Periodic news items and alerts about global climate change justice, energy efficiency, energy conservation, and sustainable energy alternatives for congregations.
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Blessings!
Tim Kautza
Coordinator
Contents:
AQUILA AWARDS FUNDS FOR ENERGY EFFICENCY TREE-PLANTING PROJECTS
WIND ENERGY CONFERENCE IN DES MOINES NEXT WEEK
CATHOLICS DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE IN DC
THE NORTH POLE IS SINKING! -- THE BOOK
BIOFUELS: PROCEED WITH CAUTION
WHEN TALKING WITH YOUR LEGISLATOR …
SEVERAL ENERGY BILLS IN LEGISLATURE DEMAND ATTENTION
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AQUILA AWARDS FUNDS FOR ENERGY EFFICENCY TREE-PLANTING PROJECTS
Aquila and Trees Forever will award more than $58,000 in grants to assist 39 Iowa communities/organizations with tree-planting projects in 2006. The program is designed to encourage energy efficiency and environmental awareness in Iowa through tree planting. Aquila provides financial support to be matched with local funds, discounts, in-kind services and community labor. For more information about the Aquila Trees Forever Community Program, contact Trees Forever at 1-800-369-1269 or visit www.treesforever.org/content.asp?ID=2136.
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WIND ENERGY CONFERENCE IN DES MOINES NEXT WEEK
Windustry's Community Wind Energy 2006 conference will be held March 7-8 in Des Moines. This national conference will bring together agriculture and wind energy to advance opportunities for locally-owned clean energy production and rural economic development. Conference tracks allow participants to focus on commercial-scale wind turbines and projects generally larger than 100 kW that feature local ownership and participation or on smaller home and farm applications. More than 30 exhibitors will include wind turbine manufacturers, wind energy service providers and consultants, project developers, financiers, law firms, insurance providers, non-profits, government agencies, and farm organizations. Visit www.windustry.org/conferences/march2006/program.htm
Arrange a car pool to the conference: http://windfarmersnetwork.org/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/2030035704
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CATHOLICS DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE IN DC
Climate change is on the minds of more and more people (not as many as we would like, however) -- including those gathered for two Catholic-sponsored forums in Washington early this month. Speaking at The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law Feb. 13, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, reported that village elders in the state's northernmost regions have told her "the ice pack is less stable, the snow pack is returning later and leaving earlier, changing the migratory patterns of animals." Speaking during a Feb. 14 forum at the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering, Michael McCracken, chief scientist for climate change programs for the Climate Institute and formerly executive director of the National Assessment Coordinator's Office, said the earth warmed by 0.8 degree Celsius over the 20th century, and that 2005 was the warmest year yet on record -- surpassing 1997, when temperatures were bolstered by a cyclical trend of Pacific Ocean warming. For the complete article, visit www.ncrlc.com/global_climate_change.html and under "Global Climate Change: The Situation" click on "Climate Change: Everyone talks about it; what can be done about?" If it’s not up yet, check back later.
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THE NORTH POLE IS SINKING! -- THE BOOK
Ethan Khiem Matsuda and his father Michael are the authors of the book "The North Pole is Sinking." Ethan is a second grader at Raymond Elementary School in Fullerton, CA. He thought of the story idea while examining a globe and noticed that there was no ice cap depicted on the North Pole. He recalls, "I was really worried about Santa and what he was going to do. My dad and I wrote down our thoughts and after many drafts, created this story." Michael Matsuda is a teacher with the Anaheim Union High School District. Visit http://www.thenorthpoleissinking.com
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BIOFUELS: PROCEED WITH CAUTION
While everyone is talking about moving ahead as quickly as possible developing biofuels, the Iowa Environmental Council is urging caution. As President Bush called for the nation to become less dependent on foreign fuel sources, legislation is being considered in Iowa that would promote biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. However, Rich Leopold with the Iowa Environmental Council urges lawmakers to take it slow. He says some proposals like taking marginal land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and putting it back into production could have long-term adverse effects. Leopold says there are concerns about the long-term effects on Iowa's air and water quality and water quantity. He thinks we need to look at the sustainable long-term effects of the biofuels industry that we're promoting. The IEC has developed a Biofuels Advisory Statement that examines concerns about a headlong rush toward ethanol and soydiesel. Visit www.iaenvironment.org/BiofuelsAdvisory.htm
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WHEN TALKING WITH YOUR LEGISLATOR …
This is adapted from a piece sent to me by Craig Stark from a former Iowa legislator regarding how best to communicate with legislators.
Be courteous and BRIEF. Legislators are pulled in every direction on hundreds of topics. Try to know their schedule at the time you intend to contact them for example when they're in committee meetings, when they're floor managing a bill. Visit www.legis.state.ia.us/Chambers.html for schedules. Ask politely how they intend to vote.
Know the bill number of any bill you wish to talk to them about. If you don’t know the number, give a brief description of the subject (e.g. sales tax exemption for hybrid vehicles.…). (Visit www.legis.state.ia.us/Legislation.html for bill numbers or descriptions). State whether you support or oppose it. If you oppose parts, offer a substitute approach. Make sure they understand what you want or don't want. If you give them any information, make sure it's accurate and to the point. Put your contact information on anything you give them. Don't overload them, otherwise it goes straight in the recycle bin.
If they take the time to talk to you, drop them a postcard or note later thanking them for their time, and in a sentence or two mention the bill or topic and why you support or oppose it. Just a handwritten couple of sentences, including "thank you for your time."
Ask your family and friends who live in that legislator's district, who agree with you, to also contact them. If it's by mail or phone, follow the same rules - courteous, straight forward and brief. Legislators have a rule of thumb that if they get a letter or call on something, there are at least 10 others who feel the same way. So if they get 40 letters or calls, it's like getting 400.
It's also important to remember that a legislator comes from a specific district, and is responsible to and voted for by people in that district, not all Iowa. If you live outside their district, unless you are representing a group like your church group they may not want to talk to you because they have so many constituents to deal with.
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SEVERAL ENERGY BILLS IN LEGISLATURE DEMAND ATTENTION
March 3 is the final date for House bills to be reported out of House committees and Senate bills out of Senate committees. You may wish to contact your legislators and encourage them to move bills you support out of committee this week. This is especially true if one of your legislators is on the committee controlling the bill. You can find out what committees your legislators are on at www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Legislators/LegislatorInfo.aspx
Below find several bills related to energy that have been introduced in the legislature according to the Iowa Environmental Council. The descriptions below include IEC’s view of the bills and an indication of each bills status as of last week. We suggest you refer to Iowa’s Sustainable Energy Charter when judging the bills, particularly the principles and values section and the recommendations. Visit www.ncrlc.com/IICEC-webpages/iicec-web02.html
We are grateful to the Iowa Environmental Council for making this information available to us.
House File 606, House File 2141, Senate File 2063, ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES.
This bill exempts from sales and use taxes the purchase of clothes washers, refrigerators, and dishwashers that meet energy efficiency standards set under the federal energy star program. House Ways and Means subcommittee – Kaufmann, Tomenga, Huser. Senate Ways and Means subcommittee - Stewart, Zaun, Danielson, Zieman. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill.
House File 2079, House Study Bill 542, HOME ENERGY STANDARDS
Requires the state to adopt energy conservation requirements for home construction based upon a nationally recognized standard. House Commerce subcommittee – Wilderdyke, Quirk, Watts. The Iowa Environmental Council is supporting this bill.
House File 2103, ALTERNATE ENERGY TESTING.
Requires the Iowa Energy Center to study an energy source that combines the use of wind, electrolysis, and fuel cells to generate electricity and which also uses the heat produced by electric generation. House Commerce Committee. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill.
House File 2155, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EXPERTISE.
Allows one member of the Economic Development Board to have expertise in alternative and renewable energy instead of economic expertise. House Economic Growth subcommittee – Wise, May, Olson. The Iowa Environmental Council is tentatively supporting this bill.
House File 2263, FLEXIBLE FUEL VEHICLES.
Designates gasoline with a minimum seasonal blend between 75% and 85% or more ethanol as E-85 and requires car dealers to put decals on E-85 cars. House Agriculture Committee. There hasn’t been a subcommittee assigned and this will deleted next week. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
House File 2274, METHANE CREDIT.
Creates an income tax credit of 25% of the cost of the installation of methane gas conversion equipment to livestock producers. House Ways and Means Committee. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
House File 2422, E-85 CONTRACTS.
Requires E-85 delivery contracts to provide for delivery of set amounts at set times or alternatively allow franchisees to buy from another source if the fuel is not available. The franchisee must provide public notice when doing so. Requires franchisee to indemnify franchiser against liability claims from using E-85 gas from another source. Prevents franchiser from terminating contracts because of purchase from another source. House Agriculture Committee. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
House Study Bill 587, Senate Study Bill 3068, E-85 & BIODIESEL.
Adopts standards for renewable fuels, including biodiesel blends, with a standard of at least 2% biodiesel, and ethanol blends, with a standard of at least 10%. Requires a renewable fuel producer to be accredited in order to sell biodiesel. Establishes penalties for violations of these provisions. Creates a program to loan money to service stations for sales of E-85 or biodiesel. Makes the loans interest-free. Requires the station owner to enter into a cost-sharing agreement with the DNR. Appropriates money from the Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust to the DNR to administer the renewable fuels program. Creates a credit for sales of E-85 of 3 to 5 cents, depending on the level of E-85 sales. Amended and passed House Natural Resources Committee. The amendment reduces fees for various permits. Senate Natural Resources subcommittee – Kettering, Seng, Johnson, Wood. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
Senate File 401, BIODIESEL & E-85.
Danielson & Miller, Bolkcom, Zieman. This bill will be deleted next week until further action. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
Senate File 2004, Senate File 2070 LOW-INCOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE
Appropriates $6 million in FY ‘06 for assistance to the low-income energy assistance program. Establishes a personal income tax credit on a sliding scale based on income of up to $100 for taxpayers to pay for heating costs if the household income is under $50,000. Unclaimed refunds must be used for means-tested energy conservation programs. Requires regulated utilities to have reduced rates for low-income residential customers. Exempts some utilities with fewer than 10,000 customers and gas utilities with fewer than 2,000 customers. Senate Commerce subcommittee – Angelo, Bolkcom, Courtney, McKinley. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
Senate File 2077, SOLAR EQUIPMENT EXEMPTION.
Creates a sales tax exemption for the purchase of solar energy equipment. Senate Ways and Means subcommittee – Danielson. Miller, McCoy, Zaun. This bill is unlikely to receive attention and will be deleted next week until further action. The Iowa Environmental Council is supporting this bill
Senate File 2079, CORN STOVE EXEMPTION.
Creates a sales tax exemption for the purchase stoves that burn field corn. Senate Ways and Means Committee. This bill is unlikely to receive attention and will be deleted next week until further action. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
Senate File 2092, FLEX FUEL & HYBRID CAR EXEMPTION.
Exempts the sale of E-85 cars and hybrid cars from the vehicle use tax, if the vehicle is less than 8,000 pounds. Senate Ways and Means subcommittee – Miller, Stewart, Dotzler, McKibben. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
Senate File 2133, RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS.
Extends the eligibility of renewable energy facilities for a tax credit to facilities that start by January 1, 2012. Authorizes additional tax credits for wind energy by increasing the maximum amount of nameplate generating capacity to 180 megawatts and for non-wind alternative energy facilities to 20 megawatts of nameplate generating capacity. Senate Natural Resources subcommittee – Lundby, Schoenjahn, Bolkcom, Houser, Miller, Wood. The Iowa Environmental Council is supporting this bill
Senate File 2184, ALTERNATIVE FUELS SALES.
Establishes thresholds for the sale of ethanol at service stations and penalties for the failure to meet the threshold. Creates a tax credit for the sale of E-85 fuel. Passed Senate Natural Resources committee and was referred to Senate Agriculture committee. The Iowa Environmental Council is monitoring this bill
Senate File 2206, ALTERNATE ENERGY.
Requires the Department of Economic Development to establish a Clean Energy Assistance program. Appropriates $5 million, including wind energy and green buildings tax credits, creates an energy center at Iowa State University, raises that alternative energy standard for utilities to 10% by 2020, creates a climate advisory council and requires state buildings to be energy efficient. Senate Commerce subcommittee – Bolkcom, McKinley, McCoy, Zaun. The Iowa Environmental Council is tentatively supporting this bill
Senate File 2212, ENERGY EQUIPMENT LOANS.
Requires the Iowa Finance Authority to establish an energy-efficient equipment no-interest loan program for low-income housing to install energy-efficient equipment. Appropriates $5 million from the Tobacco Trust for the program. Senate Commerce subcommittee – Bolkcom, Zaun, McCoy, Zieman. The Iowa Environmental Council is tentatively supporting this bill
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