No Title 1988
How to enter the horse quilt exhibit
The unique history of Printing House for the Blind
Guest Opinion: Creating our energy future
Growing new fuels for power plants
Report: don’t let environmental rules hurt electric reliability
Energy Efficiency: Tip of the Month
How to enter the horse quilt exhibit
In keeping with Kentucky’s hosting of the World Equestrian Games in 2010, the National Quilt Museum in Paducah is holding a juried exhibit of quilts about and/or depicting horses in early fall of 2010. Deadline for submissions is October 15, 2009. For submission guidelines, e-mail info@quiltmuseum.org and put “2010 horse exhibit” in the subject line, or phone (270) 442-8856.
A really big farm show
America’s largest indoor farm show opens at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville on February 11-14. The 44th National Farm Machinery Show will feature seminars, innovative technology, new product launches, and alternative energy in more than 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free, parking is $6. For more info, phone (502) 367-5004 or go online to www.farmmachineryshow.org.
The unique history of Printing House for the Blind
History in the Making: The Story of the American Printing House for the Blind is an illustrated history book about Louisville’s American Printing House for the Blind, the world’s largest company devoted solely to researching, developing, and manufacturing products for people who are blind or visually impaired.
“This book explores how an organization with one printing press in borrowed space in a school basement grew to occupy most of a city block and became an icon for generations of students, teachers, and adult consumers,” says Dr. Tuck Tinsley III, president of APH.
Written by former APH Museum Director Carol Tobe, the book was commissioned to celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary. The 180-page book features rich photography, tactile pages from vintage books embossed on original APH presses using original plates from as early as the 1880s, and an accessible MP3 audio book version read by APH narrator Jack Fox. The hardbound book was designed by nationally known graphic artist Julius Friedman, and features color photography by Geoffrey Carr, both from Louisville.
Tobe places the birth, growth, and development of this unique Louisville manufacturer into the context of changing attitudes about people with disabilities. History in the Making is filled with stories of people who made a difference: the blind promoter from Mississippi, civic leaders who guided the fledgling organization, pioneer educators and students who struggled to develop standardized methods of reading and writing, and managers and workers who invented innovative methods to make the written word available to those who could not see.
Published by Louisville’s Butler Books, History in the Making retails for $39.95. It can be purchased at bookstores, at the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, from the Web site www.aph.org (to go directly to the order page, go to Printing House for the Blind), or by calling APH customer service at (800) 223-1839.
Guest Opinion: Creating our energy future
by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr.
Second of two parts
We need increased investment in energy research and development.
I’m talking about even more money than the government put into the rescue effort of AIG. I’m talking about 120 billion bucks just to start: get some basic research and development to get us to where we need to be on wind and solar, and carbon capture and sequestration, and on nuclear.
I’m talking about the moonshot. I’m talking about the kind of vision that John F. Kennedy laid out in 1961, where he said, in one sentence, we’re going to put a man on the moon and return him home safely. Everyone understood the goal for the nation.
We need to recognize there is a distinct and profound international component to everything we’re talking about here. The Chinese are adding 1,000 new cars to the road every day. They are putting up the equivalent of one new power plant every week. India is doing basically the same thing.
We are sick and tired in the West of hearing everybody say, well, it doesn’t make any sense to move forward on these proposals because the Chinese are just going to do what the Chinese want to do. The Indians are just going to do what they want to do.
We decided to engage the countries. We contacted the Chinese government and said we as Western governors want to engage you in conversation. We’re going to sit down with senior policy leaders in China and we’re going to have a discussion on new and emerging clean technologies, and we’re going to talk about carbon capture and sequestration.
We’ve got to get real in terms of recognizing that there is in fact an international component. But that doesn’t mean we simply watch it play out. It means we ought to be proactive in engaging our friends overseas.
Oil, once a stable and reliable source of power, has become a source of great instability and conflict in this world. We must begin transitioning to a new energy world.
The technologies already exist, but they’re way underutilized. We’ve got the brainpower. We’ve got the best laboratories in the world. We’ve got all the know-how that will get us from point A to point B. The only thing missing is basic political leadership. We all must put whatever level of political pressure on getting smart on energy policy. We’ve got to dispense with partisanship and begin to rally around the areas we all have basic agreement on.
Jon M. Huntsman is the Republican governor of Utah. This essay was adapted from remarks at the Energizing Kentucky conference held in Louisville last September.
Gardening at Kentucky Crafted
Garden guru Jon Carloftis will be among the attractions at this year’s Kentucky Crafted: The Market. The state-sponsored wholesale trade show and retail marketplace for traditional and contemporary fine art and craft, along with books, musical recordings, films, and Kentucky Proud food products, will be held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville on February 19-22. Carloftis will design garden vignettes to be displayed throughout the market that incorporate Kentucky Crafted items created by exhibitors. One of the rising stars of American garden design, Jon Carloftis looks to his native Kentucky as inspiration for his successful garden design firm located in New York City. Carloftis is probably best known for his rooftop and terrace gardens—he is a past recipient of the Landscaping Design Award from the Museum of the City of New York. He will present “Designing a Kentucky Crafted Garden,” sharing his ideas about creating beautiful garden spaces from rooftops to rolling acres, and how to incorporate many of the products that can be found at Kentucky Crafted: The Market in home gardens. More information is available on the Internet at www.kycraft.ky.gov.
Don’t get conned
Attorney General Jack Conway cautions Kentuckians to be on guard against con artists who prey on job seekers and consumers struggling to pay their mortgages.
“Kentuckians struggling to make ends meet can easily fall victim to con artists’ gimmicks. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Conway says.
Here are some tips to avoid being conned:
Charities. Be cautious of sound-alike charities and solicitors unable to answer questions. Always ask the solicitor what percentage of your dollar goes to the cause. Ask for written information so you can research the charity through the Office of the Attorney General at www.ag.ky.gov or the Better Business Bureau before giving.
Sweepstakes. The Attorney General’s Office receives several calls daily regarding foreign lotteries and sweepstakes. Some consumers receive what appears to be a legitimate check to assist them in paying “fees and taxes.” These checks are counterfeit and should not be cashed. Money should NOT be wired to any sweepstakes promoter. It is illegal.
Foreclosure. Con artists prey on consumers struggling to pay their mortgages by offering help for a fee. These offers are often found in classified ad sections and tabloids, but can also come by mail or telephone. These offers are often bogus and seldom result in legitimate help. If you are in danger of foreclosure, contact Protect My Kentucky Home at (866) 830-7868 for assistance.
Work-at-home offers. Beware of ads appearing in classified ad sections of the newspaper and tabloids or offers by mail or phone. Applying for jobs online sometimes results in your receiving e-mails indicating that you can work from home and serve as a money “processor” for an out-of-the-country company, or a “customer service representative.” These offers are bogus and involve processing checks or money orders and wiring money to an unknown source. The checks are counterfeit and you will be held liable for the funds at the bank.
If you have been a victim of a consumer scam or want to check on a company or report suspicious companies, contact the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (888) 432-9257.
Growing new fuels for power plants
East Kentucky Power Cooperative and the University of Kentucky have demonstrated switchgrass’ feasibility as an alternative energy form by combining it with coal to generate electricity at East Kentucky Power’s Spurlock Station in Maysville.
The switchgrass was mixed with the coal feedstock, replacing 1 to 2 percent of the coal normally used. East Kentucky Power will continue to study switchgrass’ energy potentials, and could possibly increase the percentage of switchgrass used to 3 to 10 percent.
The test is part of an innovative four-year pilot project conducted by UK’s College of Agriculture to determine if switchgrass can be grown sustainably and economically in Kentucky.
UK researchers are working with 20 farmers in northeast Kentucky to evaluate options for planting, growing, harvesting, transporting, and processing the switchgrass. Each farmer manages a five-acre plot that UK forage specialists helped them establish.
The forage specialists believe that if this project is successful, switchgrass could provide a great opportunity for producers in this area to diversify their agricultural operations as well as generate additional income.
“Kentucky farmers successfully producing switchgrass opens up tremendous opportunities for them in the emerging biomass market,” said Ray Smith, UK forage Extension specialist. “While further research is needed to determine the economic returns to producers, this project is allowing Kentucky farmers to be at the forefront of this movement.”
About 70 tons of switchgrass were harvested this past fall. The bales were transported to Spurlock Station, where UK representatives used a tub grinder to further process the switchgrass for handling by the power plant’s coal conveyer system.
One of Spurlock Station’s generating units—the Gilbert # 3 unit—features circulating fluidized bed technology that allows it to burn a wide range of fuels, including switchgrass. In April, East Kentucky plans to bring online a second unit at Spurlock Station featuring this technology.
—Katie Pratt, UK Extension
Report: don’t let environmental rules hurt electric reliability
The group that watches over the nation’s system of transmitting electricity cautions that plans to reduce carbon emissions should be coordinated with the need for reliable electricity.
A report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation says that the national electric transmission system could be affected by the variety of energy and environmental rules being adopted by states and regional groups.
The report is titled Electric Industry Concerns on the Reliability Impacts of Climate Change Initiatives. It says that the different state and regional laws and regulations should be reviewed to make sure they don’t hurt the operations of the national grid of power lines that move electricity around the country.
The report says that while each set of state rules might not have major effects on the transmission grid, the utility industry needs to monitor the overall effect of the variety of many different state regulations.
NERC says the current transmission grid is not adequate to reliably deliver power from all the new, planned sources of decentralized renewable energy such as solar and wind power. The report calls for innovative planning and new operations to meet newly passed environmental standards.
The report also calls for a definitive national policy on climate change, so the utility industry could have a more stable regulatory outlook for business planning.
Energy Efficiency: Tip of the Month
Properly seal air leaks, cracks, and openings in your home to reduce heating and cooling costs, improve building durability, and create a healthier indoor environment.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
