May 29 is the “Day of the Honeybee.” BC is celebrating the growth of an industry that started with the arrival of two hives in Victoria during 1858. There are now 47,000 colonies, whose activities a $250-million-a-year agricultural industry. BC also produces $10 million worth of honey. The provincial Minister of Agriculture, Norm Letnik, says this is a time to remember how much bees contribute to “our lives, our economy and our food supply.” Gwen Barlee suggests we should celebrate the Day of the Honeybee by Banning Neonicotinoids.
As Boulder prepares to set up its own power distribution system, local Coloradans and The Alliance for Solar Choice (TASC) are making sure that other municipalities are aware they can choose to break free of Xcel energy’s monopoly. Coloradans can choose where they obtain their electricity.
The time for talking about rising global temperatures as a future threat is over. According to the most recent National Climate Assessment, Climate Change is here and getting worse.
Renewable sources contributed 27% of Germany’s domestic electricity in the first quarter. In windy Schleswig-Holstein, which obtained 90% of its energy from renewable sources in 2013, they hope to reach 100% this year. The role played by fossil fuels and the nuclear sectors is shrinking. Contrary to what naysayers have been predicting, Energiewende is very much alive and on-track in Germany.
California Senate Bill 790 (SB 790) bans utility companies from using ratepayer funds for negative publicity campaigns against local community utilities ( community choice aggregators, or CCA). They are now required to file the details of any anti-CCA marketing with the California Public Utilities Commission. Only PG&E has not filed in the case of AB 2145 (popularly known as the “Monopoly Protection Act” ) because the marketing is being done by associated third parties. Doesn’t this make a mockery of California Senate Bill 790?
