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7.21.2011

Out of Control Spending by the US Government.

Government Gone Wild You Tube Video about the Out of Control Spending by the US Government.
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?Sink the economy to protect big oil tax breaks?


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Friends of the Earth

Dear Readers,

Tell "Captain" Cantor that sinking our economy to protect corporate polluters and millionaires is unacceptable.

Sign the petition today.

Imagine this for a moment. You're on a boat in the middle of the ocean, and you notice a hole in the hull where water is pouring in. The boat is starting to sink. You have two choices: you could either throw your provisions overboard or you could fix the hole. What do you do?

You'd better hope that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) isn't your captain. Fixing the hole, he would argue, is difficult. You might have to sacrifice your seat cushion or your tailored shirt to fill the gap. You might lose that cushy luxury or be forced to wear a mismatched tie.

It would be much better, according to Captain Cantor, to throw everything else overboard. The oars, your life jackets, the cooler full of food, and heck, even some expendable children and elderly sailors. But you could keep sitting on your cushions. Without all the extra weight, the boat will stay afloat -- at least for a couple more minutes.

In negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, Captain Cantor is threatening to sink the American economy and undermine environmental protections so that his wealthy friends, including big oil corporations, can keep sitting on their cushions. Sign our petition to tell Cantor to get his priorities straight.

As a lead House Republican negotiator in striking a deal to raise the nation's debt limit -- allowing our government to pay its bills -- Cantor is steering the nation toward an economic crisis. Failure to raise the debt limit could result in higher unemployment, force the government to delay Social Security checks, and drastically reduce the funding available to enforce bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.1

Why is Captain Cantor willing to watch the boat sink? It comes back to seat cushions.2 He absolutely refuses to ask polluting corporations and millionaires to pay their fair share. Late last week, his negotiating team rejected proposals to eliminate subsidies for big oil, corn ethanol and private jets.3

Enough is enough. It's time to provoke a mutiny in the ranks. In particular, House Republicans who are in vulnerable electoral seats need to see that Cantor's way is unacceptable to voters.

Add your name to our petition to send Cantor and all House Republicans the message that sinking our economy and threatening our environment in order to protect corporate polluters and millionaires is unacceptable.

This whole debate is part of a broader fight over priorities. Does government exist to advance the well being of everyone in the boat or just a wealthy few corporations and individuals that can afford high-priced lobbyists? Is a healthy environment worth more than maintaining the profit lines of big oil and coal companies?

Because this broader fight is one we must win, Friends of the Earth is launching a new initiative next week -- the Earth Budget campaign -- to push for comprehensive budget solutions that prioritize people and the planet over polluters. Our country isn't broke, and we can protect the environment and advance the public good while reducing deficits.

As we gear up to make an impact in the broader fight over priorities, we need to hold Cantor and House Republicans accountable now. Sign our petition to tell Cantor to prioritize people over polluters!

Thanks for standing up for the environment,
Michelle Chan
Economic policy director, Friends of the Earth

Sources:
1. "The risks of debt default on the economy and jobs." Center for American Progress Action Fund, July 7, 2011.
2. "GOP lawmaker refuses to believe the fact that Rep. Eric Cantor is shorting U.S. treasury bonds." Think Progress, July 8, 2011.
3. "Plan B emerges on debt." Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2011.

Friends of the Earth
1100 15th Street, NW
11th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 783-7400

Friends of the Earth
311 California Street
Suite 510
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 544-0790

Friends of the Earth is fighting to defend the environment and create a more healthy and just world.  

Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change,
keeping toxic and risky technologies out of the food we eat and products we use,
and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

To support this work, you can become a Friend of the Earth.
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Update on Missouri Court Solar Litigation

  • Solar is Here to Stay in Missouri
  • The Post Dispatch was wrong when referring to the "expected crash of the solar industry"
  • arguments the lower court recently used for declaring the solar rebate "illegal and unconstitutional" are nonsensical

2009 Renew MO Logo

Renewable Energy Activists,

Thank you for your emails to the Attorney General's office!  

Your email response thanking him for intervening in the solar rebate case and requesting a stay was great!  

We expect to hear soon if the stay will be granted. 

The recent legal action to make solar rebates unconstitutional has been making headlines in Missouri and across the country.  We have been responding and trying to get the real story told.   Read Director PJ's Wilson's response below and watch for The Columbia Missourian story out today.  

 

We could use your help to get the real story in local papers.

 

Please call or email our story below to your local paper. 

 Tell them you think this is an important story for them to follow.  If you can forward any news reports on this issue to Carla@RenewMo.org that would be very helpful. 

   

solar panels

 

Solar is Here to Stay in Missouri


A recent article in The Post Dispatch painted a gloom-and-doom slant on the recent court decision against solar rebates in Missouri, referring to the "expected crash of the solar industry", which is far from true.

 

The truth is that the solar industry has been around in Missouri for over 15 years, and the solar rebate helped catapult the technology towards mainstream adoption in the last two years. However, dramatically falling prices for solar panels, a hefty 30% federal tax incentive, and increased competition also mean that, even without the existence of a solar rebate, the price of solar systems would be way less today than it was three years ago.

 

Make no mistake about it - in an arena where every form of energy is subsidized - and none more than the fossil fuel industry - solar would certainly suffer in Missouri if its state subsidy was taken away. But it won't be - because the arguments the lower court recently used for declaring the solar rebate "illegal and unconstitutional" are nonsensical. The Public Service Commission and Attorney General, as well as the solar industry itself, are committed to upholding the law as written, and challenging this lower court's flawed logic. The court's misconceptions are actually reflective of commonly held beliefs about solar, and this provides an opportunity for Missouri to learn about the real benefits solar has to offer.

 

  1. First, the court asserts that utilities receive "no benefit" for the solar rebates they pay out. In reality, the PSC requires solar systems that receive rebates to stay in place for at least 10 years, ensuring that this generation is online. And the times that these systems are online are typically the times when it's the most expensive for utilities to generate power themselves. The more solar that's online, the less utilities have to pay for their most expensive power plants to fire up during the hot, sunny afternoon hours.
  2. Additionally, as opposed to independently financing and paying for new electricity generation, when utility companies pay solar rebates, they're paying only a fraction (perhaps 33%) of the cost of the solar system. The rest is covered by the federal government and the customer's checkbook. This means that, from the utility's standpoint, they're bringing reliable generation online for less money per kilowatt-hour produced than they could ever hope for by building new coal or nuclear. If this isn't a "benefit to the utility", as well as to the rest of the ratepayers and the public, I don't know what is.
  3. The judge also states that it doesn't change the utility's electricity portfolio even "by one kilowatt". He's right - using Ameren's own numbers, the 442 kW of solar installed as a result of their rebate program wouldn't generate "one kilowatt" - it will actually generate 552 Mega-watt hours (552,000 kilowatt-hours) of electricity per year in Missouri.

 

 


 

The truth is that solar is here to stay in Missouri. Panel prices have fallen by over 300% in the last 5 years, and the total combined renewable energy installed in the US just surpassed the amount of nuclear energy installed. The solar rebates have done a good job helping Missouri catch up with the rest of the nation, and I believe that the lower court's decision will be thrown out, and solar rebates will be up and running again in Missouri soon.

 

PJ Wilson
Columbia, MO
Director of Renew Missouri

 

 

 

 

 

 

Want to help volunteer with Renew Missouri?

 

The latest attack on renewable energy by the courts only highlights the importance of why another ballot initiative written to address every issue is likely our most viable route.  Please indicate your ability to help with another ballot initiative and other actions by visiting our Volunteers Welcome page. 

 

Thank you for supporting clean energy in Missouri!

 

Carla Klein

Renew Missouri 

Find us on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter 
Missouri Coalition for the Environment | 6267 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 2E | St. Louis | MO | 63130




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Stop Sen. Blunt's crazy, cowardly ploy to cut Medicare and Social Security




CREDO Action | more than a network. a movement.

Tell Sen. Blunt: It's crazy to cut Medicare and Social Security.

Hold Sen. Blunt accountable
Take Action!

Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to Sen. Blunt:

"The constitutional amendment you are supporting to 'balance the budget' will inevitably lead to brutal cuts to Social Security and Medicare, while preventing tax increases on the rich. This constitutional amendment is not a plan for fiscal responsibility — it represents a crazy imbalance between the needs of our nation and the greed of a few."

Automatically add your name:
Take action now!

Learn more about this campaign

Dear Friend,

No matter how dire the situation, Senate Republicans seem determined to prove they can act irresponsibly.

Senate Republicans are unanimously supporting a draconian constitutional amendment that they claim will balance the budget, but is really nothing but a cowardly ploy to force devastating cuts to vital social programs, including Social Security and Medicare, while writing into the constitution an impossible requirement — a two-thirds vote — to raise taxes.

Last week, in a column called "Getting to Crazy," Paul Krugman closed by noting that "there has been no pressure on the G.O.P. to show any kind of responsibility, or even rationality — and sure enough, it has gone off the deep end."

We agree. We need you to be part of that pressure. Even though we know it is unlikely that Republicans will break ranks and do the right thing, we must hold individual Republicans like Sen. Blunt accountable to reality and let him know his constituents see through his fantasy proposals.

Tell Sen. Blunt: It's crazy to cut our Social Security and Medicare benefits while protecting the Koch brothers and Paris Hilton from paying their fair share. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

Even worse, the amendment the Senate Republicans are backing wouldn't actually balance the budget, rather it would arbitrarily cap government spending at 18% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

To put this in perspective, the last time government spending was 18% of GDP was 1966. And no president in nearly half a century, Republican or Democrat, has even proposed a budget where spending is 18% of GDP or less.1

It's simply insane.

And this is the crux of the real problem.

The Big Lie spread by Fox News and its Tea Party allies is that the United States — the richest country in the history of the world — is too broke to afford a social safety net.

The fact of the matter is that right now we are confronting the effects of a tax-cutting binge and an eagerness for wars of choice that conservatives and so-called moderates in both parties have been indulging in for decades.

You have to go back 60 years to find a time where the U.S. government took in less taxes revenue relative to our GDP than the government takes in today.2

And yet, the Republicans tell us that they think the responsible thing to do is to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block so we can afford tax cuts for the Koch brothers.

They need a reality check that only you can provide.

Tell Sen. Blunt: It's crazy to cut our Social Security and Medicare benefits. Click here to automatically sign the petition.

Thank you for speaking out to defend Medicare and Social Security.

Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

1. "Spending Cap Is Bad No Matter How You Slice It," Michael Linden and Michael Ettlinger, American Prospect, 07-18-2011.
2. "Historical Source of Revenue as Share of GDP," The Tax Policy Center, 03-25-2011


This is a message from CREDO / Working Assets. © 2011 CREDO. All rights reserved. Questions? Send us an email or write us at: 101 Market Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, CA 94105.



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7.18.2011

Re: back on PACE



On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 2:42 PM, Adam Browning, Vote Solar <adam@votesolar.org> wrote:

Friends-

We are writing with good news.  Remember PACE, the innovative energy financing program that ran into a roadblock because of objections by the Federal Housing Finance Agency? Well, next week legislation will be introduced in Congress to fix the situation.

Take Action

The "PACE Assessment Protection Act of 2011," to be introduced imminently by Congresspersons Nan Hayworth, Daniel Lungren and Mike Thompson (bi-partisan!), addresses potential concerns by establishing strict underwriting criteria and lender protections.  It guarantees that PACE assessments will only be allowed for credit-worthy participants, and that improvements must be revenue positive.  Details here.

In return, FHFA and other federal agencies simply have to back off, and let the 27 states that have passed enabling legislation for PACE programs get to work reducing energy use, saving homeowners money, and creating jobs.  Seems like a fair deal.

We know that the program works: jurisdictions with PACE programs report higher construction and green job activity (Links here, here (pdf), and here)

And of the 2,565 homes with PACE assessments currently in place around the country, we know of only 2 defaults.  That's 1/30th of the national average default rate--which is to be expected, as PACE lowers the cost of living, and puts homeowner in a better financial position.  The irony is that PACE saves FHFA money, too.

This bill doesn't cost money, doesn't impose any government mandates, or touch non-participants' taxes.

The bill does restore states rights, does leverage private capital, and puts America to work saving homeowners money.

What's not to like?  Let's pass this sucker: stop reading this email, and get on the horn to ask your representative to be a co-sponsor.

Take Action

While this is helpful for solar, it will do a lot for energy efficiency too, and energy efficiency is no joke.

Onwards-

Adam + Team

The Vote Solar Initiative
300 Brannan Street, Suite 609
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.votesolar.org
http://twitter.com/votesolar





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7.15.2011

Re: Say "NO" to nuclear business-as-usual


 
Join List

 Join List 

Say "no" to nuclear business-as-usual


child

act

Sign a petition to protect the children of Fukushima against radioactivity

Aileen Mioko Smith, director of Green Action Japan, has just announced an opportunity for individuals and organizations across the world to sign a petition demanding increased protection for the children of Fukushima against the clear and present danger from the Dai-ichi nuclear power plant's ongoing releases of hazardous radioactivity. To read and sign the petition, go to the Green Action Fukushima Updates website.


Japan learns lessons of Fukushima; US ignores dangers of its own Mark I reactors

Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced this week that Japan needs to decrease and eventually eliminate nuclear energy and must "aim to bring about a society that can exist without nuclear power." As Japanese reactors come off line for inspection, they may not be re-started which could potentially mean no reactors in operation there as early as April 2012. But Kan did not put a timetable on the nuclear exit. Germany and Switzerland have already announced nuclear phase-outs. The Italian public voted never to re-start that country's nuclear program. But the US continues to turn a blind eye to the unacceptable risks posed by its own Mark I reactors almost identical in design to those at Fukushima. Worse, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission instead envisages "more than 100 nuclear power plants operating throughout the United States for decades to come."

Such backward thinking, along with a continued policy of allowing the nuclear industry self oversight through "voluntary initiatives" were revealed in the publication of the NRC's "Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident" released on the same day as Kan's announcement. That's not something Beyond Nuclear believes should continue. Please join us as a co-petitioner to suspend the operation of all Fukushima-style reactors in the United States. More

Thanks for taking action. And please also consider making a donation to Beyond Nuclear today. Your support will help us build a grassroots movement to close dangerous nuclear plants and create a safe energy future for our children.
Thank you for working with us for a nuclear-free world.

sunflower
The Beyond Nuclear Team

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Green Jobs Created Through Energy Independence Program

  • construction-related jobs in Sonoma County increased 8.4 percent between January, 2009 and September, 2009 after the implementation of the $100 million Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP)


Green Jobs Created Through $100 Million Sonoma County Energy Independence Program


Sonoma County Construction-related Jobs Increase 8.4%
Sonoma County Water Agency
11-20-2009

Santa Rosa, CA – Despite rising unemployment in California and nationwide, construction-related jobs in Sonoma County increased 8.4 percent between January, 2009 and September, 2009 after the implementation of the $100 million Sonoma County Energy Independence Program (SCEIP). Data from SCEIP, the Construction Industry Research Board and California Employment Development Department shows that construction-related jobs increased at the same time more than $14 million was contracted with homeowners and businesses participating in SCEIP. California's unemployment continued its increase to a high of 12.5 percent and nationwide 9.5 percent in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sonoma County unemployment hit 10.1 percent.

An example of a local Sonoma County business that has increased construction-related jobs due to SCEIP funding is The Sun Connection.

"Since SCEIP began, we have hired 9 new employees to meet the demand, and look forward to continued growth in the spring," said Alicia Collins, owner of The Sun Connection, a family owned company in Santa Rosa, CA that specializes in whole house energy saving solutions. "After 16 years of doing business in Sonoma County, 2007 and 2008 were our slowest years. SCEIP has parted the clouds of the recession, shinning the light on solar. The future looks bright at The Sun Connection."

The Sonoma County Water Agency and County of Sonoma jointly pledged up to $100 million to fund energy efficiency and water conservation improvements for residential and commercial property owners. SCEIP allows property owners to finance energy efficiency, water efficiency and renewable energy improvements through a voluntary assessment attached to the property, paid back through the property tax system over time.

"It was our goal to develop a program that would benefit the environment and economy," said SCWA Chairman and County Supervisor Paul Kelley. "SCEIP is a model for the nation on how to build green jobs, reduce greenhouse gases and conserve our energy and water resources."

In particular, more than $5.6 million in SCEIP projects were contracted in July and August 2009 at the same time a spike of 500 new construction jobs were reported by the California Employment Development Department.

"We are excited by the twofold benefits: lower utility bills and new green construction jobs, of the County's new Energy Independence Program," said Rod Dole, Sonoma County's Auditor/Controller, who administers the program. "We believe the $37 million participation by Sonoma County property owners made these community benefits possible."

While Sonoma County's construction-related jobs increased, neighboring counties either saw a drop or slight increase - Napa County jobs declined by -3% and in Solano County jobs increased by only 1.3%. Neither county implements a SCEIP program. SCWA and Sonoma County will continue to monitor and evaluate the positive economic impact SCEIP is having on its local economy.

Local economists agree that SCEIP has helped increase green jobs in Sonoma County.

"Energy Independence is our future. Programs like this one seize this opportunity to not only drive our economy toward a future of using fewer natural resources but also employing other resources, such as workers in construction industries and other trades, to implement this program in homes and businesses," said Dr. Robert Eyler, director, Center of Regional Economic Analysis, Sonoma State University. "This program is exactly what we need to see in a sustained recovery."

Property owners who want to use SCEIP funding must agree to repay the program through an assessment on their property taxes over a term of 5, 10, or 20 years. The tax assessments are tied to the properties, and may, therefore, be passed from one owner to the next. Details of the program, including application procedures, a list of approved projects, and frequently asked questions, may be obtained on the program's Web site www.sonomacountyenergy.org.

The chart below displays construction job growth in Sonoma County within the activity period of SCEIP. The data suggests large gains in construction job growth are closely correlated with the increase in SCEIP funded projects.

Click here to view the chart

CONTACT: Brad Sherwood 707.547.1927


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