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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amy J who wrote (231204)	4/30/2005 9:38:47 AM
From: steve harris	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1572372

Why is this woman being charged with murder? foxnews.com She could have killed them before they were born and be a poster child for the ABB crowd...... Doesn't a woman have the right to choose? HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — A woman accused of stabbing her two young children more than 200 times as they tried to fight her off was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder.

To: Amy J who wrote (231204)	4/30/2005 2:35:33 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1572372

"the report shows the Bush administration sought to minimize the benefits of reducing mercury pollution in order to justify not requiring power plant owners to buy the most effective technology for lowering mercury emissions. ....the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated there could be $5 billion a year in public health benefits from a 62.5 percent cut in the mercury released by power plants. That study too was excluded from consideration in the new rule EPA released in March. " Its hard to believe how little they care. ted

To: Amy J who wrote (231204)	4/30/2005 2:39:51 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572372

Pro-drilling politicians are living in the past By Michelle Ackermann and Sara Patton Special to The Times Perched on the top of the world, along Alaska's northern coastline, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has become more than just a wild, unspoiled sanctuary for polar bears, caribou and millions of migratory birds. It has become a test of imagination. Those who are pushing for oil drilling in the Arctic refuge don't seem to understand that securing America's energy future demands new thinking and a new attitude — virtues that seem to be in short supply in Washington, D.C., these days. The energy legislation passed by the House of Representatives last week (and the parallel scheme to sneak Arctic drilling through in the federal budget) is a case in point. Ultimately, an energy policy that relies on billions of dollars in subsidies to big oil and gas companies and drilling wildlife sanctuaries for less oil than the U.S. consumes in a single year is worse than no plan at all. By extending our reliance on fossil fuels at the expense of sustainable, clean, innovative energy solutions, pro-drilling politicians are missing the boat. Asked the best way to solve our energy challenges, voters consistently and overwhelmingly choose clean, renewable energy and greater conservation over increased drilling in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To us, that suggests that the political figures who are pushing so hard for Arctic drilling are fundamentally misreading what the people are looking for. And it also suggests that with a little imagination and real leadership, our political leaders could set this country on a new course to a cleaner, more-sustainable energy future, while reaping political rewards in the bargain. Our own Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have been leaders in keeping the oil rigs out of the Arctic refuge. But even as they worked to protect the refuge, they have consistently worked to focus the energy debate on the smarter solution of renewable energy resources. Any economic gains our state might reap from drilling the Arctic are speculative at best, and would take a decade or more to come in — if they ever do. On the other hand, clean energy is having a positive impact on our state — right now. Today, the Northwest boasts a $1.4 billion clean-energy industry that is on track to grow to $2.5 billion over the next several years. This would create more than 12,000 new jobs in our region, primarily in rural communities. Investments in clean energy will not only grow our local economy and reinvigorate the region's technology sector, but will also put us at the leading edge of an international wave of innovation. A study sponsored by a group of Northwest utilities and interest groups estimated that the international market for clean-energy technologies, including renewable energy resources such as wind or solar power, will grow to $180 billion a year over the next 20 years. It is in our economic interest to set policy that will ensure the United States and Washington state capture a major portion of this market. We could attain 3.5 percent of the worldwide market for clean-energy technologies — including not just generation, but also transmission technologies needed to bring power to market more efficiently — and create as many as 35,000 new jobs in the Northwest. By contrast, experts agree that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would take a decade to add even a drop of oil to the market, and another decade or more to reach peak production — at a whopping 2 to 3 percent of our annual consumption. After that, it would gradually and inexorably dwindle back to nothing, leaving us still dependent on imported oil, with no more jobs than when we started, and with an industrial wasteland where we used to have a wildlife refuge. Unlike fossil fuels, renewable energy sources are sustainable. They will never run out. Our actions today to use renewable energy technologies will not only benefit us now, but will benefit many generations to come. Today, we are faced with a choice: We can continue down the path of the past or we can look to solutions that will give us a stronger and healthier future — a 21st-century energy policy that creates jobs, and encourages the health and vitality of our communities. Michelle Ackermann is regional director of The Wilderness Society. Sara Patton is executive director of the NW Energy Coalition. seattletimes.nwsource.com

To: Amy J who wrote (231204)	5/1/2005 11:29:29 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572372

in order to justify not requiring power plant owners to buy the most effective technology for lowering mercury emissions. That statement gives a rather distorted view of the mercury reduction plan. The plan will indeed reduce mercury emissions below the level previously allowed, below for example the level allowed during the Clinton administration. It will do so by using one of the most efficient ways to get a large reduction. A cap and trade system where the people who can reduce emissions most easily have an incentive to reduce emissions to a greater extent than any command and control limit is likely to require. They can eliminate a lot of mercury emissions and have a financial incentive to do so. Such a trading system can allow for greater reductions (lower caps) at less cost than a straight command and control order for everyone to use a certain type of technology to reduce emissions, or for everyone to reduce emissions by a certain amount or a certain percentage. Also see tim.2wgroup.com galenslog.typepad.com