The filling was huge. It spaned over the bottom left last two teeth. So big I could see the gum before she put in the silver filling.

Yes, I looked at my mouth while she was doing her job. I always look. I even looked when they were extracting my wisdom teeth.

As usual, there is some soreness with bottom fillings. Over the next few days I adjusted to the pain. It has now been a week and I still feel the same pain. My mouth is throbbing. It feels as if someone tied a rubber band around you finger and the pressure from the rubber band caused a throbbing feeling. Yes, just like that except in my mouth.

The feeling is worse when I wake up from sleep because if I accidentally fall asleep on that side of my face, the feeling worsens. I called my dentist to tell her the news, because she told me to call if I needed help. Since she is away in Greece, her receptionist kindly gave me the number of an associate specialist.

Tomorrow morning is my appointment. The specialist's receptionist reminded me not to take any pain reliever. Oy vey, I cannot go four hours without popping too. This should be an interesting experience.

The fact that my leaving date is so close adds stress to this situation. If I need a root canal I do not know what will happen since those usually take 2-3 weeks.

I just would like some heavy duty pain meds and to remove he filling. I'd be happy without the root canal. Who said gumming your foods was bad anyway.

It is a funny thing about this site - the busier I get in the shed, the more there is to write, the less time to do so. Guess that is my excuse for the lack of posting (and videos!)

Reorganising all the main tool locations caused quite a bit of chaos out there, although I have a feeling that I am infected with some kind of entropy bug. Got the dust system (pretty much) finished, so got to work getting tools uncovered, and accessible.

Ok, so it still looks a bit messy, but it's actually pretty good (the photo doesn't do it justice). This is the table saw guard extraction, using a combination of plumbing (down) pipe, stormwater pipe connectors, and traditional flexible dust tube. Down at floor level to the right (out of frame) there is the blast gate to separately control the tablesaw cabinet and the guard collection systems.

This is the back of the tablesaw cabinet. The blue-covered outlet is one of two general access points I've built into the system, both for cleaning out blockages, and primarily so I can connect up some flexible tube to vacuum the floor etc.

Dropped into Bunnies and got some fittings to add to the dust lid - these are the inlet and outlet for the top and......

this is what I came up with for underneath. Once I have a chance to test it, I might have to do some other mods - the idea is the dust is caused to swirl (typical cyclone-type approach), and then the air reverses direction to exit via the blue tube. It won't catch everything, but if it just takes out 60% of the main waste I'll be happy. I've directed it like this so the dust impacts on the wall of the bin, so friction encourages the dust to leave the air stream and drop into the bottom of the bin.

This is the temporary tubing to the thicknesser. Given that it passes across the entrance, it is easily unplugged when the machine is not in use. Again, it will be one of those suck and see things if it actually can perform as desired. The thicknesser has an active extractor on it, which may help. However, I am considering if I might need to add an extra inlet to increase the overall tube airflow. The dust extractor itself will probably need to be upgraded to a 2HP (or bigger - but I can't afford it, or the power supply requirement).

And finally, this is the router bit storage finally mounted.

Even though I am not going for a gold plated solution, and are making constant choices to get the best solution without throwing money away, it is disconcerting how a few odds and ends always adds up to a dollar figure much higher than you'd expect.

I am going to shoot a short video documenting the system tonight, and its commissioning, but I decided that despite it being a long time between drinks (and videos), I'd finish it properly before committing it to tape. Sorry that it is so long between videos, but this shed upgrade takes a lot of time that would otherwise be used for projects, such as video episodes.

As a small aside, it didn't help any when I decided to use my hand as a knife block for the Stanley knife. No significant damage, but it was a very short distance between what did happen, and what could have been a slashed wrist, or some seriously damaged ligaments. Stupid. I could say it was rushing, but it really boiled down to one thing - tiredness. Every other time I have been very conscious of the direction of cutting, but I was in an unusual orientation working my way around some mess, cutting some of the flexible tubing (which takes a bit of force to get through the hard plastic spring portion) and I cut in the wrong direction. Did I learn anything? Not really - it is a lesson I have learned before - I didn't need the extra incentive.

Another reason I didn't want to shoot the video yet is the mess. The shed got (almost literally) turned upside down when I relocated almost every tool to its final location, and I haven't taken the time to do a full cleanup. That's the next job once I put the dust system to bed.

So where did I get to tonight? The drill press had the small 1" diameter tubes run to either side. There are no clamps yet - that is a job for a different day (and I'm not counting it as part of the dust extraction project).

The thicknesser has had its outlet (which is square from the powered dust extraction system it has built in) adapted to the point that it fits the 4" system with a blast gate

and is easily removed and replaced (given that the thicknesser's location means the dust system passes across the door. I don't have a problem with that - the thicknesser isn't used every day of the week, so when I want to use it, it'd take 5 seconds to plug the system in.

Lathe is done, and bandsaw, and the 4" portion has been run to the base of the tablesaw. Near the back of the tablesaw, I have added a Y section with additional blast gates. One end has been left open, so I can plug in some flexible 4' tube I have to do a bit of general cleaning around the place. I am going to add a second one somewhere near the router table, again to aid general cleanup.

I have finally gotten the extraction to the dust port on the blade guard. Took a bit of figuring out, partly because of my original concept needed modifying because parts I was expecting don't exist. However, I am happy with the solution I have come up with. I hope. (If I need to move the tablesaw, it probably all goes out the window).

Was in getting the last few fittings I needed from Bunnings today - needed a little more 4" pipe. The stuff I have been using so far is downpipe (which is pretty thin - doesn't have to withstand internal pressures like stormwater (for example). It is also cheapest. However, went to buy a little more today, and was informed that it didn't exist. There are other sizes, but apparently what I have been using so far doesn't actually exist. I must be using stormwater pipe (I'm not), or it is 90mm and not 100mm (even though I have been using 100mm stormwater fittings). Never understood that. I may not be a plumber, but I'm not completely stupid either - think I know when I am using 100mm pipe.

So what is left to do? Other than the cleanup, I just want to add that Y section and blast gate near the router table, and I bought a Dust Separator Lid from Carbatec

to place near the actual dust extractor. It isn't a cyclonic system, or as sophisticated as some on the market, but with a few minor additions it should make an adequate first stage separator. I'm not fussed if it only catches the heavier stuff - the more it collects, the less often I will need to empty the dust extractor collection bag. I still need to find a bin that the lid fits - always another obstacle.

So there we are (almost). Hope to be able to try the system out in anger shortly, and document it here of course!

technorati tags: dna, extraction, genetics

Click for larger version.

So, there it is.  My job wasn't so much to redesign, I guess, as it was to recreate it.  In Adobe Photoshop, I inserted the old graphic (which was really small, dimensionally speaking) and resized it so that it was huge.  I then used the Path tool to trace the edges of the shape, to ultimately create a mask, one for the left swirl thing and one for the right swirl thing.

From there it was really just a matter of adding the effects.  The CS editions of Photoshop allow you to use "Flash" effects.  (Adobe bought Macromedia a while back, so Adobe aquired the Flash program.)  The effects are completely dynamic and are updated realtime as you change parts of your current layer.  Thus, once I had my swirls masked to reveal only the swirl shape, the layer effects were only a matter of fine tweaking, to find the look that best emulated the old logo, yet still gave it a "brand new" shine.

The goodness of layer masks in Photoshop is that you can do it with Vectors, which means that the program is creating a calculated shape, not just pixels.  This lets you resize the shape on the fly, bigger or smaller, without losing any quality at all.

In my opinion, that's the power behind an image editing program.  Adobe's Illustrator program deals with vector images, so it potential to be the best tool out there for such things, but my pockets are only so deep. :)

In other brief news, we (eKiwi) got our new http://community.screen-scraper.com site up and running.  It's based on a free (yet complex) site template called Drupal.  It's skinnable, and takes plugins (or "modules"), and is PHP based.  You download the whole thing to your own web server, and thus can edit the site however you wish.  I've been helping out with the CSS and PHP, though it's not really my project.

The first step though, was finalising (as best I can) the machine positions. Once that was decided (taking into account where possible, the dust extraction needs of each machine), the next step was planning the pipe run(s).

It was a bit of a debate, but I have finally decided to run the tubing at ground level. It means the extractor doesn't have to work so hard, lifting the dust and shavings the 2.5 meters off the floor, in addition to overcoming the friction from the walls. Given the tool layout, it won't cause me any undue grievance loosing that small amount of floorspace behind each tool against the wall.

I haven't gotten very far - balancing shed time with work time and family time (especially when everyone is sick). But at least it feels like a good start.

Here's a pic of about as far as I've gotten (I said I didn't get far).

What is shown here is the right side of the machinery area (against the front wall). Each machine is connected in via flexible tubing, and a blast gate. The blast gate on each machine is obviously so I can shut off all the other machines to maximise the flowrate from the one currently being operated. The modified T section has 2 advantages. Firstly, it isn't a straight T section - it is angled to minimise the losses from forcing the dust through a tight 90 degree corner. Secondly, it provides an inlet so any blockages can be cleared relatively easily.

I am planning to add an extra length of flex into that end so I can make a temporary run to the thicknesser when required.

The second one is not ideal, but is only to draw a (relatively) small amount of generated light dust from two sanders (the belt & disk and the spindle sander). The belt & disk also does its own active dust extraction, feeding into the tube, so it 'should' help.

Next job - the router table.

The question is on how to then proceed for integrating these environments. This is with the assumption that you don’t want to reinvent the wheel and want to leverage on what is already done.

Instead of a big-bang, one can go for a gradual approach whereby a decent proportion of the plumbing work can be done in the back-ground before you start engaging broad-set of stakeholders.

The steps that I will recommend is:

1. Integrate the ETL
2. Integrate the front-end tools
3. Integrate the Data Marts

Please refer to the gradual BI integration approach, the steps and cautions in Integrating your stand-alone BI environments- Gradual Approach in my portal www.bipminstitute.com .

Volatility and strict regulation are not the only risks. Even the development of new drilling techniques can't sweeten the oil for these established global industry players, and in this declining market the response is to merge and acquire operations. It's often a hit and miss, with dangerous terrain in the field and political arena.

This is the replacement for January 2008 edition of Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction in the US report.

Industry Market Research Synopsis

This Industry Market Research report provides a detailed analysis of the Oil Drilling & Gas Extraction in the US industry, including key growth trends, statistics, forecasts, the competitive environment including market shares and the key issues facing the industry.

Industry Definition

This industry consists of firms that operate and/or develop oil and gas fields and firms that extract liquid hydrocarbons from oil and gas field gases. The activities firms engage in may include: exploration for crude petroleum and natural gas; drilling, completing, and equipping wells; operating separators, emulsion breakers, desilting equipment, and field gathering lines for crude petroleum; and all other activities required for the preparation of oil and gas up to the point of shipment from the producing property.In addition to the recovery of crude petroleum, this industry engages in the mining and extraction of oil from oil shale and oil sands, the production of natural gas and the recovery of hydrocarbon liquids from oil and gas field gases. Firms may operate oil and gas wells on their own account or for others on a contract or fee basis.

Report Contents

The Key Statistics chapter provides the key indicators for the industry for at least the last three years. The statistics included are industry revenue, industry gross product, employment, establishments, exports, imports, domestic demand and total wages.

The Market Characteristics chapter covers the following: Market Size, Linkages, Demand Determinants, Domestic and International Markets, Basis of Competition and Life Cycle. The Market Size section gives the size of the domestic market as well as the size of the export market. The Linkages section lists the industry's major supplier and major customer industries. The Demand Determinants section lists the key factors which are likely to cause demand to rise or fall. The Domestic and International Markets section defines the market for the products and services of the industry. This section provides the size of the domestic market and the proportion accounted for by imports and exports and trends in the levels of imports and exports. The Basis of Competition section outlines the key types of competition between firms within the industry as well as highlighting competition from substitute products in alternative industries. The Life Cycle section provides an analysis of which stage of development the industry is at.

The Segmentation chapter covers the following: Products and Service Segmentation, Major Market Segments, Industry Concentration and Geographic Spread. The Products and Service Segmentation section details the key products and/or services provided by this industry, highlighting the most important where possible to demonstrate which have a more significant influence over industry results as a whole. The Major Market Segments section details the key client industries and/or groups as well as giving an indication as to which of these are the most important to the industry. The Industry Concentration section provides an indicator of how much industry revenue is accounted for by the top four players. The Geographic Spread section provides a guide to the regional share of industry revenue/gross product.

The Industry Conditions chapter covers the following: Barriers to Entry, Taxation, Industry Assistance, Regulation and Deregulation, Cost Structure, Capital and Labor Intensity, Technology and Systems, Industry Volatility and Globalization. The Barriers to Entry section outlines factors that can prevent a new company from entering this industry and also gives an indication of the extent to which this occurs. The Taxation section details all kinds of taxation that are specific or are particularly important to this industry, including taxation concessions. The Industry Assistance section refers to any government and/or other measures designed to improve the performance of this industry. The Regulation and Deregulation section details any applicable regulation and/or deregulation to this industry. The Cost Structure section details the average costs for a company operating in this industry as a percentage of total revenue. The Capital and Labor Intensity section provides a guide to the amount of capital used in production/providing a service compared to the amount of labor in the total mix of inputs. The Technology and Systems section acknowledges the latest technology and/or systems available to this industry within the country. Technology refers to machinery and equipment and systems refers to methods of production that enable better and more efficient production. The Industry Volatility section refers to the year on year fluctuations which occur in industry output. The Globalization section gives an indication of the extent to which the industry is global based on factors such as the level of foreign ownership, the proportion of demand accounted for by foreign operators and the volume of production conducted in other countries.

http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp?id=76698

Anyway my mouth was numb for about two hours and it was so bizarre trying to eat food that way. I felt like a baby... Cool.

So anyway, after receiving my two wisdom teeth WHICH WERE HUGE, I got several suggestions on what to do with them from my family.

1. Plate them in gold and use them as necklaces. Shark tooth, shmark tooth. Wisdom teeth are the new coolest accessory.
2. Clean them off and use them as earrings :)
3. Approach a voodoo doctor and ask them what positive changes I can make in my life with them.
4. Use them as props in ghost story telling sessions.
5. Replace my two front teeth with them.
6. Try dissolving them in various soft drinks.
7. Give a tooth to someone special as a present to signify my love.

I think this pretty much gives you an idea of the state of my family's sanity.

Pats Building Maintenance specialize in areas as small as 500 square feet, and can clean up to 25,000 square feet.  We also use top quality Advance Aqua Clean extractors and follow specialized procedures that bring excellent results.  Doing a thorough job also takes additional time, but the results are well worth it.  There is no short cuts to excellence, and another benefit to my service is I don’t have to come back to clean your carpets as often which means your long run costs are usually lower. Contact Pat's Building Maintenace today to get your carpets looking like new! 651-769-0960

While many adults in the US are still in a state of denial over global warming, young schoolchildren in villages deep in the Peruvian Amazon are learning about the effects climate destabilization is likely to have on their way of life.

That’s just one thing I learned during a recent three-week trip to the Loreto region (northeast corner) of Peru, with a Peace and Conflict Studies class from Pacific University in Oregon. We spent much of our time in Peru staying in small villages, where we learned about the culture and way of life of the people there – as well as the threats they are likely to face in coming years. Based on my, admittedly very brief, exposure to life in Peru’s Amazon, it seems climate destabilization is not a “debated” issue there; people in the rainforest make their livelihoods mostly through small-scale farming, fishing, and hunting—and living so close to the land, they know their ability to make a living will be affected by changes in climate. Already, during our stay, it turned out that water levels in the river are lower than normal for the time of year.

Talking to one of the Loreto region’s chief conservationists – Gilberto Guerra Reátegui, founder of the “Isla de los Monos” conservation project – we learned how higher global temperatures are causing glaciers in the Andes Mountains to melt, contributing to lower water levels in the country’s rivers. This is bad news for wildlife, but also for the dozens of villages that look to the rivers as everything from a source of food (fish) to their main means of transportation, by boat. Further, changing weather patterns in the area will affect the forest in ways that are difficult to predict—but in the likely scenario that the local climate becomes dryer, entire rainforest ecosystems that depend on frequent rains will be put at risk. And if the forests and the myriad plants and animal species in it begin to die, so too will the thriving cultures that dot the Amazon and other rivers.

Luckily, there is good news, too. It was encouraging to see that local people were so aware of—and concerned about—the problem. One farmer we talked to and worked with mentioned the connection between deforestation and global warming; by now many of us, I think, know the statistic that about 25% of worldwide greenhouse emissions come from destroying the planet’s forest-cover. He expressed concern that his own occupation sometimes required cutting down stands of trees for farming. However, it’s not really the practices of small villages like the ones we visited that are destroying the rainforest; the farmer we talked to was going to use the same plot of land indefinitely, planting it in different crops on different years to keep the soil healthy and do away with the need to clear more forest. Further, the village “plantations” we saw were about as different as you can imagine from the huge banana or palm oil monocrops planted by Big Agribusiness in South American countries. I wrote in my journal during the trip:

“Though much different from the primary forest, the crop fields are high in natural biodiversity, and blend with the natural forest. There are many patches of undisturbed trees and bushes mixed in with the crop plants, and these provide habitat for birds, reptiles, and insects. The mentality that every square inch not devoted to the chosen food plant is a piece of ground wasted, does not seem to exist here – perhaps because the amount of land small farmers without industrial methods can cultivate is limited, anyway.”

The small farmers are not the source of massive deforestation but rather—along with the native rainforest ecosystems, plants, and animals—its victims. During my time in Peru, I saw traces of the real problem in the piles of Red Mahogany logs being shipped upriver—for processing in the jungle city of Iquitos. The timber giants may employ local people, but their activities are carried out in response to demand by US consumers. The same holds true for the petroleum companies devastating the rainforest—over 50% of Peru’s remaining forestland is under concession to oil and gas companies (think LNG, Northwesterners)—and for the Agribusiness giants as well. So far as I’m concerned, Big Timber, Big Oil, and Big Agribusiness make up the Terrible Trio of rainforest destruction in South America.

So what’s to be done? To save the rainforests—and as a step toward rescuing the climate for all of us—we have to get Corporate America out of Peru and other forested countries. This means fighting the corporate giants on their home turf—individuals boycotting their products is a start (I have boycotted bananas in the US for years), but in the end we’ll need so much more than that. We need to get entire universities, entire store chains, to stop selling products from the rainforests. Even now, I have plans for a campaign this fall that would eliminate palm oil—a food ingredient produced by leveling forests around the world—from the Pacific University cafeteria. And at the national level, we need to strengthen laws that would prevent importation of illegally harvested wood. A massive push to save the rainforests should be as important to the climate movement as the effort to freeze construction of news coal plants, or to make our cars more fuel efficient. A hopeful development, to my mind, is the Rainforest Action Network’s use of some of the same techniques used by the highly successful anti-coal movement to begin pushing Agribusiness to get out of the rainforests.  A year from now, could the rainforest movement be where the anti-coal movement is today? It’s possible.

In the end, if my amazing experiences in Peru showed me anything, it was that saving the rainforests is not just about wildlife, or even the climate. It is about people, too—people in villages along the Amazon and other rivers, who live close to the land while managing to have a far smaller ecological footprint than us Americans. A schoolchild in the Peruvian Amazon, learning about the way his or her future will be affected by the actions of far-off governments, is the real face of climate action at the frontlines. And that, to me, is part of why saving the rainforests is so important.

A British hacker fighting extradition to the US prepares for his final UK appeal

Jeremy Kirk (Jeremy Kirk) 16/06/2008 09:42:55

A British hacker fighting extradition to the US on computer hacking charges is preparing for his final UK appeal.

If Gary McKinnon loses this appeal, he would be the first British hacker extradited to the US. He could face up to 60 years in prison.

McKinnon, of London, is accused of deleting data and illegally accessing information on 97 US military and NASA computers between February 2001 and March 2002. He's been charged in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

McKinnon admitted to using a program called "RemotelyAnywhere" to hack into PCs late at night when employees were gone. His hacking exploits started to unravel after McKinnon miscalculated the time difference between the US and UK, and one employee noticed their PC was acting oddly.

The US pursued extradition, which McKinnon sought to block. Then-UK Home Secretary John Reid approved the extradition order, but McKinnon appealed. He lost that appeal in London's High Court in April 2007.

McKinnon then filed an appeal with the House of Lords, the final court of appeal for points of law in the UK. Five lords will hear his case this week and then take three weeks to decide, McKinnon said.

If the lords reject his appeal, McKinnon said he could take his case to the European Court of Human Rights. The backlog of cases in that court, however, means that an appeal could take years and in the meantime, his extradition could proceed, McKinnon said.

McKinnon said a US public defender has visited him in the UK to prepare for his case if he is extradited. McKinnon's passport has been taken, although he still may use a computer.

McKinnon, who said he probed the computers looking for evidence that the US government has knowledge of UFOs, maintains that his hacking never caused any harm.

Technorati Tags: Gary McKinnon, British hacker, John Reid, jacqui Smith, librty, human rights, unfair extradition

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and i'm in PAIN!!!!!!!! ok it's more like the aching pain... but still, the anesthesia has worn off and sighs...

It was quite a scary experience, and it seemed like the longest time of my life.... The way the dentist drilled and drilled and drilled ANd drilled... i thought he was gonna drill a hole right through my mouth.

He kept changing tools to get the tooth out, and that tooth was HUMONGOUSLY big, too wise you see...

He gave me so many jabs of anesthetic, and one more after the operation, its as if im immune to it.

Anyway, so when the bottom wisdom tooth that was so stubborn finally came out, he stitched it up, and within seconds he extracted the top one.

look at the size of that huge monster at the back of my mouth!!!

yeah thats the top one and the bottom one. HUGE... and the red stuff is parts of my gum.. EEeewwww

sighs... i'm like a puffer fish now..

menu for the week = porridge =(

Mongbwalu is a small mining town in the mountains. It is encircled by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s equatorial forest. This forest helps provide oxygen to maintain climate stability all over the world.

Mongbwalu is very attractive to mining companies, for instance multinational mining company AngloGold Ashanti, as well as local and international small scale miners.

Unfortunately gold mining hasn’t benefited local communities and Mongbwalu looks in some ways like apartheid South Africa.

Comparing the houses of AngloGold Ashanti staff to those of the workers is like comparing Soweto and Johannesburg – a huge contrast between poverty and luxury.

The AngloGold Ashanti compound is inaccessible to most people, even if they would like to get in to address some issues of salaries or complain about problems with the company.

There are not enough jobs for local people. There are good promises for local communities, but these have not yet been achieved.

Most people, adults, young people and children all rely daily on small scale mining. As a consequence, diseases like tuberculosis and HIV are common.

Food and goods for basic needs are expensive so not everybody cannot afford them. Children cannot attend school and there is a high percentage of illiteracy.

The first conclusions of exploration started in 2004 by Anglo Gold Ashanti show that Mongbwalu and the surrounding area have 87 tonnes of gold. This will be completely extracted over a period of ten years before closing the mine.

So there is a fundamental question: will these 87 tonnes of gold be a curse or a blessing for local communities?

As head of the Justice and Peace Commission, my aim is to make the gold from Mongbwalu into a blessing, to cut down the paradox of poverty in such an area of natural riches.

So to succeed in our struggle we need your support to build up a world where the wellbeing of everyone is promoted.

Please take action with CAFOD to stop dangerous mines >>

Posted by AlfredB

Like what you read? Ask a question or leave a comment below

This just in: the North Carolina state legislature may take the destructive and despicable practice of mountaintop removal coal mining head-on by banning the use of coal obtained from mountaintop removal at any North Carolina coal plant.   The Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act, introduced today by Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) and supported by our friends at Appalachian Voices, would be the first of it's kind in the nation.

From the Appalachian Voices press release:

“Right now, North Carolina is one of the nation’s top consumers of coal from mountaintop removal mining,” said Rep. Harrison.  “That needs to change.  Mountaintop removal coal mining presents a clear and present danger to the Appalachian Mountains, which are home to a vibrant and indelible culture, stunning biodiversity and enormous economic potential.”

Mountaintop removal coal mining is an extremely destructive form of strip mining found throughout Appalachia, with some mines as big as the island of Manhattan.  Coalfield residents say that it tears apart communities, poisons water supplies, pollutes the air and destroys our nation’s natural heritage – while only making the climate crisis worse.
“The mountains being destroyed by mountaintop removal here in eastern Kentucky are very similar to the mountains of western North Carolina,” said Teri Blanton of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth. “Mountaintop removal is destroying our culture and biodiversity across Appalachia, and we are pleased to see that the people of North Carolina, who value their mountains, recognize the connection and want to treat all the mountains of the region with the same respect.”

Thirteen North Carolina power plants purchase coal from mountaintop removal mine sites, according to the records included in the My Connection tool created by Appalachian Voices, online at www.ilovemountains.org.

“With this landmark legislation, North Carolina has a chance to lead the nation in calling for an end to highly destructive and unnecessary mountaintop removal mining,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Executive Director of Appalachian Voices.  “North Carolinians know we can find better ways to generate electricity.”

Sixty-one percent of the electricity used to power North Carolina homes and businesses is generated by coal-fired power plants.  Nationwide, North Carolina is second only to Georgia in its use of mountaintop removal coal.

Head to www.ILoveMountains.org for more on mountain top removal and how to fight it.

image credit: www.ILoveMountains.org

The role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in our energy future has sparked a vigorous discussion here at ItsGettingHotInHere and within the youth climate movement. There are hard questions about CCS that each of us must answer for ourselves, and a I feel like I've been wrestling with these questions within my own soul for quite a while, most recently as I look at a very real example here in the Northwest.  As a renewable energy advocate and climate activist in the Pacific Northwest, I've been pondering what to do about this coal dilemma, and what role the region's youth climate activists should play:

The question is this:  Under what context should we fight a proposed IGCC coal plant in the Northwest that plans to be equipped with CCS to capture at least 50% of its emissions from day one?

If the new plant was going to increase emissions in the region, we're clearly justified in opposing it.  But what if the new plant was going to replace an equal amount of electricity from existing coal plants in the region?  What if building this new plant let us shutter a pre-Clean Air Act coal plant that is the largest emitter of just about everything bad in the state of Oregon (and is scheduled to run for another 20+ years)? That question could very well come to the fore here in Oregon soon, as we pressure PGE to close down the Boardman coal plant, the dirtiest beast in the entire state and replace it with something else.  We're already pushing efficiency and renewables here in Oregon full throttle, we're fighting off LNG, fighting off new pulverized coal plants (six in the last year!) and fighting off an independent IGCC plant that had no plans to sequester emissions. Where does that leave us?

I've worked for the region's leading renewable energy advocacy organization for the past two years.  I helped pass the Oregon Renewable Energy Act, fight off PacifiCorp's coal plant plans and co-founded the region's largest youth climate network, and even I wonder how far and how fast we can push renewables and efficiency?

Regional projections right now show that even with renewable energy standards in place in three of four Northwest states (25% by 2025 in Oregon for example) and with some of the most aggressive energy efficiency programs in the nation, efficiency and renewables will only be enough to meet growing electricity demand over the next 20 years.   To put it another way: ramping up renewables and efficiency as fast as our aggressive renewable energy and efficiency policies requires will only hold emissions steady at current levels. In order to cut emissions 15%, 30%, 80%, we'll need to do something to replace and close down existing coal-fired power plants serving the Pacific Northwest.  The question then, is what will we replace them with?

Keeping LNG away means limiting the role of natural gas plants.  Nukes are pretty much off the table in Oregon (banned in state by a statewide ballot measure!).  We may be able to push renewables and efficiency farther, faster, but how far will it get us?  What are we going to replace the Boardman coal plant with?...