MIKE - As the Vice Chair of the ME3 (Minnesotans For An Energy Efficiency Economy) Board of Directors let me say thank you for the reference to the website!
To all other list members, please feel free to drop in on the ME3 website to find an encyclopedia' worth of data, information, and links! I also heartily recommend the Institute for Local Self Reliance. When I was Commerce Commissioner, I had great privilege of working closely with both Michael Noble and his staff from ME3 and with David Morris and his folks at ILSR. Their insights and perspectives are invaluable and energy policy makers and citizens would be wise to heed their counsel! Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael Hohmann Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 1:03 PM To: [mpls] Subject: [Mpls] More on energy issues We've all been paying more at the gas pump and we will soon be seeing higher heating bills arrive in our mail boxes. Energy will undoubtedly become a daily topic of conversation in coffee shops and neighborhood meetings in coming months. Energy policy and technology options will increasingly be discussed by the broadcast and print media, and yes the politicians too. In Mpls., low-income and fixed-income city dwellers will be especially hard hit economically this heating season, as they cut back on food and medicine in order to stay warm. We'll all be asking ourselves and each other- 'what, if anything, can city policy makers do to improve the situation?' I suspect that issue will become a topic on this list early in the New Year as well. I recently ran across a great article in the Oct. '05 issue of Scientific American. This article is written by someone I place high on my credibility list-- Amory B. Lovins. I've tried to follow his energy-related research and writing over the past thirty years. I highly recommend this article to others interested in realistic technical and economic solutions to many of the problems we are facing in the energy arena. ~~~~~~ More Profit with Less Carbon Focusing on energy efficiency will do more than protect Earth's climate--it will make businesses and consumers richer By Amory B. Lovins A basic misunderstanding skews the entire climate debate. Experts on both sides claim that protecting Earth's climate will force a trade-off between the environment and the economy. According to these experts, burning less fossil fuel to slow or prevent global warming will increase the cost of meeting society's needs for energy services, which include everything from speedy transportation to hot showers. Environmentalists say the cost would be modestly higher but worth it; skeptics, including top U.S. government officials, warn that the extra expense would be prohibitive. Yet both sides are wrong. If properly done, climate protection would actually reduce costs, not raise them. Using energy more efficiently offers an economic bonanza--not because of the benefits of stopping global warming but because saving fossil fuel is a lot cheaper than buying it.... complete article in pdf at: http://www.sciam.com/media/pdf/Lovinsforweb.pdf and the complete September '05 edition can be viewed at: http://www.sciam.com/issue.cfm?issueDate=Sep-05 Topics addressed include: poverty, public health, biodiversity and sustainable (or steady-state) economics... and more. or check your local library for hard copy. ~~~~~~ Also check our own Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3) for more info on the carbon economy, a carbon tax, wind energy and much, much more! http://www.ilsr.org/ http://www.me3.org/ Enjoy a great weekend! Mike Hohmann Linden Hills REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.12.0/134 - Release Date: 10/14/2005 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.12.0/134 - Release Date: 10/14/2005 REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
