Sustainable Tucson: The Economic Imperative of Energy Efficiency, Dec. 9

Sustainable Tucson is hosting a four-part series on sustainability and energy efficiency. The next event is Monday, Dec. 9. Here is the information from Sustainable Tucson.

"The Economic Imperative of Energy Efficiency: Leading Tucson to More Jobs and a Robust Economy While Mitigating Climate Change" 

Monday, December 9th, 6:00 to 8:00 pm 

At Joel D. Valdez Main Library, Lower Level Meeting Room, (doors open at 5:30) 

101 N. Stone, Downtown (free lower level parking off Alameda St)

This month, Sustainable Tucson brings international expertise and vision to our community to understand how our region can move to a much more energy-efficient economy while enabling a 100% renewable-energy-powered, and a more vibrant economy.

Tucson’s regional power system and economy can be planned to produce a vibrant economy AND mitigate the worst effects of climate change. In fact the components that can make this happen work in concert. Sustainable Tucson is proud to present two speakers with backgrounds and experience in transitioning from a carbon-intensive economy to one anchored by energy efficiency and powered by renewable energy.

John A. "Skip" Laitner is a resource economist who leads a team of consultants with his own group, Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates based in Tucson, Arizona. He served nearly 10 years as a senior economist for technology policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He won EPA's Gold Medal award for his contributions to economic impact assessments evaluating climate change policies. More recently, he led the Economic and Social Analysis Program for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a well-known think tank based in Washington, D.C. He has just returned from France where he works as the senior economist for a regional initiative that proposes to reduce energy requirements by half with renewable energy technologies powering all remaining energy needs.
Matthew T. McDonnell, J.D. is a regulatory and policy analyst with Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates. He has previous experience in the renewable energy finance industry and the utility regulatory process. He has worked with former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Paul Newman, providing policy analysis; and he has given testimony before the ACC. As a consultant, Mr. McDonnell has advised clients on a variety of energy projects including independent review of generation options analysis, prospects for municipalization, as well as, regulatory issues involved with the transmission and sale of electricity--in both FERC and ACC jurisdictions. Mr. McDonnell's clients have ranged from municipalities and energy firms, to public utilities and stakeholder groups.

Doors open at 5:30 pm. The meeting will begin promptly at 6:00 pm

Climate Smart Southwest: Are YOU Ready for Climate Change?

Is it hot enough for ya?

In the coming years, as temperatures rise, weather patterns evolve, and plant and animal species become extinct, that wry, old country greeting will lose it’s quaint humor. Thanks to global warming.

The Southwest is already the hottest and driest part of the US. And our region is already experiencing longer and more intense heat waves, a dramatic spike in forest fires and severe dust storms, and changes in rainfall and seasonal snowmelt. These changes threaten water resources, food security, and public health.  As extreme weather events continue to increase, we will see higher rates of heat stress, newly emerging infectious diseases, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses.

How will the Sonoran Desert change as climate change progresses? Will we have enough water? What will our air quality be like if Arizona’s dirty coal-fired power plants continue to balk at environmental regulations?  How will Arizona cope with rolling brown outs if electrical demand spikes? How will Tucson’s vulnerable populations fare with more days over 100 degrees? What can we do NOW to lessen the impact of climate change on our fragile environment?

This coming weekend, Sept. 20-21, the Arizona Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is sponsoring an important conference for us desert dwellers: Climate Smart Southwest, Ready or Hot? 

Rep. Grijalva on Need to Address Climate Change - House Floor, April 2013

Southern Arizona Congressman says the flow of the Colorado River-- the "life blood of Arizona"-- will be reduced by 30% by 2050.

"We need proactive solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change," Grijalva said.

Grijalva Leads House Committee Fight Against Keystone XL Pipeline

Watch Southern Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva debunks claims related to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"There will be no lasting impact on the energy independence question for the American people," he said.

How progressive is Tucson?

Tucson has a reputation of being Arizona's hotbed of liberal thought, old hippie ideas, great music, and eclectic art, but how progressive is Tucson?

Pretty darn progressive...

- Recently 341 Pima County residents were elected as precinct committee people (PCs). These volunteers represent the Democratic Party's ground game. They show up to walk, they make phone calls for candidates, and they donate to candidates and issues. Of the 341 newly elected PCs, 81 or 24% are affiliated with Progressive Democrats of America's (PDA) Tucson Chapter. This includes six of the eight people who serve on the PDA Tucson Steering Committee (some of whom are pictured here with other PDA state and national leaders.)

- Tucson's PDA Chapter is the largest in the state, and one of the largest in the country.

- PDA Tucson has sponsored or partnered with others to support public events related to the People's Budget 1,2,3 (as opposed to the military-industrial complex's budget), union busting, single payer healthcare, public banking,open primaries, clean elections and the end of Citizens' United, job creation by promoting local business, the Robin Hood Tax, corporate personhood, theOccupy movement, immigration reform and the end of SB1070, and other Main Street issues.

- PDA Tucson is bringing progressive issues to local candidates through the Brown Bag Lunch Program.

- PDA Tucson is partnering with Tucson MoveOn and The Screening Room to create the first-ever Tucson Progressive Film Festival, October 26-28.

If you want to learn more about this burgeoning progressive movement or be added to our mailing list, check out PDA Tucson's blog or Facebook page or the PDA national website.

You can be the change you want.

This post originally appeared on Blog for Arizona.

Tucson Progressive Film Festival: Buy advanced tickets on Pay Pal

Lights! Camera! Progressive Action! 

The Tucson Progressive Film Festival

Oct. 26 - 28, 2012

The Screening Room
127 E. Congress St.
Tucson, AZ  85701
Price:  $8/film, $10/ individual day pass, $15/entire festival

PDA Tucson, Tucson MoveOn, and The Screening Room are teaming up to bring you the first-ever Tucson Progressive Film Festival, over the weekend of October 26-28. Six films on topics ranging from corporate personhood and money in politics to environment will be shown over the weekend. With the festival pass, you get all five films for $15.

You can buy advanced day passes or weekend passes (obviously the best deal) by clicking the Pay Pal "Buy Now" link below. Tickets also will be available for purchase at The Screening Room during the festival.

RSVP to the Tucson Progressive Film Festival and keep up to date with festival news by "liking" PDA Tucson and the film fest on Facebook. 

Options

Friday Pass $8.00 USD Saturday Pass $10.00 USD Sunday Pass $10.00 USD Festival Pass $15.00 USD

Exposing the Buried Costs of Energy

Check out the Social Justice Forum on uranium and coal mining on Navajo Nation and Hopi lands this Thursday, February 23 at the University of Arizona.

Return of the Navajo Boy starts at 3 PM in Crowder Hall at the School of Music. The second movie-- Power Paths-- is at 6 PM at the Center for Creative Photography - both on the University of Arizona Main Campus. You can park on the North side of Speedway and walk under Speedway to the music school.

Critical Time to Get Active for Energy Standards

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) is the elected arm of government that regulates how utilities manage their billing, their projects and their support for transition to a renewable energy environment and more energy efficiency in both production and use. Arizona has had some of the most aggressive standards in our nation for energy efficiency, the EES, (22% improvement by 2020) and for renewable energy goals, the RES (15% increase by 2025). We can be proud of these standards. But they are under siege.

The current, conservative Republican dominated, commission has allowed considerable slippage in the requirements of the utilities to meet these standards. The standards are achieved by creating incentives to consumers to become more efficient and to install renewable energy sources, like solar power, on our homes. Our utilities have proposals in the works to significantly lower their rebate rates for solar installations and to decrease their efforts in promoting energy efficiency. This is a travesty. These are the major things that we can do as individuals to help redress climate change within our communities. Our future and our childrens' futures are at stake.

So here are some things that you can do this week:

1.   Participate in a workshop at the ACC this Friday, January 6, 2012, hosted by
Commissioner Paul Newman, on "Presentations and discussions regarding deregulating
the Electricity Market - Understanding the Full Economic Perspective and Consequences,
Including Externalities".
START TIME: 10:00 a.m., Hearing Room, Arizona Corporation Commission,
at 1200 West Washington, 1st Floor, Phoenix, Arizona 85007, or watch in on line.

2.  Attend the next public hearing of the ACC on January 10, 2012 at the same location & speak in
favor of no changes or greater efforts on behalf of the utilities to promote renewable energy and
energy efficiency. If you can't go, you can call in your comments during the meeting.
Call Shaylin Bernal at (602) 542-3931 for instructions on calling.

3.  Write a letter to each of the 5 commissioners at the ACC and ask them to support and expand
funded efforts in support of energy efficiency. Address is above.

This is a great and very important opportunity for us as citizens to participate very directly in government decision making. Let's make the most of it!

Richard Heinberg: Why the end of growth can mean more happiness

Inspiring video on sustainability and life with less.

From YouTube...

Richard Heinberg- whose latest book describes The End of Growth- isn't looking for when the recession will end and we'll get back to "normal". He believes our decades-long era of growth was based on aberrant set of conditions- namely cheap oil, but also cheap minerals, cheap food, etc- and that looking ahead, we need to prepare for a "new normal".

The problem, according to Heinberg, is our natural resources just aren't so cheap and plentiful anymore, and he's not just talking about Peak Oil, Heinberg believes in Peak Everything (also the title of one of his books).

Heinberg thinks for many, adjusting to a life where everything costs a bit more, could be very hard, but he also thinks the transition to a new normal might actually make life better.

"Particularly in the Western industrialized countries we've gotten used to levels of consumption that are not only environmentally unsustainable, they also don't make us happy. They've in fact hollowed out our lives. We've given up things that actually do give us satisfaction and pleasure so that we can work more and more hours to get more and more money with which to buy more and more stuff- more flatscreen tvs, bigger SUVs, bigger houses and it's not making us happier. Well, guess what, it's possible to downsize, it's possible to use less, become more self sufficient, grow more of your own food, have chickens in your backyard and be a happier person."

This is not all theoretical. In the backyard of the home Heinberg shares with his wife, Janet Barocco, the couple grow most of their food during the summer months (i.e. 25 fruit & nut trees, veggies, potatoes.. they're just lack grains), raise chickens for eggs, capture rainwater, bake with solar cookers and a solar food drier and secure energy with photovoltaic and solar hot water panels.

Their backyard reflects Heinberg's vision for our "new normal" and it's full of experiments, like the slightly less than 120-square-foot cottage that was inspired by the Small Home Movement. It was built with the help of some of Heinberg's college students (in one of the nation's first sustainability classes) using recycled and natural materials (like lime plaster).

Heinberg admits it's not a real tiny house experiment since they don't actually live in it- his wife uses it as a massage studio, he meditates there and sometimes it's used as a guest house (though that's hush hush due to permitting issues). But their tiny cottage points to the bigger point behind why a transition to a less resource intensive future could equal greater happiness.

"Simplify. Pay less attention to all of the stuff in your life and pay more attention to what's really important. Maybe for you it's gardening, maybe for you it's painting or music. You know we all have stuff that gives us real pleasure and most of us find we have less and less time for that because we have to devote so much time to shopping, paying bills and driving from here to there and so on. Well, how about if we cut out some of that stuff and spend more time doing what really feeds us emotionally and spiritually and in some cases even nutritionally."

Election Day in Tucson: Please vote

Today-- Tuesday, November 8-- is Election Day. This year the Tucson City Council passed a resolution allowing an all-mail-in ballot. If you still have your mail-in ballot, you can deliver it to a number of polling places around the city, but it's too late to mail it.

Ballots must be delivered to one of these locations by 7 p.m. tonight.

If you're still undecided, here is some background information from the Tucson Citizen.

After the August primary, the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter e-mailed questionnaires to all of the candidates still left standing– Grinnell, Rothschild, and DeCamp in the mayor’s race, and Republicans Jennifer Rawson and Tyler Vogt, Green Beryl Baker, and Democratic incumbents Shirley Scott, Paul Cunningham, and Regina Romero for City Council. The 20 questions were based upon PDA’s core issues: economic and social justice, corporate personhood, universal healthcare, global warming and the environment, fair and transparent elections, and end the wars/redirect the funding.

PDA didn’t really expect the Republicans to answer our questions, and they didn’t. But we were really surprised when none of the Democratic incumbents for City Council answered them either. Only three candidates took the time to answer our questionnaire–Rothschild, DeCamp, and Baker.

Both Rothschild and DeCamp also agreed to personal interviews with 2-3 PDA Steering Committee members. Each of the interviewers scored the questions independently with a possible 2 points for each question for a total of 40 points for a perfect score (ie, the candates’ responses were well-aligned with PDA’s stance on core issues); partial responses received 1 point; and off-the-mark, woefully incomplete, or unanswered responses received 0 points.

In the end, with surprising consistency across the interviewers, the composite scores were: Rothschild 29 and DeCamp 26 (pretty darn close for a mainstream candidate vs a green).

For additional details about the candidates' answers to PDA's questionnaire and analysis regarding their similarities and differences, click here. For background on Grinnell--the Republican candidate for mayor and definitely not a progressive choice-- click here.

Grijalva Speaks Out on Potential Cuts to EPA (video)

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva on Solar Energy

CD7 Congressman Raul Grijalva addresses solar energy and solar jobs in Tucson.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED - DON'T REPEAL THE ARIZONA CLEAN CARS PROGRAM !!!!

Please take action! Tell Governor Brewer to reduce air pollution!

Next Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 2 p.m. the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) – 1110 W. Washington St. – Phoenix -will be holding a public hearing to seek repeal of the Clean Cars Program.  With areas of our state not meeting air quality standards and other areas likely to cross that threshold soon, we need to be implementing, not repealing, every possible improvement to protect our air and our health.

The Clean Cars Program, which as you are likely aware, limits health damaging pollution from automobiles.  The Program is known to pave the way for the widespread introduction of technologies like hybrid-electric and fuel-cell vehicles, direct-injection engines, advanced transmissions, improved air conditioning systems, and other technologies with the potential to reduce pollution. 

Cleaner cars not only reduce air pollution and decrease adverse public health impacts such as asthma attacks, but they save consumers money at the pump, which is particularly important as gas prices continue to fluctuate. 

Recently, in the American Lung Association of Arizona’s State of the Air report, Gila, Maricopa, Pinal, and Yuma Counties all received an “F” for ozone pollution.  Ozone is one of the most harmful byproducts of automobile emissions and puts people at risk for premature death, coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, decreased lung function, respiratory infection, lung inflammation and worsened lung diseases. 

Clearly, Arizona needs to do everything we reasonably can to reduce automobile emissions.  Under ADEQ’s leadership, Arizona and 13 other states -- over a third of the U.S. market – adopted the Clean Cars Program which helped lead to national policy.  Now, Governor Brewer and ADEQ argue that federal policy is only incrementally weaker than the policy Arizona adopted and we should follow the federal government on this one. 

Even with other measures and federal policy in place, it is necessary to pursue the Clean Cars Program in Arizona to reduce health-damaging pollution in our State.  In fact, Arizona should be moving towards the next round of Clean Car Standards which will provide even more significant air quality and public health protections.

Arizona should implement, not repeal, the Clean Cars Program.
--
Information provided by:
Diane E. Brown, Executive Director
Arizona PIRG (Arizona Public Interest Research Group)
www.arizonapirg.org

Goals and Work Plan for the Global Warming and Environment IOT in Tucson

The PDA IOT on Global Warming and the Environment in Tucson, Arizona seeks to educate, advocate politically and for the environment and work with others within a coalition of organizations in our community to pursue the goals of addressing climate change and assaults on our environment.  These are our working objectives and specific areas of emphasis.   Please consider joining our team and choose the areas of work that you might be most interested in pursuing.  It takes our village to make the changes!  Meanwhile, check out this excellent 5 minute video on the cause of our problems!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-J91SwP8w

1. Develop internal IOT Group education  
   A. Guest speaker on Arizona Corporation Commission's work and issues
   B. Tour of Tucson's coal burning electric power plant
   C. Provide materials on coal, clean air, nuclear power, solar energy and global warming
   D. Offer guest speaker on GW in the SW from UA for General PDA meeting
   E. Offer film series on GW and environmental, energy issues

2. Offer community and school education
   A. Identify materials and projects already in the community and collaborate
   B. Develop educational new tools on energy problems and solutions
   C. Organize volunteer corps of educators on GW and Energy concerns
   D. Prepare "Connect the Dots" presentation on Hidden Costs of Energy

3. Support Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
   A. Participate in City of Tucson's CC Committee as members or observers
   B. Advocate for adoption of the CC Plan for City of Tucson by City Council
   C. Offer education and outreach about the CC Plan

4. Support Energy Efficiency Advocacy
   A. Support to work of the Metropolitan Energy Commission on Energy Efficiency
   B. Help organize Energy Efficiency training workshops in our community

5.  Participate in Clean Air Act Advocacy
   A. Participate in on line political action alerts
   B. Participate in the 50 States United Lobbying in Washington DC
   C. Recruit others in the community to participate

6. Advocacy for Solar Power in Arizona 
   A. Participate in on line political action alerts supporting solar power
   B. Participate in local Solar 101 Workshops
   C. Recruit others in the community to participate

7. Advocate for regulation of energy waste/emmissions
    A. Participate in on line political action alerts  
    B. Participate in workshops on environmental ethics of coal waste
    C. Recruit others in the community to participate

8.  Work with Local Coalition Partners on Related Issues
    A. Respond to pollution action alerts by Audubon Society, Sierra Club
    B. Attend Tbreaks at the Audubon Society - re. environmental issues
    C. Support Hiroshima Day nuclear power protest - Nuclear Resister
    D. Attend WILPF/ASEH co-sponsored workshop on environmental ethics
    E. Testify on behalf of clean air for AZ Passenger Rail Plan for PIRG
    F. Participate in the Peace Fair organized by the Peace Center
    G. Work with Earth Justice on Clean Air Action and advocacy
    H. Support the work of the Tucson Metropolitan Energy Commission

9.  Support National PDA Connections and Advocacy 
   A. Participate in National PDA's monthly GW-IOT Conference calls
   B. Advocacy to oppose or strictly regulate hydrofracking for natural gas

10.  Offer Southern Arizona Workshop on Environmental Justice
   A. Organize community and UA based environmental groups to participate
   B. Plan workshop with AZ Rise and others
   C. Bring film producer and advocates for environmental justice to present
       Films: Return of Navajo Boy and Power Paths

PDA Tucson's Barbara Warren speaks out about coal-fired generation

Barbara Warren, MD, MPH (Photo credit: Earth Justice)

Barbara Warren, MD, MPH, head of PDA Tucson's Global Warming and Climate Change Issue organizing team, participated in Earth Justices' 50-state right to breathe project. In May, Warren and others traveled to Washington, DC and met with members of Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Obama Administration to lobby for strong protections against pollution.

Speaking out against the environment dangers of coal-fired generation, Warren says:

Coal ash sits in a heap in front of the electric power generating station in our community. Though it contains many toxic heavy metals, it is totally unregulated. I toured the electric power generating station and was horrified by the employees' denial of any harmful effects of burning coal.

I now know that coal ash contains mercury, lead, arsenic, and many other very toxic heavy metals. But most of us are not even informed about this risk and the presence of these toxic materials.

My children and grandchildren are exposed to these very toxic heavy metals—all so we can boil water to turn a turbine. This can be done much more safely! We need clean renewable energies and in the meantime, strict regulations on coal burning power plant emissions.
President Obama and our members of Congress have an obligation to empower the EPA to help us regulate the toxic emissions from coal burning power plants and from exposures to their toxic waste products, as well as the emissions of carbon pollution that threaten our very existence on this planet from global warming.

Our children and their children will inherit a nightmare if we do not! Is this our wish for them?

To hear what other progressives are saying about our right to breathe, check out the Earth Justice website here.

The Nation: How Climate Science Was Saved—For Now

From The Nation...

During the recent budget showdown, as House Republicans made their boldest effort yet—and failed, at least for now—to repeal mainstream climate science, Democratic Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts managed to find some dark comedy in the situation. It’s customary during legislative debates for members of Congress to preface their remarks with “I rise” in support of (or opposition to) the bill under consideration. As the GOP majority on the House Energy and Commerce committee prepared to pass a bill prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon pollution, Markey said that although he opposed the bill, “I won’t rise physically, because I’m worried that Republicans will overturn the law of gravity, sending us floating around the room.”

After provoking more chuckles by asking whether Republicans also planned to excommunicate Galileo’s finding that the earth revolves around the sun, Markey predicted that HR 910 would pass the full House but be “dead in the Senate.” And so it was. The House passed what environmentalists dubbed the Dirty Air Act on April 7, 255 to 172, with not a single Republican voting against. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, however, could muster only fifty votes for a similar measure, leaving Republicans ten votes short of a filibuster-proof majority.

For the rest of this article, click on this link to The Nation.