All aboard

Here at the notebook, we like trains. We're a fan of mass transit, especially smart mass transit. Whether it's the state considering train routes for economic purposes of expediting the transport of raw materials on the coast to the manufacturers in the upstate and the reverse trip for finished goods, or smart needed transit in Charleston between Berkley Dorchester and Charleston counties (it's a big dense metro area folks) or the proposed train route between Atlanta and DC. We like it! We like mass transit and we like trains.

So we're happy that there's lots of money in the Stimulus Package to develop these avenues of transport - especially in regards to high speed rail. And what does that mean for us in Columbia SC? Railroad jobs - check out this map.
This is a map of designated high speed rail corridors and two pass through South Carolina. The North South route that passes through Columbia and that line of track that goes through Greenville. Here's hoping!

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SC should embrace the Suck

While nearly 70 protesters gathered at the State House today to protest South Carolina becoming the Putrefaction State, leaders in Berkeley County are looking beyond just making cash for trash and are planning on turning their garbage and waste into a different kind of green.

From the P&C:

MONCKS CORNER — Berkeley County officials are drawing up an ambitious plan to turn the smelly gas and rotting garbage in the county's giant landfill off U.S. Highway 52 into power and money.

The project has many puzzle pieces, but if they fit together, officials said their plan could extend the life of the landfill for decades, reduce the dump's noxious odors, generate enough electricity to power homes in a small city and earn or save the county hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Colin Martin, executive director of Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, said the goal is to take five different wastes — methane, sewage sludge, waste water, food and yard waste and wood debris — and turn them into power. All of this would happen at the landfill.

Other municipalities are converting one or two of these to power, but Martin said no one in the country has done so many in one place. "It just makes sense to do them all together," he said. "I believe when we're done, we'll be managing waste better than any county in South Carolina, and that we'll raise the bar nationally."

Monday night, County Council unanimously voted to take the first step toward this trash-to-cash vision and sign a memorandum of agreementwith Green Energy Partners, a company in Greenville that specializes in alternative energy systems. Green Energy Partners would help the county build and pay for the project and share in any profits.

Martin said it could cost up to $125 million, though that's a rough estimate. He said the county and Green Energy Partners are still hammering out a funding plan, and he hoped the proposed federal economic stimulus program might be one source of money.

Do read the rest of the article to see the specific details of exactly how they plan to go about greening the county.

Embrace the Suck South Carolina. Raise the rates if you like, but utilize the stuff available waste and turn it into green gold. Produce electricity save money on your electric bills, or export the stuff to other states. Create clean burning natural gas to convert more buses and vehicles as a part of a sustainable mix to use in conjunction with our drive for a hydrogen and hi- tech economy.

I really should plot the different locations for methane exchange facilities in South Carolina and those that are planned along with the other green projects.

I wonder if the folks at the State House even notice?

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On South Carolina and Refuse

It's becoming ever more apparent with each passing day that South Carolina doesn't mind being the nations land fill and will find a way to profit from it. From Nuclear to household waste the Palmetto State is quickly becoming the Putrefaction State. But in doing so again we're utilizing one of the three R's and making it profitable.

This week I read in SC Biz Mag that:

Southeastern Petroleum has announced it will invest $30 million in Chester County to build a new manufacturing facility and create 24 new jobs. Southeastern Petroleum recycles used motor oil into base oils that are then used in the production of lubricants. The company expects to produce up to 10 million gallons annually from the Chester County facility, according to a statement.

And speaking of recycling refuse and making money off of it... Guantanamo Bay is slated to be closed within a year. I find it outrageous that our Republican (Republican = Jesus Wrapped in an American Flag with a Rifle, a pack of Marlboros standing atop a moose in front of his hummer = the epitome of patriotism) leadership would not consider bringing the terrorist goons to Charleston's Navel Brig.

But it's not just our leaders, across the country Republican Politicians with huge military prison installations are saying not in our back yard despite the opinions of their less than sheepish constituents. From the Kansas City Star:

An informal survey Thursday on the streets of Leavenworth found reactions ranging from confidence that the Army would continue to keep the community safe, to concerns that the city would be visited by new dangers and its name become synonymous with terrorist incarceration.
“The question that comes to my mind is how secure it will be,” said Timothy Swan, the owner of Alpha Geek Computers in downtown Leavenworth.
Anita Maynard, owner of the Queen’s Pantry shop, feared the transfer of prisoners might too strongly reinforce Leavenworth’s image as simply a prison town at the expense of its other attributes — such as being home to a college for mid-career Army officers.
Dianne Hawkins, a homemaker married to a soldier, said she had confidence that if the detainees came, the Army could keep things safe.
But that security question was key for Brendan Sheehan, who runs a bicycle shop in Leavenworth. If he were assured that the town would stay safe, Sheehan said he could imagine an economic boon.
“That’s that many more workers here in town,” he said. “That could mean more customers.”

And Charleston has held highly sensitive terrorists before. As one reader of Andrew Sullivan's blog said of Charleston:

I lived in Charleston: the Military Brig in Charleston, South Carolina is in the town of North Charleston, SC, where the mayor drives around town with police/military scanner, heavily armed looking for crime to stop (I'm not joking). Nevermind that the Charleston airport abuts the Charleston Air Force base (home of Military airlift
command) and could be secured fairly quickly. In order for a detainee to make it from the military brig to the airport, he would have to cross swampland unprepared. The area surrounding the Charleston area is cypress swamp (that goes for miles around the city) full of gators, wild hogs and poisonous snakes and the residential areas are full of people armed to the teeth (with a hair trigger, a state rep got into some hot water for getting drunk and shooting at some power line workers he thought were thieves, he wasn't charged). Keeping them there might be a good idea. They've kept Padilla and others at that Charleston brig for years with no complaint.

I don't get it, if you're big enough and man enough to spend 10 billion dollars a month and sacrifice the lives of more than 4000 American Servicemembers and believe that our Military and our Country is the best the God has ever created: why be a big sloppy, flappy - well you get the picture - about this. Shouldn't the military, which we so implicitly trust and owe our freedom to, be able to handle 200 some odd folks - guarding them and making sure they don't escape into a swamp with animals most of the detainees have never seen before (if they're from Afghanistan especially)?

Is it sooo wrong to increase the number of jobs in your state by an increase in military or FBP employees, who - are higher paid than their state or local counterparts, many times by double (which means that much more of an increase in purchasing power and money being pumped into economy)? Or is the patriotism only skin deep? Is it not really an issue, belief or an ideology worth putting your name on the line about?

Jim DeMint, Mark Sanford, Lindsay Graham, or Henry Brown care to respond? I doubt it.

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Preparations for DC, week in review and remembering William Henry Harrison

It's been a busy week, I'm heading to DC tomorrow (Sunday) for our President elect's inauguration and this week has been filled with planning and preparations, and lots of work to boot which is why there wasn't much blogging - sorry. But do follow my twitter throughout the week and I'm taking the laptop and a camera so check back too for picture posts and hopefully a couple of opportunities for reflection. I'll be there for the whole week so hopefully I'll be able to cover a lot.

(Aside: Wednesday/Thursday in DC is the national march for Life and I hope to observe that -- I may even make a sign or two and join in somewhere, plus I have quite a few friends in DC that I probably won't get to see, but it's nice mentioning that they're there and that I'm thinking about them, good intentions and all)

But a lot has happened this past week. South Carolina residents were shocked and disturbed to find out that we're the nations landfill - literally, though I find this as an economic opportunity especially as we try and green our economy - see my support for landfill and water treatment plants gas exchange as sources for electricity. Also though the Governor (who I rarely agree with) sees it as an opportunity to raise money for the State by charging fees for other states to dump in SC. But we can't just think of it all about trash -- it's recycling, it's reusing, and in other ways it's reducing. I say reducing because just this week Coca Cola announced the largest plastic bottle recycling operation was opening up right here in the Palmetto State in Spartanburg, and in Georgetown another metal recycling service is adding 60+ jobs to the area, but these are only two examples of businesses around this state that are emphasizing and utilizing the three R's that we learned about in grade school.

Speaking of the Grand Strand Area - remember the Tower of Bible that a lady is pushing to build in Socastee? Well it looks like she got a cool reception from residents who are concerned about traffic and property values though not necessarily her religious values. And I chuckled when I read that the property to be developed in question is (was) a large trailer park.

If you head to Indigo Journal do read the piece by Tim Kelly on the outrageous prices that the Governor's office wanted to charge for copies of e-mails on a CD. This is in response to the "outrage" of Howard Rich's shills to the prices quoted by local school districts to FOIA requests for various specific information - something that, curiously, The State's editorial board picked up and decided not to investigate or inquire about.

And that brings us to the Governor, yeah his State of the State was on Wednesday night and it was full of the same old same old that he's been spouting for the past six years. So to commiserate with the poor condition of our state I went to the Whig where I ran into the Lexington Young Republicans. Who should be with this motley crew of conservatives but Josh Gross. We spoke politics briefly but mainly talked Catholic/Evangelical theology and history (Josh it was nice meeting you and you really should check out Phillip Jenkin's Lost History of Christianity). I also met Wes Wolfe from the Wolfe reports and kept him up way past his bed time - sorry Mr. Wolfe, but it was a good evening I'd surmise.

Other cursory reading before I finish up this post: This guy in Charleston is probably looking for a gun and a quiet cabin in the woods, that or he'll be chased off the peninsula by an angry mob soon. He is one of the many source foci for our economic woes, yes it's a declarative statement and I'm sticking by it, and apparently not the only one thinking it either. And Charleston is asking for a nice chunk of the bailout pie - a little more than 1 billion worth, for which approximately 100 million is being designated for the much needed commuter rail between Summerville and Charleston. In the upstate a report was released on the feasibility of a high speed rail service that will run through one of the world's largest mega regions from Macon Ga and Atlanta, to Greenville, SC, Charlotte, NC and points beyond up to Washington DC. This could add to the capacity and expansion of the upstate as a manufacturing juggernaut even as money tightens in the recession.

Well it's time to go buy wool socks and insulated underwear and long johns as the last bit to gather before the road trip. I do hope our dear PEOTUS, Mr. Obama, remembers the lesson of William Henry Harrison. And if YOU don't, then sit back and enjoy this short historical documentary on our nation's ninth president. (H/t to Rob for discovering this video)

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The Power of the Pooh

It looks like San Antonio is going to take us to the next step in reusing and recycling our waste and reducing our dependence on coal - they're harnessing the power of Pooh.  

It's a process that's similar to the exchange that goes on in landfills, but it's concentrated and produces a lot more. The city of San Antonio estimates that the water treatment facility produces 1.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.  The city plans on selling 900,000 cubic feet a day to a Massachusetts based energy company for $250,000.00 per year. 

I've written about Methane exchange before, about how all across South Carolina Communities are developing their landfills into power plants. Just imagine if our metropolitan areas, though vastly smaller than San Antonio started converting our pooh plants to power plants? What if our rural communities came together in their efforts regionally to process their wastes into clean burning natural gas. 

I wonder how many watts, or mega watts can be produced from our collected efforts?

Now to temper the ideal with a pinch of the real, as I've also noted before - even though it's a novel approach to our energy needs, and Lord knows we need all the ingenious approaches we can right now, the unfortunate reality is that these community efforts though they'll put a dent in our consumption of fossil fuel won't take us off the juice. But that's ok, each new facility adds new clean energy to the power grid and reduces by all that much more the need for dirty sources of energy like coal (i know, the irony right?!).

So congrats to San Antone - Mayor Bob are you reading this?

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Landfill Gases

Landfill Gas plant in Greenville County from Greenville Online

South Carolina is harnessing more landfill gases to use to power our electric needs - and why not! - we produce the waste, it's a great way of implementing the three Rs. Now Greenville County is joining other communities around the state in powering homes and businesses from trash.

Way to go industrious county councilors and city leaders -- Lord knows there's no initiative or help from the folks in Columbia.

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Oh Jimmy Boy's at it again

I'm an idiot, but I'm an idiot working for you.

(pic from Greenville Online)

The lede from a Greenville online article:

America is on an "unsustainable course as a country" with less than a decade before too much debt, too little energy and failure to deal with changing demographics collide catastrophically, Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said Thursday.

What does Jimmy boy mean by changing demographics, is he concerned about his status as a PWM? Or is it his disdain for our entitlement system, according to the article it's the latter, though I shouldn't be surprised if the former doesn't play a factor.

But what is Jimmy Boy's solution? Energy, rightly so is the crux of the equation. So what's his course of action?

Follow the Pickens plan or invest in alternative fuels?

No.

Push for higher CAFE standards and encourage conservation and less consumption not because of the current effect on the pocketbook but for the generally altruistic and moral responsibility of it?

Hell No.

If you guessed push for more off shore drilling you'd be correct. And what's even more staggering is to what length's he'll oppose the other to options and what intellectual and rhetorical acrobatics he uses to justify his staunchly 'drill here, drill now' position.

Instead of supporting the group of Senators (that includes SC's own Lindsey Graham) plan that would allow a mixture of off shore drilling and investment in alternative fuels by repealing many of the oil companies tax credits along with supplying royalties to the governments of the states and people for allowing drilling on their land

DeMint said the plan "is set up for failure" because it would open the door to regulatory delays and protracted environmental lawsuits, and if up for a floor vote, he would vote against it.

Way to go Senator DeDumbass. He calls it standing up for his principals when the question is, what principals does he stand for? Fiscal Conservatism, but accentuated by what? Fundamentalist Bigotry? Paying oil companies and screwing over those 'SC families living from paycheck to paycheck'?

This guy is a walking automaton of hubris and ineptitude masquerading in a facade of solipsistic moralism, and as such he's the heir apparent to Jesse Helms and the new 'conservative movement,' which is pseudonymous for a more calculated hyper capitalistic, ultra "patriotic, " religious right, all with it's roots in the South Carolina Upstate.

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It made me smile folks

Paris Responds! And in doing so, with a page right out of Obama's energy policy playbook, although McCain's folks issued a statement that this is obviously tacit approval for their plan. Perhaps they didn't pay attention to the first minute of the ad. Sorry Tucker, sounds like you lost out on this one.

We'll see how the Paris endorsement of his energy plan holds up.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

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SC is proud Jimmy boy

"Hi-yo, I'm a dumb ass"

Senator Jim DeMint Demented announced today that he's not afraid to shut down the federal government if the Democrats don't reconvene Congress and lift the ban on offshore drilling.

This guy really is a F*cktard folks, that's all I can say. Those comparisons to Jesse Helms don't go far enough.

DeMint of course is to drunk off the blood of his enemies to realize that South Carolina doesn't have any oil off the coast, or to paraphrase the geologists we don't even have a pot to piss in when it comes to prospects off our coast.

Oh and by the way, just to let everyone know remind them this D*ck-wad voted against PEPFAR (thankfully it passed anyway) and said that it's a waste of money to spend so much on AIDS research and prevention when we're in an economic crisis. Funny how he'd rather not spend money to save lives world around, but is more than fine with spending money intended to kill people and place our troops in harms way (Iraq).

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What's the plan?

For once, someone at least has an idea what to do....



Click the photo link to go to pickensplan.com, the site and plan developed by T. Boone Pickens, originally an oilman now the head of BP Capital Management.

I remember Obama saying something about an Apollo Program for our energy consumption - well it looks like one wealthy American was listening, whilst the rest were buying up oil futures.

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Something McCain and I agree on...

... build more nuclear reactors.

And this is post 500! It's a milestone!

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Maybe they should invest in Peach Power

The Greenville News is reporting that Clemson has been given a $1.1 million gift to be used towards research in alternative fuels/energy. I suggest they consider the power of the peach.

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The Energy Crisis

As Hillary Clinton gears up to go on yet another pyrrich and vainglorious attack against Barack Obama over his non-support for a gas tax holiday, many journalists and even tempered economist are calling a spade a spade. One news paper in California calls it a bad idea "no matter whos it is."

CNBC even quotes Jerry Taylor of the Libertarian CATO institute as saying:

“If supply is fixed, it is very, very unlikely that the gasoline tax cut is going to produce lower prices at the pump,” says Jerry Taylor, senior fellow at the CATO Institute Not only that, but the Treasury would lose an estimated $10 billion in tax revenue over the three months, Taylor adds. Where would it go? To the oil and gas companies. “There is nothing necessarily wrong with that--I’m a libertarian," says Taylor. "But it would be rather odd to see Hillary Clinton champion a policy whose net effect it to take money from the taxpayers and give it to Exxon
Mobil."

Thomas Friedman of the NYTimes goes beyond this current mini-crisis which has these two politicians pandering to say this is a time for recalculated long term goals saying of both Clinton and McCain "The McCain-Clinton proposal is a reminder to me that the biggest energy crisis we have in our country today is the energy to be serious — the energy to do big things in a sustained, focused and intelligent way. We are in the midst of a national political brownout."


The only question is now if this generation of Americans can suck it up and endure, perhaps getting rid of those gas guzzling SUVs and stop trying to keep up with the Smiths. Is there enough gumption left in the American people to weather this storm and tighten the belt? Apparently the polls say no as the more these two candidates pander with these quick fixes the higher their numbers climb in the polls. Here's hoping the folks in North Carolina and Indiana as well as the rest of the country take note.

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Who broke wind, part II

Who Broke Wind? was the post title to one of the first posts in the Notebook. It's appropriate then that at I revisit that name when referencing the information that follows. The Spartanburg Herald Journal has been reporting recently on a joint deal between the county and Miliken Industries - one of the largest privately held textile and chemical firms in the world.

Spartanburg county would invest approximately $3.8 million initially in converting there solid waste landfill into a power plant. The county estimates that within a decade of selling the energy to Miliken that the methane plant will not only pay for itself but turn a profit.

Currently the county burns off the methane to prevent underground buildup which has the potential of escaping and not only polluting the air with one of the leading green house gasses but also being hazardous to the health of near by residents. See this video at the SHJ for a neat look into how the operation will work. The Sunday Journal says the Miliken plant is only expected to use half of the methane gas produced by the plant, the county will continue burning the other half until a suitable customer is found. Can anyone say sell it wholesale to the local utility?

It appears then that 1) this is a huge landfill and 2) that we've come some ways since that first post on the useful lifetime of landfill methane gas plants or 2) this is proof positive that with a little ingenuity and firm commitment earlier obstacles and resignations to production of power via our trash can be overcome.

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First it was Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson

First it was Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson coming together for Al Gore to produce this commercial to fight against climate change:

Now the White House says that the President is making just as much of a policy shift tomorrow in a speech garnered towards curbing US emissions of CO2. From Reuters:

Bush will "articulate a realistic intermediate goal for reducing greenhouse gasses" and press for incentives for technology aimed at cutting emissions, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino."This speech is not going to lay out a specific proposal," she told reporters. "It is a speech that will talk about a strategy for a way forward and principles for dealing with the problems."

We'll have to see if the President is going to put more emphasis on Bio Fuels, which many are saying the demand for such fuels are feeding the spiraling food prices along with the price of Crude. At Leonardo's Notebook we've always been rather lukewarm to the notion of Bio-Fuels, at least those made from Corn because of its inefficiencies and the costs it creates throughout other markets (which is what we're seeing now). We're in favour of other technologies, such as Fuel Cell technology which South Carolina is trying to Champion.

But what all does this say. Is Mr. Bush just looking for points for a legacy that 98% of Historians believe will go down as the worst in American History? Or is the President not wanting to be out done by his Holiness the Roman Pontiff - Pope Benedict XVI who recently made the Vatican Carbon Free? The likely answer is probably the latter rather than the former, I think the President's advisers finally started paying attention to at least one of the many polls out there - or perhaps they saw the article that if Obama's elected he'll look into convicting members of the administration for ... war crimes.

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SC's latest Cabinet Agency

Well, we know that the Governor would love to abolish what he calls the Shadow Government (the Budget and Control Board), but that's not going to happen - well at least not all at once. News is coming out of the Board that a House subcommittee has approved what is tantamount to the creation of a new Cabinet Post:

On Wednesday a House Judiciary subcommittee approved restructuring legislation that would move parts of the Budget and Control Board to a new Department of Administration in the Governor’s Cabinet.

The legislation would split General Services, creating a new unit to manage the State House Complex and move the remaining functions to a new DOA. The Office of Human Resources, CIO Division, Materials Management Office and the Energy Office would also move to the new DOA. All other offices would remain in the Board.

What I don't understand is the choice of offices and services that are being moved under the Governor's purview, well let me specify - the Energy Office. What does the governor care to have the Energy Office under his control - unless he's planning on reversing some of the small strides the state has made in regards to energy policy, including the PaCE program.

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Are you kidding me?

Someone in the medicare business once told me that when it comes to Government Contracts - there's no such thing as non-profit, we might say they're not for profit - but we make one.

Well what's true for one sector of government contracts is probably true in others. What's shocking though is how much of a push over state regulators are when it comes to allowing these payoffs.

I'm speaking of course of SCE&G. Just saw on the wires where they're planning on passing off 12.5 million dollars off on electricity consumers for the cost of fuel for their plants, well being south Carolina we know what that fuel is. These are the same people in consortium and supportive of building a new coal plant on the Pee Dee River and opposing home owners and businesses the opportunity of becoming personal utilities.

This news of course comes on the heels of a report that deals a major blow to South Carolina's economic pysche (but which her citizens have been painfully aware of for the past 20 years): South Carolina Incomes among US lowest in '07 .

Random moment of sarcastic melo-drama: You mean we're at the bottom, again?!

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Petition for "Personal Utilities"

Solar power's future in South Carolina is further clouded by resistance from utilities, which have been slow to accept net metering, a program that allows customers to sell electricity they generate back to a utility.
South Carolina remains one of 10 states that has yet to establish statewide net-metering standards and rates, though utilities in some parts of the state recently began experimenting with limited buyback programs.

-Charleston Post & Courier, 3/3/08

Why is it that we're one of only 10 states that has yet to establish these standards? In a moment in our history when energy and fuel costs are pushing beyond the roof (and subsequently every other consumer product, including food)?

It's time to take the initiative, for South Carolina to step up and help our citizens save money so that they can reinvest and feel a bit of Palmetto Pride.

Won't you support an inititative that brings parity to the home and small business owner who wants to have the ability to sell the energy they produce in their homes which is excess of what they're consuming back to the Utilities in this state for a fair price?

We as a state we already offer tax breaks and incentives and to our citizens who take such bold initiatives as refurbishing one's home or business by "greening" it, shouldn't we consider expanding those breaks and incentives to allow more to participate and in doing so grow our economy in this time of near recession?

If you think so, leave a comment or better yet contact your local State House Representative or Senator.

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Carbon use limits

Saw an article in last weeks State Paper that piqued my interest. But due to time constraints and all the happenings of last week I didn't have the time to post about it. It's about South Carolina's largest power producers and their complaining about Carbon use limits. The coal lobby of course has a strangle-hold on South Carolina, a new plant is going up in the Pee Dee despite much opposition, I suppose I should be happy that the construction is being delayed due to other governmental and judicial action, but that's only going to be piped to the consumer when they have to pay more. But back to the article - what's interesting is it's call for and support of Nuclear energy.

"During an information meeting with the S.C. Public Service Commission on Wednesday, officials representing the state’s largest utilities and power cooperatives said nuclear power is the best long-term option for making sure the lights stay on statewide."

Of course you all know how I feel about Nuclear energy - I'm a huge supporter, and think there is a possible link between the miniaturization and growing efficiency of Nuclear reactors that it could be a boon for the SC Economy on it's way to becoming the premier spot for fuel cell research and manufacturing. (See here and here) Some more from the article on the reasoning behind the support of Nuclear power:

"The utilities argue nuclear power will help them avoid some of the anticipated costs associated with phasing out coal under a federally run system that caps or taxes carbon releases into the air. Utilities will either have to pay a tax on coal use or buy coal-use credits. Limits on coal use could cause the wholesale price of electricity to increase 35 percent to 70 percent in 2015 depending on other technologies, Couick said. “The higher the carbon price, the better nuclear looks,” said Janice Hager of Duke Energy."

I say bring on the tax! The irony about thisis essentially the main coal power producers, despite their lobbying group, are admitting that they're a dirty industry that can't be 'cleaned,' which is why they're even remotely considering the switch.

But is Nuclear the only option for South Carolina's 'energy mix'? Apparently these leading industry executives think so:

The utilities fear federal rules also will require a certain amount of power generation to use renewable fuel sources. South Carolina’s utilities do not have a lot of other options. Currently the available technology does not make solar, wind and thermal power generation realistic alternatives, said Robert Long of SCANA. Under a best-case scenario, given the currently available technology, renewable energy sources could realistically generate possibly 5 percent of South Carolina’s electricity needs.

I smell something funky -- what is that, oh it's BS! Come now, we might not have the wind in our sails, but we break enough of it everyday, and all over the place! And let's not forget the potential for using solar energy. I'm already all over the good people of Cheraw, SC who have on average at least 300 days of sunshine (no over cast, nor percipitation) and they're not alone in SC!!(take time to read that one!)

But what do I know, I'm not a big executive with the State's Utilities, so my opinion matters naught to them.

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California key example of "Green Economy"

The NY Times has an interesting article from Friday's edition about California's ever expanding "Green Economy" which stands in stark contrast to the current Administration's belief that the American Economy can't move away from Petro-Chemical industries. All of this as we reel from recession and the Petro-Chemical industries show record profits.

I have an opinion but will have to share it later... it's Saturday and a Beautiful SC day..

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