Subject: CONNECT THE DOTS, Monday 7-8AM KPFK 90.7 fm
CONNECT THE DOTS
tune in or log on
PAUL MAZURSKY, film maker (An Unmarried Woman, Down and Out in Beverly
Hills, Moscow on the Hudson) covers the evolution of movies, our world,
and Amnesty International (he's on the Exec. Board). A fun 20 minutes with
a great film maker.
DAVID SWANSON, once the Communications Dir. of ACORN, describes Republican
dirty tricks which destroyed that organization last year. ACORN, which
registered the poor to vote, didn't have defenders as Shirley Sherrod
did...Also, the 33 billion dollar supplemental to escalate the war in
Afghanistan is back in play. The House passed it. The Senate turned it
down, albeit for the wrong reasons. Now the House has the chance to kill it
for the right reasons. Will the Democrats have the spine to do it? Swanson
thinks maybe yes.
CONGRESSMAN DENNIS KUCINICH predicts Congress will not vote to kill that
supplemental, although they should. He contends the White House has
overstepped its authority in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan since these
countries are not threats to the US. Therefore Congress must fulfill its
obligation to stop those wars. He makes an eloquent case against the US
escalating policy of permanent war.
Lila Garrett (Host of CONNECT THE DOTS)
KPFK 90.7 FM in LA; 98.7 Santa Barbara
Airs Mondays from 7AM to 8AM.
To pod cast or download the broadcast just use this link:
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/index.php?shokey=ctd
Each show is on line for three months.
***
From: earthactionnetwork@earthlink.net
The Senate rejected the House-passed emergency supplemental funding bill by
a 51-46 vote.* This is the bill that included $9 Billion in "emergency"
loans for new nuclear reactor construction. The House will almost certainly
have to accept the Senate version; those loans are now history.
The Senate has given up on passing a climate bill before the November
elections. That's obviously mixed news: we support a strong climate bill.
But we weren't going to get a strong climate bill anyway; what we were going
to get was a Christmas-in-July gift to the nuclear power industry. The
wealthy nuclear corporations were all ready to unwrap their presents. Not
this time.
(But) The Senate Energy Committee Friday approved Sen. Bernie Sanders'
10 million solar roofs bill (S. 3460). This bill would provide tax credits
and other incentives to encourage people to install solar power on 10
million rooftops across the U.S. It would ramp up mass production of solar
panels and thus likely reduce their cost. It's an easy bill to support. Here
is an article that describes the bill.
Here Comes the Sun: Ten Million Solar Rooftops
by Greg Chafee
Published: July 21, 2010
During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was waiting
to sign a document that would hold the fate and destiny of the United States
of America. As he stood, his eyes fell on a carving on the back of George
Washington's chair, a carving of half a sun. He stared thoughtfully,
questioning whether it was a rising sun that would continue to shine
brightly over the nation or a setting sun that would bring darkness.
Our Founding Father could not have imagined the symbolic power that that
image now holds as our nation looks to the sun as a source of clean
renewable energy to brighten our future. Today 92% of Americans want our
country to develop solar energy resources, and 77% believe the federal
government should make solar power development a national priority.
Despite the recession, new U.S. solar installations are rising, as are new
jobs and new economic growth. Data from the Solar Energy Industries
Association show that total U.S. solar electric capacity from photovoltaic
and concentrating solar power technologies climbed past 2,000 megawatts (MW)
in 2009. Solar industry revenues also surged despite the economy, climbing
36%. Another sign of optimism is that venture capitalists invested more in
solar than any other clean technology in 2009 - over $1.4 billion. For an
industry with a total U.S. volume of $4 billion, that signals huge optimism
about near-term growth.
The solar industry accounts for about 46,000 jobs in the U.S., and is
expected to rise to 60,000 by the end of 2010. North Carolina, a state that
has embraced renewable energy development, projects that as many as 28,000
new jobs and a 10 million ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be
achieved by 2030 if the state can draw 14% of its electricity from solar
sources.
These figures are impressive, but the development of solar energy in the
U.S. remains heavily aligned with federal and state incentive programs and
policy. Between 2002 and 2008 over $70 billion of federal tax dollars went
towards fossil fuels and just $1.2 billion towards solar power. New nuclear
plants get more than triple the government subsidy that new solar plants
get.
Still, there are some bright signs. The federal ARRA stimulus legislation
has deployed more than 46 MW of solar power with the help of Section 1603
Treasury grants in lieu of investment tax credits. Solar equipment
manufacturers have been awarded $600 million in manufacturing tax credits
under ARRA, representing investments in new and upgraded facilities of more
than $2 billion.
Property assessed clean energy financing, or PACE, legislation has been
enacted in a growing number of states. PACE provisions will allow homeowners
and businesses to finance solar energy systems through municipal or
government-backed bonds via an assessment on their property taxes. This
ensures the availability of credit, reduces up-front costs and facilitates
transfer of the solar system to new property owners. [For a recent
RenewableEnergyWorld.com article on PACE, click here.]
There is some innovative legislation in Congress too. Senator Bernie Sanders
(I-VT) recently introduced a bill aimed at getting 10 million new solar
rooftop systems and 200,000 new solar hot water heating systems installed in
the U.S. in the next 10 years. The cleverly titled "10 Million Solar Roofs
& 10 Million Gallons of Solar Hot Water Act" will provide rebates that cover
up to half the cost of new solar systems, along the lines of incentive
programs in California and New Jersey, the #1 and #2 states for installed
solar in the country.
The bill also includes measures to insure that those who receive assistance
get information on how to make their buildings more energy efficient. The
passage of this bill would dramatically re-orient our energy priorities.
When fully implemented, this legislation would lead to 30,000 MW of new PV,
tripling our total current U.S. solar energy capacity. It would increase by
almost 20 times our current energy output from PV panels. The legislation
would rapidly increase production of solar panels, driving down the price of
PV systems and it would mean the creation of over a million new jobs.
Here's how the Ten Million Solar Roofs Act works: take the example of a
homeowner who decides to install a 5-kilowatt solar system which, depending
on location, would produce enough electricity to cover most, if not all, of
an average electric bill (the solar panels would produce excess power during
the day that can be sold back to the utility, covering some or all of the
cost of electricity when the sun is not shining). That system today costs
roughly $35,000 to purchase and install. The federal tax credit of 30%
reduces the system cost to $24,500. Most states offer additional tax
incentives. For example, if a homeowner could get an additional rebate of
$1.75 per watt, the system cost is now reduced to $15,750.
The Ten Million Solar Roofs Act would provide an additional rebate of as
much as $1.75 per watt, covering up to 50% of the remaining cost. The
result: the consumer now pays $7,875 for the solar system. That's pretty
attractive for a family that plans to stay in its home or wants to increase
its home value or a small business looking to stabilize its energy costs.
Plus, our nation would benefit by reducing expensive construction of new
power plants and lowering health care and other costs associated with air
and water pollution from fossil fuels.
When Ben Franklin stared at the half sun on the back of George Washington's
chair, he proclaimed "I have the happiness to know that it is indeed a
rising, not a setting, sun." The power of the sun is here to harness. If we
do so wisely, our nation will have the energy capacity to continue to rise
as well, just as our Founding Father intended.
Greg Chafee is Chair of the Green Industry Practice at law firm Morris,
Manning & Martin, LLP in Atlanta
To get Earthlinks emails: earthactionnetwork@earthlink.net .
For more info: www.earthactionnetwork.org
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