Ecomunicipality.com

Check out this article on how "going green" is also a way to create good, local jobs. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  Sustainability is not just a strategy for achieving energy independence.  It is not just a means to mitigate the effects of climate change around the world.  It is, in fact, an economic development strategy, and a damned good one.

Currently, the United States has 40 plants manufacturing wind power
components. Eight of these plants are assembling wind turbines, 20 are
fabricating wind towers, and 12 are making blades. In addition, many
more manufacturing facilities are under construction, recently
announced, and in planning. Every billion dollars invested in wind
farms creates some 3,350 jobs--nearly four times the 870 jobs created
with a similar investment in coal-fired power plants.

And then there's the solar industry as well:

Natural
Steppers from around the area met at UW-RF on Friday, November 14, to
continue a discussion begun at a previous meeting about forming an
umbrella organization. Representatives from Amery, Luck, Osceola, Rice
Lake, Hudson, Ladysmith, and River Falls met in the offices of the St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development on
campus. (Representatives from Menomonie/Dunn County who had attended
the previous meeting were unable to attend but did send input via
email.)

From the Nov. 7 issue of Isthmus, a weekly news magazine from Madison, WI:

Chuck Erickson thinks it's about time Dane County got serious in its efforts to become more sustainable. "We're trying to have a more coordinated approach," says Erickson, a county supervisor. Being green "should become part of the culture."

Together with Supv. Robin Schmidt, Erickson has proposed several amendments to the 2009 budget. One would establish a committee to oversee sustainability projects. Another would allocate $500,000 in the capital budget to create a "Green Energy/Green Jobs Project Fund."

This fund would subsidize sustainable projects by county departments. "In a lot of cases, [green building] is more expensive," says Erickson. "We make a higher purchase upfront to achieve a sustainable goal and maybe in the long run same money on utility costs."

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's Office of Energy Independence has received a good deal of support from folks in Polk County. Created by Governor Doyle on April 5, 2007 with the mission to advance energy independence in the State of Wisconsin, the goals of the OEI include:

1. Generating 25% of our state's electricity and transportation fuels from renewable resources by 2025.
2. Capturing 10% of the emerging bioindustry and renewable energy market by 2030.
3. Leading the nation in groundbreaking research that will make renewable energy more affordable and will create good paying Wisconsin jobs.

Last February the Polk County Renewable Energy Committee invited OEI representatives to meet with local elected officials at the Paradise Landing restaurant in Balsam Lake. Secretary of Agriculture Rod Nilsestuen joined in addressing the large group that came to learn how state and local governments might work together to lessen our dependence on energy sources from outside Wisconsin.

A new study has put some hard numbers to the question of traveling to conferences, workshops, trainings and such, versus conducting them via the internet.

Now, on first blush, one might say that this is a no-brainer, and in some ways, of course, it is.  Staying put and letting the electrons do the traveling would certainly seem to be more eco-friendly.

But, don't forget that the world of the Internet is dependent upon servers and switches and hot and cold environments and a hell of a lot of computers being fired up.  So, doing the math and quantifying the different scenarios/outcomes is not as much of a "no-brainer" as first imagined.

To wit:  short travel by train to a conference, may, in fact, be just as eco-friendly as holding a video-conference.  Traveling beyond 150 miles, or using other liquid fuels in the process of virtually any kind of travel means that staying put and letting the electrons do the traveling is a better option. 

In an earlier post, I discussed the idea of "transition towns"--municipalities, mainly in England at that point, that had committed to re-imagining, re-configuring, and re-building themselves on a model of sustainability and post-carbon living.

Well, the Transition Handbook is now out and available online.  Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:

As I stood at the front of that hall, watching the room full of
laughing, twinkling people, waving their Totnes Pounds, I felt very
moved. There is a power here, I thought, which has remained largely
untapped. Surely when we think about peak oil and climate change we
should feel horrified, afraid, overwhelmed? Yet here was a room full of
people who were positively elated, yet were also looking the twin
challenges of peak oil and climate change square in the face.

I've got wind on my mind.

It may be because I am in process of being certified as a wind-site assessor through the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.  It may be because of the recent proposals by T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore, to turn America into the kingpin of wind.  It may be because I am looking carefully at where and how I can harvest wind from my own modest homestead in Wisconsin.

Or, it may be because there are articles like this popping up all over the media these days. 

What a week.

First, T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oil man, comes out and basically says he's going "all in" in investing in wind energy and renewables throughout the Midwest.

Then, Al Gore, former Vice-President and creator of An Inconvenient Truth, comes out with a speech detailing the imperative nature of transitioning to renewable energies--and fast.

Gore's plan calls for going to 100% renewable energy electrical generation in the next decade. While this is an aggressive goal, perhaps even aspirational, there are a lot of people in the know who believe it can be achieved--but only if America gets the kind of leadership that summons the national will to act, much like JFK did in getting a man on the moon in the 1960s

Let's start by admitting that a human being on a bicycle is as close to mechanical perfection as we are ever likely to get.  Zero emissions, maximum energy efficiency, appropriate design, few mobility or parking issues, easily repaired by simple tools and technology, free exercise, good for the brain--you just don't get much better than a human on a bicycle.

So, the trick becomes how to maximize the possibilities for biking while not pissing off people who still cling to their carbon-emitting, fossil fuel chugging, unsustainably wrong paradigm believing vehicle owners.  Of which, because I do own a car, I also include myself.

Where to start?

Minneapolis is already the second most bike-friendly city in the country, after Portland, Oregon.  And, by the look of recent policy initiatives, they may have their eyes on taking over the top spot.

James Hansen is widely considered the pre-eminent scientist when it comes to understanding the potential for global climate change and human contributions to the problem.

He recently presented testimony to Congress on the 20th anniversary of his initial insights into the reality that climate change was likely underway in 1988.

I give you Dr. James Hansen of NASA: