CDC: South Most Obese Region

A recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta determined that the South is the most obese region in America. According to the study, the top ten most obese states in America are: 1.Mississippi, 2.Alabama, 3.Tennessee, 4.Louisiana, 5.West Virginia, 6.Arkansas, 7.South Carolina, 8.Georgia, 9.Oklahoma, 10.Texas.

Why is the South so heavy? The traditional Southern diet -- high in fat and fried food -- may be part of the answer, said Dr. William Dietz, who heads CDC's nutrition, physical activity and obesity division.

The South also has a large concentration of rural residents and black women -- two groups that tend to have higher obesity rates, he said.

As government becomes increasingly involved in health care, Southern states will face extra challenges in serving their disproportionately unhealthy citizens. Obesity has been linked to numerous health problems that will be exacerbated as the baby boom generation ages. The challenge for Southern leaders is to effectively communicate and educate people about health, without alienating or shaming those entrenched in traditionally unhealthy lifestyles.

South may be in play for Dems

An Associated Press analysis of Census data shows several "red" states in the South actually may be in play for presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama -- if black turnout goes up as much as 30 percent as he pledged last year. According to the story:

"That would add nearly 1.8 million votes in 11 Southern states, the analysis shows, enough to tip the balance in several that have been Republican strongholds.

"'I can tell you that North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama will be in play,' asserts North Carolina Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield, an Obama adviser. 'We're looking strongly at Tennessee and Mississippi.'"

"If Obama reached his goal of a 30 percent increase and brought all those new black voters into his fold, he could also win in Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida. Wins in the six states would give him 81 new electoral votes — enough to beat Arizona Sen. John McCain even if the Republican won almost every other toss-up state in the nation, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Ohio."

Perhaps an early indication that the proof is in the pudding is a recent poll that showed Obama -- amazingly to some -- only six points behind GOP candidate John McCain in conservative South Carolina.

Florida Power & Light goal: 3 solar plants in 2009

By David Adams, Times Staff Writer
In print: Thursday, June 26, 2008

Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, announced Wednesday it plans to build three solar energy plants in Florida, including one that would be the biggest of its kind in the world.

The three plants in South and Central Florida will cost $688-million and represent the first commercial-scale renewable energy to be installed in the state. Combined they will be capable of generating enough electricity for 35,000 homes and businesses, which — while small — marks a big step up for solar technology.

FPL Group chairman and CEO Lewis Hay III made the announcement at a two-day state Climate Change Summit in Miami hosted by Gov. Charlie Crist. "Pending regulatory approval, FPL will build 110 megawatts of solar power right here in the Sunshine State, making Florida No. 2 in the nation for solar energy," Hay said.

Hay credited a new energy bill signed Wednesday by Crist "that put a supportive policy framework in place for solar power."

The governor opened his second climate summit saying now is the time "to define our next step forward" for the "green future of the Sunshine State."

FPL's solar plants are part of a seven-year plan announced by the company last September to install 300 megawatts of solar energy in Florida. "The announcement today is a little over one-third of that in less than one year," said FPL president Armando Olivera.

"We think that is pretty good," he added, saying that sites for all three plants had been selected and permits granted. Contracts for the solar technology are due to be signed in the next few days.

Construction of the plants should begin later this year, and the plants would become operational some time in 2009, he said.

The company is awaiting final approval by the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. "That's the only thing we are missing," he said.

The news was welcomed by clean energy activists who have long argued that utilities were not doing enough to invest in solar energy, the world's cleanest renewable energy source. In the past, utilities said Florida's skies were too cloudy to make solar power cost-effective as a reliable energy source, unlike the Southwest — where FPL Group already operates a big solar plant in the Mojave Desert.

Wednesday's news "needs to be applauded," said Stephen Smith, director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "By going to this kind of utility scale of production they are showing that solar does have potential in Florida, and that will drive cost down further."

FPL says it is has another five solar projects in the works in Florida. "The technology is improving almost daily," said Olivera. "It's becoming more cost-effective."

When carbon emissions begin to be penalized financially, as some governments already are doing, that would make emissions-free solar energy even more competitive, he added.

A 25-megawatt facility in De Soto County will be "the world's largest photovoltaic solar panel facility," the company says. A second 10-megawatt solar panel facility will be built at the Kennedy Space Center.

A larger 75-megawatt solar thermal facility will be built at FPL's existing Martin County plant, which runs on natural gas. By adding the new solar thermal technology, which uses intense heat from the sun to power steam turbines, the company hopes to create "the world's first hybrid energy center," allowing it to switch off its fossil-fuel gas-fired plant when there's enough sun.

Each sunrise will be the equivalent "of taking our foot off the gas pedal," Hay said.

FPL's solar plans may help offset the negative image of its much-vaunted Sunshine Energy Program, which charges customers a voluntary $9.75 monthly fee to help develop green energy.

Nearly 39,000 Florida Power & Light customers gave the company $11.4-million over four years to develop green energy, but a report this week by Florida's Public Service Commission shows most of the money went toward administrative and marketing costs.

The program "does not currently serve the interest of the program's participants," the report found.

Shrimp in the tank in Mississippi?

From The Mississippi Business Journal------- June 25, 2008

STARKVILLE — Scientists at Mississippi State University (MSU) are working to turn shrimp processing waste into a diesel-like fuel.

"The main purpose of this research project is to find a higher value for the shrimp waste," said Todd French, an assistant professor at MSU.

Seafood-based biodiesel would help processors eliminate some waste disposal costs, which have been estimated at approximately $145,000 per producer. As a building block for fuel, the waste also would bring additional income streams. It is also hoped that it would help alleviate the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil.

Scientists already know that seafood waste contains the materials necessary to produce oil, French said. The main ingredient is chitin, a carbohydrate found in shrimp, crab and lobster shells. Researchers will take the seafood processing waste, pre-treat it with an acid and add it to vats of bacteria, yeast and fungi, a mixture French refers to as "our bugs." The microorganisms eat the chitin, convert it into fat and store it. The fat can be harvested as oil.

"The oil our microorganisms are making is similar to canola oil or corn oil," French said.

The process already is underway with synthetic seafood ingredients at MSU. The real seafood waste will arrive next month from Gollott's Seafood in Biloxi.

Oil companies can take the oil produced from the seafood waste and generate diesel fuel, French said. The biofuel likely would be mixed at 5% or 20% biofuel to 95% or 80% diesel.

Funding for the biofuel research project comes from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Mabus, Baker to have photo exhibit in MS

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, an adviser of the Center for a Better South, has an exhibit of photographs taken around the world next month at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson.

Joining Mabus, a Democrat, in the two-person show is another well-known political figure -- former GOP U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker of Tennessee. Wow! Talk about bipartisanship....

To learn more about the Life Through the Lens show from July 5 to Sept. 7, visit the Mississippi Museum of Art Web site.

Salon: 2 Southern states are battleground states

For all of the naysayers who say the South isn't important in the presidential elections process, a panel of experts says that Georgia and Virginia are battleground states this year, according to Salon magazine. Four other states in the "swing" states are: Colorado, New Hampshire, Ohio and Michigan.

Here's some of what the panelists said:

Democratic pollster Paul Maslin: "Kerry lost by 16 points in Georgia. If Barack Obama wins Georgia, he won't be worrying about the Electoral College on election night. It'll be a 400-vote Electoral College landslide."

Andres Ramirez, vice president for Hispanic Programs and director of the Hispanic Strategy Center at the progressive think tank NDN: "I think Virginia is a much more likely state, especially because you have Jim Webb, who just won, and you have Mark Warner on the ballot. ... But the fact that he's on the ballot again [as a US Senate candidate] means Hispanics will play a much larger role in Virginia. And again, we need to recall, Virginia was one of the few states where Obama actually won the Hispanic vote during the primary. He's incredibly popular with that community there; it's increasingly getting more active. There's a significant African-American population in Virginia as well, and so I think with that combination of facts you have a trending state. You have Governor Kaine in there, you have Mark Warner on the ballot and you have Obama's appeal to the African-Americans and Hispanics. I think Virginia is one of the states that was red that will likely benefit Obama this election."

Read full article.