Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Category: Environment

  • The Green Energy Boom Hits Hampton Roads — But What’s All This About Jatropha Nuts?

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    James A. Bacon
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    There is huge business news brewing in Hampton Roads that has yet to generate much attention outside the region: Two separate ventures are planning to build gigantic biodiesel facilities that would require capital investment exceeding $1 billion and would generate more than 600 million gallons a year of ethanol and biodiesel fuel. Bio Energy Virginia,…

  • A Mighty Wind (Farm) off the Delaware Coast

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    James A. Bacon
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    Last November I wrote a column, “Wind Shear,” that outlined the potential for building massive wind farms off the Virginia coast. The Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States, it seems, is an ideal location for massive arrays of electricity-generating windmills. In theory, a wind farm with a footprint the size of Virginia Beach — about…

  • Virginia Joins the Climate Registry

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    James A. Bacon
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    Joining 33 other states in a national effort to track greenhouse gas emissions by large industries, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has signed onto The Climate Registry. The goal is to replace the patchwork reporting system with standardized and verified measurements of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that can inform the debate over global climate…

  • Virginia’s Working Waterways

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    James A. Bacon
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    Lyle Solla-Yates, Bacon’s Rebellion’s summer intern, has filed the following report: A vital piece of Virginia’s heritage — the lively commercial fishing and boating community — is threatened by coastal development, environmental stress and foreign imports. Last week, representatives of government, nonprofit, and industry representatives met in Norfolk to discuss threats to working waterways across…

  • Whirling Blades of Death

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    James A. Bacon
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    Rick Webb, co-author of the Virginia Wind website and foe of wind farms along Allegheny Mountain ridge tops, summarizes the costs and benefits of wind power based on the findings of the latest National Academy of Sciences report. Installed wind generating capacity will amount to between 19 to 72 GW of installed onshore wind generation…

  • Tax Breaks for Green Buildings?

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    James A. Bacon
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    Here’s a sleeper: The General Assembly passed a law in the last session that would enable localities to tax energy-efficient buildings and homes at a lower rate than other real estate. Now a group in Charlottesville is urging the city to pass an ordinance instituting the dual tax rate. Writes Seth Rosen with the Daily…

  • Money Down the Drain? I Don’t Think So.

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    James A. Bacon
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    Bart Hinkle at the Times-Dispatch has taken after Mayor L. Douglas Wilder for the second time in a week for proposing to levy a fee upon property owners to pay for much-needed storm water projects. While Hinkle concedes the need for improvements — citing the devastating flooding in the Battery Park and Shockoe Bottom areas…

  • The Wild One Hits a Home Run on Storm Water Run-Off

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    James A. Bacon
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    Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder strikes me as a loose cannon in many ways, but he is pushing an idea for funding stormwater drainage and water quality clean-up that has real merit. As Michael Martz writes in the Times-Dispatch, the Wild One wants to impose an annual fee on homeowners, businesses and even not-for-profit institutions…

  • Biking for Health and Mother Earth

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    James A. Bacon
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    While Virginia talks the talk about bicycles as a transportation option — the Virginia Department of Transportation is holding hearings around the state to solicit public input about incorporating walking and biking trails into its transportation plans– two cities in Europe are walking the poverbial walk. In Amsterdam, 40 percent of commuters get to work…

  • $28 Million Conservation Tax Credit Deal Blows Up

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    James A. Bacon
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    The Virginia Department of Taxation has denied $28 million in tax credits claimed for conservation easements set up by the Silver Companies as part of Celebrate Virginia, a major mixed-use project in the Fredericksburg area. Silver Companies had sold most of the credits to private investors at about 50 cents on the dollar. Last week,…

  • Government by Pressure Group

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    James A. Bacon
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    In today’s Times-Dispatch, Barton Hinkle wonders if government energy, environmental and transportation policies aren’t at odds: Just in case you lost track of the bouncing ball, here it is: Virginia has finally put the crisis-ignoring haters of truth in their place by passing a roads package to encourage the use of cars that are destroying…

  • The Bay: Improving, Yes, but Too Slowly

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    James A. Bacon
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    Environmental clean-up efforts in the Chesapeake Bay are making slow progress, concludes the Chesapeake Bay 2006 Health and Restoration Assessment, but improvements are coming slower than expected. The encouraging news: Nutrient discharge: Nitrogen discharges from wastewater treatment plants are at 72 percent of the reduction goal; phosphorous discharges from wastewater treatment plants have reached 87…

  • Extreme Creekover

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    James A. Bacon
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    First it was volunteers cleaning up roads and highways. Now it’s volunteers cleaning up creeks. What a heart-warming tale. In today’s Times-Dispatch, Rex Springston describes how a team organized by the James River Association is conducting a $100,000 “extreme makeover” of Oldtown Creek in Colonial Heights. The creek, he writes, is “dirty, trashy and ugly.”…

  • Saving the Countryside

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    James A. Bacon
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    One of the special attributes of Virginia is the beauty of the countryside, especially in the northern piedmont. The rolling hills and curving country roads… the vineyards and manicured horse farms… the charming hamlets with quaint, historical downtowns. It’s an extraordinary asset for all of us city and suburban dwellers who enjoy the occasional weekend…

  • Save Money, Conserve Energy, Protect the Environment — Buy a CFL Today

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    James A. Bacon
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    I’m so proud of myself. I finally did it: I installed my first two energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. Talk about a great Return on Investment! The CFLs I purchased at Wal-Mart (note to Ed Risse: This was a neighborhood Wal-Mart, I didn’t have to drive across town to get there!) cost about twice as…