Tag Archives: Activism

SpectraBusters against the Sabal Trail pipeline

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.

SpectraBusters

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

Third Sabal Trail pipeline route misses Georgia entirely

Andrea Grover of Sabal Trail Transmission has been telling Florida landowners about another proposed pipeline route that completely bypasses Georgia. Received yesterday on Request pipeline town hall –Tim Bland to LCC:

For those that are against having the pipeline run through their property, go to Ocala Star Banner on the web where there is a map with the proposed route for the pipeline from Alabama to Florida. This route barely touches the southwest corner of Georgia (if at all). Why did Sabal change the route? I don’t either. The newspaper is dated October 24, 2013.

-Ronald Kicklighter

Contracts for natural gas pipeline through Florida get initial OK, by Morgan Watkins for Ocala StarBanner picked up a story first run in the Gainesville Sun,

A $3.5 billion, 600-mile natural-gas pipeline system that will stretch from Alabama into Florida is still in the planning stages, but homeowners near the Ichetucknee and Santa Fe rivers are concerned because the routes being proposed might run through their neighborhoods.

 

Landowners in Georgia don’t want it crossing their land or the Flint or Withlacoochee Rivers, either.

Florida Power & Light selected Continue reading →

Spectra to answer questions about pipeline @ LCC 2013-12-09

Received yesterday. Good first step. Will the Commission also have Spectra speak at the Regular Session, like they did ADS back in February? Will it make that a public hearing?
Update 11:30 AM: Pipeline meeting set: Commissioner gathers opposing views by Matthew Woody, front page of the VDT this morning. -jsq

From: Demarcus Marshall <marshall at lowndescounty.com>
Date: Friday, October 25, 2013 7:51 AM
To: Tim Bland
Cc: Matthew Woody
Subject: Sabal Trail Pipeline

Tim and Residents along the Proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline,

Brian Fahrenthold of Sabal Trail Pipeline contacted me yesterday and requested an audience with the Lowndes County Commissioners. I have submitted to the chairman a slot for him to address the commissioners at our December 09, 2013 work session. I am writing you to ask Continue reading →

WCTV on the pipeline

Spectra said “more rural” “lessens stakeholder impact”. What do you think about that, rural landowners whose land Spectra wants? County Chairman Bill Slaughter said the most positive thing he’s said so far, “we’re going to be looking out for the citizens of Lowndes County”, about this natural gas pipeline potentially ripping a 100 foot right of way through this county and many others in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama for the benefit of Florida Power and Light. And Valdosta, you’re not for sure out of the pipeline path: remember FERC could choose that Option B through Valdosta that is Spectra’s alternate route.

Option B by WCTV

James Buechele wrote for WCTV yesterday, Pipeline Would Cut Through Florida & Georgia, Continue reading →

Activist questions

Somebody asked me these excellent questions. What are your answers?

  1. why you were drawn to helping others/being activists,
  2. projects you’ve worked on,
  3. projects that have been succesfull and why they were successfull,
  4. projects that weren’t successful and why they weren’t successfull,
  5. challenges you’ve faced in organizing people for causes and how you overcame those challenges, and
  6. how people can fit community service and activism into their busy lifestyles.

My answers are mostly in this blog. But there may be video to come.

-jsq

Divest VSU of fossil fuels –petition

The divestment movement has come to VSU, thanks to Danielle Jordan and SAVE! -jsq

Petition: Divest Valdosta State From Fossil Fuels

To: VSU Administration and VSU Board of Trustees

We are asking Valdosta State University to:

  1. Disclose information on its investments
  2. To divest its holdings from fossil fuels within 5 years
  3. Freeze any new investments in the fossil fuel industry immediately

Why is this important?

As climate change progresses, we become more aware of the hazardous consequences that manifest in relation to a warming planet. We understand that in order to combat the issue, we have to alter our daily practices. However. the lobbying power of the major fuel companies has diminished the voices and power of individuals within our political system. Subsequently, policy has been written to favor the interests of the companies benefiting from the exploitation of our environment.

We are asking Valdosta State to distance itself from this industry and pursue alternatives, knowing that if we wish to address climate change, a collaborative effort must be made. By joining this movement, we can create a more ethical campus and move in the direction of sustainability.

San Onofre nuke closing for good –Socal Edison

A big victory today for anti-nuke and pro-solar activists: the leaky San Onofre nukes will stay closed for good! Cost to close them? Between between $450 million and $650. This is after SoCal Edison and 20% owner San Diego Gas & Electric “more than $780 million replacing the steam generators several years ago, which ratepayers are now repaying.” The new Plant Vogtle nukes are already about a billion dollars over and 19 months behind: let’s stop them now before Georgia Power and Southern Company waste any more of our money on them.

PR from SoCal Edison today, Southern California Edison Announces Plans to Retire San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station,

Continue reading →

Remerton Mill demolition –WCTV

Maybe Nina King’s elegy on the sad demolition of Remerton’s Strickland Mill will spur enough people to get involved in the community so next time a monument is threatened with demolition we can find the resources to save it, and we can bring things the community needs now, like fast affordable Internet access for all.

Nina King Greg Gullberg reported for WCTV 11PM News last night, Demolition Of Remerton Mill Has Begun, in which Nina King said:

“Well, it breaks my heart, and it’s so sad. And I don’t understand why anybody would want a historic old building torn down like this.”
Continue reading →

Kemper Coal Crashes Southern Company Rating and Stock Price

Standard & Poor’s lowered Southern Company’s rating from stable to negative because of the risks of Kemper Coal in Mississippi, and SO’s stock price plummetted. This was immediately after activists grilled SO on that and other topics at the SO stockholder meeting. Wait ’till S&P catches on to the risks of SO’s 19-months-late and $1 billion-over-budget nukes at Plant Vogtle in Georgia! Or SO’s non-action so far on the challenge of distributed solar.

Kristin Jones wrote for WSJ 24 May 2013, S&P Lowers Outlook on Southern Co., Noting Project Risks,

Continue reading →

San Onofre Off Forever Soon

People standing up for safety and sanity may yet stop big business nukes. After San Onofre is finally off for good, how about let’s cancel Plant Vogtle? -jsq

Harvey Wasserman wrote for nukefree.org 16 May 2013, San Onofre at the No Nukes Brink,

In January, it seemed the restart of San Onofre Unit 2 would be a corporate cake walk.

Edison billed southern California ratepayers roughly $1 billion for San Onofre in 2012 even though it generated no juice.
With its massive money and clout, Southern California Edison was ready to ram through a license exception for a reactor whose botched $770 million steam generator fix had kept it shut for a year.

But a funny thing has happened on the way to the restart: a No Nukes groundswell has turned this routine rubber stamping into an epic battle the grassroots just might win.

Indeed, if ever there was a time when individual activism could have
Continue reading →