Despite spending more than $46 million, Pacific Gas & Electric failed to cement its monopoly at the ballot box Tuesday, as Proposition 16 went down in defeat. “While the election outcome hasn’t diminished our steadfast belief that citizens should have a vote in local government efforts to enter the electric utility business, we respect the decision voters made on this initiative,” said Greg Pruett, senior vice president of corporate affairs for PG&E, in a statement.

The initiative would have amended the California constitution to require a two-thirds majority of voters to approve when local governments start or expand public-power offerings. The defeat of Proposition 16 was good news for Marin Energy Authority  and Clean Power San Francisco .That made PG&E the Goliath in a David-v-Goliath battle, since Prop 16′s opponents had access to less than $100,000. 16.

If Proposition 16 had been approved by voters, it would have henceforward taken a  two  thirds vote of the electorate before a public agency could enter the retail power business. This would have made it more difficult than it is currently for local entities to form either municipal utilities, or community wide clean electricity districts called Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs). Forming a local municipal utility or a CCA, if Proposition 16 had been approved, would have required the approval, through election, of 2/3rds of the voters who live in the area of the would-be local municipal utility or CCA.

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Mike Papantonio

Diane Wilson

“This is what it feels like to have oil dumped on you”

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A Senate hearing on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was disrupted Wednesday as a protester poured an oily-looking liquid on herself before being arrested.

“This is what it feels like to have oil dumped on you,” the woman, identified as Diane Wilson, said in comments addressed to Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Wilson issued a statement issued later saying she is a fourth generation shrimper from the Gulf and that her protest was directed against Murkowski for supporting the oil industry and opposing measures such as lifting the liability cap on oil firms in offshore spills.

Wilson opened a jar and poured a dark, oily-looking substance on her head at the hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, before being taken away by Capitol police. Committee staff said later the jar contained syrup.

“With this BP disaster, I am seeing the destruction of my community and I am outraged,” Wilson said in her statement.

“I am also seeing elected representatives like Senator Lisa Murkowski blocking BP from being legally responsible to pay for this catastrophe.”

At the hearing, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told lawmakers offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will continue “in a safe way” in the wake of the massive Deepwater Horizon accident.

Salazar told the committee that a range of new regulations implemented following the accident at the BP-operated well would protect against new spills.

“Offshore drilling will continue… it has to be done in a safe way,” he told the panel.

Salazar, who heads the agency that oversees oil leasing and management of federal lands, highlighted tougher safety rules imposed this week for offshore drilling and the reorganization of the Minerals Management Service, the division which has been criticized for being too cozy with the oil industry.

But he said the rules would not halt all offshore drilling despite the six-month moratorium on new deepwater wells ordered by President Barack Obama last month.

“The importance of the jobs is very much on the mind of the president and on my mind as well,” Salazar said.

He told Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana that the administration would ask BP to pay salaries of oil sector workers whose jobs have been suspended by the drilling ban.

According to committee figures, the Gulf of Mexico has some 3,600 wells or drilling operations and 700 of them are at depths of around 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) like the Deepwater Horizon.

Salazar confirmed that BP was capturing around 15,000 barrels a day from a new device placed on the wellhead, but was unable to estimate how much was still leaking.

“It is important for us to have the right number. We’ll get that right number,” he said.

“Our goal is get zero pollution from this well. Nothing is being spared to bring this problem under control.”

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Jean-Michel Cousteau

BP disaster must be catalyst for change

Read Here

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We are a nation of cliches. Here are a few…A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. A stitch in time saves nine (?) ….and the only person that likes change is a wet baby.This last one may very well be true most of the time, yet I can’t help but recall my sister’s reaction upon smelling the pungent scent of her toddler son’s pants and asking…”sweetheart do you need to change your diaper?” He very properly replied…no thank you. He had gotten used to mushing around in those stinky diapers. She changed them anyway, but it proves a point…people can get used to anything…even when the need for change is so apparent.

US Attorney General, Eric Holder has begun a criminal probe into the undersea oil volcano gusher created by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. This story just  underscores the need for a sensible and enlightened energy policy that doesn’t depend on digging up dead dinosaur bones. It was over thirty years ago during the energy crises of the 70′s that President Jimmy Carter got a whiff of what was going on and laid out a plan  to change our nations’  dirty energy diapers.

President Jimmy Carter

But here we are now and are our fellow citizens in Louisiana are crying for change. Things may very well get worst, if we don’t have leaders who are willing to make the changes we need – even if  we’ve gotten too comfortable and aren’t sure what to do it. Electric vehicles, solar, wind, wave and a myriad of sustainable ventures offer a renewable and far less dangerous solution to what is currently going on.

Many of the oil/energy companies do have solar divisions and wisely so; including BP which did have a solar manufacturing  facility in Maryland. It closed it down in late March 2010 citing increased costs even though it posted a 26% sales increase  over last  year and industry trade associations predicting positive growth in the years ahead.

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Electric Vehicles

Telsa Toyota Team

See video here

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Transforming ourselves – Transforming our Energy
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Author, National Talk Show Host

Thom Hartmann

Was the Gulf Oil Disaster a Result of a BP BigWhig Party?

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The Hub Soma Opens

Hub SoMa Launch Celebration

On Thursday May 27th, 2010 Hub SoMa had an opening celebration. Focused around the concept of “radical collaboration,” the event  featured vignettes by Valerie Casey of the Designers Accord , Tim Freundlich and Alex Michel from Hub Bay Area, and Alexa Arena of Forest City .- each  discussed local and global forms of collaboration for social and environmental impact.

Events like this one just keep exposing why San Francisco and the Bay Area is on the forefront of trend setting movements. The people in attendance were thrilled to be there and learn about Hub Bay Area. The space has a unique design and located in the San Francisco Chronicle  Building. The Hub is a coworking space, event series, and professional toolset for changemakers! Now located in San Francisco and Berkeley, and 22 international locations across 5 continents. To learn more go to: http://bayarea.the-hub.net/public/

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A Power Play in Marin County

Vote coming up read here

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MARIN CONSERVATION LEAGUE opposes Proposition 16. It is very interesting to note how hard Pacific Gas & Electric – a company with annual revenue of $14.6 billion and a net income of $1.34 billion in 2008 – is working to undermine the successful launch of Marin Energy Authority.

In contrast, the MEA, established under the 2002 “Community Choice Aggregation” law, will have projected total revenue of about $139 million in 2013, a figure that is less than 1 percent of PG&E’s total revenue. In addition to PG&E’s current marketing campaign to encourage Marin residents to “opt out” of MEA, it is also actively campaigning for an amendment to the state Constitution with Proposition 16, which is being promoted as offering the voter “choice.”
In fact, if approved by the voters this June, Proposition 16 would require a two-thirds vote of the electorate of a public agency before that agency could enter into the retail power business, an almost insurmountable burden on attempted CCAs and municipal power agencies in California.

Proposition 16 is patently designed to protect PG&E’s monopoly power position. So, why does the “Goliath” PG&E feel so threatened by the “David” of MEA and the whole idea of local CCAs? We can assume that PG&E is acting in part to forestall what it perceives to be serious competition in its protected market. It may also be driven by their significant investment in new fossil fueled power plants that are subject to all the vagaries of volatile energy market costs.
It is conceivable that in the near future, these plants will be at a competitive disadvantage with renewable power generation facilities that are not reliant on conventional fossil fuel based energy sources.

The connection between Proposition 16 and the MEA is clear. The league supports the establishment of MEA for other reasons, however – not simply to defy PG&E’s electric power hegemony in California. CCAs – and MEA in particular – offer the following long term advantages over conventional centralized fossil fueled power generation:

- The opportunity to lock-in affordable renewable energy costs in a world of increasing conventional energy costs from fossil fuels.
- The ability for Marin residents (for the first time) to choose a real alternative of where and how the equivalent energy they use is produced. Contrary to PG&E, MEA is committed to achieving a 100 percent renewable power objective.
- A locally based Joint Powers Authority, providing transparency, local control and accountability to Marin citizens through locally elected officials.
The JPA will set policy and be responsible for MEA in the same way as any other special district.
- Professionals in the energy markets to manage MEA’s day-to-day operations and management.
- The capability of the MEA to take full advantage of local and regional distributed power generation opportunities such as wind power, solar panel installations, biomass and landfill cogeneration.
- The advantage of lesser cost of capital than that of investor owned utilities, in as much as a CCA like MEA can finance operations with tax free industrial revenue bond instruments and does not need to provide dividends to shareholders.

These advantages can be provided without significant risk. Note that 25 percent of Californians already receive their power from municipal utilities similar to MEA. Those risks that accompany any new enterprise have been anticipated in the MEA business plan, which has been thoroughly reviewed and vetted every step along the way by experienced and responsible outside parties, including the California Public Utilities Commission. Local taxpayers will not be at risk to meet MEA obligations. Yes, PG&E has every reason to be concerned over MEA and the possibility of CCAs being pursued by San Francisco and other municipalities. They offer PG&E real competition. Little wonder that PG&E is spending so much time, energy and money to try to kill MEA. It’s a good idea whose time has come.

Nona Dennis of Mill Valley is president of the Marin Conservation League. Former Larkspur City Councilman Roger Roberts is a past president of the league.

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CAPE WIND

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

BOSTON, Mass – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar just  approved the Cape Wind renewable energy project on federal submerged lands in Nantucket Sound, but will require the developer of the $1 billion wind farm to agree to additional binding measures to minimize the potential adverse impacts of construction and operation of the facility.  Read more here.

“After careful consideration of all the concerns expressed during the lengthy review and consultation process and thorough analyses of the many factors involved, I find that the public benefits weigh in favor of approving the Cape Wind project at the Horseshoe Shoal location,” Salazar said in an announcement at the State House in Boston. “With this decision we are beginning a new direction in our Nation’s energy future, ushering in America’s first offshore wind energy facility and opening a new chapter in the history of this region.”

The Cape Wind project would be the first wind farm on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, generating enough power to meet 75 percent of the electricity demand for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island combined. The project would create several hundred construction jobs and be one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiatives in the nation, cutting carbon dioxide emissions from conventional power plants by 700,000 tons annually. That is equivalent to removing 175,000 cars from the road for a year.

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Turning the Tide Returns to Fort Baker April 14-16, 2010 to Explore Creative Solutions to Global Sustainability Issues

The Institute at the Golden Gate reinforces its mission to “connect, collaborate, inspire and act” on behalf of the environment by holding its second annual Turning the Tide conference, April 14-16, 2010.  Over three days, the Institute will host several hundred environmentalists, scientists, business leaders, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and youth activists at its headquarters at Fort Baker in Sausalito.

As in 2009, this year’s Turning the Tide will unite eco-innovators from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines—reflecting the collaborative mission of the Institute, a program of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in partnership with the National Park Service.  Industry leaders representing a diverse cross-section of expertise and perspectives will gather at the Institute to forge solutions to today’s most pressing environmental issues—from climate change and the health of the oceans to water conservation, waste management and wildlife preservation.

To date, confirmed participants include natural health guru Dr. Andrew Weil; sustainable food leader Alice Waters; Nobel Laureate and climate scientist Stephen Schneider; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Kennedy; Ocean Voyages Institute president Mary Crowley, and many others. Eco-adventurer David de Rothschild, a 2009 Turning the Tide participant, is scheduled to participate via live satellite feed from his Plastiki catamaran as he navigates the Pacific on his quest to raise awareness of ocean pollution. In addition, several of last year’s Turning the Tide participants will be on hand to discuss the actions that resulted from their attendance in 2009.

In an effort to reach a broad global audience, the Institute will webcast several conference keynotes and breakout sessions during Turning the Tide, and will engage the public in real-time discussions via Twitter and Facebook feeds.  All interactive components can be accessed through the Institute’s home page at www.instituteatgoldengate.org

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QuestPoint Celebrates Earth Day with

Appreciation & Rejuvenation

Freddy Clarke to perform

San Francisco, CA (1888PressRelease) April 09, 2010 – QuestPoint Solar Solutions is your online multi media source for news, information, commentary, and knowledge in the solar, renewable energy and green economy.With all the tech talk about solar, climate change, smart grids and going green. It’s good to have a resource like QuestPoint that makes it fun, upbeat and easier to understand what the green movement is about. In the new green economy knowledge is key.

QuestPoint is celebrating Earth Day 8 days early. We look forward to building upon our partners and making new business friends as we serve the needs of consumers in the solar, renewable energy and green age.
Please join us on Wednesday evening April 14th from 5pm to 8pm at 50 Post Street, San Francisco’s Crocker Galleria, home of Green Zebra’s Environmental Action Center (the first space on the righthand side when you take the steps from Sutter Street to the ground floor).

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Underwater Skyscraper is a Self-Sufficient City at Sea
Posted By Mike Chino On March 9, 2010 (10:04 am) In Architecture, Floating Houses, Sustainable Building, Water Issues

Ocean levels are rising around the globe, so rather than tethering our buildings to the sinking shoreline why not suit them for a life at sea? That’s the approach behind the Water-Scraper, a futuristic self-sufficient floating city. A special mention in this year’s eVolo Skyscraper Competition, the design expands the concept of a floating island into a full-fledged underwater skyscraper…