SIOUX CITY | The screech of saws and drills and hum of compressors and generators echoed inside the juxtaposition of contemporary steel and concrete with century-old timber and brick.

"This is where the future meets the past, with the Hard Rock casino meeting the Battery Building," Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City developer Bill Warner said, raising his voice to be heard over the din of the construction noise. "You can really start to see the connection of the two buildings."

Wearing a hard hat and safety glasses, Warner stood next to what once was the east exterior wall of the Battery, a former warehouse built in 1906. Now connected to a new 58,000-square-foot, one-story structure, the original brick facade is visible from almost everywhere on the future casino floor.

The facade, which was faded and in need of repair after decades of exposure to the elements, has been tuckpointed and cleaned as part of an extensive restoration of the warehouse.

"It looks beautiful, doesn't it?" Warner asked a Journal reporter and photographer/videographer.

Warner and Hard Rock Sioux City General Manager Todd Moyer on April 16 gave the Journal an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the vast downtown entertainment venue under construction at Third and Water streets.

Despite some foul-weather-related setbacks, the $128.5 million project is on pace to open as scheduled in mid- to late summer, Warner said. Officials are waiting to announce a specific date until they have a better idea of when all the work will be done.

"We don't want to pick a date and then go past it," he said.

A small city of construction workers -- a half-dozen or more contractors employing a total of nearly 300 people -- are deployed inside and outside the job site, with some crews putting in seven-day weeks.

During the tour, a Journal reporter watched workers perform a multitude of tasks, from drywall and painting to welding and wiring to pushing a wheelbarrow of wet cement to installing equipment on the roof.

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Hard Rock leaders show off Sioux City casino construction

47 ABC News Simple do-it-yourself changes to your home can save you a lot of green on your monthly utility bills.

A lot of money goes down the drain. People don't realize that the living space is an area that has to retain heating and cooling, Darren Lombardo, President at Home Energy Solutions said.

First, attack that attic! For $80, install an attic fan to keep things cool. Staple a radiant barrier to the attic trusses and use an attic stair cover to keep the cold air where it belongs. Sealing your attic can save you anywhere from 20 to 25 percent on your energy bill.

An attic is a collector for heat, so we want to keep the attic space as cool as possible. Theres the radiant barrier, along with a fan with a thermostat control. Between those two, you can save a lot. And some people might say the fan is using electricity, but its less to run that fan and keep the upstairs cool as opposed to not running a fan at all, Lombardo said.

Lombardo says all the holes throughout the house add up to one giant hole. All electrical outlets and switch plates leak too. Place foam electrical outlet sealers behind your electrical outlet faceplates for just 10 -15 cents apiece. Use the knockout portion of the sealers behind child safety prongs to save even more.

Use an insulation blanket on your hot water heater and duct work.

For $10, get an HVAC gauge for your refrigeration system.

When the refrigerant is low, the system will cycle and cycle and cycle and use unnecessary energy, Lombardo said.

Keep your AC unit and heat pumps clean with a foam coil cleaner.

A power cost monitor will help you keep track of energy consumption.

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Do-It-Yourself Energy-Saving Tips For Your Home

The winter of 2014 was a wake-up call for homeowners facing higher-than-normal heating costs.

With polar vortex cold sweeps, heavy snowfalls and ice blizzards affecting much of the country, energy prices for electricity, gas and oil have increased. Propane prices have skyrocketed due to scarcity of supplies, leading some governors to declare a state of emergency.

The hefty costs of

heating and cooling

Many homeowners, concerned that energy prices for air conditioning this summer could be just as high, followed by yet another tough winter, are looking for alternative sources for heating and cooling. Higher performing, energy-efficient heating and cooling products are available, but they are still dependent on fossil fuels.

Renewable forms of energy like solar and wind wont solve the problem.

Such sources dont work all the time and require backup in the form of a conventional heating-cooling system, so the dependence on high-cost fossil fuels remains.

from the ground up

However, there is a viable renewable solution. Its called geothermal and its energy source is the very earth beneath our feet. Because the earth absorbs 50 percent of the suns energy more than 500 times more energy than mankind needs every year there is an abundant power source in the earth to tap for heating and cooling. Geothermal systems transfer this heat from a home during the cooling season and return it to the earth during the heating season. Geothermal is possible because the temperature of the earth at 4 to 6 feet below ground remains relatively constant year-round.

A geothermal system is the answer to todays and tomorrows high energy prices, said Lyndal Moore, national geothermal sales manager for Bosch, a manufacturer of geothermal heat pumps. But thats just the beginning.

Link:
Homeowners can cut costs with geothermal systems

This is part of a series on minority parties.

Promotion of environmentally sound technologies and green initiatives are not surprisingly part of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Paul Glovers platform.

The effects of such policies go beyond just helping the environment, Glover said.

A keystone for the Keystone State is to create green jobs. Jobs fight crime, Glover said.

The plan to create jobs goes along with Glovers top campaign priority, which is to reduce dependency on fossil fuels by 80 to 90 percent using technologies that have proven practical.

Glover said he has a plan to create 500,000 green collar jobs through the creation of a program called the Green Labor Administration. One job these workers would do is install superinsulation to buildings that would make heating and cooling more efficient and reduce costs and emissions.

Glover also said he would ban fracking, cancel construction of new prisons and push to legalize marijuana, free prisoners of marijuana offenses and clear their records to lessen prison populations as governor.

Addressing student debt is something else Glover would do if elected. As governor, Glover said he would start a priority to pay off student debt for those doing work that most benefits society like doctors and dentists.

In return, the student or graduate would agree to work in a low-income area for a period of time. The priority would expand as practical to the whole system, he said.

Glovers background as a community organizer would assist him as governor, he said. He has started 18 organizations and campaigns over the years, Glover said, proving dedication to creating rather than consuming.

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Energy efficiency, conservation major part of Green Party gubernatorial platform

DELAWARE - In an effort to revitalize Delawares manufacturing industry, state Senate and House Republican leaders reportedly announced legislation to create right-to-work zones in Delaware on Tuesday.

According to reports, nearly half of U.S. states have right-to-work laws, stipulating that workers cannot be forced to join or financially support a union as a condition of employment.The new bill, currently circulating in the state legislature for sponsorship, reportedly seeks to empower the Director of the Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) to create right-to-work zones as part of the agencys inducements to bring new businesses to Delaware.

Under the measure, manufacturing businesses in a right-to-work zone, adding at least 20 new workers, would reportedly be exempt from paying the Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) for five years after the hirings.

Reports say Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson (R-Milford), Senate Minority Whip Greg Lavelle (R-Sharpley), House Minority Leader Danny Short (R-Seaford) and House Minority Whip Deborah Hudson (R-Fairthorne)argue such an initiative would create a more competitive environment, attract new businesses to Delaware, and generate more jobs.

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"Right To Work Zones" Could Come To DE

With winter ending and spring arriving, Long Island residents will soon face that humid, sweltering heat that comes with every summer season.

But this summer you dont have to be miserable in the heat.

Flanders Heating and Air Conditioning has a number of tips and products to help anyone survive this upcoming season.

Whole House Fans

These fans help cool off your home by pulling cold air throughout your home and exhausting the warm air through your attic. The fans are most effective when operated at night, when the air outside is cooler than the air inside your home.

Setting Your Thermostat Appropriately

Do not set your thermostat at a colder temperature setting than normal when you turn on your air conditioning. Setting it colder, will not cool your home any faster and can result in excessive cooling and also unnecessary expense. Even though we all love our homes feeling like the inside of a refrigerator, you should set your thermostat as high as comfortably possible. The less difference between the indoor and outdoor temperature, the lower your overall cooling bill will be.

Indoor Fans

Consider ceiling fans to spread the cooled air more effectively through your home without greatly increasing your power use. Also set your fan speeds whether ceiling or on the floor on high speed, except when its very humid. When it is humid set the fan speed on low and you will get better cooling.

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Flanders offers tips for beating the heat this summer

A worker dismantles old computers and electronics at E-Parisara, an electronic waste recycling factory, April 11, 2008 in Dobbspet, India. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images) (Uriel Sinai)

Earth Day is Tuesday, but some are celebrating all week. Of course, every day should be Earth Day, considering all the challenges that our planet is facing, including climate change.

As technology users, there are things we can do to make a dent. Even very little things, when multiplied by millions of people, can have a big impact.

One thing we can do is reduce power consumption. Turn off your PC or make sure it goes into sleep mode when you're not using it. Don't use "screen saver" software that puts a moving image on your screen when it's not in use. You don't need them with modern LCD displays and they waste power. Have the screen simply go blank after a period of inactivity. Windows and Mac OS X have controls to maximize power saving.

When buying a PC, printer, appliances, heating and cooling equipment or just about anything else that uses power, look for Energy Star compliance as a basic minimum. For most homes, a programmable thermostat is an inexpensive and effective investment. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that programmable thermostats can save about $180 per year in some climates. The EnergyStar.gov website has other recommendations, including sealing insulation leaks and using a space heater rather than heating an entire house. The website can help you find Energy Star certified products.

Beware of passive energy hogs. Those little plugs that charge our cellphones, for example, typically use some power when they're plugged in, even if they're not in use. Unplug them or plug them into a power strip that you can turn off. The Bussmann Chargesmart Universal Mobile Charger shuts off when the device it's charging no longer needs power, according to the company, but at about $20 on Amazon, it's a pretty expensive charger.

Computer and electronic components to be processed by a recycling machine at the Hewlett-Packard recycling facility in Roseville, Calif., on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

If you have a laser or ink jet printer, you can save plastic by recycling your cartridges (some office supply stores will give you a rebate for turning them in). You can also refill most ink jet cartridges, which helps the planet and your budget. There are do-it-yourself kits, but it can get kind of messy. You can have them refilled at Costco and many other stores.

Printers can waste a lot of paper, so don't print if you don't have to. I sometimes email documents to my cellphone or tablet so I can refer to them when I'm out of the house. When you do print, try using draft mode, which uses less ink. When shopping for a printer, look for one that automatically prints on both sides and chose printers that get a lot of pages per cartridge. Sometimes you have to pay a little more for them, but they can more than pay for themselves over time.

Even the font you use can affect energy and ink use. In 2010, the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay switched fonts from Arial to Century Gothic, which uses 30 percent less ink. But it also takes up more space, which can waste paper. The website Ecofont.com sells a $25 font for Windows that, according to the company, saves ink without using more paper. I tried it and noticed that the ink wasn't as dense on the page.

The rest is here:
Magid: For tech users, every day should be Earth Day

The installation of a new air-conditioning system at city hall is now under way and expected to be completed before this summer.

Lakebrink Heating and Air Conditioning, Union, is installing the new variable refrigerant flow system to replace the current boiler system.

The old boiler system was high maintenance, said Mayor Mike Livengood. There was a lot more failure and future expenses with plumbing.

The need for an upgrade was critical, he added.

The new system would provide heat in areas that are not temperature controlled now, including the auditorium and the city clerks office.

The city clerks office is heated with space heaters.

Livengood noted that an air-conditioned auditorium has been a need for several years.

Weve always wanted to get more versatility out of it, he said.

Livengood explained that once the auditorium is air conditioned people are more likely to rent the facility during the summer months.

Allen Eaker, co-owner of Lakebrink Heating and Air Conditioning, estimated that work is about 50 percent completed and should take another few weeks to finish the job.

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City Hall HVAC Installation Now Under Way

Although the growth of solar power has been substantial in California in recent years, the percentage of homes that have solar panels on their rooftops is still small less than 2 percent. Likewise, many property owners throughout the state have yet to install energy-efficient upgrades to their homes. The reason often comes down to cost: It's still expensive to adopt green-energy practices, even though prices have come down in the past decade. And that's especially true for residents of Oakland, Berkeley, and East Bay cities who live in smaller homes and don't use a lot of electricity.

In fact, solar power and energy-efficient upgrades are still cost-prohibitive for many such homeowners that is, it costs more to put solar panels on your home or make energy-efficient upgrades than what you'll save on your monthly PG&E bill. Part of the problem is that the state does not provide enough green-energy incentives, particularly for low-energy users. For example, California strictly limits a homeowner's ability to sell excess solar energy back to utilities.

Until such policies change, some environmentalists contend that eco-conscious consumers may have to start viewing energy efficiency much like they do organic and sustainably grown food: It's expensive, but good for the earth. Dan Forman of the Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter said he knows some area residents who have installed solar rooftops, knowing full well that they will never recoup their costs. One said, "'I know that I'm not making money on this I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do,'" Forman said.

But that's not to say you shouldn't take advantage of existing green-energy incentives. For example, Energy Upgrade California, a state program, gives homeowners between $1,000 and $4,500 for permanent home upgrades i.e., things you can't take with you when you move that improve energy efficiency. Ratepayers fund the program via a tax on their energy bill.

Here's how it works: Homeowners choose from a list of pre-approved, specially trained contractors available at BayAreaEnergyUpgrade.org. (They can also see all the rebate programs they qualify for at EnergyUpgradeCA.org, and then choose a contractor based on which ones they specialize in.) There are two main programs Home Upgrade and Advanced Home Upgrade. The former is based on a point system: Each upgrade is given a certain number of points and the total rebate amount is based on how many points you accumulate. The latter option offers a rebate based on the total energy consumption of your home after the various upgrades have been completed. It requires an energy assessment test.

Advanced Home Energy, which is based in Richmond, is one of the largest Bay Area contractors to participate in Energy Upgrade California, according to marketing manager Marisa Lee. Lee recommends the Advanced Home Upgrade over the Home Upgrade plan because it's more flexible and offers better savings. (For example, window upgrades aren't available through the Home Upgrade plan.) It begins with an audit of the "health and safety" and "comfort and energy efficiency" of your home, said Lee. "Health and safety" means checking for asbestos and testing gas appliances, for example, while "comfort and energy efficiency" evaluates things such as how well your insulation is working and how efficient your furnace is. That report is then submitted to your local utility company for most East Bay residents, that means PG&E.

After going over possible upgrades and the cost of those fixes with the contractor, the homeowner then decides on a plan of action. After the work is completed, the contractor performs another energy audit of the home and submits it to PG&E, which would then send a check to the customer. In addition to the $1,000 to $4,500 rebate for the upgrades, PG&E also offers up to $300 for the audit, which can cost between $100 and $450, depending on the size of the home, said Lee, who added it's possible that the entire audit will be covered.

The average rebate is $3,000, she said, and the average cost of the upgrades (before the rebate) is between $10,000 and $15,000. "Most of our customers get 25 percent back in rebates," Lee said. (Rebates for the Home Upgrade plan are slightly lower.)

Still, even with the rebates, many residents won't recover the costs of the actual upgrades. For example, if your monthly PG&E bill is $100, and you pay $10,000 (with a $4,500 rebate) for upgrades that reduce your bill to $75, it would still take 220 months or about 18 years for your investment to pay for itself. And that's a best-case scenario.

An exception is for those who use a lot of energy. Lee said one customer reported saving 70 percent on his energy costs after making upgrades to his very large home but his bill started out at $700 per month and was reduced to $100. "The average energy savings varies significantly it's based on home size and location and age of the home," said Monica Tell, spokesperson for PG&E. But there are other benefits to participation, she added, including increasing comfort and improving indoor air quality.

See the original post here:
Organic Energy

Angela Knight has forged a career on defending the seemingly indefensible, having fought for the Tories in John Major's government, then the banks just after the financial crash, and now the energy companies.

"It is true and I put it on my CV - I do difficult jobs," she quips. Knight is currently chief spokesman for the energy industry as head of the Energy UK trade body, not the easiest industry to represent in the public eye.

After a string of news stories about rising bills, Labour leader Ed Miliband set public debate alight about energy companies last September with his pledge to freeze energy bills for two years.

Knight praises the Labour leader for "sensing the mood" among consumers about rising bills, adding: "Nobody was talking about the reasons for the price rises." Miliband, she says, seized a "god-given opportunity of something people dont like, an industry you can pin it on and the government of the day not actually framing particularly strongly in that policy area, and then ka-boom!"

The 64-year-old unsurprisingly shares her industry colleagues' scorn for the pledge, quipping that she thought he would announce it this September rather than last year "as you'd only have five months before the general election for it to then unravel".

Does she share Energy secretary Ed Davey and energy giant bosses' concern that the move would increase the chances of blackouts breaking out across Britain?

"We do have to be careful what we do and how we do it. You don't need much in there to cause investors to say 'I think I'm going to wait to see what happens'."

Scottish Independence? 'It's A Bit Of A Nightmare'

Many businesses have already warned that Scottish independence could cause major uncertainty for their operations, how does Knight feel?

Knight struggles to hide her concern about the administrative complications, suggesting that it could increase costs for the energy companies that they may have to pass to consumers.

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Defending The Banks And Now Big Energy, Why Does Angela Knight Do It?