As Gainesville goes...

Renewable energy may not save us all, or even lead the nation out of our economic doldrums; it may not even be viable for a rural northeastern state like Maine. It's worth considering, however.

The more I read about alternative energy, the more I realize that it comes down to policy. And given that I'm spending far too much time of late, seeing Maine's policymakers up close, it's making me concerned that once again, we'll be left behind to places like Florida, not exactly the world's most forward-thinking state.

A good article on Gainesville, Florida, from the Washington Monthly.

Think policy doesn't matter? Well think again.

Why is the renewable energy market in Gainesville booming while it’s collapsing elsewhere in the country? The answer boils down to policy. In early February, the city became the first in the nation to adopt a "feed-in tariff"—a clunky and un-descriptive name for a bold incentive to foster renewable energy. Under this system, the local power company is required to buy renewable energy from independent producers, no matter how small, at rates slightly higher than the average cost of production. This means anyone with a cluster of solar cells on their roof can sell the power they produce at a profit. The costs of the program are passed on to ratepayers, who see a small rise in their electric bills (in Gainesville the annual increase is capped at 1 percent). While rate hikes are seldom popular, the community has rallied behind this policy, because unlike big power plant construction—the costs of which are also passed on to the public—everyone has the opportunity to profit, either by investing themselves or by tapping into the groundswell of economic activity the incentive creates.

Check out the reference to "feed-in tariff," just like LD 1450/HP 1006, in Maine, Herb Adam's bill.

Read the rest of "The Rooftop Revolution" here.

Tax Day, 2009

"Taxes are what we pay for civilized society."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Apparently many members of the right-wing are holding "tea parties" across the country. Actually, while these look like grass-roots events, they're really AstroTurf orchestrated by the Republican Politburo, and publicized via Fox (Faux) News, aka GOPTV. Here's their national website, promoting events around the nation.

Since it's Tax Day in the good 'ole US of A, here's a NY Times article that manages to shed some new light on taxes, while dispelling a few myths at the same time. Basically, it's good journalism being practiced. Maybe newspapers can be saved?

From the article, on why raising top marginal rates may not be such a bad thing, despite protestations from the right:

The argument against such increases is not insignificant. Conservative economists say that higher tax rates could damage the economy and ultimately be self-defeating, because they would give the rich an incentive to shift their pay into stock or other investments that are taxed less. And to some degree, such shifting would surely happen.

But one economic lesson of the last couple of decades is that these responses are fairly modest. An academic study of the Clinton tax increases found that they caused corporate executives to exercise some stock options earlier than they otherwise would have. But the increases had no noticeable long-term effect. The executives didn’t ask to be paid entirely in stock, and the economy boomed. Increasing taxes on the rich, in other words, has some unintended consequences, but it mainly has the intended ones: it raises revenue and reduces inequality. That study was written by Austan Goolsbee, a University of Chicago professor who later became the first economic adviser to a Senate candidate named Barack Obama.

More tragedy from the baseball world-Mark Fidrych

[from the Boston Globe; 4/14/09]

Mark Fidrych, whose aw-shucks charm and colorful on-the-mound antics helped make him a national phenomenon with the Detroit Tigers in 1976, was killed in an accident while working on his dump truck at his Northborough farm yesterday. He was 54.

Fidrych, who won 19 games as a rookie in '76 but had his pitching career abbreviated by injuries, was found dead by his friend Joseph Amorello beneath his 10-wheel truck at about 2:30 p.m. State Police detectives are investigating the circumstances of the accident, said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

You can read the rest of the article, here.

Here's a link back to my own story about Fidrych, when he was a member of the Bill Lee-led barnstorming team that came to the Ballpark, in Old Orchard.

Speaking of The Ballpark in OOB, here's a heartwarming story about a group of volunteers, and their labor of love, as they attempt to restore the former home park for the Maine Guides.

Maine Renewable Energy Resources; LD 1450 (HP 1006)

There is a pending bill in the Maine Legislature that could greatly increase the potential for renewable energy for Maine, as well as offer the opportunity for job creation. The hearing on the bill is scheduled for 1:30 pm, Tuesday, April 14 in the Utilities and Energy Joint Committee's hearing room, Room 211, Burton Cross Office Building. The Cross Building is located behind the Capital building, on the Sewall Street side.

The bill, LD 1450 (HP 1006; HP stands for House Paper), would allow Maine citizens to reduce their energy costs, in fact, may allow them to profit from energy production, by selling their net energy production (from, say, solar panels on their home) back into the grid.

A friend of mine, with a strong science background and 20 years of engineering work experience in Maine's paper industry, as well as the state's semiconductor sector, is urging passage of the bill.

He sent me the following information in an email:

I believe the Renewable Energy Resources Program is vital for Maine's citizens because:

1. It lessens Maine's dependence on out-of-state energy sources.
2. It will create good paying renewable energy jobs in Maine. These jobs will be local jobs, difficult to export or outsource.
3. It will help Maine citizens to reduce their energy costs, in fact, may allow them to profit from energy production.
4. It will act as a model for other states. If enough electricity is generated from renewable sources it will lessen the amount of electricity generated by coal fired plants that contribute to Maine's acid rain problem and to global warming.
5. It encourages distributed power generation, alleviating outages caused by the electrical power grid. Just in the last few years Maine has suffered through several ice storms and experienced extended power outages for tens of thousands of Mainers. Distributed power generation will reduce this problem.

The proposed legislation is modeled on a German law passed in 2000 that has had extremely good results. In recent years, Germany has greatly increased the amount of renewable energy they produce. The costs associated with producing this power have decreased and the number of power outages (brownouts and blackouts) has been greatly diminished. With the passage of the Renewable Energy Resources Program, Maine will gain these same advantages.

The Renewable Energy Resources Program is good public policy. It does not depend on tax dollars or tax credits. The Renewable Energy Resources Program rewards investment in renewable energy sources by ensuring a predictable rate of return. It encourages early adoption of renewable energy systems and provides strong incentives for performance and efficiency.

If you are concerned about renewable energy in Maine, and see the need for job creation, particularly the kind of jobs that pay a livable wage, then email your local representative this weekend, as the vote takes place on Tuesday.

You can listen to an informative audio feed from Etopia News, with Maine State Representative, Herb Adams (D-Portland), explaining the bill, and speaking about the state's potential to harness some of our natural resources like wind, tidal, geothermal, biomass and other renewal sources, which could benefit our state. Click here for Rep. Adams' interview with Marc Strassman, of Etopia News.

Tragedy strikes Angels

Nick Adenhart, a promising rookie pitcher for the Los Angels of Anaheim, was killed in an automobile accident, just hours after his impressive 2009 debut.

From this morning's LA Times;

Adenhart and two friends were killed early Thursday morning when their car was broadsided by a driver who police said had a suspended license and a previous drunk driving conviction. The news of the young pitcher's death stunned friends, teammates and fans, some driving to the Fullerton intersection to place flowers and candles in the roadway and others going to Anaheim Stadium, seemingly just to be there.

Adenhart's father, Jim, had flown in to watch his son pitch. The younger Adenhart, plagued by arm injuries the past two years, blanked Oakland over six innings, Wednesday night.

Spencer Weiner photo/LA Times

After leaving the Angels' stadium with friends, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Adenhart was riding in was struck broadside by a Toyota Sienna minivan driven by 22-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo of Riverside. Gallo allegedly blew through a red light at 50 to 60 mph and struck the Eclipse, killing Adenhart.

Police said Gallo, convicted in San Bernardino County of drunk driving in 2006 and marijuana possession the following year, ran from the scene but was quickly apprehended. Fullerton Police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said his department planned to seek felony hit-and-run driving, DUI, vehicular manslaughter and, possibly, murder charges. A decision could be made today.

As fate would have it, the Red Sox travel to the west coast and will be the Angels opponent, Friday evening.

Bill Shaikin has a column today, on Adenhart's father, grieving and going through what no parent ever hopes to experience--the death of their child.