There goes the neighborhood

This photo from the Industrial Wind Action Group says it all. What could possibly be right about it? The middle of a pasture is one thing, but....

Partly cloudy for solar?

Sorry it's been a few days since the last post. I've been suffering from the disease formerly known as the swine flu. No, I don't have it, but I've been sidelined by having to help figure out and report what's going on.

But back to more pleasant business while the disease continues under the cover of the public health system's caution.

The bill to give people incentives to install solar energy equipment is shining fairly brightly after passing the state Senate. On Tuesday, it went to the House Energy Resources Committee.

It provides for funding the incentives through a charge to electric customers - 20 cents monthly for residential users, $2 for commercial and $20 from industrial. It also calls for electricity providers to purchase any excess power generated by the solar outfits.

The bill also says up to 70 percent of the funding could be used for a utility-scale installation if the Public Utilities Commission says that would be more cost effective or a greater benefit to the grid.

Because of the wording, it is unclear just what impact the law would have up here on the tundra. And there's all those bureaucratic rules to be written if the bill passes that could have a big impact on implementation.

On the not-so-bright side, State Rep. David Swinford's bill to encourage more sustainable energy than just wind got slapped down by the House State Affairs committee when it didn't get enough votes to move on. He wants to establish a renewable energy standard that mandates utilities get solar energy into the electricity mix.

The Austin American-Statesman reports it may get another life next week if the committee chooses to vote again.

From The Ground Up

Welcome to my world and yours

I call this neighborhood From The Ground Up because it's all about where we all live - water, wind, plants, food and all the other topics that spring from thinking about resources like cooking, recycling and generally trying to live leaving a lighter footprint on the Earth.

I'll try to give peeks behind some of the topics I cover for the Amarillo Globe-News like energy, water, agriculture and the environment in general. But there will also be those tidbits floating around that are just interesting because the are.

Some of the stuff may be fun, and some troubling, but hopefully it will all be at least a little informative. Let's start with one end of the spectrum and then let the conversation begin. I want to hear from you so don't be shy.

From the "it doesn't taste like chicken" area of the spectrum, researchers report in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology that sausages made using jumbo squid mantle (head) muscle "performed well in sensory tests."

That could "open up a range of possibilities for product development," according to the report. The only things testers criticized were the color, aroma and texture. Oh yeah, and the possibility of a wretched death. Researchers cited an "unfavorable microbial profile" or a tendency to grow a lot of bacteria while in storage.

They couldn't be satisfied with perfectly acceptable bison/chipotle or chicken/spinach/asiago.
For the tasty details, go to www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Scientists-edge-towards-squid-sausages.