Transit backers' quest for financing may get results soon

From an article by Larry Sandler and Patrick Marley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Wisconsin's public transit supporters have their best chance in years to win long-sought funding for buses and proposed commuter trains.But that's no guarantee they'll get it - or that what they get will pay for everything they want.Heading into next year's state budget debates, key elements are in place to overhaul transit finance: the passage of a Milwaukee County advisory referendum seeking a local sales tax for transit and other services; growing support from legislators, Gov. Jim Doyle and the business community for buses and KRM Commuter Link trains; a sense of urgency that the cash-strapped Milwaukee County Transit System is running out of time; and a statewide coalition that reaches beyond southeastern...

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Congress for the New Urbanism meeting, Dec. 3

Congress for the New UrbanismCNU Wisconsin GroupInvites you to attend a great local opportunity to become involved in CNU and meet professionals and others with similar interests. Presenting: “New Urbanism and You” With Guest Speaker: Steve Filmanowicz, Communications Director, Congress for the New Urbanism Steve will speak about the benefits of walkable urban development, ranging from more livable communities, to reduced carbon emissions – plus, how CNU is working to remove the barriers that stand in the way of great neighborhoods and sound transportation systems. MILWAUKEE Wednesday, December 3, 2008 5pm (light snacks served) Office of Engberg Anderson Design Partnership 320 E. Buffalo - Corner of Milwaukee & Buffalo Streets, 53202 Take elevator to 5th Floor Doors open until 6pm Note:...

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Dependable transit vital to Milwaukee’s future

An opinion piece by Michael Grebe in The Business Joournal:As gas prices fluctuate and the economy trudges along, sustainable, dependable modes of transit will be critical to keeping our local economy from stagnating. If southeastern Wisconsin desires economic growth and prosperity for citizens, we must follow peer cities nationwide and invest in our current transit systems and new initiatives encouraging economic development in the region.The Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) must be properly funded so it can continue to provide critical service and access to jobs and educational opportunities in this community. Routes should be restored and frequency of buses increased. Continuing to cut funding and service to this system is an added blow to the populations hardest hit by these economic...

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Coal to sustain We Energies bills

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:The falling price of natural gas could result in a small refund to We Energies electricity customers early next year, but the Milwaukee utility is forecasting a big jump in the price of another fuel it uses in its power plants - coal.The utility is forecasting a jump of $100 million, or 25% in the amount of money it plans to spend on coal next year, utility spokesman Brian Manthey said.The key drivers of the higher cost: rises in market prices for coal and transportation expense by rail from Wyoming and Colorado. Also factoring in, to a lesser degree, Manthey said, is the need to buy more coal next year as the first of two new coal plants under construction in Oak Creek prepares to start generating power.Two months ago, the utility...

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US energy facts

Though accounting for only 5 percent of the world's population, Americans consume more than 21.7 percent of the world primary energy (2005). Total world energy consumption is a bit more than 462 quadrillion (1015) Btu and US consume almost 101 quadrillion (1015) Btu.The United States was self-sufficient in energy until the late 1950s when energy consumption began to outpace domestic production....

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Climate change a priority for Conservation Lobby Day, Feb. 25

From an announcement issued by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters:With a new legislative session comes new opportunities AND new Conservation Priorities! At the 11 Listening Sessions held around the state, local groups and citizens like YOU had a lot to say about which issues should be top priorities. In the end, only 4 can rise to the top. In 2009-2010, the conservation community will be fighting to make sure:+ Wisconsin adopts a strong statewide plan to tackle global warming. + Wisconsin returns to an Independent DNR Secretary and has timely DNR Board Appointments by the Senate. + Wisconsin develops a statewide plan to protect our drinking water. + Wisconsin creates standards for safe agricultural, industrial and municipal waste-spreading. . . .On February 25th, 2009, join citizens...

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MATC-Mequon dedicates wind turbine

From a media release issued by Milwaukee Area Technical College:A ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the erection of a wind turbine at Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Mequon Campus was held at the campus Nov. 12. The 160-foot tall unit with a blade diameter of 56 feet is the largest wind turbine on a college campus in the state. It is part of a sustainability initiative designed to educate students and the public about renewable energy technologies. . . .Located at the south end of the campus building, the 90-kilowatt, V-17 turbine is a remanufactured unit made in Denmark by Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of turbines. It does not feed electricity to We Energies but supplies power directly to the Mequon Campus. . It will directly provide about 8 percent of the campus’ electricity,...

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Easy to understand fact sheets on energy tax credit

The Web site awkwardly called the Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency hosts two useful fact sheets for any individual or business considering a renewable energy installation.Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit covers these eligible renewable enrgies and technologies: Solar Water Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, Other Solar Electric Technologies Business Energy Tax Credits covers these eligible renewable enrgies and technologies: Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Solar Thermal Electric, Solar Thermal Process Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal Electric, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, CHP/Cogeneration, Solar Hybrid Lighting, Direct Use Geothermal, Microturbi...

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RTA takes a good first step, but more is needed

From an opinion piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Cooperation among transit authority board members should be lauded, but many obstacles remain in keeping regional transit on track in southeastern Wisconsin.After a vote last week to resolve a funding issue for regional mass transit, members of the board of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transportation Authority broke into applause. It was well deserved.On a 6-1 to vote, members representing the cities and counties of Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee (one from each city and county, plus one appointed by the governor) agreed to ask the Legislature for authority to levy a sales tax of up to 0.5% for mass transit, including a commuter rail line, in the three counties.Considering the time and effort it took to get this far and the fact...

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Eligibility relaxed for energy-efficiency assistance

From a media release issued by Focus on Energy:More Wisconsin residents may now be eligible for Focus on Energy's assistance program which offers limited-income homeowners low-cost efficiency improvements to improve the comfort, safety and affordability of their homes. The assistance program called Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®, is now seeking applications from homeowners with incomes between 150-250 percent of the poverty level, which is a significant increase from the past maximum of 200 percent. To put the new maximum into perspective, a family of four's maximum eligible annual income increased to $53,000 from the previous $42,400. . . .Targeted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, is part of Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's energy efficiency and renewable energy program. Targeted...

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$16 nearly gets you the effect of a wind turbine in your backyard

From an article by Julie Lawrence at OnMilwaukee.comWhile new fuel efficient cars and home solar panels are some of the most powerful ways to reduce our carbon footprint, a $25,000 investment is usually out of the question for most college students who are already battling rapidly increasing education costs. But what about spending $16? Two University of Wisconsin student entrepreneurs say it can go further than you might think. Mechanical engineering major Ted Durkee and business partner Brandon Gador, a recent graduate of Madison's School of Business, launched Powered Green this past October to provide an economical way for anyone to support renewable energy. Their product, Energy Seal, is a recycled aluminum laptop sticker that funds carbon offsets. At $16, the cost of the sticker covers...

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Milwaukee company prez says biogas producers need buy-back rates that cover costs

A Clear Horizons' employee (in the red shirt) leads a tour of the biodigester on the Crave Brothers Farm near Waterloo. The bags along the low wall contain potting soil that includes fiberous material left after the digestion process.Michael Vickerman previously addressed the need for higher buy-back rates in two proceedings at the Public Service Commission -- the first in a rate case for Alliant Energy and the second in a WPS rate case. The rate issue ranks high on RENEW's agenda for the next two years.The excerpts below from a guest editorial by Richard R. Pieper Sr., chairman of Milwaukee's PPC Partners Inc., in The Capital Times re-enforces Vickerman's argument:I'm told the following: the world is going green and Wisconsin wants to grow...

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Transit board suggests sales tax for rail, buses for Kenosha, Milwaukee & Racine counties

From a story by David Steinkraus in The Journal Times (Racine):A group representing three local counties and the governor is proposing a sales tax of up to .5 percent to fund public transit.It’s easy to get lost in the details, but no one should ignore the magnitude of what happened on Monday morning, said Jody Karls, the city of Racine representative on the Regional Transit Authority.What the RTA voted to do on Monday was ask the state to make it the permanent transit oversight body for southeast Wisconsin and to give it power to levy local sales taxes of up to 0.5 percent in each member area. That tax would fund the extension of Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail service from Kenosha through Racine and to Milwaukee, and would fund other transit modes such as city bus systems.Beyond those...

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Solar heating system attracts renewed interest at Urban Ecology Center in Washington Park

From an article by Dustin Block in The Daily Reporter:Solar power, a renewable-energy casualty of the early 1990s slain by cheap fossil fuels, is showing signs of life.The Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee is reviving a solar-powered heating system at its community center in the county’s Washington Park.The solar-thermal system was built in the late-1970s as an alternative source of energy during the oil boycott. But as energy prices fell in the U.S. in the 1980s, interest in renewable energy waned and the Washington Park system was shut down. Joey Zocher, the Urban Ecology Center’s Washington Park program manager, estimated the solar power system is worth about $250,000. But it will take at least $100,000 to get the community center system running again, she said. The building also needs...

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Support Mass Transit and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

One of several open letters in the Sheperad Express to President-elect The first priority for the next administration regarding transportation needs to be correcting the serious imbalance between huge federal funding and support for highway expansion and automobile use, compared to only modest support for public transportation. Just months ago, billions of dollars were shifted from the federal mass transit fund into the highway fund to cover our national highway spending binge. Greater federal support for transit infrastructure (longdistance rail, commuter rail, light rail, and bus), as well as for operating expenses, is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to improve air quality in densely populated cities and to reduce the national insecurity that results from our overwhelming dependence...

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Our public rail system and the jobs it provides are at risk

From a column by State Senator Dale Schultz:As Wisconsin employers increasingly turn to our state’s rail roads to get their goods to a global market, state residents and communities enjoy the benefits of keeping jobs here, cleaner air from less truck emissions, and safer roads with less truck traffic.Those benefits make our state owned railroad system a great investment and explain why I believe, despite a tough fiscal climate, we should increase funding to preserve the infrastructure of our public rail system in the next state budget.Our public railroad system, which serves numerous communities, has been a great benefit by helping employers compete in the global market and keep family supporting jobs in Wisconsin.The system also helps many villages and cities with their community development...

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