Catawba Valley could be off EPA's sanction lists in 2008
LENOIR - The 10 Catawba Valley governments that banded together three years ago to improve air quality have adopted policies that lay out their methods to save energy and reduce emissions.
Caldwell County, which adopted its policy Dec. 19, was the last, said Ron Hancock, a Western Piedmont Council of Governments planner advising the governments on conservation and air-quality issues.
Many of the plan's measures -- installation of low-energy lighting systems and proper insulation in county buildings, for example -- are things the county and its fellow governments have been doing for the past five years, since the state and federal governments began warning them about poor air quality.

(Washington, D.C.-Nov. 30, 2005) EPA today awarded $410,000 to 41 student teams for the 2005-2006 academic year to research and develop sustainable designs through the People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) competition. Sustainable development maintains economic growth while protecting the natural systems of the planet, thus preserving natural resources for future generations. The P3 student design competition was launched in January 2004, and several 2004 winners' designs have been successfully implemented into business practices.

"In an era of rising energy costs, the results of the first year of the P3 competition should make people sit up and take notice! They not only demonstrated that companies can reduce their bottom line by sustainable practices, but also the marketability of new conservation tools," said George Gray, assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development. "In last year's competition, four student projects became new businesses with clients, two of them marketing energy monitoring systems. Other designs explored biodiesel production, solar thermal heating systems, green roofs, and stormwater management. We look forward to seeing the results of the competition for the 2005-2006 awards announced today."

This year's surge in gasoline prices was a reminder that America's energy policies have failed to promote the development of alternative fuels with the urgency needed.
Wisconsin has an opportunity to start correcting that failure by jump-starting the use and production of ethanol, an alcohol fuel that in the United States is made chiefly from corn, a home- grown crop.

The state Legislature should take advantage of that opportunity by requiring that most gasoline in Wisconsin be blended with ethanol to produce E10, a fuel that is 10 percent ethanol.

By increasing the demand for ethanol, the E10 proposal has the potential to expand ethanol production in Wisconsin, creating jobs and income. E10 also shows promise for reducing the pump price for consumers, and it can enhance energy security by developing renewable energy to cut our dependence on imported oil.

By now everybody knows climate change is with us. The scientists are saying so. Government departments are saying so. Even big business is saying so. Most nation states are saying so. Even countries like Australia, the world's biggest coal exporter and the US, the world's biggest global warmer, who both refused to be party to the Kyoto Protocol, acknowledge climate change is upon us. Everybody's also acutely aware of the likely scenarios that climate change will bring if it goes unchecked _ more frequent hurricanes, landslides, flooding, drought, glacial retreat, rising sea levels, community displacement, starvation, environmental degradation. So when the 149 signatories to the Kyoto pact sit down in Montreal for the first time on Nov 28 it's to be hoped that they realise the magnitude of the responsibility they have to lead the planet towards some semblance of a solution.

DOVER TOWNSHIP - Officials at the Hydrogen Learning Centeer want people to learn about hydrogen - as an alternative fuel source.
"Through the five universities and colleges that are stakeholders in New Jersey, we want to engage the next generation. Let them become familiar with hydrogen fuel cell technology," said Nora Lovrien, spokeswoman for the learning center, part of the Bloustein School at Rutgers University.
The center held its first stakeholders meeting Wednesday in the technology building at Ocean County College, with about 50 attendees representing businesses, nonprofit organizations, academia and state government.

Learn about the latest developments in thermal insulation systems from BASF Chemicals that are helping homeowners with rising energy costs.

Homeowners concerned with rising energy costs can learn about the latest developments in thermal insulation systems that help reduce bills for heating and cooling their homes from a New England farmstead built in 1849.

“This Old House,” the popular home restoration television program on PBS, used structural insulated panels (SIPs) supplied by Insulspan Blissfield, Mich., for its “Carlisle Home” project in Massachusetts. The “Carlisle Home” series, which also commemorated the show’s 25th anniversary, was broadcast earlier this year.

(Washington, D.C.-Nov. 14, 2005) With American businesses expected to
experience higher than ever energy prices this winter, EPA has issued
advice businesses can take to save 10 percent or more on their energy
bills. The advice shares lessons learned by EPA's Energy Star partners
who saved money and subsequently adopted longer-term energy management
strategies that produced even greater savings. If every business in the
United States saved 10 percent on its energy bills, Americans would save
about $10 billion annually.

"By taking a few common-sense steps to heed President Bush's call to

As soaring prices for oil and natural gas drive more Americans toward alternative fuels to stay warm this winter, environmental watchdogs are awakening to the unhealthy effects of the pollution from burning wood in the home.
Scientists have long known that wood smoke contains carbon monoxide and cancer-causing chemicals. But research shows that wood smoke's major ingredient — tiny particles of soot and liquid pollution — worsens heart disease and triggers asthma attacks.
This "particle pollution," also emitted by diesel engines, kills thousands of Americans a year. Alarmed by such findings, and required by federal law to cut particle pollution, officials across the USA are trying to reduce the smoke from the nation's 37 million home chimneys and 10 million wood stoves.

from Ledger-Enquirer.com

• Look for drafty places on your house. Seal up cracks around doors, windows and electrical outlets on outside walls. Use draft dodgers to block incoming cold air.

• Add insulation as needed in walls, ceiling, attic and crawl space.

• Layer windows using shades, blinds or curtains. Add thermal liners to curtains. Close shades and curtains at night and open them during the day.

• Install storm windows or use plastic window insulating kits. Replace old windows with low-e (or low emissivity windows).

By Christopher Solomon

The unrelenting rise in oil and natural gas prices is about to run headlong into the steady approach of winter. Oil prices have roared to fresh record highs each time the U.S. government reported another fall in heating fuel stocks ahead of winter. World prices have surged on fears that the United States is running out of time to build winter fuel supplies.

The Energy Information Administration forecasts that households in the Midwest could spend 71% more this winter for natural gas and 40% more for propane than last winter; those in the Northeast that use heating oil could spend 33% more; and Southern households could see a 17% rise in their electricity bills. Nationwide, we’ll see an overall increase of 24% in winter heat bills, the EIA forecasts.