Salem Sustainability Grant: Opportunity compacted and trashed

Sad -- Salem scored some stimulus money ... not a huge pile, but a tidy sum ($1.521 million) ... for energy efficiency and conservation projects.

But a good chunk of the money -- more than 15% -- is going in the wrong direction.

Only a hair under 10% is going to the most important piece of all, a revolving loan fund to help Salem residents pay for energy efficiency improvements that, long term, pay for themselves many times over.

Almost as much of the money ($137k) is going to be squandered on the solar-powered trash compactor gadgets like the one near the Court St. side of the Capitol -- in other words, badly wasted.

Just as bad, the plan is to take another $90,000 and spend it on "transportation network improvements" --- in other words, we're going to blow $90k fighting against precisely the projects that we just funded with another $100 million . . . .

Hey, there's an idea! Use some of the $100,000,000 from the transportation bond to think about transportation system improvements and put the $90,000 into the revolving loan fund -- and spend a little on a system that lets people pay for energy improvements out of the energy savings that they realize with the debt staying with the property if they move. Such a system (called "Pay As You Save" or PAYS (r) in some places) is being used with great success in Berkeley, CA, with its "FIRST" (Financing Initiative for Renewable and Solar Technology) program, where the city helps residents make the improvements and then repay the loans with the savings realized.

We could more than double the size of the revolving loan fund and help Salem residents keep more of their money here at work creating jobs in Salem if we put the $90k and the $137k into the loan fund . . . or we can buy some high-tech trash bins, even as we're laying off park workers. Dumb.

Money/energy saving workshop

The clothesline -- one of the fastest-payback energy-saving devices of all. Image by Professor Bop via Flickr

This is probably a couple hours well-spent for anyone who hasn't had a complete energy audit done on their home (owned or not -- renters have energy bills too!) in the last five years -- technology is changing fast.

Salem and Keizer residents are invited to a free home energy workshop from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at 3123 Broadway NE, just north of Salem Parkway.

The workshop, about how to save money and reduce a home's carbon footprint, comes with a brunch buffet and a copy of the book "Cut Your Energy Bills Now" by Bruce Harley.

Participants will learn more about basic building science and energy use in the home; local and regional energy sources and potential impacts; low-cost and no-cost tips to save energy; impacts of lifestyle choices; and actions that can improve the safety, comfort and efficiency of a home.

It is sponsored by NW Natural and Energy Trust of Oregon.

You must register with Bruce Anderson at (503) 371-0580 or bea@nwnatural.com or online at energytrust.org under events and education.

State Bike Map is now ON LINE

The Oregon State Bike Map, previously only avialable in print, has taken a giant leap into the 21st century: It's now a GIS based map, with up to date data and is now avialable ON LINE, as well as in print.

Check it out: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/bike_map.shtml

We've still working out a few bugs, and learning what to do better from this 1st version. Please send us your comments and reviews. A pdf of the legend, for example, will be added soon, (it's currenlty only on tile number 2.)

Also - if you would like paper copies of this or any of our other maps - call 503-986-3556 and follow the directions.

Sheila Lyons, P.E. 
ODOT 
Pedestrian and Bicycle Program Manager 
355 Capitol St. NE, Rm 222 
Salem, OR 97301-3749 
503-986-3555 
Sheila.a.lyons@odot.state.or.us 
www.oregon.gov/odot/hwy/bikeped/

Best best for Earth Day (or Eaarth Day, perhaps)

Image by ul_Marga via Flickr

Solnit's book, Paradise Made in Hell, is terrific, and everything McKibbin writes is worth reading. Here they are together.

A perfect campaign for Oregon, Salem in particular

Make it illegal for any public funds to be spent on bottled water. Double click to see full-screen video.

Joe Bageant on Nowhere to Hide

Cover via Amazon

There ain't no escape from collapse

. . . If you have the temperament and character to readily love other people around you, and the willingness to labor solely for sustenance, community and friendship, then there are countless options. Because that's what most of the rest of world's people do every day, if allowed to. So you could do that in any number of places on the planet, especially here in the New World south of the US. You can do it in literally thousands of places, some of which are in the US. I get emails from all over. But I don't give out contacts anymore because I learned the hard way in Belize that human chemistry is a complex thing. And most Americans do not come into approximately sustainable situations with either the social skills or the willingness to sacrifice for the group. Hell, some Americans starting up such communities don't have those qualities. . . .

I have come to think the price of admission anywhere in the world, (except in America and Europe, where enough dough will get your ass kissed in any circles) is service to others. We have been indoctrinated by an earth devouring capitalist system to believe otherwise. Believe that giving only depletes. And that mankind and civilization came about through kings and warriors and "great men." But the essential glue of man the social animal, and society has always been on cooperation and sharing. That an endless stream of elite thieves have always managed to steal the fruits of that cooperation does not matter. And the best that is in man still rests on the same fundamentals -- cooperation for the greater good of all.

So I would suggest that in planning for the future, you first spend many days pondering the question: How can I best go about giving up the world as I have known it -- which, after all, is the root of our pain and of our catastrophe -- and serve others every day and in as many ways large and small as possible. In other words, sacrifice. In truth, the sacrifice will not be sacrifice, but liberation, because Americans are buried under so much material shit and petty notions as to entitlement, that shedding such things is a blessing. A gift.

UPDATE: It's not just the heat, it's the acidity (Part III)

Carbon dioxide in water -- also known as "carbonic acid" -- attacking the very base of our food chain. Image via Wikipedia

Meanwhile, as Kurt Schrader pals around with Senator Exxon-Murkowski, those of us in his district can learn a bit more about why climate chaos is going to disrupt everything in Oregon's 5th Congressional District, starting with the base of the food chain in the oceans:

Thursday, April 22, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Straub Environmental Lecture Series: Dr. Burke Hales
Oregon’s Coastal Carbon Cycle: The Good, the Bad, and the Acidic

Loucks Auditorium, Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty Street SE, Salem

Calcium carbonate is used by many marine organisms to build their shells and exoskeletons. However, changes in the ocean chemistry are changing the concentrations of crucial carbonate ions, making seawater more corrosive to these marine organisms. Upwelling off the Oregon coast is responsible for the rich fisheries and divers ecosystem found there – but also poises the system on the verge of hypoxia and dangerous levels of corrosiveness. Free and open to the public; no RSVP required. Call or email 503-391-4145 or fselc@fselc.org for more information.

Appalling: Kurt Schrader joins the paleo-nutjobs to promote climate chaos

WARNING: Wants to fiddle while the planet burns. Image via Wikipedia

Kurt Schrader has joined the far rightmost wing of GOP to do the bidding of the oil and coal lobbies by signing a resolution attacking the EPA for proposing to implement the Clean Air Act as written. He tries to pass it off as simply a jurisdictional dispute, saying that he thinks Congress should be driving on climate change rather than the EPA ... failing to mention that he hasn't done squat to make that outcome happen, or that what is politically possible in Congress is so far short of what is physically required that it doesn't even qualify as a joke.

This is sad.

Schrader Statement on Sponsorship of H.J. Res 76

04/20/10

Thank you for your concern regarding my co-sponsorship of H.J. Res 76, which disapproves of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) further regulating CO2 emissions. I know that there have been many wild and inaccurate emails attacking me for supporting it. I want you to know that my reason for signing on this resolution is simple. I believe that Congress, and not the EPA, should be making the decision to regulate CO2 emissions. For me, this transcends political ideology, regardless of which party controls Congress and the White House. As a farmer and steward of the Earth, I do believe we have a responsibility to protect our environment, promote green jobs here at home, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. That is a major reason why I supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act last year. To those who question my commitment to the environment, I will let my 93% score in 2009 from the League of Conservation Voters and 100% score from Environment America speak for itself. I appreciate your outreach on this issue and look forward to working with you on important issues relating to our environment.

A heroine for our time (the new Gilded Age) too

Labor history events - April 24, 25

Presentations by Simon Cordery regarding his new book Mother Jones: Raising Cain and Consciousness. The Salem Public Library event will also feature a talk by Ann Montague about "Womens' Role In The 1987 Oregon State Workers Strike."

Salem:
Saturday April 24, 3 PM (Salem Library)
Sunday, April 25: 4 PM (Salem Friends Hall)

Nice new find -- Church St. Pizza

This isn't from Church St. Pizza, but it looks a little like one they make. Image via Wikipedia

There's a new pizza place, super casual, in the spot vacated by Christos (324 Church St. NE) in its move uptown -- it's called "Church St. Pizza" and it's run by a very nice kid -- young man, I guess, but emphasis on young -- named Ian, who makes a very nice, very tasty thin crust and is very open to experimenting with different toppings, and he's making an effort to source local ingredients.

I really liked the one slice I had, just a cheese pizza. Definitely good enough to make me want one of their veggie combos. Check it out -- on Church St. just south of Center.