Simply FYI for some of our ag readers
September 16, 2008
there’s a live blog at the Houston Chronicle for updates on Hurricane Ike recovery efforts (BTW, as a Kansan I’m really not cool with the name of this weather event. I feel like it’s a slur on the venerable Dwight D. Eisenhower.)
Clipped this bit off of it:
Farmers, cattle ranchers also hit hard by Ike
State agriculture officials said thousands of livestock are at risk of death after Hurricane Ike ravaged parts of southeast Texas.
“Storm surges from Hurricane Ike have destroyed fences and made forage and water sources harmful for livestock,” said Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples.
He pleaded with agriculture producers throughout Texas to assist local ranchers and farmers hit hard by the storm.
“We are working with federal and state officials to save the remaining livestock,” Staples said. “But (we) also need assistance from fellow Texans to ensure the effects of this catastrophe don’t become worse.”
Producers who can provide feed, hay or other resources, such as water troughs, can contact their local extension agents for more information or 1-800-Tell-TDA.
Producers who need assistance should contact their local emergency management officials or call the Texas Animal Health Commission at 1-800-550-8242, ext. 296.
State officials said they still are trying to assess Hurricane Ike’s financial impact on farmers and ranchers in southeast Texas.
- Mike Glenn
Some of the different faces of Kansas wind
September 16, 2008
As an industry, wind power varies widely in size. It runs from small wind at homes, schools, and businesses, to large turbines that lease farmers’ lands. Recently, a few folks have sent me pictures of how they are involved in wind here in Kansas.
The following comes from Debby Boyer, a landowner in Lincoln County (she is also pictured below, along with the turbines on their land).
Hi, I’m one of the land owners on the Smoky Hill Wind Project along with my brother, Ted. I grew up in that area but have lived in Florida for the past 24 years. I was so glad to get away from the howling wind. Of course, these days I’ve changed my tune.
Our great grandfather, Seth Thomas Hamblin, homesteaded the property in 1870. It is amazing that the hard work of my great grandfather benefits my brother and I in the new millennium. I visited the land in June and I was astonished at the beauty and simplicity of the towers. They reminded me of great white storks—like sentinels watching out over the land for miles and miles. I used to wish oil had been found there, but compared with noisy stinky oil rigs, our aesthetic towers raise my hopes for a world someday free of the need of petroleum. Necessity is the mother of invention and she dwells in Kansas.
And this was forwarded on to me via several people – an educational center in Greenbush, KS (near Pittsburgh, I think?) now has a new turbine up through NREL’s Wind for Schools program, which is facilitated by the Kansas Wind Applications Center at K-State. A local dealer donated a big chunk of the install and the local rural co-op poured the footing.
From the email that came along with the following photo:
I wanted to email you with some terrific news… our turbine is installed and fully functional! We finished the work on Wednesday and I finally got out to take a decent picture or 2 to send on to you. In both the pictures the turbine may look a bit blurry because it hasn’t stopped spinning yet. It seems even a very modest wind is still causing significant rotation with it up at 60ft. As you can tell it is a fantastic addition to our facility and we’ve already had tons of students out to see it as well as a swarm of media coverage. Local newspapers and TV crews were out on the install date and did some interviews…. We are creating curriculum that will allow students to use the data coming from the interface box and use a 3-D virtual world some of our technology minds have created to go build a virtual wind turbine and make it work! As I said… very exciting!
One of the things Eileen and I were thinking about State Fair for next year - we definitely, definitely, need a bigger wind map of Kansas, and it would be EXTREMELY cool to have thumbtacks showing not only the big wind farms, but all the turbines going up at schools, too. (Yes, and the turbine at the fire station in Manhattan!)
It would also be amazing if by next year we could also get a few thumbtacks for community wind around the state, or for smaller distributed wind projects encouraged by rural electric co-ops, should any of those arise.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Kansas legislators, energy issues, and the election – for inquiring minds
September 16, 2008
A couple of Kansas groups are actively involved in energy, environment, economic development, and the upcoming elections. As many of you know, every single seat in the Kansas legislature is up for renewal.
The Great Plains Alliance for Clean Energy, aka GPACE, has sent out the following questionnaire to Kansas legislators. The deadline for responses is Monday September 22. GPACE will post the results (and/or the lack thereof) on their website shortly thereafter. For incumbents, they will also post committee assignments and voting records on energy issues.
(Just to forestall the questions I know I am going to get – no, you probably will not see any records of votes on net metering. Those bills have not made it out of either the House or Senate Energy and Utilities Committees, unless you count the disastrously poor solar net metering provisions included in the coal bills, which few seriously do. And committee votes are unrecorded. However, the fact that a halfway decent stand-alone net metering bill cannot MAKE it out of committee – right there, that does tell you something.)
GPACE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Generally speaking, do you think Kansas should maximize investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency BEFORE making investments in additional coal-fired power plants?
2. The State of Kansas is in the midst of a process to develop a comprehensive energy policy. Which of the following components will you support as part of a comprehensive energy policy for Kansas?
* A mandatory Renewable Energy Standard (RES)
* Fair net metering for wind and solar, with minimum consumer obstacles and reasonable allowance for utility management and costs
* Investment of state resources and setting specific goals to increase energy efficiency
* Investment of state resources to encourage the development of wind energy production and wind industry jobs in Kansas
* Investment of state resources to encourage education and job training for renewable energy technologies
* Investment of state resources to develop necessary transmission infrastructure
* Incentives for regional and local ownership of energy assets
3. Do you agree or disagree that the current percentage of Kansas electricity provided by the burning of coal (approx. 75%) is too high? Why?
4. Do you agree or disagree that the current percentage of Kansas electricity provided by wind turbines (approx. 1%) is too low? Why?
In addition, the Kansas Natural Resources Council (KNRC) just came out with a Kansas Environmental Scorecard (.pdf) for how legislators voted on energy and environment in 2008.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
