Song: Green Energy Blues

Original Song - Wind Power Blues

Don't infer from this clip that we're lovers of carbon pollution; there are no easy energy solutions (outside of cold fusion), and wind farms are not without their problems, as demonstrated cogently in the above clip. 

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This is an absolute must see...

• Video - Al Gore Looking Like A Possessed Weasel Digesting Bad Seeds (Global Warming Poetry From Mr. Awesome)

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Further reading (includes excellent Al Gore cartoons)...

• $4 Billion For Global Warming Research In 2011 Budget

h/t to john for sending this clip our way...

Comments

[Barbara Durkin]

Hi John: You're welcome.

RGGI information:

http://www.endangeredlaws.org/case_RGGI.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3571/is_2_27/ai_n35649599/

And, thank you, for the Summers' White House memo :).

Ageed. Master Resources is THE BEST resource on energy issues.

Meet your wind developers: UPC, First Wind, DeepWater Wind, Cape Wind Associates, LLC, EMI, IVPC:

http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/12/30/5737860-meet-your-wind-developers-upc-first-wind-deepwater-wind-cape-wind-associates-llc-emi-ivpc-

[john]

@ Barbara, I know most of the players as I was involved in the electric deregulation fiasco in Maine back in 1998-2000.. I've closely watched what has happened since....

[Barbara Durkin]

Deregulation is a very complex issue. Do you think that ENRON is back, John? It's very troubling that U.S. public subsidies are being committed to wind energy projects with components shipping from China. "Goldwind USA" is an office employing 8 in Chicago. But, Goldwind is actually manufacturing components in China that controls 97% of world's rare earth minerals required for WTG manufacturing. My point is that stimulus funding of wind energy empowers China and that we are being misled by made in America illusions.

The mutitude of shell corporations associated with wind LLCs appear to be shuffling debt. We've been here before--"synergistic corruption", the business model of Enron is being used by former employees of Enron, now wind LLC executives.

As you know Master Resources contributor Robert Bradley, who was Ken Lay of Enron's public policy man and speech writer for 7 of the 13 years he spent with Enron, considers that green initiatives are Enronesque.

I truly consider that our Nation's energy and economic security and environmental integrity are at grave risk under the current administrations' foolish policies.

http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2011/02/21/6099211-enron-gave-birth-to-the-us-wind-energy-industry-

[john]

Barbara, thank you for the Indeck Corinth RGGI info.. I have been keeping up with the Mark Lagerqvist RGGI foia and lawsuit

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/files/2011/02/FOIL-10-1835-transmittal-letter.pdf

Maine was used as the 'test' for electric deregulation for various reasons and I never have seen so much corruption outside of Chicago ever ( I will throw in Boston too). Even the Governor at the time was involved going all the way up to the WH. (Cheney energy task force). I would like to detail this further but now is not the time. Stay tuned.

Enron never really died. The people just used the revolving door and continue the practice to this day, just look at the board of directors of these companies. The Enron business model is fraud or as you have so eloquently stated, " synergistic corruption". This all started going back to Bush 1 and continue through the current administration. The efforts of this administration will only serve to cripple (or put out of its misery) what is left of this economy with the shuffeling of debt and Rube Golberg projects. I have read Robert Bradleys' work and can appreciate it. I hope a few of the readers here take the time to look him up .....Thanks.

[john]

Wind on the Water.

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/02/23/opinion/wind-on-the-water-2/

[snip]

Understanding this simple math is why the proposal to generate 5 gigawatts of electricity from turbines floating 40 miles off Maine’s coast by 2030 is so important. Dr. Habib Dagher, director of the DeepCWind Consortium project at the University of Maine, uses this simple math to persuade people who may be skeptical about the future of the offshore wind proposal.

Much of the preliminary work for the offshore wind project has been compiled by UMaine researchers with help from the James W. Sewall Co. It will be available for companies bidding to construct and site test turbines, which will be located off Monhegan Island. The winning bidder or bidders, selected by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, will have a leg up on constructing the final project.

[john]

@ Barbara, add this one to the First Wind list...

http://www.maine.gov/doc/lurc/projects/Windpower/FirstWind/BlueSkyEast/BlueSkyEast.html

[john]

@ Barbara, her here is a little bit more about China....

http://www.upcrenewables.com/home.php

from the guys that keeps changing their name.....

http://www.firstwind.com/news/press-release-upc-wind-announces-name-change-first-wind

also in todays news....

http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1318714&srvc=business&position=4

so Nstar snubbed the same guys they are going to buy power from anyway?????

[john]

Sorry about the hiccup Barbara!.. my fingers stutter on occasion. If I am correct you are a journalist. The financial issues are what people need to concentrate on and less regarding environmental/medical issues if they want to get to the meat of the matter. There are RICO issues that need to be addressed. Enron was a chameleon who got its' tail cut off, I think you are aware that the tail of a lizard almost always grows back. A lot of the players kept a low profile for a short time until certain statute of limitations regarding Civil matters ran out.... Follow the money.

[john]

I would like to go back a ways here..... Just in case anyone missed this.

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/oilwar1.html

[john]

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/02/24/business/wind-turbine-project-boosts-lincoln-economy/

The comments are priceless.

[Barbara Durkin]

Indeed, John, NStar rejects the 2nd half of Cape Wind energy as Jim Gordon meets the same people going down the ladder as he did going up the ladder.

Cost, I agree, is THE key issue.

"Like the proverbial vampire who fears daylight, basic economics
is the last thing Cape Wind’s proponents wish to see applied
to the project."

Jonathan A. Lesser Ph.D.

Dr. Lesser's Winter 2010-2011 article is Peer-reviewed and journal-published.

Lesser, J., “Gresham’s Law of Green Energy,” Regulation, Winter 2010-2011:

"High-cost subsidized renewable resources destroy jobs and hurt consumers."

http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/regv33n4/regv33n4-3.pdf

Shenanigans float Cape Wind, blessed by the ratepayer advocate, Mass AG Martha Coakley.

Mass Department of Public Utilities Notice of Filing Public Hearing 10-54 misrepresents Cape Wind contract cost as a product of 130 wind turbines, with 1/2 energy sold to National Grid. Tax Credit ITC and Production Tax Credit PTC are received in the contract valuation of $18.7 cents per kWh. However, the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) can each only be taken in lieu of the other. Cape Wind double-dipped federal stimulus to offset the high cost to the public. IRS rules do not allow this practice of receiving both the PTC and the ITC. Evidence provided in FERC complaint EL11-9. Even while caught double dipping, the players continue this charade that falsely surpresses the cost of Cape Wind energy:

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100605/NEWS11/100609861

Consider Obama committed $50 million for offshore wind energy.....

While...China Guodian & UPC Jointly Invested RMB 10 Billion in Wind Power
Date:2011-01-21
http://www.ciipp.com/en/index/view-285517.html (to the right of the UPC link you provided).

Thanks for your great information, John.

[john]

Just in case you missed this the New Hampshire house has voted to get out of the RGGI.

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110224/GJNEWS02/702249682/-1/CITNEWS

This has peeved of the administration and an article has already appeared about how much the Portsmouth shipyard generates to the Maine (and N.H. economy). You may remember when Senate Majority leader G. Mitchell (D) Maine got Bushes feathers ruffled.... as punishment he closed or downsized Maine military bases (Loring) as punishment... This is Obamas' warning shot for Maine and NH not to proceed in efforts to deal with the (rggi etc.) scam.

Maybe, if the DB and you are willing, you could do a guest article about the financial end of this situation. Thanks.

[john]

Also do you know that Quebecs Hydroelectric Power does NOT qualify for Renewable Energy Credits?

http://www.electricityforum.com/news/mar10/MaineconsidersimpactofHydroQuebec.html

[snip]

For its part, Hydro-Quebec said that its wind capacity, aside from about 150 megawatts for Massachusetts and Connecticut, is for Quebec consumption, and hydroelectric power like that in Hydro-Quebec's portfolio does not qualify for valuable renewable energy certificates, or RECs, traded in New England.

[john]

@ Barbara, I came across this

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0618/breaking50.html?via=rel&sms_ss=twitter&at_xt=4d67bb5424c683c9%2C0

is this UPC the same or related to the other UPC? I remember when Enron was getting into the broadband business just before they failed.

[Barbara Durkin]

You asked, John :) Yes. UPC Broadband, Ireland is UPC Caffyn. Wind energy and broadband were Enron's "black box" according to Robert Bradley; and pipelines was a "legitimate" business for Enron. I asked.

Brian Caffyn was the founder and inaugural Chairman of UPC Wind. Mr. Caffyn is also listed as the owner and chairman of UPC Broadband. Paul Gaynor CEO and President of First Wind is listed as the Executive Vice President of UPC Broadband.

Background on Enron's Broadband Division from LA Times 2005 (snippets)

Video Shows Enron's Skilling Touting Broadband Division
April 27, 2005
Associated Press
"Jurors Tuesday watched video snippets of former Enron Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey K. Skilling painting a rosy picture of the company's broadband business to pleased Wall Street analysts more than five years ago."

"The five are accused of lying to Wall Street and investors about the capabilities of Enron's broadband network to boost the company's stock.

The government showed the videos to corroborate a contention by Kenneth Rice, former head of the broadband unit, that he, Skilling and four of the defendants lied about the network's capabilities at a 2000 analyst conference.

Rice, a key prosecution witness who pleaded guilty to securities fraud last year, said the executives knew the network wasn't up and running, nor could it perform certain tasks that would differentiate it from competitors, such as allowing customers to reserve bandwidth before using it.

Rice said that he, Skilling, former broadband co-CEO Joseph Hirko and others touted it as being ready to enter the then-competitive broadband market.

Rice said executives knew analysts might question Enron's venture into broadband when the company was known for energy trading and pipelines."

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/27/business/fi-enron27

http://www.bizshark.com/company/upc.edu

From this above link:

Summary for upc.edu:

UPC Broadband is a Pan-European Communications company owned by Liberty Global and is active in several European countries providing bundled cable television, internet and telephone services. UPC was founded in the Netherlands, originally as United Philips Cable and later ...

Name Title
Brian CAFFYN Owner and Chairman
Paul GAYNOR Executive Vice President
Evelyn CARPENTER Vice President, Environmental Affairs
Rudolph Regter Director Online
Mike Goodwin Director Project Development Northeast Region

UPC Broadband - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPC_Broadband

From this link:
UPC Broadband is a Pan-European Communications company owned by Liberty Global and is active in several European countries providing bundled cable television, internet and telephone services.

UPC was founded in the Netherlands, originally as United Philips Cable and later Pan-Europe Communications, before being bought out by Liberty Global. UPC serves about 6.6 million analogue cable television subscribers in 12 countries of Europe, and is the absolutely dominant provider in countries like the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic. UPC has previously had operations in France, Sweden and Norway but these business units have been sold off.

In Ireland, UPC have approximately 1,769,292 customers or 41.7%, [1][2]

In 2005, Liberty Global Europe bought the Romanian communications company Astral Telecom for $420 million, the Swiss communications company Cablecom for CHF2.8 billion, and the Slovenian communications company UPC Telemach for EUR71 million. In 2007 UPC Telemach also bought 66.7%[3] of Ljubljanski kabel (major competition in Ljubljana) and grew its market share to 40% in Slovenia.

Liberty Global's European operations is divided into two business units, UPC Broadband and Chello, or Chellomedia; which is also a very large media provider on the European continent.

Companies in the UPC unit:

Cablecom Switzerland
UPC Austria
UPC Belgium/Telenet
UPC Czech Republic
UPC Hungary
UPC Ireland
UPC Netherlands
UPC Poland
UPC Romania
UPC Broadband Slovakia

The documentary: Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, notes that Enron Broadband Services imploded.. note former finance chief for Enron broadband division "sentenced"...

Enron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ePowerOnline (customer interface for Enron Broadband Services); Enron Direct (sales of fixed-price contracts for gas and electricity; Europe only) ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron - 11 hours ago - Cached - Similar

Ex-Enron broadband figure given home confinement | Business ...
Nov 2, 2009 ... The former finance chief for Enron's broadband division was sentenced Monday to one year of probation — nine months of that under home ...

Enron Lives!

—Robert L. Bradley is CEO of the Institute for Energy Research and a blogger at Master-Resource.org. His new book, Capitalism at Work: Business, Government, and Energy, is inspired by the rise and fall of Enron. [cut] continue reading:

http://www.masterresource.org/2009/12/power-politics-enron-lives/#more-6063

From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Gaynor was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PSG International, a pipeline development company owned by GE Capital and Bechtel Enterprises. PSG developed, financed, built, owned, and operated gas, oil, and water pipeline systems across the globe.

http://www.firstwind.com/aboutFirstWind/team_gaynor.cfm

Rice said executives knew analysts might question Enron's venture into broadband when the company was known for energy trading and pipelines."
http://articles.latimes.com/2005/apr/27/business/fi-enron27

I'm not prepared for a guest article for B.D. on RGGI cost, presently. I'm focused on Cape Wind Construction Operation Plan and offshore Request for Interest, and FERC EL-11-9 activities. The fishermen, Tribes, and wildlife issues related to this insane precedent have my full attention. If you'll collaborate, I'll take a rain check :) Thanks for your gesture of confidence.

[john]

THANK YOU..... I may try to get in touch privately in a couple of weeks. I am located "somewhere" on the south shore. I really appreciate you helping out and look forward to hearing from you here!

[Barbara Durkin]

I look forward to talking with you, John. Thank you for sharing your resources and opinions. I appreciate your time and talents.

I'll be back :)

Barbara

[john]

Barbara, did you see this?

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ma-court-of-appeals/1015872.html

[john]

Barb.... It looks like a certain company has just scrubbed an enron reference regarding their 'management team' from their website....

[john]

Barbara, FYI.... my great grandmother was a penobscot ; )

[john]

Looks like Zero Hedge has been keeping an eye out on De Shaw/ Larrry Summers...

http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-white-house-in-de-shaws-pocket.html

I tried to get an acct at Zero Hedge awhile back but never heard back from them, I wonder if the know about this

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060504005949&newsLang=en

and then all of the rest as posted in this entire thread that is still developing new information.. They would most certainly be interested in who has been getting all of that money......

[john]

H&K is a propaganda outlet...The push for war with libya (and everywhere else) is to further wall street and the presidents agenda..........

http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/energy/2011/02/24/mideast-unrest-roils-oil-market/

[snip]

Surging oil prices usually bring a fresh look at renewables too, so green energy companies should be prepared to seize the moment. Companies involved in alternative fuels such solar and wind can use this time of high oil prices to once again showcase their offerings.
This would also be an opportune time for oil companies to press for Gulf of Mexico drilling permits, long stymied by the ghost of Macondo.
Times of unrest often call for times of new beginnings.

[john]

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/maine-Wind-projects-jobs-spending-.html

then this pops right up after the above story..........

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/maine-record-hill-wind-farm-federal-department-of-energy-loan-guarantee.html

Guess whos' son (and namesake) works for First Wind and not the Old Man? High end welfare???

It is indeed a Friday news cycle.....

[john]

Furthermore....

Guess who holds patent for carbon-trading plan

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=168077

[hint]

Disgraced Fannie Mae CEO set to cash in for millions

[john]

Obama makes contribution to his own re-election campaign

http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-record-hill-wind-farm-federal-department-of-energy-loan-guarantee.html

read story and then look at these 2 comments.

So lets get this straight : first the Concerned Citizens of Roxbury spent thousand of dollars trying to prove that King and Gardiner do not meet the necessary requirements of financial capacity to the DEP , BEP and Law court and to the PUC who had to deliver a permit for the transmission Interconnect that King and Gardiner had to finance by law as well .

All those regulatory agencies are satisfied with King and Gardiner so called proof of financial capacity !( except for the Law Court whose decision we are still waiting for

And now it is again the taxpayers who have to guarantee a project that is obviously impossible to finance privately !

First we fight to demonsrtate they they do NOT have financial capacity, then we loose ,then obviously we were right and now they have the gumption to ask for our miserable tax dollars to secure their loans , for a project that is neither necessary, neither convenient , neither reliable and profoundly despised by many local residents ,

If having a conscience is what separated men from beast , I will trust my dog Charlie more than the principals of Record Hill LLC and the members of the agencies who gave them their permit on the basis of acceptable financial capacity .

A company only needs a guarantee if the market feels that that a borrower is a bad credit risk , and that is why the Taxpayers money comes to play .
If any of you remember how poor of a risk analyst this government has been in allocating stimulus funds, you can imagine how deeply they want industrial wind power to litter the Maine landscape ,
The entrenched so called progressives (Chellie Pingree and her boyfriend Donald Sussman, Obama, Soros, NRCM, Yale, Harvard, Baldacci, Angus King) are laughing all the way to the bank and in their intellectual circles, realizing how easy it is to manipulate rural Mainers into giving up the beauty and tranquillity of their landscape.

I hope the rural folks will rise up against this dictatorial abuse.

Monique Aniel MD
co chair of the CTFWP


doggonit 44 minutes ago in reply to moniqueaniel

The gift that keeps on giving......

http://www.boston.com/news/pol...

[john]

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/03/25/business/law-court-rejects-appeal-of-oakfield-wind-site-permit/

Just in....

Had to go to china to get this....

Former Enron executive gets two years' probation for insider trading

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english2010/

OK, Evergreen (or whoever) closed a plant in massachusetts (subsidized) and moved to china. Then DE Shaw (think Larry Summers) enters into the scene in India.........

[john]

For the record (read comments)

http://dailybail.com/home/jon-stewart-nbc-news-was-too-busy-explaining-lol-and-muffin.html

and this.

http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4008/Hawaii-Wind-Developer-tied-to-Largestever-asset-seizure-by-antiMafia-police.aspx

[john]

For the record.....

http://dailybail.com/home/kpmg-supporting-ges-tax-strategy-for-102-years.html

see comments.

[john]

GE selects contractor to dredge PCBs from Hudson

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP8711cd40c82e484a8cbc3e52e1a26873.html


GE Plan Will Tap Solar Power

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704013604576248581703500362

[john]

Brought to you again by 'the smartest guys in the room'....

Evergreen Solar Faces Major Financial Challenge In Mass.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/04/28/evergreen-solar-faces-major-financial-challenge-in-mass/

[snip]

Analyst Theodore O’Neil at Wunderlich Securities says Evergreen may have enough cash on hand to only operate another 3 months.

O’Neil tells me international subsidies for solar are being cut amid tougher competition as the Chinese ramp up production of lower priced solar units.

Note: They moved their operation to China.

[john]

More name changes.....

Flashback:

UPC Wind Announces Name Change to First Wind

http://www.pr-inside.com/upc-wind-announces-name-change-to-r567280.htm

Update:

First Wind to partner with two Canadian companies

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/04/30/business/first-wind-to-partner-with-two-canadian-companies/

[snip]

First Wind and Northeast Wind will create an unnamed operating company that will own First Wind’s wind farms on the East Coast, according to a statement from First Wind, Algonquin and Emera.

[john]

For the record...

http://xml.truveo.com/rd?i=3228263034&a=af6f670b39b1121cf54358467c12e869&p=3&h=4dc7ff7e5a4114:167b315e3d58af5f42136c5758509ed6

[john]

http://bangordailynews.com/2011/06/05/business/maine-maritimes-corp-announces-management-changes/

[john]

Certain new disappears..........

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/maine-and-maritimes-corporation/index.html

I know this is a huge news item. look up stock quote MAM.

[john]

NEW JERSEY TO KEEP $102 MILLION IN RGGI DIVORCE SETTLEMENT

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2011/06/02/2455/

[snip]

For better or worse, New Jersey can keep the $102 million it collected from CO-2 cap-and-trade auctions as part of its divorce from the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

In an written release, RGGI acknowledged its nine remaining states “will each recognize…all New Jersey…allowances in circulation,” plus the carbon dioxide permits to be sold in the next auction on June 8.

[john]

Rockefellers’ 1Sky Unveils the New 350.org | More $ – More Delusion

http://politicalcontext.org/sci-tech/2011/04/rockefellers-1sky-unveils-the-new-350-org-more-more-delusion/

Note: Just following the money....

[DailyBail]

and you do a great job of doing just that john...following the money...your work around here is appreciated and awesome...

[john]

RGGI MARKET CRASHES AS CARBON AUCTION HITS ALL-TIME LOW

http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2011/06/10/2635/

[snip]

Demand for carbon allowances plummeted to an all-time low this week at the quarterly auction of the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The numbers are striking – and raise serious questions about the viability of RGGI, the nation’s only mandatory CO-2 cap and trade program:

■RGGI managed to sell just 30 percent of the allowances, or permits, it offered for sale.
■The auction raised only $25 million, a fraction of the record high of $117 million set two years ago.
■The price per allowance was $1.89, the minimum allowed by RGGI.

@DB....Thanks and my pleasure ; )

[john]

Romney's Getting Compliments from Al Gore Now, Too

http://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110615/pl_atlantic/nowromneysgettingcomplimentsalgoretoo38869

Note: Obamacare (modeled after mass health), Carbon Credits Trading, RGGI, Enron..... Mitt was involved in all as Governor of MA.. and had been caught twice employing landscaping firms who employed illegal aliens.

[john]

PDF of Dr. amd Rep Brouns' letter to the IPCC.

http://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/061711_Broun%20Letter%20to%20UN%20re%20IPCC%20Conflict%20of%20Interest.pdf

NOTE: Scroll down to the bottom and read the last attachment that the IPCC got!

Hint: a copy of a certain e-mail..........

[john]

NASA’s Hansen asked to account for outside activities

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/06/21/nasas-hansen-asked-to-account-for-outside-activities/

[snip]

ATI Law Center Asks Court to Force NASA to Produce Ethics-Related, Outside Employment Records of Dr. James Hansen

[john]

Google: delay on renewables will cost U.S. trillions, over million jobs

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/google-delay-on-renewables-will-cost-us-trillions-over-million-jobs/7371

Note: Al Gore is an advisor to google with interests in the enrgy and green sector.


Google hires 12 lobby firms in wake of FTC probe

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/01/us-google-lobbyists-idUSTRE76056T20110701

[snip]

The 12 newly hired lobbying companies are Akin, Gump; Bingham; Capitol Legislative Strategies; Chesapeake Group; Crossroad Strategies; Gephardt Group; Holland & Knight; Normandy Group; Prime Policy; The First Group; The Madison Group; and The Raben Group.

"We have a strong story to tell about our business and we've sought out the best talent we can find to help tell it," the spokeswoman said.

Google, which has an office in Washington, previously hired six other lobbying firms: Crowell Strategies, Dutko Worldwide, Franklin Square Group, McBee Strategic Consulting, Podesta Group, and RB Murphy & Associates, according to government filings.....

......The firms will be working on the FTC investigation as well as on several other issues that Google is interested in, the spokeswoman said.

[john]

Sol Sanders | Follow the Money No. 73 | Obama energy strategy: one part black magic, two parts propaganda

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/sol-sanders-follow-money-no-73-obama-energy-strategy-one-part-black-magic-two-parts-propagan

[Johnney Utah]

There may not be a magic want solution, but we can at least start small. I have a 1kWatt wind turbine in my back yard, which is slowly starting to pay for itself, and solar panels for a lot of my small appliances. Until I can get a fusion reactor in my basement, these solutions are working quite nicely.

[john]

Thunderstorm damages wind turbines in Lincoln County

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/07/06/lincoln-county-storm/

[snip]

The storm damaged wind turbines near the town of Lake Benton. said Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Jeanna Sommers. She says one machine appears a total loss.

"One-third of the top of it is bent down," Sommers said. "Blades are completely off of it."

Sommers says the storm damaged other nearby turbines as well. Some are missing blades. On others, strong winds tore from the top of the tower the hood that protects the turbine and electronic equipment housed inside.

[john]

CHART: Energy Costs And Recessions 1973-2009

http://dailybail.com/home/chart-energy-costs-and-recessions-1973-2009.html#comments

Nice chart and I have significant comments in this story due to the full frontal assault by Al Gore and his minions.

[john]

BREAKING:

“Covert” Operations by East Anglia’s CRU

http://climateaudit.org/2011/07/14/covert-operations-by-east-anglias-cru/

[snip]

Today brings news of the arrest of the managing director of a firm hired by the University of East Anglia’s CRU (Climatic Research Unit) to carry out “covert” operations – h/t reader Chu here). Neil Wallis of Outside Organisation was arrested today in connection with the spreading News of the World scandal.

[john]

The Wind Power Paradox: BENTEK Analysis Shows CO2 Savings Through Wind Power Are Either So Minimal As To Be Irrelevant or Too Expensive To Be Practical

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110719007251/en/Wind-Power-Paradox-BENTEK-Analysis-Shows-CO2

[snip]

EVERGREEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For years the wind energy industry and numerous state and federal politicians have claimed that increasing the use of wind power to produce electricity will result in huge reductions in CO2 and other emissions. These claims rest on the results of dispatch models that predict not only emissions, but also fuel costs and generation levels for individual utilities and utility grids. A new Market Alert from BENTEK Energy, The Wind Power Paradox, presents findings that show these claims to be significantly overstated and that actual CO2 reductions are either so small as to be insignificant or too expensive to be practical.

[john]

UN security council to consider climate change peacekeeping

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/20/un-climate-change-peacekeeping

[snip]

“The security council should join the general assembly in recognising climate change as a threat to international peace and security. It is a threat as great as nuclear proliferation or global terrorism,” Marcus Stephen, the president of Nauru, wrote in a piece in the New York Times.

“Second, a special representative on climate and security should be appointed. Third, we must assess whether the United Nations system is itself capable of responding to a crisis of this magnitude.”

[john]

MUST READ: 3 part energy reort.


Exhausting the Reserve Fund: The Big Picture of the Limits to Big Government (Part I)

http://www.masterresource.org/2011/07/exhausting-reserve-fund-i/

[snip]

The economic crisis through which the United States and much of the rest of the world are now passing is not another supposed instance of the “failure” of unrestrained capitalism. It is the failure of the government’s own policies. In other words, it is a crisis of the Interventionist State.

The recession has been the inevitable outcome of the prior artificial investment boom and housing bubble, which were caused by the misguided and highly expansionary monetary policy of the Federal Reserve between 2003 and 2008. The money supply was increased by nearly 50 percent during this five-year period, and key interest rates, when adjusted for inflation, were at or below zero.....


Exhausting the Reserve Fund: The Big Picture of the Limits to Big Government (Part II)

http://www.masterresource.org/2011/07/exhausting-reserve-fund-ii/

[snip]

Editor Note: Dr. Ebeling’s two-part post (Part I yesterday) provides the necessary background to understand how debt reduction is driving energy policy. Regarding the budget fight, E&E News (see Appendix) reported yesterday: “As the proverbial eleventh hour looms for the nation’s maxed-out debt limit, this week brings energy-policy battles of all sizes — from how to divide offshore-drilling revenue to the lessons gleaned from recent oil spills — that will play out amid the larger fiscal showdown.”


Part 3:

Ending Windpower Subsidies for Deficit Reduction (failed promises have consequences)

http://www.masterresource.org/2011/07/windpower-deficit-reduction/

Wind proponents have again and again touted their technology’s coming viability. For example, Chris Flavin of the Worldwatch Institute said back in the 1984: “”Tax credits have been essential to the economic viability of wind farms so far, but will not be needed within a few years.” (2) More such promises have been made over the decades.

Yet for all the promises made, we have little to show for the money spent. Consider these points: