A local mom said she was one of many landowners being bullied
by a pipeline company and asked for help from local leaders,
at the
7 November 2013 Valdosta City Council Regular Session.
Here’s Part 1 of 2:
Carol Singletary’s impassioned and reasoned plea
got a response from Mayor John Gayle,
even if it was only Continue reading
S.A.V.E. never gives up, and the VSU Foundation provided fuel for the fight. -jsq
Dr. William J. McKinney
President
Valdosta State UniversityDear President McKinney,
Thank you very much for agreeing to be a part of our ceremony for the new solar canopy this Friday. We are excited for it, and we are glad that you will be able to come. We definitely appreciate your support, and we hope to have a nice turnout!
As happy as we are about VSU’s continuing efforts to “go green,” I am writing to you in regard to S.A.V.E.’s ongoing fossil fuel divestment campaign and the recent response we received from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the VSU Foundation. If you have not yet read the letter, I have attached a copy for your convenience.
We were clearly disappointed to hear that
our request had been denied, but what troubled us the most was the condescending tone used by Mr. Edwards in the last part of his letter. To end his letter on University (not Foundation) letterhead with sarcasm and cavalier dismissal of our concerns is unacceptable, especially as we have acted in a respectful manner throughout this process. Within his response, Mr. Edwards downplays the importance of practicing social responsibility and belittles the validity of past divestment campaigns that have been used to counteract injustices such as South Africa’s Apartheid regime, which represented an inhumane and repressive system that needed to be challenged.
We also find Continue reading
Remember, Georgia,
Georgia Power can continue to charge you for
Plant Vogtle 3 and 4 even after they’re canceled,
just like Duke is doing for Levy County in Florida.
Beware: Duke’s idea of a replacement is
a natural gas plant powered by a 36″ pipeline on a 100′ right of way
gashed through Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
And while Duke customers will get refunds for permanently-closed Crystal River 3,
FL PSC also slid in a new tax:
“promotes community growth through economic development tariffs.”
A tariff is, according to Investopedia:
A tax imposed on imported goods and services. Tariffs are used to restrict trade, as they increase the price of imported goods and services, making them more expensive to consumers. They are one of several tools available to shape trade policy.
Curious how FL PSC redefines restraints on trade as promoting growth.
FL PSC PR of 17 October 2013, PSC Decides Revised Settlement Agreement for Duke Energy Florida, Inc., Continue reading
LTE in the VDT yesterday, scan by Michael Noll. And you can also rescind. -jsq
Say no to Sabal
I have been contacted by Sabal Trail Transmission for the permission to survey our property for the proposed natural gas pipeline in Lowndes County Afier receiving several letters from Sabal and now having received the “scary” certified letter, my answer is still the same. No. We already have one gas pipeline on our property and having two will not be twice the fun.
Sabal is in the very early stages of gathering information to get a permit from FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). They can only gather this information from surveys. If property owners allow them to survey It is the same as letting the fox in the hen house. They will have the information they need to obtain the permit.
Keep the fox out of your hen house! If you haven’t already said yes, just say no!
Don Brotherton
Valdosta
Here’s a sample letter
to deny permission to Sabal Trail Transmission.
And even if you already signed, you can resind permission. Here’s a sample letter to deny permission to Sabal Trail Transmission.
More on SpectraBusters.
-jsq
All U.S. nuclear power reactors could be replaced by LED lighting with a few clever on-off controls. More evidence Plant Vogtle is a boondoggle good for nothing but propping up profits for Georgia Power and Southern Company.
Michael Kanellos wrote for Forbes 28 October 2013, Can LED Bulbs Make Nuclear Plants Obsolete?
One $7 billion nuclear plant like one of Georgia Power’s 1.2 GW units would add a little over 1 percent of capacity. The bulb solution would cost $60 billion, and around $36 billion two years from now, and require only that consumers know how to screw in a light bulb. Nuclear would cost $105 billion, probably more, and take decades.
So maybe it’s not just weather that’s pushing down your demand, Southern Company: maybe Continue reading
SO CEO Tom Fanning continued to blame slow sales and earnings on mild
weather (air conditioners running less), but the big boondoggle
going bad is Kemper Coal, which has slipped six months from May 2014 to Q4 2014,
and even the Wall Street Journal calls it “possibly the most expensive fossil-fuel power plant ever built in the U.S”.
How bad will SO’s stock tank when SO’s even more expensive
nuclear Plant Vogtle slips even more?
Dividends can’t prop up SO’s share price forever, not when PSCs are revolting against the rate hikes
and guaranteed profit hikes that prop up those dividends.
When will Southern Company and Georgia Power get out front and lead in solar and wind power?
Before or after the public, state public service commissions, and investors make them do it?
Justin Loiseau wrote for DailyFinance 4 November 2013, Southern Company Earnings: A $5 Billion Blunder? Continue reading
Dr. Richard posted this letter to the editor of the The Spectator, VSU’s student newspaper, on SAVE’s facebook page today. I added the links and the images. -jsq
To the Editor:
I would like to address the VSU community with this letter.
VSU Students, faculty, and staff, did you know that many of the clothes that we admire and purchase in the USA are made in places like Bangladesh? Indeed, some of our most popular brands of clothing, including GAP, Old Navy, and Banana Republic originate there. Perhaps you know that many Bangladeshi clothing manufacturers employ children as young as 12 years old who earn as little as $32 per month despite working up to 14 hours a day? It’s little wonder that so many of us can look so stylish—and for relatively little money.
If you didn’t already know this, does it matter to you now? Are you concerned that the money you spend supports sweatshops in Bangladesh
and elsewhere, perpetuating the misery of millions of our fellow human beings? Undoubtedly many of us are concerned, and we understand that we can make a difference in the world by being more judicious about where we shop. It’s why we choose to buy groceries at worker-friendly Publix rather than Continue reading
A copy of what the VSU Foundation called the “
“well-intentioned request” by
Students Against Violating the Environment (S.A.V.E.).
I added the links and images.
-jsq
October 17, 2013
Dear VSU Foundation and Board of Trustees,
Recent years have brought climate change to the forefront of public discussion.
A newly released report from the United Nations indicates with 95% certainty that humans are the primary cause of the issue. It is our concern that the continuation of our current practices and our dependence on fossil fuels will only result in continued environmental degradation and human struggle. Knowing the impact that anthropogenic climate change has upon our environment, our health, and our economy, we are asking Valdosta State University to take a stand and join in the effort to address this issue, as social responsibility is part and parcel to the role of public institutions.
As a public institution, Valdosta State University has a responsibility to shape the debate about climate change through its voice, and fossil fuel divestment is another medium for that voice. We are asking that VSU immediately Continue reading
Pipeline opposition got written up in the Albany Herald. You haven’t seen many pipeline posts here in the LAKE blog lately because SpectraBusters has its own blog now.
Other recent developments include Florida PSC tentatively approved pipeline, Gertrude Dickinson’s stream of opposition from Sumter County Florida, and schedule of Open House meetings in December required by FERC among the FERC filings about the Sabal Trail pipeline and how to file a comment or become an intervenor with FERC.
Remember Spectra will be haunting the Lowndes County Commission Work Session 9 December 2013.
And if you want to see where Spectra’s gas comes from,
come see
Gasland II at VSU 7PM Thursday 7 Nobemver 2013.
SpectraBusters: We ain’t afraid a no pipeline!
-jsq
The VSU Foundation knows more than 98% of climate scientists,
and also sneers at former divestment from tobacco and apartheid companies.
Nevermind that
fossil fuel divestment is going faster than either of those.
Is it good fiduciary responsibility to stay invested in the stranded investments
of fossil fuel stocks while
solar stocks are skyrocketing?
Is this really how to encourage people to
give to VSU?
Is that how
the alumni
want their investments used?
Seen today on S.A.V.E.’s facebook page, VSU Foundation’s response to S.A.V.E.’s fossil fuel divestment request:
Danielle Jordan, President
S.A.V.E.
Valdosta State UniversityDear Ms. Jordan,
The Investment Committee of the VSU Foundation Board of Trustees has reviewed the request from your organization that securities issued by companies engaged in the production of fossil fuel energy be excluded from the foundation’s endowment portfolios. Compliance with your well-intentioned request is impractical for a number of reasons and perhaps even a breach of the fiduciary responsibility that all of our trustees take very seriously.
The various VSU Foundation endowment portfolios are managed Continue reading
