Secrets of the City

Both the Star Tribune and Jason’s Station do stories on yesterday’s grand opening of Ever Cat, the new biodiesel plant in Isanti, MN. This new facility uses a technology developed here in Minnesota that promises that it can make biodiesel out of just about anything, with little waste. One Strib blogger who toured the plant wonders if this is the real deal. What do you think?

[via Strib] Will Allen, founder of Milwaukee’s Growing Power — a productive urban farm — is launching a Twin Cities training center with Women’s Environmental Institute. Its first project, the Little Earth of United Tribes Urban Farms, brought Allen to town … Growing Power’s Milwaukee headquarters is just 2 acres and has six greenhouses, eight hoophouses (for herbs, vegetables and greens), pens for goats, ducks, chickens and turkeys; beehives, and a system for raising tilapia and perch.

If they can do all that on just two acres of property, there’s no reason why we can’t have more urban-based farming done here in the Twin Cities. (Well, maybe without the chickens.) I like the idea of not allowing ourselves to become too removed from nature, and farming — whether just vegetables or a combination of veggies and small animals — has always been a great way to introduce youngsters (and even some adults) to the place where our modern food chain begins.

It’s just a little story from the AP, but it caught my eye: The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have invested in a new type of wind turbine called the Windspire. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is also investing in energy with its new Koda Energy LCC plant in Shakopee and they also sell alternative fuel at their convenience stores near Mystic Lake.

Nice to see the original residents are still looking out for Ina Maka, or Mother Earth (Lakota)

An interesting article from Strib business columnist Neal St. Anthony, who is usually a good read. When I attended a national biodiesel conference in Florida a couple years ago, the buzz was all about algae as a biodiesel feedstock. Looks like a local company is moving that direction.

Keep in mind, this process is to produce diesel fuel, which won’t work in vehicles with gasoline only or flex-fuel engines. But just about all large trucks, heavy construction equipment, tractors, trains and buses do use the fuel. In short, almost everything we make, buy, sell, eat, drink or wear is moved on diesel fuel. So yeah, it’s important.

PS: Starting next month, Minnesota becomes the first state in the nation to require a five percent biodiesel (B5) blend in virtually all diesel retail outlets. Currently, the fuel sold here is a two percent (B2) blend, made mostly from soybean oil.

Eyeteeth links to a video the Coen Brothers did for The Reality Coalition spoofing the idea of clean coal.

We have been hearing lately more talk about President-elect Obama’s plans to grow jobs and fix the economy by more public investment in “green” technologies. From the Rochester Post-Bulletin, signs that this may already be happening in Mower and Dodge counties.

Originally published on her blog. How this would help the economy, Bachmann doesn’t really detail, especially considering that drilling in ANWR would have negligible impact on oil prices or foreign oil dependence. Wikipedia summarizes that ANWR controversy.

As reported by Minnpost: ‘Legislative hearings will be held in early 2009 on whether to lift Minnesota’s 16-year ban on building new nuclear power plants, a move spurred by policies to reduce carbon emissions linked to global warming.’

Via MnPublius

Will Tom Huntley come to Minnesota’s rescue once again? Is Mn waiting until 2009 so the Feds don’t add us to the list of nuclear proliferation states and invade? Do you think this is a good idea?

Both the traditional and online media took notice when Minnesota soybean growers announced that they were suspending more than $1 million in research funding because they were unhappy with a U of M study we talked about earlier in MNspeak. However, both reports missed the very strong response the study generated among energy, environment and fuel experts. In a nutshell, they are saying the the latest articles in Science are, well, bad science. Other than a few blogs and newspaper accounts, the media seem to be ignoring the controversy in the scientific community. Were the soybean farmers right to withhold funding? Or is this damaging to the advancement of valuable research at the U? Your thoughts, MNspeakers…

Full disclosure: the Minnesota Soybean Growers Assocition and the U.S. Dept. of Energy are both members of the ALAMN-led Minnesota Clean Air Choice Team, which promotes the use of biofuels to help reduce air pollution.

This is my question–> In Minnesota, is a heat pump/furnace ‘hybrid’ combination more or less economical than a central AC/furnace combination?

The premise here is that with rising gas prices, the heat pump uses electricity instead of gas to heat the home during mild ‘in between’ temperatures, therefore saving money should the gas prices remain elevated. When the climate drops below like 30F the gas furnace kicks in and takes one through the winter, until the temp rises again past 30. The one I’d be interested in in an air heat pump, not a geothermal. There is a fair amount of information out there but not so much about heat pumps in colder climates.

Does anyone have one of these ‘hybrid’ home temperature systems? Do you know someone who does?
Pros and cons of heat pumps? Thanks!