Archive for April, 2007
“When I Came Home”
Hudson Valley Progressive Democrats of America continue their progressive film series this Saturday, April 21st at 7:30pm at John Jay Middle School with a special event Iraq War Veterans: The Untold Story, showing the film “When I Came Home“.
Attend an evening of film and remarks by guest speakers that will draw attention to yet another human tragedy and cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: the problems faced by combat vets when they come home.
We’re showing the film When I Came Home. Our lineup of speakers include:
- Dan Lohaus, creator and director of the film
- An Iraq war veteran
- Jim Murphy, Vietnam war veteran and member of Veterans for Peace
- Assemblyman Adam Bradley, member, N.Y. State Committee on Veterans Affairs
The award winning film has been acclaimed as “angry and urgent” (Variety) and “fiercely moving” (New York Magazine). Filmmaker Dan Lohaus will be onhand to discuss his Tribeca Film Festival award winner. Filmed primarily in the boroughs of New York City, the film reveals a failing system and a veteran’s struggle to survive after returning from the war.
This is not a political event nor an anti-war rally. Anybody who supports the troops and cares about this country is encouraged to attend.
The evening’s program is part of a continuing series of films and discussions dealing with urgent issues facing society today. Sponsored and paid for by Hudson Valley Progressive Democrats, a $5 donation is suggested to help defray costs.
Directions From I-684, Katonah Exit 6: Route 35 East, 4.5 miles to Cross River. Turn left at light onto Rte 121-North Salem Road (at Shell station). Go past shopping center and athletic field on left; turn left into John Jay Middle School driveway (40 North Salem Road ); at bottom of driveway, turn right at traffic circle; theatre entrance is 100 yds on the left.
The event is co-sponsored by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
JH live blogging on Firedoglake April 21 @ 2pm
John Hall will be live blogging with Howie Klein on Firedoglake this Saturday, April 21 at 2pm. Howie had some kind words about John relating to today’s Supreme Court decision on partial birth abortion.
Committee Hearings Galore
John Hall has a busy committee day tomorrow, when all three of the committees he sits on hold hearings. Perhaps the most anticipated is the first meeting of the new House Selection Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming:
SELECT ENERGY INDEPENDENCE & GLOBAL WARMING—————9:30-Open
Full Committee. Hrng. on geopolitical implications of rising oil dependence and global warming. Richard Haas, President, Council of Foreign Relations; Carl Pope, Executive Director, Sierra Club; James Woolsey, former Director, CIA; Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn. 1100 LHOB.
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE————————————10:00-Open Full Committee. Hrng. on proposals to downsize Federal Protective Service and impact on protection of federal buildings. 2167 RHOB.
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE————————————–2:00-Open Full Committee. Hrng. on compliance with Coast Guard deepwater contract. Public witnesses. 2167 RHOB.
VETERANS AFFAIRS—————————————————————-10:00-Open Full Committee. Markup on H.R. 1642 – Homeless Veterans Housing atSepulveda
Ambulatory
Care
Center Promotion Act. Followed by hrng. on H.R. 23 – Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act. 334 CHOB.It is not clear if CSpan or anyone else will stream the Energy Independence committee session live, as is done with the Transportation and Veterans’ Committees each on thier on websites.
Step it Up at Bear Mountain Bridge
Here are some photos from today’s Step It Up event at Bear Mountain Bridge.
Tonight at 8 PM, Bill McKibbon will do a live webcast from the Step it Up web site – www.stepitup2007.org. Try to “tune in”.
JH Will Hold Four More “Community Congress” Forums
CARMEL, NY – Congressman John Hall will be continuing his “Community Congress” forums in the upcoming weeks, holding four more in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess counties respectively, beginning on April 21 in Mount Kisco. All of the forums will give Hall an opportunity to hear directly from the residents of his district.
Future forums are scheduled for April 28 in Stony Point, May 5 in Carmel and May 12 in Fishkill. Information on forums as they are scheduled is available on Hall’s Congressional website at www.johnhall.house.gov.
April 21 at Mount Kisco Town Hall, 104 Main St.—11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
April 28 at Stony Point Town Hall, 74 East Main St.—11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
May 5 at Carmel Town Hall, 60 McAlpin Avenue, Mahopac—2:30 PM to 4:00PM
May 12 at Fishkill Town Hall, 807 Route 52—1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Step it Up – slight location change
A reminder that Step it Up 2007, a Climate Crisis call to action is this Saturday, April 14th.
The Bear Mountain Bridge event has a slight change in location for the first part of the program:
There has been a change in location for the “Park” portion of our Bridge event.
We will gather at Bear Mountain State Park (at “The Horseshoe”) at 10 AM. You will still need to park in the main parking lot near the Inn.
You get to the Horseshoe by exiting the parking lot on the Bear Mountain Inn side – walk past the Inn and keep the Lake on your left, after about 500 feet you will see a horseshoe shaped structure on your right, which is where we will meet for music and a press conference/rally.
Other than this location change, the event is the same as before. Music at 10 AM, the group photo at 11 AM, followed immediately by the press conference. We will then march to the Bridge.
If you can’t make it to Bear Mountain are many other Step It Up happenings in the area: Bedford, Mount Kisco, Pawling, Warwick, Poughkeepsie, and many more…
Just give me the restless power of the wind
Congressman John Hall hosted a forum on wind energy yesterday. He began the forum, which will be the first in a series on the issue of renewable energy, by pointing out the issue wasn’t just about energy independence, but independence; independence from depending on countries in volatile areas for oil or countries with questionable human rights records for loans to pay for that oil.
Congressman Hall’s home gets the first 1500 kW hours of energy from a wind farm in Atlantic City, NJ. He was apologetic to the New York home town panelists for not using something in-state, but recounted that he signed up when he had been invited to the opening of the farm to sing his song Power (title of this post is the relevant lyric).
Between the expertise of the speakers and the questions posed by the audience, the forum was comprehensive — covering the basics of wind energy, wind turbines in industrial contexts, smaller scale wind farms, issues to farmers, state and federal tax incentives, municipal ownership issues, resistance to wind farms, job creation and more. Lots of information can be found at the New York State Energy Resource and Development Authority’s Wind Energy Tool Kit and PowerNaturally.org.
One of the comments in the Times Herald Record online article before the forum:
“the biggest reason companies invest in wind turbines is becuase of the tax incentives”
Well, duh. People don’t seem to realize that all energy programs are subsidized by the government. Now we give $14 billion dollars to oil companies, that the congress voted to re-directed instead at renewable energies that won’t destroy our earth. The way that government encourages development of anything that people deem important is to incentivize it, to reduce the initial hump before the market naturally reduces prices. And yes people, not just “left wing nut jobs”, have declared reducing carbon output as a worthwhile effort.
New York has a goal of 25% of electricity should generated by renewable resources by 2013. Right now 1% comes from wind. At 2 megawatts per turbine, for a goal of 3330 megawatts, 1500 turbines are needed. Right now there are 370 megawatts generated from 234 turbines (at 5 farms). 20 megawatts provides energy for 6000 homes.
One of the major areas of resistance to wind farms is the visual impact — Paul Curran of BQEnergy put this into the proper perspective. Would you rather see this:
or this:
Congressman Hall pointed out the reality that every energy production has some sort of environmental impact. The question becomes what sort of impact would you prefer.
The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, to which Rep. Hall has been appointed, will hold its first meeting next week.
Step It Up 2007 – April 14
Saturday, April 14th, 2007
Hudson Valley Residents Take a Stand on Bear Mountain Bridge
Step It Up, Congress! Cut Carbon 80% by 2050
Friends of keep19 and the John Hall campaign (see the long list further down) have organized this local event as part of a national call to action on climate change. Gathering starts at 10am at Bear Mountain State Park in the main parking lot near the inn. A press conference at 11am will include John Hall, as well as Westchester County Exec Andy Spano, County Legistlator Mike Kaplowitz, Riverkeeper’s Lisa Rainwater, and others (Welcome by keep19’s own Connie Hogarth). After people head to the bridge to walking through the tunnel and zoo. Participants are urged to bring signs. (Parking costs $6)
On Saturday, April 14, 2007 at high noon, Hudson Valley residents, politicians, religious and community leaders will link hands across the Bear Mountain Bridge to demand that Congress step up their leadership around the climate crisis. The group will be calling for the United States to legislate its commitment to make a meaningful difference in stemming uncontrolled global warming by requiring an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050.
Hudson Valley participants—people from all walks of life who are coming out to call for change—are joining thousands of Americans who are staging rallies in over one thousand locations in all 50 states. Groups are organized around a common understanding that the climate crisis has been caused by human activities that burn large quantities of coal, oil and gas, releasing carbon dioxide and trapping the sun’s radiation in our atmosphere—resulting in an increase in the earth’s temperature beyond that seen in human history. The results of this “global scorching” are projected by the February report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be disastrous for human communities, the economy and public health. IPCC scientists forecast, among other effects, more intense hurricanes and typhoons, droughts in some areas and flooding in others with rising sea levels.
Organizers of the local Bear Mountain Bridge Call for Action are working with a sense of urgency. The escalation of global warming will be uncontrollable if we continue to burn fossil fuels at our current rate. Yet organizers are optimistic that the runaway effects of rising temperatures can be curbed if we act decisively now. They are expressing hope as the new Congress works on various legislative initiatives to control carbon emissions and to stimulate markets for carbon-cutting technologies and alternative energy.
The efforts that local groups are investing in Step It Up activities around the country and the groundswell of support for an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by mid-century are providing a beacon of hope to those who have been warning that we must take action now if we are to protect and preserve life on earth.
People of all ages are encouraged to participate. Organizers are urging as many people as possible to sign up for the event right away, and take a stand with your community! To join the Bear Mountain Bridge action, go to http://events.stepitup2007.org/ events/show/531 or call 917-273-0808.
Join Philipstown for Democracy, Mid Hudson Progressive Alliance, Beacon Sloop Club, Hudson Highlands Land Trust, Lower Hudson Sierra Club, Garrison Institute, Riverkeeper, Rockland Coalition for the Future, WESPAC, Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action, Clearwater, Climate Keepers, Fishkill Democratic Committee, Philipstown Democratic Club, Orange County Peace & Justice, Rockland Sierra Club, and Rockland FUSE on this day of action.
Over eleven thirteen hundred events planned in 50 States: Step It Up 2007
To Sign up go to http://events.stepitup2007.org/events/show/531
or call 917-273-0808
Transformer explosion at Indian Point; John Hall Renews Demand for ISA
A transformer fire led to the shut down of Indian Point 3.
From the Journal News coverage:
The unplanned shutdown, the second this week, will degrade the plant’s safety rating to white from green, the safest of four operational categories, said Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Parsing that sentence – the plant is going from the safest rating, green, to a lower rating of white.
John Hall’s press release:
US Rep. John Hall Renews Demand for Independent Study of Indian Point
Fire, Explosion only the latest in string of potentially dangerous mishaps
CARMEL, NY – In the wake of the incident today at the Indian Point Nuclear Complex, U. S. Representative John Hall (NY-19) stated: “This explosion and fire at Indian Point, triggering a shutdown of Unit 3, is only the latest in a string of accidents and unplanned shutdowns at the plant. It only reinforces the necessity of an objective, truly independent safety study before re-licensing for another 20 years is considered.”
Hall, along with House members Nita Lowey, Maurice Hinchey, Elliot Engel and Christopher Shays, plus Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, have co-sponsored legislation requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to have an Independent Safety Assessment performed and any problems that are discovered be reported and dealt with before the re-licensing process can go forward. Recent problems at the plant have included: debris clogging the water intake grate, causing a low level of cooling water in the plant; the fracturing of a spent fuel rod while it was being moved in a cooling pond, presumably raising the level of radioactivity in the circulating water; failure of all the emergency sirens to operate in evacuation drills; and, of course, the ongoing leaks from two spent fuel ponds which are spilling strontium 90 and tritium into the ground water and the Hudson River.
“Today, as always, we are told by Entergy and the NRC that there is no danger to the public health,” added Hall. “That is what every utility says, what the NRC always says. Their credibility is, to put it kindly, insufficient to reassure us when 8% of the population of the entire United States lives within the 50 mile radius of this plant. This is the only plant we know that was scouted out by one of the 9/11 terrorists as a possible target, an aging plant with a history of ‘unusual events’ and not one that should be rubber-stamped for another 20 years of operation. I join with my colleagues in the House and Senate in calling for an immediate Independent Safety Assessment.”
Westchester County Legislator Mike Kaplowitz also renewed his support of an ISA.
