Track the air quality of your city

I recently found airnow.gov, a site dedicated to tracking air quality that is maintained by a consortium of government agencies and research bodies.  It maintains forecasts and historical data on an air quality index, smog, ozone, and general particulate matter in the air.  The cities monitored appears to be rather extensive.  For instance, Indiana cities monitored include Evansville, Fort Wayne, Hammond-Gary, Indianapolis, South Bend, and Terre Haute.  The site even provides maps tracking these cities as their air quality increases or decreases.  Given Indiana’s dismal record for air quality, this site does at least answer some unknowns as to when and how the air I breathe could hurt me.  Knowledge is power, right?  Or, knowledge is incredibly depressing…

Mapping Indiana’s Green Economy

I now have a more tangible understanding of what a green job exactly means, especially in Indiana. Thanks to the power of Google Maps and some legwork by the Environmental Defense Fund, we’ve got a handy map with more than a 100 companies listed that either focus on energy efficiency or green energy production. I’ve always had this small nagging question in the back of my mind, “What exactly is a green job in Indiana?” Question answered.

For instance, a company in St. John, IN is manufacturing solar powered attic fans that dissipate attic heat from a home, saving the homeowner money on air conditioning in the summer months.

Or Shuttleworth, Inc. in Huntington, IN which sells almost 30% of its product line to manufacturers of solar photovoltaic panels. These are tangible examples of how a cap on energy will create jobs, especially in Indiana.  Hats off to the Environmental Defense Fund.

IN legislative action – Tell the IN Senate that coal and nuclear are not renewable energy

Just passing this along from the Indiana Chapter of the Sierra Club.  I urge you to take a few moments and get on the phone.  It starts today!

On Thursday, the Senate utilities committee is scheduled to hear a bill that would send Indiana on a dangerous path to dirty and more expensive electricity. Senate Bill 420 is labeled a “Renewable Energy” bill, but it won’t help Indiana find clean sources of electricity. Instead, it commits the state to develop dirty coal and dangerous nuclear energy, both of which will cost consumers much more than electricity from clean sources like solar, wind and geothermal.

The timing of the committee hearing couldn’t be worse, coming just two days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in a letter to the Sierra Club that it will take the first steps toward regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. Regulating such emissions will drive up the cost of electricity derived from coal and make renewable sources the sensible alternative.

At a time when other states are turning away from coal, the Indiana Senate is contemplating actions that will keep our state in the dark ages of power generation. It is time for Indiana to get over its infatuation with dirty and expensive sources of electricity. Instead, it should see the light and feel the breeze of new ways to produce our power.

Please contact Senator James Merritt, the chair of the Senate Utilities and Technology Committee (s31@in.gov or 317-232-9533), and your state senator (www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/) and tell them to oppose Senate Bill 420.

Tell Sen. Merritt and your state senator to support a true renewable energy standard to promote solar, wind, and geothermal (20% by 2020) by passing Senate Bill 283.

South Bender interviews Robert Trujillo of Metallica

Ok, so I post this because a Hoosier from a radio station (103.9) I listen to when in South Bend scored the opportunity to interview Trujillo. Plus, Metallica’s new album is the best thing they’ve released since my 8th grade year. That’s over 15 years ago for those counting at home.

Part 1

Part 2

via blabbermouth.net

I’ve had enough of Mike Pence: How do tax cuts create jobs?

More money in our pockets does not ensure spending.  Do you know what I did with my previous stimulus check?  I bought $30 worth of comic books and put the rest in my savings account.  Others paid off utility and credit card bills.  If you don’t believe me, listen to financial writer David Cay Johnston on NPR this morning.  He lays out the real world scenario from a small business perspective – businesses don’t typically hire a new worker if when they receive a tax break.  They hire a new worker when there is demand for their product.  What does this stimulus bill do?  It turns the federal government into a consumer by purchasing goods and services from these small-medium-large businesses so they can hire more workers to meet demand.

When the economy puts the screws on the workers in the economy and these workers are given a small pile of money, they are not going to go buy cars and flat screen TVs, Mike.  So, lay off the same tired old ideas.  You had your decades of reducing taxes and indirectly dismantling the federal government thereby creating the power vacuum that corporate America was happy to fill.  Now, it’s time to clean up the mess that was made (create jobs and unfreeze credit)and re-position the country to not experience this again (more funding for the SECs, EPAs, FCCs of the world).

Pence sure likes to stretch the truth here.  There is “nothing” in this bill that will help grow the economy?  There is ”nothing” that will create jobs?  That’s a little hard to believe, no?

Indiana Ingenuity

There is a common misconception about the people of the Indiana. People on the coasts think that the flyover states are full of obtuse, backward folk. The picture below attests to the fact that people in Indiana, and the Midwest, are enterprising and hardworking. The person who constructed this fine piece of engineering obviously needed the functionality of a truck combined with comfort and drivability of a sedan. Noting that no such product exists due to the myopic vision of automotive executives in Detroit, a brilliant native of our fair state solved this problem on his or her own (obviously purchasing an el camino wouldn’t satisfy the need). Please note the clean lines and attention to detail. All praise due to the inhabitants of Indiana.

(Photo courtesy Jon Serra, Kokomo)

Legoland at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum

I’m hoping that my nieces will take me to the Children’s Museum so I can check out the recently opened Lego Exhibit.  The exhibit lasts until May 3, 2009.

In it, “kids and their families are transported to a LEGO kingdom where they can become master castle builders. In LEGO Castle Adventure, visitors can construct castles, learn about real-world castles and their building secrets, and plan their ideal castle’s defenses.”

We were supposed to go last weekend, but the nieces fell ill. When I do get to go, I will be able to see for the first time the “Fireworks of Glass” installation by Dale Chihuly.  I really enjoy his work.  In the video that is linked, he chucks some of his works in a river.  Good stuff.

Also, in case you missed it, here is some more Lego art:

Here is a Flickr search resulting in more album covers re-envisioned with Legos.

Just so I’m not completely apolitical, here is the Obama inauguration at Legoland.

And finally, The Simpsons intro (via boingboing.net):

 

President Obama comes to Indiana

The Associated Press tells us that President Obama is going to participate in a town hall style meeting on Monday 2/9 to discuss our failing economy and how his/our stimulus package will affect daily life.

The Elkhart-Goshen region saw its unemployment rate soar to 15.3 percent in December.

Senators take aim on public education in stimulus bill

I can appreciate the claim that we need immediate results from this stimulus plan. While the family planning provision is much needed and should be pursued in the immediate future, I can understand the argument that we won’t see short or even near term results from an increase in education on contraceptives and the related decrease in births. Though long term, less babies means less people needing resources from an already strained system.

That being said, it seems extremely short sided for Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to introduce a bill that would cut from the stimulus proposal $50 billion dollars proposed in federal grants for state education aid. Specifically, the amendment would cut one-half of the funds allocated for:

• The State Stabilization Fund ($39 billion) – the flexible funds going through state funding formulas to local districts
• Special education/IDEA ($6.8 billion)
• Title I ($6.5 billion)
• Head Start ($1 billion)
• Teacher Quality grants ($50 million)

The NEA calculates Indiana’s loss in potential funds at around $780 million. Call Senators Lugar (202-224-4814) and Bayh (202-224-5623) and urge them to strike this amendment. While you’re on the phone, tell the congressional aide that the previous 8 years of Republican economic rule got us into this mess and it’s time for some fresh ideas.

Local Cravings for Chinese Beer

Recently I visited my local Brownsburg beer and wings establishment and was very excited to see on the menu “Over 50 Local and Import Beers.” I proceeded to ask the waitress what kind of micros she had and she rattled off about a half dozen types of schnapps. She had no clue what a micro brew was, but eventually listed several standard imports and even a Chinese beer I hadn’t heard of. Is there a big demand for Chinese beer in Brownsburg? Well, this bar is a stones throw away from Wal-Mart, need I say more?

There are many great breweries right here in Indiana, such as; Upland (Bloomington); Barley Island (Noblesville); and my favorite, Three Floyd’s (Munster). There are countless small town taverns scattered all over the state and they are filled seven nights a week with people drinking their Bud, Miller Lite, Corona, Heineken and apparently Chinese beer. Very few of these local watering holes support their home grown Hoosier beers. I know these craft brews can be a little expensive, but if one is willing to pay $4 for a skunked Heineken with dust on the bottle, why not pay $4.50 for a fresh beer that was made with Hoosier labor. What negative image do micro brews have that prohibits good ole’ boys from embracing them? Does this kind of beer have a snobbish image attached to it that scares off potential customers? Or, maybe they are unaware of the quality beer available in their own backyard because they are not given the option to try them.

I have a passion for craft beer. Beer that is made with care by other beer lovers right here in the heartland. I would love to see some of these stale, overpriced beers from every corner of the world replaced with local products. I feel good about paying a little more for a better beer, knowing my neighbors are at work making it.