Posted: Thursday, 29 May 2008 10:49AM
Mackinac Panel: Renewables, Nuclear to Replace Oil
Renewable energy was top of mind Thursday at the Detroit Regional Chamber Mackinac Policy Conference.
In an era of skyrocketing petroleum prices, America needs to look more seriously than ever at conservation, renewable energy sources, expanding domestic oil drilling and nuclear power, panelists told a packed room in the Grand Pavilion of the Grand Hotel.
"This is a tsunami," Jim Croce, CEO of NextEnergy, the state of Michigan's energy industry accelerator, said. "The world economy is being transformed by a lack of fossil fuels and rising demand."
Donald Kepler, executive vice president and chief sustainabilty officer at Midland's Dow Chemical Co., said Dow alone uses more than 1 percent of all of the daily energy consumption in the United States, because its chemical manufacturing processes are highly energy-intensive.
He said the company Wednesday announced a 20 percent across-the-board price hike due to energy spending that has rocketed from $8 billion a year in 2000 to $32 billion a year today.
He said Dow is working on energy efficiency -- a 30 percent national efficiency gain, he said, would pretty much cover the need for imported oil. And he said the nation needs to get serious about building more zero-greenhouse-gas nuclear plants, find more sources of oil in the short term, and work on alternative energy for the long term.
Bob Buckler, president and COO at DTE Energy, repeated the mantra of better efficiency, renewable energy and nuclear energy as the path to a prosperous post-petroleum future. He said Michigan has two of the leading solar panel companies in the world in Hemlock Semiconductor, a Dow joint venture, and Energy Conversion Devices in Rochester Hills.
All three backed the current state law proposed for a Renewable Portfolio Standard, which would mandate Michigan get 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015, and guarantee existing utilities 90 percent of the state's electric market.
They also said Michigan has a real opportunity to create a new alternative energy industry out of university research and its existing manufacturing expertise.
Out on the Grand Hotel's expansive porch after the presentations, U.S. Sen Debbie Stabenow announced that the 2008 Food Energy and Conservation Act, better known as the Farm Bill, also contains serious incentives for renewable energy.
Included is $2 billion to develop "green collar" jobs, $250 million for advanced battery research (vs. $22 million last year), incentives for purchasing hybrid vehicles, $70 million for incentives to grow cellulosic energy crops along with a fuel tax credit for cellulosic ethanol, $320 million in loan guarantees for biofuel plants, $118 million for biomass energy research and more.
Croce pointed out that the U.S. government heavily subsidizes the oil and gas industry, and some of those tax incentives need to be transferred to renewables.
As Stabenow pointed out with understatement, the oil industry is "doing pretty well" these days.
Video of Croce and Stabenow is available at the WWJ Web site at this link.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wind Farm Functional
Posted: Tuesday, 27 May 2008 2:41PM
Construction Wraps Up For Michigan's First Major Wind Farm
Madison, Wis.-based WindConnect said Tuesday it had completed construction of the Harvest Wind Farm, located on 3,200 acres in Huron County. Harvest is the first utility-scale wind facility to operate in Michigan.
As general contractor, WindConnect managed construction of the turbine foundations, roadways, underground collection system, and the interconnection substation at the site. WindConnect also provided significant site development services to get the site construction-ready. Final commissioning and testing were completed in January, and the system began commercial operation in February.
"Huron County has consistently strong winds for this part of the U.S., making it a prime location for providing renewable energy," says Mark Osten, WindConnect director of business development. "This is a major step forward for Michigan's renewable energy future, and WindConnect is proud to have built this important renewable energy resource for John Deere Wind Energy."
John Deere Wind Energy is the owner and developer of the Harvest Wind Farm. Wolverine Power Cooperative has signed an agreement to purchase the energy produced at the site. Wolverine plans to sell the energy to its member companies and retail customers throughout Michigan.
"John Deere and WindConnect have done an excellent job working with the area residents and officials to make the Harvest Wind Farm a showcase for the community," said Russ Lundberg, Director of Huron County's Building and Zoning Office. "We are very pleased with the way the community was treated and the final product produced by the team."
The Harvest Wind Farm consists of 32 Vestas V82 wind turbines, with a capacity to produce 53 megawatts of electricity. The development will provide enough power to supply over 14,000 homes, and will save approximately 127,000 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions from what otherwise would have been produced from fossil generators.
WindConnect is a trademark of RMT Inc., a non-regulated subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT). WindConnect has provided wind energy construction, engineering, design and development services for more than 3,000 megawatts of wind farm projects across the U.S.
Moer at www.rmtinc.com.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
Construction Wraps Up For Michigan's First Major Wind Farm
Madison, Wis.-based WindConnect said Tuesday it had completed construction of the Harvest Wind Farm, located on 3,200 acres in Huron County. Harvest is the first utility-scale wind facility to operate in Michigan.
As general contractor, WindConnect managed construction of the turbine foundations, roadways, underground collection system, and the interconnection substation at the site. WindConnect also provided significant site development services to get the site construction-ready. Final commissioning and testing were completed in January, and the system began commercial operation in February.
"Huron County has consistently strong winds for this part of the U.S., making it a prime location for providing renewable energy," says Mark Osten, WindConnect director of business development. "This is a major step forward for Michigan's renewable energy future, and WindConnect is proud to have built this important renewable energy resource for John Deere Wind Energy."
John Deere Wind Energy is the owner and developer of the Harvest Wind Farm. Wolverine Power Cooperative has signed an agreement to purchase the energy produced at the site. Wolverine plans to sell the energy to its member companies and retail customers throughout Michigan.
"John Deere and WindConnect have done an excellent job working with the area residents and officials to make the Harvest Wind Farm a showcase for the community," said Russ Lundberg, Director of Huron County's Building and Zoning Office. "We are very pleased with the way the community was treated and the final product produced by the team."
The Harvest Wind Farm consists of 32 Vestas V82 wind turbines, with a capacity to produce 53 megawatts of electricity. The development will provide enough power to supply over 14,000 homes, and will save approximately 127,000 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions from what otherwise would have been produced from fossil generators.
WindConnect is a trademark of RMT Inc., a non-regulated subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT). WindConnect has provided wind energy construction, engineering, design and development services for more than 3,000 megawatts of wind farm projects across the U.S.
Moer at www.rmtinc.com.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Mariah Wind Power to be represented by Southern Exposure
Posted: Monday, 26 May 2008 2:35PM
GLREA Gearing Up for Michigan Energy Fair
The Michigan Energy Fair will soon be back for its third year at the Manistee County Fairgrounds in Onekama.
This year, sponsors from the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association expects 5,000 people from the Great Lakes region, who are looking to cut their energy costs, and educate themselves on green energy.
The fair features a banquet on Saturday comprised of local foods, and live bands play Friday and Saturday evening, with a solar stage providing the energy. Also, Saturday is Kids Day with face painting and coloring contests.
For the adults, the fair features a variety of workshops and keynote speakers. Topics for the workshops include renewable and alternative energies, policy and economics, green building, and energy efficiency. Workshops run all weekend beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday and ending at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Workshop highlights include:
* Improve Your Home's Energy Efficiency, presented by Bob Fegan, DTE Energy MichCon. This seminar covers the major aspects of do it yourself and professional residential energy audits.
* Investing Green on Green, presented by Jeff Kingzett, Merrill Lynch & Tom Stanton, Michigan Public Service Commission, who will discuss ways to invest in green energy from DIY to green mutual funds.
* How to Convert Your Internal Combustion Vehicle to All Electric, presented by Richard Mars, John Mogelnicki, and Larry Tuttle, from the Michigan Electric Auto Association. They will discuss the how's of conversion that still meets safety and performance standards.
* Crude Awakening: Peak Oil and the Wolf at the Door, presented by John Richter, Sustainable Energy Education. A three part series that discusses Peak Oil -- the hypothesis that the world is now at or soon will be at its peak ability to produce oil, and that supply will be in decline from this point forward -- and its consequences.
The fair will host more than 65 workshops with more than 70 presenters. Other attractions include energy efficient home tours, regional tours, and hands on workshops.
More at www.glrea.org.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
GLREA Gearing Up for Michigan Energy Fair
The Michigan Energy Fair will soon be back for its third year at the Manistee County Fairgrounds in Onekama.
This year, sponsors from the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association expects 5,000 people from the Great Lakes region, who are looking to cut their energy costs, and educate themselves on green energy.
The fair features a banquet on Saturday comprised of local foods, and live bands play Friday and Saturday evening, with a solar stage providing the energy. Also, Saturday is Kids Day with face painting and coloring contests.
For the adults, the fair features a variety of workshops and keynote speakers. Topics for the workshops include renewable and alternative energies, policy and economics, green building, and energy efficiency. Workshops run all weekend beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday and ending at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Workshop highlights include:
* Improve Your Home's Energy Efficiency, presented by Bob Fegan, DTE Energy MichCon. This seminar covers the major aspects of do it yourself and professional residential energy audits.
* Investing Green on Green, presented by Jeff Kingzett, Merrill Lynch & Tom Stanton, Michigan Public Service Commission, who will discuss ways to invest in green energy from DIY to green mutual funds.
* How to Convert Your Internal Combustion Vehicle to All Electric, presented by Richard Mars, John Mogelnicki, and Larry Tuttle, from the Michigan Electric Auto Association. They will discuss the how's of conversion that still meets safety and performance standards.
* Crude Awakening: Peak Oil and the Wolf at the Door, presented by John Richter, Sustainable Energy Education. A three part series that discusses Peak Oil -- the hypothesis that the world is now at or soon will be at its peak ability to produce oil, and that supply will be in decline from this point forward -- and its consequences.
The fair will host more than 65 workshops with more than 70 presenters. Other attractions include energy efficient home tours, regional tours, and hands on workshops.
More at www.glrea.org.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Distributed Energy Generation
Hello Again Mr. Smith,
Southern Exposure is also in the business of helping to establish small wind energy systems as a mainstay for development of distributed energy generation. As authorized dealers for Mariah Power's Vertical Axis Wind turbines (please visit www.mariahpower.com) we have increased our capacity to help make that happen.
You are correct in the observance that distributed generation receives little press coverage. The realization that distributed generation is the model upon which nature operates receives even less observance, let alone any real understanding. Nature of course having been traditionally the model of efficiency, at times approaching 100%. As is the case in systems such as photosynthesis energy conversion from sunlight into chemical energy and disbursed effectively to feed the plant.Wind is also a product of that natural disbursement of energy as the earth is attempting to cool itself from the uneven heating of it's surface by the sun. Distributed energy generation should be approached as a component of local growth because it saves energy and is therefore most efficient. However it also has to be understood that local energy also has a symbiotic relationship to the rest of the world. When seen in that context one can more effectively identify and manage their local resources. Having identified the true nature of these natural phenomena and how people can emulate natures systems is the foundation of real capacity to bring a more sustainable change for America and the world. Being cognizant of this, it is our job to educate people as to what "green" really means. We look forward to the opportunity to seek out and work with like minded people such as yourself to build the capacities needed to swing the pendulum of change into truly appreciating our 21st century capacities and responsibilities.
Thanks,
Jim Bates
Southern Exposure Renewable Energy Co.
455 kearsley Creek Court
Ortonville, Michigan 48462
web www.seenergyco.com
blog- www.sendenergy.blogspot.com
Phone (248) 245-7114
Southern Exposure is also in the business of helping to establish small wind energy systems as a mainstay for development of distributed energy generation. As authorized dealers for Mariah Power's Vertical Axis Wind turbines (please visit www.mariahpower.com) we have increased our capacity to help make that happen.
You are correct in the observance that distributed generation receives little press coverage. The realization that distributed generation is the model upon which nature operates receives even less observance, let alone any real understanding. Nature of course having been traditionally the model of efficiency, at times approaching 100%. As is the case in systems such as photosynthesis energy conversion from sunlight into chemical energy and disbursed effectively to feed the plant.Wind is also a product of that natural disbursement of energy as the earth is attempting to cool itself from the uneven heating of it's surface by the sun. Distributed energy generation should be approached as a component of local growth because it saves energy and is therefore most efficient. However it also has to be understood that local energy also has a symbiotic relationship to the rest of the world. When seen in that context one can more effectively identify and manage their local resources. Having identified the true nature of these natural phenomena and how people can emulate natures systems is the foundation of real capacity to bring a more sustainable change for America and the world. Being cognizant of this, it is our job to educate people as to what "green" really means. We look forward to the opportunity to seek out and work with like minded people such as yourself to build the capacities needed to swing the pendulum of change into truly appreciating our 21st century capacities and responsibilities.
Thanks,
Jim Bates
Southern Exposure Renewable Energy Co.
455 kearsley Creek Court
Ortonville, Michigan 48462
web www.seenergyco.com
blog- www.sendenergy.blogspot.com
Phone (248) 245-7114
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sailing On The Seas of Knowledge
This is a letter I sent to the publisher of a newsletter dealing with some cutting edge developments involving energy procurement from waves on the high seas. You can visit the newsletter by -
http://www.waveenergytoday.com/
Hello Ian,
I appreciate your newsletter and hope we can eventually tie in with projects from the Great Lakes areas of North America. My name is Jim Bates, I am a renewable energy contractor and electrician. As president of Southern Exposure Renewable Energy Co.(see www.seenergyco.com.) I have been also been attempting to increase the potential of working in the marine environment to capture the natural energies such as the wind through the use of Vertical Axis Wind turbines. Although we are just starting down that road by developing some collaboration with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) (see http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/ ).
Not seeing these endeavors simply as "power projects", we are also working to foster changes in how students view themselves in regards to their opportunities regarding these natural energies and life in general. As you know, we don't know the answers. So rather than continue to have the students and society study to give half answers to what we don't know... It makes more sense to empower them to learn how to think and then come up with the innovation necessary to solve all these questions of how to harness these natural energies in ways that do no harm and foster intelligent growth in all areas of life. A great example would be to create similar projects to the following coral reef building projects http://www.globalcoral.org/Reef%20Restoration%20and%20Coastal%20Protection%20Project.htm. Every where you turn and look (including places you don't) these kinds of innovations should be fostered.
These energies that people are so want to describe as "alternative energies" are actually natural energies and they are part and parcel of an environment that did, should and could support life in the seas and above them. The real "alternative" energies are the nuclear, coal and fossil fuels that have been misapplied and have interrupted and sometimes killed off the circles of life's natural energies that supported all life in the seas (yes, and above them too). So that would be the true measure of sustainability and education, that is to the extent humanity has developed the capacity to utilize these natural energies for not only electricity but to comprehend and use it to support and repair life's natural growth processes. So our children will have a future. (It sure as hell makes life more interesting too!)You are also welcome to visit one of our blogs at www.sendenergy.blogspot.com to learn more of that activity.
In closing a long winded response letter here I want to add that my mother was a Murphy, the family being from the City of Cork in the County of Cork, Ireland and my namesake of course being English I hope to visit your part of the world someday and would like very much to see some of the projects you've highlighted there in the newsletters.
Have a great life over there!
Sincerely,
James W. Bates
Southern Exposure
Renewable Energy Co.
455 Kearsley Creek Court
Ortonville, Mich. 48462
Website; www.seenergyco.com
Email-renewablesjim@gmail.com
Cell 248-245-7114
Fax 248-627-9501
http://www.waveenergytoday.com/
Hello Ian,
I appreciate your newsletter and hope we can eventually tie in with projects from the Great Lakes areas of North America. My name is Jim Bates, I am a renewable energy contractor and electrician. As president of Southern Exposure Renewable Energy Co.(see www.seenergyco.com.) I have been also been attempting to increase the potential of working in the marine environment to capture the natural energies such as the wind through the use of Vertical Axis Wind turbines. Although we are just starting down that road by developing some collaboration with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) (see http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/ ).
Not seeing these endeavors simply as "power projects", we are also working to foster changes in how students view themselves in regards to their opportunities regarding these natural energies and life in general. As you know, we don't know the answers. So rather than continue to have the students and society study to give half answers to what we don't know... It makes more sense to empower them to learn how to think and then come up with the innovation necessary to solve all these questions of how to harness these natural energies in ways that do no harm and foster intelligent growth in all areas of life. A great example would be to create similar projects to the following coral reef building projects http://www.globalcoral.org/Reef%20Restoration%20and%20Coastal%20Protection%20Project.htm. Every where you turn and look (including places you don't) these kinds of innovations should be fostered.
These energies that people are so want to describe as "alternative energies" are actually natural energies and they are part and parcel of an environment that did, should and could support life in the seas and above them. The real "alternative" energies are the nuclear, coal and fossil fuels that have been misapplied and have interrupted and sometimes killed off the circles of life's natural energies that supported all life in the seas (yes, and above them too). So that would be the true measure of sustainability and education, that is to the extent humanity has developed the capacity to utilize these natural energies for not only electricity but to comprehend and use it to support and repair life's natural growth processes. So our children will have a future. (It sure as hell makes life more interesting too!)You are also welcome to visit one of our blogs at www.sendenergy.blogspot.com to learn more of that activity.
In closing a long winded response letter here I want to add that my mother was a Murphy, the family being from the City of Cork in the County of Cork, Ireland and my namesake of course being English I hope to visit your part of the world someday and would like very much to see some of the projects you've highlighted there in the newsletters.
Have a great life over there!
Sincerely,
James W. Bates
Southern Exposure
Renewable Energy Co.
455 Kearsley Creek Court
Ortonville, Mich. 48462
Website; www.seenergyco.com
Email-renewablesjim@gmail.com
Cell 248-245-7114
Fax 248-627-9501
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Communication Matters
In this synthetic world we as a society have signed onto, we find ourselves increasingly at a loss for being able to communicate a sense of worth and generally experience a nagging anxiety from the inability to feel at home in our own skin let alone where we reside and work. The Northwest Earth Institute has a series of discussion courses that have empowered scores of people to communicate their thoughts, observations and ideas about the real world we live in. If you have a notion that perhaps there is something more to life than being a sponge for abuse and misery, if you would like to discover a sense of place and become empowered enough to share ideas and actions with your neighbors and other folks that believe there is more to this life than work to pay bills on an endless treadmill, then read about the discussion courses contained herein or go to their website. It can be found at www.nwei.org. If you would like to change your outlook on life by learning to communicate your true passions for feeling alive and empowered to make great changes, then read on. Write back if you have any questions, together we can walk down the path of discovering all we are missing in this wonderful but brief life. A sustainable life is one that has found a place on the continuum of life by learning from our ancestors in a way that empowers our generation and those that come through us into the future. You will be amazed when you discover that there always have existed the answers to an abundant life swirling around us. Thru discussion you can learn what it is that you don’t know and embark upon the greatest journey of self discovery that can lead to a life of connectedness and continual self improvement!
Welcome to your new Journey, May the wind be always at your back!
Jim Bates 05-08-2008
Site MapHomeAbout UsContactCourse ResourcesRelated LinksJoinSearch:Advanced Search… NW Earth InstituteSectionsDiscussion Courses North American Network Communities and Organizations Workplace Programs Additional Programs Volunteer Donate Get InvolvedDonateVolunteerBegin a discussion circleJoin our list!Enter your email address to receive our e-newsletterPrivacy PolicyOverheard...“The Work of the Northwest Earth Institute is essential – now more than ever. Personally, I admire the NWEI’s model for change – the critical role of personal awareness and responsibility at the personal, bioregional, and planetary level, and from that place of care, taking action.” – Susan Gleason, Media and Outreach Manager, YES MagazineYou are here: HomeDocument ActionsWelcomeOverview and introduction to Northwest Earth Institute programs, overview, introduction, sustainability, education, sustainability education, place based education, sense of place, bioregionalism, watershed, lifestyle, lifestyle choices, curriculum, curriculum development, sustainability curriculumThe Northwest Earth Institute is recognized as a national leader in the development of innovative programs that empower individuals and organizations to protect ecological systems.Today, NWEI offers seven study guides for small groups. These self-guided discussion courses are offered in workplaces, homes, faith centers, neighborhoods, and community centers throughout North America.Global Warming: Changing CO2urseChoices for Sustainable LivingMenu for the FutureVoluntary SimplicityHealthy Children-Healthy PlanetDiscovering a Sense of PlaceExploring Deep EcologyNWEI programs encourage participants to explore their values, attitudes, and actions through discussion with other people. These programs are organized around three key principles:An earth-centered ethic promoting individual responsibility for the Earth.The practice of engaged simplicity to enrich life and reduce personal impact on the Earth.A dedication to living fully in place and protecting the unique bioregion in which you live.The Northwest Earth Institute is creating fundamental change in Western culture. NWEI programs encourage individuals and organizations to protect ecological systems and provide the resources to enable small groups to take action in local communities. Together, we can create a sustainable future.*To order discussion guides, please call NWEI at 503 227 2807 or email contact@nwei.org with your order."Action on the environment comes from thinking aboutit--comes from real conversations about the real facts, our real lives,our real hopes.Northwest Earth Institute is one of the places that makes those conversations happen, and that's why they're a vital part of the change we need to see.”-Bill McKibben, Author of The End Of NatureNorthwest Earth Institute317 SW Alder, Suite 1050, Portland, OR 97204 503.227.2807 : contact@nwei.orgDiscussion CoursesNewsRead Earth Matters, NWEI's quarterly newsletter NWEI's Newest Discussion Guide, Menu for the Future, now available More news… powered by Plone site by ONE/Northwest and served with clean energy
Welcome to your new Journey, May the wind be always at your back!
Jim Bates 05-08-2008
Site MapHomeAbout UsContactCourse ResourcesRelated LinksJoinSearch:Advanced Search… NW Earth InstituteSectionsDiscussion Courses North American Network Communities and Organizations Workplace Programs Additional Programs Volunteer Donate Get InvolvedDonateVolunteerBegin a discussion circleJoin our list!Enter your email address to receive our e-newsletterPrivacy PolicyOverheard...“The Work of the Northwest Earth Institute is essential – now more than ever. Personally, I admire the NWEI’s model for change – the critical role of personal awareness and responsibility at the personal, bioregional, and planetary level, and from that place of care, taking action.” – Susan Gleason, Media and Outreach Manager, YES MagazineYou are here: HomeDocument ActionsWelcomeOverview and introduction to Northwest Earth Institute programs, overview, introduction, sustainability, education, sustainability education, place based education, sense of place, bioregionalism, watershed, lifestyle, lifestyle choices, curriculum, curriculum development, sustainability curriculumThe Northwest Earth Institute is recognized as a national leader in the development of innovative programs that empower individuals and organizations to protect ecological systems.Today, NWEI offers seven study guides for small groups. These self-guided discussion courses are offered in workplaces, homes, faith centers, neighborhoods, and community centers throughout North America.Global Warming: Changing CO2urseChoices for Sustainable LivingMenu for the FutureVoluntary SimplicityHealthy Children-Healthy PlanetDiscovering a Sense of PlaceExploring Deep EcologyNWEI programs encourage participants to explore their values, attitudes, and actions through discussion with other people. These programs are organized around three key principles:An earth-centered ethic promoting individual responsibility for the Earth.The practice of engaged simplicity to enrich life and reduce personal impact on the Earth.A dedication to living fully in place and protecting the unique bioregion in which you live.The Northwest Earth Institute is creating fundamental change in Western culture. NWEI programs encourage individuals and organizations to protect ecological systems and provide the resources to enable small groups to take action in local communities. Together, we can create a sustainable future.*To order discussion guides, please call NWEI at 503 227 2807 or email contact@nwei.org with your order."Action on the environment comes from thinking aboutit--comes from real conversations about the real facts, our real lives,our real hopes.Northwest Earth Institute is one of the places that makes those conversations happen, and that's why they're a vital part of the change we need to see.”-Bill McKibben, Author of The End Of NatureNorthwest Earth Institute317 SW Alder, Suite 1050, Portland, OR 97204 503.227.2807 : contact@nwei.orgDiscussion CoursesNewsRead Earth Matters, NWEI's quarterly newsletter NWEI's Newest Discussion Guide, Menu for the Future, now available More news… powered by Plone site by ONE/Northwest and served with clean energy
SOMETHING'S in the WIND! (First Mover Status Improves?)
Wind Power Group Blows Off State Alternative Energy Proposal
By the MIRS News Service
A leading wind energy association blew off the House-passed energy package Tuesday, saying the legislation would actually put $2 billion in new investment in wind energy projects at risk.
In letters to Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Senate Energy Policy Committee Chair Bruce Patterson (R-Canton Township), the American Wind Energy Association urged the leaders to make a "fresh start" with annual renewable energy requirements much more aggressive than what passed the House two weeks ago.
The bills, HB 5548 and HB 5549, dictate that 10 percent of the state's energy should come from renewable sources by 2015, but AWEA said the bills have so many "toothless enforcement provisions" the requirements really only require less than one-half of one percent of additional renewable energy by 2014.
AWEA's letter says the bills contain "no benchmarks of any kind for 2010 and 2011, and only the weakest benchmarks for 2012 through 2014. And it said enforcement provisions are misdirected at utility expenditures rather than actual performance in obtaining renewable energy. Overall, the association said the legislation "fails to provide any significant incentive for wind developers toestablish projects in Michigan."
The association said that in order to create a "nationally significant" market, the standard should be set in 2010 with 5 percent, ramping up 1 percent every year until the 10 percent by 2015 is set.
"The House legislation, as a package, cannot accurately be described as a renewable energy standard, and the public should not expect economic benefits to result from the package," the AWEA stated in its letter to Granholm and Patterson. "To avoid unwarranted market and public confusion created by opaque legislation, our industry asks for your assurance of a veto should such legislation reach your desk."
The Granholm administration showed no signs of scrapping the House compromise for something brand new. Press Secretary Liz Boyd said a number of alternative energy businesses expressed support for the current legislation.
While AWEA praised the recently passed Ohio renewable energy law, Boyd said the Buckeye State only called for 3.5 percent energy from renewable sources by 2015.
"We hope to persuade the AWEA to come on board in the Senate," Boyd said.
Joining the AWEA in today's press release were seven wind energy manufacturers that sought to put an exclamation point on their belief that the House package "fails to create a market of any significant size" and fails to give any incentive for manufacturers to build production facilities or create jobs in the state.
"Last week, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed legislation creating a real market for renewable energy in Ohio and aggressively positioning Ohio manufacturers to compete in the growing wind energy market," said AWEA Manager of State Legislation Hans Detweiler. "It is not too late for Michigan to do the same."
The AWEA press release didn't get past the Customer Choice Coalition, which held up the press release as a reason the public should be skeptical of the House package, which guarantees DTE, Consumers Energy and other incumbent utilities at least 90 percent of the state's energy market.
"Consumers benefit when we have more competition, not less -- and AWEA is asking for more competition, as does CCC," said CCC Spokesman David Waymire.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
By the MIRS News Service
A leading wind energy association blew off the House-passed energy package Tuesday, saying the legislation would actually put $2 billion in new investment in wind energy projects at risk.
In letters to Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Senate Energy Policy Committee Chair Bruce Patterson (R-Canton Township), the American Wind Energy Association urged the leaders to make a "fresh start" with annual renewable energy requirements much more aggressive than what passed the House two weeks ago.
The bills, HB 5548 and HB 5549, dictate that 10 percent of the state's energy should come from renewable sources by 2015, but AWEA said the bills have so many "toothless enforcement provisions" the requirements really only require less than one-half of one percent of additional renewable energy by 2014.
AWEA's letter says the bills contain "no benchmarks of any kind for 2010 and 2011, and only the weakest benchmarks for 2012 through 2014. And it said enforcement provisions are misdirected at utility expenditures rather than actual performance in obtaining renewable energy. Overall, the association said the legislation "fails to provide any significant incentive for wind developers toestablish projects in Michigan."
The association said that in order to create a "nationally significant" market, the standard should be set in 2010 with 5 percent, ramping up 1 percent every year until the 10 percent by 2015 is set.
"The House legislation, as a package, cannot accurately be described as a renewable energy standard, and the public should not expect economic benefits to result from the package," the AWEA stated in its letter to Granholm and Patterson. "To avoid unwarranted market and public confusion created by opaque legislation, our industry asks for your assurance of a veto should such legislation reach your desk."
The Granholm administration showed no signs of scrapping the House compromise for something brand new. Press Secretary Liz Boyd said a number of alternative energy businesses expressed support for the current legislation.
While AWEA praised the recently passed Ohio renewable energy law, Boyd said the Buckeye State only called for 3.5 percent energy from renewable sources by 2015.
"We hope to persuade the AWEA to come on board in the Senate," Boyd said.
Joining the AWEA in today's press release were seven wind energy manufacturers that sought to put an exclamation point on their belief that the House package "fails to create a market of any significant size" and fails to give any incentive for manufacturers to build production facilities or create jobs in the state.
"Last week, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed legislation creating a real market for renewable energy in Ohio and aggressively positioning Ohio manufacturers to compete in the growing wind energy market," said AWEA Manager of State Legislation Hans Detweiler. "It is not too late for Michigan to do the same."
The AWEA press release didn't get past the Customer Choice Coalition, which held up the press release as a reason the public should be skeptical of the House package, which guarantees DTE, Consumers Energy and other incumbent utilities at least 90 percent of the state's energy market.
"Consumers benefit when we have more competition, not less -- and AWEA is asking for more competition, as does CCC," said CCC Spokesman David Waymire.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Let's Get CREATIVE!
Posted: Monday, 05 May 2008 3:41PM
'Creative Economy' Firms Can Now Get State Tax Credits
Michigan's creative business community will get a boost as a result of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's signature on a series of bills that would make creative businesses eligible for state MEGA tax credits.
State officials say the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac), will have a significant impact on Southeast Michigan's efforts to develop creative economy jobs by broadening the definition of businesses eligible for MEGA credits to include those in the creative sector.
State Sens. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) and Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) played a vital role in the success of this legislation and lead the advocacy to include the creative businesses for the MEGA eligibility.
Creative businesses have been defined as:
*Architecture and design including architectural design, graphic design, interior design, fashion design, and industrial design
*Digital media including Internet publishing and broadcasting, video gaming, Web development, entertainment technology
*Advertising and marketing firms including advertising and marketing agencies,public relations agencies, and display advertising
*Music production including record production and development, soundrecording studios, and integrated high-tech record production and distribution
*Film and video including motion picture and video production and distribution, postproduction services, and teleproduction and production services
Businesses meeting these criteria will be eligible for high-tech or high-wage MEGA credits which are credits against the Michigan Business Tax. A high-wage business is a business that has an average wage of 300 percent or more of the federal minimum wage.
The bills take immediate effect.
"In this new economy based on innovation and globalization, progressive leaders recognize that creativity now drives global competitiveness," said Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance, lead advocates for amending the bill to include the creative sector.
"Those communities that can develop and sustain an environment in which its creative talent can thrive will be able to most effectively drive economic development success -- both because of job growth in specific creative industries and because communities with a dynamic, creative soul attracthigh impact employers and talented, skilled employees."
Added James C. Epolito, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.: "These incentives will encourage creative business enterprises to consider Michigan and bring new opportunities to attract new media and advertising companies to locate in our state. We now can promise our most talented writers, film-makers and artists new job opportunities that were previously only available elsewhere."
Rothwell noted that globally, creative industries are estimated to account for more than 7 percent of world GDP and the annual growth of the creative industries is twice that of the service industries and four times that of the manufacturing industries.
Developing Detroit's creative economy is one of the main recommendations of Detroit Renaissance's Road to Renaissance, a plan to transform Southeast Michigan's economy.
More at www.detroitrenaissance.com.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
'Creative Economy' Firms Can Now Get State Tax Credits
Michigan's creative business community will get a boost as a result of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's signature on a series of bills that would make creative businesses eligible for state MEGA tax credits.
State officials say the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Jud Gilbert (R-Algonac), will have a significant impact on Southeast Michigan's efforts to develop creative economy jobs by broadening the definition of businesses eligible for MEGA credits to include those in the creative sector.
State Sens. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) and Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) played a vital role in the success of this legislation and lead the advocacy to include the creative businesses for the MEGA eligibility.
Creative businesses have been defined as:
*Architecture and design including architectural design, graphic design, interior design, fashion design, and industrial design
*Digital media including Internet publishing and broadcasting, video gaming, Web development, entertainment technology
*Advertising and marketing firms including advertising and marketing agencies,public relations agencies, and display advertising
*Music production including record production and development, soundrecording studios, and integrated high-tech record production and distribution
*Film and video including motion picture and video production and distribution, postproduction services, and teleproduction and production services
Businesses meeting these criteria will be eligible for high-tech or high-wage MEGA credits which are credits against the Michigan Business Tax. A high-wage business is a business that has an average wage of 300 percent or more of the federal minimum wage.
The bills take immediate effect.
"In this new economy based on innovation and globalization, progressive leaders recognize that creativity now drives global competitiveness," said Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance, lead advocates for amending the bill to include the creative sector.
"Those communities that can develop and sustain an environment in which its creative talent can thrive will be able to most effectively drive economic development success -- both because of job growth in specific creative industries and because communities with a dynamic, creative soul attracthigh impact employers and talented, skilled employees."
Added James C. Epolito, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.: "These incentives will encourage creative business enterprises to consider Michigan and bring new opportunities to attract new media and advertising companies to locate in our state. We now can promise our most talented writers, film-makers and artists new job opportunities that were previously only available elsewhere."
Rothwell noted that globally, creative industries are estimated to account for more than 7 percent of world GDP and the annual growth of the creative industries is twice that of the service industries and four times that of the manufacturing industries.
Developing Detroit's creative economy is one of the main recommendations of Detroit Renaissance's Road to Renaissance, a plan to transform Southeast Michigan's economy.
More at www.detroitrenaissance.com.
© MMVIII WWJ Radio, All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
A Voice of Reason?
Who Will Tell the People?
Traveling the country these past five months while writing a book, I’ve had my own opportunity to take the pulse, far from the campaign crowds. My own totally unscientific polling has left me feeling that if there is one overwhelming hunger in our country today it’s this: People want to do nation-building. They really do. But they want to do nation-building in America.
They are not only tired of nation-building in Iraq and in Afghanistan, with so little to show for it. They sense something deeper — that we’re just not that strong anymore. We’re borrowing money to shore up our banks from city-states called Dubai and Singapore. Our generals regularly tell us that Iran is subverting our efforts in Iraq, but they do nothing about it because we have no leverage — as long as our forces are pinned down in Baghdad and our economy is pinned to Middle East oil.
Our president’s latest energy initiative was to go to Saudi Arabia and beg King Abdullah to give us a little relief on gasoline prices. I guess there was some justice in that. When you, the president, after 9/11, tell the country to go shopping instead of buckling down to break our addiction to oil, it ends with you, the president, shopping the world for discount gasoline.
We are not as powerful as we used to be because over the past three decades, the Asian values of our parents’ generation — work hard, study, save, invest, live within your means — have given way to subprime values: “You can have the American dream — a house — with no money down and no payments for two years.”
That’s why Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous defense of why he did not originally send more troops to Iraq is the mantra of our times: “You go to war with the army you have.” Hey, you march into the future with the country you have — not the one that you need, not the one you want, not the best you could have.
A few weeks ago, my wife and I flew from New York’s Kennedy Airport to Singapore. In J.F.K.’s waiting lounge we could barely find a place to sit. Eighteen hours later, we landed at Singapore’s ultramodern airport, with free Internet portals and children’s play zones throughout. We felt, as we have before, like we had just flown from the Flintstones to the Jetsons. If all Americans could compare Berlin’s luxurious central train station today with the grimy, decrepit Penn Station in New York City, they would swear we were the ones who lost World War II.
How could this be? We are a great power. How could we be borrowing money from Singapore? Maybe it’s because Singapore is investing billions of dollars, from its own savings, into infrastructure and scientific research to attract the world’s best talent — including Americans.
And us? Harvard’s president, Drew Faust, just told a Senate hearing that cutbacks in government research funds were resulting in “downsized labs, layoffs of post docs, slipping morale and more conservative science that shies away from the big research questions.” Today, she added, “China, India, Singapore ... have adopted biomedical research and the building of biotechnology clusters as national goals. Suddenly, those who train in America have significant options elsewhere.”
Much nonsense has been written about how Hillary Clinton is “toughening up” Barack Obama so he’ll be tough enough to withstand Republican attacks. Sorry, we don’t need a president who is tough enough to withstand the lies of his opponents. We need a president who is tough enough to tell the truth to the American people. Any one of the candidates can answer the Red Phone at 3 a.m. in the White House bedroom. I’m voting for the one who can talk straight to the American people on national TV — at 8 p.m. — from the White House East Room.
Who will tell the people? We are not who we think we are. We are living on borrowed time and borrowed dimes. We still have all the potential for greatness, but only if we get back to work on our country.
I don’t know if Barack Obama can lead that, but the notion that the idealism he has inspired in so many young people doesn’t matter is dead wrong. “Of course, hope alone is not enough,” says Tim Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics, “but it’s not trivial. It’s not trivial to inspire people to want to get up and do something with someone else.”
It is especially not trivial now, because millions of Americans are dying to be enlisted — enlisted to fix education, enlisted to research renewable energy, enlisted to repair our infrastructure, enlisted to help others. Look at the kids lining up to join Teach for America. They want our country to matter again. They want it to be about building wealth and dignity — big profits and big purposes. When we just do one, we are less than the sum of our parts. When we do both, said Shriver, “no one can touch us.”
Money Can't Buy You Love (or Success)
The misapplicatin of reources, that is the attempt to use money as a panacea for all ills is a symptom of the disease. It's been tried to buy kids good grades, buy teachers collusion and in general to buy time, a commodity we seem to be extreemly short of. These attempts to continually substitute cash for caring, caring about the truth only leads us further from the succsess that is still ours to experience. But the following article is right , that success is slipping away. And not just for America but all of humanity. The attempt to create a more sophisticated form of brain surgery in order to dump in the STEM soup will not work. However if you give a kid a cardboard box on a hill and guide them to describe the cause and effect of gravity, you would well be on your way.
A critical part of establishing the beachead for STEM in each community is for people to gain the sense of place we have mentioned so often.And in order for success it has to be found in every facet of life in every community. I really believe that this is just another abstract idea for 99% of anyone who hears the term. But a sense of place HAS to happen in order for real learning to take place. Learning is a state of existence as a higher level of consciousness in thought takes place to continually sort and sift information for each individuals understandings of what they perceive as life for them.This is natural for all people and to some extent for animals to a point in their life. For the infant human it reaches a crescendo of creative and cognitive development in the Einstein years and if nurtured continues somewhat unabated through out life although on different levels of thought as their bodies and perceptions develop.
There is a common denominator for people and animals to a point of divergence, it is the instinctive basis for empowering all the senses, they are the five senses; sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. All of these are essential to navigating the shoals of life in the physical world. All animals and people have this gift,but just watch your dog or cat, they are light years ahead of you in having mastered the use of these basic senses. It is the sixth sense that has the capacity to set people apart from the banal existence of animals or the hunter gatherer in the urban jungle. This sense of there is something not quite in focus, something that is lingering to be born through an awareness, a clarity of purpose for our life, this sense is a need or longing to create and it is the prime motivator that has to be incubated and nourished in every person, most importantly it must be protected and allowed to flourish in every child. In order for Children to bring about the advances in understandings of STEM and life that are so crucial to our continued existence, they have to ask the questions and be encouraged to find the answers themselves. We will most assuredly fail if the old model of education does not get out of the way.Students cannot continue to answer the mimeographed questions from a teacher who has memorized what they needed to know to attain their teachers degree, or at least they cannot do this and truly learn. As we know one of the basic tenets of insanity is to perform the same tasks and expect different outcomes. That's not to say there isn't any capacity in some teachers to guide the students, that will remain to be seen and observed continually as opportunities to interact with children occur. Changing the pedagogy and predicates of childhood learning is the only key to unlock the door of success now, it always was. We didn't and still don't see this truth for many reasons, the main one is that the vast majority of people were too desensitized as children to perceive the opportunity to use that sense of creativity or to even become aware that they hold within themselves the essence of a kernel of this potential. As the enlightened few know this light exists within each child and may even still reside in some locked room deep within the psyche of most adults. I think the great ones of our past and present times called the potential for this positive creative brilliance to shine forth from the darkness as grace. In nature you see, we observe that all life flows in cycles. As long as life has the capacity to complete its cycles there is the chance for new life.
I am almost sorry to tell people that all the appropriations of every dollar couldn't buy a modicum of success in saving us now. For the answer to societies dilemma can't be bought, it can only be achieved through an agreement among enough people that we must rapidly and without restraint create lasting learning environments that empower our children to carry forth their own capacity to ask the questions. These questions which are the formative elements of thought, these thoughts are the precursors of thinking, this thinking will bring about the organic innovation that is the object desire of America's and all Humanity's continued survival for life's success on our planet.
A critical part of establishing the beachead for STEM in each community is for people to gain the sense of place we have mentioned so often.And in order for success it has to be found in every facet of life in every community. I really believe that this is just another abstract idea for 99% of anyone who hears the term. But a sense of place HAS to happen in order for real learning to take place. Learning is a state of existence as a higher level of consciousness in thought takes place to continually sort and sift information for each individuals understandings of what they perceive as life for them.This is natural for all people and to some extent for animals to a point in their life. For the infant human it reaches a crescendo of creative and cognitive development in the Einstein years and if nurtured continues somewhat unabated through out life although on different levels of thought as their bodies and perceptions develop.
There is a common denominator for people and animals to a point of divergence, it is the instinctive basis for empowering all the senses, they are the five senses; sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. All of these are essential to navigating the shoals of life in the physical world. All animals and people have this gift,but just watch your dog or cat, they are light years ahead of you in having mastered the use of these basic senses. It is the sixth sense that has the capacity to set people apart from the banal existence of animals or the hunter gatherer in the urban jungle. This sense of there is something not quite in focus, something that is lingering to be born through an awareness, a clarity of purpose for our life, this sense is a need or longing to create and it is the prime motivator that has to be incubated and nourished in every person, most importantly it must be protected and allowed to flourish in every child. In order for Children to bring about the advances in understandings of STEM and life that are so crucial to our continued existence, they have to ask the questions and be encouraged to find the answers themselves. We will most assuredly fail if the old model of education does not get out of the way.Students cannot continue to answer the mimeographed questions from a teacher who has memorized what they needed to know to attain their teachers degree, or at least they cannot do this and truly learn. As we know one of the basic tenets of insanity is to perform the same tasks and expect different outcomes. That's not to say there isn't any capacity in some teachers to guide the students, that will remain to be seen and observed continually as opportunities to interact with children occur. Changing the pedagogy and predicates of childhood learning is the only key to unlock the door of success now, it always was. We didn't and still don't see this truth for many reasons, the main one is that the vast majority of people were too desensitized as children to perceive the opportunity to use that sense of creativity or to even become aware that they hold within themselves the essence of a kernel of this potential. As the enlightened few know this light exists within each child and may even still reside in some locked room deep within the psyche of most adults. I think the great ones of our past and present times called the potential for this positive creative brilliance to shine forth from the darkness as grace. In nature you see, we observe that all life flows in cycles. As long as life has the capacity to complete its cycles there is the chance for new life.
I am almost sorry to tell people that all the appropriations of every dollar couldn't buy a modicum of success in saving us now. For the answer to societies dilemma can't be bought, it can only be achieved through an agreement among enough people that we must rapidly and without restraint create lasting learning environments that empower our children to carry forth their own capacity to ask the questions. These questions which are the formative elements of thought, these thoughts are the precursors of thinking, this thinking will bring about the organic innovation that is the object desire of America's and all Humanity's continued survival for life's success on our planet.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
DOUBLE-DOWN on our STEM ITEST Grant Work!
Fri, May 02, 2008
Summit: Save STEM or watch America fail
At current rates of investment in STEM research and education, America is losing its competitive edge, panelists warn
By Meris Stansbury, Assistant Editor, eSchool News
Panelists say awareness is not enough and that the U.S. needs to take action.
Two years after a report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" warned that the United States is falling behind in math and science education, endangering America's competitiveness in the global economy, education leaders, lawmakers, and cabinet members met for a national summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss what progress--if any--has been made in closing the gap. Their verdict: The U.S. needs to make a greater investment in critical math, science, and research programs for these efforts to succeed.
In the two years since the National Academies issued its "Gathering Storm" report, Congress passed a bill called the America COMPETES Act, which outlined measures to improve math and science research and education. The legislation called for expanding science research by doubling the basic research budgets for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the Department of Defense. It also created programs to hire and train more highly qualified math and science teachers and increase the number of Advanced Placement (AP) classes in underprivileged schools.
But the bill was only an authorization, not an appropriation, and lawmakers failed to fund many of these programs in the 2008 federal budget. (See "Final 2008 budget a mixed bag for schools.")
Though Congress passed many of the measures recommended by the "Gathering Storm" report, "we're [just] now in the process of passing appropriations to support those actions," acknowledged Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
"Authorizations are not enough," agreed Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. "We won't get anywhere without funding."
Private-sector funding from Exxon Mobil, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation has supported the creation of a project called the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). In its first year, NMSI rolled out grants to launch AP Training and Incentive programs in seven states, as well as replicate a math and science teacher-training program called UTeach at 13 universities. (See "Schools aim to solve huge math problem.") But summit panelists said the federal government needs to step up its support for these kinds of initiatives, too.
Panelists cited many examples of success, such as the largest initial public offering in history and the launch of a new research university with a day-one endowment of $10 billion (equal to what it took MIT 142 years to accumulate).
Trouble is, these accomplishments are happening in China and Saudi Arabia, respectively--not in the United States. In fact, in spite of bipartisan agreement on the need to improve student achievement in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] disciplines, little has been done in the U.S.
In a recent op-ed piece published in advance of the summit, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, had this to say: "We are starting to see the consequences of our neglect in STEM. China has surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of information-technology products--and the U.S. has become a net importer of those products. We must redouble our efforts to ensure that America is the world's technological leader in the 21st century."
Even so, federal funding has not increased, according to reports from Tapping America's Potential and the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation. Basic research funding at federal agencies has not increased, and some programs have been cut. The research and development tax credit has not been made permanent and has been allowed to expire.
In addition, policy makers have not been able to agree on visa and permanent resident green-card reform for highly educated professionals.
G. Wayne Clough, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said nothing has really happened in the last two years to advance the goals of the "Gathering Storm" report. Declared Clough: "Our momentum has not only slowed--it's reversed."
Craig Barrett, chairman of the board at Intel Corp., condemned the shortsightedness of politicians and elected officials. "Unless you're a short-term program during an election [season], you won't get funding," he said. "We're not investing in the future; we're not looking forward, because we have this sense of entitlement."
"Churchill said that you can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else," said Norman Augustine, CEO emeritus of Lockheed Martin. "Our nation's leaders need to follow through on their bipartisan effort in the America COMPETES Act and fund improvements to math and science education. Otherwise, our nation's greatest export is likely to be our jobs and our standard of living."
Sally Ride, chief executive officer of Sally Ride Science and the nation's first female astronaut, said it takes a long time to build a new foundation. "It reminds me of that Road Runner cartoon where the coyote keeps chasing after the road runner, and he keeps running and running until he realizes he's off the cliff and loses his footing. That's us right now," she explained.
Ride said she believes not enough people, especially parents and students, understand how important it is to take an interest in science. She cited a report from Public Agenda, titled "Important, But Not for Me: Parents and Students in Kansas and Missouri Talk About Math, Science, and Technology Education," which found that even though parents and students say they understand the importance of STEM education, they don't see how it applies to them personally.
Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and former president of MIT, believes Americans are simply too comfortable and are riding out the momentum gained by the rise of STEM education in the 1950s and 60s.
"The enemy I fear most is complacency," said Vest. "The science and engineering talent, tools, and research required to prosper and be a world leader in this century do not grow on trees. We urgently need to invest in people and knowledge and create well-paying jobs. We must again be the ‘can do' nation--building a strong, competitive economy and meeting the challenges of energy, security, healthcare, and global change."
Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said he believes the U.S. is falling behind in STEM education because Americans "value the fruits of science, but they don't know where they come from. That's why we're currently under-investing in R&D in every sector. It's a result of the 1950s, where we had a bimodal population. We basically told people: ‘If you're not going to be a scientist, then don't bother studying science.'"
Wolf attributed the lack of appropriations to the state of the country's fiscal health. Because of the nation's $54 trillion debt, and with the dollar decreasing in value every day, America simply doesn't have the funds needed to support STEM programs or provide more for the National Science Foundation and NASA, he said.
"Every science program is under discretionary spending," said Wolf. "This needs to change; but how? Should the U.S. declare bankruptcy?"
For many panelists, boosting the federal investment in STEM-related research and education begins with creating a greater sense of urgency.
"The initial [Gathering Storm] report helped to start and maintain public focus," said Vest, "but now we must establish a sense of urgency, not just awareness."
Tom Luce, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative, said the summit's goal is to help move the report from the playing field to the goal line.
"We're here to help implement strategies, not just talk about what the report says. It's more than just a report--it's an action plan that needs to be developed," said Luce.
According to Clough, Congress and the general population need to understand the link between this report and the economy. He said Americans need to care about the COMPETES Act and many other calls to action delivered by the report, because without STEM education, America won't be able to compete globally--causing a stagnation of median income and a lower standard of living.
"People at the state level get what's going on. We're just lacking the will at the national level," he said.
Concluded Vest: "Tell your representatives and senators--as well as your favorite presidential candidate--that funding math and science education, investing in basic research and development, and welcoming the best and brightest from around the world is the only way to guarantee that their children and grandchildren will enjoy the continuously rising standard of living that Americans have come to expect.
"America can't afford to wait while the rest of the world surges forward. The Cold War is over. Globalization and modernization are racing ahead, there are billions of new competitors in the economic race with the United States--and we are falling behind."
National Academies http://www.nationalacademies.org
Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
National Math and Science Initiative http://www.nationalmathandscience.org
UTeach http://uteach.utexas.edu
Tapping America's Potential http://tap2015.org
Task Force on the Future of American Innovation http://www.futureofinnovation.org
Sally Ride on TechWatch http://www.eschoolnews.com/video-center/esn-techwatch/?i=53391;_hbguid=0f29fd65-c137-45d2-8967-f0ad7e1ee463
Summit: Save STEM or watch America fail
At current rates of investment in STEM research and education, America is losing its competitive edge, panelists warn
By Meris Stansbury, Assistant Editor, eSchool News
Panelists say awareness is not enough and that the U.S. needs to take action.
Two years after a report called "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" warned that the United States is falling behind in math and science education, endangering America's competitiveness in the global economy, education leaders, lawmakers, and cabinet members met for a national summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss what progress--if any--has been made in closing the gap. Their verdict: The U.S. needs to make a greater investment in critical math, science, and research programs for these efforts to succeed.
In the two years since the National Academies issued its "Gathering Storm" report, Congress passed a bill called the America COMPETES Act, which outlined measures to improve math and science research and education. The legislation called for expanding science research by doubling the basic research budgets for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the Department of Defense. It also created programs to hire and train more highly qualified math and science teachers and increase the number of Advanced Placement (AP) classes in underprivileged schools.
But the bill was only an authorization, not an appropriation, and lawmakers failed to fund many of these programs in the 2008 federal budget. (See "Final 2008 budget a mixed bag for schools.")
Though Congress passed many of the measures recommended by the "Gathering Storm" report, "we're [just] now in the process of passing appropriations to support those actions," acknowledged Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
"Authorizations are not enough," agreed Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va. "We won't get anywhere without funding."
Private-sector funding from Exxon Mobil, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation has supported the creation of a project called the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI). In its first year, NMSI rolled out grants to launch AP Training and Incentive programs in seven states, as well as replicate a math and science teacher-training program called UTeach at 13 universities. (See "Schools aim to solve huge math problem.") But summit panelists said the federal government needs to step up its support for these kinds of initiatives, too.
Panelists cited many examples of success, such as the largest initial public offering in history and the launch of a new research university with a day-one endowment of $10 billion (equal to what it took MIT 142 years to accumulate).
Trouble is, these accomplishments are happening in China and Saudi Arabia, respectively--not in the United States. In fact, in spite of bipartisan agreement on the need to improve student achievement in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] disciplines, little has been done in the U.S.
In a recent op-ed piece published in advance of the summit, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, had this to say: "We are starting to see the consequences of our neglect in STEM. China has surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of information-technology products--and the U.S. has become a net importer of those products. We must redouble our efforts to ensure that America is the world's technological leader in the 21st century."
Even so, federal funding has not increased, according to reports from Tapping America's Potential and the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation. Basic research funding at federal agencies has not increased, and some programs have been cut. The research and development tax credit has not been made permanent and has been allowed to expire.
In addition, policy makers have not been able to agree on visa and permanent resident green-card reform for highly educated professionals.
G. Wayne Clough, president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said nothing has really happened in the last two years to advance the goals of the "Gathering Storm" report. Declared Clough: "Our momentum has not only slowed--it's reversed."
Craig Barrett, chairman of the board at Intel Corp., condemned the shortsightedness of politicians and elected officials. "Unless you're a short-term program during an election [season], you won't get funding," he said. "We're not investing in the future; we're not looking forward, because we have this sense of entitlement."
"Churchill said that you can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else," said Norman Augustine, CEO emeritus of Lockheed Martin. "Our nation's leaders need to follow through on their bipartisan effort in the America COMPETES Act and fund improvements to math and science education. Otherwise, our nation's greatest export is likely to be our jobs and our standard of living."
Sally Ride, chief executive officer of Sally Ride Science and the nation's first female astronaut, said it takes a long time to build a new foundation. "It reminds me of that Road Runner cartoon where the coyote keeps chasing after the road runner, and he keeps running and running until he realizes he's off the cliff and loses his footing. That's us right now," she explained.
Ride said she believes not enough people, especially parents and students, understand how important it is to take an interest in science. She cited a report from Public Agenda, titled "Important, But Not for Me: Parents and Students in Kansas and Missouri Talk About Math, Science, and Technology Education," which found that even though parents and students say they understand the importance of STEM education, they don't see how it applies to them personally.
Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and former president of MIT, believes Americans are simply too comfortable and are riding out the momentum gained by the rise of STEM education in the 1950s and 60s.
"The enemy I fear most is complacency," said Vest. "The science and engineering talent, tools, and research required to prosper and be a world leader in this century do not grow on trees. We urgently need to invest in people and knowledge and create well-paying jobs. We must again be the ‘can do' nation--building a strong, competitive economy and meeting the challenges of energy, security, healthcare, and global change."
Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said he believes the U.S. is falling behind in STEM education because Americans "value the fruits of science, but they don't know where they come from. That's why we're currently under-investing in R&D in every sector. It's a result of the 1950s, where we had a bimodal population. We basically told people: ‘If you're not going to be a scientist, then don't bother studying science.'"
Wolf attributed the lack of appropriations to the state of the country's fiscal health. Because of the nation's $54 trillion debt, and with the dollar decreasing in value every day, America simply doesn't have the funds needed to support STEM programs or provide more for the National Science Foundation and NASA, he said.
"Every science program is under discretionary spending," said Wolf. "This needs to change; but how? Should the U.S. declare bankruptcy?"
For many panelists, boosting the federal investment in STEM-related research and education begins with creating a greater sense of urgency.
"The initial [Gathering Storm] report helped to start and maintain public focus," said Vest, "but now we must establish a sense of urgency, not just awareness."
Tom Luce, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative, said the summit's goal is to help move the report from the playing field to the goal line.
"We're here to help implement strategies, not just talk about what the report says. It's more than just a report--it's an action plan that needs to be developed," said Luce.
According to Clough, Congress and the general population need to understand the link between this report and the economy. He said Americans need to care about the COMPETES Act and many other calls to action delivered by the report, because without STEM education, America won't be able to compete globally--causing a stagnation of median income and a lower standard of living.
"People at the state level get what's going on. We're just lacking the will at the national level," he said.
Concluded Vest: "Tell your representatives and senators--as well as your favorite presidential candidate--that funding math and science education, investing in basic research and development, and welcoming the best and brightest from around the world is the only way to guarantee that their children and grandchildren will enjoy the continuously rising standard of living that Americans have come to expect.
"America can't afford to wait while the rest of the world surges forward. The Cold War is over. Globalization and modernization are racing ahead, there are billions of new competitors in the economic race with the United States--and we are falling behind."
National Academies http://www.nationalacademies.org
Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
National Math and Science Initiative http://www.nationalmathandscience.org
UTeach http://uteach.utexas.edu
Tapping America's Potential http://tap2015.org
Task Force on the Future of American Innovation http://www.futureofinnovation.org
Sally Ride on TechWatch http://www.eschoolnews.com/video-center/esn-techwatch/?i=53391;_hbguid=0f29fd65-c137-45d2-8967-f0ad7e1ee463
Friday, May 2, 2008
Cognitive Educational Competitiveness Differentiator
May 2, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
The Cognitive Age
By DAVID BROOKS
If you go into a good library, you will find thousands of books on globalization. Some will laud it. Some will warn about its dangers. But they’ll agree that globalization is the chief process driving our age. Our lives are being transformed by the increasing movement of goods, people and capital across borders.
The globalization paradigm has led, in the political arena, to a certain historical narrative: There were once nation-states like the U.S. and the European powers, whose economies could be secured within borders. But now capital flows freely. Technology has leveled the playing field. Competition is global and fierce.
New dynamos like India and China threaten American dominance thanks to their cheap labor and manipulated currencies. Now, everything is made abroad. American manufacturing is in decline. The rest of the economy is threatened.
Hillary Clinton summarized the narrative this week: “They came for the steel companies and nobody said anything. They came for the auto companies and nobody said anything. They came for the office companies, people who did white-collar service jobs, and no one said anything. And they came for the professional jobs that could be outsourced, and nobody said anything.”
The globalization paradigm has turned out to be very convenient for politicians. It allows them to blame foreigners for economic woes. It allows them to pretend that by rewriting trade deals, they can assuage economic anxiety. It allows them to treat economic and social change as a great mercantilist competition, with various teams competing for global supremacy, and with politicians starring as the commanding generals.
But there’s a problem with the way the globalization paradigm has evolved. It doesn’t really explain most of what is happening in the world.
Globalization is real and important. It’s just not the central force driving economic change. Some Americans have seen their jobs shipped overseas, but global competition has accounted for a small share of job creation and destruction over the past few decades. Capital does indeed flow around the world. But as Pankaj Ghemawat of the Harvard Business School has observed, 90 percent of fixed investment around the world is domestic. Companies open plants overseas, but that’s mainly so their production facilities can be close to local markets.
Nor is the globalization paradigm even accurate when applied to manufacturing. Instead of fleeing to Asia, U.S. manufacturing output is up over recent decades. As Thomas Duesterberg of Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, a research firm, has pointed out, the U.S.’s share of global manufacturing output has actually increased slightly since 1980.
The chief force reshaping manufacturing is technological change (hastened by competition with other companies in Canada, Germany or down the street). Thanks to innovation, manufacturing productivity has doubled over two decades. Employers now require fewer but more highly skilled workers. Technological change affects China just as it does the America. William Overholt of the RAND Corporation has noted that between 1994 and 2004 the Chinese shed 25 million manufacturing jobs, 10 times more than the U.S.
The central process driving this is not globalization. It’s the skills revolution. We’re moving into a more demanding cognitive age. In order to thrive, people are compelled to become better at absorbing, processing and combining information. This is happening in localized and globalized sectors, and it would be happening even if you tore up every free trade deal ever inked.
The globalization paradigm emphasizes the fact that information can now travel 15,000 miles in an instant. But the most important part of information’s journey is the last few inches — the space between a person’s eyes or ears and the various regions of the brain. Does the individual have the capacity to understand the information? Does he or she have the training to exploit it? Are there cultural assumptions that distort the way it is perceived?
The globalization paradigm leads people to see economic development as a form of foreign policy, as a grand competition between nations and civilizations. These abstractions, called “the Chinese” or “the Indians,” are doing this or that. But the cognitive age paradigm emphasizes psychology, culture and pedagogy — the specific processes that foster learning. It emphasizes that different societies are being stressed in similar ways by increased demands on human capital. If you understand that you are living at the beginning of a cognitive age, you’re focusing on the real source of prosperity and understand that your anxiety is not being caused by a foreigner.
It’s not that globalization and the skills revolution are contradictory processes. But which paradigm you embrace determines which facts and remedies you emphasize. Politicians, especially Democratic ones, have fallen in love with the globalization paradigm. It’s time to move beyond it.
Op-Ed Columnist
The Cognitive Age
By DAVID BROOKS
If you go into a good library, you will find thousands of books on globalization. Some will laud it. Some will warn about its dangers. But they’ll agree that globalization is the chief process driving our age. Our lives are being transformed by the increasing movement of goods, people and capital across borders.
The globalization paradigm has led, in the political arena, to a certain historical narrative: There were once nation-states like the U.S. and the European powers, whose economies could be secured within borders. But now capital flows freely. Technology has leveled the playing field. Competition is global and fierce.
New dynamos like India and China threaten American dominance thanks to their cheap labor and manipulated currencies. Now, everything is made abroad. American manufacturing is in decline. The rest of the economy is threatened.
Hillary Clinton summarized the narrative this week: “They came for the steel companies and nobody said anything. They came for the auto companies and nobody said anything. They came for the office companies, people who did white-collar service jobs, and no one said anything. And they came for the professional jobs that could be outsourced, and nobody said anything.”
The globalization paradigm has turned out to be very convenient for politicians. It allows them to blame foreigners for economic woes. It allows them to pretend that by rewriting trade deals, they can assuage economic anxiety. It allows them to treat economic and social change as a great mercantilist competition, with various teams competing for global supremacy, and with politicians starring as the commanding generals.
But there’s a problem with the way the globalization paradigm has evolved. It doesn’t really explain most of what is happening in the world.
Globalization is real and important. It’s just not the central force driving economic change. Some Americans have seen their jobs shipped overseas, but global competition has accounted for a small share of job creation and destruction over the past few decades. Capital does indeed flow around the world. But as Pankaj Ghemawat of the Harvard Business School has observed, 90 percent of fixed investment around the world is domestic. Companies open plants overseas, but that’s mainly so their production facilities can be close to local markets.
Nor is the globalization paradigm even accurate when applied to manufacturing. Instead of fleeing to Asia, U.S. manufacturing output is up over recent decades. As Thomas Duesterberg of Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, a research firm, has pointed out, the U.S.’s share of global manufacturing output has actually increased slightly since 1980.
The chief force reshaping manufacturing is technological change (hastened by competition with other companies in Canada, Germany or down the street). Thanks to innovation, manufacturing productivity has doubled over two decades. Employers now require fewer but more highly skilled workers. Technological change affects China just as it does the America. William Overholt of the RAND Corporation has noted that between 1994 and 2004 the Chinese shed 25 million manufacturing jobs, 10 times more than the U.S.
The central process driving this is not globalization. It’s the skills revolution. We’re moving into a more demanding cognitive age. In order to thrive, people are compelled to become better at absorbing, processing and combining information. This is happening in localized and globalized sectors, and it would be happening even if you tore up every free trade deal ever inked.
The globalization paradigm emphasizes the fact that information can now travel 15,000 miles in an instant. But the most important part of information’s journey is the last few inches — the space between a person’s eyes or ears and the various regions of the brain. Does the individual have the capacity to understand the information? Does he or she have the training to exploit it? Are there cultural assumptions that distort the way it is perceived?
The globalization paradigm leads people to see economic development as a form of foreign policy, as a grand competition between nations and civilizations. These abstractions, called “the Chinese” or “the Indians,” are doing this or that. But the cognitive age paradigm emphasizes psychology, culture and pedagogy — the specific processes that foster learning. It emphasizes that different societies are being stressed in similar ways by increased demands on human capital. If you understand that you are living at the beginning of a cognitive age, you’re focusing on the real source of prosperity and understand that your anxiety is not being caused by a foreigner.
It’s not that globalization and the skills revolution are contradictory processes. But which paradigm you embrace determines which facts and remedies you emphasize. Politicians, especially Democratic ones, have fallen in love with the globalization paradigm. It’s time to move beyond it.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The New Frontier or The End of Times
It's well past time for some plain facts about the situation that America and the World finds itself in. Think Green is the new catch phrase craze that is in vouge. We see and hear about it in almost every direction. It's mostly a mixture of ego, fluff and hype and mixed in with a healthy fear of the unknown.
You must ask yourself that even with this supposed new conciousness of the Earth why are so many people going hungry, why so many people are becoming homeless and why is the earths life support systems being corrupted and wiped out at an accelerated rate?
We as a nation are presented with a 9 trillion dollar debt to debtor nations who may call on us to pay up at any time now. We have a country run by a bunch of Barney Feiff's(Sorry Don, you did a fine job of acting) holding onto some nukes saying "It may be our debt , but it's your problem", (that is, until a changing of the guard takes place). Yep folks were in a heap of dung. This debt, was brought to you by voodoo economics. A system that knows the "cost" of everything and the true vaue of nothing. It is the science of leading economic indicators where the cart leads the horse. It's not a science of appreciating the value of our resources, it's rather the game of "Whats ours is mine and what's yours is mine". People, you really need to understand this, the debt owed to the Chinese is nothing compared to the one owed to Mother Nature. As you see, our Mother carries a real big stick and we are all about to get beat.
Time's they are a changin, for sure. There are answers to all this but it will take some serious agreements for them to have any effect. In order of priority we need to ;
1. Start with the truth. Allow the children to hold court over the vetting process of discerning the truth in all matters. They are not vested in decades of lying to themselves and society.
2.Change the educational system from its present form which is totally irrelevant to the situation we find ourselves in. Empower the students to become aware of their capacity to think by asking them to become aware of our world. This can be accomplished by performing a resource analysis of all things natural and man made.That is to take an inventory of all natural and human processes. Present and past. As these evaluations take place create the new mathematics sytems to understand the interrelationships between cause and effect.
2. Concurrent to this evaluation process expose the low hanging fruit to be realized in changing to a system of Natural Capitalism. In Nature all energy is free and as water it continually seeks its own level. In nature, resources are inherantly all used to support the next step in the processes of life's business. There is no waste in nature. There is a very efficient sytem of recycling everything to continue the cycles of life. We have to stop murdering those systems and work with them to enrich life's processes.
3.Distributed generation and distribution of resources in nature is a local business model for good reason. We need to mimic that system by growing and purchasing all our food, building materials, clothes and other goods locally and develop these systems as quickly as possible. This local support in creating community will head off the impending social and natural disasters as the economic depression continues to spiral. Do you really want to continue to argue about this until you are on the street also?
4. Collaborate amongst communities like nature does in its global interactions such as the weather and water systems. So too we can create systems of travel and exchange of goods and services as they are needed to support necessary interactions amongst communities. Systems of modeled efficiency.
This will be continued and we ask you to share your insights, for now I will leave you with the questions- have you ever wondered why you are here in this place and time and do you have the capacity to discern the real truth of your existence? Do you support life in it entireity as nature must or will you just continue to look after your own needs? Are you an empowered individual with capacity to help make positive and substantive changes that are needed or are you just another consumer battery paying for your next recharge?
You must ask yourself that even with this supposed new conciousness of the Earth why are so many people going hungry, why so many people are becoming homeless and why is the earths life support systems being corrupted and wiped out at an accelerated rate?
We as a nation are presented with a 9 trillion dollar debt to debtor nations who may call on us to pay up at any time now. We have a country run by a bunch of Barney Feiff's(Sorry Don, you did a fine job of acting) holding onto some nukes saying "It may be our debt , but it's your problem", (that is, until a changing of the guard takes place). Yep folks were in a heap of dung. This debt, was brought to you by voodoo economics. A system that knows the "cost" of everything and the true vaue of nothing. It is the science of leading economic indicators where the cart leads the horse. It's not a science of appreciating the value of our resources, it's rather the game of "Whats ours is mine and what's yours is mine". People, you really need to understand this, the debt owed to the Chinese is nothing compared to the one owed to Mother Nature. As you see, our Mother carries a real big stick and we are all about to get beat.
Time's they are a changin, for sure. There are answers to all this but it will take some serious agreements for them to have any effect. In order of priority we need to ;
1. Start with the truth. Allow the children to hold court over the vetting process of discerning the truth in all matters. They are not vested in decades of lying to themselves and society.
2.Change the educational system from its present form which is totally irrelevant to the situation we find ourselves in. Empower the students to become aware of their capacity to think by asking them to become aware of our world. This can be accomplished by performing a resource analysis of all things natural and man made.That is to take an inventory of all natural and human processes. Present and past. As these evaluations take place create the new mathematics sytems to understand the interrelationships between cause and effect.
2. Concurrent to this evaluation process expose the low hanging fruit to be realized in changing to a system of Natural Capitalism. In Nature all energy is free and as water it continually seeks its own level. In nature, resources are inherantly all used to support the next step in the processes of life's business. There is no waste in nature. There is a very efficient sytem of recycling everything to continue the cycles of life. We have to stop murdering those systems and work with them to enrich life's processes.
3.Distributed generation and distribution of resources in nature is a local business model for good reason. We need to mimic that system by growing and purchasing all our food, building materials, clothes and other goods locally and develop these systems as quickly as possible. This local support in creating community will head off the impending social and natural disasters as the economic depression continues to spiral. Do you really want to continue to argue about this until you are on the street also?
4. Collaborate amongst communities like nature does in its global interactions such as the weather and water systems. So too we can create systems of travel and exchange of goods and services as they are needed to support necessary interactions amongst communities. Systems of modeled efficiency.
This will be continued and we ask you to share your insights, for now I will leave you with the questions- have you ever wondered why you are here in this place and time and do you have the capacity to discern the real truth of your existence? Do you support life in it entireity as nature must or will you just continue to look after your own needs? Are you an empowered individual with capacity to help make positive and substantive changes that are needed or are you just another consumer battery paying for your next recharge?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)