Monthly Archives: August 2012

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President’s vision for a more secure energy future


The White House Friday, August 16, 2012
Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About WindThe Department of Energy put together a list of the top ten things most people don’t know about wind energy. Check it out:
10. Human civilizations have harnessed wind power for thousands of years. Early forms of windmills used wind to crush grain or pump water. Now, modern wind turbines use the wind to create electricity. Learn how here.
9. A wind turbine has as many as 8,000 different components.
8. Wind turbines are big. A wind turbine blade can be up to 150 feet long, and a turbine tower can be over 250 feet tall, almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
7. Higher wind speeds mean more electricity, and wind turbines are getting taller to reach higher altitudes where it’s even windier. See the Energy Department’s website to find average wind speeds in your state or hometown.
6. Most of the components of wind turbines installed in the United States are manufactured here. Facilities for building wind turbine parts are located in more than 40 states, and the U.S. wind energy industry currently employs 75,000 people.
5. The technical resource potential of the winds above U.S. coastal waters is enough to provide over 4,000 gigawatts of electricity, or approximately four times the generating capacity of the current U.S. electric power system. Although not all of these resources will be developed, this represents a major opportunity to provide power to highly-populated coastal cities. See what the Energy Department is doing to develop offshore wind in the United States.
4. The United States generates more wind energy than any other country except China, and wind accounts for 35 percent of all newly installed U.S. electricity generation capacity over the last four years.
3. The United States’ wind power capacity reached 47,000 megawatts by the end of 2011 and has since grown to 50,000 megawatts. That’s enough electricity to power over 12 million homes annually — as many homes as in the entire state of California — and represents an 18-fold increase in capacity since 2000.
2. Wind energy is affordable. Wind prices for power contracts signed in 2011 are 50 percent lower than those signed in 2009, and levelized wind prices (the price the utility pays to buy power from a wind farm) are as low as 3 cents per kilowatt-hour in some areas of the country.
1. As much as 20 percent of our nation’s electricity could come from wind energy by 2030 but continued support for clean energy tax creditsis critical to achieving this target. That’s why President Obama is calling for an extension on the Production Tax Credit — to support wind producers in the U.S. and continue to help drive the wind industry’s growth.Get Updates

To learn more about the President’s vision for a more secure energy future and sign up to get updates, please visit: WhiteHouse.gov/energy.
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Karen Corby via Change.org


Change.org
                          My son will die without a heart transplant, but the hospital says he can’t have one — because he’s autistic.                       
      Sign My Petition

 

My son, Paul, will die without a heart transplant. But the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania refuses to put him on the transplant list — because he’s autistic.

Paul is only 23, and he’s amazing. He was diagnosed with a deadly heart condition four years ago, but he battles through it with a smile. He’s smart and creative — we just self-published a story he wrote, and he’s working on a sequel. He loves his nephews. And the whole family loves him.

I don’t know how to tell my son that his doctors refuse to give him the operation that could save his life.

I promised Paul that I would fight for him with every breath, no matter what it takes. But I’m afraid my voice alone isn’t enough. I started a petition on Change.org asking the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to put my son on the transplant list — will you sign?

Paul’s doctor says one of the reasons he doesn’t qualify for a transplant is that he can’t name all the medications he’s on. This is ridiculous, because Paul takes 19 medications. My son has faced discrimination because of his autism all his life, but this time, that discrimination could kill him.

I was devastated when I found out the hospital wouldn’t help Paul — it was the worst moment any mother could imagine. But then I read about another mom who got her mentally disabled daughter on the list for a life-saving kidney transplant after more than 50,000 people signed her petition on Change.org. That’s what inspired me to start my petition for Paul. I know that if enough people sign my petition, the hospital will give my son a chance to survive.

Please sign my petition asking the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to put my son, Paul, on the list for a heart transplant that could save his life.

Thank you,

Karen Corby
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must see Whitehouse Vid


Go inside the first-ever Kid’s State Dinner at the White House with this look into how the winners of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge were picked. First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative Lets Move! partnered with epicurious.com to showcase healthy lunches from all 50 states and the territories as created by children age 8-12. http://letsmove.govMore
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Pelosi and House Dems in the Newsroom


 

                Pelosi Statement on Implementation of Obama Administration Directive on DREAM-Eligible Youth

“It was one of the proudest accomplishments of the Democratic-led House to pass the DREAM Act with a bipartisan vote in 2010; it was one of our great disappointments to see action blocked by Republicans in the Senate.  Democrats will continue to push to pass the DREAM Act and to enact bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that secures our borders, upholds the rule of law, protects our workers, unites families, and provides a pathway to legalization.”

August 15, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on 77th Anniversary of Social Security

“Democrats will always stand strong for Social Security, for Medicare, and for our nation’s seniors.”

August 14, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on Congressman Dennis Cardoza

“Congressman Cardoza saw the need for national action to stem the foreclosure crisis firsthand in his own district. He has been a dogged advocate in demanding action, progress, and accountability in addressing the housing needs for the people of California’s Central Valley and for all Americans.”

August 14, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on House GOP Lawsuit Against Attorney General Holder

“This partisan lawsuit wastes taxpayer dollars and resources, and is a distraction from the urgent business before Congress: acting to create jobs and grow our economy.  It is also designed to distract the Justice Department from its critical job of challenging state laws designed to restrict the rights of Americans to vote.”

August 13, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on Congressman Paul Ryan

“There is no question that former Governor Romney now owns the Republican, Ryan budget that puts millionaires ahead of Medicare and the middle class. Congressman Paul Ryan led House Republicans in voting to end the Medicare guarantee, which increases costs on seniors and weakens America’s great middle class in order to give tax breaks to millionaires, Big Oil and corporations that ship jobs overseas.”

August 11, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on Congressman Hansen Clarke

“From his first days in the House, Congressman Clarke made his presence known as a fierce fighter for the rights and protections of homeowners – in Detroit and nationwide – hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis.  Hailing from the ‘motor city,’ he worked to ensure that manufacturing jobs stay on our shores and pay our workers a decent wage, and he acted to invest in new technologies.  He pushed legislation to protect our homeland security and promote a responsible foreign policy.”

August 08, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on Congressman Russ Carnahan

“Throughout his time in the House, Congressman Carnahan has advanced his top priority – putting people to work – by advocating investments in transportation and infrastructure, and by working to keep good-paying jobs at home.  As a leader on foreign affairs, he promoted a vision of American leadership founded in active engagement on the global stage.  As a powerful voice for the members of our Armed Forces, he acted to ensure that we serve our veterans as well as they have served us.”

August 08, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on Shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin

“The devastating actions of this lone gunman have no place in our country and in our society.  This shooting was not simply an assault on a single congregation of Sikhs; it was an offense against peaceful, innocent people.  We condemn this attack in the strongest terms possible.”

August 06, 2012

                Pelosi Names Liz Pardue as New Deputy Director of Floor Operations, Announces Departure of Lori Pepper

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced today that she has named Liz Pardue as her office’s new Deputy Director of Floor Operations.  Pardue begins her duties this month.

August 03, 2012

                Pelosi Statement on Anniversary of Credit Downgrade

“We now know that Republicans’ partisan political brinksmanship cost taxpayers at least $1.3 billion in borrowing costs.   Yet Speaker Boehner and his Republican colleagues are threatening more of the same, pledging to hold the debt limit, the American economy, and middle class tax cuts hostage once again.”

August 03, 2012