorium on issuing permits for wind turbines. The action leaves wind developers wondering whether the County, which has among the best wind resources in the state, is effectively off-limits to commercial-scale projects.

State law requires utilities to get 10 percent of the electricity they sell from renewable sources by 2015, but local restrictions have paralyzed wind developers from moving ahead with project to help meet the goal.

"As far as the wind industry is concerned, countywide limits and delays speak louder than the state’s renewable energy goals,” said Katie Nekola, energy program director for Clean Wisconsin.

“What's the point of state government promoting renewable energy development in Wisconsin when it’s practically impossible to obtain permits for wind turbines?" asked Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide nonprofit group that promotes renewable energy.

"This marks the third moratorium on wind development adopted by Calumet County 2005. It seems that every time the Board considers changes to its ordinance regulating wind turbines, it moves farther and farther away from resolving the controversy and allowing projects to move ahead. What a morass Calumet County has become!" Vickerman said.

Between the moratorium in Calumet County and a restrictive ordinance in Manitowoc County, four wind projects totaling 200 megawatts (enough to power 60,000 Wisconsin homes) have ground to a halt, Vickerman added.

RENEW and Clean Wisconsin back a proposal being considered by the Governor’s Global Warming Task Force that would allow wind developers to seek approval from the Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities and large wind projects (over 100 megawatts), instead of local authorities.

“Wisconsin cannot afford to lose clean energy opportunities at a time when our Governor and others in the region have made a commitment to stopping global warming,” said Nekola.

END

Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin's clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and corporations accountable. Founded in 1970 as Wisconsin's Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced, and educates citizens and businesses. Phone: 608-251-7020, Fax: 608-251-1655, Email: info@cleanwisconsin.org, Website: www.cleanwisconsin.org.

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

Got Kids?

If you have young kids or knowing (or maybe act like one) check out:
http://www.friendlyearthfriends.com/
A lot of fun good teaching tool.

Solor Power in Africa

CAIRO — Tunisia has acquired 500 solar systems to generate electricity for rural areas.

Japan's Kyocera Corp. has won a contract to supply and install solar power generating systems in Tunisia. The contract, awarded on Feb. 13, called for the supply of solar storage batteries to absorb energy during the day and generate power at night.

Tunisia has one of the smallest energy reserves in North Africa.

Green Racine to Renewable Energy Summit!

I will be attending the 2008 Renewable Energy Summit. in Millwaukee next week! I am realy looking forward to the trip.
We are looking to make connections and find great resources to share.
This is just HUGE! Our sponsor wishes to be unnamed but I have thanked him off the record.
Sigh If I only had a host this would be a great opening show for Green Racine CATV show.

http://renewableenergysummit.org/EventOverview/tabid/54/Default.aspx

Plastic into fuel

AMES -- Iowa State University researchers and biodiesel producers are participating in a federal project to turn plastic trash from military bases into fuel.

The project, funded this year with $1.65 million in federal money, could save $12 million annually in military waste disposal costs, said Rep. Tom Latham, the Iowa Republican who helped secure the funds.

"We have the greatest opportunity I've seen in my lifetime, today in Iowa, to be part of a solution, and that is to reduce our need for importing oil from overseas," Latham said. "There are huge concerns we all have about plastics going into our waste sites."

The research can change the way plastic is disposed, said Balaji Narasimhan, an Iowa State University associate dean of research and economic development.

General Atomics, based in San Diego, is the project's lead contractor. Renewable Energy Group Inc., a biodiesel producer and marketer in Ames, and ISU researchers will contribute to the project.

Mitch Zafer of General Atomics said temporary military bases -- where the technology will most likely first appear -- produce 3,200 pounds of garbage every five days. About 330 pounds of that is plastic.The technology would use the plastic trash to help make diesel fuel to be used at camp, Zafer said.