AP:

“We’re supportive of Wal-Mart’s broader initiative,” Will Pinkston, senior adviser to Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, said in an e-mail. “But we’ve had a couple of false starts that probably were unique to Tennessee, and we’ve run into some unrelated issues that frankly complicated things.” Pinkston did not elaborate on those issues.

Anybody know what's up with this? Sounds like a Wal*Mart PR stunt gone sour.

UPDATE: Sean Braisted speculates on what this is all about, citing a Nashville Scene article re. some inside hardball, which may or may not be related.

Committee approves Finney bill that preserves ridgelines

State Sen. Raymond Finney's bill to prohibit the disturbance of ridgelines above 2,000 feet in Tennessee, aimed at curbing surface coal mining, has been approved in the Senate Environment, Conservation and Tourism Committee.

The committee on Wednesday recommended Finney's Senate Bill 3822 for approval. The companion bill was defeated in a House subcommittee, but Finney has said it could be revived by parliamentary means.

See previous discussion from last week.

The Tennessee Clean Water Network has launched a new blog. The blog will cover water quality issues, legislative updates, stories from local communities, and updates on TCWN's activities.

The House Environment subcommittee voted against HB3348 that would ban mountaintop removal mining in Tennessee.

The Senate Environment, Conservation, and Tourism committee is scheduled to hear companion bill SB3822 a second time today.

UPDATE: Sen. Tommy Kilby has blocked a vote on the bill in the Senate committee. Kilby is bullying committee members, and they don't like it. Notes taking during live video stream after the jump...

UPDATE: Tom Humphrey files this report on the House subcommittee vote. Voting against the bill were William Baird, R-Jacksboro; George Fraley, D-Winchester; Joe McCord, R-Maryville; Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains; and John Tidwell, D-New Johnsonville.

Senate Bill 1408/House Bill 1829 mandates deposits for recycling of drink containers.

It will result in less litter along our roadways, less waste in the landfills, money saved on litter crews, and improved scenic quality of Tennessee.

Once assigned by the government operations committee, Senate Bill 1408 will go to the Senate Committee for Environment, Conservation and Tourism for a vote, probably next week. If approved, it will go to the full Senate. Once there, its chance of passage is deemed excellent.

If your State Senator is on the Environment, Conservation, and Tourism committee, encourage them to support this bill.

For more info visit the Tennessee Bottle Bill Project website.

Governor Phil Bredesen and Tennessee Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced 20 recycling equipment grants totaling nearly $425,000. Matching applicant funds totaled nearly $200,000.

These grants help encourage recycling and reduce the amount of waste going in to landfills. They are available to counties, cities, non-profit recycling organizations and solid waste authorities and are funded by revenues from a state surcharge on each ton of solid waste disposed in landfills and from a fee on new tires sold in the state.

The controversial "Road to Nowhere" is officially not going to be built. An environmental impact study recommendation in October led the way for Congress to appropriate money for a $6 million "down payment" on a $52 million cash settlement with the citizens of Swain Co., who were promised a new road when construction of Fontana Dam flooded an existing road in 1943.

The Senate passed a watered down version of the energy bill, removing requirements for utility companies to get 15% of their power from renewable sources and restoring $21 billion in tax breaks for oil companies.

The good news is, however, that they raised the auto fuel economy standards to 35 MPG by 2020, the first such increase in 30 years. It ought to be 40 MPG and sooner, but we take what we can get. Sens. Alexander and Corker both voted for the revised bill. It now goes back to the House, where it is expected to pass and Bush is expected to sign it.

Speaking of fuel economy, tax credits on popular 2007 model Toyota hybrids are phased out (the Honda Civic still qualifies), and the only 2008 hybrid which currently qualifies is the Ford Escape (and Mercury Mariner variant). And bonus, they raised the tax credit to $3000 for the 2008 model year.

The trouble is finding one. There isn't one in Tennessee that we can find. There's one in Atlanta, and one in Orlando. I've also heard that it can take four to six months to get one if you order it from the factory. I guess Ford is sending them all to California and Massachusetts so they can qualify for their stricter fleet emission regulations or something.

From the AP on CNN

Al Gore, who was criticized for high electric bills at his Tennessee mansion, has completed a host of improvements to make the home more energy efficient, and a building-industry group has praised the house as one of the nation's most environmentally friendly.

The former vice president has installed solar panels, a rainwater-collection system and geothermal heating. He also replaced all incandescent lights with compact fluorescent or light-emitting diode bulbs -- even on his Christmas tree.

We need state and federal incentive and tax credit programs to make these types of energy conservation improvements available and affordable for everyone.

WKRN files this report on an Erin, TN man who has built a gas/electric/human powered (tri-hybrid) bike and he's riding it 1000 miles to Amarillo Texas:

"This is Exertrike Tri-Hybrid and it is not a production model," [Jay] Perdue showed News 2. "This one was set up to run down the interstate down to Amarillo, Texas, 1,000 miles getting over 300 miles per gallon. It is street legal in the state of Tennessee, with lights and running lights, turn signals and mirrors and even has a horn."

According to WKRN, the tri-hybrid tops out at 54 MPH. The Discovery Channel is covering his journey.

The inventor has some journal notes at his Exertrike website. According to his notes, the tri-hybrid used on the 1000 mile run is powered by a 2.5 hp Honda 4 stroke engine and 6 batteries totaling 72 volts.

From the Governor's office:

Governor Phil Bredesen joined Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke and representatives from The Nature Conservancy today to celebrate the completion of a historic 127,000-acre conservation acquisition on the northern Cumberland Plateau.

The project is called “Connecting the Cumberlands” because it connects the acquired property with other publicly owned land on the northern Cumberland Plateau. This connection creates a swath of protected forestland for preservation and public enjoyment that totals 200 square miles – about twice the size of the City of Knoxville where today’s celebration was held.

The state of Tennessee partnered with The Nature Conservancy and two conservation-minded timber companies, Conservation Forestry and Lyme Timber, to successfully complete the acquisition, which encompasses contiguous tracts in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan and Scott counties. All 127,000 acres will be managed for public use by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Tennessee State Parks.

Gov. Bredesen called it the "largest land conservation initiative in our state since the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was dedicated in 1940."

The current drought has had such an impact on Georgia that fans at Saturday's University of Georgia homecoming game were asked not to flush the toilet.

Now it's an emergency!

Sen. Rosalind Kurita emails in response to this previous TennViews post about her energy conservation efforts and the idea of residential solar incentives:

We do have a long way to go. Solar is one of many ways we can help unchain ourselves from all the negatives of fossil fuels as well as entanglements they bring.

There are simple ways that everyday Tennesseans can change our habits. Not everyone is going to buy solar panels, but everyone can get a programmable thermostat. I am trying to pass legislation to exempt from sales tax, the purchase of energy efficient appliances, CFLs and programmable thermostats. I was not able to pass this last year but I am going to try again this year.

Giving a sales tax break to those who are responsible and proactive is a good place to start a culture change.

This is a great idea. Lots of little things add up, and there is definitely a need for culture change in regards to energy conservation.

The Tennessee Conservation Voters ranked Sen. and Speaker Pro Tempore Rosalind Kurita (D-Clarksville) as the highest scoring member of the Tennessee General Assembly on environmental issues.