Green Green is Green They Say....

Everything is green, there are green shoots sprouting in the economy (weeds, methinks) and every bill comes with some statement about how this company or that is trying to be greener. AmerenUE is being so green that they are asking the Missouri utilities commission for an 18% rate hike for its electric customers. Now, they minimize this by saying that this represents a paltry 50 cents per DAY increase, but that is $15 per MONTH and $180 per YEAR. Those numbers don't look so paltry!

In the mail last night, I got a progress report from AmerenUE telling us all about the good things they have done to improve our electric service, such as trimming more trees, burying the most vulnerable above ground lines and inspecting their lines more often to minimize power outages and interruptions. In addition, they directed me to their energy efficiency website so that I could see how much I could save on my electric bill by running my dishwasher full and then essentially drying my dishes rather than having the dishwasher do it, or how about setting my refrigerator a little higher so that my left overs and milk go South a day or two earlier. (I suspect that my energy savings will be offset by my increase in my food bill). The best, yet, though is their big push for CFL lightbulbs. They have all sorts of information on their website extolling the energy savings of the CFL bulbs.

I fell for the CFL bulbs several years ago and put them into my lamps and in the ceiling fixtures in my closets. Now I have to squint and strain to read in the evening (helping optometrists and ophthalmologists) and when I pick out my clothes, brown, navy blue and black look almost the same...but what the heck, I am being green. The best thing, however, is that on their website in the Q and A about the CFL lightbulbs they indicate that you should consult the EPA for instructions in how to dispose of burned out CFL bulbs. I did that and followed the steps for finding out the local recyclers in my area and guess what----THERE AREN'T ANY!! There is a center that accepts the bulbs in St. Charles county, but this is for St. Charles County residents only. After listing the sites in Missouri, there is a little fine print that says that some of the centers will accept CFL's from non-residents FOR A FEE!!!

I did find out, however, that Home Depot will accept CFL's for recycling at their stores...THANK YOU, HOME DEPOT.

Then there are the questions about what to do and how to clean up a broken CFL. Again, the EPA comes to the rescue with a 6 step process for cleaning up a hazardous waste spill in your house! That is because the CFL's contain mercury. You know, that slithery silvery substance that used to be in thermometers in every school room in America. That wondrefully mysterious substance that generations of kids knew would make your nickles, dimes, quarters and half dollars shiny and new looking again! They took mercury out of the thermometers and we can't eat fish because of mercury content, but, hey...if its green we can all reintroduce mercury into our light bulbs all over the house in the name of climate change....

From the EPA's own website comes this justification:

Why the EPA, DOE and others are promoting the use of CFLs

CFLs use significantly less energy than traditional light bulbs (75% less). If every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 800,000 cars. And even though CFLs contain a small amount of mercury that could ultimately end up in the environment, that amount is significantly less than the amount of mercury avoided as a result of the energy savings.

I think that our government has already been overexposed to mercury and that is why they are mad as hatters!

St. Louis' Own David and Goliath Story

Since the passage of Cap and Trade in the US House of Representatives, St. Louisans have watched as a local David and Goliath story has been brewing. This story is about a real David who has left a mark on the local political machine. It all started when the House of Representatives rammed through the monstrous Cap and Trade bill on June 26 by a vote of 219-212.

In the brief run-up to passage of the bill, Missouri Representatives leaning toward or favoring the bill were bombarded with faxes, letters and phone calls from constituents asking them NOT to vote for the bill as Missouri (along with most of the central United States) is in the cross hairs of the cap and trade debacle due to the fact that electricity production in this part of the US is primarily coal based. The burden on the central US from cap and trade is predicted to be the most punitive and costly for the regular citizens and for businesses in this area. In the 2nd district of Missouri, Russ Carnahan (D) was one of the Cap and Trade proponents who was begged by constituents NOT to vote for the bill, but to no avail. Rep. Carnahan voted for Cap and Trade and the saga began....

The real David, Dave McArthur, of McArthur's Bakery, a family owned baking business that has been an icon in St. Louis for over 50 years stepped up to sling the first pebble. After Cap and Trade was passed, Dave wrote a letter to Rep. Carnahan expressing his displeasure and went one step further. He put notice on the marquee sign outside of his flagship bakery in South St. Louis County (in Carnahan's district) that "Russ Carnahan voted to ... close us and other ... small business." This salvo was but the first in a story that has snowballed to crescendo with Dave McArthur being enlisted to appear on Glenn Beck's TV show on Fox News on Thursday, 7/9/09.

It was only a very short time until Dave McArthur was contacted by Rep. Carnahan's staff asking that the sign come down and Dave and his brother Randy were invited to meet with Carnahan's staff. Dave told his story on a local talk radio station and garnered a large group of local supporters. Dave's brother Randy McArthur was tagged to speak at the St. Louis Independence Day Tea Party held in Washington Missouri. On 7/7/09, the story was picked up by Fox News and covered nationally. With the national coverage, the McArthur brothers have gained a national following, receiving supportive phone calls and emails from all over the country.

The much awaited meeting happened yesterday, 7/7/09 at Carnahan's district office and Rep. Carnahan did not attend....he sent his minions to meet with the McArthurs. In a rather astonishing exchange, Dave was told...."The bill is not law yet. It has to go to the Senate. In the Senate it will be perfected to be a good bill. The people that you need to talk to are your senators who will be dealing with the bill, Senator McCaskill and Senator Bond's staff." You can hear the entire discussion here at the bottom of the page, under AUDIO... 07.08 Dave McArthur.

Dave and his brother Randy are just ordinary small businessmen in St. Louis. They are not public speakers. They are little people just like Joe the Plumber who was catapulted into the limelight by asking a simple question of then candidate Obama last year. By using the bully pulpit of their marquee sign, they, too, have been thrust into the spotlight and have risen to the challenge by putting themselves and their business on the line for something that they believe in. This is true grass roots activism from the conservative perspective. You can be sure that Russ Carnahan will be watched carefully in the next weeks and months and he will be marked for ouster in 2010 by a growing group of small businessmen and constituents who are very unhappy that he has not served the interests of the people who put him in office.