The General Gist, Boo Dominion

To save you having to read the previous essay, I thought I'd summarize.
The goings on in Virginia have never been so Grey's Anatomy-scandaloucious. Dominion, our resident omnipresent electric company, is the largest contributor to political campaigns in Virginia (ai ai ai!) put together a "Re-Regulation" scheme which it put on the floor on the last day of meetings, giving the bill no time to be debated or have real public comment!

Here's the text summary of the Bill from the House. Basically, Dominion will be guaranteed profits, guaranteed no losses and guaranteed to be a monopoly.... Hmm, see antitrust laws.... No competition, which I believe is socialism, is a bad idea...especially when set up with a for-profit, socially-irresponsible company. (Dominion is the 20th largest polluter in the SP500, and if it were a country, it'd be the 34th biggest polluter..from Washington Post)

Dominion asserts there are 2 problems - Virginia's energy demand is growing and it needs to build more coal plants to meet it, and that without regulation, it can't be assured of enough profits to keep truckin'. Well, Dominion has provided no proof of "Virginia's growing energy demand". Even if there is unmeetable growth in energy demand, we can meet it with current energy production and cheap conservation measures.

Sadly, the bill allows Dominion to build coal and nuclear plants a'plenty, with no talk of environmental regulation or abetting costs of pollution (health care, environmental clean up, smog, etc.). And, no talk of investing or encouraging renewable energy, for which the market is projected to double by 2013.... A whole host of organizations have come out against the plan; Washington Post, CCAN, environmental groups, etc. Needless to say, me no likey the plan. The photo shows hazy skies from... air pollution.

(***Aside*** coal plant pollution already is destroying Virginia’s Shenandoah Park, which has nearly 2 million visitors a year. It frequently experiences harmful ozone concentrations, decreased air visibility, and acid rain, all from air pollution from coal plants (NPS). In the 30s and 40s, you could see Washington Monument on a clear day from a mountain in Shenandoah. Now, you're lucky to see 10 miles. Ok, aside done. ****)

No to SB1416, Down Dominion, Bad Dog!

A Brief essay I wrote on why the governor of Virginia should not pass SB 1416. it's dry...very dry.

SB1416 Electrics Utilities bill (commonly called Re-Regulation) should not be passed because it violates anti-trust laws, hurts the consumer and places unhindered power in the electric company in question, Dominion’s, hands. It effectively puts electric customers at vendor lock-in as well as fixes price and profits while insuring against losses for a private business at the expense of the choice-less customer. Only minimal benefits for the consumer and the state are included. The construction of new coal plants by a company already ranked among the worst polluters in the world (20^th highest polluter in the SP500, Wash. Post) – a leading cause of air pollution and acid rain - without any mitigating efforts for environmental and healthcare-related costs, is allowed and encouraged.

Dominion protests that it cannot provide services without knowing and increasing its profits, and thus, it wants re-regulation. However, this bill solves a problem that doesn’t exist. Even under State Corporation Commission (SCC) regulated rates, Dominion saw large profits. In this bill, Dominion is assured profits of equivalent companies in the South (and possibly more, as dictated by the SCC) – however, those companies do not enjoy the same regulation benefits that Dominion will. Dominion should not receive such a high profit margin (and one that is extremely adjustable) and profit-security without resulting benefits to taxpayers and customers. The current promised benefits are meager and vague, and are on top of a large profit margin.

This bill will give unlawful control to Dominion over customer choice (prohibits leaving if damaging to utility) and create a monopoly that will hamstring a developing market in renewable energy, which is expected to double by 2013 (CEERT).

Proponents of re-regulation say that the de-regulation experiment did not work. De-regulation needs more time to allow the market to fix any current problems. Deregulation did not work only because Dominion’s rates were set under the market share and discouraged competition. Private competition encourages diversity, innovation and low pricing in energy manufacture (Pennsylvania). A free electricity market in today’s social climate will create jobs in Virginia and attract business, especially when paired with other bills on energy efficiency in the House now.

Some states have re-regulated to avoid price hikes, but projections of fuel costs are variable and inaccurate. The bill was introduced too quickly to have proper education, comment and public feedback. If regulation is deemed necessary, a better plan with more expert input from balanced sources is required.

The bill essentially provides guaranteed funding for the new nuclear/coal plants Dominion wants while providing no impetus to invest in renewable energy, air clean-up or clean burning technology. Dominion has not provided documentation showing that more plants are needed. These probably unneeded new coal plants will greatly increase already high rates of air pollution in Virginia, which will further degrade ecosystems, visibility, and air quality. Shenandoah’s place as most polluted (air and acid rain) national park will be even more cemented. Studies show that by implementing cost-effective, cheaper, fuel conservation measures, Virginia will have power for years to come. The bill allows for the hidden costs of coal plants to be passed along to the taxpayer with no benefits.

In addition, there has been active citizen, institutional and press backlash and disapproval.

For all these reasons, SB1416 should not be passed. It is not in the best interests for constituents.

Science - It's Coming !!!!

Yes, the scientific community has started to come out of the closet. The political closet that is. Not that we shouldn't support gay scientists. Anyway, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, made up of 262 groups, said the bad word. (read from the Daily Grist, Feb. 20) They came out this week saying that climate change is caused by human activities, and well.. that ain't a good thing. This of course comes on the heels of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which included scientists from 92 countries, which concluded with 90% certainty that humans have been the biggest cause of global warming. This up from 60% certainty in 2001. (Source: NY Times article, Feb. 2)

Hm. And what does our government say? Here's Bush's plan on Climate Change from Whitehouse.gov. It's pretty substantial, and promises a lot. Of course, it's from Feb. 2002, and not much has changed. And his Clear Skies Initiative had weaker regulation than the Clean Air Act of 1990, despite the fact that we have better technology and knowledge of the health affects today. And his climate change cabinet, headed by Cheney, is comprised of Industry bigwigs that weaken EPA regulations. Crikey!














But, I guess we should be thankful that anything's happening at all. Nixon was a reluctant environmentalist, and ended up being our most environmentally friendly president we've had. So perhaps Bush can turn around, despite his reluctance and his clients. After all, the Bush Administration is smart and saavy, no matter how many people call them dumb and slow. They're just smart and saavy for a different side. Blast!

Jeff Parker Cartoon from this website.

Oh I Wish I Were An Aldo Leopold

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."- Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac

First things first. Aldo Leopold is possibly the coolest name ever made. Look at the almost evenly spaced 'o's. For those of you now admiring those evenly spaced 'o's whilst wondering "Who is Aldo Leopold?", Aldo was a widely respected, peaceful and contemplative conservation writer (think along the lines of Thoreau) who died in the early 90s.

Now that we know who Aldo is, let us break down his quote. It's the best definition of right and wrong that I've come across. Of course, right and wrong are still subjective, even in this definition because people will argue til we're blue in the face about what's healthy for a community, but this quote appeals to my conscience like a CD of nature sounds.

Unfortunately, I find myself doing quite a lot of "wrong." Quite frankly, though I consider myself an "executive hippie"-- sort of like a professional, educated and showered (well, occasionally. I, uh, save water, and all that) tree hugger for the 21st century -- many, if not most, of my activities/purchases don't preserve integrity, stability and beauty. A quick glance around my college room yields a view of cheap high-VOC paint, pressed particle board furniture treated with formaldehyde, Walmart curtains, and a mattress made with all the wrong sorts of chemicals. Yikes. It looks like I don't even promote a lifestyle that ensures my own integrity, stability and beauty. But let's extend our examination into the wide world yonder.

There's good news and bad news. The good news, dear Aldo, is that we're working on it. Sort of. Sometimes. Al Gore is on the case, anyway. And wherever Al Gore goes, there's.. um.. well that's where Al Gore is. I kid, I kid. The good news is that people are, on the whole, most assuredly good, or at least, misinformed. There are movements for fair trade, fair workers' treatment, fair treatment of the Earth, equal opportunity for all, green and healthy affordable housing...the list goes on and on.

The bad news is that America, land of opportunity and frontier spirit, is one of the most reluctant to hop on the green bandwagon. As with all great movements in their youth, the green movement is fighting a battle of defining itself - this leaves wiggle room for the current administration to pander to its supporters, namely big oil. With Walmart and other industries scrambling to get a piece of the toast (see blog title, woo woo!) before policy changes happen, people are beginning to question what organic and free trade even mean. And, dear Aldo, in a land where industrial giants have the most political clout, the people who most need our support, small farms and businesses, are largely left out of political happenings.

So where do we go from here? Can the world do "right" things as defined by our dear Aldo?

The Quantitative Analysis of Cheetah Spots

Starring: Spot the Cheetah, LaFawndah the Cheetah, and Bob

Cheetah spots are interesting things. For one, there are many of them. Cheetahs are endangered all around the world (in Pennsylvania and the Artic, they are extinct!) but there are still a lot of them. Probably like, more than 500. Yeah, I’m gonna go with 500. There may be more, there may be less, but that’s not really my business. So there’s 500 cheetahs, and a lot of spots. One cheetah can have up to 5 billion spots! (*this cheetah was later found to be a black common household cat) On average, cheetahs have a lot of spots. So 500 cheetahs, all having a lot of spots, would mean there are a whole lot of spots on this world. Unlike other quantitative analysis done on cheetah spots by other scientists, this one is awesome. I am a real scientist, I have my badge and ID and everything. Also unlike other studies done on cheetah spots, mine takes into account that not all cheetahs have a lot of spots. Some might have just a few, or some, or a whole heck of a lot. Some cheetahs don’t even have spots! (*these cheetahs are called lions) I know I have seen some pretty incredible cheetahs. One time I saw this cheetah that had hooves and a really long neck and horns! It fed on leaves of tall trees. It had a lot of spots, so it doesn’t mess up my study at all. Costa Rica has cheetahs too. They are small and some call them jaguars, but I call them cheetahs. There’s also a type of albino (except it’s brown) cheetah called a monkey. To find the spots on the albino cheetah, one must look very carefully into the sun for three minutes, and then stare at the cheetah and count the spots. If you don’t see any spots, you are either; 1) not looking hard enough, 2) being fooled by the cheetah or 3) blind. Cheetahs are really fast; not as fast as my Jaguar (my car, not the cheetah) but still pretty fast. They’re faster than a turtle, and slower than a jet plane. So sometimes its hard to count the spots on the ones that are running, so I shoot them. This is by far the easiest way to stop them from moving. Then I pay some kid from the village 5 cents to count the spots. The kid is really young, he can’t really talk yet. I don’t know if he can count. I invented a fool-proof way of getting a kid to count spots though. I have him count the spots on the back left foot, and then I have him multiply that by the surface area of the cheetah; then I have him do a t-test on the variances and find the standard deviation. For the last 100 cheetahs I have studied in this way, the amount of spots has always been “goo” or “waa” which is Swahili for 431 and 260 respectively. I have unlocked the secret to cheetahs, but I am not going to tell you what it is because I did it and you didn’t, and it wouldn’t be fair for you to copy my work.

In conclusion, I conclude in a conclusively concluded way that cheetahs are rarely caught by running men.