EC July 2013

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

8 participants
10 discussions

WV NEWS SERVICE
by Frank Young 30 Jul '13

30 Jul '13

For several years Public News Service (locally known as WV News service) has been a voice for progressive reporting of news. Its local affiliate- WV News Service (http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/state/WV ) - has financial support from WV Highlands Conservancy and other state organizations. And its West Virginia reporters are always on the lookout for and begging for the kinds of news articles that are of interest to you and me. Just click on the above link for a sample of the kinds of news coverage they offer. Let's try to make use of this valuable service. And it costs us nothing unless we decide to voluntarily offer fiscal support to WVNS. Frank Young _____ From: Public News Service [mailto:outreach@publicnewsservice.org] Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 1:23 PM To: fyoung(a)mountain.net Subject: "Mem-Ben-Ar" - Member Benefits Webinar! Latest Secret Treasures of your membership <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/rwcode/r.asp?HitID=1375204828850&EmID=90262149&StID =67860&SID=0&NID=1037064&Email=fyoung(a)mountain.net&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2 d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> <http://www.publicnewsservice.org/images/2011/logo.gif> Member Benefits Webinar <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Register Now <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kaWdpZGF5LmNvbS9wdWJsaXNoZXJzL2 hvdy10b3AtcHVibGlzaGVycy1oYW5kbGUtc3BvbnNvcmVkLWNvbnRlbnQv&token=42ce7c9660a 9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> HuffPo charges $40,000 for one story, called " <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cDovL2Jsb2cucHVibGlzaDIuY29tLzIwMTMvMDcvMD cvZXhwbGFpbmluZy1uYXRpdmUtYWR2ZXJ0aXNpbmctdG8tcHVibGlzaGVycy8%3D&token=42ce7 c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> native advertising", where they will write up a story of your choosing and promote it on their web page for you. HuffPo is just one of the many online aggregators that take PNS stories! Find out more secret treasures of your membership! Mark your calendars for our upcoming member benefits webinar. <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Register today to take advantage - it's less than two weeks away! We value your membership - and you should, too! Make sure you are taking advantage of everything you can, and making the most of your membership. This webinar is a great tool for anyone involved with Public News Service, giving you tons of useful information and allowing you to ask any questions you might have about membership and social media. Some of the topics we will cover: * How your membership works, and the life of a story * Editorial tips from our regional producer, Deb Smith, on how to pitch a great story that gets better pick-up * What the media environment looks like today * How to use social media effectively to reach a wider audience, easily sharing news you support on issues you care about * Getting your pictures, graphics and videos into mainstream media The Member Benefits Webinar takes place <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Tuesday, August 13 at 2 EST/1 CST/12 MST/11 PST. Whether you are new to your organization, new to the News Service family, or have used us for years and want the latest updates, you won't want to miss out on this information packed session! Can't make this one? The webinars are bi-monthly, so click on a date below to register for a future session that works for your schedule (Sessions are the second Tuesday every other month, all sessions start at 2 EST/1 CST/12 MST/11 PST): We look forward to seeing you there! Register for a session now by clicking a date below (All sessions start at 2 EST/1 CST/12 MST/11 PST): * <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci84NDQ1MDg3Mzg%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Tue, Aug 13, 2013 * <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci8yNTMxODAyMjY%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Tue, Oct 8, 2013 * <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/sendlink.asp?HitID=1375204828850&StID=67860&SID=0&N ID=1037064&EmID=90262149&Link=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cyLmdvdG9tZWV0aW5nLmNvbS9yZWdpc3 Rlci8zNDYxNzc0NjY%3D&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Tue, Dec 10, 2013 Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at <mailto:outreach@publicnewsservice.org> outreach(a)publicnewsservice.org <http://www.publicnewsservice.org/images/2011/dewey.gif> <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/RWCode/click.asp?HitID=1375204828850&EmID=90262149& StID=67860&SID=0&NID=1037064&Email=fyoung(a)mountain.net&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e 74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/new/en_send_preview_iframe2.aspx?SID=0&SiteID=67860 &NewsletterID=1037064&EmailID=90262149&HitID=1375204828850&token=42ce7c9660a 9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Comment <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/RWCode/subscribe.asp?Mode=unsubscribe&SiteID=67860& SID=0&Email=fyoung(a)mountain.net&hitid=1375204828850> unsubscribe <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/site/forward_to_friend.aspx?SiteID=67860&SID=0&Sect ion=1037064&FromEmail=fyoung(a)mountain.net&hitid=1375204828850&EmailID=902621 49&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> forward <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/ExportNewsletterToPdf.aspx?SD=67860&SID=0&ND=103706 4&EA=fyoung(a)mountain.net&ED=90262149&hitid=1375204828850&token=42ce7c9660a9d 0e74e2d1ed6c37eb3c54a3f98cd> print pdf powered by <http://d.ss9.gmsend.com/home/r.asp?SID=0&G=2&SiteID=67860&hitid=13752048288 50&EmailID=90262149&Email=fyoung(a)mountain.net&token=42ce7c9660a9d0e74e2d1ed6 c37eb3c54a3f98cd> Public News Service This mailing system may only be used for sending permission based email. 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First Energy's plant closures-Pittsburgh Post-gazette
by James Kotcon 25 Jul '13

25 Jul '13

Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a great story on what some are calling the FE fiscal train wreck. To summarize, FE is foundering in deregulated states, and is counting on the TrAILCo transmission line and the Harrison transfer to bail out the company. How do we use this? "Since FirstEnergy Corp. announced its $4.7 billion acquisition of Greensburg-based Allegheny Energy Inc. in February 2010, the Akron, Ohio-based buyer has said it will close seven of the 10 coal-fired power plants that it picked up in the purchase. FirstEnergy also is looking to sell two-thirds of its hydropower assets, much of which came from Allegheny Energy. So what was the company thinking?"Full story is at: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/firstenergys-plant-closure… JBK

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Fwd: Final Draft of letter for First Energy stakeholder meeting
by James Kotcon 23 Jul '13

23 Jul '13

For those who want to know what we are for, in terms of EE, this excellent letter gives fairly specific details of what we want. I will be presenting this to the FE Stakeholder meeting tomorrow. It has my name on it, but Jeff Loiter and staff at Optimal Energy did all the technical writing, and I corrected some minor grammar. (I really like having staff!) I especially like all the commercial & industrial program suggestions for EE. The Sierra Club is not always known for being business-friendly, so this is a great twist to bring to the table. Enjoy. JBK P.S. I am not sure this is intended to be a public document yet, but once FE gets it in their hands, it is unlikely we will keep the genie in the bottle. >>> Mark Kresowik <mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org> 7/23/2013 3:49 PM >>> Attached is a final draft of the memo formatted as a letter from us to First Energy before the stakeholder meeting. Please review ASAP so Jim can print copies for the stakeholder meeting tomorrow. Zack, once we have sign off, can you also email a copy to Mr. Jack tonight? Mark

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Beginning to monetize the real value of PV in WV
by James Kotcon 23 Jul '13

23 Jul '13

A fascinating perspective on solar power in WV. Enjoy. JBK Beginning to monetize the real value of PV in WV ( http://groups.google.com/group/wva-sun/t/55155c416c8a8885 ) Bill Howley <billhowley(a)hughes.net> Jul 22 10:37AM -0400 I have attached a copy of a new study out of Carnegie Mellon that begins to monetize the impact of renewable power on the actual displacement of fossil fuel power in different parts of the US. PV is particularly valuable in the heavily coal dependent PJM and MISO regions. Because PV in WV directly displaces coal-fired power, the health benefits, expressed in the study in monetary terms are among the highest in the US. Here's an example from the report: Solar panels in Indiana, Ohio, or West Virginia achieve significant health and environmental benefits by displacing coal-fired generators. Despite a poor solar resource, a 1-kW PV panel in Ohio provides $105 in health and environmental benefits per year ($75/MWh)---15 times more than the same panel in Arizona. Remarkably, if the goal is to improve air quality and human health, Arizona and New Mexico are among the worst locations for solar. On the basis of this analysis, either a feed-in tariff or an SREC market that would provide PV producers with at least $75/MWh (one SREC) would be justified simply in terms of the health benefits we create for everyone in WV, including the rate payers that would be subsidizing the market or the FIT. Now we have a number to start with. There are some serious flaws in the study in its analysis of wind, but their PV analysis looks good. Here is my critique of the wind part of the study, as well as how the study was misinterpreted in the WaPo - http://calhounpowerline.com/2013/07/21/wapo-clueless-blogger-starts-well-en… -- *Bill Howley Research* -- PO Box 3 -- Chloe, WV 25235 -- 304-655-8255

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Life is Good
by Allan Tweddle 19 Jul '13

19 Jul '13

Jim Kudos for your editorial "Life is better". But if I may, I'd like to expand that to illustrate how government intervention through regulation has also improved our lives. First I should disclose that as a Canadian I was until my company transferred me to California, a member of the Progressive Conservative party there. While that party name may seem to be an oxymoron, the truth is it was a party dedicated to careful thoughtful progress while taking into consideration the lessons of the past, so “...we would not be doomed to repeat the mistakes!” That's a concept that the right wing in this country has abandoned...and sadly in Canada too. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and even Ronald Ragan are undoubtedly spinning in their graves at the obstructionist no progress attitude of the GOP today. But I digress. As an engineer who has been challenged by air quality issues and opportunities for the last 50 years, I have seen time and time again how regulatory agencies pushed the technology envelopes and demanded cleaner air even when B.A.C.T* was not good enough or the technology beyond it was seemingly possible. Let me give you some examples. (*Best Available Control Technology) My father when I was a teenager, had a Cadillac. That car when new had a 90 day 4000 mile warranty and was lucky to get a 11 or 12 miles to the gallon. The California Air Resources Board, (CARB is the State’s primary air regulatory agency for mobile sources), recognizing scientifically the serious smog conditions in Southern California in particular were caused primarily by automobile emissions, began in the late 50’s, early 60’s, a process of demanding through regulations an improved control of emissions in vehicles. That process for the last 45 years has brought us today to automobiles that are 98% cleaner than they were when they started in 1968. During those efforts, CARB realized that requiring clean emissions in new vehicles was not enough. They then demanded that the automobile companies design and build vehicles so that the emission performance would exist for the first hundred thousand miles of the vehicle's life...assuming proper maintenance. The automobile industry fought them every step of the way. What’s the result? today’s vehicles are cleaner, far more efficient, and much better made. My wife’s 2009 Cadillac today has a six-year 100,000 mile warranty and we regularly achieve an average of 26.4 miles to the gallon. That's progress! Let me give you another example. As an engineer I was retained by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in Los Angeles to examine the economic impact of a more Stringent rule that they were proposing to eliminate, not reduce, but eliminate all volatile organic compounds from coatings on furniture. That meant eliminating what for many years ago we all remember was the smell of drying paint. It was the evaporation of the volatile organic compounds on the manufacture of new furniture and painting of architectural elements, that was clearly in the science based opinion of SCAQMD, contributing to the smog of Southern California. The furniture industry in Southern California, which at the time was the second-largest concentration of furniture manufacturers in United States, screamed bloody murder. Jobs! Economic chaos! You've all heard the mantra. They argued that not only were no such coatings available at the time, (and they weren't), but that if the rule was implemented the entire industry would either die or leave Southern California and go to Mexico where no such rules existed. SCAQMD set a goal of implementing the rule five years hence from its announcement. So it was the regulators who press the technology which, within four years, was successful. Through innovation, pressured by regulatory demands for cleaner air, VOC free coatings were made available before the fifth year arrived and are now the standard for those coatings today. These are just two examples I offer to show how we have made major progress in cleaning up the air we breathe by regulatory agencies, in other words the government, pressing for "dramatic change" by pushing the technological envelopes. These were not market forces that brought these changes about, but Government regulators acting with scientific evidence and thoughtful legislative support from both progressive and conservative legislators who demanded that "Life should be better" in California. Today Obama's Pressure for "dramatic changes" in coal fired power plants is certainly and scientifically justified. As we see all around us in West Virginia the serious health damages that are caused to citizens everywhere, we must ask, no demand, that nothing less than zero emissions be tolerated. Alternative energy sources are dramatically lower in emissions. Why should we tolerate anything less...except to protect coal company profits. And in spite of the deniers, it is now quite clear, we are by our in action and a century of the escalating emission of greenhouse gases causing serious damage to our planet. Why should we tolerate anything less than clean air and a safe planet for our grandchildren. While there may be an ER for citizens whose health is compromised by air and water pollution, there is no ER for the planet! Yes, "Life will be better" when we stop killing each other and our planet. And the irony, which has been shown so many times before, and as I pointed out in the examples above, the economic opportunities and advantages of cleaning up our act are clearly available once we reintroduce and embrace the concept of being Progressive Conservatives. Allan

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NYTimes.com: Pollution Leads to Drop in Life Span in Northern China, Research Finds
by william.depaulo 12 Jul '13

12 Jul '13

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Meshea Poore announces bid for Capito's seat
by James Kotcon 09 Jul '13

09 Jul '13

FYI. http://www.statejournal.com/story/22793964/kanawha-delegate-announces-bid-f… Also, a Gazette story this week suggested Glen Gainer was considering a run for McKinley's seat. Both would be outstanding candidates for us. JBK

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Re: [EC] Comments on air rules
by DSGJr＠aol.com 08 Jul '13

08 Jul '13

Great, Jim. Thanks for doing this. don garvin In a message dated 7/8/2013 9:04:15 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jkotcon(a)wvu.edu writes: Attached are my draft comments. Most of the rules changes are technical updates. The only one I am seriously concerned about is the loophole for facilities to meet the "condensable" PM standards in 45-CSR-14. Please let me know if you have any concerns about these, as they are due by close of business today. JBK

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Comments on air rules
by James Kotcon 08 Jul '13

08 Jul '13

Attached are my draft comments. Most of the rules changes are technical updates. The only one I am seriously concerned about is the loophole for facilities to meet the "condensable" PM standards in 45-CSR-14. Please let me know if you have any concerns about these, as they are due by close of business today. JBK

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Fwd: Boston Globe: Opposition to Fracking Increases in New England
by Paul Wilson 05 Jul '13

05 Jul '13

FYI, paul ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "David Dow" <ddow420(a)comcast.net> Date: Jul 5, 2013 5:52 PM Subject: Boston Globe: Opposition to Fracking Increases in New England To: "Alison Robb" <nature(a)cape.com>, "Paul Wilson" <pjgrunt(a)gmail.com>, "Becky Bartovics" <bartovi(a)earthlink.net> Cc: Fracking opposition stepped up in N.E.<http://links.bostonglobe.com/t.do?id=553943:56920:AD07700B-551E-4EA9-9146-D…> Opposition to the drilling technique known as fracking is growing in New England as lawmakers consider banning it.<http://links.bostonglobe.com/t.do?id=553944:56920:AD07700B-551E-4EA9-9146-D…>

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EC July 2013