Michael Laybourn: Local Clean Power News…

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

North Bay Business Journal:
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors today voted unanimously to create an initial governing authority for a proposed countywide renewable energy-focused power agency known as Sonoma Clean Power, a step needed before determining rates to charge potential customers when service is targeted to begin in early 2014.”

Sonoma County Supervisors voted to create a CCA (community choice aggregation) and call it Sonoma Clean Power, following Marin County’s successful creation and operation of Marin Energy Authority aka Marin Clean Energy.

Sonoma Clean Power, the proposed agency, follows the “community choice aggregation” model made possible by California’s 2002 legislation, Assembly Bill 117 written by Paul Fenn. Like the Marin Energy Authority in Marin County, the proposed agency would serve its customers by feeding power into the current grid maintained by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

A CCA allows a local entity to create an energy authority in order to purchase power from other sources besides PG&E, giving more freedom of choice and the ability to deliver power that comes from more sustainable sources.

“Sonoma Clean Power can provide multiple benefits to our community. These include greenhouse gas reductions resulting from greener, less carbon-intensive energy sources as well as job creation through the implementation of local efficiency and power projects,” said Shirlee Zane, Chair of the county’s Board of Supervisors and Water Agency.

Other benefits include local control, rate stability and the ability to create significant financial incentives for customers who generate surplus power on their own through photovoltaic or other systems.

Michael Laybourn: Opt-Out of Smart Meters Now!

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

[PG&E has a 'delay installation phone number' for customers who, for any reason, wish to delay their SmartMeter install. By calling this number customers can put off the installation of their new meter until the CPUC has decided on a non-wireless SmartMeter option. The number is: 1-866-743-0263. ~Dan Hamburg]

“The PG&E and Wellington Energy employees were a no-show this morning at the Wellington Energy Installation Yard, while 26 trucks sat there ready to (illegally) install in Santa Cruz County.  About 40-50 people showed up to demand that PG&E respect local laws and get their “smart” meter program out of the County. “

Some people are demonstrating to stop the smart meters. You are missing the point if you think that smart meters will save energy. Smart meters do not save electricity. They are a reason to cut jobs. To think they are some kind of gentle green good is nonsense.

Smart meters merely track electric usage,

Michael Laybourn: Let’s Cut Defense!

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

“Oh my”, saith right wing cost cutters, “Let’s cut costs in government spending to help Americans in need or building jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure? We just can’t afford it”

But not a word about the billions spent each year to support the Egyptian dictator and military. And that is just Egypt.

From the ISS – Institute for Southern Studies
Egypt — where a popular uprising that seeks the end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule — is the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Israel. The Egyptian government receives about $2 billion a year from the United States, with most of that assistance going to its military. Last year the U.S. sent about $1.3 billion to Egypt’s military compared to about $250 million in economic aid, and the Obama administration requested similar amounts for the 2011 fiscal year, as Britain’s Telegraph reports.

Indeed, one of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks noted that “President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion annual FMS as ‘untouchable compensation’ for making and maintaining peace with Israel.”

Michael Laybourn: PG&E ‘Smart Meters’ — Dumb Idea

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

Smartmeters do not save electricity. They are a grab for stimulus dollars and a reason to cut jobs. To think they are some kind of gentle green good is nonsense.

From the Wall St Journal: Meters are expensive, often costing $250 to $500 each when all the bells and whistles are included, such as the expense of installing new utility billing systems. And utilities typically pass these costs directly on to consumers.  <http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=CNP> CenterPoint Energy Inc. in Houston, for instance, recently began charging its customers an extra $3.24 a month for smart meters, sparking howls of protest since the charges will continue for a decade and eventually approach $1 billion.

Michael Laybourn: Keep your filthy hands off our money

From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

I just listened to Ross Murray on KZYX  rake the polititians and media over the coals while explaining why Social Security has nothing to do with the national deficit. Very well done Ross, glad you are in there still getting enraged about the state of American politricks.

The “National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform”consists of 6 Republicans; 6 Democrats and 3 CEOs …. has been dubbed as the “Catfood Commission” because its goal appears to be cutting benefits so drastically that retirees will only be able to afford to eat pet food.

The “bipartisan” deficit reduction commission — appointed by President Obama and led by millionaires — just made their ideas public recently. With ideas are simply ridiculous.  They recommend to Congress cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age. (Well, naturally, this commission of millionaires didn’t focus on raising taxes on the wealthy or even raising the cap to pay into SSA.) Or getting out of wars we can’t afford.

And …the mainstream media’s is picking the chant up with warnings: Deficit, deficit deficit . CNN, Washington Post, Time Newsweek, Atlantic, Reuters, LA Times, everyone. All of a sudden everyone is talking about the deficit: We need to fix it.

Michael Laybourn: Unsmart Meters and Mismanaged Utilities

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

Tip of the fedora to Greg Krause in Philo, who has an article about this same issue in the 12/15 AVA. I recently contacted a group called TURN (The Utility Reform Network) who keeps a close watch on utility energy companies. I first became aware of the group when PG&E tried to stuff that constitutional amendment down California’s throat so they could be a complete monopoly and not be bothered with other competition. TURN worked hard with almost no money to fight the proposition. And won.

Now, in a rush to take advantage of U.S. stimulus money, utilities across the country are quickly installing thousands of smart meters to homes each day. Projects in the U.S. are being accelerated because of the $3.4 billion in the stimulus funds set aside for ‘smart-grid’ technologies. PG&E is now sticking smart meters to Mendocino County and anywhere the company operates in California. Many California cities and counties, including San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Marin counties, have decided to reject “Smart” Meters. Cities declining include Sebastopol, Berkeley, Cotati, Fairfax, Santa Cruz, Piedmont, Scotts Valley, Capitola, Watsonville, Sausalito, San Anselmo and others.

What’s so bad about these ‘smart’ meters?
The main issues are:

1. Security of data and private information. Billions [of dollars] are on the table, so they are moving forward with metering projects and they’re spending money as fast as they can,” said Jonathan Pollet, founder of Red Tiger Security which tests security features in SCADA systems. “The security isn’t where it should be, but the vendors aren’t going to turn down orders.” So there is little security built

Michael Laybourn: Vote Yes on Prop 19

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

The AVA, UDJ, Dianne Feinstein and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce all agree: Vote no on Prop 19. The AVA voters guide says until pot is legalized at the federal level, state initiatives like this one merely add to the enforcement confusion already prevalent at the local level.

Uh, so what? We have to lead the way as usual. It is a start in the right direction.

The so called “large-scale interests positioning themselves to further dominate the marijuana business” will get taxed and controlled better. Legalization would be a step towards similar laws that beer or wine have, but controlled better than now.

“Some kind of basic regulation will always be necessary to protect people, especially young people, from themselves.” It is written in the law that you have to be 21 –  just like having a beer. And I might not need to be protected from myself.

It is true though. The feds continue a failed drug war, costing billions and not working. Legalization would be a beginning to fix this American problem. The real problem. Americans seem to resist learning from history. Prohibition does not work. It creates crime. A black market appears and criminals take advantage of it. Prices go up and the problems that we don’t like — cartels, water stealing, trashing the environment and violence occurs. The exact same thing happened with alcohol prohibition. Prohibition does not work.

“Since the founding of the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1973, 15 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana. That is more people than live in California’s 25 largest cities – millions more than live in Ohio, Pennsylvania or Illinois. The DEA has led an aggressive national law enforcement effort that results in a marijuana arrest every 38 seconds, propelling the U.S. to become

Michael Laybourn: Voting for Judges

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

I have always ignored the judge voting until I realized how the right wing has gotten control of America’’s judicial system, especially during the Bush II years. So this year I decided to go online and try to find out about some California judicial recommendations for this reason: On the state Courts of Appeal, you vote “yes” or “no.” If a majority says “no,” they are out of the office and the Governor must select a new judge. So I googled…

First of all, Google’s first page are 2 Christian recommendations, Tea party and other politically right recommendations for the top five. The next was the League of Women voters as follows:

HOW CAN VOTERS GET INFORMATION ON JUDICIAL CANDIDATES?

Read the local newspaper for coverage of the campaign. Check editorials for their endorsements and reasons for their choices in the week before the election.

Check the sample ballot that all counties mail voters. It will list only the judicial candidates that you will be able to vote on at your polling place. Then turn to the section that prints statements submitted by nonpartisan candidates. Judicial candidates can, for a fee, put a 200 word statement in the sample ballot, and many of them do.

Michael Laybourn: 10 Fun Things to do to Improve Our Local Economy

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

1. Use only local banks. Local banks and credit unions usually have lower overheads, lower default rates and lower fees on checking. Now we can add that these institutions also appear to be much less likely to engage in predatory lending and global securitization, and therefore are much less prone to the spectacular collapses we’ve seen. Finance, of course, is closely tied with two of the largest expenditures rural residents make – shelter and transportation. To put it another way, boycott those big banks that got bailed out with your tax money, but still don’t help small business with loans or help with refinancing mortgages. That’s the fun part.

2. Use only local credit cards. Savings Bank and Redwood Credit Union have cards, still Visa and Mastercards. Mendo-Lake does not. It would be nice for these local banks to administer their own local cards and generate more jobs, but they don’t. Maybe in the future.

3. Use local services as much as possible. Two-thirds o f the budget in every U.S. household involves some kind of service, whether health care, education, yard work, auto repair, or accounting. Most services are inherently local and can be competitively delivered by professionals working out of their homes. We need to identify these gaps, encourage existing service providers to expand into these areas and target entrepreneurship efforts on creating these kinds of professionals.

4. Have local fun.

Michael Laybourn: Why I am voting for Dan Hamburg

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

I live in the 5th district and am highly interested in the outcome of this race. I spent 35 years in this county with various small businesses, some more successful than others. So I come from a background of a small business owner.

As I have watched the campaign move along, I have seen that Dan Hamburg is supported by many small business owners. He is also supported by many of the major entrepreneurs in our county that have had businesses go national to some degree. Businesses that started from ideas only and became successful.

We now have a broken economy. So what can we do here in Mendocino County?

Small business and startup businesses are the engine of our national and local economies. That is a fact.
So it follows that to repair Mendocino County’s economy, we have to work to create a local economy that is more than entry level jobs. We need startup businesses that can hire people.

We have to build an economy that can feed ourselves and make many of the things that we need. We need to support the coastal small businesses that exist. We need to use the talents and creativity in this county to build a strong local economy.

Dan Hamburg clearly understands these things.

We have a national and state economy in what I consider a depression – no matter what some fool economist says – if there are not jobs for people, then an economy cannot happen.

Here is the real difference in the 5th District Supervisor race:

Michael Laybourn: Scientific Establishment Finally Recognizing Organic Farming

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

Good news for the day. The mainstream’s science experts have once again proved those ‘organic people’ correct.

Take note Mendocino County farmers: many of you are ahead of the game and are doing the right thing. Some are beginning to do the right thing. Organic. Sustainable.

Seed monopolies, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are not good for the earth and not good farming. Industrialized agriculture is the wrong way.

The influential National Research Council’s new report criticizes industrial agriculture’s style of farming, essentially saying farming must get more sustainable. Julia Kornegay, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and professor and head of the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. Noted, “If farmers are going to meet future demands, the U.S. agriculture system has to evolve to become sustainable and think broadly — past the bottom line of producing the most possible.”

The following article by Andrew Gunther on Huffpost show why this is a major step towards good farming:

Michael Laybourn: Our Real Teachers — At Grace Hudson Now

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

Hot Tip:
Go down to the Grace Hudson Museum and see Seaweed, Salmon and Manzanita Cider, a California Indian Feast exhibition. This exhibit is a gem. Not only to see and taste what the the California Natives ate in past times and still do to some extent, but to sense the needed equilibrium necessary to live on this planet.

I saw the opening exhibit Sunday and rediscovered some the fundamental truths about the balances of life we all need to keep in mind. The show is called a feast and it is — a feast for the mind as well as the mouth. Here are some quotes from the (cook)book that is sold with the show. The book is put together by Margaret Dubin and Sara-Larus Tolley. Buy it — It is well worth it. Learn something.

From the Foreword by Kathleen Rose Smith (Bodega Miwok and Dry Creek Pomo):

Before Euro-American domination, more than 1000 nations (including bands and tribes) thrived in the place called California… Such long-term rootedness was possible due to the knowledge, respect, and restraint with which Native Californians approached plants and animals that sustained them. Strict rules governed their interactions with the environment: they gathered plants only at certain times; they burned, pruned, and dug in prescribed ways and at carefully calculated times, and they gave something back for whatever they took. The “untrammeled wilderness” the Europeans thought they discovered was in fact a carefully managed ecosystem…

My mother told me this when I was young. I didn’t understand what she meant then, but I do now. She said we had many relatives and we all had to live together; so we’d better learn how to get along with each other. She said it wasn’t too hard to do. It was just like taking care of your younger brother or sister. You got to know them, find out what they like and what made them cry, so you’d know what to do. If you took good care of them you didn’t have to work as hard. Sounds like it’s not true, but it is. When that baby gets to be a man or woman they’re going to help you out.

Michael Laybourn: The Real Facts About Social Security

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

This letter from FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 hit the internet a couple of years ago and I answered it. Maybe we need to do it again…

The letter starts:
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program.  He  promised:
1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the program,
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent “Trust Fund” rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other government program, and,
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

ML A: Wrong. Originally, President Roosevelt called for “social insurance.” He envisioned a plan through which workers would contribute and provide for their own future economic security. He specifically disdained the idea of reliance upon welfare. The original SSA embraced the idea of Social Security being an insurance program under which a group of individuals were insured against identifiable risks: disability and old age. Workers paid for their own insurance.

The original 1935 statute paid retirement benefits only to the primary worker. Many types of people were excluded, mainly farm workers, the self-employed, and anyone employed by an employer of fewer than ten people. These limitations, intended to exclude those from whom it would be difficult to monitor compliance, covered approximately half of the civilian labor force in the United States.

This had to change of course: In 1939, the 1937 Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax was amended in three important ways:
1. The widowed, nonworking spouse of a someone  entitled to an old-age benefit also became entitled to an old-age benefit.
2. Survivors (widows and orphans) became eligible for a benefit. This feature was very popular among the millions of elderly Americans hard hit

Michael Laybourn: PG&E & Prop 16, Not Quite The Last Word…

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

On election night I went to bed furious. PG&E and their arrogant, reckless campaign to change the California Constitution was ahead in votes. That 50 million dollars worth of lies must have done it, I thought, and locked in a no competition monopoly.

But when I woke up and checked the voting, the vote had reversed with NO on 16 ahead. Talk about a personal mental turnaround. But it was close, too close. 1,869,805 voted for it for a 47.7% yes vote and 52.3% voted against it, most of them, it turned out, PG&E customers.

At stake was, I believe, California’s renewable energy future. The collapse of PG&E’s attempt to buy a monopoly in California gives Californians time to consider local power. Supervisors and City councils can now take some time to educate local residents about the value of community-controlled energy. Citizens can write letters comparing the ways to purchase energy.

Looking back, it was unlimited political spending up against a small group who had no way of raising that kind of money and up against cities that manage or want to manage their own utilities, but can’t, by law, spend money on the necessary advertising to fight PG&E’s attempt to change our constitution.

The bully says we can spend them into oblivion. This doesn’t happen with community controlled energy. But it is a description of PG&E in California. PG&E wanted to stop municipal purchasing before its customers acquired a taste for lower electric rates, because most of these utilities have lower rates.

“Peter Darbee, PG&E CEO, who earned $10.6 million dollars last year, told company shareholders that the goal of Proposition 16 is to defeat local power choice “once and for all,” instead of having to continually fend off the specter of customer defection.

“Darbee speculated that California voters would be receptive to Proposition 16 if the initiative’s campaign exploited the current anti-government anger over the economy and state budget deficit.” – Dan Aiello, California Progress Report. California media was inundated with radio, TV ads and flyers telling Californians to save themselves from government. And almost 2 million people believed those slick Yes on Prop 16 fliers & TV ads telling us the initiative was a voter safeguard against local governments wanting to spend unlimited amounts to get into the energy business.

Michael Laybourn: No on Prop 16!

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

The Ukiah City Council unanimously approved A Resolution to Formally Oppose Proposition 16 “The New Two-Thirds Vote Requirement Form Public Electricity Providers Initiative Constitutional Amendment” April 21st. I’m astounded that the UDJ and AVA, to my knowledge, had no mention of this important decision.

The Supervisors should do the same for the County.

Consider a rich bully with endless money, unlimited political spending recently legalized by the Supreme Court, up against a small group who has no way of raising that kind of money and up against cities that manage or want to manage their own utilities. Why, that’s a description of PG&E.

“Peter Darbee, who was paid $10.6 million dollars last year, told company shareholders that the goal of Prop 16 is to defeat local power choice “once and for all,” instead of having to continually fend off the specter of customer defection.

Darbee speculated that California voters would be receptive to Proposition 16 if the initiative’s campaign exploited the current anti-government anger over the economy and state budget deficit.” – Dan Aiello

Don’t believe those slick Yes on Prop 16 fliers telling us the initiative is a voter safeguard against local governments wanting to spend unlimited amounts to get into the energy business. Don’t believe the flood of ads claiming this is your defense against big spending government. Don’t believe this protects your right to choose right to vote. It is a lie. This is not about more choice, it is about restricting your choice because a nothing gets passed with a 2/3 majority.

The deluge of Prop 16 TV ads doesn’t mention that the initiative was written to guarantee that PG&E’s high priced electricity monopoly will never be challenged. Prop 16 takes away a community’s right to choose to buy their own power by imposing the 2/3 vote requirement. Ironically, it doesn’t take a 2/3 majority to change the California constitution with this proposition. PG&E  simply wants to get rid of the competition. PG&E’s CEO didn’t ask ratepayers for approval before spending over 35 million of our dollars to get rid of its competition.

PG&E Proposition 16 Update

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From BILL McEWEN
The Fresno Bee

The mail the other day brought the usual offers for debt relief and loan modifications, along with something new: a slick flier declaring that Proposition 16 would stick up for people sick of government debt. I had a hard time deciding who peddled the biggest scam — the mortgage and credit card debt hustlers, or Pacific Gas & Electric, which is spending $35 million backing Proposition 16.

The utility monopoly is trying to rejigger the state constitution and protect its bottom line against start-up municipal power companies. And it’s using a deceptive advertising campaign for a law that would require two-thirds voter approval before local governments go into the power business or existing PG&E competitors expand their territories.

PG&E says Proposition 16, which is on the June ballot, is about choice, voice and transparency. But the so-called Taxpayers Right to Vote Act is more about limiting consumer choice, preserving monopolies and keeping utility rates high.

In the time since I last wrote about Proposition 16, opponents have been working to overcome PG&E’s deep pockets and cut through the baloney served by company shills. For example, John Geesman, a renewable energy advocate and former member of the California Energy Commission, uncovered the truth behind PG&E’s initiative by wading through the transcript of a company shareholders meeting. Geesman blogged thatPG&E  chief executive officer Peter Darbee told shareholders that the goal was to defeat local power choice once and for all instead of having to continually fend off the specter of customer defection. Darbee also speculated that voters would be receptive to Proposition 16 because of anti-government anger.

Michael Laybourn: An update on PG&E Proposition 16

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

An update on the Proposition 16 initiative, which PG&amp;E has written and managed to get on the June ballot. The initiative is called “Two-Thirds Requirement for Local Public Electricity Providers Act” and is a Constitutional Amendment that thwarts ANY attempts at local public power. Officially the bill is sponsored by “Californians to Protect Our Right to Vote”, which labels itself as “A Coalition Of Taxpayers, Environmentalists, Renewable Energy, Business And Labor”.  Which is not true. It is a coalition of one. PG&amp;E has said they are willing to spend 35 – 40 million dollars to pass this law and Proposition 16 is completely self-funded.

PG&E wants to lock its monopoly advantage into the State Constitution, not wanting any competition.

Marin County and San Francisco, both have created public power authorities because they wanted more green power than PG&E was offering, took the case to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) after PG&E illegally threatened not to deliver power to them. Here is what happened:

PG&E must stop threats to public power agencies
David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, April 9, 2010
California energy regulators delivered a rare rebuke to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Thursday, banning some of the hardball tactics the utility has used in its efforts to derail Marin County’s new public power agency. Although the move by the California Public Utilities Commission didn’t go as far as some PG&E critics wanted, it could have great significance as other communities – most notably, San Francisco – try to enter the electricity business. ”It’s really just a slap on the wrist, but it’s a very important slap,” said San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, one of the key proponents of a public power agency in the city.

Update on Prop 16: Worst Ballot Measure Ever

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From  MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

[SFGate blog: "...Prop 16 isn't just another battle in PG&E's war on clean energy; it's also an example of everything that's wrong with the balloting system in California: Company buys its way to the ballot with a measure that would specifically diminish voters' already limited influence over the company. That it will take a constitutional amendment to do so is just the putrid icing on the cake" -DS]

Update on Prop 16, PG&E’s irresponsible ballot initiative that wants to create a California constitutional amendment that would force local governments that want to establish local electrical service to win the approval of two-thirds of their voters first, rather than just giving consumers a choice. They just hate that nasty competition… 25-40 million dollars worth of hate.

Here are some updates on PG&E and its reckless CEO Peter Darbee…

John Geesman:
“March 8 was when PG&E filed its Preliminary Proxy Statement, detailing Darbee’s $10.5 million pay package for 2009 — some 8% more than Goldman Sachs paid its CEO.

March 11 marked the San Diego Chamber of Commerce Energy and Water Committee’s vote on Proposition 16:  22 to 0 to oppose, with 4 abstentions.

March 17 was the California Public Utilities Commission informational hearing on Proposition 16, which somehow Darbee deemed too unimportant to attend.  Odd behavior for the CEO of a regulated business which is dependent upon its regulator for its entire cash flow and which, for the first time in the CPUC’s 99-year history, is attempting to unilaterally write its own business advantage into the State Constitution.

Darbee has packed the four-member Compensation Committee with two of his telephone company cronies from his days at PacBell, including the Committee Chair.  Even with the two other members, the Committee is completely devoid of any professional experience in the regulated electricity or natural gas business.

While each of the newspapers that has taken up Proposition 16 has attempted to outdo its competitors in heaping scorn on the manipulative debasement PG&E has brought to the initiative process, the San Jose Mercury News is the first to specifically call out Darbee as the mastermind behind this brazen assault on his own electricity customers….

Eco-Grain? 100% Natural? Saving The Earth? Better Than Organic? Phony Balony!

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

I was reading National Geographic this morning and noticed an ad the featured something called Eco Grain. “What in tarnation is Eco Grain?” the headline said.

Well, according to the ad, it is grown on special farms in Idaho “thanks to a more sustainable farming approach.”

Sounds good to me, I thought, I might get some of this Earthgrain bread. But, wait, maybe I should check this out a little more carefully.

What an ad, tailored for those eco libs that read National Geographic: “The Eco Grain Movement is starting small, but with your help won’t stay that way. ..You’re probably going the store anyway, so why not do a good deed while you’re at it? By simply buying our…. “ “So do the earth a favor…”

I decided to look up this eco grain phrase and found this, by Barry Shlachter:

Sara Lee’s EarthGrains brand has launched an “environmentally friendly” line of bread with a marketing blitz that describes itself as a “plot to save the earth, one field at a time.”

Local Energy and Corporate Power (Part 4)

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

This man says it perfectly, so I’ll just quote him. What follows is John Geesman’s fact sheet about the PG&E power grab:

PG&E BALLOT INITIATIVE FACTSHEET
PROPOSITION 16: THE TROJAN HORSE IN CALIFORNIA’S JUNE 8, 2010 ELECTION
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2010

Peter Darbee’s (CEO of PG&E) Dog of an Initiative:
3 Tapeworms Eating Away at the Internal Logic of Prop. 16

By JOHN GEESMAN, FORMER CALIF. ENERGY COMMISSIONER, 2002 – 2008

I was dumbstruck when I read that PG&E’s board has authorized spending up to $35 million on this initiative. The local governments, municipal utilities, and irrigation districts who are its targets are prohibited by law from spending anything to oppose it. California’s investor-owned utilities face a Himalayan task in modernizing our electricity system and building the infrastructure necessary to serve a growing economy. They ought to focus on that, rather than manipulating the electorate to kneecap their few competitors. Has there ever been a time when we needed greater downward pressure on electricity rates? Perhaps I can contribute to stopping this outrage by assembling this information.

On February 25, I had the privilege of testifying on Proposition 16 before the joint hearing of the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee and the California Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.  This is what I said:

Local Energy and Corporate Power (Part 3)

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

In my last article about PG&E furiously trying to stop counties from developing their own energy sources, the ending thought was about how the recent Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations to put unlimited funds into the political process will affect us:

Speculation has been raging over whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent junking of federal campaign spending limits on corporations will be very bad for democracy, or not so bad. With this huge ballot campaign launched by our biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, we can say this: It’s going to be worse than you can possibly imagine.

And not only that… PG&E Corp, the parent company, of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility is raising the stakes again.

David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, February 20, 2010

PG&E CORP. PLANS TO SPEND $25 MILLION TO $35 MILLION ON A CALIFORNIA BALLOT INITIATIVE
that would limit the ability of cities and counties to go into the public power business, the company reported Friday. PG&E has supplied all of the proposition campaign’s funding so far, totaling $6.5 million. On Friday, PG&E took the unusual step of telling its investors that funding for the campaign would affect the company’s 2010 profits, lowering them by 6 to 9 cents per share.

Local Energy and Corporate Power (Part 2)

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

PG&E Spending Millions to Block Local Utilities

From San Jose Mercury News: PG&E is spending millions of dollars on a statewide initiative that would make it tougher for you to get your power from anyone else. The initiative, one of several appearing on the June 8 ballot, would require two-thirds approval from local voters before cities or counties could choose an alternate energy provider. The utility says the initiative, which it refers to as the “Taxpayers Right to Vote Act,” will ensure that voters have a final say on big energy decisions.

“We value our customers very much and we are going to stand up and resist efforts to take over our customers,” said Chairman Peter Darbee.

PG&E has so far spent $6.5 million on the initiative, according to documents on the California secretary of state’s Web site, and has signaled it is prepared to spend millions more. It says money spent on the campaign comes from shareholder dollars, but critics charge that customers are essentially footing the bill.

Pacific Gas and Electric is supporting California Proposition 16 to create a virtual stranglehold on its monopoly.  In a blatant thumbing of its nose at the political process, this corporate giant is attempting to use the proposition system to cement its own power and maintain its monopoly.

Should Mendocino County Take Control of Its Energy and Power? (Part 1)

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Local control far fetched?  Marin County’s fledgling public power agency, the Marin Energy Authority, has set its rates and has picked a company to buy electricity wholesale for many of the county’s residents. They just fired PG&E or, as any large corporation would say, downsized them.

Of course this drives PG&E up a telephone pole in fury, because these large corporate monopolies don’t like competition. A free market is just a bit much for them, somewhat similar to health insurance companies. They just don’t like the competition.

Marin could start selling power to its first customers by May. If that happens, Marin County would become California’s first county to adopt a new form of public power called community choice aggregation using a law written in the wake of the state’s energy crisis. Under community choice aggregation (CCA), cities and counties can buy electricity for their residents, while traditional utilities continue to own and operate the power grid.

Marin County also wants to control – and increase – the amount of renewable power they use. The Marin Energy Authority – consisting of the county and most of its cities – has adopted a contract with Shell Energy North America to secure electricity from sources other than PG&E. The initial rates will match PG&E with the long range goal being to lower costs to customers.

Salmon vs. Small Farmers?

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

This is a response to the piece on Senator Feinstein’s amendment to the jobs bill (Feinstein Declares War On Salmon and Fishing Jobs).

I’m no fan of Feinstein, who not only stuffs her and hubby Richard Blum’s pockets with millions of taxpayer dollars and whose response to letters is always the same: “Thank you for your letter concerning impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush. I appreciate the time you took to write and welcome the opportunity to respond….” , but we really know more than you about this…

My understanding of this amendment is that she proposes to increase farm water allocations from 10 percent last year to 40 percent this year and next, an amount that farmers say is the bare minimum they need.

I have been studying the water situation for some time and found that it is a highly complex situation. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here are some other things to think about…

A Mendo Meat Processing Plant?

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

After reading Michael Pollan’s books and researching the state of the meat industry (which is controlled by big ag corporations), I find I don’t like commercially processed meats. I was curious how best to eat free range chickens, eggs, grass fed cattle and bison and locally raised pork. In addition, I am interested in pushing for a strong local economy.

The first thought is food and how to support the farmers and ranchers locally. This is necessary if we want to build a true local economy. So I’ve been talking a lot to local cattle raisers, pig and chicken ranchers, the bison people out highway 20 and finding out this: That it is nearly impossible to find humanely raised and processed meat that has been processed locally, unless it has been done by a mobile butcher setup.

The food part of a local economy, to be strong, has to serve all the people locally, so any business that can help the ranchers and farmers raise food and provide jobs with an environmentally sound approach should be welcome.

It stands to reason that if we had a local meat processing plant in Mendocino county, then thousands of miles driven in trucks could be eliminated.

Solar for Ukiah and Mendocino County (Update)

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

FITs( feed in tariffs, REPs(renewable energy payment) & So Forth…
Or, How to Create Jobs So We Can Operate Our Own City and County Energy

Another update on providing solar/renewable energy for Ukiah and possibly even Mendocino County:
When we left this last April Gainesville Florida had become the first US city to try the feed in tariff system to jump-start the solarization of that city…

From an article in the Alliance for Renewable Energy website:

March 08, 2009
Gainesville Solar REPs Program Meets Target Before Launch

On March 1, Gainesville, FL officially became the first city in the U.S. with a solar REPs law. Utilities in the city are required to purchase solar energy from registered producers for $0.32 per kilowatt hour through 2010. This 2009 tariff rate will be adjusted over time but program profits are guaranteed for 20 years. At the commencement of the program, Gainesville now sees an influx of completed applications to request connection to the electricity grid that would sum up to a total of 4MW of generated solar energy, which is the first-year target of the program.

GRU modeled the their gross feed in tariff program on similar strategies that have been successful in European countries such as Germany. Under the program, the utility will buy all of the electricity produced by registered solar power systems at an initial fixed rate of USD $0.32 per kilowatt hour. The program offers guaranteed payments for 20 years. GRU’s experience has by no means been an isolated case, demonstrating the incredible popularity of gross solar feed-in tariff programs and their potential to rapidly increase the uptake of renewable energy in any country by home owners and businesses. Ontario, Canada’s feed in tariff program experienced a similar response where a 10 year target of 1,000 megawatts was reached within a year.

It’s Not Worth It

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

It’s not worth it. That $2 you might save at a big chain or buy on the internet.

This notion struck me solidly the other day when I read about Spencer Brewer’s music store closing. I consider Spencer one of the community’s greatest assets. An excellent musician himself, Spencer has brought music into our valley in so many ways: his recording studio, a music school and performance space, Music in the Park, producing local music shows at his shop, piano concerts and his shop itself. Essential gifts for our community. But customers weren’t buying from his store because they thought the internet was cheaper.

Now I was an early internet fan and have purchased many things by catalog. But I’ve learned to adjust my thinking, because, well, it’s just not worth it. Cheap is not value. The lowest price is not the best deal. First of all, someone local will help you get it fixed if there is a problem. Secondly, the owner and staff of that store generally has some product knowledge and can help you make an informed choice.

It is the REAL economy that needs the help…

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

I was moved to quote this passage from a novel I recently finished. The novel, written by Stieg Larsson, was set in Sweden and is about a journalist unafraid to investigate and expose a number of criminal corporations and the Swedish mainstream media lack of reporting the facts, instead aiding and abetting the corporations. Near the end of the book the corporations begin to be exposed and the corporation’s many investors cause the Swedish stock market to plummet. Our protagonist is being interviewed on TV and he was asked if he felt responsible for the economy’s freefall…

“The idea that Sweden’s economy is heading for a crash is nonsense,” Blomkvist said.

The host on TV4 looked perplexed. His reply did not follow the pattern she had expected and she was forced to improvise. Blomkvist got the question he was hoping for. “We’re experiencing the largest single drop in the history of the Swedish stock exchange – and you think that’s nonsense?”

“You have to distinguish between two things – The Swedish economy and the Swedish stock market. The Swedish economy is the sum of all the things goods and services that are produced in this country every day. There are telephones from Ericsson, cars from Volvo, chickens from Scan and shipments from Kiruna to Skovde. That’s the Swedish economy and it is as strong or weak as it was a week ago.” He paused for effect and took a sip of water.

“The stock exchange is something very different. There is no economy and no production of goods and services. There are only fantasies in which people from one hour to the next decide that this or that company is worth so many billions more or less. It doesn’t have a thing to do with reality or with the Swedish economy.”

Don’t be Hornswoggled by Measure A

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

In an answer to those who believe that DDR will not use our tax money for the stress on our infrastructure (street and highway rebuilding, water, sewage, traffic lights, fire and police protection), you are being conned. They are lining up for a bailout with our taxes already. DDR is already using our tax money with a bailout of $600 million in TALF funds. Most sources say they get the money in early October. That will certainly give them some cash to sell a zone change. Our tax money may well pay for DDR’s election campaign.

Michelle Jarboe
Plain Dealer Reporter:
August 2009

…Developers Diversified Realty Corp. could be one of the first participants in a Federal Reserve program aimed at bolstering the battered commercial real estate market… from a government-subsidized bailout fund. Developers Diversified Realty Corp. (DDR), a retail REIT, could be one of the first REITs to reliquify assets through TALF.

“Who but DDR, do you suppose, was very first in line for a TALF handout ($600 million) from the New York Federal Reserve Bank?” -Tom Anderson

“But, Mom? Where would the monster get its water?” “It would TAKE it from US, dear.”

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland
(with emphasis added)

August 26, 2009 Ukiah Valley, Mendocino, North California

EXCERPTS FROM THE LAFCO REPORT CONCERNING WATER USE IN THE UKIAH VALLEY

[This report clearly shows us that the DDR Measure A plan is asking you to vote against your neighbors and possibly yourself if you need water. The DDR plan is also inaccurate and clearly states that the plan is to bypass any laws or careful thinking about how much water is needed or will be used. This is not about politics, it is about resources and there is not enough water. For the complete report go to http://www.mendolafco.org/files/2009-08-Service-Impact-Report.pdf -ML]

The proposed project will not be subject to the level of review required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is being proposed by initiative.  Therefore, a groundwater analysis is not required to occur and thus any potential impacts to the groundwater will not be fully investigated and reviewed by the County prior to approval of the project.

Water and Millview County Water District (MCWD)

The Ukiah Valley is presently overbuilt to its available water resources. Any new growth will severely impact our existing circumstances. Even in non-drought years we have a water availability problem and are barely able to provide water services to existing development. Drought years therefore cause the requirement of extreme measures such as reduction by 50 percent or more of water consumption. Consider the following: Every time we increase development, we decrease our ability to survive a drought.

A little daft?

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

August 24, 2009 Ukiah Valley, Mandocino, North California

The word was out. It would be better to not have a green lawn.

Thirsty home landscaping, particularly lawns, will suck up an increasingly burdensome amount of water in California over the next 25 years unless big changes are made, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California. “Do the math,” said study co-author Ellen Hanak, Landscaping currently accounts for at least half of all residential water demand, according to the report.

Even at the state level, Victoria Whitney, a deputy director of the state Water Resources Control Board, justified the staff proposal to ban irrigating commercial turf, a statewide issue that the water board has had on its radar as a way to save water. “A third of urban water use is irrigation,” Whitney said. “Given the issues that they face, it seemed now was the time to point out to folks this is an easy fix.”

So this drought is the real deal and the City of Ukiah orders mandatory water rationing.

As I was driving around looking at ways to redesign my own grassy yard and saw all the many civic minded people not watering, redoing the landscaping if there was enough money, I thought: “Good Citizens”.  Refreshing, so to speak.

But maybe not to Ukiah residents who did their good deed and now face an increase in water bill rates, because they stopped using so much water causing a 35% drop in water use revenue. Just like they were advised to do by the City of Ukiah. It surely seems ironic or maybe even daft to punish the people doing the right thing. I hope to soon read in the Ukiah Daily Journal or Anderson Valley Advertiser that “We wouldn’t think of raising the rates for water use, at least for people that have cut their water use.”

It would make a lot more sense for Ukiah and the County to arrange low cost loans for those wishing to landscape with native plants, providing jobs and real revenue.
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Hey DDR! No water!

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

May 28, 2009 Ukiah, Mendocino County, North California

A tip of the fedora to Mark Scaramella for reporting on one of the most critical issues in our county.

We finally find some knowledgeable information at a Board of Supervisors meeting about our water situation in Mendocino County. Mark Scaramella in the Anderson Valley Advertiser reports that the Executive Director of LAFCO, Frank McMichaels, gave a report to the supervisors about the obvious situation we all are faced with in terms of water: We don’t have enough.

I’ve met Frank McMichaels several times and have seen him to be a no-nonsense, straightforward, conservative person. If Frank gives us (and the Supes) a report, it’s probably the real deal.

The report fully evaluates our water situation and contains the following:

-“The Ukiah Valley is presently overbuilt as to water resources.”

- Reserves are maxed out.

- The Russian River Flood Control District is fully contracted and is now under a 50% conservation order.

- Redwood Valley is on a court imposed moratorium – no more hookups for water.

- Calpella has the same constraints.

As Scaramella said, “the facts just kept on coming”…

“McMichaels said that ‘DDR owners (and would-be developers of the Masonite site) seek to bypass these laws. Present service recipients would see dramatic reductions. It would put them in a drought regimen even in non-drought years. And the costs of dealing with these impacts (water, sewer, fire, police, etc) will be imposed on existing ratepayers and districts. DDR wants to bypass the rule of law –especially on water’”

There is no water in the Ukiah Valley for large scale development. Even developers with their capacity to ignore contradictory evidence and hot-to-trot shoppers must try to look for some common sense. There is not enough water.

Them good bugs

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From MICHAEL LAYBOURN
Hopland

May 22, 2009 Ukiah, Mendocino County, North California

I was out in the garden, looking at my artichoke plants, noting how they seemed to be doing fairly well this year. Most years I had aphid problems that killed off lots of the leaves, leaving plants that didn’t look too healthy.

Then one morning I looked and ants were running up and down the leaves, telling me … aphids. First thought was to try some semi-organic spray with pyrethrins to kill those suckers off.

Then I thought: let’s do a little research.

I found this site from Oregon State University: Crop and Garden Pests in the Pacific Northwest. Well, I thought, that’s pretty close to our climate and began studying the beneficial bugs that ate the pesky ones. I then went back out to the garden and said, “Whoa, I don’t want to kill any of these bugs. The ladybug larva was eating aphids, not the leaves! I left them alone and in 2 weeks I now have several beneficial insects, more ladybugs and much healthier looking artichoke plants. Plus more artichokes than I can eat. And no aphids.

So I thought here’s some cheerful news for UkiahBlog.

Just go to this site and learn the wonders of beneficial insects (natural enemies) and how to attract them. I printed the information for myself on matt photo paper. The photos are great: Most of the photographs in this pocket guide are from the Ken Gray collection. All other photographs are from the author.

The pdf to print out is here.
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How to Create Jobs So We Can Operate Our City and County

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From Michael Laybourn

Apr 9 2009, Ukiah, Mendocino County, North California

An update on providing solar/renewable energy for Ukiah and even Mendocino County. REPs (renewable energy payment), FITs (feed-in tariffs) & So Forth…

Here is how we left it in January…

What if?… the City of Ukiah followed the proven German model and provided:

1. Low interest loans for solar conversion.
2. Gave a larger rebate: 1/2 or more of the system cost as California did in 2004.
3. Bought the electricity from solar homes and businesses at a rate that would pay back the loans.

Update:
I had heard -through the grapevine- that the first U.S. city had recently used the German model of a feed-in tariff or REP (renewable energy payment), which is the same thing. Here is what they did in Gainesville FL. (from the Gainesville Sun):

I suspect a trick…

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From Michael Laybourn

3/30/09 Ukiah, North California

With a tip of the fedora for Janie Sheppard…
The big question is why would DDR want to change the zoning to build a mall these days? The economy tells us quite clearly that malls and shopping centers are not the way to go. Mall developers including DDR are all in serious financial trouble, as we can see here:

Friday March 27, 2009, 10:58 am EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Fitch Ratings downgraded several ratings on Developers Diversified Realty Corp. on Friday, citing the shopping center developer’s liquidity position.

Fitch downgraded Developers Diversified’s issuer default rating, $1.3 billion in unsecured revolving credit facilities, $1.4 billion in unsecured medium-term notes and $833 million in unsecured convertible notes one notch to “BBB-” from “BBB.” The new rating is Fitch’s lowest investment-grade rating.

Fitch also downgraded $555 million in preferred stock to “BB+” from “BBB-,” sending it into non-investment grade, or “junk,” status. It assigned a negative outlook to the new ratings, implying another downgrade could be forthcoming. Fitch also said the company would have a liquidity shortfall of $300 million through the end of 2010 due to limited availability under the company’s revolving credit facilities and debts coming due in 2010. Last week, the company was removed from the Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 Index due to a low market capitalization.

Holy smokes! Here is a company spiraling down to worthlessness that wants to spend a huge amount of money to convince voters to change the zoning for the Masonite property they bought to build a mall. This doesn’t seem to make any sense, just considering their own financial problems. In the past year DDR’s stock has plummeted from a high in 2007 of around $70 per share to a low of under $2 a share as of March, 2009. Nosing around a little bit more, we find that In December, 2008, another article noted that:

USDA toughens oversight of organic fertilizer

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From Michael Laybourn

Here’s some good news, folks:

USDA Toughens Oversight of Organic Fertilizer
Organic fertilizers must undergo testing

By Don Schrack , The Packer, February 25, 2009
On the heels of disciplinary action by the California Department of Food and Agriculture against one manufacturer and a federal probe into yet another company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is moving to stiffen requirements for suppliers of organic fertilizers.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which oversees the National Organic Program, announced Feb. 20 that it will require third party reviewers to implement detailed audit and inspection protocols for all high nitrogen-content liquid organic fertilizers effective Oct. 1.

California Certified Organic Farmers, Santa Cruz, Calif., which certifies the state’s organic growers, immediately applauded the federal agency’s action in a news release.

Reports surfaced in late December that the state ordered in January 2007 California Liquid Fertilizer, Gonzales, Calif., to halt distribution of its fertilizer products. On January 22, federal agents raided Port Organic Products Ltd., Buttonwillow, Calif. The following day, California Certified Organic Farmers directed the state’s certified organic grower-shippers to halt the use of the company’s products. More than a week before the Port Organic Products raid, the organization established its own liquid fertilizer approval policy. Since then, it has implemented a liquid fertilizer sampling initiative and members of the certifying group’s staff met with legislative leaders, testified at a Sacramento legislative hearing and traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss the issue with National Organics Program officials.

“It’s been a busy two months, but we are very pleased with the outcome and the NOP decision to issue this new notice in a time-sensitive manner,” said Peggy Miars, executive director of the organization, in the news release.

The organization’s policies on organic liquid fertilizer may be found at http://www.ccof.org.

Maybe this is change…
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Image Credit: GrowthAg, Wee Waa, Austrailia

The Alzheimer’s Resource and Information Center

From Michael Laybourn
Hopland

A few years ago, a friend of mine found that his spouse needed care — someone to be there all the time. He started looking and I did too, to see where we could find information on giving care for Alzheimer disease. There didn’t seem to be anything at the time in Mendocino and Lake Counties, but there was an Alzheimer’s Association information center in Santa Rosa. I saw then, that there was going to be a great need for help in our county. Think baby boomers about to retire…

Alzheimer’s facts: 1 out of 8 people 65 and older have it. 70% of people with Alzheimer’s live at home cared for by family.

Some people do become forgetful as they get older. That is a normal part of aging. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 5 million people in the U.S. Over time, Alzheimer’s disease gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn and carry out daily activities such as talking, eating or otherwise taking care of oneself. The patient must be watched and cared for all the time.

About the same time, a local group concerned about Alzheimer’s care got together in Ukiah and put on a fundraiser to raise money for local Alzheimer’s needs. The event was packed. Many people that attended, and others caring for their loved ones, convinced the group that there was a great immediate need for a resource and information center in both Mendocino and Lake Counties. I read about the fundraiser and invited some of the participants to give a talk to the Ukiah Rotary Club.

The group found that people needed information first. They began to put together an information center now called The Alzheimer’s Resource and Information Center. AREC is a hub for dispersing information about new research and development… a Center to help define how to care for and understand Alzheimers, and where financial and care assistance may be found. AREC is also a clearing house and referral service to help people find assistance and to help navigate caregivers through various agency systems.

The Hospice Board in Ukiah agreed to be the umbrella board for the center and donated office space. All the other time is volunteer time, including Executive Director Candace Horsely, our retired City Manager. This, to me, is an exceptional example of humans coming together to address a local community need.

In 2008, when the Center was starting up, the Ukiah Rotary agreed to provide a computer and printer for the office. Later in the year I applied for a Rotary district $1500 grant that has been approved. Yesterday, we presented the check to board member Elizabeth Santos.

The Alzheimer’s Resource and Education Center will use this $1,500 to go forward, which will be used as a match with other AREC and other agency funding to host an educational workshop in 2009 designed specifically for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. In this workshop, caregivers will learn skills that will enable them to understand and respond to Alzheimer’s and dementia patients with knowledge and compassion. Professional assistance and training will be taught, dealing with typically occurring issues as the loved one descends further into advanced stages of Alzheimer’s.

Think about it. You may experience it some day. It’s good to know that there is a caring group that will be available for help.

The Center is open and anyone with questions or needing information can call Candace Horsley at 391.6188.
~
See also the national Alzheimer’s Association→
Image Credit: State of Orange – T-Shirts Available

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Let’s Get Solar – Part Three

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From Michael Laybourn
Hopland
Parts One and Two

Keep in mind that the system in Germany has been proven. It works.
The State of California doesn’t appear to be plugged in…
…So what about Ukiah?

First of all, Ukiah owns its own utility. Let your imagination soar…. The city already has a rebate program for installing solar electricity. But it is fairly puny in the sense of Germany, where they were committed to a quick move to alternative energy.

Here is the City of Ukiah program:
“Under SB 1, solar program incentives must decline to zero by the end of 2016 to achieve a self-sufficient solar electric industry within 10 years. The City presently offers a $2.24 per Watt AC incentive for the installation of solar systems. “
Proposed City of Ukiah 10 year declining solar incentive schedule:

Fiscal Yr 2007- 08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Incentive $2.80 $2.52 $2.24 $1.96 $1.68

and so forth…

Hey we’re going in the wrong direction!

The hard part is trying to figure out what the rebate actually amounts to for Ukiah. Take a 2.4 KW system like mine, which supplies most of my electrical. $2.24 * 2.4KW = about $5376 + various tax rebates. Now the state has a different rebate, and I called the state to see if you can stack the rebates. (City and State). I was told no with a chuckle.

The State rebate is relatively pitiful at $1.55 / watt.

Here is the state rebate program with a calculator link:
“The incentive is determined using the NSHP PV Calculator and will be reserved for you at that amount once your application is approved. Later, it will be verified by a field test. This program is called Expected Performance Based Incentive (EPBI) and the incentive amount reduces as installed mW triggers are reached.

Commercial and Existing Residential Systems less than 50kW initially will receive a similar, one time, up front incentive based on expected system performance. This rebate will be administered by the California Public Utility Commission thru your Electric Service Provider. Commercial and Residential rebates are currently $1.55 per watt.”

Or $3720 for the above system. Even adding the two together doesn’t reach the rebate of 5 years ago. As I’ve noted, Guv Schwarzenegger and the California lawmakers haven’t done anything to improve our need to wean ourselves from oil, or make it easier for us to go solar in our homes. Actually they haven’t done much of anything period.

What if?… the City of Ukiah followed the proven German model and provided:
1. Low interest loans for solar conversion.
2. Bought the electricity from solar houses at a rate that would pay back the loans.
3. Gave a larger rebate: 1/2 or more of the system cost.
Certainly, many homes and businesses would elect to go solar. This would give the City an increasing amount of energy that would not have to be purchased from other sources. This energy is not only cleaner, but is more stable and the City would benefit from decentralized and more stable energy sources. It might be somewhat more expensive at first, while the homeowner is paying off the cost of the system, but eventually Ukiah could be creating much of its own power and that energy could be less expensive and not controlled by the so-called free market by companies like Enron, etc.

On top of that, electric autos could be purchased and plugged in at night. Most driving is not over 40 miles and an electric car would take care of local driving. Talk about lowering our carbon footprint!

Where to get the money to do this? Like the Germans, charge a little more energy rates to spread the costs. That cost the German energy user an increase of a dollar of two monthly, which wouldn’t be that expensive.

But now… we live in even more exciting times. This just out a few days ago:

“1/16/2009: The U.S. House of Representatives today unveiled a draft of the $825 billion economic stimulus plan that contains $54 billion in key provisions for the development of renewable energy projects and improving the electric grid, according to published reports. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 includes $8 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy and transmission projects, $11 billion to improve the electrical grid, $6.9 billion to improve federal buildings and make them more energy efficient, plus $2 billion in loan guarantees and grants for advanced battery technologies and $1.5 billion in grants and loans to help schools become more energy efficient.”

There will soon be money available for projects such as developing our own local energy. Mendocino County is full of people that know how to write grants and speak the language of government. Keep in mind that this would also be creating jobs and another possible industry: Training people for these jobs. Energy independence. We can show the nation how to do this.

How about it, City Council? Let’s get local with energy production!

See also Congressman Thompson introduces solar energy legislation in today’s UDJ→

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Let’s Get Solar – Part 2

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From Michael Laybourn
Hopland

After advising Obama the way to go (see Solar Letter To Obama), I thought that maybe I would write down my reasoning to see how it held together. Time for some research. I knew Germany had created an explosion of alternative energy growth and has now become the worlds most advanced alternative energy country.

So, let’s take a trip to Germany.

How did Germany become the leading country for renewable energy production? It wasn’t fear of power outages or high gas prices but economic incentives that jump-started the solar revolution in Germany. (When I say solar, think renewable energy, including wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.)

“The rocketing growth of solar energy in Germany is the direct result of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act(EEG). The law guarantees that farmers, homeowners, and businesses can connect to the electric grid and the law spells out exactly how much they will be paid for their electricity and for how long.” – -Gerhard Stryi-Hipp of the German Solar Industry Association.

Unlike other mechanisms used to develop renewable energy, the German law asks for the active participation of its utilities, citizens and small businesses. German homeowners typically install solar systems about 3 kilowatt (kW) in size, sufficient to provide two-thirds of the electricity used by an average German home. German government instituted low interest loans and subsidies for alternative energy, then wrote into law that the utility companies had to pay a higher price for this new and clean energy they were getting from all sources, including the solar homes and businesses.

Continue reading Let’s Get Solar – Part 2→

See also Passive Solar Design – Part 1 at The Oil Drum→

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Solar letter to Obama

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From Michael Laybourn

I was contacted by the Obama Transition Team for input. So I did some input for them, wondering if anyone would ever read it, much less take some action. Here is what I wrote:

Transition Team:

Thanks for this opportunity.

Solar could meet 74% to 86% of total US residential electricity demands by 2010 and 2025, respectively. (Navigant Consulting study)

A solar house can power a new electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid and it could provide enough electricity to be its own energy source. Multiply that for over 200 million cars to drive 12k miles per year. That’s enough to replace the oil we currently import.

How do we get there?

If the government subsidized 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of a home or small business solar system and did low interest loans for the rest of the cost, it would be very attractive for anyone (with enough sun) to go solar. Then, as they did in Germany, have the utility companies pay for the electricity they would be receiving at a somewhat higher than market rate until the loans are paid off. Then when the loans are paid off, the utilities could pay the market rate and possibly purchase the electricity cheaper than it costs now, even though clean energy is worth more as a product.

Clean energy creates millions of jobs, helps global warming, and creates the infrastructure for electric autos.

Don’t subsidize? Let me scoff: We subsidize the auto and oil industry with highways, tax credits and bailouts. We have always subsidized nuclear and coal both in research and  tax breaks. We have not included the costs of cleanup (the Superfund, etc), which is another subsidy. We seem to be stupidly subsidizing Wall Street without any checks and balances at the moment.
Clean energy is the smartest way to help the economy, release us from dependence on oil and rebuild our national infrastructure.

——-

Now, in your mind, transfer this locally. The City of Ukiah would end up with very cheap energy, I think.

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A little scary…

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From Michael Laybourn

At the time I first saw this it was kind of funny. Now… It’s a little scary…
Dear Beloved American:
“I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.
I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion USD. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gramm, lobbyist for UBS, who (God willing) will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a former U.S. congressional leader and the architect of the PALIN / McCain Financial Doctrine, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. As such, you can be assured that this transaction is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.
Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson”

Lo and behold! He got the blank check and no one can tell him what to do with it. What is left after these giveaways? No one knows, neither Congress nor the American people.

Continue reading A little scary…→

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