Welcome to DeltonaVotes
Where Apathy doesn't equal Voter Approval Anymore.....
March 2012
SOLAR
in
The Sunshine State

Maybe
it's a generational thing,
but there seem to be plenty of people from world-class companies
who want to do something more meaningful with their lives."
Scratch
Post
MAGAZINE
Volume 16, Issue 5
May/June 2010
The publication of record for
Pine Ridge High School,
926 Howland Blvd., Deltona, Fla.
ESTABLISHED 1997
Here comes the sun
Solar power will arrive at the end of (MARCH 2012)the summer
ALI SCHMITZ
Renewable resources are taking over the world. Before spring break, Volusia county schools notified principals of a program called “SunSmart e-Shelter”, that provides a solar energy system for schools. Principal Tom Russell filled out an application for the program, hoping that they would receive the grant.
“They (SunSmart) wanted to know how we would tie the solar program into our curriculum. We felt that we could tie this into our Environmental Science curriculum,” Russell said.
Soon after, Principal Tom Russell was informed that the school was one of the 90 finalists for the grant, and will receive the 10 kW system sometime during the end of summer or early fall. DeLand High school and Champion Elementary in Daytona Beach also received the grant.
“I think it’s really cool that Pine Ridge is using solar power because it will help the environment,” sophomore Kristen Lang said.
Solar panels were first used in 1958 by Hoffman Electrics, and by 1974 Solarex had created a solar paneled roof. The organization in charge of the SunSmart program, The Florida Solar Energy Center, was also created in 1974. This year is the first year that the e-Shelter competition was held.
“It will provide emergency lighting for our shelter in the event of a hurricane,” Russell said.
The school is an emergency shelter for the area in case of disasters, or storms. Since it is the largest school in the Deltona area, many members of the community choose to stay here during problems. Many bring sleeping bags and cots, for a place to sleep during the storm. With this solar powered system, sunlight from previous days are held into the system, and if the power goes out during a disaster, the system will restore the lights and air conditioner. The solar energy system will be used as an instruction tool, and help students fully understand how solar energy works.

The Deltona City Commission seized an opportunity
when it approved a green-building ordinance intended to guide future development.
Few people are building in Deltona right now,
but when construction starts up again --
and this is Florida, so it almost certainly will --
Deltona city leaders say they want environmentally sound buildings
that conserve energy, water and other precious resources.
By deciding to go green,
Deltona commissioners acknowledged as much,
and declared that they're ready to accept the responsibility of stewardship
H.R. 364
establishes an
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E)
within the U.S. Department of Energy,
similar to the successful DARPA program within the Department of Defense.
With a lean and agile organization ARPA-E
will assemble cross-disciplinary research teams focused
on addressing the nation's most urgent energy needs through
high-risk research and the rapid development of transformational clean energy technologies.

By leveraging talent in all sectors
- from private industry, to universities, to government labs -
ARPA-E will foster a robust and cohesive community
of energy researchers and technology developers in the U.S.

This bill follows on the direct recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences’ report


Deltona Seeks Solar Center while John Mica votes againsts it
A recent economic initiative to promote job training,
the city of Deltona wants to use some of the money to build a solar center.
The money will come from the
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
The city feels like it has a lot to gain through the funding and building a solar center. The solar center will provide education for homeowners and business owners on the benefits of photovoltaics. In addition, the center will provide training for professionals looking to get into photovoltaics.
Deltona has an excellent chance at receiving the money thanks to it's 11.7 percent unemployment rate.
After using the center
to train employees,
the city plans to invite
manufacturing inside to create jobs.
Deltona library wins green recognition
The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the newly renovated Deltona Regional Library with a Silver Level LEED Certification for sustainable design and construction.

The $11 million library expansion, completed in October, added 25,000 square feet of library space and a 23,655-square-foot environmental center with classrooms and community meeting spaces, as well as the outdoor Deltona Amphitheater.

The construction manager, PPI, announced the LEED certification in a news release Friday.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Attaining Silver Level means the project earned higher points than simple LEED certification, but fewer points than gold or platinum

CAN YOU HEAR
US
NOW?

Energy-saving stimulus money frozen in politics
For eighteen years,
John Mica(R FL 7)
has had the opportunity to incentivize small business job creation in this region.
He has missed his chance to make
Florida "the place to be"
for new and emerging businesses.
It was his job
to make sure that DELTONA
was prepared to take advantage of the 21st century
but said
NO
to alternative energy
JOBS
in
Central Florida
by using
alternative energy sources like
Solar
in
The Sunshine State
THANK HIM BY
"JUST SAYING NO" TO HIM
THIS NOVEMBER

Five years ago,
(make that 7 YEARS now Mr. Mica AND Ms. Adams)
the National Academies prepared
Rising Above the Gathering Storm,
a book that cautioned:
"Without a renewed effort to bolster the foundations of our competitiveness, we can expect to lose our privileged position."
Since that time we find ourselves in a country where much has changed--and a great deal has not changed.

In 2005, bipartisan requests
from the
United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate
prompted the National Academies to conduct a study of America’s competitiveness in the newly evolved global marketplace.

In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges,
U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface.
So where does America stand relative to its position of five years ago when the Gathering Storm book was prepared?
The unanimous view of the authors is that our nation's outlook has worsened.
The present volume,
Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited,
explores the tipping point America now faces.
Addressing
America's competitiveness challenge
will require many years if not decades;
however,
the requisite federal funding of much of that effort is about to terminate."

Our choices matter!
In
Floridian
democracy
IDIOTS
(aka YOUR Florida House & Senate)
were born
and
citizens
were made through
education

SUBSIDY
A benefit given by the government to groups or individuals usually in the form of a cash payment or tax reduction. The subsidy is usually given to remove some type of burden and is often considered to be in the interest of the public. sub·si·dize tr.v. sub·si·dized, sub·si·diz·ing, sub·si·diz·es
1. To assist or support with a subsidy.2. To secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy
June 2010
Rick Scott's running mate
State Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Fleming Island,
questioned why the state had to be the money source (for solar).
"If it's such a great idea
(LIKE NUCLEAR SUBSIDES, Ms. Carroll??!!!),
they can get venture capitalists to support them," she said.
"If you have proven technology,
put it out there and
get a bank to support you."
Is Ms. Carroll going to tell nuclear to get off the publics teet also
OR
$$$stop the nuclear rate increases$$$
for plant that won't be built in her lifetime?

Someday people will look back and wonder,
What were they thinking?
Why, in the midst of a stalled recovery, with the economy fragile and job creation slowing to a trickle, did the nation’s leaders decide that the thing to do—in order to raise the debt limit, normally a routine matter—was to spend less money, making job creation all the more difficult? Many experts on the economy believe that the President has it backward: that focusing on growth and jobs is more urgent in the near term than cutting the deficit, even if such expenditures require borrowing. But that would go against Obama’s new self-portrait as a fiscally responsible centrist.

Lawrence Summers, Obama’s recently resigned chief economic adviser, said on The Charlie Rose Show in July that he found it “dispiriting” that “all of the energy is on the projected deficits…when the problem right now is that the economy is in danger of stagnating from lack of demand.” The Republicans had made it clear for months that they would use the need to raise the debt ceiling as an instrument for extracting concessions from the Democratic President in the form of more cuts in federal programs. And the President assented to their premise, but only if there should also be some additional revenues. Were they all insane?
That’s not a far-fetched question.
Read the rest
BTW Mr. Boehner
WE WANT MORE CAMERA's
for the accountability in OUR House that
YOU PROMISED US!!!!
Knowledge is Power
Pay-it-Forward
Deltona