The Rural People of Highway 12 — Fighting Goliath [#tarsands]

The Rural People of Highway 12 — Fighting Goliath: "The Port of Lewiston, State of Idaho, and Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil Canada are working to convert Idaho’s stretch of U.S. Highway 12 from a Scenic Byway and All-American Road to an industrial truck route for the transport of gargantuan loads of heavy equipment. Combined Imperial Oil, ConocoPhillips and Harvest Energy plan to ship 274 megaloads in 2011, loads that exceed by far the size and frequency of any oversize shipments in the past."

The Empire Has New Clothes, Maybe

In a recent Care2 post by Beth Buczynski, I learned that, in the face of energy shortages, the Japanese government is urging button-down business-types to dress for the heat rather than turning up the air conditioner.  Some of the said business-types are howling in dismay.

They really have no reason to howl.  Business, the way it’s been explained to me, is all about adapting to the marketplace.  If the marketplace says that in the face of shortages energy must be put to rational uses, how rational is it to use electricity to cool people down who are hot only because they are overdressed for the weather?

If business is to adapt to an overheated world with ever-rising energy costs, it must dress for the weather also.

Or, since air conditioning is going to become ever more dear, they will be faced with a culture where the air conditioner is turned off anyway, and the smell of business is the ambience of overheated men in sweat-stained business suits toiling oily in their cubicles.

Sweet.

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Read Beth’s story here It's Getting Hot in Here: Japanese Execs Shed Their Clothes to Save Energy by Beth Buczynski

Going solar in the Pacific Northwest

Is solar technology practical in the Pacific Northwest?  Well, the region gets more sunlight than Germany—which is already aggressively pursuing solar—so, yes.  But if you are a homeowner wanting to incorporate solar energy, there are a number of things to consider.  Whether your geographic location and the configuration of your roof is suitable for solar, for instance.  And the upfront costs are considerable:  $25,000 to $40,000 installation costs are standard.

However, the installations pay off over time, they are very, very good for the environment and there are a number of government incentives—both state and federal—that the homeowner can tap into.

Read more @ Why solar is hot! - HomeSavvi

Free transit advocate was injured by auto, now transit dependent

To Whom it May Concern:

  I a person with a traumatic brain injury, I can't drive do my disability. I have other forms of transportation. I would rather
take the bus, it is therapeutic for me
to be independence, I make new friends
and get more exercise by taking the bus.

  As of August 2011 Route 203 is going to
be cancel. It is tearing me apart know many Individuals that Depend on Route 203 there is a lot of Disabled and Elderly, Routes 200 or 205 just will not work.

  I am on the State Brain Injury Waiting  List, last month I had add too my needs transportation I can't afford Paratransit $3.00, I like to go to different fabric and craft stores I can't go on the fix route, I
can't even go to fabric store in my own
city. I really enjoy my Independence.

  Every time UTA as change day bus     routes are cancel it put the burden on     local governments (increase for Senior Transportation and meal on Wheel) and   the State of Utah. Individuals are Happier Feel Better with who they are if they can
be Independence.

  I have done a new article The Benefits of Having a Good Bus System! I would like too Challenge Everyone to Park your Vehicles become a Pedestrian and start taking the Bus. Click on my Blog below Thanks.

  Thank You!
 Tammi Diaz
Catmeow Public Transit 

UTA to dump some routes, change others | The Salt Lake Tribune: "UTA is cutting, shortening or combining bus routes countywide to pay to operate the new Mid-Jordan and West Valley City TRAX lines that are scheduled to begin operation on Aug. 7, the day that the bus system changes will also take effect."

Gas Fracking Will Turn Your Tap Water on Fire

Does gas fracking cause contamination of drinking water.  Yes, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The process causes mainly methane gas to seep into drinking water supplies.  What the study can’t say is how widespread the water contamination already is country-wide.

The good news with gas fracking is that you’ll never need your stove to heat your tea.  Just set your tap water on fire.

The bad news is that you can’t drink the tea.

See Study: High-Tech Gas Drilling Is Fouling Drinking Water - Science Now

Lawsuit Launched Pushing Oregon to Fight Climate Change

The public trust doctrine says that the state holds certain resources in trust for everybody and has a legal obligation to protect those resources.  A legal complaint about to be filed against Oregon alleges that the state has failed in this trust by failing to act decisively to rein in climate change.  Climate change endangers basic resources like air and water for children and their families.

The complaint is part of a multi-state, federal and international legal effort.

See Lawsuit says Oregon must take action on climate change - The Oregonian

From Wetland to Runway to Wetland Again

When they decommissioned the Naval Air Station at Seattle’s Sand Point, they asked the local community what they wanted to do with the land.  One of the things the community wanted was their old wetlands back. 

Planning for the project began in 2001.  Now, in the Magnuson Park wetlands—reclaimed from the tarmack—tree frogs and eighteen species of dragonfly flourish, along with swallows, teals, flickers, red-tailed hawks and 70 species of plant.

See Runway transformed into wetlands - Seattle Times