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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: altair19 who wrote (13074)	2/8/2012 10:02:04 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

WOODCHUCK (GROUNDHOG) STEW 1 woodchuck 2 onions, sliced 1/2 cup celery, sliced Flour Vinegar and water Salt and pepper Cloves Clean woodchuck; remove glands; cut into serving pieces. Soak overnight in a solution of equal parts of water and vinegar with addition of one sliced onion and a little salt. Drain, wash, and wipe. Parboil 20 minutes, drain, and cover with fresh boiling water. Add one sliced onion, celery, a few cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender; thicken gravy with flour. ces.ncsu.edu LOL

To: altair19 who wrote (13074)	2/14/2012 10:37:39 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

Living HOMEGROWN: Visions of Urban Agriculture by Staff Call me nerdy, but I think planning and zoning is fascinating. Give me a project proposal or zoning code, and I gladly immerse myself in land use regulations, zoning jargon and mapping. So when the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Mayor’s office held a kickoff and visioning meeting to rezone Boston for urban agriculture on Monday night, I was sitting front row, pencil in hand! Image courtesy of City Farmer News Boston is not new to agriculture. The Boston Common was used from 1634-1830 as a public livestock grazing pasture. The city has the highest number of community gardens per capita; 150 gardens throughout the city in which 3,000 members grow. There are currently 6 urban agriculture projects in Boston, and farmers’ markets in every neighborhood. A new pilot rezoning project approved last year by the city leases two parcels of land in South Dorchester to be farmed by local organizations. But, this rezoning project is critical to the future of the local food system in Boston. As it stands now, the current Zoning Code details 3 (basic) types of land uses for Boston: Allowed by right use: A land use that is permitted as a matter of right. Board of Appeal approval is not required. Conditional use: A land use permitted by the Zoning Code provided that it is found by the Board of Appeal to comply with certain conditions set out in the Code Forbidden use: A use that is not permitted in a particular district because of harmful impacts on other allowed uses; e.g., noise, pollution. However, as I learned Monday night, if a particular use is not expressly mentioned in the Zoning Code, it is, by default, forbidden. This applies to most agricultural land uses. In order for urban agriculture – the use of a parcel of land to cultivate food and other products with the intent of sale – to thrive, the Code must be revised. Map courtesy of Boston Redevelopment Authority Pilot Urban Agriculture Project As urban environments, like Boston, seek to become more sustainable, food and agriculture will play an increasingly critical role. I am excited to see my city take the first steps in becoming greener and creating a local food system. The expansion of urban agriculture in Boston will have profoundly positive effects on the city. A new chapter in the Code will increase residents’ access to local, fresh food, it will provide new economic opportunities to grow and sell food products, it will expand educational programs about healthy eating and agriculture for local youth, and it will utilize vacant lots and empty spaces in a sustainable and beneficial way. At the meeting I was pleased to see a diverse group of Boston residents present, asking question, and providing their own visions for the future of urban agriculture. Mayor Menino voiced his enthusiastic commitment for agriculture and urban farmer and founder of Growing Power, Will Allen, the man who transformed Milwaukee into an thriving agricultural city, gave an inspiring presentation about possibilities for growth in Boston. The meeting wrapped up with a spirited roundtable discussion and thoughtful comments from residents that left me energized for an urban agriculture revolution in Boston! Even though this rezoning and planning is in it’s infantile stages, and I’m sure at some point this year-long process may become arduous, the prospects urban agriculture holds for Boston will be worth it. Beekeeping, backyard chickens, and farms in my neighborhood? Let’s get started! Photo Credit: Linda N., Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License energybulletin.net

To: altair19 who wrote (13074)	4/1/2013 12:38:31 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

New England renewable energy a hard sell in region STEPHEN SINGE, Associated Press By STEPHEN SINGER, Associated Press Updated 9:06 am, Sunday, March 31, 2013 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Establishing a New England market to buy renewable energy seemed a laudable goal when governors committed last year to bulk purchases of wind and solar power to knock down the price while reducing the region's reliance on fossil fuels. Consumers could benefit from price stability, even from costlier wind and energy power. But putting together details about what types of renewable energy the six states will buy in the groundbreaking deal is snared in a patchwork of rules, state laws and disagreements over how even to define alternative energy. "I don't think we know how to do it," was the blunt assessment of Christopher Recchia, commissioner of Vermont's Public Service Department. For example, Vermont environmental officials believe biomass — energy from living or recently living materials — is a form of renewable energy. But Dan Esty, Connecticut's environmental commissioner, said biomass is "not cutting edge." And Connecticut legislation being considered would require biomass and landfill-gas plants to improve their environmental performance to be part of the state's portfolio of renewable power. The price of wind and solar power has been falling, and a regional purchase could be expected to put more downward pressure on prices. To consumers, the immediate benefit from wind and solar power is price stability, which eludes oil and natural gas, tied to fluctuating global markets. Wind and solar power are more expensive than gas, about 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour versus 4 to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to Seth Kaplan, vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. But wind and solar projects can win financing more easily than coal- and gas-fired plants, which are increasingly in disfavor because of environmental worries. And nuclear plants take years to win permits and to build. By offering long-term contracts to wind and solar power suppliers, New England states would virtually guarantee financing for renewable power projects. However, not all of the six New England states are joining the regional effort, the only such endeavor in the country. New Hampshire is not participating, and Maine and Vermont disagree with Connecticut over whether hydropower and biomass count as renewable energy. Because of their size, Connecticut and Massachusetts can drive the regional project. Electricity demand in the two states is about 70 percent of demand in New England. "Connecticut and Massachusetts have the ability to make a market here," Kaplan said. "This is a market that is waiting to be tapped." In the region, 28 wind projects totaling 2,000 megawatts are waiting for approval, said Marcia Blomberg, spokeswoman for ISO-New England, the region's grid. That represents 40 percent of total megawatts in projects waiting for an OK and would nearly triple wind power output in the region. Esty said he sees a "real break out here in regional cooperation." But Massachusetts is criticizing Connecticut as it tries to update 15-year-old rules related to the share of renewable energy as a proportion of overall sources of power. Legislation in Connecticut would expand the types of hydropower and biogas that count as alternative power in the state's portfolio, create a new class that includes certain large-scale hydropower resources and make other changes in alternative power standards. Massachusetts officials do not consider large hydropower projects eligible for its portfolio of renewable energy because it's a "mature technology," compared with newer alternative energy such as wind and power, said Steven Clarke, assistant secretary for energy in Massachusetts. Energy Undersecretary Barbara Kates-Garnick said Massachusetts has "serious concerns about how Connecticut's proposed changes to its renewable portfolio standard will affect the region's renewable market." "We have been talking with Connecticut officials but have made no commitment to a first round procurement," she said. Maine also is taking shots at the regional plan because of which renewables are counted. Patrick Woodcock, Maine's director of energy, said biomass is "unfairly targeted" and he is uncertain that New England can establish a uniform renewable energy policy. Maine is looking to sign hydropower contracts with Quebec and Canada's Maritime Provinces, seeing limits imposed in New England on the scale of hydropower and what counts as renewable energy as "parochial," he said. "It diminishes a partnership across the entire Northeast to create more certainty with pricing and to further environmental goals," he said. Marion Gold, Rhode Island's energy commissioner, said she's optimistic that New England will put together a workable purchase plan for alternative energy. "We're working through all the different challenges to work collaboratively," she said. "Each state has a slightly different way of going through the process." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/business/energy/article/New-England-renewable-energy-a-hard-sell-in-region-4398184.php#ixzz2PELhCmy8