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Good Friday Morning,
 An early morning thunderstorm or two is an ideal way of welcoming the first hot weather of the year. Reports say that heat indexes of upwards of 100 degrees are in the offing for the weekend and into early next week. So, get the shades up, check up on the elderly, get your fans in the windows and chill... it's gonna be a hot one.
If it's too hot for you tomorrow evening, check out Arts on the Lake's "Project Mercury" show at the Cultural Center on Lake Carmel (the old firehouse on Route 52). Hudson Valley Magazine called Project Mercury a "Best New Band". They will serve up a musical mix of original modern folk and acoustic rock. Project Mercury's live sound is rich in vocal harmonies, haunting violin, mesmerizing cello, and acoustic guitars. The music kicks off at 8PM and yours truly will be working sound and lights. Admission is $10 ($ for AotL members) So come on out!
I'd like to thank those of you who wrote to the County Legislature this past week encouraging them to pass a bill which would create a Domestic Partner Registry. As expected, Tony Hay voted against the bill, claiming he was representing religious interests and probably thanks to your urging Anthony Fusco voted to abstain. In his view he believes unmarried couples can obtain legal protections through contracts and wills but he fails to understand the complexity of such and that too often courts negate those under pressure from high paid attorneys representing family interests that may not be in the best interest of those we're trying to protect. The resolution now goes to County Executive Bondi for a public hearing on June 25th and we'll organize support as the date nears - if it seems necessary. But write to Bob anyway... it couldn't hurt.
Don't let religious interests cloud the discussion and if they make an attempt to do so, just point them to the nearest divorce lawyer and a copy of the Constitution. The former reaps immense profit by intentionally undermining marriage and the latter cleanly separates religion from government.
While we're talking religion here, you've all seen the bumper stickers, "In case of Rapture, can I have your car?" Well, in case the Rapture does come while you're on the road, how will god know which cars hold the true believers? The state of South Carolina has a solution, putting crosses on license plates.
Midtown NYC was all a twitter yesterday afternoon and the police were out in force protecting life and limb as two climbers (Clarke and Robert) scaled the NY Times building individually. Both men were charged with disorderly conduct and having fun, an act made illegal since Ed Koch was mayor. Manhattan Assistant DA Heather Pearson implored the judge to set a high bail because the city felt that climbing a building was "extremely dangerous to other people". Police took Mr. Clarke to Bellevue hospital for psychiatric examination, ostensibly standard protocol when people decide to do fun, interesting and personally challenging things. However, in an act that is clearly delusional the NY State Assembly has voted to change the name of the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. The bill takes effect the moment tourists remember that "Avenue of the Americas" is really just plain old 6th Avenue.
Do you remember when NYC was a fun place to be? When it was a tad dangerous, gritty and mean? I miss those days.
As always, stay in touch at planputnam.org
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Here now, the news:
- Losing Two Acres, Every Minute
- Suburban sprawl leads to pollution and high prices
- Mount Kisco man building 350-mile trail
- Truth or Consequences
- Carper: “Providing people with an alternative to driving”
- Five (very good) Reasons For Home Made Renewable Energy in Britain
Losing Two Acres, Every Minute By the time you finish this article, someone's back 40 will be lost to urban sprawl. But some communities have a way to save land from development-and, it's fair to farmers.
By Joe Link
It is sometimes called a farmer's last crop.
For decades the land has been good to him, providing hay, soybeans, wheat and corn.
When he gets to a certain age, the farmer discovers that the land can provide even more. People begin showing up at his door. They want 10 acres, 5 or even 1 so they can live in the country. The money is good, the deals are done, and the farmer harvests his last crop—the land itself.
It's his right to sell his land. But is it right?
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Suburban sprawl leads to pollution and high prices Only now that we are experiencing high gas prices are we starting to realize we live in mandated sprawl. Our land use policies require that we get in a car to go anywhere.
We have a high carbon footprint because most of us live far away from everything, including our jobs, schools, stores and entertainment. With the introduction of the Unified Development Code in 1997, New Castle County extended its sprawl mandate.
The large minimum lot sizes south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal have wasted thousands of acres of farmland. The open space ordinance that was added later only increased the madness.
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Mount Kisco man building 350-mile trail Michael Risinit
The Journal News
CORTLANDT
Quixotic might describe Bob Jessen, 68, who is trying to fashion a 350-mile-long hiking trail hitching the Bronx to the Adirondacks.
But the Mount Kisco great-grandfather, retired marine-insurance underwriter and Air Force veteran doesn't compare himself to Don Quixote, the idealistic character in the Spanish novel. He looks elsewhere to see reflections of his and his sidekicks' effort at carving a trail from the urban, suburban and wild landscapes of New York.
"I'm like Rommel," he said, referring to the German field marshal of World War II known for his crafty campaigns. "I'm crossing the Hudson (river) somewhere. I'm connecting points."
Jessen, his girlfriend, Jeanine Meyer, and his sister, Elizabeth Baecher, began the campaign last February and will celebrate their first 75 miles tomorrow, in honor of National Trails Day. The threesome are mostly linking existing trails on public land, keeping hikers off the area's roads. They've been stymied, though, where their trail crosses from Westchester into Putnam County.
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Truth or Consequences By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Imagine for a minute, just a minute, that someone running for president was able to actually tell the truth, the real truth, to the American people about what would be the best — I mean really the best — energy policy for the long-term economic health and security of our country. I realize this is a fantasy, but play along with me for a minute. What would this mythical, totally imaginary, truth-telling candidate say?
For starters, he or she would explain that there is no short-term fix for gasoline prices. Prices are what they are as a result of rising global oil demand from India, China and a rapidly growing Middle East on top of our own increasing consumption, a shortage of “sweet” crude that is used for the diesel fuel that Europe is highly dependent upon and our own neglect of effective energy policy for 30 years.
Cynical ideas, like the McCain-Clinton summertime gas-tax holiday, would only make the problem worse, and reckless initiatives like the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep offer to subsidize gasoline for three years for people who buy its gas guzzlers are the moral equivalent of tobacco companies offering discounted cigarettes to teenagers.
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Carper: “Providing people with an alternative to driving” In regards to the news stories about people adjusting their behaviour in light of high gas prices, we’ve been wondering: What will people in metro areas do when they’ve squeezed all the efficiency they can out of their car, combined all the trips they can, and elminated as much driving as they can, but still have no alternative for transportation other than to get in a car and drive? Why do we have such poor alternatives for transportation and what can we do about it?
Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware spoke on the floor of the Senate this week on the pending climate bill, and discussed the importance of using money generated by cap-and-trade to invest in transportation alternatives so that we cut emissions while also getting where we need to go — without being held hostage by high gas prices and foreign oil-rich countries.
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Five (very good) Reasons For Home Made Renewable Energy in Britain Written by Mark Seall
Published on June 5th, 2008
Posted in Great Britain
The case for homemade renewable energy (micro-generation) seems to get stronger and stronger. A new report commissioned by the British Government provides a series of compelling reasons to put a wind-turbine in your garden, solar panels on your roof, and a combined heat and power boiler in your basement.
Lauded as "one of the most professionally conducted and robust pieces of consumer research into the micro-generation market", the principle reasons for Britain to make a big push for micro-generation outlined by the report are:
1. It can make a difference
Encouraging householders to produce their own sustainable energy could cut the UK’s CO2 emissions by 30m tonnes in the next two decades. This is equivalent to the energy output of 5 large nuclear power stations, equal to taking half of the goods delivery trucks off Britain’s roads.
2. It’s easily attainable
The right financial incentives could see home energy installations increase from around 100,000 today, to a massive 9 million installations by 2020 - the introduction of grants, low interest loans and feed-in tariffs in other nations (such as Germany) has shown that large numbers of consumers are willing to invest in home renewable energy solutions.
3. There are self sustaining benefits
Legally binding government targets will encourage investment in the market, increasing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of renewable technology.
4. It encourages energy conservation too
When households can see how much power they generate, as well as how much they use, they become more aware of what energy consumption means - lights are switched off, mobile phone chargers are unplugged and people become truly energy conscious.
5. Everybody’s happy
Individuals can take an active role in the battle against climate change - instead of feeling frustrated by inaction
Despite debatable claims from energy executives that the large scale adoption of renewable energy in Britain will call for even more fossil fuel power generation as a backup, it seems that the case for renewable energy has never been better.
How many good (or bad) reasons for micro-generation can you come up with?
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