This evening Nobel Prize Winner and former Vice President Al Gore gave a live webcast organized by Power Vote. Power Vote is a nation-wide non-partisan campaign the Energy Action Coalition has put together to try to motivate a million young voters who will pledge to vote for a clean and just energy solution and to hold political figures accountable for moving to reach that goal.

I love YP4!

Benson, Minnesota.  Ever heard of it? Me either. Link to google maps.  Well pay attention because it is now home to the first, and largest, poultry litter power plant in the United States.  The plant will power 50,000 homes in Minnesota from tons of turkey waste and woodchips from massive industrial turkey farms.  To read more of the science go here: Poultry Litter to Fuel Minnesota Power Plants

Just think, maybe one day we'll become so technologically advanced you can power your own home from your cat box.    

This week Minnesota state legislature passed a 25% Renewable Energy Standard making it the most progressive energy legislation in the country.  

  The state and their main energy provider Excel are expected to find a quarter of their energy from clean sources such as solar, wind and water. Currently half the state's energy comes from coal and and only 8% is renewable.  

  Not only was this bill passed by an overwhelming majority, but it was also signed by a Republican governor. (Pawlenty, who is speculated to run in '08 for Prez) Lawmakers cited economic and job growth and protecting the environment as major reasons for voting for the bill.

  Similar ones are set to come up in New York and Maine as well. If only it would go the Washington.

Starting on Monday, 575 colleges and high schools across the nation are launching Rising to the Challenge, a Week of Action on Climate Change including screenings of An Inconvenient Truth, requests for strong campus climate neutrality policies, and push national and regional policy for renewable energy and global warming solutions.

Check out if you're school is participating at http://www.climatechallenge.org/woa and check out the national map. Join in!

Two interesting stories appeared today in the Sioux Falls, SD Argus Leader. Apparently, our Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved, with only a "number of conditions," the creation of a new $1 billion coal-fired power plant on the border of South Dakota and Minnesota.



Appearing in the same day's paper is a story about a potential wind farm being held up because of secret military concerns about radars.



How convenient.