Every now and again, an idea or concept or product comes along, spreads out all over the place and sets a new standard. Take, for example, ATM machines or UPC Barcode or even the internet; looking back, it's hard to imagine those innovations not being ubiquitous and ever-present. We just accept them today as being an integral part of the modern landscape, like wallpaper or furniture, cars.
"Energy efficiency" is quickly becoming the latest standard centering around new retrofit construction techniques reducing the energy consumption of homes, offices and buildings.
All over America, the news is spreading that long-term investment in our national infrastructure, is -- amazingly -- a good idea. I guess people start to wake up when bridges start to fail, schools fall apart, etc; the writing's on the crumbling wall, so-to-speak. Rebuilding America is a trillion dollar plus project. Levees, roads, bridges.
But while we're in the infrastructure inventory mood, why not look at some upgrades? God knows, whenever my computer takes a dive and I'm forced to replace it, I always look to moving my specs up a notch or two, don't you?
Within hours it had gone semi-viral with over 3000 hits on the web. Progressive Democrats of America posted it on their home page and I cross-posted at Show Me Progress and Polizeros.
Here's a great new project with good ideas to help popularize energy efficiency in Missouri!
President Obama said today,"The simple act of retrofitting these buildings to make them more energy efficient - installing new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, sealing leaks, modernizing heating and cooling equipment - is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions."
Economic stimulus promoted through energy efficiency organization
St. Louis, MO - December 15, 2009 - The Missouri Association of Accredited Energy Professionals (MAAEP), a newly formed trade group, held its inaugural organizational meeting for membership and affiliates last Thursday.
Local energy professionals representing private enterprise, non-profits and government participated including Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources, Botanical Garden's Earthways Center, Mosby Building Arts and other industry leaders.
"The business of making Missouri more energy efficient and saving folks on energy costs is set to grow tremendously in the near future as game-changing Federal and State initiatives come online," explained Marc Bluestone of Home Green Home, a local energy efficiency contractor and consultant. "Pilots such as the Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE) and economic stimulus efforts will soon make energy audits and retrofits on homes as commonplace as the safety and emissions test for your car."
In October, the Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for energy efficiency efforts nationwide, with tens of millions earmarked locally in programs such as the Mo. Department of Natural Resources' "Energize Missouri Communities" which include block grants to fund efficiency and weatherization projects in public buildings, private business and residential structures.
"The Missouri Association of Accredited Energy Professionals (MAAEP) is advancing a program to distinguish high-efficiency, high-performance homes for home buyers and their Realtors," said attorney Tom Appelbaum. "Studies show these homes retain their value and sell faster than the non-efficient, non-retrofitted homes, and with programs like PACE the cost of these green upgrades can be amortized over the life of a home, making the cost-benefit savings positive from day one."
MAAEP is working with green consultant James Trout and MyGreenToolkit.com to raise awareness of energy efficiency benefits to REALTORS and their customers, "With MAAEP and MyGreenToolkit.com we empower Realtors and home owners with information and statistics clearly showing the value in improving their homes and making them more energy efficient."
At Thursday's meeting, Damien Flaherty of EnergyAudits.com emphasized the role that MAAEP fills in helping industry professionals contend with the quickly changing landscape of energy efficiency. Flaherty maintains a national database of certified Energy Auditors, Energy Raters and Home Performance Contractors and has conducted several surveys to identify issues particular to the efficiency business, "Our professionals are setting standards for best practices and MAAEP will politically advocate on behalf of this emerging industry to promote home value, economic recovery and consumer interests."
MAAEP board member Harvey Ferdman spoke about a convergence of issues making clean energy and energy conservation an idea whose time has come. "Buildings account for nearly 40% of our nation's carbon emissions, but their energy efficiency can be improved by 30% or more. These savings will have a very real impact on reducing our carbon footprint and lessening pollution. Every single home improved puts our community on a more sustainable tract."
"Every building constructed by the end of 2009, conservatively, will make up 85% of all buildings in 2030; consequently, remediating existing homes and offices is where most of the efficiency benefits will be gained," explained board member Byron DeLear. "Because construction styles vary so greatly, the energy efficiency analysis, consultation and upgrade must be uniquely tailored for each property. This process is directed and carried out by accredited energy auditors and home performance contractors; a new "green job" workforce that can't be outsourced."
In addition to St. Louis, MAAEP will be conducting a series of organizational meetings throughout the State of Missouri in early 2010 in Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield. The Missouri Association of Accredited Energy Professionals is a public benefit non-profit corporation registered with the State of Missouri on July 6th, 2009.
Thursday's MAAEP meeting was sponsored by Fiberlite Technologies, Inc., an insulation manufacturer, Matt Pidgeon of Soar Advertising & Design, Home Green Home and special thanks to Mattingly Brewery for use of their conference room.
###
For more information regarding MAAEP please contact Matt Pidgeon at (314) 322-1077 Matt@MAAEP.org or Harvey Ferdman at Harvey@MAAEP.org or visit their website at www.MAAEP.org
Now have decent guide for Recovery(stimulus) on web page. Includes map you can see where $ in Mo going......about 17 hours ago from web
There are some neat widgets with information about the Economic Recovery Plan in Missouri on Claire McCaskill's senate web site. Click on the little Missouri map that says "Mo stimulus grants map."
When you click on one of the little bulls eyes you get information on the expenditure for that particular location. For instance, in Cass County, Missouri:
Associated Press Writer
Posted: 02/19/2009 06:37:07 AM MST
BATON ROUGE, La. » A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment....
Yep, if Jay Nixon (D) wasn't governor at this point we'd be in a world of hurt because, you know, like many other right wingnuts Missouri House Speaker Ron Richard (r) has a problem with the stimulus:
Chad Livengood • News-Leader • February 8, 2009
...House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, suggested Missouri reject any federal bailout money and "just send it on back" to Washington.
"We could do that," Richard told about 225 Republicans at the annual event at the University Plaza Hotel...
But you won't, will you? Because we're lucky enough to have a Democrat in the governor's mansion who isn't an idiot, much unlike that hypocritical republican queen of federal largess and earmarks in Alaska or those right wingnut republican base pandering fools in Idaho, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas.
White House Releases State by State Numbers; American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Save or Create 3.5 Million Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The White House today released state-specific details on the local impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a nationwide effort to create jobs, jumpstart growth and transform our economy to compete in the 21st century. The compromise package of $789 billion will create or save 3.5 million jobs over the next two years. Jobs created will be in a range of industries from clean energy to health care, with over 90% in the private sector...
And here's what that means for Missouri:
...The table [pdf] below outlines the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act compromise package on employment by state. The estimates are derived from an analysis of the overall employment impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act conducted by Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist for the Vice President, and detailed estimates of the working age population, employment, and industrial composition of each state...
...Missouri 69,000...
[emphasis added]
And here's what this means for Missouri by congressional district:
Wednesday afternoon I took part in a media and blogger conference call with Jared Bernstein, the chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden. The subject for the briefing and questions which followed was the "impacts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan".
Our previous coverage of Jared Bernstein's opening remarks:
The final eighteen minutes of the conference call:
Jill Miller Zimon themoderatevoice.com: Thank you for taking my call. Um, I am in Ohio and I had a question regarding what remains in the package for home buyers. Um, I don't know, I'm guessing, uh, you may be familiar with Congresswomen Kaptur's, um, suggestion about individuals staying in their homes when they're facing foreclosure and demanding that the mortgages be produced. Are you familiar with that?
Jared Bernstein: Uh, you know what I'm famil..., I'm, I'm not, I'm not sure and I'm sort of actually paging through some stuff [crosstalk] on the conference while we speak.
Jill Miller Zimon: It's been making its rounds, she...[crosstalk]
Jared Bernstein: I mean the thing I'm familier with is the, uh, that was in the Senate version of the bill was a new home buyer's tax credit. And I don't know, uh, and I sh..., I sh..., I want to check whether that. I'll, I'll check and see if that, if that's still, still made it, how that ended up in conference. Uh, [crosstalk] but oh, actually that's gone I see. Uh, oh, oh wait, is that right? ...Um. Actually, I'm not sure about that. [crosstalk] I take that back on the housing part. I have, I have to learn more about it. This, this thing was signed just a few minutes ago...
Yesterday afternoon I took part in a media and blogger conference call with Jared Bernstein, the chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden. The subject for the briefing and questions which followed was the "impacts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan".
Our previous coverage of Jared Bernstein's opening remarks:
Adam Siegel - getenergysmartnow.com: Uh, thank you very much for doing this call. Much appreciated. Uh, looking to [garbled] and focus on energy, global warming, as well as economic issues and the intersection of all of them, uh, when we're looking at the limited news so far we see that the, uh, deal continues the slashing of a lot of the things that might be considered long term infrastructure such as aid for school construction [garbled] even while looking to try to get this bill passed are you already starting to lay the ground work for trying to recapture many of the good things from the House bill that don't seem to have made it through the conference committee?
Jared Bernstein: Well, and I, I have to be mindful of the fact that I am, uh, uh, one of the team, uh, some of these folks are on their way back from the, the capitol now. Uh, so let me speak broadly in answer to your question. I can't tell you we plan to go back to the well tomorrow to, uh, get back some of the things that were our original preferences. But, I, I can tell you that they, they were our original preferences and I can tell you that, you know, my understanding of some of the negotiations were that, that some of the opponents of pieces that were in this legislation were not saying we're against, uh, school construction, we're against, uh, uh, fiscal relief to states. uh, we're, we're, against, uh, expanding some of the health care. They were saying we're against putting them in a, uh, stimulus or a recovery package, uh, that is intended to spend out quickly and, uh, um, well, fulfill the kinds of stimulative economic goals I talked about earlier. So, um, uh, my view, uh, is that, uh, no windows are closed when it comes to, uh, these good ideas...
This afternoon I took part in a media and blogger conference call with Jared Bernstein, the chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden. The subject for the briefing and questions which followed was the "impacts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan":
Jared Bernstein:...Thanks very much...I'm a, I'm really glad to be talking, uh, to this group. I talk to lots of different groups. And while I, I can't see you, uh, I know you're out there. And, uh, I'm glad of that. Um, folks may know, uh, some of my work. I was, uh, blogging for the Huffington Post before I, I came here.
Um, I'm just gonna quickly talk about, uh, where we are, uh, how I think we got here and how I believe, uh, this plan, ah, is, uh, critical to getting us back on track, uh, economically. Um, where we are is at best told from an economist's perspective, and that is my curse, uh, by reflecting on some jobs numbers. Uh, last month, uh, we lost six hundred thousand jobs. Uh, that is the worst month for job losses in over three decades. And that got a lot of attention, because that kind of number just kinda, uh, screams out for precisely the kind of attention it got. The, the thing that maybe didn't quite land as much in people's thinking was the fact that the prior two months were revised such that they were almost just as bad. So over the past three months we've lost close to two million jobs. That's a little bit less than a per cent of the, uh, of the, uh, employment out there in, in the country. And this is a, uh, a very serious, uh, uh, acceleration in the rate at which the job market is, is declining. Now, you know, when you're talkin' about it at that level it sounds, you know, fairly antiseptic. But the President, the Vice President have been traveling to venues where unemployment is, uh, uh, a lot higher than it was a year ago and, and in the case of Elkhart, Indiana and Fort Myer, Florida, basically in double digits. And these are folks who are facing, um, this tough economy on the ground. Uh, it's, uh, as many of you know, and it's one of the things that I think put our administration here in the first place, there are lots of middle class families that were having trouble even when the economy was expanding.Well now it's contracting, and, uh, those folks don't have a lot to fall back on. So this is, this is, this is very difficult times...
The irony. Senator Claire McCaskill's most recent Twitter posts:
Just discovered today that one of my favorite DC spots, Busboys and Poets, has opened in my neighborhood.3 blocks away.Great food Reasonable
about 16 hours ago from web
Let me connect the dots. Since the grand Senate "compromise" with republicans has removed aid to states (which can't run budget deficits) there will be severe cuts in higher education. We will then be definitely assured that highly qualified poets who have been laid off from creative writing programs in higher education will contribute to a highly competitive environment in the poet/busboy market, thereby enhancing the dining experience for those who can afford it. What's not to like?
...Ensign seemed encouraged by the fact that state budgets, including his own, would have to be slashed, calling the budgets "bloated." He said, "What we should be doing is cutting back."
Got that? As the recession worsens, and government spending is needed to prevent more Americans from losing their jobs, a leading Republican senator whose own state is about to get pummeled, believes it's a good idea to "cut back...."
...Sen. John Ensign is entirely comfortable with all of these developments -- those dreaded state budgets are "bloated," after all -- but doesn't want anyone to acknowledge this publicly. Pointing to reality is "fearmongering."
It's not enough for congressional Republicans to stand in the way of sound economic policy during a crisis; they also want to discourage everyone from talking about it.
So, Senator McCaskill, are you as comfortable as Senator Ensign?
On Thursday we participated in a media conference call with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman. The first portions of our coverage:
Media asked questions on the subject of the economic stimulus bill:
...Operator: We go to the line of Jim Leach from Springfield, Illinois. Please state your media affiliation and your question.
Jim Leach: WMAY Radio in Springfield. Mr. Secretary, good to talk to you again. How are you?
Ray LaHood: Thank you Jim. Good to talk to you.
Jim Leach: Uh, two part question. If you could, one, elaborate on the situation with Illinois given our governmental turmoil here and also news of this massive budget defecit we're dealing with. How prepared, is your sense, that we are to capitalize on some of these when we need matching funds and are we really in a position to do that? And also if you could address, are you doing any personal lobbying of your former, uh, colleagues on the hill, especially in the Republican caucus, to try to get their support for the stimulus package...?
...For some reason I keep thinking about the Senate voting 98-1 for the Patriot Act and all going to the steps of the capital to sing "God Bless America" together. Try to picture that happening under a Democratic president under any circumstances.
Yesterday we participated in a media conference call with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman. The first part of our coverage:
Media asked questions on the subject of the economic stimulus bill:
...Operator: Our first question is from line of Sabrina Eaton from Washington, D.C. Please state your media affiliation.
Sabrina Eaton: Hi, I'm with the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Shall I ask the question [crosstalk]?
Operator: Go ahead Sabrina.
Sabrina Eaton: Okay. Um, I wanted to ask Secretary LaHood - there are just tons of estimates coming out from, you know, government groups, members of Congress, uh think tanks, about how much money every state is going to get and for what. And those of us who cover particular states are obviously very interested in this. Can you give us an idea of, you know, where these numbers are coming from and why a, a lot of them are so different? From one another...?
This afternoon we participated in a media conference call with Treasury Secretary Ray LaHood and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman arranged for Midwest reporters by the White House Media Affairs Office. The subject was the economic stimulus bill. Secretary LaHood spoke from his prepared remarks for about six minutes and then, with Jason Furman, took questions from media participants for almost another twenty minutes.
...Amy Brundage, Midwest Communications Director, White House: Hi everyone, this is Amy Brundage. I'm the Midwest Communications Director here at the White House. Thanks to everybody who took the time to join us today. And for those of you who I haven't spoken with yet I look forward to getting to know you over the course of our time here. I am very, very pleased today to be joined by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood who is on the line with us and who will be speaking about an American, exeuse me, an economic recovery and reinvestment plan. And we also have Jason Furman who is our Deputy Director of the National Economic Council here at the White House, who is on as well. So with that I will turn the call over to Secretary LaHood and we will take some questions after the opening remarks...
Title: Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Obey, David R. [WI-7] (introduced 1/26/2009) Cosponsors (9)...
Not One Republican Vote ...I don't know how you can come away from this sideshow thinking anything but that Republicans are determined to have their Great Depression and that they openly wish failure upon the United States, or at least no economic recovery for anyone who needs it. Americans seem to have gotten that message too; it's why Democrats have a 24-point generic ballot lead at this point for the next election...
[emphasis added]
Ike Skelton (D) voted "yes". Think about that.
Not one republican vote. Not one. Post-partisanship is just a pile of useless bullshit.
There is no such thing as a republican moderate. All they have left are right wingnuts and party hacks.
