Quite a bit of ‘good news’ lately. Enjoy!
Ames Tribune: ‘Conserving Energy’ – local programs, good
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18714233&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554188&rfi=8
Ames Tribune: ‘Earth yields beauty, efficient energy for Iowa Arboretum’
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18721511&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554188&rfi=8
Ames Tribune Letter: ‘Richardson is the solution’ – oil, warming and environment
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18714236&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554188&rfi=8
Cedar Rapids Gazette: ‘Fight brews over coal plants’ – good. Save Bell Farm!
Council Bluffs Nonpareil: ‘Clinton draws overflow crowd’ – brief mention of wind and solar
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18705811&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=553867&rfi=8
Council Bluffs Nonpareil: ‘Turbines proposed in Southwest Iowa counties’
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18706211&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=553867&rfi=8
Council Bluffs Nonpareil Editorial: ‘Time for a serious debate on ethanol’
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18697909&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=553867&rfi=8
Des Moines Register: ‘Oil interests paralyze the US, Obama says’ – energy and warming
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070819/NEWS/708190356/-1/caucus
Des Moines Register: Obama proposes farm subsidy change, shifting funds to conservation, energy
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708180336
Des Moines Register: ‘DM Council agenda includes ‘green’ initiatives’ – today
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708200325
Des Moines Register Letter: ‘Enact stricter farming laws to save rivers’
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708180312
Dubuque Telegraph-Herald: ‘Harnessing sun to save money a popular option’
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=169759
Dubuque Telegraph-Herald (AP): ‘Tech companies tout greener credentials’
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=169853
Fort Dodge Messenger: ‘Harkin visits Lake City area farm – excellent – at bottom
http://www.messengernews.net/include/articles.asp?articleID=11801
Fort Dodge Messenger Opinion: ‘America needs coal mines’ – very ignorant, response anyone?
http://www.messengernews.net/include/articles.asp?articleID=11839
Iowa City Press-Citizen: ‘Book offers pros, cons of biomass’
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708130319
Marshalltown Times-Republican (AP): ‘Proposed plants prompt environmental concerns’
http://www.timesrepublican.com/include/articles.asp?articleID=12277
Marshalltown Times-Republican Opinion: Taking issue with Register’s ethanol articles
http://www.timesrepublican.com/include/articles.asp?articleID=12298
Quad City Times: ‘Democrats court labor’ – Biden on renewables for the economy
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/20/opinion/letters/doc46c738f4af6dd869814072.txt
Quad City Times Digest: ‘Richardson economic plan’ – renewables and environment
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/17/news/state/doc46c52d082c60d029157016.txt
Quad City Times Letter: ‘Better energy options are being ignored’
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/08/20/opinion/letters/doc46c738f4af6dd869814072.txt
Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier: ‘Blue-Green Alliance bringing environmental and economic initiatives’ - below
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/08/17/business/local/bd8c60587cbd22df8625733a00455b6c.txt
Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier: ‘Researcher: Iowa faces challenges in ethanol production’ – good…
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/08/08/business/local/d18fd0d04af310548625733100574665.txt
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Blue-Green Alliance bringing environmental and economic initiatives to Waterloo
WATERLOO --- Environmentalists and steelworkers, long partners in clean-energy initiatives in other parts of the nation, unveiled their first initiative in the Waterloo area Thursday afternoon at Lincoln Park downtown.
Representatives of the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers Union announced they would collect signatures that day on a three-point petition to reduce carbon emissions by 2 percent a year, create two million jobs in renewable-energy and energy-efficient industries,and require trade agreements to have enforceable workers' rights and environmental standards.
They have already gathered roughly 5,000 signatures in the state, mostly along the Interstate 35 corridor, said Ken Sanguin, a senior regional representative for the Sierra Club.
"This is very doable," Sanguin said. "It will create millions of new jobs through wind power ... and biomass."
The groups are part of the Blue-Green Alliance.
John Campbell, a Bridgestone-Firestone employee in Des Moines and a member of the steelworkers' political program, spoke of the dual need to preserve the environment and the economy. He said the United States must take steps to protect American jobs from emerging countries, like China, that are outstripping us in manufacturing and have little or no workers' rights or environmental standards.
Protecting and creating industrial jobs, and protecting the environment, are not mutually exclusive, he said.
"We're the third-largest producer of wind energy here in Iowa," Campbell said. "But we don't build the turbines that go up ... We need to have that kind of manufacturing here in Iowa."
Campbell said local leaders need to make their voices heard.
"We don't need another coal plant, we need a wind turbine plant," Campbell said.
Campbell said people need to change the way they think about energy and energy consumption, and that process takes time.
"If we don't start thinking in terms of building a wind turbine plant over a coal plant, when are we going to start thinking like that?" Campbell said. "It's just trying to shift that paradigm. I know we can't wean ourselves off the coal plants immediately. It's a necessity."
He said that, absent a change in state or national policy, individual people could make a big difference by making small changes, such as using more energy-efficient light bulbs
Carol Yates, a Sierra Club volunteer and member of the University of Northern Iowa Energy Team, said something like a petition drive could produce favorable results.
The UNI Energy Team is tasked with raising students' awareness about their energy consumption habits in the residence halls, mostly through face-to-face communication.
"We have evaluated the effectiveness of this program, and we can tell you that it is working. Students are making changes," Yates said. "If we can encourage them to change their energy use behaviors now, they have a good 60 years before them to focus on" using clean energy.
The petition signatures probably won't be submitted to any particular government official or presidential candidate, Sanguin said, but rather disseminated through paid advertising as the caucuses draw near.
Contact Jeff Wilford at (319) 291-1423 or [log in to unmask].
Andrew Snow
Regional Representative - Iowa
Sierra Club
515.331.0260 office
515.783.6776 cell
[log in to unmask]
www.sierraclub.org