OK, enough of this dissing poor little chaotic Mackinac Island... :)
Meanwhile, the world (little parts of it, anyway) is pulling far ahead of chaotic little Madison in clean, renewable energy. I have in the past proposed requiring solar hot water (and PV electric) on all new buildings in Madison, but my 'great' arguments are always ignored. Meanwhile, failure to adopt these kinds of measures (nationwide, but we have to start somewhere, and the Hawaiians have beaten us to it)) leaves us all paying higher local taxes and tuition to make up for reduced federal expenditures for bike paths, education, transit, etc., because the federal government is borrowing from the future to fight wars to secure 'cheap' energy supplies so we don't have to think about solar hot water... Perhaps coming from an alder would give greater weight to requirements that all new buildings generate a lot of their own energy... *** *** Hawaii Energy Bills Include a Solar Hot Water Requirement Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has approved a number of energy-related bills over the past several weeks, including one that requires most new single-family homes to include solar water heaters. Senate Bill 644, approved on June 26, prohibits the issuing of building permits for new homes without solar water heaters as of 2010. The bill excludes homes located in areas with poor solar energy resources, homes using other renewable energy sources, and homes employing on-demand gas-fired water heaters. The bill also eliminates solar thermal energy tax credits for those homes. See SB 644 and the governor's press release. http://hawaii.gov/gov/news/releases/2008/governor-lingle-signs-bill-to-i ncrease-solar The governor's energy bill-signing streak started in late April with the approval of House Bill 2502, which allows solar energy facilities to be located on less-productive agricultural lands, followed in late May by the approval of HB 3179, which makes it easier for biofuel producers to lease state lands. In the same timeframe, the governor approved SB 2034, SB 3190, and HB 2168, which authorize special purpose revenue bonds to help finance a 2.7-megawatt wave energy facility off the coast of Maui, a solar energy facility on Oahu, and hydrogen generation and conversion facilities at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, located on the island of Hawaii. See HB 2505, HB 3179, SB 2034, SB 3190, HB 2168, and the governor's press release on biofuels. On June 6, the governor approved SB 988, which allows the Hawaii Public Utility Commission to establish a rebate for solar photovoltaic electric systems, and HB 2550, which encourages net metering for residential and small commercial customers. Last week, the governor approved the final three energy bills, including HB 2863, which provides streamlined permitting for new renewable energy facilities of at least 200 megawatts in capacity. HB 2505 creates a full-time renewable energy facilitator to help the state expedite those permits, while a third bill, HB 2261, will provide loans of up to $1.5 million and up to 85% of the cost of renewable energy projects at farms and aquaculture facilities. See SB 988, HB 2550, HB 2863, HB 2505, HB 2261, and the governor's press release on the final three bills. Jeff Schimpff Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Madison, WI 608-267-7853 "Bus, Bike, Carpool to Work for Clean Air for Kids" -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robbie Webber Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 10:35 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] mainstream world catching up with us? Everyone told me that I would love Mackinaw Island because there were no cars, and people bike everywhere. Five or six years ago, I did a UP trip, and went over to the island for the day. Thanks, but no thanks. No cars does not necessarily equal my cup of tea. While it is a lovely place, there were too many tourists, and the folks on bikes were a menace! The road congestion was simply another type of vehicle. I had my own bike, and went for a ride around the island on perimeter road. People were yelling at me to slow down - and I was only going 10 mph because the entire route is only 8 miles. Most of the people on bikes seemed to never have biked on the road before, so they stopped in the middle of the road without warning; made U-turns and left turns not only without signaling, but without looking behind; and generally created a hazard to those of us trying to get from here to there. The area at the ferry landing is the main "town," and it is just jammed with tourists wandering about, dining and shopping. Too crowded for my taste, but they thrive on tourism, so what can you expect? And guess what? All those bikes, and not one decent bike rack in the place! Oh, and when I took the ferry back, they neglected to load my bike, so my precious little blue baby was sitting on the dock (unlocked) as we pulled away! I had to wait for the next ferry at the other end, hoping one had stolen my bike while I waited. I did have a beauitiful walk through the interior of the island. Nobody there, and deep, deep woods. I know I sound like a sourpuss, but as I said, lack of motor vehicles is not necessarily the be all and end all. The rest of the UP is actually much nicer, quieter, and has just as many scenic views. Macinaw Island is the Door County of Michigan - a very crowded place in a beauitiful setting. Robbie On Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 1:48 PM, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/07/08/no.cars/index.html > 10 scenic spots with no cars _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
