March
2
The roads are full of ice from last night’s slush, with some people stuck on the road for 5 HOURS!
I won’t comment any further on that, since I was raised in NY, but here’s some photos I took outside this morning:
… and here’s a few of the same spot out back a few months ago which shows off our pretty Fall colors.
UPDATE: I couldn’t resist risking life & limb for a few photos at the waterfalls:
Surely government employees enjoyed the day off!
January
9
Instead of spending gobs of money to build a dirty coal fired power plant here in S.C., one possible resolution to high energy costs is something that could lie underground, but it’s not coal or oil, it’s CAES – compressed air energy storage.
From Uncle Sam’s Sandia National Laboratories:
CAES facilities function like big batteries. Electric motors drive compressors that compress air into an underground geologic formation during off-peak electric use times like evenings and weekends. Then, when electricity is needed most during high-demand times, the pre-compressed air is used in modified combustion turbines to generate electricity. Natural gas or other fossil fuels are still required to run the turbines, but the process is more efficient. This method uses up to 50 percent less natural gas than standard electricity production.
November
20
Many people think of Aiken and horses as belonging in the same sentence.
After all, Northeasteners return home bragging about Aiken being “no stress, just horses”.
But I’m here to tell you there’s another passion alive and kicking in Aiken, SC: activism!
I already knew about my Aunt’s mission to insure Aiken’s satellite voting stations opened for Election 2008, about Aiken’s strong activist movement against the dirty coal industry the other night, and just now, I received an email alert from the Coastal Conservation League about the new term on the block: “nuclear reprocessing”.
As you might expect, nuclear reprocessing facilities have an alarming track record of leaks, contamination, and health risks to the surrounding population.
November
20
Whether it’s dirty coal emissions in the air, or mercury in the water, South Carolina has plenty of environmental concerns to deal with.
Some amazing, concerned citizens here in South Carolina have been going out of their way for us as stringent activists against the dirty coal industry – even taking off a year from college and one winding up incarcerated. Obviously we don’t want anybody winding up in jail, but sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures.
With help from informed individuals like them, and the fine people behind our South Carolina Sierra Club & other environmental groups, we will turn the table on these Earth-killing corporations.
One way you can help clean up dirty coal plants now is by signing the S.C. Sierra Club Petition today.
November
16
As a card-carrying Democrat, it took a few days for me to catch wind of it, but kudos to our Gov. Sanford for being named Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
What I’ve always appreciated about Gov. Sanford is his knack at downsizing our SC government and it’s spending.
Sure, he’s butt heads a few times with members on both sides of the aisle, but the truth is, we are a better State because of it, and I’m sure the rest of the country – Sarah Palin [sic] – will be hearing more about him in the future.
Congratulations Gov. Sanford!
(now if he can just get a wrap around those DHEC foul-ups)
November
1
With relatives flying in from out West to my Aunt’s in Aiken (west of Columbia, SC), this is my weekend driving schedule:
- Greenville -> Aiken (initial visit Thursday)
- Aiken -> Columbia (airport arrivals)
- Columbia -> Aiken
- Aiken -> Greenville (have Mom consolidate her stuff in our garage)
- Greenville -> Aiken (drive Mom & Nat to Aiken Saturday am)
- Aiken -> Columbia (airport departures)
- Columbia -> Greenville (back home Sunday evening)
Nat suggested I use Hwy 25 vs. the roller coaster ride of I-26, and I’m sure glad I did. I saw open pastures and the multi-colored leaves of Fall for most of the trip, a nice break from the boring evergreen trees lining I-26 to Columbia.
