Surprise! Pittsburgh one of the first metros listed on Google Transit

The Port Authority of Allegheny County, known for the chunnel to nowhere (NSC), hiking fares, and cutting service, is actually listed on Google Transit, a site that should come in handy for those needing a last minute ride on the Bus or T.

Google Transit seems much smarter than some of the other trip planners out there. One of the best parts of Google Transit is that it gives you several options for your trip, including an option to drive. However, by default Google tells you to walk instead of putting you on a bus or telling you to drive for a half mile. I love this because I think most of us Americans are so glued to the front seats of our cars that we forget how easy and healthy it is for us to walk half a mile.

EcoGeek's response to Clean Coal Advertisers

Do you ever find yourself thinking "bullshit!" as you drive by one of those Clean Coal billboards that are posted around town? I thought this response to the coal industry from EcoGeek.com's Hank Green deserved a mention here:

No...you're not green. You're full of crap.

Your industry turns mountains inside out, poisons the water of the rural poor in America and throughout the world. Your industry has never made an environmental move in its long and storied history without being forced to by a government. The promotional video for 'clean coal' at your lame PR site lauds a carbon sequestration plant that has now been canceled because it was determined to be pretty much impossible. The cleanest coal plants in the world still create more sulfer dioxide than the environment can deal with without acidifying the rain and the soil.

Of course, the future is in sequestering carbon, right? Pumping it into the ground so that it never hits the atmosphere. The problem is, building a sequestered carbon coal plant is actually more expensive than building a solar thermal plant. Why would we stick with you when solar is revving up to be cheaper than coal without expensive, unrealistic sequestration?

The only thing that makes you seem even a little green today is how extremely destructive you used to be. You cannot be, you will never be, green. Give up...go home...enjoy the next few decades because they will be your last.

We're moving on without you, and you're going to have to deal with that. Actual clean technologies are here now. We don't need you anymore. There are 45 gigawatts of renewable energy planned for the United States. You are not renewable...you are not America's Power...you are not the future and you sure as hell aren't green. Stop pretending.

Sincerely,

Hank Green and the EcoGeek Team

Rustbelt Revolutionaries

This past Friday morning, on my way back into town from a meeting out in Monroeville , I had an idea - I should swing through, Braddock, which is located in the heart of the steel valley, to check out a company that I had read about in Pittsburgh Magazine a few months back. I googled "Fossil Free Fuel" on my phone, and was able to pull up an address and phone number. The young man who answered my call, David Rosenstraus, told me to feel free to stop in to check out their shop located at 223 Braddock Ave.


As I drove down Braddock Ave I noticed US Steel's Edgar Thompson Steel Works (pictured above right) several blocks ahead. How fitting, I thought, that a local pioneer in the new green economy is located up the street from Andrew Carnegie's first steel plant.


Fossil Free Fuel is a small outfit that creates and installs biodiesel kits that burn Vegetable oil, was started in Buffalo New York back in 2004. After relocating to Allentown PA in 2005, the company moved once again in early 2007, this time just outside of the city of Pittsburgh after they were introduced to the mayor of Braddock by Steel City Biofuel's Nate Doyno .

As I approached their shop, I noticed a Mercedes Benz diesel automobile parked out front. The car, probably a model from the early to mid 1980's, had a decal in the back window that stated "This car runs off of 100% Vegetable Oil". Sweet, I thought.

As I stepped through the front door, and then the office door to the main work area, I could tell that the guys running the place were a couple of car gurus. Diesel engines on one side of the room, spare parts, machines, blow torches, and yes, several vehicles that were in the process of being converted to run on 100% vegetable oil.

So how do they do this? According to David, after initially using existing parts for their conversion kits, FFF started offering their own set of components, which include heat exchangers, fuel tanks, filters, hoses, fittings, pumps, and also the software that works with the on board computers. When it comes to the fuel side of the equation, FFF has a related entity that goes around to area restaurants to collect used vegetable oil. The oil is collected in large tanks affixed to one of their trucks and is then transported back to the shop where the oil is filtered to remove water and any food particles. This is a critical step in the process as not filtering used vegetable oil can lead to a severely damaged engine. You can read more about the specifics here at FFF's online FAQ

Here are some additional facts that I gathered during my talk with David:

• An installation of FFF's conventional biodiesel fuel kit is $1500, and $2000 for a "main tank conversion."
• The guys typically have 3 or 4 cars in the shop being worked on at a given time, with each conversion taking roughly 30 hours.
• Most of the conversions are on vehicles that get sent to Fossil Free Fuels originate from outside the Pittsburgh area - most come from the NY, PA, NJ tri-state area.
• FFF also ships kits to those who want to do the installations themselves
• While some of the vehicles that come in for installations are the older Mercedes Benz Turbo Diesel models, a good number of the installations are done on some of the newer Mercedes and Volkswagons

Below: A Mercedes Benz diesel that was in the process of a FFF conversion

If you are thinking about removing yourself from the cycle of petroleum dependence, I encourage you to give the guys at Fossil Free Fuels a call to make an appointment to stop in. I am sure they will be busy at work but also more than happy to take some time to show you around and give you the

Fossil Free Fuel
223 Braddock Ave.
Braddock, Pa 15104
412-894-8184

info@fossilfreefuel.com

Below left: The computer that allows the driver to switch fuel tanks.
Below right: A newer Volkswagon model near completion

Van Jones: "We need a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty...."

The reality is, that there is only one solution to both of the crisis that we face. There is only one solution to the ecological crisis, the crisis of global warming, the crisis of global warming, there is only one solution to the social and economic crisis. and that solution is this: We need a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Simple as that. We need a green economy that honors the earth, but it cannot be a green economy only for the eco-chic, the eco-elite, the people who can afford to buy a hybrid, the people that can afford to put solar panels on their second home. I want them to buy a hybrid, I want them to put solar panels on their second home, but the people who are struggling right now for bus fare - they have a place too.

- Van Jones, 10/31/2007


What do politicians like Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton mean when they say they want to boost our economy through the creation of "Green Collar Jobs?" Van Jones, a civil rights activist out of California, is one of the leading advocates for using the green movement spurred by the race against climate change and global warming to create thousands of jobs throughout urban areas in the United States.

Last week, Van Jones was here in Pittsburgh to speak at the Good Jobs Green Jobs conference. Modeshift has a writeup of Jones's speech at the event. Details from that presentation will be posted but for now check out this interview with Van Jones over at the Grist.


Here is Van Jones speaking on behalf of his non profit "Green for All" about how a "Green wave should lift all boats."



Below is information on the upcoming "Dream Reborn" conference in Memphis the weekend of April 4th, 2008.





"The new dream has to be about the people and the planet too."

A lot more green at this year's Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show

Last year I blogged about the lack of green products and services being showcased at the 2007 Pittsburgh Home and Garden show. The vendors at this year's show, which took place at world's largest LEED certified building - downtown Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence convention center, did a complete 180 degree turn from last year's event. Energy efficient products were marketed by a host of vendors, and so were green energy service providers in the form of Geothermal heating and cooling and also solar and wind power (all pictured to the right). While the sales people at the solar energy installer quoted me an 8000 kw system consisting of 26 solar panels ( a typical residence shouldn't need more than half of that) I was happy to finally meet a solar installer that was breaking into the Pittsburgh market.



The highlight of the green Home & Garden show was an environmental exhibit that was put on by several organizations including the Bidwell Training Center, Steel City Biofuels, and GTECH Strategies, among others. The exhibit showcased green roofs, some environmental projects from the region, and also some of the projects and work being down by both GTECH and Steel City Biofuels.





Over the last few months I have gotten to know both Andrew Butcher, CEO of GTECH, and Nathanial Doyno, Executive Director of SCBF, and I think they are both rising stars of the local green economy. Below are both Nathanial (center) and Andrew taking a break from the action to talk to KDKA radio.


So what were some of the green products that we were interested in purchasing? Since we've been in the market for outdoor furniture for some time but could not bring ourselves to purchase the Chinese manufactured goods from Lowes, we were very intrigued by an Amish furniture company from New Wilmington PA that made it's outdoor furniture out of recycled plastics. While we did not pull the trigger that day, the prices were very reasonable and we intend on making a purchase soon.

Energy and the Election: a live interactive Webinar on March 18th

Energy and the Election:
A Live Interactive Webinar
Your chance to Question and Comment

The EnergyCollective Webinar Series 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT

REGISTER NOW!!!

Join us for an interactive, Web-based debate sponsored by The EnergyCollective.

Panelists
Jeff Anderson - Energy and climate change advisor to the Edwards' campaign
Joe Romm - Blogger at ClimateProgress.org, author and advisor to the Center for American Progress
Scott Sklar - Expert on energy and renewables and president of The Stella Group

Moderator
Mark Lazen - Managing editor for The EnergyCollective and Social Media Today

Some of the questions to be addressed by our panelists will be:

• What are the major differences between remaining candidates' positions on energy and climate change?
• What will probably be part of the Democratic and Republican platforms?
• Are there areas of agreement between the leading candidates, and if so, what is the likelihood of relevant legislation in 2009?
• What role, if any, will taxes, incentives or regulation play in the leading candidates' positions?

A terrible idea for Pittsburgh's Eastern Corridor - and some better alternatives

Last night on KDKA radio I heard of a proposal put forth by Pennsylvania turnpike commission CEO Joe Brimmeier that was downright ludicrous. Brimmeier recommend that the PA department of Transportation (the infamous PenDOT) build an elevated toll road above of the current park way east to alleviate the worst congestion in this the area - the parkway east's approach to the Squirrel Hill tunnel. Now, I have had some fantasies of my own for regional transit but this just tops the cake. I was surprised to see that the Post Gazette actually put this story on the front of their web page - as I felt this idea was not worthy enough to print.

After the tunnel, or chunnel, to nowhere (The north shore connector), we do not have room for any boondoggle transit projects - especially a highway on top of another highway which would do nothing to improve our region's air quality.

Before I even heard of this I was thought of another congestion alleviation option for the eastern corridor as I was driving from the North Shore over to East Liberty earlier that day. While looking at the Martin Luther King, Jr. East busway I noticed that there was not one vehicle on the busway - which means that there should be enough room for additional vehicle traffic. So why don't we utilize the east busway to alleviate some of the congestion at the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and parkway east??? The busway already exists and is basically empty with the exceptions of the buses that utilize it throughout the day. The one concern I see them raising is that the busway is also utilized by emergency personal and also VIPs like the mayor (ha!) if they need to be evacuated from downtown.



My short term alternative is the following:

Use the existing busway as an express toll road for cars. Buses and cars would have to share the road but it would be much faster than the current alternatives. Also, there have been some studies underway to extend the busway from Swissvale out to Monroeville, which means a toll road would make a lot of sense. This would kill two birds with one stone - it would alleviate congestion and also raise funds for the port authority. Note to the Port Authority - people will pay tolls to not sit in traffic each and everyone morning and evening during their commute!

Now, a study to analyze the bus way and other eastern corridor transit options was completed back in 2003, but unfortunately the people who should be making the decisions on the recommendations take forever to come up with a plan to implement the solutions. The recommendations coming out of that study are good ones - but with the exception of the 1st alternative I haven't heard of any action for the other options, which are the following:

Allegheny Valley Commuter Rail: Downtown Pittsburgh to Arnold

• Commuter Rail service along the southern shore of the Allegheny River via the Allegheny Valley Railroad right-of-way

My comment: After years of studies and mulling of this project, a second feasible study is underway. Good grief - more studies and reports with little or nothing to show for it! My colleague at work said he would "definitely take a train" that would take him into downtown from his home in New Kensingtion and help him avoid the congestion on Route 28.

Norfolk Southern Commuter Rail:

• Commuter Rail service along the Norfolk Southern right-of-way via East Pittsburgh, Irwin, etc., possible extension to Latrobe.

My comment: If we could pull off a commuter rail to downtown from all the way out to Greensburg I say go for it! The tracks are already there to the only question is the right of way from Norfolk Southern. This rail would be a much better option than any expressway and much cheaper than the high speed Maglev train that was proposed a long time ago.

SpineLine Light Rail/BRT: Downtown to Oakland and points East

• Light Rail along city streets (underground or at-grade) to Oakland with extension along city streets to Wilkinsburg or along CSX right-of-way to Hazelwood and Homestead
• Bus Rapid Transit on city streets

My comment: This is long over due and should have been implemented in the 90's had it not been killed by the county commissioners, who I fault for not having a vision for growing the region through world class transit infrastructure. Chris Briem has a SpineLine study over at his website.

East Busway Extension: Swissvale to East Pittsburgh or Monroeville

• Extension of the East Busway along Norfolk Southern right-of-way to East Pittsburgh, with the possibility of using Tri-Boro or Mon-Fayette Expressway into Monroeville.

My Comment: My problem with just extending the busway to Monroeville and keeping it exclusively as a bus only expressway is that a lot of people do not like to ride buses. An ideal option would have been to turn it into a light railway but I guess that project did not make the cut. So, the busway as both a toll road and bus expressway makes a lot more sense since it could be implemented within months of this blog post - and within a few years extended out to Monroeville. In my opinion, right now with bus only transport the expressway is vastly underutilized.

Mon Valley Light Rail: Downtown Pittsburgh to McKeesport and Etna along the CSX right-of-way.

• Light Rail service underground from Steel Plaza to Convention Center, along the Allegheny Valley Railroad right-of-way to 33rd Street and two branches from 33rd street along CSX right-of-way to Etna and to McKeesport via Oakland, Hazelwood and the northern/eastern shore of the Monongahela River.

My Comment: I'm not sure about this one - if the new north shore alternative for the Mon Fayette Expressway is ever completed then I don't see this project happening - although I would prefer this rail line as it would take more cars off the road.


It is time we start pushing some of these ideas forward rather than sit around and hope for these solutions to fall into place. Which options do you like? Do you have some additional ideas?

Minor Storms in Florida lead to "massive power outage"

Florida's highways resemble scenes from the movie "Live Free or Die Hard"


From CNN:

The outage struck shortly after 1 p.m. ET. A strong cold front and scattered thunderstorms moved through the region, including one that prompted a tornado warning for Fort Lauderdale, the National Weather Service reported.

If thunderstorms in Florida can wipe out power for millions of residents and businesses, what would happen if our electricity grid came under a terrorist attack? Isn't it scary that the US economy could get shut down in the blink of an eye if a few key targets were hit?


One of the reasons we have so many problems with our grid is that it has not kept up with the trends of other technologies, such as processing and computing power. Unlike computers today, which used to be centralized, power generation has failed to move towards a more distributed model. Some have put faith in huge batteries and generators for the solutions to our grid's woes, but to me thats not really a fix. My solution for this mess is very similar to something that was invented almost 100 years ago - detachment from the grid. Back in the early 20th century, famous inventor Thomas Edison's house actually ran on a gasoline generator that stored excess or unused electricity in a number of batteries for later use. Edison dubbed this invention the "Edison Twentieth Century Suburban Residence" and a report on it can be found in this 1912 New York Times edition. Unfortunately, sabotage ended Edison's dream of off grid power generation and storage, and also his campaign of electric vehicles against the internal combustion engine.

Today, there are options for homeowners who no longer wish to be slaves to our nation's electricity grid, which seems to be on its last legs. Companies like GridPoint offer appliances for both homes and businesses that work with renewable power sources such as solar and your connection to your utility to bring you a failsafe storage device for powering your home or business. Gridpoint's home storage solution won the endorsement by clean energy advocate and former CIA director James Woolsey, whom I met here in Pittsburgh last month. Mr. Woolsey, who is also an adviser to Gridpoint, told me he had recently purchased a system for his home in suburban DC and was very pleased with the decision as it holds promise to un-tethering all Americans from the grid. Almost 100 years after his invention of the off-grid residence, this would be an accomplishment would Mr. Edison, probably the earliest advocate of energy Independence, could be proud of.

Live Webcast of Acciona's Nevada Solar One plant dedication

Acciona's co's Nevada Solar One thermal solar plant went live during the summer of 2007. At 64 megawatts, it is the 3rd largest solar power plant in the world. Right now there is a live webcast of the dedication ceremony which will be followed by a press conference. You can watch it all here. One of the amazing feasts of this accomplishment is that it took only 16 months to complete the plant.

This event marks what I hope is the beginning of our movement towards large scale solar power projects, as Acciona has already announced that it is planning to open up a 200 MW plant out west, which the Spanish firm expects to be completed at some point in the year 2010.

Coincidentally (or not), earlier today the state of Arizona's largest public utility company, Arizona Public Service, announced plans to build an even larger solar thermal power plant about 70 miles southwest of Phoenix. The price tag for the 240 MW plant is expect to be around one billion US dollars.

A pragmatic arguement for Nuclear Energy

I've been saying for some time now that the environmentalists need to seriously come to terms with Nuclear energy. If we want to stop global warming then we must stop building dirty burning coal plants. Since we do not have enough solar, wind, or hydroelectric capacity to meet our growing electricity demands our only option at this time is Nuclear energy.

Those of us who are realists and are against global warming recognize two key things in regards to Nuclear energy. First and foremost, we must address the issue of nuclear waste storage. Shipping spent fuel across the country to a mountain facility in Nevada is a disaster waiting to happen. Secondly, Nuclear power is safer than coal fired power plants. More people have died over time from the emissions of coal plants than they have from nuclear plants. This is documented going all the way back to the 19th century. To this very day, people in China are dying from black soot because of the poor regulations in the rural areas of that nation.

Famed cleantech investor, Carnegie Mellon Alum, and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla agrees with me, and made my case for me in an interview he did with Earth2Tech a few weeks back. Here is an excerpt related to the Nuclear debate:

Earth2Tech: You’re well known for having big macro views as to how these things have to change. What do you think is the single biggest failure of American environmental policy that we could actually do something about?

Vinod Khosla: For every nuclear plant that environmentalists avoided, they ended up causing two coal plants to be built. That’s the history of the last 20 years. Most new power plants in this country are coal, because the environmentalists opposed nuclear. When you ask someone like the NRDC, ‘Do you prefer nuclear or coal?’ They’ll say ‘We prefer nuclear to coal, but we don’t want either.’ It doesn’t work that way; we need power.

They’d like to see wind and solar photovoltaics. Well, it doesn’t work if it’s 40 cents a kilowatt hour, and it doesn’t work if you have to tell PG&E’s customers: ‘We’ll ship you power when the wind’s blowing and the sun’s shining, but otherwise, you gotta miss your favorite soap opera or NFL game.’ That’s just the reality, so you have to be pragmatic about this. What is the most cost-effective way to do it?

Buying a hybrid isn't enough

It is easy being green - but in the grand scheme of things simply going green by recycling or purchasing a hybrid vehicle is not going to do much to offset climate change. That is the message I got when I read Michael Maniates Washington Post article from this past November. Maniates, a professor of political and environmental science at nearby Allegheny College, states that we need change on a massive scale if we want to have a real impact on saving the planet. He says that all of the marketing of books and shows about how easy it is going green is doing disservice to the movement . I totally 100% agree with him. Listen - I want to do my part in reducing my carbon footprint - and I have already begun doing so, but in the end me taking public transit to work is not going to make a difference when our entire society and communities are centered around automobile transportation.

Big changes have to happen in cities and suburbs throughout America and it is going to take changes from the top down to move our culture away from gasoline powered automobiles towards mass transit and alternative forms of transportation like biking and.......and walking. Yes, walking can be a form of transportation too! With smarter design and emphasis on new urban and sustainable development people can live, work, and play all within walking distance. I get all crazy eyed when I hear of people who just have to drive their car a quarter of a mile to a grocery store or those who won't take the light rail because the nearest station is a half mile away from their office building. To them I say this: "It is time for us to wake up and stop being fat lazy Americans!!!!"

He concludes:

The time for easy is over. We're grown-ups who understand the necessity of hard work and difficult choices. We're ready for frank talk about how we best confront -- in ways rewarding, confusing, creative and hard -- the planetary emergency before us.

If we can send a man to the moon, can't we quit our dependency on foreign oil?? If we don't need foreign oil then we shouldn't have to get involved in middle east conflicts like the Iraq War, do you not agree? If we have billions to spend on new transportation infrastructure - like more light rail, commuter trains, and even high speed rail - instead of spending it on the war we will have enough infrastructure work to generate a sustainable boom in our economy and also freedom from being at the mercy of the airlines - who also guzzle up gallons and gallons of oil, once the rails are completed. Also, as a result of using more mass transit, we would spend less time in our cars and more time walking, which will make us healthier and happier. If we all have to walk more, we'll lose weight and we will live longer, resulting in a lower price tag for universal health care , much lower than what they've initially calculated.

Isn't it something that these big issues - energy independence, transportation, health care - are all interrelated? I now walk at least one mile per day when I get to take the light rail into work. The estimate is probably closer to one and a half to two miles if you include walking on my lunch hour and walking to and from my car in the massive lot by the rail station. My wife recently said she noticed that I was losing weight. I have not been going to the gym, and I sit behind a desk at my job pretty much all day. I am losing weight because I no longer drive my car into work 5 days a week.

This got me thinking - what if we were paid to take mass transit into work, or what if mass transit, like the light rail system I use, is free? Assuming there would be enough capacity for such a move (there isn't here in Pittsburgh), the results of this experiment would, I assume, shock a lot of people. A project like this would take a massive federal subsidy since fare revenues could not be used to fund the system's operations - but there could be alternative revenue streams to make up for it. How about print and video advertising in the rail cars and stations to offset the loss of fare revenues? I think this works since free rides would equal more riders and more eyeballs for the ads. What do you think about this idea?

Bike the vote

Bike riders and fans of alternative transportation out West are rallying behind Senator Barack Obama's position on their issue:

“As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks, and he will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country. Building more livable and sustainable communities will not only reduce the amount of time individuals spent commuting, but will also have significant benefits to air quality, public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

While their numbers are not huge, it is significant that they recognized Senator Obama's commitment to making funding for bikes paths and alternative forms of commuting a priority for his administration's transportation program, especially after Bush's Transportation Secretary said last summer that bikes and their infrastructure should not be part of federal transportation funding.

What do we do with our "overabundance" of water?

As I walked over the Roberto Clemente Bridge on my way to work this morning, I took a few minutes to take in the scene of the rising Allegheny River and thought: Atlanta Georgia would love to have our problem. While the Atlanta metropolitan area has to enforce very strict laws on restricting the watering of one's lawn during the day time, here in Pittsburgh we have too much water, so much water we don't know what to do with it.


The constant rising and falling of the temperatures during the last few winters here has led to flooding and other problems with our aging sewage and drainage infrastructure. For this reason, quality, not quantity, of the water is our region's chief concern. With that said, water quality is an issue that has been studied, reported, and debated around here, and has even led to fines levied against the region's sanitary authority. I want to bring up the subject of what to do with our "overabundance" of water, because nobody seems to be talking about that.

If drastic measures are not taken to move from dirty to clean energy, if coal plants in our region and around the world continue emitting CO2 into the atmosphere, temperatures will continue to rise and will eventually put parts of the city of Pittsburgh under water. What are we going to do about all of our water? Do we just sit here and wait for the next generation do deal with it? Is there anything we can do?

We don't have a lot of oil, wind, sun, or other resources here in Pittsburgh, so beyond human capital at least the only natural resource that we could leverage to help us build up the regional economy is water (yes, we have plenty of coal too).

The three possibilities that we need to figure out are:

1. How to turn our vast amounts of water from our rivers into hydroelectric power, enough power to run the city
2. Can we transport the excess water to places that need it? If this is feasible, how do we do it? Pipeline? Rail? Can we sell our excess water to regions like Atlanta? How about sending it to places that do not have safe drinking water - maybe Africa?
3. Market the region's abundance of water as a key differentiator when compared to other regions, like an Atlanta. As water shortages throughout the US increase, Pittsburgh would have a huge advantage.
   

Maybe I'm a dreamer, but I'm not alone. Several times over the course of the past year I have heard former Allegheny County Executive James Roddey mention that water is a strategic asset to the region and that we need to find ways to capitalize on it. He's right - we do have a unique opportunity. So now what do we do about it?

Note: Yesterday afternoon I received an email from Mr. Roddey himself. Here is what he had to say in response to this post:

Start with doing everything we can to clean up our rivers. Next, we need to consolidate our many separate water authorities into one regional supplier. We then need a plan to provide an adequate water supply to the five county metro area of Pittsburgh. Then…………we market our significant, potable water advantage over the rest of the US!! Forget about sending water to areas such as Atlanta, etc. It’s far too expensive by today’s standards. (Maybe not so in 10 or 15 years.)
[we can then say] “Locate your company in a place where you can be assured of a reliable source of fresh water and a place where your employees don’t have to water their lawns on alternate days.”

Pittsburgh's big dig begins: Video of the North Shore Connector "boring"

In what could become the biggest government boondoggle in our region's history, the Pittsburgh North Shore Connector will extend the Port Authority's Light Rail line less than one mile from downtown, under the Allegheny River, and to the city's North Shore. The North Shore is not a neighborhood - besides a section of apartments there really aren't many residents on the North Shore. The North Shore is a section of city that includes several businesses, restaurants, and, most importantly, the stadiums for the Pirates and Steelers and the soon to be built Majestic Star Casino.

As argued fervently by the blogs, media pundits, and local policy wonks, the half billion dollar extension, which could run up to around $1 billion, has very little benefit for to the region. Basically - the only use for the tunnel shuttle those who live either in downtown or south of the city to the stadiums for sporting events or to the casino where they can flush their hard earned money down the drain.

The argument that commuters will use the tunnel is without merit. I currently commute from the South Hills to my office on the North Shore and I am able to take the light rail (the "T") from a station that is one mile from my house to a station in downtown Pittsburgh that is a half mile from my office. I enjoy the brisk half mile walk each morning and afternoon and I'll probably boycott riding the "T" to the north shore since I like to get some exercise in before I sit down at a desk for most of the day.

Another argument - that the extension will serve as the first leg of a light rail line to the airport- is also bogus. The light rail line would have to go either over or under the Ohio River if it were to go out to Pittsburgh International Airport. Does that mean they dig another tunnel or would they build an addition to an existing bridge, like they should have done for this project?

Below is a clip of the "boring" process that started recently. I can't wait until the day they finally extend the light rail to the eastern part of town - so I no longer have to drive into that part of the city.

Video of the boring "boring" process

LVC's 2008 Presidential Primaries Voter Guide

The League of Conservation Voters has a breakdown of the candidates on environmental and energy issues. This LCV website lists the individual scores of each Republican and Democratic candidate based on their lifetime voting records. Below are some tables that show how each candidate compares with the others on their responses to an LCV questionnaire.

Former CIA Director James Woolsey to speak in Pittsburgh

Event: The Need for Energy Independence, with James Woolsey, former CIA director and guest star of the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car."
Date: Wednesday
Time: 7:30am Registration, 8:00am - 9:30am Program
Venue: Embassy Suites, Coraopolis, PA
Cost: $35 for members, $55 for non-members
More Info: Events@pghtech.org

See you there!

Local Conservative Talk Radio hosts go off on the Energy Bill's "eliminiation" of incandescent light bulbs

I couldn't believe my ears last week, when I, for a change, tuned to 104.7 FM's Quinn and Rose morning talk show. Quinn and Rose are your typical polarizing talk show hosts who happen to think they're right 100% and the other side is always wrong 100% of the time.

It should be no surprise to my readers when I say that on environmental and climate change issues the Democratic Party candidates seem to get it more than the Republican candidates. So, being conservative talk show hosts, Quinn and his co-host, Rose, started going off on the Energy Bill, particularly on how it supposedly eliminate incandescent light bulbs from the marketplace. They, not surprisingly, during their rant slammed global warming, climate change, and Al Gore. Typical conservative talking points, right?

But then it got amusing, and sad, at the same time.

"How could Bush sign this bill?" whined Rose. "You know who is going to profit from this? The Phillips company. Is Bush in bed with the Phillips family or something. I don't understand how he could do such a thing. What was he thinking?!" Then she went on to talk about how women need the bright white light of incandescents when putting on make-up, and how she was going to stock up on hundreds of incandescent light bulbs because in the future she would have lamps with no compatible light bulbs, which means she would then have to turn to the black market.

I found her ignorance laughable, because, the Energy Bill is not eliminating incandescent light bulbs. The Energy Bill is mandating that all light bulbs starting with the 100 watt bulbs in 2012 must consume from 25 to 30% less electricity. The phased in mandate for more energy efficient light bulbs continues through 2014 when 40 watt bulbs must meet the new energy efficient ratings, and then finally, in 2020, all light bulbs must be 70% more efficient than today's light bulbs. So, I do not expect incandescents to go away entirely because companies are already improving the technology which has been around for roughly 100 years. Competing technologies, like Compact Fluorescents (CFLs) and LEDs are becoming cheaper, longer lasting, and more effective at offering light that competes with the best of the incandescents bulbs.

In Rose's defense, how was she supposed to know the truth about the Energy Bill? How do our citizens and concerned radio show hosts learn and then communicate the nuts and bolts of our federal legislation if they do not have access to the information in a way where they, in this age of text messaging and ADD, can consume, comprehend, and analyze the key points of legislation such as the latest Energy Bill. I do not know of such a system where that information is at my fingertips.

I am hoping that the next time legislation as important as the Energy Bill is up for vote, the average person who does not follow the issues as closely as your or I can simply go to a website and see what is going on, without the bias or construing of the facts that we see on talk shows or talk radio. Then, before their Representative in Congress votes on the Bill, the citizen could communicate with them to discuss their concerns and hopefully get their questions answered in a timely fashion.

If we do not know the issues and stakes at hand, then our Representatives do not know of our concerns. So how can we influence them to vote a certain way? Said another way, absent of this dialog with our Government - we will continue to see legislation that is influenced by the lobbies and corporate interests who have the time and money to get in front of the members of Congress.

We need a more democratic information system in place than what we have today. There are a number of websites that do a good job of tracking votes, campaign donations, and legislation but there needs to be more - a one stop shop that informs citizens and encourages their participation in the legislative process.

Not the most terrifying thing you will see, but still a very compelling arguement for taking action to prevent climate change

A high school science teacher named Greg Craven posted his theory on the possibilities of catastrophic climate change and the four scenarios that result based on whether or not we take action to prevent climate change and whether or not climate change is real. The photo below shows the four scenarios.


The biggest risk in taking action is a waste of billions and billions, maybe even trillions of dollars. Shown in Column A row 1, the result of us being wrong about climate change would be a Global Depression. The biggest risk in taking no action would be Column B row 2 which would be catastrophes that impact the economic, political, social, environmental, and health landscapes. Wow.

Mr. Craven, at about the 8 minute mark in the video, concludes that taking action is the only reasonable choice for us:

"When faced with uncertainty about our future, the only responsible choice, the only defensible choice, really the only choice is column A in order to eliminate this (column B row 2) is column A
because the risk of not acting far outweighs the risk of acting."

Mr. Craven then goes on to tell us to take the following action:

1. the only way to get into column A is changes in public policy
2. those only change when people demand it
3. do what we can to spread this argument and increase the demand for action (demand for column A).

So, send this video to your friends who are climate change skeptics. We need spread the word, because, as the author says, all it takes these days is a few mouse clicks to start an avalanche.

Pennsylvania joins Callifornia's lawsuit against the EPA

Yesterday, Governor Ed Rendell released a statement after it was announced that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would join California and a number of other states in challenging the EPA's denial of a waiver for individual states to set emission standards for automobiles that are stricter than those in the energy bill recently passed by the Federal Government.

Governor Rendell's statement:

“The EPA wrongfully and illegally blocked our efforts to do something about climate change – all they should have done was step aside and let the states take the lead, Pennsylvania and other states should be able to ensure cleaner air and water to protect the health of our residents.”

In addition to Pennsylvania and California, other states intervening in the suit are: Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

My wish list for 2008

In no particular order, here are a few of the things I hope happen in 2008:

• A candidate who "gets it" the wins the Presidency in November and takes the first big steps to making US energy independence our next Apollo Program.
  
• The city of Pittsburgh makes significant strides to becoming one of the top green cities - this will require greener government, more green buildings, and more incentives for companies to go green
• Governor Ed Rendell's Energy Independence Strategy for Pennsylvania is finally passed
  
• A candidate who does not take campaign money from the coal and utility companies wins the race for my district's (the 18th) seat in the US House of Representatives
  
• Tesla Motors launch of their electric vehicle this year is a huge success.
  
• FutureGen proves to be commercially viable and clean coal becomes a reality, and hopefully the coal and electric companies will start coming clean and spending their money on reducing their emissions instead of spending their money on misleading public relations campaigns.
• Comprehensive campaign finance reform is finally fulfilled - all campaigns must be publicly financed from 2009 onward
• Some US States (hopefully Pennsylvania) introduce Feebates, a program where fees are charged or rebates are given to consumers who purchase new vehicles. The amount to the fees or rebates will depend on the vehicle's average fuel efficiency. Canada has already implemented feebates.
  
• Hybrid vehicles become cheaper - and an option for most new vehicle models sold in the US
  
• The introduction of clean diesel vehicles from BMW and other European manufacturers are a success here in the US