Watch: Payback Time – Feed in Tariffs Work
A 10-min video on Germany’s rewarding feed-in tariff renewable energy program … Read More
Community Networks are the Path to Competition in Broadband and Cable Television
"Community Owned Networks Benefit Everyone," an article written by Christopher Mitchell to explain why community networks are the only means of spurring true competition in the broadband cable television sector, appeared in the Spring 2009, NATOA Journal. … Read More
Wal-Mart’s Faulty Impact Report Leads California Judge to Block Project
A coalition of environmental and community groups are celebrating a recent San Bernardino County Superior Court judge’s decision that invalidates Wal-Mart’s environmental impact report (EIR), preventing a supercenter from locating in their community. … Read More
South Dakota Town Creates Community-Owned Variety Store
When small town in Clark lost its last variety store, they had a choice: drive 40 minutes to a nearby town for basic supplies or pull together and jointly create a new, community-owned store. They pulled together.… Read More
Energy Smart Miami – A possible model for smart grid and DG
Mayor Manny Diaz recently unveiled an ambitious, $200 million "Energy Smart Miami" smart grid project developed in partnership with General Electric, Cisco Systems, Florida Power & Light and Silver Spring Networks to ultimately deploy smart meters on every home and most businesses in Miami-Dade County. In addition to smart meters, the project aims to install solar power systems on several schools and universities, add 300 plug-in hybrid vehicles to the city’s fleet, and bring a series of new technologies like home energy use dashboards, smart appliances and smart-meter thermostats to pilot programs in 1,000 city homes.… Read More
ILSR’s Minnesota Carbon Tax Shift Archives
Date:
12 May 2009 |
posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, From the Desk of David Morris, The Public Good
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In the 1990s, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and other energy activists in Minnesota undertook an effort to get Minnesota to adopt a billion dollar "tax shift" that would have raised the cost of energy while reducing taxes on income and/or property. ILSR was integrally involved in the design of the legislative proposal and examined the impacts on various sectors of Minnesota’s economy. Below you will find the archive of the materials that were prepared to support the initiative. Over several years, the proposal was debated extensively but never enacted into law. … Read More
Carbon Taxes with Universal Dividends
In 2009 a vigorous debate is taking place about the best way to reduce carbon emissions. There are two leading proposals: a carbon cap and emissions auction with revenue returned to Americans as a dividend, and a carbon tax with revenue returned to Americans in the form of lower taxes or a dividend. In the mid 1990s Minnesota debated a carbon tax and dividend bill designed by ILSR. Several studies were done about the impact on various sectors of such a policy. … Read More
The Energetics of Ethanol: An Introduction and Link to Studies
Does it take more energy to make ethanol than is contained in ethanol? That question continues to haunt the ethanol industry even after nearly 30 years of expanding production. Over the years more than 20 scientific studies have examined the question. This document contains links to the major studies of the subject completed during the last decade or so.… Read More
Paperless Health Records Managed by Open Source Software created by VA Dept
One of the key reforms pushed by the Obama Administration is to move away from paper medical health records to paperless, electronic systems. Electronic records should reduce costs, improve diagnoses, and are a key part of future telehealth hopes.
But what are the rules governing these systems? Can some vendors build systems and lock hospitals into proprietary formats from which they will be unable to transition away?
Fortunately, there is an open source solution that has already been built with public money by the Department of Veterans Affairs.