A Day of Thoughts from Others

As you can see, NaBloPoMo nearly killed me! NoBloMo (no blog more), that's what I say! But I'm recovering, and here's what I have to share today... Today's first Thought is from Ben, who did a video post of my precocious child... click here for the link of Chloe's first steps - or second steps, anyway. :-) In other baby news, Chloe decided that she needed to go potty, started whining, and crawled into the bathroom to let us know today! We weren't (at least I wasn't) really confident that that's what was going on until she peed the second we put her on the pot. Go Chloster! Our next Thought comes from the Michigan Land Use Institute, which is spearheading an effort to prevent the construction of LOADS of new dirty coal plants. Just the thing we want for Michigan, right? Here's what they have to say:

Dear friend, We’ve got a super-hot one for you today—a request to send your state legislator a strong message about Michigan’s new coal rush. As we send this message your way, the Institute is taking part in one of 12 press conferences—all sending the same urgent message: No More Coal Plants in Michigan until the state enacts a clean energy policy! It’s urgent for one simple reason: Michigan is looking at proposals for at least seven more new or expanded coal plants. The state has never seen anything like this. ... It will keep Michigan locked in the energy dark ages, hold back the development of the state’s clean energy industry and the good jobs that come with it, and add to global warming. So, we’re asking you to join a powerful, statewide push that propels Michigan into the 21st century. The first step is simple: Sign the petition at www.nocoalrush.com right now,please. We need150,000 signatures in the next few days, so after you sign up(the ZIP code helps us route your message to your legislators), please, please, please (this is the second step!) forward this to any friend you know who would rather not live next to a new coal plant. Hmmmm … wouldn’t that be everybody you know?? Specifically, the petition asks state legislators to please Stop the Coal Rush by forbidding any new coal-burning permits until Michigan has an aggressive Clean Energy Plan that: *Requires energy providers to get 20 percent of their power from renewables by 2020. *Requires utility-funded energy efficiency programs to cut energy consumption by 1 percent per year. *Protects consumers from absorbing skyrocketing future coal-burning costs. *Develop new standards for regulating CO2 greenhouse gas emissions.

Time is of the essence. Please go to www.nocoalrush.com right now, sign on, and then forward this to your friends, letting them know that Michigan’s energy future is on the line.

THANKS!

Jim Dulzo, Managing Editor

I want to live in a strong and vibrant state, where there are plenty of jobs to go around, plenty of fun stuff to do, and plenty of natural beauty to enjoy. Head on over and sign the petition now - let's help make Michigan all that it can be!

And finally, courtesy of Julie over at This non-American Life, a quiz to determine the walkability of yourneighborhood! What fun! Out of a possible 100, our current house gets - drum roll please - a six! Could be worse. Anyone else care to report their scores? This is marketed to real estate agents as something to help them and their clients - file it away, O ye who will soon be moving (you know who you are)!

And to all of you, a very blessed first Sunday of Advent.