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Illinois
Coal conference highlights clean-coal technology At a conference held in mid-October, national and state leaders discussed ways to revive the Illinois coal industry by deploying new clean coal technologies.
"We are at an important crossroads for an industry with a rich and proud tradition in Illinois," said Governor George H. Ryan. "For Illinois coal to enjoy a rebirth, however, coal producers, users and government agencies must work together to promote clean, efficient uses of this important resource."
"Our goal in staging this conference was to bring the top people in the coal business together at a critical time to share ideas, learn about the best practices in clean-coal technology and forge a common agenda for the new century," said Pam McDonough, DCCA director and chair of the Coal Development Board.
Experts discussed state-of-the-art recycling of the fly ash and bottom ash that are the residue of coal combustion. Challenges to the coal industry were also discussed, such as the evolution of clean-air standards, electric deregulation's effects on future fuel markets and the shakeout that has brought new players and a sense of entrepreneurship to the Illinois coal industry.
"Coal as a resource in Illinois is too important for us to do any less than make this conference a major stepping stone toward rebirth," said Taylor Pensoneau, president of the Illinois Coal Association. "This is an event that will help us begin to put a new face on Illinois coal for the new millennium."
Winter energy prices to remain high The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that natural gas heating bills could jump by as much as 50 per cent, while the American Gas Association (AGA) estimates the rise at 15 to 40 percent. Whatever the final number, this should make electric prices more reasonable by comparison. Driven by a variety of supply and demand factors, virtually all fuel prices rose sharply during the first half of 2000: heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and propane. Given the current market status and predictions of a colder winter, experts predict that prices are likely to remain high during the upcoming winter heating season. In an effort to hedge against these high winter prices, the propane industry is encouraging consumers to take early precautions by filling up their propane tanks and carefully maintaining their propane home appliances. Normally residential propane customers can help shield themselves from the expected high winter costs by getting their tanks filled early, before the weather turns cold. Some consumers may have postponed deliveries this year in the hopes of lower prices, but those lower prices are not expected during the coming heating season. After two years of above-normal temperatures, colder temperatures are expected this winter. Weather has a large impact on heating fuel demand.
Propane prices are subject to a number of influences. Some are common to all petroleum products and others are unique to propane. Propane prices are affected by crude oil and natural gas prices, supply/ demand balance, the price of competing fuels, proximity of supply (Gulf Coast and Midwest customers pay more), and the individual market segment's demand cycle and flexibility. Source: National Propane Gas Association, www.npga.org and The Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Dept of Energy, www.eia.doe.gov. 6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING JANUARY 2001 Calling all Youth to Washington alumni!
Since 1957 the electric and telephone cooperatives of Illinois have sent hundreds of outstanding high school students on an annual trip to Washington, D.C. They witness their government in action, meet presidents, senators, congressmen and other national leaders.
Over the years, we have heard from many Youth to Washington alumni but we would like to receive an address, e-mail address and/or telephone number from all alumni who have participated in the Youth to Washington tour. If you or someone you know participated in one of these tours, please send a note to John Freitag or Linda Comstock, Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708 or e-mail us at lcomstock@aiec.org. Please include the name of the participant, year of the tour, participants' current address and phone number or e-mail address, and name of sponsoring cooperative.
We will update our database of all Youth to Washington participants' addresses over the next few months and in the near future print a feature article in the Illinois Country Living on past Youth to Washington participants.
Dates for this year's Youth to Washington tour will be June 15-22, 2001. Interested high school sophomores, juniors and seniors should contact their local electric or telephone cooperative for more details on winning a trip of a lifetime. Do-it-yourself energy audit A home energy audit can show you where potential problem areas are in your home. Then you can figure out the best plan for your individual needs. Your electric cooperative can help.
You can also go to several web sites
that provide useful information in evaluating your home's energy efficiency. A few
of these are:
The Department of Energy offers these
energy-auditing tips:
Increasing numbers of farmers and ranchers are doing business over the Internet. Over 600,000 U.S. farms and ranches accessed the Internet in 1999, with 15 percent conducting e-commerce transactions, based on new data from USDA. Of these, over 40 percent reported purchasing crop inputs online in 1999, about one-third reported purchasing livestock inputs, and a quarter reported selling livestock.
JANUARY 2001 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7 Lighting can improve office productivity If you're looking for ways to be more productive in your home office, one solution may be right at your fingertips: the light switch. A recent study found a clear link between lighting, job performance and job satisfaction. But in many home offices, especially those that have been converted from dens, basements or bedrooms, the lighting wasn't designed with the worker in mind. The result may be eyestrain, blurred vision, fatigue or headaches, as well as lower productivity. You'll want to be able to control and balance ambient lighting sources to achieve glare-free illumination and the right atmosphere for the entire space. To control natural light, many people choose window blinds or shades. For artificial light, you have a lot of options, from ceiling fixtures and floor lamps to track lights and table lamps. Fluorescent lights provide even lighting with less glare. But you don't necessarily have to install new fixtures; instead, consider replacing incandescent light bulbs with the newer types of fluorescent bulbs that screw into regular light bulb sockets. They last up to 13 times longer and use a lot less electricity than standard incandescent bulbs. Adjustable controls, such as dimmer switches, also allow you to tailor the lighting levels if different people use the office. That's important, because as we age, our need for room lighting increases. People in their fifties, for example, need three times more office light for reading. Task lighting provides direct illumination for activities such as reading, writing and computer work. An adjustable desk lamp will illuminate the keyboard or another area on the desk, without reflecting any glaring light onto the computer screen. Source: Leviton Institute, www.leviton.com Farmers can prevent theft of anhydrous ammonia
The Illinois Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmers to take precautions while applying anhydrous ammonia to protect their property and help prevent a growing drug problem in rural Illinois.
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant made
from common
household products.
It has grown increasingly popular because of the ready
availability of its ingredients. In the
past three years, Illinois State Police report seizures of
methamphetamine
labs have increased
more than 700 percent.
The manufacture of methamphetamine is especially a problem in rural areas, where anhydrous ammonia, a farm fertilizer used to cook the drug, is plentiful and labs are harder to detect. According to the agriculture department, however, simple precautions could greatly reduce the theft of anhydrous and prevent the spread of methamphetamine.
"Have the (anhydrous) tank delivered the day you want to use it. Don't have it delivered two or three days in advance so it'll sit in a field unattended," Mark Ringler, Bureau Chief of Agricultural Products Inspection for the department, advises farmers. "Also, put the tank in an area where it can be easily observed, someplace where traffic frequently passes by, and make sure to check the amount of anhydrous remaining in the tank after quitting each day."
Local police should be notified immediately if anhydrous has been stolen or storage tanks have been tampered with. Farmers and rural residents also are encouraged to report suspicious activity.
"Cash rent payments, heavy traffic flow, blackened home windows, excessive trash, and unusual, strong odors are all warning signs of possible drug activity," Illinois State Police Captain Dave Sanders said.
H Power introduces 250-watt fuel cell
H Power, which is partnering with Energy Co-Opportunity (ECO), plans to deliver a 10-kilowatt fuel cell to provide energy to rural homes, recently announced the introduction of a smaller commercial product. ECO was established by electric co-ops to help develop and promote fuel cell technology.
H Power is also developing a 250-watt Power PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell designed for the small electric vehicle market as either a primary or fuel cell-battery hybrid source, or a back-up power supply for solar photovoltaic installations. It can also be used for military and industrial portable battery chargers, among other applications.
"We believe that fuel cells, as a safe, environmentally friendly power source, can replace batteries and small generator sets in many existing applications," said Frank Gibbard, H Power's CEO. "We also foresee the use of these systems in new applications that would not be adequately powered by any traditional power source."
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Farmers buying and
selling on Internet
