GlobeNews April 2001 | ENERGY SPECIAL Vol. 2, No. 4 Global citizen! Keep on top of events around the world: trends, politics, travel, society, environment, technology. Not your nine o'clock news. STOP! give a friend a free subscription to GlobeNews! Email: globenews-@-kahl.net CONTENTS: CALIFORNIA ENERGY FACTS SOLAR ENERGY FOR THE POOR PASSIVE SOLAR: KEY TO HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY KC ENERGY FAREWELL DANA MEADOWS VIRTUAL COMBAT: MILITARY GOES HOLLYWOOD ENERGY SAVING ONLINE ============ !!GLOBALERT!! ============ CALIFORNIA ENERGY FACTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The so-called California energy crisis changed more than just the cost of electricity. Here's some FACTS for those watching the events in California unfold. FACT: The energy industry wrote the skewed electricity deregulation law (Assembly Bill 1890) in 1996. The law was implemented in 1998, and California became the first state in the nation to embrace electricity "deregulation". FACT: Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), and the energy industry forced the "deregulation" through the California Legislature. They then reaped financial rewards for three and one half years, and now the companies and their shareholders are bearing the consequences of deregulation. Until June 2000, California deregulation was a license to steal. It froze residential and small business electricity rates at record high levels through 2002. It forced customers to pay off over $20 billion in the utilities' bad debts (roughly $9 billion for PG&E. alone). FACT: PG&E, SCE, and SDGE are the nation's first, second and sixteenth largest investor owned electricity utilities. FACT: PG&E declared bankruptcy - but third largest utility bankruptcy in American history didn't have to happen. Its parent company (created to take advantage of deregulation) has over $30 billion in assets. Much of this money was siphoned out of the utility subsidiary over the last few years. Indeed, the company gave raises and bonuses to over 6,000 employees just hours before filing for bankruptcy. It could have bailed itself out, but chose not to. Bankruptcy was a political choice, not a financial one. PG&E realizes that a bailout as proposed by Governor Gray Davis has little chance of passing Legislature and no chance of getting past the voters. FACT: California utilities chose to sell off most of their power plants. These plants were built over previous decades with ratepayer money, and have been sold to energy companies based in other states. FACT: Californians have paid more for electricity in the last three months than the price of all the plants bought from California utilities ($3.2 billion). FACT: California's energy crisis was MANUFACTURED by a handful of private companies in the name of higher profits. The demand for electricity in California in four of the last six months was actually LOWER than in 1999. FACT: PG&E made radical cuts to their energy conservation and demand side management program. They had over 400 employees comprising one of the world's leading technical and implementation entities for energy efficiency. They now only have a handful of employees dedicated to this activity. FACT: The state of CA reached a $2.76 billion deal to buy SCE's transmission wires. It's a costly ratepayer funded bailout of Edison. The price is 230% times the assessed value of the lines. FACT: Electricity rates in California have increased between 30% and 150%. Places in CA with municipal utilities (not subject to deregulation) have had NO rate increases and NO blackouts. FACT: CA still leads in RENEWABLE ENERGY. It has a over 1500 MW of geothermal, over 3000 MW of Wind, over 800 MW of biomass electricity, over 350 MW of solar thermal electric and photovoltaics and over 200 MW in solar water heating. FACT: President Bush's fiscal 2002 budget proposes that the Department of Energy's (DOE) core solar, wind and other renewable energy programs would be CUT by more than half to $186 million from current spending levels of $376 million. FACT: Bush's 2002 budget proposes that the DOE efficiency research programs, which seek ways to reduce energy use, would be cut by $61 million. FACT: The cost of producing solar power has been plummeting. The market for solar cells grew 44 percent in 2000. FACT: CA is investing $850 million to boost conservation efforts in 2001. The money will beef up existing conservation programs. Consumers and business owners can use the aid before California's peak summer usage. FACT: What CA needs is an authority such as a public power agency that will focus on CONSERVATION and RENEWABLE technologies and establish regulatory protections for small consumers. Sources: The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights (FTCR) http://www.consumerwatchdog.org SF Bay Guardian http://www.sfbg.com/News/pgande/ SiliconValley.com Energy Crisis http://www.siliconvalley.com/hottopics/energy/ Learn more about energy efficiency and save energy. Visit KC Energy: http://www.kahl.net/energy/ KC TECHSHOP ----------------- SUPER PRINTER/SCANNER BUNDLE! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Where on earth can you get a Canon BJC-3000 Color Printer AND a Canon FB630U Scanner for ONLY $150? Both are great! The BJC-3000 PRINTER got 5 stars! Users gave it 8 out of 10! The best output for printers under $100! It uses four independent CMYK ink cartridges so you SAVE MONEY ON INK. All other inexpensive printers use single or dual black-and-color cartridge system (cartridges must be replaced entirely if one color runs dry). PRINTER REVIEWS: http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/Products/bjc3000/ The Canon CanoScan FB 630U offers great image quality and compactness. SCANNER REVIEWS: http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/Products/canoscanfb630u/ GRAB THE BUNDLE at the KC TechShop: http://www.kahl.net/shopping ============== THE GOOD NEWS ============== SOLAR ENERGY FOR THE POOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Global Environment Facility (GEF), a World Bank affiliate, wants to make money by providing poor people with electricity. They are forking up $30 million to prove it. The GEF takes public and private money and invests it in environmentally sound projects. They just launched the first Solar Venture Fund, the Solar Development Capital (SDC), a $30 million private investment fund. It will provide funding for business projects to use photovoltaic systems to deliver electricity to people off national grids. The businesses in the developing world will be privately owned and the customers, now receiving no electricity at all, would pay for the new service. GEF wants to show that the renewable sector can be a profitable investment for private sector firms, and that future investments do not need public sector subsidies. By helping shoulder some of the investment risk, GEF will bring new players into the renewable energy arena. GEF is helping some 300 projects in developing countries, with investments totaling $1.1 billion. [Source: Earth Times News Service] GEF Site: http://www.gefweb.org/ PASSIVE SOLAR: KEY TO HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here's a tip if for homeowners that want to save energy: learn about PASSIVE SOLAR! Check these sites for details. RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR YOUR HOME AND PROPERTY - FACT SHEETS http://www.infinitepower.org/reathome.htm PASSIVE SOLAR SOFTWARE Kahl Consultants offers you passive solar shareware: * IPSE is just right for beginners * SolArch is a great tool for experts Get the free software from KC Software and save energy: http://www.kahl.net/software ========== GLOBESITES ========== KC ENERGY ~~~~~~~~~~ Not only Californians want to save energy. We all want to tread lightly on our earth. How we consume energy is an important factor here. Visit the KC ENERGY WEBSITE for GREEN ENERGY tips and links: http://www.kahl.net/energy Visit KC Energy for: * California Energy Crisis Facts * Links to Learn More * Buyers Guide * Energy Tips BARGAIN HUNTING IN THE AMAZON --------------------------------------------- The biggest bargains in the Amazon.com universe are in the OUTLET. * Up to 50% off toys and electronics and up to 60% off kitchen essentials * Books under 5 bucks, CDs under $7, videos under $10 Using this link choose OUTLET from the Store Directory: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/kahlconsultants ========= GlobeNews ========= FAREWELL DANA MEADOWS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Donella Meadows passed away on February 20, 2001. She was, by her own account, "an opinionated columnist, perpetual fund-raiser, fanatic gardener, opera lover, baker, farmer, teacher and global gadfly". She is remembered for: * 1972 international best seller, "Limits to Growth" * Shocking the world into debate over our dominant doctrine of "MORE" and launching the sustainability movement * Pulitzer Prize nominated syndicated column, "Global Citizen". Ran for 16 years * Adjunct Professor of Environmental Ethics at Dartmouth University Excerpt from Dana's last Global Citizen column: Every five years the climatologists assess global warming knowledge. Their latest report erases any doubt about where this warming is coming from and warns that we ain't seen nothing yet. If we keep spewing out greenhouse gases according to pattern, we will see three to ten times more warming over the 21st century than we saw over the 20th. Some biologists are saying the polar bear is doomed. A friend of mine, in response to this news, did the only appropriate thing. She burst out weeping. "What am I going to tell my three-year-old?" she sobbed. Any of us still in contact with our hearts and souls should be sobbing with her, especially when we consider that the same toxins that are in the bears are in the three-year-old. And the three-year-old may witness collapsing ecosystems, north to south, until all creatures are threatened, especially top predators like polar bears and people. Does our only possible future consist of watching the disappearance of the polar bear, the whale, the tiger, the elephant, the redwood tree, the coral reef, while fearing for the three-year-old? Heck, I don't know. If we believe that it's effectively over, that we are fatally flawed, that the most greedy and short-sighted among us will always be permitted to rule, that we can never constrain our consumption and destruction, that each of us is too small and helpless to do anything, that we should just give up and enjoy our SUVs while they last, well, then yes, it's over. Personally I don't believe that stuff at all. I don't see myself or the people around me as fatally flawed. Everyone I know wants polar bears and three-year-olds in our world. We are not helpless and there is nothing wrong with us except the strange belief that we are helpless and there's something wrong with us. All we need to do, for the bear and ourselves, is to stop letting that belief paralyze our minds, hearts, and souls. Memorial for Dana: http://www.simpleliving.net/DanaMeadowsSFMemorial LOFTY ADVERTISEMENT Interested in space, astronomy and extraterrestrial news? GET ASTRONEWS FOR FREE! Another informative Kahl Consultants e-zine. Beam your request to: astronews-@-kahl.net ============= FUTURE IS NOW ============= VIRTUAL COMBAT: MILITARY GOES HOLLYWOOD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A young Army soldier gets a video message from his commanding officer: He must ship out immediately to the Democratic Republic of Congo. He's never been to Africa. In flight he gets into a virtual reality station. A simulated world with every detail of a market square in Kinshasa. A lifelike shopkeeper appears and teaches him some basic phrases and local gestures, taking special care to point out the difference between greetings of friendship and hostility. This soldier is 20. Grew up playing video games. Feels at home in this disembodied world. A sample mission begins. Soldier tenses up. Overwhelmed by sights, sounds and smells of Kinshasa. He's in a bazaar, ringed by government buildings. Throngs of people are bartering for goods. Suddenly, a disruption occurs near a church several hundred yards away. The sound of gunfire rings out. Drawing his rifle, the soldier runs toward the crowd. He stops, kneels and aims his rifle toward the mob. Then he notices a woman wearing a brightly colored dress, which he's just learned is a traditional bridal outfit. A wedding party? He sees boys running around the bride and groom, setting off celebratory firecrackers -- sounds he mistook for gunfire. The soldier lowers his virtual gun, hands shaking, heart pounding. He knows in a real situation, without this training, he would have fired. The scenario is fictitious, but its authors aren't. This vision of the "not-so-distant future" comes from the Institute of Creative Technologies (ICT), a new development lab at the University of Southern California funded by a five-year, $45 million grant from the Army. To create pioneering virtual reality simulations for training soldiers. Richard Lindheim is ICT's executive director and an executive at Paramount and Universal Studios for 20 years. He portrays ICT's mission in patriotic and educational terms. But critics worry that the ICT could become a nexus for a burgeoning "military entertainment complex." ICT owes a debt to "Star Trek". Army officials asked Lindheim "Can you BUILD US A HOLODECK?" The holodeck is the immersive world, the next big leap after the real-time 3D of first person shooters such as Quake III Arena. Instead of staring at a computer screen as you do today (or fiddling with cumbersome virtual reality goggles that often don't work properly), the holodeck might be a cave-like room in which you're surrounded by three-dimensional images that respond instantly to your every movement. The floor could be a treadmill that moves in any direction. Real the full story at UPSIDE: http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/news/story?id=3a2bfca50 NEW GLOBALCOM CALLING RATES -------------------------------------------- GLOBALCOM has great new LONG DISTANCE RATES! Check the new VOICENET "PRECISION" and "POWER" CALLING PLANS for USA: * 4.9¢ per minute state to state * 9.9¢ per minute domestic calling card calls (from any phone!) * NO MONTHLY FEE - only a 5$ monthly minimum usage! ====== NetTips ====== ENERGY SAVING ONLINE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now is a good time to get some ENERGY SAVING TIPS. Here are the websites where you can find them. Consumer Energy Center (from the California Energy Commission ) http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/ Consumer Energy Information (EREN/DOE) http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/ Thanks to all who wrote in! Send us questions for the next edition of GlobeNews. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GlobeNews by Kahl Consultants Visit us: http://www.kahl.net Email GlobeNews: globenews-@-kahl.net SUBSCRIBE: subglobenews-@-kahl.net Unsubscribe: unsubglobenews-@-kahl.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE PLUG ======== How has your small business or organization been performing lately? Are you happy with your work? Let Kahl Consultants help you. Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. If you got this far you obviously enjoyed GlobeNews. Pass it on! Please forward it to a handful of your friends. Remember, the best things in life are free. THE PUNCH LINE ============== UNFAIR PUNISHMENT? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Chico, California, City Council enacted a ban on nuclear weapons, setting a $500 fine for anyone detonating one within city limits. |< <