From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Going Green at NN12: Part II
When last we wrote about Sunday's Netroots Nation "Day of Service" in Providence, we were just leaving Roger Williams Park after spending time picking up litter. (Memo to self: ducks are not litter. Idiot.)
The shuttle took the two dozen of us south a few miles to Fields Point, where we got a close-up look at the Narragansett Bay Commission's new wind turbines. You can easily see these 365-foot-tall structures from downtown. When they start turning (soon, we're told), they'll provide up to 45 percent of the juice needed to power the big ol' wastewater treatment facility there. Interesting fun fact: the turbine blades themselves are the width of Rhode Island!
[Editor's Note: He's lying.]
[PolitiFact Note: We find Bill's claim to be MOSTLY TRUE.]
Then it was on to our final destination, the home of the environmental group Save the Bay:
Save The Bay protects, restores and improves the ecological health of the Narragansett Bay region, including its watershed and adjacent coastal waters, through an ecosystem-based approach to environmental action; defends the right of the public to use and enjoy the Bay and its surrounding waters; and fosters an ethic of environmental stewardship among people who live in or visit the Narragansett Bay region.
The center, which sits on acreage once used as a landfill (aka a "brownfield"), will never be mistaken for a Vanderbilt mansion, but its seemingly simple design contains an architectural cornucopia of conservation. Our tour, which included a meet 'n greet with Congressman
David Cicilline, gave us a good look at the
smart design of the place, which includes everything from ambient light and recycled building materials, to the striking
green roof that helps provide natural climate control and clean stormwater management. A wind turbine is also planned. (Fun fact: the blades will each be the width of Rhode Island!)
The striking thing to me is how elegant these environmentally-friendly/money-saving solutions are. It's a matter of understanding the topography, the climate, the arc of the sun, stuff like that, and working with 'em instead of against 'em. Thoreau nailed it: "Simplify, simplify, simplify." It's enough to give you a wee bit of that pesky thing called hope.
After the tour, it was back to the hotel. And the grind.
The Day of Service doesn’t get the same ink as other events at Netroots Nation. A lot of people can't make it, understandably, because they have flights home to catch. But I found it one of the most satisfying parts of the convention. If you have a chance to free up your Sunday next year in San Jose (anybody know the way there?), it's well worth it. And huge thanks to Emilie Aries, Save the Bay, and Clean Water Action for organizing the Providence event and ending NN12 on such a high note.
Cheers and Jeers---now with brand new flushless toilets---starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, June 14, 2012
Note: Due to a clerical error, the new ceiling fans in C&J were installed on the floor. Watch your step. ---Mgt.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the general election: 145
Days 'til the Damariscotta Pirate Rendezvous: 9
Percent of men between 35 and 64 who had been at their jobs for more than ten years in 1980: 51%
Percent of men between 35 and 64 who had been at their jobs for more than ten years in 2005: 39%
(Source: Fast Company)
Percent of North Dakotans who voted Tuesday to keep property taxes in the state: 76%
Number of prisoner executions since 1976 in, respectively, the south and New England: 1,063 / 4
(Source: MSNBC)
Rank of "playing video games" and "spending time with close family/friends" among favorite activities of, respectively, boys and girls aged 6-12: #1 / #1
(Ipsos survey)
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
I try not to hold grudges, but I must admit I have never lost one ounce of rancor toward Henry Kissinger, that cynical, slithery, self-absorbed pathological liar. He has all the loyalty and principle of Charles Talleyrand, whom Napoleon described as "a piece of dung in a silk stocking. … As for Kissinger's getting the Nobel Peace Prize, it is a thing so wrong it has come to define wrongness---as in, "As weird as the time Henry Kissinger got the Nobel Peace Prize."
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Puppy Pic of the Day: "I'm takin' what they're givin' cuz I'm woofin' for a livin'…"
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CHEERS to bringing you the news you need to know. I know the suspense is killing you, so let me be the first to break it to you: voters in the picturesque Maine hamlet of Raymond did not---repeat, did not---approve a noise ordinance that would've imposed fines on Julie Sutherland if any of her 25 roosters crowed for more than ten minutes at a time. Naturally, the person who proposed the ordinance, conservative Wayne Gelston, considered it a referendum on President Obama's pro-rooster agenda. But in the end, voters concluded that if Mitt Romney would strap his own dog to the roof of his car, who's to say he wouldn’t do the same with the poor defenseless gallus gallus? Memo to Foghorn Leghorn: let 'er rip!
CHEERS to Buckeye battle cries. It's on!!! Mr. Hope & Change vs. Mr. "Anyone got change for a $10,000 bill?" President Obama in Cleveland!!!...Mitt Romney in Cincinnati!!!...in a mighty Duel of the Teleprompter Titans!!! Ohioans will be surrounded by talking points to their right and talking points to their left. And a sea of media will be there to stenography every utterance, hand shake, baby smooch and instance where Romney has difficulty identifying a common everyday object. ("That's a mighty fine pair of personal rubber transportation conveyances lashed to your feet, young human biped of the male gender!") And the final takeaway message at the end of the day will be: I'm glad I live in Maine!
CHEERS to stars and stripes 4EVUH. Hope you got your holiday shopping done for all the flag lovers on your list---today is Flag Day!!! Yes, we support your first-amendment right to burn it in protest if that floats your boat...just as we support your right to use it to express how much your ta-tas love America. Meanwhile, per federal law, you must say this to everyone you see today:
"What did one flag say to the other flag? Nothing---it just waved."
Then, to break the awkward silence, bring up sports.
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Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
This is another edition of The One Word Answer Man. Yahoo! News asks: Could the Bush-Gore election night mess happen again this year?
Easily.
Now back to Cheers and Jeers.
Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
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JEERS to the silliest "news" article of the month. The award goes to CNN for promoting---I kid you not, and this is their phrase not mine---the "kinder, gentler Ku Klux Klan." They don’t hate anyone anymore, you see. They just want to promote life, liberty and the pursuit of a white America. Wow---that was time and money well spent. And by the way, that sound you hear is George H.W. Bush throwing a chair through a wall after hearing that his most popular catchphrase is now being used by CNN to describe the KKK. Wait, scratch that…it was Bar.
CHEERS to puttering around. The first round of the U.S. Open golf championship starts today at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The pros, including a newly-reinvigorated Tiger Woods, will use their superior course-management skills to knock in shots 'til they end up at the 18th hole. Meanwhile, I'll be using my inferior liver-management skills to knock back shots 'til I end up on the floor at the 19th hole.
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Five years ago in C&J: June 14, 2007
JEERS to space junk. That's what our main hurricane-forecasting satellite will be if it stops working, as it could any day:
If the satellite faltered, experts estimate the accuracy of two-day forecasts would suffer by 10 percent and three-day forecasts by 16 percent, which could translate into miles of coastline and the difference between a city being evacuated or not. In the letter to a Florida congressman, NOAA chief Conrad Lautenbacher blamed the delays on technical and budget problems. Scientists said if QuikScat failed, they may have to rely on less accurate satellites.
Oh, well. If it fails there's always Plan B: a guy with a camera on a really tall stepladder.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to a match made in Heaven…if by Heaven you mean a fast-food test lab where chemists spend their days figuring out how to bring taste buds to orgasm faster than you can say, "Maybe I'll have a salad instead." Yes, it's true: Burger King is introducing a new summer treat called the Bacon Sundae, containing over 500 calories and 18 grams of fat. The dessert includes ice cream, caramel, fudge, a bacon strip, bacon bits, and complimentary defibrillation.
Have a nice Thursday. Drill, baby, drill!!! Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
"The truth is many people are spending a lot of money on Bill in Portland Maine without solid evidence he does something."
---Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas
Columbia University Medical Center
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