Land and Water Expo

The second Land and Water Expo will be held again this year in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Land and Water Resources Conference of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

The conference will be July 26-29. The Expo, a free conservation trade show, will be July 28.

The conference offers sessions on Illinois conservation issues ranging from urban sprawl and conservation partnerships to the marketing of wetlands and the Livestock Waste Act. The expo, a conservation trade show, has been expanded to include conservation tillage and no-till products and the latest in erosion and water quality control products.

"Each of the 98 Soil and Water Conservation Districts face challenges in both rural and urban areas," said Expo planner Aaron Kassing of Nessen Co. "These districts oversee millions of dollars that are used for the construction and implementation of conservation practices and this Expo gives the SWCDs an opportunity to see what is available to make their efforts more effective." For more more information about Expo, call (217) 744-9350; for more information about the conference, call (217) 744-3414.

ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING SEPTEMBER 1998

Service, service, service

Illinoisans are beginning to get a picture of life after electric utility deregulation. Gov. Jim Edgar inked the legislation last winter and cooperatives, it turns out, may be in the best position to respond to the needs of residential users.

Two neighboring cooperatives this month will offer their memberships a vote on an opportunity to consolidate. Whether member-owners like the idea or not, the proposal has been discussed at public meetings and the decision nonetheless remains with them.

Several other cooperatives have switched electric power suppliers to capitalize on the new, attractive rates. One of those cooperatives saw fit to stay within the electric cooperative family, switching from one cooperative supplier to another.

Pictures are forming in other states as well. In California, Enron, a huge power marketer that had pursued Californians aggressively, pulled out of residential service after only a few weeks of marketing to residential customers. Of 10 million Californians now able to choose their electric suppliers, only 30,000 chose to switch to Enron. Cooperative watchers view this as a favorable trend for co-ops.

"Where for-profit companies see no market, cooperatives see great opportunities for providing consumers reliable and affordable electric service," notes Cooperative Business Journal, the journal of the National Cooperative Business Association.

There are efforts to form new cooperatives. In California, a cooperative recently incorporated to aggregate the purchasing power of members of several agricultural cooperatives. In New York City and a number of northeastern states, cooperatives are organizing to purchase electricity and a number of other energy related services to members.

Many electric cooperatives already have begun diversifying and many who hadn't recently asked their members to vote on bylaw changes that allow those co-ops to offer other services. Many members now look to their electric cooperative for such services as water, propane, home and personal security, communications and satellite TV.

And at least one Illinois cooperative is responding to those interested in purchasing "green" power. Jo Carroll Electric Cooperative in northwest Illinois has responded to some members who would like the option of buying all or a portion of their electricity from a renewable resource. The cooperative is offering a new program called Evergreen, which will generate electricity from wind, which will be harnessed at a "wind farm" yet to be built. Those who choose to participate agree to pay $3 to $4 more for each 100 kwh energy block that they have agreed to purchase through the program.

"Consumers recognize that we provide superior service," said Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He cited an NRECA study conducted last year showing that 80 percent of those now served by an investor-owned utility would choose to be served by a consumer-owned utility. The survey results showed that overwhelmingly, respondents said they preferred that profits be returned to customers instead of investors, that they like having a voice in their utility, and that they prefer their utility be local. In response to that survey, NRECA initiated a brand name, Touchstone Energy, to help consumers identify cooperative electricity service.

"This survey confirms what we've known and believed all along — being a cooperative is a very real and measurable competitive advantage," English said. "That's opportunity knocking on our door."

What's best about your co-op?

Surveys show that members love their cooperatives, but why? We could tell you what we think or what the surveys show, but we'd rather hear from you. What's best about your electric cooperative? Tell us in 100 words or less. We'll publish a selection in the August issue of Illinois Country Living, and if we use your pithy prose, we'll send you a personal-size Maglite flashlight. Your replies should be typewritten, e-mailed or in legible handwriting, and we reserve the right to edit. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number and the name of your electric cooperative. Send your letters to: Illinois Currents, Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708 or e-mail them to aiecinfo@fgi.net.

Utilities prepare for possible power shortage

Transmission line capacity and generating capacity are at critically low levels again this summer making the temporary blackouts a real possibility. Electric cooperatives and other utilities throughout the region are working hard to prevent blackouts, but also warning customers so they can prepare for the possibility.

The potential power supply shortage is the result of several regional problems. Early this summer nearly 7,000 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity and 6,000 megawatts of fossil fuel generating capacity was offline. Although several generators are expected to be back on line before the summer's peak demand season, there will be less generating capacity than normal.

Warnings will be issued over broadcast news media. However, the decisions to interrupt power may have to be made quickly, leaving little time for notifications. The interruptions could last three hours or less. Members with portable generators are urged to use them safely. If you have any questions contact your local electric cooperative.

JULY 1998 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7

A guide to logging aesthetics

A new book describes logging practices that enhance wildlife, recreational and aesthetic qualities of the wood lot. The guide also describes programs administered by county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service offices that assist with the cost of seeding disturbed land to control soil erosion.

A Guide to Logging Aesthetics: Practical Tips for Loggers, Foresters, and Landowners, which contains 50 color photographs, was written by Geoffrey T. Jones of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Collaborating were the Northeast Forest Resources Extension Council, the N.H. State Foresters Office, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Northeast Regional Agriculture Engineering Service (NRAES).

The book costs $10.50, including shipping and handling, from NRAES, Cooperative Extension, 152 Riley-Robb Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853-5701. Call (607) 255-7654 or visit its website at http://rcwpsun.cas.psu.edu.NRAES.

Ethanol from soda pop waste?

Waste from producing soft drinks could substitute for corn as a cheaper ethanol source if soft drink makers have to pay large fees to dump that waste, says a Southern Illinois University researcher. Meanwhile, two other SIU researchers say a mid-sized ethanol plant located in one of the state's 36 southernmost counties could boost the region's gross domestic product by nearly .3 percent and support 545 jobs.

Robert L.Wolff, a specialist in alternate fuels at the university's College of Agriculture in Carbondale, notes a local bottler has to ship waste out of state in tanker trucks to dispose of it because it's too costly to flush down the sewer.

Even when manufacturers don't pay disposal costs, soft drink waste, mostly sugars from corn syrup, might still cost less than corn, as long as the soft drink and ethanol plants aren't too far apart — within about 80 miles of one another.

The project was begun when the Vienna Correctional Center, which has a small ethanol plant on site, started accepting the waste from a local bottler, Wolff said. "They asked us to figure out the economics of using waste soda from throughout the Midwest."

The price an ethanol plant must pay for raw materials is between half and three-fourths of its production costs, he said. A cheaper feed stock would make ethanol more competitive with gasoline, a need that will become more pressing in 2000, when current subsidies are scheduled to run out. And, turning waste into fuel packs an environmental punch as well, especially in rural areas, he said. "Many plants dump it into municipal sewage plants, but if the sewage plants are small units (as they often are in small towns), it can create big problems," said Wolff. Smaller units don't have enough water to dilute the waste, which in turn upsets the bacterial balance. That means the water they dump out is contaminated, which leads to tines from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ever wonder why they call It...

Oblong? or Preemption? or Bone Gap? Illinois cities all, and you can read about their peculiar names in A Place Called Peculiar: Stories about Unusual American Place-Names. The new book was written by Frank K. Gallant, editor of Rural Electrification, the monthly magazine of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The book is published by Merriam Webster as part of a new series about the "lighter side of language." At $14.95, it's available through bookstores, or visit the publisher's Internet web site: www.m-w.com. Next month in ICL: read how Grand Detour got its name.

Grant News now online

Grant News, a small quarterly chock full of notices for federal, state, and private grants for rural communities now is online.

Grant News is published four to six times annually by Illinois State University's office of applied social research unit. Its purpose is to help residents, community development professionals, health and human services providers, and others interested in rural development find funding resources. The information is culled from several sources, including the Federal Register, various state and federal agencies, and private foundations.

To access back issues, point your Internet web browser to www.socialresearch.ilstu.edu. Once there, click on "Applied Social Research Unit," then on "publications and project reports," then on any listed back issue of Grant News. For more information about Grant News, call (309) 438-7771.

8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JULY 1998