Bloomberg Wants NYC To Go Green

Mike Bloomberg, billionaire mayor of New York City, wants the city to invest heavily in a push to develop renewable energy The plan, still in its early stages, suggests placing wind turbines on buildings and bridges as well as in coastal waters near the city. Yesterday afternoon, the city issued a formal request for proposals to companies around the country for energy projects based on wind, solar and water resources in New York.

Whether or not the plan sees any action remains to be seen, and could be in doubt. Bloomberg is known for his ambitious proposals that later collapse. In addition, any plans would take years or decades to complete, and Bloomberg has only 18 months left in his term.

The plan also includes widespread use of solar panels, possibly by allowing companies to rent rooftops for solar panels and sell the energy to residents.

The Politics of Space

Yesterday must have been the day to talk about politicians and space (and I missed it!) because both Jon Goff and Darnell Clayton posted about it on their respective blogs.

Jon's post is a response to Mark Whittington about Barack Obama's position on NASA's Constellation program (Obama had previously suggested delaying Constellation and using the money to fund increases in educational spending). When Whittington questioned whether Obama was flip-flopping on the issue, Jon pointed out that "it is quite possible to both believe in gutting Constellation and at the same time revitalizing NASA. The two are not mutually incompatible at all." Jon has made his position on Constellation quite clear in the past, and I generally agree that Constellation is the wrong way to go about the Vision for Space Exploration at this time.

Darnell, meanwhile, points two two articles from the Orlando Sentinel highlighting the two candidates positions on space exploration. Darnell (and the Sentinel) points out that McCain has come out in firm support of manned space exploration and the Constellation program. Obama, on the other hand, has been vague about his support, though in a statement released on the 50th anniversary of NASA's establishment he said he "believe(s) we need to revitalize NASA's mission to maintain America's leadership." He also suggests that NASA could be used to help get children more interested in STEM education paths (read my posts about STEM education here and here).

Congress Rewards Oil Companies at the Expense of Alternative Energy

Melissa Lafsky of Discover Magazine's Reality Base blog has posted an interesting article about how Congressional Republicans have blocked all attempts to eliminate $18 billion in tax breaks for oil companies (at a time of record profits and high oil prices), while at the same time preventing all attempts to increase tax breaks for alternative energy providers. In fact, the Senate voted to extend alternative energy tax breaks, but only for one year.

And when alternative energy supporters tried to provide funding for alternative energy tax credits by closing a tax loophole for hedge-fund managers, Senate Republicans blocked that attempt as well.

Eliminating tax breaks for alternative energy at this stage would be devastating to the fledgling market and hurt consumers and businesses who are trying to do the right thing by investing in alternative energy. Also, the American Wind Energy Association predicts that up to 116,000 jobs would be lost in the wind power industry alone if the alternative energy tax credits expire.

What Do Your Congressional Reps Think About Science Issues?

The Short Sharp Science blog at New Scientist highlights the work of Scientists and Engineers for America to determine the scientific policies of Congressional contenders. Where do your Senators and Congressional rep stand on the issues?

If they don't have information for your representatives, there's still a way for you to find out. The Scientists and Engineers for America website has a list of seven questions you can ask your representatives, and then provide the answers back to the SEforA website.