Earth 2 Lincoln 10-26-09

This is part II of our series talking with environmental studies majors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Sammy and Justine, senior Environmental Studies majors, were our guests last night. Click below to listen to the show:

Earth2Lincoln 10/26

Tonight's Earth2Lincoln will feature part 2 of our series discussing issues with UNL environmental studies students. Join us tonight at 6 p.m. on KZUM 89.3 FM in Lincoln and online at www.kzum.org

Check back this evening for streaming audio from tonight's show.

350-A Day Of Action

350--The most focused and coordinated day of climate action approaches rapidly. A dizzying frenzy of mountain climbs, underwater demonstrations in island nations, bike rides, rallies, and speeches will take place across the globe, underscoring the indisputable consensus: we need action, right now--based on sound science--to protect our planet. For more information, click here. For a challenge, Dutch and Polish translations are available on the website.

The even better news. Lincoln has two critical events for 350! The first is a post-Nebraska football recycling and clean up session, this Saturday, October 24th. Interested individuals should meet at the west end of the Vine Street parking loop at 2:30 p.m. Gloves and bags are provided. Enthusiasm is self-supplied.

And on Sunday, October 25th at Noon, hundreds of bikers will mass on the north side of the Capital building. We will ride through downtown as a collective call to awareness and call to action.

For more information, auditory stimulation in the form of a KZUM PSA:



Both of these events are sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Progressive Student Coalition. They have a nifty website, available right here.

Hyde Observatory--Observing Solar Since 1978

Hyde Observatory is a stacked facility. As a community access astronomical observatory, it regularly opens its doors to sky-gazers. But it also has been at the vanguard of solar energy. Since 1978, or for some 11,315 days, the Observatory has metamorphosed sun rays into pure, clean energy. The photovoltaic panels adorning the rooftop now provide 40% of the building's energy--while any extra energy is funneled back to LES.

Erik Hubl, a Lancaster County G.I.S. Engineer and Hyde Observatory volunteer, shares his insights into Hyde's solar past and solar future:



Click HERE to view a Hyde Observatory solar PowerPoint stocked with charts, graphs, photos, tables and more!

Earth 2 Lincoln 10/5-Ethanol

University of Nebraska-Lincoln agronomist and chair of the Nebraska Center For Energy Sciences Research, Dr. Kenneth Cassman, shared his research and insights into corn ethanol's current and future role in the domestic energy equation.

The United States is the world's leading ethanol producer, with production of over 9 billion gallons last year. The 2007 Renewable Fuels Standard calls for 36 billion gallons of ethanol by 2022, much of that from the 1-2 punch of corn ethanol furnished by Nebraska and, ugh, Iowa.

Cassman and his colleagues at UNL have developed the BESS or Biofuel Energy Systems Simulator, a software tool to calculate energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions and natural resource requirements of corn-to-ethanol production systems. Try it out, here

Finally, stay tuned to legislative news as Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson recently co-sponsored legislation encouraging a higher blend of ethanol (from 10% to 15%) to be sold at gas stations nationwide.

Click here to listen to Monday's program:

Earth 2 Lincoln 9/28-Solar Powered Future

Dr. Bing Chen and Michael Shonka of the Nebraska Solar Energy Society shed light on the current and future state of solar energy. Brighten up!

Svata Louda--October 19th

UNL Biology Professor Svata Louda will be paging Earth 2 Lincoln on Monday, October 19th. Louda's areas of interest include ecological interactions of insects with plants in the dynamics, distribution and persistence of plant populations and communities. Can she eradicate beg-bugs once and for all? Tune in Monday, October 19th at 6 p.m. on KZUM 89.3 FM and www.kzum.org to find out.

Professor Louda has also conducted intensive reserach on biological control insects and the positive and detrimental impacts on their introduced environment.

Ken Cassman-October 5th

UNL Agronomy and Horticulture professor Ken Cassman will join us next week, October 5th, to discuss the current state of corn ethanol and biofuels.

Cassman recently published a paper on "Improvements in Life Cycle Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Corn Ethanol." We'll need those ethanol ameliorations--the 2007 Renewable Fuels Standard calls for 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022, with much of that coming from Nebraska's bountiful cornfields.

In etho-politics, the Benator (a.k.a. U.S. Sentor Ben Nelson) joined several other corn-belt legislators, introducing biofuel legisltaion with two primary prongs, a) to increase the minimum blend from E10 to E15 (fuel enriched with 15 % ethanol instead of 10 %) and to limit the EPA from penalizing domestic ethanol producers for environmentally-damaging land use.

Solar Energy Tour--This Saturday!

The Nebraska Solar Energy Tour takes off this weekend.

The tour is part of a nation-wide movement to increase awareness of solar energy, organized and promoted by the American Solar Energy Society.

Events are spread throughout the Good Life state, including demonstrations and tours in Omaha, Scottsbluff, Grand Island and Sioux City.

You thought Lincoln wasn't going to break off a piece of the solar pie?

The solar tour begins at 10 a.m. this Saturday, October 3rd and continues through 2 p.m. at the following locations:

• Hyde Observatory, 3701 South 70th
• 3002 Browning Street, (north of South Point Mall- follow signs north from 32nd and Pinelake Rd. Jessican Freeman and Chirstopher Marks, 3.5 KW of photovoltaic solar panels.
• 8800 South 55th, (just south of Yankee Hill Road- follow signs from 1/3 mile south of 56th and Yankee HIll Road- west on Rebel Drive & north on 55th St)Randy and Linda Schantell Thermal solar retrofit

For more information, www.nebraskasolartour.org

Earth2Lincoln 9-14-09

DJ Dharma welcomed Robert Smith of The Arbor Day Foundation and Jessica Kelling of ReTree Nebraska for a lively discussion on the importance of trees in our lives. On Saturday, ReTree Nebraska kicks off ReTree Week. Channel your inner John Muir and keep Nebraska’s ecological diversity flourishing this Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Antelope Park for a tree planting celebration. ReTree Nebraska is a 10-year, cooperative initiative to promote the proper planting and care of 1 million trees in communities across Nebraska by 2017.

Click below and listen to the show:

Action Alert: Repower America

There are times when a bustling schedule, lethargy, and shortsightedness conspire to sap our environmental activism. Now is not that time. And hear to fill the void is Repower Nebraska. Repower is enlisting volunteers from all walks o' life to join in the effort to enact clean energy legislation this year. I joined them at a rally last week outside the Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln, where we lofted signs skyward and bellowed "Go Big Green" to eager Cornhusker fans. Get involved by sending an email to nebraska@repoweramerica.org

-Jesse

Earth 2 Lincoln 8/31

UNL Electrical Engineering Professor Jerry Hudgins offers a comprehensive take on wind energy's challenges and opportunities and current and future and role in Nebraska's energy matrix.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection

Here's the ideal opportunity to gut the garage and prudently dispose of that Turpentine, WD-40 and Turtle Wax. Bring your household hazardous waste to Lincoln Industries, 600 West E Street, this Saturday (August 29th) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For a comprehensive list of what to bring, and what not to bring, take a journey here

And if you miss this one, bring your carburetor cleaner to Veyance Technologies (Goodyear), 4021 North 56th Street, on September 19th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Will There Be Enough Water To Grow Enough Food?

David J. Molden, Deputy Director of the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, will give a free public lecture. Molden has extensive experience in managing water for agriculture.

Hear Molden mold his argument this Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union Auditorium on City Campus, 14th and R.

August 31st: UNL Professor Jerry Hudgins

Fact: Nebraska has the 6th highest potential for wind energy in the nation, but ranks 22nd in production, behind Iowa, Colorado and Minnesota. UNL Electrical Engineering Professor and Department Chair Jerry Hudgins wants to change this. He recently co-hosted a wind conference that drew over 100 participants from around the world. Last year, he received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for UNL to direct the state's Wind For Schools program, which engages rural communities in alternative energy research by installing small-scale wind turbines at rural schools. Hear it in his own words, Monday, August 31st at 6 p.m. on KZUM-FM and www.kzum.org

Help build a stronger Lincoln, urge our city council members to support sustainbale efforts here in Lincoln.

Joint Public Hearing - Lincoln City Council and Lancaster County Planning Commission
Tuesday, July 14, 5:30pm in City Council Chambers

Come make your voice heard. Support the addition of "sustainability" language to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission has already voted 8-0 for approval, now it is up to the city council.

If you cannot come and show your support, please consider contacting your council representative.

Thanks, DJ Dharma

Action on Sustainability—Tell them YES! By Marilyn McNabb, Concerned Citizen

At 5:30 on Tuesday, July 14th, both the Lincoln City Council and the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners, meeting together, will consider an amendment to the City County Plan adopting the principle of sustainability. One description of ‘sustainability’ is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Often when we try to influence public policy we are saying “no.” This amendment gives us a chance to say what we support and what we value.

Here are some ways you can help elected officials understand how important it is to us that future generations of Lincolnites live in a world as good or better than the one we live in today.

Go to the hearing. 5:30 pm in Room 113 in the County City Building, 555 S. 10th St. Speak up!

Email Council Members:
Jon Camp, jcamp@lincoln.ne.gov
Jonathan Cook, jcook@lincoln.ne.gov
Doug Emery, demery@lincoln.ne.gov
Eugene Carroll, ecarroll@lincoln.ne.gov
Adam Hornung, ahornung@lincoln.ne.gov
John Spatz, jspatz@lincoln.ne.gov
Jayne Snyder, jsnyder@lincoln.ne.gov
Or to all of them at council@lincoln.ne.gov

Or Fax them at (402) 441-6833.

Or Write to them at County City Building, 555 S. 10th St. Room 110 68508
Email County Commissioners:
Bernie Hier, Chair, commish@lancaster.ne.gov
Larry Hudkins, commish@lancaster.ne.gov
Deb Schorr, dschorr@lancaster.ne.gov
Ray Stevens, rstevens@lancaster.ne.gov
Bob Workman, workbob@msn.com
Or to all of them at commish@lancaster.ne.gov

Or Fax them at (402) 441-6301

Or Write to them at County City Building, 555 S. 10th St. 68508 When you see council members and commissioners in the community, talk to them!
The meeting will be televised live on Channel 5.

June 22: What Homer Simpson can't tell you about Nuclear Power!

Right now we are at a pivotal time for energy in America. We are days away from the highly anticipated vote in the House of Representatives on the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This act puts in place a cap and trade system on harmful greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to curb the effects of global warming. The bill redirects the focus of our energy development toward natural renewable resources as well as makes provides for investments in modern energy efficiency technology; all in hopes of expediting the new clean energy economy.

As clean energy advocates work to make wind, solar, and geothermal energy resources to be the priorities of new energy generation in the U.S. other industry interests are pushing for America to 'reaffirm its commitment to nuclear energy'

So, what is the status of nuclear energy?

• The last nuclear power reactor was constructed in 1978.


• Nebraska currently has two nuclear plants.


• The latest version of the Nebraska State Energy Plan includes plans for new nuclear


• The major energy bill from the Energy & Natural Resources Committee in the U.S. Senate calls for support of the nuclear industry

What else should we know about nuclear energy? Is it the most viable alternative to coal power because of its 'clean' and 'reliable' nature?

Tonight's show will feature guest, energy expert Dennis Keim, who will attempt to shed some light on this issue.

Music will be taken from the 'No Nukes' concert from 1979.

Orleans - Plutonium is Forever

Gil Scot Heron - We Almost Lost Detroit

For more information about nuclear power, Kiem recommends :

http://www.everythingnuclear.org/

You can also keep up on energy through Kiem's own blog:

http://webfarmer.livejournal.com/

Remember you can tune into our show, Mondays 6:00-6:30 pm on KZUM, 89.3 on your FM dial

or stream us on the web, go to kzum.org

Event on Monday May 18

The final installment of the Devil is in the Details lecture series titled ‘Renewable Energy – the Devil is in the Details’

Monday May 18, 7:00 PM
The Nebraska League of Conservation Voters Education Fund is hosting a discussion about integrating renewable energy into the energy grid, how do you make an intermittent resource reliable?

With Mr. Bob Zavadil, Vice President & Principal Consultant for EnerNex Corp.
Date: Monday, May 18
Time: 7:00P M. – 8:00 PM Location:Hardin Hall
University of Nebraska –Lincoln, East Campus (Home of the School of Natural Resources)
3310 Holdrege Street
Lincoln, NE 68508

For wind energy to play a role in supplying the nation's energy needs, integrating wind energy into the power grid of the United States is an important issue to address. Large amounts of wind energy are located in areas of the United States without transmission lines to the power grid, and the natural variability of the wind resource raises concerns about how wind can be integrated into the existing transmission system.

The Nebraska League of Conservation Voters Education Fund is proud to host energy consultant and wind integration expert Bob Zavadil Vice President & Principal Consultant of the EnerNex Corporation to discuss integrating wind and making it reliable. Join us for this exciting event to hear from one of today’s foremost experts on wind integration and the clean energy future.

Bottom line, when we flip the switch, we expect the lights to turn on… can renewable energy do that for us?

The event is on Monday, May 18 on UNL’s East Campus in the Hardin Hall Auditorium at 7:00 PM for more information visit nlcv.org or contact Eva Sohl at esohl@nlcv.org/438-9341.

Mayor's Survey!

Taking Charge Budget & Program Priorities Survey

https://unl.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3VsHYvliNHCj63q&SVID=Prod


Message from Mayor Chris Beutler:

Thank you for your interest in our community. We invite you to again have your voice heard regarding budgeting and related issues.

In 2008 as a key part of my PRIORITY LINCOLN initiative, you provided valuable input to the City. This year, the City is continuing the budget conversation. As part of “TAKING CHARGE: Progress Measures and Program Prioritization,” the City has worked with the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center to develop this survey.

Your voice is important. Last year, your perspectives were discussed, debated and used by City officials in their budget determinations. YOUR INPUT INFLUENCED OUR BUDGET PRIORITIZATIONS, and this year, your input is even more important.

Key decisions need to be made for the 2009-10 budget. Trade-offs must be considered. We hope you will take this survey to let us know your preferences about City spending. This survey asks questions about programs identified through consensus as lower priority. These programs are at risk for reduction or elimination. The survey will take about 20-25 minutes to complete, although some people may take more time. We appreciate the time you are taking to make your voice heard.

Policy to Prosperity

Nebraska's clean energy future will be shaped by public policy - so how do we make sure that policy leads to prosperity for Nebraskans?

Pathway to Prosperity:  How the Best State Energy Policies Capitalize on

New Energy Economics

 

presented by

  Glen Andersen, Energy Policy Specialist

National Conference of State Legislatures

Wednesday, April 29 - 7:00 p.m

Hardin Hall, Auditorium 107

University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus

The utility industry touches nearly every aspect of our economy and our quality of life.  As renewable energy moves to forefront of national attention, state governments must redesign policies and incentives to take advantage of emerging opportunities while ensuring affordable, reliable power.  This lecture will focus on the hallmarks of the best state policies to promote comprehensive and integrated renewable energy development.

Glen Andersen has reviewed and evaluated state policy on climate change, energy efficiency and renewable energy for more than 8 years.  As staff for the National Conference of State Legislators, he has conducted research and analysis for state legislators across the nation, and facilitated communication between legislators, regulators, industry and advocates on best practices.  Mr. Andersen is the author of numerous publications on environmental and energy policy.

With the introduction of LR 83 by the Unicameral's Natural Resources, an interim study to analyze issues relating to expanded development of wind energy in Nebraska, this lecture will be essential to any citizen hoping to see Nebraska take its rightful place in the renewable energy economy.  

                For more information about this event, please contact Eva Sohl, esohl@nlcv.org, 438-9341.

Residential Energy Efficient Tax Credits

Here is an interesting article by a local accountant that explains the new energy efficient tax credits:
http://www.bizactions.com/index.cfm/ba/e105/fa/106388518G1875J1993171P0P10107568T0/