Trent got in to McGrath just after midnight local Alaska time today,
11th. I had thought he might check through and mush on to Takotna
following his 6 hour run from Nikolai. I was wrong, he's obviously
staying in McGrath and taking his mandatory 24 hour rest stop there.
Each musher must stop for 24 hours at one checkpoint during the race,
they must also stop for 8 hours at one other checkpoint. McGrath and
Talkotna are both considered the most "civilized" places to stop with
restaurants and locals that go out of their way to bring hospitality
to the trail-worn mushers.

Weather in McGrath is clear and -21 deg F. Webcam shot of the
checkpoint a few minutes ago is in this post's gallery along with
checkpoint map.

We can expect that Trent will get back on the trail the moment his 24
hours are up, so he should be on his way to Takotna shortly after
midnight tonight. On the current standings portion of the Iditarod
website, you'll see a posting for "Time Out" when he does leave
McGrath.

Remember when modular homes were going to be part  of the “green” future?  In the post-Dwell, post-postmodern architecture era, pre-fab was going to be cheap, green, hot and hip.  Yes, finally, an antidote to McMansions and an affordable alternative to ballooning home prices.  As if that were not enough,  these stylish boxes were set to erase our previous connotations, where modular meant mobile home and pre-fab equaled Lubbock double-wide.

Photo: Heather Lucille FlickrExcept it didn’t happen.  Modular homes, like all homes, suffered the housing crash, though as we reported last year, there never was quite enough demand to make modular modern homes tumble off the production line; they’re only affordable if they’re mass-produced.

But apparently a new demand has sprung up for modular homes, only it’s not among the green set, or the young, or first-time homebuyers. And it’s not for the modestly sized versions of pre-fab. Rather, according to the Washington Post<...

An entire army, apparently.

El Presidente of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, put in big orders for energy efficiency when he commanded the country’s lightbulbs get swapped for CFLs. Why the power play? A drought of hydropower has the nation in energy crisis and the military armed with efficient lightbulbs, laying waste to every wasteful incandescent in their path. The troops are battling against the highest per capita energy use on the continent, but the spoils of war will ease the shift from years of being spoiled by oil.

Viva efficiency!

Via inhabitat

Related Links:

How the cap-and-trade controversy could lead to good clean energy policy

Job Creation Begins at Home

How to provide relief to rural Americans, create jobs, and lower emissions ... all at once!

Cross-posted from the Wonk Room.

As the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman triumvirate works to craft green economy legislation, they’re negotiating with industry lobbyists who deny the threat of global warming. After meeting with President Barack Obama and a dozen industry-friendly lawmakers, the trio of Senate negotiators sat down with representatives of the fossil-based economy:

A cross section of industry power players met this afternoon in the Capitol with Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman. Groups represented at the meeting included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, Edison Electric Institute, Nuclear Energy Institute, National Association of Manufacturers, Farm Bureau, American Forest and Paper Association, American Railroads, National Electric Manufacturers Association, and Portland Cement Association.

It’s perfectly reasonable for senators to meet with industry stakeholders as they work to unleash the clean energy economy. However, half of the lobbyist groups mentioned are legally...

On Wednesday, bipartisan groups of legislators from both houses of Congress joined together to support a bill: the Rural Energy Savings Program, which would make low-interest loans available to rural homeowners to fund efficiency retrofits. The loans would come with no upfront cost and would be paid off with a small surcharge on utility bills (so-called “on-bill financing”). The policy is a win-win-win: it would offer financial relief to a demographic that’s hurting badly, create thousands of jobs, and reduce CO2 emissions. The bill is fantastic in its own right, but unless I’m suffering from a bout of wishful thinking (possible!), it also seems indicative of some promising developments in today’s energy politics.

First off, federal legislators are finally beginning to grasp the fact that efficiency can be a winner in every single congressional district. It is a bipartisan, or perhaps nonpartisan, opportunity. This realization has been delayed by years of partisan squabbling over more contentious...

It is almost three months after the Copenhagen Accord was hammered out by 28 of the world’s key countries that represent over 80 percent of the world’s global warming pollution and some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (as I discussed here). Given the state of the Accord just after Copenhagen with some calling it a failure, some outlining the foundations in the Accord for international efforts (as my colleague discussed here), and others ... well not quite sure what to make of it, where do things stand on international efforts to address global warming?

If you just picked up the paper, watched TV, listened to the radio, or read blogs you might think that things aren’t really moving as there is very little coverage of international global warming discussions (especially compared to last year when every 5 seconds some news story or analysis emerged). But that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening on the international front. In fact, despite the lack of regular coverage,...