Tag: ICLEI

A Michigan-based company slated to produce lithium-ion polymer batteries for electric vehicles has instead kept production overseas, has failed to meet job targets outlined in a $150 million grant from the federal government, and has been reimbursed by the government for $842,000 in wasted work time, according to a U.S. Department of Energy Special Report released Wednesday.

The DOE says Holland, Mich.-based LG Chem Michigan misused part of a $150 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and has decided not to shift production from its plant in South Korea to Michigan. It painted a stark picture of wasted U.S. federal dollars.

"Until the shift in production takes place or some alternative use for the plant is developed, U.S. taxpayers will receive little direct benefit from a plant for which they provided up to half of the funding," the report said.

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The DEQ recently was recognized by an International environmental group for its pollution prevention efforts.

The department was a 2012 North America Gold winner of the International Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practices by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-profit organization that recognizes, rewards, and promotes environmental best practices around the world.

How do you like them apples?  Nothing like the cost savings associated with keeping the incredibly expensive global green hoax alive with such not-ready-for-primetime ideals that are rewarding subsidy to foreign nations, or are being bought by Communists for pennies on the US taxpayer Dollar.

An on-again, off-again move by the Obama administration to scrap the federal gas tax in favor of a pay-per-mile fee would boost the tab to Americans as high as 250 percent, raising their current tax of 18.4 cents a gallon to as high as 46 cents, according to a new government study.

But without a tax increase, said the Government Accountability Office study, the government's highway fund is going to go dry.

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Yannow, for the life of me, I just can't begin to imagine the many reasons why the road funds would go dry?

DTE Energy is moving forward with a plan to allow customers to opt out of using high-tech "smart meters" to monitor energy consumption in their homes. But the program could cost residents as much as an additional $180 a year.
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But some customers have balked at the idea of using smart meters out of a fear of possible health and privacy issues. This week, DTE officials unveiled their opt-out program, which would include a one-time $87 installation charge for a new digital meter without radio transmission capability, and a $15 per month fee for its use.
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DTE's proposal will require approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission - a decision the utility hopes could arrive as soon as this fall.