The U.S. House recently passed the School Modernization Bill designed, among other things, to provide $6.4 billion to go toward more energy efficient schools.  If the bill also passes in the Senate, it will provide a small portion of the estimated $255 billion needed to renovate and repair all the schools across the country according to the American Federation of Teachers.  Rachel Gutter of the U.S. Green Building Council, says, in an article on CNN.com, that there is a large pay off to building green.  She disputes the idea that green construction is costlier and notes that the savings, typically $100,000 per school, per year, can go to other school operating expenses - year after year after year.  In addition, the money spent on renovation now will improve air and water quality, improve employee and student productivity and performance and provide 136,000 jobs.

The U.S. doesn't regulate industrial agriculture and hasn't for years.  The result has contributed significantly to a host of environmental problems although few people generally think of agriculture as being one of the prime culprits.  Will Allen, writing at Alternet, provides an overview of why and how it is.  I am providing just an overview of his article.  Read the entire piece.

The appointments to senior USDA jobs have been all over the board, reflecting an agency that has proponents ranging from huge agribusinesses, i.e. ADM; fertilizer/biotech companies, i.e. Monsanto; and factory farms, i.e. Smithfield; to the generally smaller organizations advocating sustainable agricultural practices, i.e. Rodale Publications, organic food growing, i.e. Tilth, and direct marketing of farm produce to farmers markets across the country.  So, sometimes we get someone as good as Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, the organic food proponent, sometimes we don't.

Marcy Wheeler, writing at FireDogLake, provides the best description of the new Fuel Efficiency Standards for cars and trucks going forward, as presented by the Administration.   Here's the core agreement:  "Everyone (the companies, the states that wanted higher standards, and the EPA) agrees to one nationwide standard that will be in effect through 2016. And in exchange, CA will drop its push for its own state standards and the standards will be slightly postponed (though the outcome by 2016 will be roughly the same)."

KUOW’s Steve Sher interviewed Dan Newhouse, the new Director of the Washington State Agriculture Department yesterday morning.  Newhouse was until recently a Republican legislator from eastern Washington.  He is a family farmer who operates a 600-acre farm outside of Sunnyside, where he grows hops, fruit, grapes and alfalfa. 

Newhouse graduated from WSU with a BS in Agriculture Economics.  He obviously loves farming.  His family has been farming in eastern Washington since 1882 and he lives on the farm that his father bought in the late 1940’s. 

Energy Northwest, a non-for-profit agency that provides 1,300 megawatts of non-fossil fuel energy to 24 public power utilities and municipalities in the Northwest, has added biomass to their mix of nuclear, hydro, solar, and wind energy.  They signed an agreement with ADAGE, a joint venture between AREVA of France and Duke Energy to construct biomass power plants in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.  ADAGE will be working with local communities to explore potential development sites.  Biomass plants utilize tree trimmings and damaged trees as well as residual wood waste from our forest floors.