I did not realize it at the time I wrote the previous Irene recovery post, but most if not all of the Overlook condos have also lost power due to Hurricane Irene and still do not have the utility. It is somewhat frustrating because they can literally see the Dominion Resources headquarters, which does have power.
One Overlook resident remarked on her FaceBook page:
I can see the power HQ 200 feet from my house. They have power! Who has a really long extension cord I can borrow? :0)
While many Richmond residents are still without power after Hurricane Irene this past weekend, a few residents have access to their own produced energy (without noisy generators) due to their previous investments in solar arrays. This should come as no surprise, for after Hurricane Katrina, pre-existing solar arrays were the only power sources for a period of time in New Orleans after the fossil fuel supplies ran out.
I understand that President Obama may come to the area and meet with Governor McDonnell today, in part to survey the damages left by the storm. If I could meet with those two leaders in person, I would strongly suggest to them that distributed, scalable solar (in addition to conservation, of course), is the best way to make the country and Commonwealth stronger- economically, environmentally, and in case of disaster.
Not only that, but despite what people like Duke Energy CEO Rogers say, solar is proving safer and more cost-efficient.
Look for a press release from the Virginia Solar Energy Association on this very subject later today.
(and come back when I have more time to supply some even better informational links for this post).
The Petrol-Free Gypsy Carnival Tour are in Richmond right now and they are playing in Monroe Park at 4 pm during the Food Not Bombs meal. Click for Facebook event page.
From the Tour’s website:
The Petrol-Free is a bicycle-powered music and art tour to promote peace, social justice, and a healthy planet. On the tour, musicians carry only the essential instruments from city to city on their bicycles. At each venue, amplifiers and other large or heavy equipment are provided by a local band.
Scenes from the Oregon Hill Keep It Cool event at the Jacob House this past Saturday:
One part of it was a presentation on the varying temperatures of materials.
Another portion was a small workshop on adding shade cloth to exterior window screens. Imagine how much air conditioning energy could be conserved if every Oregon Hill house used shade cloth.
Thanks to Commonwealth Solar for lending their expertise.
If you missed this event, there is already talk of holding another one soon.
This coming Saturday morning, there is an Oregon Hill Energy Efficiency/Home Cooling workshop at the Jacob House, the City’s The Clean City Commission is partnering with the 2nd Precinct MPACT Co-Chairs to host the 4th Annual Civic Association Community Workshop, the Better Housing Coalition’s Center for Neighborhood Revitalization has a FREE Renovation Lending Workshop, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is having a workshop on lobbying for offshore wind.
That last item might sound a little out of place, but since the redistricting, Oregon Hill is likely to change representatives from the pro-renewables McEachin to Chesterfield developer and recent French nuclear tourist, Watkins.
The sun literally came out…
More photos on the Sierra Club Falls of the James’ blog site.
And now for some editorializin’….
With this, Mayor Jones shows that he gets it.
As with stormwater and bicycle initiatives, the City of Richmond is leading the whole region.
Yes, there are always be a need for tweaking plans and there will be hiccups that need addressing (including moving from “Big Energy” to “Local Energy“), but today a lot of folks are proud to call themselves Richmonders.
From the Flying Brick Library website:
We are excited to host the crew from Ciclovida: Lifecycle, who will be stopping in Richmond to present their documentary and to host a workshop!
On April 20 at 3 p.m. Ciclovida will host a workshop on Pedal and Solar Powered Projection systems!
On April 21 at 7 p.m. we will host the first backyard movie screening of 2011 with the presentation of the documentary, Ciclovida: Lifecycle.
The film pedals alongside a group of subsistence farmers from Brazil who bicycle over 6,000 miles across the South American continent in search of natural seeds.
This feature-length documentary is made up of moving stories from landless peasants, indigenous communities, and small farmers that expose the devastating effects of industrial agriculture destined for agrofuels. Filmmakers and protagonists will be here for both events!
Despite citizen hopes, the dream for high speed rail or even improved passenger rail service is faltering. It’s too bad, given the fact that before the devastation of the Civil War, Richmond was competing with New York City as a passenger rail center, and is famous for early light rail innovation.
The Times Dispatch feigns surprise, but CSX executives are quite blunt about being against passenger rail. From the linked Jacksonville Business Journal article:
“I’m a corporation. I exist to make money, OK?” Ward said. “You can’t make money hauling passengers, so why would I want to do that? That wouldn’t be fair to my shareholders.”
His comments come as CSX, the nation’s third-largest railroad, protests the State of New York’s plan to provide up to 110 mph passenger rail service between Albany and Buffalo. The Jacksonville-based railroads said the passenger trains will damage the track and cause service disruption to its freight trains.
So what is the future of transportation in Richmond?
On Wednesday, the Richmond First Club will host a panel discussion about this subject.
What can we expect?
More begging for the Richmond airport and ‘low-cost’ carriers?
Maybe more news on the BRT concept from GRTC?
At the same time, remember that Richmond is considered a test market for all sorts of advertising and new product launches. To that end, right now we see a new campaign for energy conservation sponsored by Shell Oil (perhaps part of a larger efforts, including the oxymoronic ‘clean coal’. Perhaps we will learn more about this on April 30 at the Science Museum. Green or greenwashing?
Richmond may also see more electric vehicles in the near future. In addition to the latest from STIR and Richmond Segway tours, I keep hearing rumors of electric car chargers in Broad Street garages with giant solar canopy arrays. While I share questions about the overall economic sustainability of electric cars, others are already cheering possible environmental advantages.
Personally, I am less critical and more celebratory about more electric bicycles in Richmond. They are much less expensive than cars and with pedal assist, are easily more energy efficient. Rumor is that Virginia Commonwealth University will be introducing Sanyo eneLoops for its police in order to enforce parking regulations. This, plus Richmond Bike Week, immediately improves the mood.
The new MegaBuses offer a glimmer of hope as well, increasing routes and perhaps doing what government could not by supplying a transfer station in Shockoe Bottom.
Still, at the very least, hopefully the members of the Richmond First Club will recognize that coal, and specifically CSX coal trains, are holding back passenger rail transportation. Mitigate the coal trade, clean up Acca train yard, and let passenger rail work. As I have expressed before, Richmond sits on a Gordian knot that includes strands of energy and transportation policies and must be loosened at all ends before real progress can be made. Sadly, locally as well as nationally, corporations and their demand for short-term profits seem to have a lock hold on those policies and any long term thinking that would benefit country or citizens.
When it comes to the new VCU student apartments and dorms being built on Canal Street, how much is energy efficiency being considered?
How does this compare with other universities?
Student life at Syracuse University can be comfortable as well as energy efficient. University Village Apartments includes five buildings and 120 apartments for students. The project, developed by Education Realty Trust on land leased from the university, achieved Gold certification under the LEED for Homes rating system. Each apartment in the project earned the Energy Star and each building received incentives under the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) Multifamily Performance program as its third Low Rise Pilot participant (see “Multifamily Performance Program”).