Wednesday, July 31, 2013

President Obama’s Climate Plan Would Kill Hundreds Of Millions Of Birds And Bats

JAMES M. TAYLOR, J.D. James M. Taylor is managing editor of Environment & Climate News, a national monthly...
A newly published peer-reviewed study reports U.S. wind turbines kill 1.4 million birds and bats every year, even while producing just 3 percent of U.S. electricity. The numbers reveal that President Obama’s global warming plan will kill hundreds of millions of birds and bats while doing little if anything to reduce global temperatures.
Even if no new wind turbines are ever built, turbine blades will slice 14 million birds and bats to death in mid-flight during the next decade. However, global warming alarmists say we must reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 or even 80 percent. President Obama’s recently announced assault on climate change appears likely to seek such numbers. Given that most global warming alarmists also vigorously oppose hydropower, natural gas power and nuclear power, reducing emissions by 50 to 80 percent would require increasing the number of wind turbines roughly 25 fold. That means killing 350 million birds and bats in the United States every decade.
 Continue reading via this link to the [Heartland Institute

 Turbine bird kill is a familiar topic on Wolfe Island Canada, where an 86 trubine wind farm looms over the pastoral Island Landscape.
This wind complex happens to hold the record of the most bird kills of any wind complex in Canada. 

But could the numbers be even higher?
According to Wild life biologist  Jim Wiegand the mortality studies are designed to find only a fraction of the birds killed by wind turbines

 
Jim Wiegand — The Truth about Wolfe Island bird mortality rates

Here is a little more proof about how the Wolf Island Mortality studies were designed to find only a fraction of the birds killed by their huge turbines. This information is very important so the public can understand the true character of the wind industry.
Mortality studies years ago at Altamont pass showed that large bodied carcasses like ducks, hawks, and eagles were found at an average distance of 57 meters from much smaller turbines. These turbines had a tower or hub height of 32 meters with a rotor diameter of 33 meters. The huge 2.3 MW turbines at Wolf Island have a tower or hub height of 80 meters with a blade diameter of 101 meters. The placement of hundreds carcasses found under different sized turbines, showed an increase in distance from turbines with an increase in their size.    
By using mathematical formulas derived from these studies, the average distance of a large bird carcass found under the 2.3 MW turbines at Wolf Island would be 101 meters from their towers. The Wolf Island mortality studies used search areas of only 60 and 50 meters. These studies missed most of the carcasses. Continue... [Quixotes Last Stand]

Cuomo Seeks To Get New York State's Economy Out Of The Toilet With A Royal Flush

Governor Cuomo Signs Upstate NY Gaming Economic Development Act


Press release ~

Albany, NY (July 30, 2013)

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed the Upstate NY Gaming Economic Development Act, a comprehensive new law that, pending approval of a referendum this fall, will establish four destination gaming resorts in Upstate New York and boost tourism and economic development in communities across the region. Under the casino gaming plan outlined in the new law, all localities in the state will share in increased education aid, or lower property taxes, no matter where the casinos are located.

“Our focus has been to bring jobs and boost local economies in Upstate New York, where decades of decline have taken their toll in our communities," Governor Cuomo said. "This new law will bring the state one step closer to establishing world-class destination gaming resorts that will attract tourists to Upstate New York and support thousands of good paying jobs as well as new revenue for local businesses. For too many years, gaming revenue has left New York for our neighboring states. Today, we are putting New York State in a position to have those dollars spent here in our communities, which will benefit our local economies and tourism industries, as well as support education and property tax relief." 

Continue reading [ press release]

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Tony Hayward: Wind is "ruinously expensive & ugly folly."

 Damian Carrington head of environment at the Guardian London ,reported today via Twitter that in an opinion piece published in the Sunday Times   Ex-BP CEO Tony Hayward  wrote that  Wind is "ruinously expensive & ugly folly."

This is a bold statement considering BP was recently attempting to dump their wind assets.
 Would you buy a house if the previous owner told you that not only is it ugly, but buying it would be financial disaster?


Come wind or sun, we’ll still need fossil fuels

Tony Hayward


Energy policy has been bungled by politicians. We must be less emotional and more strategic  

 I still have fond memories of winter nights from my teenage years when we all sat at home during the power cuts, peering at each other by candlelight. Forty years on, I dread to think of the consequences for a whole nation unable to charge their smart phones. 

Power cuts would be a vivid illustration of how energy policy has been bungled by successive British governments. They have enforced random decarbonisation targets set after junkets in exotic foreign cities and decreed that these must be achieved through private sector investment, underpinned by spiralling “green taxes” on consumers. 
Continue  via link below


Sources:
 The Times of London

Damian Carrington ~ Twitter

Article 10 Update:  Bob Dudley and BP Wind

Say To Hell With Cape's Comp Plan and Zoning Law

BP has been moving along the Article 10 path since September 17, 2012.  The initial Public Information Program lasted five months.  During that time Bob Dudley, BP's CEO, and BP produced a 50 year old map with few houses, wrong road names and 124 red dots denoting proposed turbine locations - that was the extent of the information BP provided.   BP attended meetings and hosted meetings where they were barraged by questions from the public and public officials.  True to form Bob Dudley and BP told us thank you very much for your interest, "We'll be getting back to you."  That refrain lasted five frustrating months.

On March 29, 2013 Bob Dudley and BP began the next stage on its path toward certification; it filed a Preliminary Scoping Statement (PSS).  A scoping statement outlines the issues and studies that an applicant must include in their formal application.  The full-blown application includes all the details needed by Public Service staff and the Siting Board to understand the project proposal.  It includes project layout details, various permits, equipment, construction details as well as assessing potential adverse environmental impacts, such as noise, shadow flicker, safety setbacks, projected bird and bat kills and a number of other issues.

Twenty-one days after Bob and BP's scoping statement was submitted, the public, Town and state agencies filed their reviews of the scoping statement on April 19, 2013.  The Department of Public Service, Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town provided extensive, detailed critiques of Bob Dudley and BP's statement.  Collectively the recommendations included a complete makeover of all the environmental studies they conducted in the past, with a number of new study requirements as well.  For Bob and BP too properly respond will require a year or more before a complete application could be filed.

Bob Dudley and BP were required under the rules of Article 10 to file: "Summary of Comments on the Preliminary Scoping Statement" on May 10, 2013.  For the most part Dudley and BP failed to respond to the State agency reviews.  In a remarkable display of corporate arrogance toward the Town, Bob Dudley and BP stated their proposed Cape Vincent project was "...not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan to the extent that the Project conflicts with the zoning law."  Bob Dudley appears to be saying the hell with the wishes of Cape Vincent we want our money dammit!
On Tuesday May 21, 2013 the Administrative Law Judges from the Departments of Public Service and Environmental Conservation came to Cape Vincent to award $99,750 in Intervenor funds, most of which went to the Towns of Cape Vincent and Lyme.  These funds will be used to hire technical experts to further review Bob Dudley and BP's scoping document and add to the already extensive list of studies.  In addition, the experts will suggest specific methods to employ in these studies.

At the conclusion of meeting the judges outlined what is called the Stipulation Phase of the Article 10 process.  This phase has no time deadline and will end when Bob and BP and any interested parties complete negotiations to explore possible agreements on some of the issues outlined in the scoping statement and reviews.   The next step in the process after Stipulation will be a time when BP could file its formal application; however, the application can be filed no earlier than June 17, 2013.

So, where is Bob Dudley, BP's CEO, taking BP this summer?  Will he wait to comply with all the study recommendations put forth by the Town and state agencies?  As noted previously, this could take well over a year.  This seems unlikely, since BP has its entire North American wind operation up for sale.  Why invest in expensive, long-term studies if Bob and BP are going to sell and bail-out?

After Stipulation Bob Dudley and BP's best plan may be to do nothing.  By doing nothing they will halt any further expense on a project that is on the auction block, which makes sense.  If there are any inquiries by interested investors, BP and Bob Dudley can claim they are in the process of submitting a formal application to the New York Siting Board.  That would give the illusion that Bob and BP were actually doing something.

Another option would have Bob Dudley and BP submit an application made up of all the old, stale studies the Town and State agencies found so lacking.  Just repackage, add some lipstick and submit it and see if it flies.  However, for Bob and BP to ignore extensive recommendations by the Departments of Public Service and Environmental Conservation, whose commissioners sit on the Siting Board, would be asking for its application to be considered incomplete, inadequate and substantially lacking.  Why bother if Bob Dudley is only going to get his hand slapped by Albany bureaucrats.  I'm sure Bob wouldn't like that.

In conclusion the best bet on what Bob Dudley and BP have planned for Cape Vincent this summer is nothing.  Just sit by the side of the road, thumb out and looking for a ride and a buyer.

Richard Chandler can look for a job elsewhere, Bob Dudley can try to figure out where BP will get all the money to pay off its debts in the Gulf and we citizens of Cape Vincent can enjoy our summer in the gorgeous Thousand Islands region of New York. The Town, on the other hand, will recharge its batteries, increase its resolve, continue preparing for battle and take whatever steps are necessary to defend our beautiful little piece of God's country. For the rest of us, maybe we can forget about wind for a summer. That would be nice.


Estonian national fish casts doubts over major wind energy park

The Tartu University marine institute has to conduct study to ascertain how the state-owned energy giant Eesti Energia's planned Kihnu wind energy park, which will be located in the spawning area of Baltic herrings, would affect the behaviour of the fish, writes LETA/Eesti Päevaleht. 

Continue... [The Baltic Course]

BP not expecting spill settlement ~ “We’re going to fight this.”

BP CEO Bob Dudley said.

“The loss claims have really been misinterpreted from the agreement that we signed in good faith,” Dudley said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “We’re going to fight this.”

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said it’s unlikely Europe’s second-biggest oil company will reach a settlement with the U.S. over the Gulf of Mexico disaster as provisions set aside to pay for the spill rose.
“It’s highly unlikely we are now going to enter into detailed settlement discussions,” Dudley told reporters in London today. “We’re digging in for the long term.”.
Continue...[Fuel Fix]

BP: Just when you think you have seen it all

It is time for BP to face the fact that it entered an agreement and it got what it wanted. It is time for BP to stop trying to take away the benefits it agreed to give the people of the Gulf Coast.
In the course of 30 years of practicing law I have never seen a corporate defendant backpedal on an agreed-to settlement to the extent BP is attempting to do in the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damages Class Action Settlement. BP still doesn’t understand the law or the facts of this case.
BP entered a comprehensive settlement that provides a system of internal controls, appeals and remedies. The Settlement was negotiated for more than 18 months, incorporated into 1,100 pages and presented to the Court for approval. Now BP is arguing irreparable harm by the plain language interpretation and common sense operation of the Settlement Agreement it agreed to. In short, BP is objecting to its own settlement. 
Continue ... [The Legal Examiner]

Monday, July 29, 2013

To the people of the 1000 Islands

Below is the last letter to the PSC commenting on Horse Creek



July 10, 2013

To the people of the 1000 Islands:
I am a native of Alexandria Bay (Alexandria Central class of 1958) with my mother's family being from Clayton and Grindstone Island (my great grandparents were the owners of Potter's Beach).  After spending many years away from the area, I returned to live in Clayton from 1980-1989 (worked at E.J. Noble) and recently came up for a visit in 2012.  After reading the July 3rd edition of the paper with the articles on wind power, the national TV crew coming to look at Casa Blanca and mansions at Edgewood, and the possibility of the Thousands Islands being declared a region of scenic significance all right next to each other on Page 1, I felt compelled to write to the citizens of the North Country about my love for the area and my concerns that its fabulous natural beauty be protected at all costs. 

I live in Gainesville FL, which was a nice little college town when I arrived in 1990, and I've traveled all over the US teaching seminars and noted what happens when development comes to town, both here in Gainesville and in other locales.  It can divide populations, create havoc with infrastructure and the environment and, in general, cause a lot of problems especially if planning is not done in advance.  I would hope that the residents of Cape Vincent, Clayton, Alex Bay, Hammond and other towns along the river would come together to protect and treasure this great natural resource of the Thousand Islands.  And, that can probably be a bit tricky when money comes to town. 

The very thought of seeing our shorelines lined with 500 ft. tall wind power machines visible from the TI Bridge, watching cheap developments crop up and big box stores come to the area only to move out later, leaving empty shells of buildings in their wake, is paralyzing to me.
  
Remember, as habitat is destroyed, species become extinct and places change character when outside people come, make changes only to disappear when the economy turns sour, that is forever. Please, for the sake of the generations to come, think of the future and come together so that this piece of Paradise on Earth can remain beautiful and accessible for all to enjoy.
   
Sara Mecomber Meeks
1842 N.E. 7th Street
Gainesville, FL 32609




BP calls off 2.6GW wind sale

UK-based energy company BP has cancelled a sale of US wind farms, said BP Wind Energy spokesperson Amanda Abbott.
“BP is terminating the marketing of its wind energy business, opting not to sell its 16 wind farms at this time,” said Abbott.
The company received “a number of bids” for the assets, located in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas. The projects have a gross generating capacity of about 2600MW.
“The company has determined that now is not the right time to sell the business,” said Abbott.
Continue... [re news]

The Mehoopany Wind Farm, operated by BP Wind Energy, is the site of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of five people

NOXEN, PA. — The Wyoming County Coroner’s Office on Monday afternoon identified the five people who were killed when a helicopter crashed in rural Pennsylvania after departing from the Tri-Cities Airport in Endicott on Saturday night.

A Noxen volunteer firefighter said Monday morning the crash happened on a private windmill farm just north of center of the community. The Mehoopany Wind Farm, operated by BP Wind Energy, spans miles on the top of a mountain.
 Continue...[Press connects.com]

The executive director of Cuomo's anti-corruption commission was sued 17 times

 Anti-corruption commission executive director Regina Calcaterra was sued 17 times by the state for failing to file financial disclosures.

 ALBANY — The executive director of Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission was sued  17 times by the state Board of Elections — an agency her panel is now charged with  investigating.

Cuomo’s commission is set to focus on the influence of campaign contributions on government and compliance with election and lobbying laws.

  
Continue...[Daily News]

  

Cuomo needs to clean up his own mess

MONDAY, JULY 29, 2013
You have probably seen the ad by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the TV promoting his agenda to clean up New York government corruption.
I have a hard time keeping my lunch down each time I see the ad.
Maybe a good place for Cuomo to start would be to actually finish a three-year-old ethics investigation he started as attorney general of former Cape Vincent town officials’ conflicts of interest with wind developers, officials who appeared to violate the state’s ethics codes.
Continue...Watertown Times

Sunday, July 28, 2013

lessons learned from Empire Zone abuses

Under Empire Zones, the state wrote millions of dollars in tax refunds to businesses that did not create jobs and, in some cases, even lost jobs.


Syracuse, NY - Jim Malatras investigated the abuse of the Empire Zone tax break program when he was the legislative director for former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, critic-in-chief of state public authorities.
This year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo drew on that expertise to have Malatras write the billfor his new economic development program, called Start-Up NY. The governor's staff dropped Malatras' name as proof that New York got it right this time. Their theory: Who better to design a solid law than someone who was in the trenches as legislators wrote and rewrote the old Empire Zone laws? [Syracuse.com]

Watertown times

Wind power

Editorial


SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008

The financial boon from the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lewis County is undeniable. Millions of dollars have flowed to the county, school districts and towns hosting the 195 turbines.

The governments have used the tax windfall responsibly to reduce or stabilize taxes or invest in long-deferred projects. The towns of Harrisburg and Martinsburg, which are home to most of the turbines, have used part of their funds to lower tax rates and establish capital reserve accounts.


Continue...Watertown Daily Times 


Pratt Kansas ~ Unfavorable Ordinance Rewritten

BP Wind Energy Has Refiled Its Request To Build A Wind Farm.

Karl Pierce, director for business development, with BP Wind Energy, reported that he had filed an application for a special use permit to build a wind energy project in the southeast part of the county.
After several hearings during the winter and early spring, BP withdrew its application, citing an ordinance that the company said was not favorable to development.
The ordinance has been rewritten so a potential developer can complete required studies in stages, instead of all being done up front.
Pierce said he has signed contracts with 85 landowners, and maps are available at the office of Tim Branscom, zoning director, showing where the company can and cannot build.
The Planning and Zoning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal Aug. 19.
 Continue...

Saturday, July 27, 2013

The bullying has to stop.

 Dear Honorable Jeffrey C. Cohen,

I attended the June 26th 2013 "open House" at the Cape Vincent BP Office.  The BP office space was set up with chairs around the perimeter of the room that were filled with people that I recognized as "Voters For Wind"  people and BP supporters.  There were also two folding chairs towards the middle of the room where a Cape Vincent Councilman and a visitor sat.

BP representative Richard Chandler had spoken at the Clayton Town Board meeting earlier that same night, but would not answer any of our questions.  We were told we would have to come to the "Open House" in their Cape Vincent office if we wanted to ask questions.  At the "Open House" BP Richard Chandler was seated at the head of the room and was very vague with his answers to my questions.  I was amazed that someone that was in charge of the BP project didn't know certain details!  BP Community Advisor Marian Trieste was also there and she and BP Richard Chandler allowed their pro-wind supporters to get aggressive and some inappropriate remarks were made, including comments about my weight.  I was told by one of the pro-wind people "that if I have food, that I better thank a farmer and it looked like I hadn't missed a meal!".  I was also repeatedly told that I didn't belong there and I should go away.

I have been at public meetings where the pro-wind people even "boo" if you try to ask a question.  I know of some wonderful people who have sold their homes and moved away because they have been intimidated or even threatened by the pro-wind people.  This is wrong and the bullying has to stop.    

 Cindy Grant , Clayton


 Link here to DPS comment page for 

Application of Cape Vincent Wind Power, LLC, for a
Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to Construct an Approximately 200-285 Megawatt Wind Electric Generating Facility in the Town of Cape Vincent, New York.

PENTAGON AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS UNITE IN OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED POWER LINE ROUTE

The Defense Department and environmental groups find themselves facing a common enemy in their strong opposition to a proposed 515 mile high-voltage electric transmission line touted as a way to transmit “green” wind energy from rural New Mexico to urban markets in Arizona and potentially California.

 The proposed SunZia system includes two single-circuit, bi-directional 500 kV transmission lines strung from 135-foot towers spaced 1,400 feet apart along the proposed route, which runs from a substation near the small town of Corona, N.M., 82 miles southeast of Albuquerque, to another substation near Eloy, Ariz., roughly halfway between Tuscon and Phoenix.

The Bureau of Land Management, which has overseen the right-of-way process for SunZia since 2009, selected a preferred route for the transmission line on June 14. But Pentagon officials say that route, which crosses the north end of White Sands Missile Range, N.M., jeopardizes operations at the range, thereby threatening national security.
Continue....[Next Gov]

Halliburton's (HAL) plea deal may help BP in its Gulf oil spill liability battle, since it would...

Halliburton's (HALplea deal may help BP in its Gulf oil spill liability battle, since it would now seem less plausible for HAL to argue in any litigation between the two companies that it had warned BP about something for which evidence was destroyed.
Continue...[Seeking Alpha]

Friday, July 26, 2013

Where will we be a century from now when these giants are rusting hulks of a bygone era?

Restore mountaintops

It is interesting that after more than a century of damming our rivers for hydropower, we are now restoring these rivers. The removal of the Veazie dam is just one example of the efforts now being made so fish can once again swim upstream to spawn.
More than a century ago, when these dams were being built to power our industries, no thought was given to the impact the dams would have on nature. We are again in that same situation. “Renewable” energy is the current buzzword for ruining our mountains and devastating the wildlife that depend on those mountains for their existence.
Environmentalists have long decried clear-cut methods of the logging industry, to the point where other methods have been adopted. Yet, nary is a word heard from these individuals and groups when multinational developers propose massive wind farms that clear-cut the tops of our most precious natural resources and blast access roads to permit the hauling of the monster windmills to the top.
Where will we be a century from now when these giants are rusting hulks of a bygone era? How many billions will we be forced to spend to remove these unsightly giants? And how do we restore the mountains to their original condition so the wildlife might, once again, roam unimpeded?
William Chapman
Rockport
Link to original [BDN Maine]

Halliburton Will Plead Guilty To Destroying Evidence In BP Gulf Spill

Halliburton Energy Services Inc. will plead guilty to destroying evidence in connection to the Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 that left 11 dead and resulted in the largest oil spill in U.S. history, the Justice Department said on Thursday. Continue...[KTOO]

BP ad suggests it’s the victim in the oil spill fallout

BP published a new advertisement Thursday in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal suggesting  it’s a victim of trial lawyers seeking a big windfall — an unfair one, in the company’s view.
The headline at the top of the ad states, “Business Leaders Agree: What’s Happening to BP is Bad for American Business.”[Fuel Fix]

Thursday, July 25, 2013

I’ll be glad when BP gets the hell outta here.

Second Cape Vincent blogger reaches settlement in defamation suit

CAPE VINCENT — The second of two local bloggers has reached a settlement agreement with a group of wind farm supporters who had claimed in a state Supreme Court lawsuit that they were defamed by comments posted on the blogs.
A stipulation of discontinuance ending the action against Kathryn A. Hludzenski, author of pandorasboxofrocks.blogspot.com, was filed Tuesday at the Jefferson County clerk’s office. A second blogger, Richard C. Wiley Sr., author of a blog at jeffersonleaningleft.blogspot.com, had reached a similar agreement in May.  Continue ... [Watertown Times]

Additional stories about the Cape Vincent Blogger's lawsuit from the Watertown times

Link here to original Document~King v HludzenskiDecision

Public invited to study details of wind farm

We thank the Watertown Daily Times for its front-page article on July 17 concerning the positive impact for Jefferson County landowners of the proposed Copenhagen Wind Farm transmission line.
On July 9, in cooperation with the town of Denmark Planning Board, the project developer, OwnEnergy, presented for public review and comment the NYS Draft Environmental Impact Statement. It details the entire project, which engages both Lewis and Jefferson counties. [Watertown Times]

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Canada~ Wind power falls short of targets

Electrical production 210,000 MWh below expected levels last year, documents show


New Brunswick's commercial wind farms came up woefully short of their electrical production targets last year, new documents reveal.
It is the fifth year in a row wind has failed to produce as much power as expected in the province.

'The answer, as it turns out, is due to the fact that New Brunswick has not been as windy a place this year.'—Stacey Hatcher, TransAlta
Link here to [CBC News ] to continue reading and watch video

Another Letter


Letter from the past #3


Letter from the past #2


A letter from the past ~ #1


 
 Darrel Aubertine in the Senate, refusing to stand for the pledge of Allegiance.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Wind Pricing: Not Cheap but Subsidized

by Lisa Linowes
July 23, 2013

“Ignoring how competitive markets operate–and pretending that wind energy is exempt from the basic rules of economics–will not change the fact that windpower is an expensive, unpredictable resource that cannot compete without enormous public hand-outs. If the PTC were permitted to expired today, the wind industry might be forced to increase its efficiencies and lower project costs, but the effect on electricity prices at large would likely go unnoticed.” - See more at: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/07/wind-pricing-not-cheap-but-subsidized/#more-26739

Last fall, utility-giant, Exelon Corp., encouraged Congress to let the federal production tax credit (PTC) expire, citing the subsidy’s distortionary effect on competitive wholesale energy markets. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) slapped back by publicly booting Exelon off its board and unleashing an army of surrogates to control the damage and berate the company for putting its interests first. - See more at: http://www.masterresource.org/2013/07/wind-pricing-not-cheap-but-subsidized/#more-26739

Continue reading [Master Resource]

Monday, July 22, 2013

Governor Cuomo Launches New Adirondacks and North Country Tourism Ad Campaign

Albany, NY (July 22, 2013)

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of a new Adirondacks and North Country tourism advertising campaign. 

To Ensure that the rights of the citizens of Cape Vincent New York are protected...

We are headed into another election season and it is vital that the residents of Cape Vincent understand how important the upcoming election is.
 Below is a copy of the Affidavit submitted by Gary King in the case King V Hludzenski.
 This affidavit describes the objective of  Citizens for Fair Government and the measures they took to achieve their goal.




Link here to read petition

Hydropower: the unsung hero of renewable energy

Hydropower accounts for more electricity production than solar, wind, and geothermal combined, but gets far less press because it is a mature technology with a much lower annual growth rate than most renewables. Still, hydropower will likely continue its leading role as the world’s most important producer of renewable electricity until well into the next decade. 

This is the 2nd installment in a series that looks at the recently released 2013 BP Statistical Review of World Energy. The previous post – Renewable Energy Status Update 2013 – focused mainly on wind and solar power. This post delves into hydropower and geothermal power. Some of the BP data is supplemented by REN21′s recently-released 2013 Renewables Global Status Report (GSR). (Disclosure: I have been a reviewer for the GSR for the past three years).
Continue reading...[Christian Science Monitor]

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Clayton board to take a stance on Cape Wind




Alexandria Bay, NY

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2013



By Pamela McDowell, Staff Writer

Clayton – after having mulled over a presentation made by Cape Vincent Wind Project business developer Paul Chandler at its June 26 meeting, the Clayton Town Board has decided to voice its opinion regarding the wind project.

Namely, that the turbines, which are expected to be just short of 500 feet high, will have a negative aesthetic and visual impact on residents of Clayton and the St. Lawrence River islands within the town boundary.

British Petroleum is proposing that some of its turbines be constructed within clear view of the areas of Clayton, particularly near Route 9.

The board has authorized a letter to be sent to the New York State Public Service Commission stating, in essence, that the town of Clayton supports home rule, rather than a state override of local laws under Article 10, but that the board does not necessarily endorse the Cape Vincent zoning law, since it would allow turbines relatively close to the river and town line.

In a related matter, Supervisor Justin Taylor said that he has not had any contact within the past few months with Iberdrola Renewables, the wind company that is proposing a project in the towns of Clayton, Orleans, Lyme and Brownville.

In preparation for the state's review process, the board may hire a professional consultant to be sure that positions and opinions coming from the town of Clayton, either for or against elements of the project, are accurately presented to the power commission, with little chance of misrepresentation.

During the discussion, Councilman Chris Matthews commented, "It's awful that we have to create a wind law in which we have to be careful that, if we’re too restrictive, the state will override the law."

Iberdrola has intentions to build a wind project south of the pole bill that would include approximately 48 turbines.

In other business, Supervisor Taylor announced that Kristi Dipple, director of the Clayton Local Development Corporation, will become the interim director of the Clayton Improvement Association as well. The duties are similar: promoting and seeking grants in Clayton.

The councilmen will inspect the piping beneath the floor of the ice arena at Cerow Recreation Park to get a firsthand look at improvements needed.

Link to story not available

BP's Cape Vincent Wind Farm ~ Conflicted beginings

 BP came into our community like thieves in the night, quietly signing many of our Town Officials and their families to Wind Leases and Good Neighbor Agreements, knowing this would create blatant conflicts of interest. This is a clear violation of the town’s ethics code and NY State law. These conflicted Municipal Officers played a pivotal role in moving BP and Acciona’s projects along.

 As a result of complaints over these conflicts of interests and subsequent actions taken by our Municipal Officers, then Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, launched an investigation that to this day has not properly addressed the conflicts of interests.  As a result, our community galvanized and through the democratic process we were able to eliminate the conflicted officials, removing BP’s influence/control over the approval process. 
  
  Now BP is attempting to bypass our community by pursuing their project through an Article 10, process. BP has submitted a public involvement program that grossly distorts their public involvement and outreach in our community.
The only board or community members that BP has reached out to are the ones that have signed financial agreements with BP.




2007
Public comments to BP's DEIS were to be sent to BP wind Lease Holder ~  Planning Board Chair 
Richard Edsall
Link here to Document source

 Uneasiness as renewable energy grows

 Wolfe Island Canada

 

My cousins and uncles have been raising corn and soybeans in the Midwest for years. The rich loam and moderate climate are ideal for the kind of large-scale agriculture that has dramatically boosted American food production over the past half-century.
But as I drove through the farmland of northwest Indiana last month for a family gathering, I was surprised to find a new crop growing among the cornstalks.
Lining I-65 on the route to Chicago were wind turbines by the hundreds, turning slowly in a light breeze as far as the eye could see. Arising on these acres, and not in the windswept American West, are the continent's largest wind farms.
 Continue...[Albany Times Union]

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Wind Power Outreach Coordinator Uses Cutting Edge Methods

to Eliminate The Non Believers



Tests eyed for Fond du Lac area wind turbine impact

Neighbors hope state will fund health study


Fond du Lac County residents who believe their health is compromised by wind turbines are asking officials to conduct a study that could prove it. Continue...[FDL reporter]

New Jersey BPU rejects offshore wind project

TRENTON - New Jersey utility regulators dealt a setback Friday to a proposed wind farm off the beaches of Atlantic City, saying they were not satisfied that the project's economic benefits would outweigh the added cost of wind energy. 
 Read more at philly . com

Judge Denies British Petroleum (LON:BP) Attempt To Freeze Oil Spill Payments, As Investigation Continues

By Nat Rudarakanchana 

 A federal judge denied the attempt by British Petroleum PLC (LON:BP) to freeze payments from its $8.2 billion oil spill settlement fund, as former FBI Director Louis Freeh continues to investigate alleged wrongdoing by fund lawyers.

BP has said that two lawyers working for the court-managed fund apparently accepted kickbacks from a law firm that has represented claimants to the fund, the Wall Street Journal reports.

 “We see the freeze as a necessary complement of Judge Freeh’s investigation,” BP lawyer Jeff Frank said.
[International Business Times]

Friday, July 19, 2013

TOWN LAW...isn't there a name, like for it?




 "What Parlementary proceedure do we use to run our meetings?"  Dennis Pearson  asked  during the privledge of the floor at Thursday's Town Board meeting,

Mr. Pearson was told that the Board followed Town law and directed them to the Association of Towns website. Mr. Pearson replied that  he could not find the Town law on The Association of Towns website.


Link  here to read the ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS
OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
TOWN LAW MANUAL
For Town Supervisors and Town Boards

Association of Towns publications & Products

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Time to Speak Out Against Energy Taxes

We are Energy Citizens; we speak out on energy issues that matter to us. And right now, we need to make our voices heard on taxes.

Americans across the political spectrum agree that our tax code needs reform to position the country for long-term growth. Right now, Congress is discussing ways to deliver comprehensive tax reform—you should be a part of the discussion!

President Obama has already asked Congress to increase the cost of U.S. energy production by singling the industry out for higher taxes.
We’ve created a resource on EnergyCitizens.org where you can tell Congress that job-killing energy taxes are not the “reform” that America needs right now. Tell Congress that tax increases on U.S. oil and natural gas producers hurt our economy and are simply not acceptable.

High taxes discourage investment, diminish production and hinder job creation in any industry. But heavy taxation is particularly damaging to America’s energy industry—the companies that produce the products that fuel U.S. businesses and families, support millions of American jobs, and already pay millions of dollars in taxes every day.Here’s the bottom line:
  • American oil and natural gas producers already pay above average corporate tax – about $85 million a day
  • Pro-growth, pro-energy development policies could generate more than $127 billion in additional government revenue by 2020 and $800 billion by 2030
Tweet Now! Tell Congress to:
  • Quit trying to bankroll their spending habits with energy tax hikes
  • Embrace pro-energy policies that will create jobs and make America stronger