Category: Energy

By Not Amused in OB

Are “smart” led street lights coming to Ocean Beach to surveil you and write you a parking ticket? I heard Newport Avenue is slated to get new led lights.

The evening news on Channel 10 covered this, and it appears that our mayor, Kevin Faulconer , just rolled out on Wednesday a program of installing new street lights in San Diego and Ocean Beach. The mayor announced he’s expanding this program of putting in “smart sensors” which will be able to “gather and disseminate data on things like traffic, parking availability, public safety and air quality.”

And Kevin said that his city has partnered with a company from back east called Current which will install 3200 of these “Smartlight Sensors”, powered by GE.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilwoman Lori Zapf were in Ocean Beach last week promoting the two new electric vehicle charging stations installed in the Life Guard parking lot. Both politicos feel that with the City’s surge in offering stations to the public – now up to 68 – shows that San Diego is becoming a municipal leader in dealing with climate change.

“Move over Portland, San Diego is growing greener and we’re growing smarter,” Zapf said, as it has been reported than there are currently an estimated 13,000 electric vehicles on the road in San Diego.

Egypt Also Excluded – Major Recipient of U.S. Military Aid

By John Lawrence

Why did Trump try to impose tighter vetting on 7 nations in the Middle East without including Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Could it be that it’s because Saudi Arabia which is a hotbed of terrorism is also an ally of the US and an enemy of Iran?

Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudis. Osama bin Laden was a Saudi. The machete wielding attacker at the Louvre recently was Egyptian. Neither Egypt nor Pakistan nor Afghanistan were included on the so-called President’s list. Pakistan harbored bin Laden. Afghanistan is the home of the Taliban. If Trump had wanted to keep terrorists out of the US, surely he should have included these countries in his ban. But terrorism is more about U.S. alliances than it is about morality or human rights.

By Tyson Siegle, SanDiego350

On February 15th, San Diegans will have an opportunity to take a huge step forward on clean energy.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will vote on implementation for some or all of the San Diego County Comprehensive Renewable Energy Plan (CREP).

Many of the steps outlined in the plan save the county money and promote a healthier environment, but one particular piece of the plan could do more to promote clean energy and lower costs than all the rest combined: Community Choice Energy (CCE).

It was readily apparent that the 4-day yoga festival held in Ocean Beach that began on Friday, Jan. 27th, was a rousing success. Some 800 people took part – and it continues today, Jan. 30th – as festival-goers had dozens of options in how to participate – from participating in traditional classes overlooking the ocean, wine-tasting-based yoga sessions, yoga with your dog, a “namastoked” sunset surf session.

More info on today, Jan. 30, see the website of the San Diego Yoga Festival.

One of the key coordinators was our own Melanie Williams, board member of the OB Town Counsil and owner of TriPower Yoga in Ocean Beach. She told the San Diego Union-Tribune that planning the festival and then pulling it together was “a labor of love.”

At the end of January, members of the OB community are hosting the San Diego Yoga Festival, an event that has been in the planning since last summer.

The idea supposedly was initiated by a San Diego Police supervisor, Sgt. Yu, who patrols OB, as a method to clear OB’s parks and waterfront out. He told the San Diego Reader that:

“… I love seeing those people doing their workouts; the more they show up, the more we fill these public spaces with this type of positive energy, the more quickly transient gangs will move on…and I call them transient gangs because they gravitate and congregate in groups of 5, 10, 15 and intimidate people; they are no different than a gang.”

The mission behind the yoga festival has deepened since then, and as Katrina Thomas wrote in the San Diego Entertainer Magazine, the festival organizers are “, inviting teachers and participants from around the country,” and aim to place San Diego on the map in the yoga world.

From Sierra Club

Sierra Club San Diego will rally members and supporters to oppose the Trump administration’s agenda of increased fossil fuel usage and to promote ways of securing a path to 100% clean energy in the San Diego region through Community Choice Energy. The event will provide the public with opportunities to voice their concerns and get involved in local efforts to resist the Trump administration.

3:00 PM, Saturday, January 14, 2017

Mission Valley Public Library
2133 Fenton Pkwy
San Diego, CA 92108

Background:

Nuclear Shutdown News December 2016

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world.

Here is our December 2016 report:

1. Summary of 2016 nuclear shutdowns.

This year continued the acceleration of the permanent shutdowns of US nuclear plants.

On December 8 nbcchicago.com reported that the Palisades nuke plant on Lake Michigan would be shut down in 2018, according to its owner, Entergy of New Orleans. NBC said Palisades was “too old and dangerous,” and a chronic money loser.

By Tyson Siegele / SD350.org

In California, the fight is on between renewable energy advocates and the old guard electric utilities. All across California, cities and counties have been moving to implement Community Choice programs because they provide cheaper, cleaner, locally generated electricity. In fact these programs are so good, the utilities hope you never hear about them.

Before we get to the conflict and intrigue, let’s look at the basics of this new approach to buying electricity. Community Choice Energy (CCE), also known as Community Choice Aggregation, is a way for cities, counties or regions in California to look out for their own energy interests, a hybrid between regulated and deregulated electricity supply

Earthquake Capital of US

By John Lawrence

We have written previously about the fact that Oklahoma is now the earthquake capital of the US. It seems forcing all the waste products from fracking down deep wells has disturbed the earth enough to cause a lot of earthquakes there.

In addition to jolting the nerves of Oklahomans, it is destroying their property. In 2014, there were over twice as many earthquakes recorded in Oklahoma as in California, making Oklahoma the most seismically active state in the contiguous United States by a substantial margin.

By Jim Miller

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and the heroic struggle against it have ignited a big battle inside of American labor. Earlier this fall an excellent article in Common Dreams outlined the split over DAPL at the national level with key trades unions and AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka backing the pipeline and criticizing the protests while other large national unions were issuing statements supporting the Standing Rock resistance.

Here in California and elsewhere, Trumka’s letter in support of the pipeline received strong condemnation.

For instance, a response to it that I penned as chair of the California Federation of Teachers Climate Justice Task Force challenges the AFL-CIO leader in the strongest possible terms:

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and abroad, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world. Here is our November 2016 issue:

Fukushima quake rock’s Japan’s and the globe’s psyche.

On Tuesday, November 22, at 5:39 a.m., a strong earthquake hit Japan’s southeast region, including the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing widespread panic and immediate tsunami warnings. The 11-23 Japan Times reported:

“Sirens rang continuously along the coast, and on TV screens a red banner read”Flee immediately!”