21 Aug possibly the 4 most important Eco stories of the summer….

I’ve been talking with Max Nofziger quite a lot lately — an incredible visionary who has helped grow Austin’s arts community, local economy, and environmental protection movements (to name a few things). As both activist and council member, Max was a key person in developing Austin Energy’s green power and green building stories during the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s.

A couple of centerpieces to our discussion are: 1) Max’s vision for developing Austin Energy into a 100% clean energy utility, and 2) the new market potential for charging electric vehicles… Items one and two below evidence that his vision is accessible now.

1. Texas Wind — lowering electricity prices
I read this as … Wind has become cheaper than natural gas — and utilities across Texas will have to “go clean” just to compete in the marketplace… What AMAZING news. Ecos have been saying this moment would come… and now, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bernstein Research, it’s here.
Read more: http://www.green4th.com/2009/08/texas-wind-lowering-electricity-prices.html

2. “Chevy Volt” — will get 230 mpg
Did you see this???? Chevy is set to release this EV/hybrid sedan, right off of American assembly lines starting in 2011. Summary: for $40k you’ll be able to purchase a car that travels at highway speeds, looks cool, charges on a standard wall outlet (8hrs), and provides all the comforts of an average-sized vehicle. The cost to fill it’s battery? $0.11 per gallon. The electric vehicle revolution is right around the corner?
Read more: http://www.green4th.com/2009/08/gm-says-new-electric-car-gets-230-miles.html

Videos:

3. Obama — scrutinizing AG monopolies
Austin is a FOOD town, and thanks to many, many amazing people the movement to develop a locally sustainable food system is growing quickly. Thanks to our local food pioneers (too many to name them all), the Austin area is helping support a good collection of small farm and family farm businesses. No doubt there’s plenty of room for expansion, and thanks to President Obama’s antitrust division it may soon become easier for small farmers everywhere to stay in business.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112035045
Thanks to Janet Giles for this story.

4. Department of Defense — Going Green
Yep. Not only is the Pentagon renovating its building according to LEED standards, the entire US Military is greening, primarily for security reasons… A few headlines (check the site link below for more),
* “Army on track to power Ft. Irwin with sunshine”
* “Investing in conservation expected to save millions”
* “Alternative energy revitalizes Afghan hospital”
* “Navy reduces fuel consumption at sea”
Visit site: http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0809_green/

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Dang! I think it’s fair to say this was a good summer! Please pass this info around to friends, and feel free to leave comments.

Thanks for reading — wishing you a great weekend, Chris