Generation Binary

What up cyberspace,

For the love of music it is a wonderful day. I hope my friends out there are enjoying themselves, as you have just stumbled upon another Generation Binary post.

Now is a perfect time to voice my support for the recently passed health care bill. I would like to express my appreciation for those who worked so hard to pass this monumental legislation. Like everyone else I only hope that the implementation of these new policies is done with the same respect for life that inspired its creation.

If this is what change looks like then I am proud to live in the new America! I definitely do not believe it will be at all perfect now that we have passed this bill… but am thankful that our government did everything they could, in both parties, to get the voice of their constituents heard.

On a different note… The bass has been thumping at my house non stop for the last few weeks as the mixtape series begins to heat up. Bothersome neighbors and tired roomates make way for my electric thunder!! Maybe i will finally get a good quality recording done so you guys can hear what this shit actually sounds like (hint hint).

The Generation Binary continues…
Gordo

A moment taken at first light on top of Mount. Masada

Repower America is now calling all those concerned to action. We must begin writing letters to the editor of every publication and media outlet possible to support the climate change legislation. With the excruciating battle for health care reform, we can only expect the same level of partisan opposition to this bill. Please join us in our call for a fair and balanced solution to renewable energy, green jobs, and a secure American future.

Here is a brief summary of what we talked about at the initial meeting:

Michael Hawthorne, the representative for Repower America, came to Ben’s house to meet with our group. Mr. Hawthorne is the one working with us at CofC as an intermediary for Repower’s national effort to push the Green Legislation through Congress. If you are not familiar with the bill, you can find a link to it on the post titled “Summary of the American Clean Energy ad Security (ACES) Act of 2009.”

Michael made it a point to mention that Repower is a Grassroots campaign, they work from the ground up and support the interests of small business. It is also a non-partisan network. There are republicans, democrats, libertarians, green party, and independents all working together to support this effort.

Ben started the meeting by explaining a little bit about the ACES bill and why it is important for us to show our support.

We then discussed the Repower America National Student Challenge. This challenge runs from now until the beginning of December, and may be further extended. Our efforts to raise awareness and support will be recorded and assigned points. The team that accumulates the most points will win national recognition from Repower America, cool prizes, and valuable non-partisan political experience. Below is a list of goals and their point values:

• Earned Media Event – 50
• Printed LTE (Letter to the Editor) – 25
• Video – 15
• Handwritten Letter – 10
• Call to Congress- 5
• Petition Signature- 2

For now, our focus needs to be on writing letters, gathering testimonials, and making video interviews. We want to get as much publicity and buzz going around Charleston as we possible can. After the challenge there is still much work to be done. Our intention is to hold a large event with music, art, and media coverage around the time when this bill will hit the Senate floor. For now, the most important thing is education, involvement, and support focusing on the American Clean Energy and Securities Act.

If you would like to become involved with the student challenge or find out more about our efforts, join the facebook group (Support Green Energy Legislation) and/or contact Ben at cool42141421@mac.com. For updates on meetings, events, or any further information you can look at the new Support The ACES Act page. It is linked on the Generation Binary Blog under pages.

Stay cool Charleston. Just remember; if you’re seeing red, think green!
-Laura

The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act is a comprehensive climate and energy bill that will:

* Put America back to work
* Transition the U.S. to clean, affordable energy
* Make us safer as we lessen our dependence on foreign oil

* Help America regain the mantle of leadership as the international community negotiates a global climate treaty later this year

By making buildings and homes more efficient, ramping up renewable energy generation, constructing a unified national smart grid and reducing dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, we can address our country’s economic and national security challenges — all while making huge strides to solve the climate crisis. ACES would create a wide range of programs to encourage these efforts.
Energy Efficiency

WHY: Energy efficiency will save consumers and businesses money.

ACES sets strong building code targets for energy efficiency — 30 percent by 2010 and 50 percent by 2016 for new buildings – and directs the EPA and Department of Energy to work with state and local governments to improve the efficiency of existing buildings through retrofits. Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption, 72 percent of U.S. electricity consumption and 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

ACES strengthens the efficiency standards for household appliances such as furnaces and TVs, including reward programs for best-in-class, high-performance models. By making homes and appliances more energy efficient, American families can save $450 a year on their utility bills. This is good news for families who have seen their household’s energy costs increase more than $1,000 between 2001 and 2007.

ACES’ increases in energy efficiency targets would also create millions of new construction jobs for retrofitting homes and buildings, and manufacturing jobs for those who will produce energy efficient products.
Renewable Energy

WHY: Increasing our supply of clean energy will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize energy prices.

ACES requires a national renewable energy standard (RES) that means by 2020, at least 12 percent of our electricity must come from clean, renewable energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal. This is important because electricity generation is responsible for a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

ACES also will create a nationwide RES requirement for the first time in our nation’s history.

Renewable energy standards will create millions of new jobs — manufacturing jobs for those who will make component parts for wind turbines and solar panels and construction jobs for those who will build wind farms and install rooftop solar panels.

ACES also includes financial assistance for automobile manufacturers to retool their plants to make electric vehicles, breathing new life into the American auto industry.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Targets

WHY: The U.S. is responsible for 20 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the main cause of the climate crisis. America should be the leader in climate change solutions.

ACES institutes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, requiring the nation’s largest polluters reduce their CO2 emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050. The 2020 pollution cuts would be equal to taking 500 million cars off the road.

Corporations have asked for deep emissions reductions — the Edison Electric Institute, which represents 70 percent of U.S. power producers and the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, whose members include BP, Shell, General Motors and Ford support emissions reductions targets that are nearly identical to the bill’s targets.
Transmission/Smart Grid

WHY: An electricity super highway will revolutionize the way America produces, stores, delivers and uses energy.

Power outages cost the U.S. between $119 and $188 billion each year. Improving and expanding our power grid will save Americans money while providing a more secure and reliable electricity system. And expanding our power grid will create millions of new jobs for engineers, electricians and others in the advanced technology arena.

Smart grid technologies like smart meters enables consumers to take responsibility for the power they use and when they use it — giving them the ability to cut the cost of their own energy bills.

This article was copied from:
http://www.repoweramerica.org/us/resources/aces/.

Please share your thoughts and comments on this explanation. Our goal now is to use this information to write informed letters

to Senator Lindsey Graham showing our support and sharing our ideas.

For more information about how you can support this effort please visit http://www.repoweramerica.org

We will follow the wild path to the places beyond our limited sight.

So, unless you live under a rock, and actually maybe even if you do because rocks have been affected too, you all know about the green movement. Well, yesterday Gordo pitched an idea to me about a letter writing campaign. Essentially our SC senator, Lindsey Graham recently anouced his interest in the Climate Change Legislation that is going through Congress right now. If you want to read up on this piece of legislation you can go to the website for the Energy and Commerce Committee;  http://energycommerce.house.gov/ So basically, we are trying to get a letter writing campaign going at the College of Charleston to rally support. This bill is good things. One thing the bill outlines that I think is really cool, is that companies will have to pay for every ton of carbon emission they produce. Slap a fee on pollution and I’ll bet that not many companies will be as willing to clog our air with their nasty chemicals. So who wants in??? Every letter brings us closer to Lindsey Graham vote which brings us closer to passing the bill which brings us closer to clean skies which brings us into tomorrow… which we won’t have if we keep things going the way they are. So join in the cause, let’s rally the student masses!

Hey everyone, this is my first official post on the Generation Binary Blog. I would just like to thank everyone who has taken the time to check out my site and share their thoughts with me. Please feel free to express your opinions about the site, music, names for songs, shout outs, shows, parties, events or anything else you feel the need to share. It means allot to me to hear from my friends, family, and fans. Ultimately, it is the audience that decides who gets heard and who gets laughed off the stage. So let me know what your thinking so I can make the best music possible for you.

Rock on my people,

~Gordo

Perfect Rose