Monthly Archives: June 2017

Beauty and the Beast – Stunning Interview Reveals Icelandic Global Volcanic Dangers

Connecticut Native, Norman Nadeau and his wife Cara, recently visited Iceland. Some of the main points include;

  • Startling evidence global warming and retreating ice triggering increased volcanic eruptions.
  • Self sufficiency and growing food using renewable energy.
  • Icelandic DNA and population mapping.
  • How Iceland recovered from the economic crash and transformed into the only country using 100% renewable energy.
  • Icelandic conservation and finding a balance between commerce and sustainability.

Norman Nadeau is the founder of Project Feeds. When not making a living as a financial planner, he is actively promoting and studying sustainability or managing his farm (which runs on solar and wind) in Willington, CT.

Editorial Note: The following has been added for context and clarity..

  • In 1918 Katla erupted and is over due.
  • In 2000, Hekla, a Strato Volcano, erupted and also is overdue.
  • In 2010, a fissure opened in the Glacier known as Eyjafallajokull and is ready to erupt any moment.

 

Tesla Mulls Plan B After House Bill 7097 Fails to Come to a Vote

The Connecticut Legislature failed to bring HB 7097 to a vote despite a poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and released by Tesla showing, 74 percent of Connecticut voters support legislation authorizing manufacturers like Tesla to open brick-and-mortar stores in Connecticut. The poll, which surveyed 500 Connecticut voters likely to participate in the 2018 election, also found that 49 percent of respondents would be less likely to support state legislators who opposed such legislation.

According to an article in the New Haven Register, Tesla was considering increasing the number of galleries in the state to 10 if HB 7097 ended in failure. This would increase Tesla’s presence in the state beyond the current single gallery, in Greenwich. Locations under consideration include; Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, West Hartford, Danbury, New London, Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport.

Tesla’s existing investments in Connecticut include a Service Center in Milford, a gallery in Greenwich, five Supercharger stations and 27 destination chargers across the state. Last Friday, Tesla opened the largest Supercharger station to date on the East Coast at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford. The company plans to open eight additional Supercharger stations and up to 25 additional destination chargers throughout Connecticut by the end of 2017.

Image – By John Cummings – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37553049

Connecticut Joins the United States Climate Alliance

Directly from the Press Release  – Governor’s Office of Dannel P. Malloy

06/02/2017

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has committed the State of Connecticut to join the United States Climate Alliance – a coalition of U.S. states committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement and taking aggressive action on climate change. Other participants in the alliance to date include California, Washington state, and New York.

“Connecticut has been a national leader in combating climate change and we have no plans of slowing down our efforts,” Governor Malloy said. “In the absence of leadership from the White House in addressing climate change, it is incumbent upon the states to take action in order to protect their residents. We remain committed to meeting the standards set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement because it is the right thing to do for not only the future of our state, but for the future of our planet. I am proud to stand with my fellow governors in support of efforts to reverse the harmful effects of global warming and to send a message to the rest of the world that we accept the science of climate change and we will not let the misguided beliefs of a few ruin our planet.”

With input from all participants, the United States Climate Alliance will also act as a forum to sustain and strengthen existing climate programs, promote the sharing of information and best practices, and implement new program to reduce carbon emissions from all sectors of the economy.

Supporters of House Bill 7097 Join Tesla and State Legislators on Steps of State Capitol

May 16, 2017  Straight from the Tesla Press Release – DOZENS RALLY IN HARTFORD FOR DIRECT AUTOMOBILE SALES BILL.

Rally Comes One Day After New Poll Shows 74 Percent of CT Voters Support Allowing Tesla’s Direct Sales Model.

On Tuesday morning, just one day after the release of a new poll showing that nearly three-quarters of Connecticut voters favor allowing Tesla’s direct-to-consumer automobile sales model in their state, dozens of people rallied at the State Capitol in support of House Bill 7097, An Act Concerning the Licensing of New and Used Car Dealers.

HB 7097, which would authorize the direct sale of electric vehicles without existing dealership franchise agreements, is currently under consideration by the General Assembly. If passed, the bill would encourage electric vehicle adoption in Connecticut, reduce carbon emission, create job opportunities and economic development and decrease public healthcare costs.

According to a poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and released by Tesla on Monday, 74 percent of Connecticut voters support legislation authorizing manufacturers like Tesla to open brick-and-mortar stores in Connecticut. The poll, which surveyed 500 Connecticut voters likely to participate in the 2018 election, also found that 49 percent of respondents would be less likely to support state legislators who opposed such legislation.

Tesla was joined at Tuesday’s rally by House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, State Senator Art Linares, and State Representative Antonio Guerrera. Robert McSherry, Owner of North Haven Auto Body, and Josh Litwin, an MBA student at the University of Connecticut School of Business, also spoke at the event.

“Connecticut’s economy is badly in need of new business and new investments, and that is exactly what Tesla is offering,” said House Republican Leader Themis Klarides. “I urge my fellow legislators to support HB 7097, a bill that will spur job creation and generate revenue for our state.”

“Allowing Tesla sales in Connecticut will change our state for the better,” said State Senator Art Linares. “If the company is able to expand its presence here, we will see a reduction in harmful emissions, an increase in the number of consumers driving electric vehicles, and an increase in the number of good jobs available to Connecticut residents.”

“I’ve seen measures like HB 7097 come before the Transportation Committee, which I chair, three times now, and every time I’ve concluded that authorizing Tesla is the right choice for Connecticut,” said State Representative Antonio Guerrera. “It’s time for my colleagues to finally let Tesla invest in our state.”

“The diverse coalition that’s gathered here today is proof of the wide-reaching, positive impact Tesla has already had in Connecticut,” said Diarmuid O’Connell, Vice President of Business Development for Tesla. “We’ve heard from many legislators and residents across the state that are looking forward to Tesla expanding its presence in Connecticut’s communities through the passage of HB 7097.”

“As a small business owner who works with Tesla, I know how much good the company can do,” said Robert McSherry, Owner of North Haven Auto Body. “Getting more Tesla cars on the road will be a great thing for Connecticut’s economy and environment, and it will mean significantly expanding my business and companies like mine across the industry.”

“Connecticut residents are hard-working and forward-thinking, but the State is losing its competitive edge and many graduating students are attracted to jobs outside the State,” said Josh Litwin, an MBA student at the University of Connecticut School of Business. “State leaders can change this status quo, and inspire students like me to stay in Connecticut after graduation, by letting innovative companies like Tesla do business.”

Tesla’s existing investments in Connecticut include a Service Center in Milford, a gallery in Greenwich, five Supercharger stations and 27 destination chargers across the state. Last Friday, Tesla opened the largest Supercharger station to date on the East Coast at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford. The company plans to open eight additional Supercharger stations and up to 25 additional destination chargers throughout Connecticut by the end of 2017.

Images – courtesy of Tesla

Trump Pulls Out of Paris Accord Elon Musk Quits White House

After President Donald Trump revealed the United States will leave the Paris Climate Treaty, Elon Musk announced he will be leaving all 3 presidential councils; business, manufacturing jobs and infrastructure, effectively ending his controversial advisory role in the Trump administration . Musk made the departure official in a  message via Twitter,  “Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.”

Reaction from other business leaders was swift, Robert Iger, Chairman of Disney, also resigned from the White House Advisory Council via Twitter, “As a matter of principle, I’ve resigned from the President’s Council over the withdrawal.”  Tim Cook, Chairman of Apple did not mince words, “Decision to withdraw from the was wrong for our planet. Apple is committed to fight climate change and we will never waver.”

Surprisingly , oil companies such as Exxon, BP, Chevron and Shell had voiced support for staying in the Climate Treaty. Ben van Beurden, the CEO of Shell, told NPR in an interview, “We believe climate change is real, we believe that the world needs to go through an energy transition to prevent a very significant rise in global temperatures. And we need to be part of that solution in making it happen.”

 IBM released a strong statement via a blog post on the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, “IBM has stated its position on climate change publicly since 2007: Climate change is a serious concern that warrants meaningful action on a global basis to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is an international problem that requires an international solution, and we believe it is important for the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore IBM supported — and still supports — U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement. Whether the U.S. participates in the Paris Agreement or not, IBM will continue its decades-long work to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions and will continue to help our clients do so as well.”

That last part of the statement from IBM is key – IBM will continue efforts to reduce green house gas emissions, something that many corporations will continue as well. Leaving the Paris treaty will not push companies like; Google, Apple, Tesla, Facebook, Nike, Amazon, Walmart, HP, Fed Ex, McGraw-Hill, Target, Costco, Kohls  and Ikea to abandon their wind and solar investments or expansions.

Leaving a climate treaty will not stop the price of renewable’s from falling, it will not stop states from commitments to obtain greater shares of energy from renewable sources. States such as Iowa already get 25% of their power from the wind. In Texas, the heart of oil country and a red state, they produce 20,321 mega watts from the wind.  In the wake of the Trump-Paris announcement, California’s Governor, Jerry Brown, is pursuing a partnership with China for clean energy.

The private sector and states have spoken, the sun is still shining, the wind is still blowing and as long as human beings innovate, renewable energy will have a very prosperous future.