Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Editor’s note: Local resident Tom Grundy emailed this press release. Tom — remembering my experience as an energy reporter at the S.F. Chronicle — invited me to lunch the other day at Ike’s Quarter Cafe, and we discussed the community energy solutions task force report. He makes a cogent point that we’re vulnerable when it comes to liquid fuels for transportation back and forth from our foothills “cul-de-sac” in a supply disruption. It’s a topic he’s passionate about and pursuing diligently. It also is timely with energy issues — from oil in Libya to nuclear in Japan — on the “front pages.”

More information on the report is here. The release is here:

On October 22, 2008, the City Council of Nevada City, California adopted a resolution “in support of a community Energy Solutions Task Force”. The Task Force, modeled after a handful of similar task forces from around the world, was given two tasks:

1. Assess Nevada City’s specific vulnerabilities to more expensive and less available energy, especially liquid fuels for transportation.
2. Recommend actions that the City could take to reduce these vulnerabilities and to prepare for their effects.

Their report, including over 100 recommendations, was completed and first presented to the City Council in December of 2010. On February 9, 2011, City Council officially accepted the Task Force report as complete.

Task Force chairman and lead author Tom Grundy pointed out that it is to Nevada City’s credit that the foresight exists to request a report that will help the city be better prepared for more expensive and/or less available liquid fuels – whether due to Peak Oil or to other market or supply chain problems. Mayor Robert Bergman, who was himself a Task Force member, praised the work of the Task Force and support staff. The city will be able to use the findings of the Report as a resource when conducting its upcoming strategic planning
sessions.

The Alliance for a Post-Petroleum Local Economy of Nevada County (APPLE-NC), a local nonprofit focused on the Peak Oil topic, was instrumental in drafting the original resolution, and in organizing the Task Force.

The report will be carried forward as a living document, by tracking and publicizing progress towards these goals made by many different individuals and groups in the community. To that end, APPLE-NC is hosting a Web Portal at http://www.apple-nc.org/NevadaCityTaskForce, with all of the Task Force presentations, meeting notes, audio interviews, related materials, and an extensive table of the individual
recommendations. The public, the media, and other organizations from all areas are invited to view and comment on the recommendations online.

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“An evolving nuclear crisis in quake-hit Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, could add misery to hundreds of thousands of quake victims by possibly forcing relief organizations to withdraw their operations,” the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

“‘The Japanese Red Cross Society is committed to rescue any victims, including those of nuclear radiation,’ JRCS spokesman Mutsuhiko Owaki said. ‘But we cannot send rescue workers to places where there is a clear risk of radiation exposure,’ he added, indicating that the group will have to limit its operations to areas where such risks are low.

“In response to an appeal for help from the JRCS, a five-person team has arrived in Japan from the International Red Cross to evaluate Japan’s assistance needs. The team’s assessment on the radiation risks could influence the decision by other countries to send rescue teams to Japan.”

The rest of the article is here

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An article in the Sacramento Bee offers the most detail to date on the nearly 7-pound gold nugget discovered in Nevada County:

•Knowing how Gold Rush lodes were found in similar bedrock, “it led us to think there may be some,” according to the man who found the nugget.

•”We found an anomaly – a crevice or crack that indicated that would be a good target,” the man told the Bee.

•”We started to use the gold detector and we got a very strong signal,” he said. The article is here.

“It told them where – within a square foot – to target shovels and pry bars.

“All the time, they were working through groundwater that seeped in as they dug.”

•”We weren’t expecting to get anything that size,” the finder concluded.

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We have raised the issue here previously how right-wing blogger, tea party advocate and The Union and KVMR columnist George Rebane has used racist terms in his commentary: “the Dark Continent,” “anchor baby” and “ragheads.” It is all a matter of record and has generated many dozens of comments from readers.

•”Should KVMR apologize (like NPR) for Dark Continent Commentary”?

•“First “ragheads,” now “anchor babies” from our county’s leading conservative bloggers”

•”Secure them from the ragheads”?

Here’s how The Union uses its bully pulpit in the community to make light of the issue — and its messengers (see cartoon below).

“RL Crabb rocks!” writes CABPRO founder Todd Juvinall. “I can hardly wait for his chubby fingered little response.”

“Bob, email me as I want to buy that cartoon for my office,” writes tea party advocate Barry Pruett on Todd’s blog.

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember we live in Nevada County, California, not Nevada County, Arkansas.

Blogs are changing the way we communicate in rural areas — raising the real issues we encounter instead of sweeping them under the rug because of self interest and cronyism. As one reader commented here yesterday: “I registered just days ago on The Union site expressly for the purpose of providing negative feedback (thumbs down) and reporting the overtly abusive posts of not only Wise and Just, but dirtmover, and others that use the vitriolic code of the wingnut/TPP, etc. — as engaging them in discussion is futile. 
Just too many years of turning my nose and not at least attempting a correction.
 The voters in my family will not soon forget the thuggery displayed by similar attitudes in both the local media and as ‘polling monitors’ in the last election.
 We need balance, and next for me will be to question the journalistic sensibilities of the editorial staff of the publisher if true justice is not witnessed.”

“Democracy in our small towns is underway” — a concept we helped introduce on this blog. The response — characterized by this cartoon —is the latest proof. It’s a real threat to some people. (BTW, this blog generated a record number in its daily traffic yesterday, an ongoing sign of its popularity).

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