All posts in the topic Should this clean energy forum continue? (Short link)
Summary
- There are 7 posts — by 5 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Eric Johnson at 2007 Jul 04 16:12 UTC
Good to hear from the people who weighed in on this issue already!
If haven't responded yet, please reply and let us know if you want this forum
to continue and why...what's been useful to you...what's been hard. I think to
justify the energy it takes to keep this going (and $ in the future), we'll
need to know it's of use to more than just a few of us!
The Pioneer Valley Clean Energy Collaborative decided to host this forum to
give another way for people to participate in the clean energy planning
process. The e-democracy.org website has been generously donated to us. We'll
need to pay for it at some future date. Some staff time was paid for in
October, but since then it's been all volunteer. It has taken a significant
amount of time from a large number of people, just to keep up with what's being
posted. Is this a good investment of our time?
Here's the feedback on the forum I've received so far...
At it's best this forum is like having a meeting with 165 committed people
available to really dig into important topics. It has been a repository of
documents that people felt were important to the conversation. It's been a
place where people can hear many sides of an issue.
At it's worst this forum has been described as a platform for misinformation,
suspicion, and illwill. Emotions have sometimes been high because we're leaning
into topics that have a direct impact on some of the people participating here.
Some people have left the forum because they have found it hard to even have
the intensity of the messages coming into their email box even though they were
interested in the discussion. Some people have felt the conversation is
dominated by a few experts because of the length and intensity of the postings
and because of the strong responses given when people raise an issue or ask a
general question.
Clearly there are a wide range of opinions about what's been happening here,
but everyone has said so far, that they'd like to see the forum continue, maybe
with more agreements about how to work together more constructively.
So the question is - should this continue and if so, how?
We'll probably need to raise some money to support this on into the future, so,
if you haven't responded yet, please do! Let us know whether this forum is
important to you.
You can reply to my email (<email obscured>) directly if you'd rather not
post your feedback to the forum.
Dear fellow forum participants, As someone who's pretty much just been a Lurker here, I can say that I've very much appreciated the dynamic and vigorous debate that has taken place in this forum. I designed http://www.PVSustain.com for Catherine Miller and the PVPC back several years ago, and have watched with some dismay as the project essentially became underfunded and largely abandoned, despite electricity deregulation having pumped hundreds of millions of our (the state's electric consumers) dollars into a fund allegedly created to finance such projects. I'm frankly disgusted that we don't have solar panels on all our flat roofed buildings by now, considering the vast sums of money sitting in the bank just waiting to do such a thing, were we to have the political muscle to force such an effort. I can understand the vigorous opposition to the whole-tree burning plant in Russell. What a joke. Please people.... Clean energy? The fact that this plant is even being debated in this forum, instead of being opposed like say, a nuclear reactor would be, is evidence itself of the powerful forces that concentrated economic incentive has on such a debate. I promote regional eco-friendly tourism in the area through my Hidden Hills of Western Massachusetts Map and Website - http://www.Hidden-Hills.com - Vastly increasing heavy truck traffic and constantly pumping smoke into this tiny valley with steep mountain walls would be as absolute TRAVESTY. Let there be no mistake. I'll debate anyone on this issue. Allowing this plant to go forward would be a crime against man and nature, for the private gain of a few. Just so everyone knows I'm not a fence-sitter on this issue. So... I haven't been put off by the sometimes strident and intense nature of the debate. There is a big disagreement amongst the participants in this forum about whether or not the Russell plant should be included in ANY "clean" energy plan. This is a valid debate. I've made it clear which side I'm on. The question of continuing this forum because of the "expense" associated with its continuation points out the absolutely ass-backwards priorities of our current "clean energy" funding processes. The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust has HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars at its disposal. Why are we wondering where we can scratch up enough money to pay for an e-democracy forum and a stipend for a moderator? What's that gonna cost? The equivalent of ONE Massachusetts electric consumer's bill? Let's get real, folks. This forum is excellent, for what it is, but we need to be rattling the gates of the State House and DEMANDING that our elected representatives use the monies generated by electric deregulation which were expressly intended to finance our evolution to cleaner and more renewable energy technologies, to do just that in a way that has a real and visible impact on the lives of Massachusetts citizens. This is the real issue to me. There is a huge amount of money out there relative to the amounts we are debating now. Let's go get it and put it to good use. David Caputo President Positronic Design http://www.PositronicDesign.com Publisher http://www.Hidden-Hills.com http://www.TotallyFixed.com Lynn Benander wrote: >Good to hear from the people who weighed in on this issue already! > >If haven't responded yet, please reply and let us know if you want this forum to continue and why...what's been useful to you...what's been hard. I think to justify the energy it takes to keep this going (and $ in the future), we'll need to know it's of use to more than just a few of us! > >The Pioneer Valley Clean Energy Collaborative decided to host this forum to give another way for people to participate in the clean energy planning process. The e-democracy.org website has been generously donated to us. We'll need to pay for it at some future date. Some staff time was paid for in October, but since then it's been all volunteer. It has taken a significant amount of time from a large number of people, just to keep up with what's being posted. Is this a good investment of our time? > >Here's the feedback on the forum I've received so far... > >At it's best this forum is like having a meeting with 165 committed people available to really dig into important topics. It has been a repository of documents that people felt were important to the conversation. It's been a place where people can hear many sides of an issue. > >At it's worst this forum has been described as a platform for misinformation, suspicion, and illwill. Emotions have sometimes been high because we're leaning into topics that have a direct impact on some of the people participating here. Some people have left the forum because they have found it hard to even have the intensity of the messages coming into their email box even though they were interested in the discussion. Some people have felt the conversation is dominated by a few experts because of the length and intensity of the postings and because of the strong responses given when people raise an issue or ask a general question. > >Clearly there are a wide range of opinions about what's been happening here, but everyone has said so far, that they'd like to see the forum continue, maybe with more agreements about how to work together more constructively. > >So the question is - should this continue and if so, how? > >We'll probably need to raise some money to support this on into the future, so, if you haven't responded yet, please do! Let us know whether this forum is important to you. > >You can reply to my email (<email obscured>) directly if you'd rather not post your feedback to the forum. > >Lynn Benander >Shelburne Falls >Info about Lynn Benander: http://forums.e-democracy.org/contacts/lynnbenander > >This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/3e0xYa4mpcKuXfRkIvNgJY
To David Caputo:
A statement of fact in response to your July 1 post and two questions:
The Russell Biomass facility will not be, as you state, a "whole-tree burning
plant."
First question: please document your source for this statement.
The plant will, however, burn wood waste (not including C&D), that is fast
accumulating in Massachusetts and New England from forest management, road
clearing, new house construction activities, etc. with no place to go.
Second question: please site the source for your statement that "The
Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust has HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars at its
disposal." This is good news for people interested in renewable energy.
John Bos
Public Information Officer
RUSSELL BIOMASS LLC
To all:
I follow this discussion because of an interest in energy alternatives.
I've heard numerous references to "burning whole trees" but can't intuit
what difference it makes to burn whole vs. cut-up, split-up, shredded,
or otherwise un-whole trees. Is it that whole tress may have a higher
moisture content and thus less BTU potential, or is it just the idea of
it that's upsetting?
Thanks,
Jeff Lacy
David Caputo asked me to forward this message to the list for him.
It's a response to John Bos's questions to him.
Anyone who trusts someone whose salary depends upon something needs to wake
up - those parties are NEVER impartial or open to any facts that disagree
with their position on their something - Their part in any real discussion
where the point is to understand the FACTS should be discounted, perhaps
even ignored.
Great quote form Mr. Sinclair.
Thank You Mr. Caputo,
and John, what have you got to say for yourself. Will you hold on to dogma
or be willing to be open to the facts?
I don't see anyone who lives in the Russel Community who believes that this
will be good for the area, or for their health and quality of life - except
for various local govornment officials - it makes me wonder what benifit
they plan on deriving by stiking thier town with this problem.
I personally think it's time to shoot this thing down and concentrate on the
viable (and truly clean, non-destructive)alternatives that exist today, and
work on sane projects for the future.
We can either get ouselves together, or we can die poor slaves to the
Corporate Police State and their Lackeys,
Happy Birthday,
ej
p.s. Invest Heavily in Fond Memories and WAGES, not Profits.