Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Green technology a beacon of hope?


February 9, 2010

Program Note: Don’t miss Casey Wian’s report on Green Wave technology tonight onAC360° at 11 p.m. ET.

Green Wave's prototype product - a light pole powered by a windmill and solar panels.

Green Wave’s prototype product – a light pole powered by a windmill and solar panels.

Casey Wian
CNN Correspondent

Skeptics might say Mark Holmes is tilting at windmills. The long-time attorney started his new alternative power company, Green Wave Energy, in October 2008, during the depths of the U.S. financial crisis.

“Well, we had a major financial meltdown, everybody was in a panic. Those were really dark days and we figured, what better time to start a company?” Holmes said.

We visited the Newport Beach, Calif. shipyard that is home to Green Wave’s prototype product, a potentially revolutionary light pole powered by a windmill and four solar panels. It operates completely off of the electric grid, and can actually generate enough excess power to run a 1,000-watt appliance.

Green Wave Energy is funded by 33 partners, mostly friends, acquaintances and colleagues of CEO Holmes, whose career as a corporate lawyer included cases involving both the marine and alternative energy industries. Together, they’ve raised a little more than $200,000 in cash, and nearly $3 million in products and services to launch the company. They hope to soon be providing light to places like Haiti and other remote locations without easy access to the electric grid.

One partner’s busy shipyard is where Green Wave’s World Light Pole is tested. Another partner’s SUV and trailer serve as a makeshift wind tunnel, saving the company $50,000 a day. And a third partner’s struggling luxury yacht factory is now Green Wave’s manufacturing facility.

“Most of my background has been working with people in the marine industry, and they are absolutely perfect for developing renewable energy products, because they build to a standard that assumes the worst is going to happen,” Holmes said, adding that the company is using fiberglass to enable its light pole to survive hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.

At the Green Wave partner’s yacht manufacturing facility in Perris, Calif., the recession has slowed business dramatically and forced deep layoffs. But Green Wave is providing hope.

“I think that’s one way of looking at it, they’ve had some very tough times, a significant reduction in force,“ Holmes said. “I think with us coming here and starting up production they are going to be able to bring back a lot more folks, and hopefully several hundred folks, if everything works out right.”

A UC Berkeley study estimates green technology companies could create more than 400,000 jobs in California alone during the next decade.

“These are in general, higher paying jobs. They are engineering jobs, research jobs, higher-paying manufacturing jobs, specialized manufacturing jobs, so they are important,” said Jerry Nickelsburg, an economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

So far, Green Wave has sold just one of its $20,000 light poles. But it’s negotiating two potentially large contracts, including one that could bring the devices to Haiti. Holmes says the business model of “green tech” companies partnering with recession-plagued traditional manufacturers is not unique to Green Wave Energy.

“I think this is the model, if anything. I think there is so much ‘old school’ technology, or old school manufacturing facilities out there that need this sort of re-invigoration. Bringing green technology to those facilities will be basically bringing them back to life.”

More about: 360° Radar

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Senate JOBS BILL …


Senate jobs bill extends Medicare payment rates

Tue Feb 9, 2010 2:44pm EST

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – A jobs-creation bill that could pass the Senate this week would delay a scheduled 20 percent reduction in doctor payments under the Medicare health-insurance program, according to a copy of the text obtained by Reuters.

The bill also extends soon-to-expire jobless payments, health-care subsidies for the unemployed and highway-funding programs, according to the text of the bill, which has not yet been introduced.


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What’s going on … in the House and Senate


Today 2/4/2010

Both leaders of the House and Senate are on their way toward establishing a new path toward a jobs bill and health-care reform. The issues have been difficult but they will not give up. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi states that in the near future people will be paying 1dollar out of every 5dollars for health-care, the problem will not go away, we can solve the issue by repealing the anti-trust exemptions, increase , lower cost and improve choices for all Americans.

In a series of votes that dramatized the conflicting pressures Democrats face to spur job growth and control the deficit. The House voted 217-212 to raise the government’s borrowing authority to a record level, with 37 Democrats joining Republicans opposing the measure.

The speaker reminded people that this is a important day, the House celebrated the enactment of payasyougo (HJ RES 45) today in a vote of 233yeas and 187nays without one Republican vote; payasyougo does not pay down the current debt accrued; it does force or puts the brakes on future increases. The 1.9 Trillion increase in the cap the govt can borrow and the measure to force stricter rules will create fiscal responsibility. The speaker reminded people that she is definitely focused on getting Eleanor Holmes-Norton re-elected, is concerned and working toward equal rights for the people, is very proud that the lily ledbetter law has been passed as well.

In a vote of 94 yeas and 2nays, which, was changed to 96-o because two Republican Senators rescinded their votes.   Martha Johnson was finally appointed to her position as GSA head. In a moment of emotion, Senator Dorgan voiced my feelings at least,  that for over 8months Republicans have blocked her nomination and now they almost unanimously vote to put her in, which raises doubts in the integrity of Republicans.

The intent is clear, question is will they continue to hold up appointments; without them in place the administration will never be as competent as they should be, any Republican holding up appointments are directly responsible for any and all problems that occur.

Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that the Senate will begin work on job creation legislation, offering a hand of good faith to do this in bipartisanship.  He also discussed the recent meeting between Pres. Obama and Senate Democrats, and outlined his broader legislative goals for the year.

In what was quite possibly the last business of the day in the Senate; a step-down speech; sad but a proud moment for Democrat Senator Paul Kirk,a speech delivered from a true Public Servant  who will be truly missed on the Senate Floor.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

UPDATE Washington State news… take Action,Call 202 225 3106 THANK Rep.McDermott for signing the Polis/Pingree letter for Pub Opt


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Tonight,2/1/2010 MSNBC’s Ed Schultz and Rep. Jared Polis will talk about the letter from 81 House members calling for a public option.Can you help get to 100 signers by the time the show airs? Click here to ask Rep. McDermott (one more time) to sign today.

News headlines - Grayson, Polis, Pingree

UPDATE On 2/2/2010, I checked the list of Representatives that have signed the Poli/Pingree letter. I am happy to let you all know that Washington States own Jim McDermott has signed on as  a supporter, Please call him and thank him today !!!

2/1/2010

Big news. Thanks to thousands of phone calls from people like you last week, 81 House Democrats signed the Polis-Pingree letter calling on the Senate to pass the public health insurance option through “reconciliation,” which only needs 51 Senate votes.

Tonight on MSNBC’s Ed Show at 6pm EST, Rep. Jared Polis will talk about the amazing resurgence for the public option. On the show, he’ll announce the latest number of letter signers.

Unfortunately, Rep. Jim McDermott hasn’t signed on yet. Can help us get from 81 to 100 signers today by calling him one more time and asking him to sign the Polis/Pingree letter in support of the public option?

Click here to make a call — we give you a script and the number.

Sometimes, it takes a couple calls to do the trick, so you calling again will have a big impact.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

— Stephanie Taylor, Aaron Swartz, Adam Green, Brian Bills, Natasha Patel, and the PCCC team

P.S. This letter is definitely affecting the “conventional wisdom” in Washington, D.C. On Friday, the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent wrote:

Could the public option make a comeback?…a growing number of House Dems are pushing an interesting strategy along these lines that’s worth a look.

To wit: Now that the idea of passing a fix to the Senate bill via a majority vote is being considered, why not revive the public option as part of that fix? A simple majority of Senators favors one, so such a fix could presumably pass via reconciliation.

But more to the point, such a move would make it easier for the Senate bill to pass the House, because it could win over enough liberals — many of whom don’t want to pass the Senate bill — to make it easier to secure the 218 needed for passage.

Can you help the momentum grow? Click here to call McDermott (one more time) today — we give you a script and number.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Cancel Haiti’s $1 Billion Debt …


Although the media’s attention on Haiti is starting to wane, the country is still amidst crisis.

Click here to sign your name

Call on Treasury Secretary Geithner to help cancel Haiti’s $1 billion debt.

The incredible outpouring of concern, aid and assistance coming from all over the world continues to offer hope, but for many of us the question lingers: “What else can I do?”

One important way to help Haitians build a better tomorrow is to convince global creditors to cancel Haiti’s crushing $1 billion international debt. Doing so will help make sure that every possible future dollar goes towards rebuilding a stronger Haiti, not to servicing old debts.

Thankfully, the United States has already forgiven Haiti’s past debts and now only gives assistance in the form of grants. We need Haiti’s other creditors – the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and countries like Taiwan and Venezuela – to follow our lead and do the same.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has the power to help make that happen.

Please tell Secretary Geithner to work to secure the cancellation of Haiti’s $1 billion debt and ensure emergency assistance is provided in the forms of grants, not debt-incurring loans. Even before the earthquake hit, Haiti – the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – faced tremendous challenges. But there was also hope. Recent years have brought a more stable government and tenuous gains in the fight against poverty.

Haiti needs an international effort to make sure that, as it begins the long road to recovery, it is not burdened with un-payable debts. We must also be vigilant that any new aid from the IMF and other sources doesn’t come in the form of loans that would create new debt for Haiti.

It all starts by calling on Secretary Geithner to use his influence to persuade international lending institutions and countries to do the right thing and drop Haiti’s debt.

Take action now.

Thank you for lending your voice,

– The Change.org Team in partnership with ONE