Day: July 21, 2009

NY state employees: Green urinals stink

The greens are giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “pissed off.”

The Albany Times Union reports that,

The [New York Department of Environmental Conservation] has been getting complaints by state workers that waterless urinals at their building have created a fetid mess complete with “splash back,” “puddles (of urine) on the floor,” and “unpleasant odor.”

Those using the restrooms at DEC’s 625 Broadway headquarters grew so disgusted that in April they filed a union grievance alleging a health hazard and a violation of work rules protecting employees from “elements, such as filth or pathogens,” according to records obtained by the Times Union.

The grievance was dismissed by DEC, then taken to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations earlier this month where it also was dismissed.

Nonetheless, GOER’s Assistant Director for Safety and Health, Charles Vejvoda, conceded that “if indeed back splash or public urination is occurring, there is a violation of human dignity and decorum.”

He also recommended that the union and DEC try to work out the issues. Displaying some bureaucratic humor, he listed possible remedies including the use of such protective equipment as rain gear, aprons, rubber boots, gloves, or even reducing fluid intake, but concluded that wasn’t feasible.

Since its grievance was dismissed, the Public Employees Federation union has begun urging DEC employees to e-mail and otherwise inform management when there is a problem.

New York blames its employees. Although Assistant Director for Safety and Health, Charles Vejvoda, conceded that…

“… if indeed back splash or public urination is occurring, there is a violation of human dignity and decorum…”

… he also wondered…

… if workers were exaggerating the extent of problems, writing “this reviewer does find the assertion that someone is ‘urinating above the urinals’ quite troubling inasmuch as such a healthy stream would be uncommon in a workforce whose average age is 48.”

He also suggested that “certain individuals may come up short,” as an explanation for the complaint about puddles.

Now that the greens have screwed up urinals, who wouldn’t want to hand over national energy policy to them?

The new green catch-phrase?
The new green catch-phrase?

H/t to WGY’s Al Roney for bringing this item to our attention.

Great! Recession helps UK meet Kyoto limits

The ongoing global recession has reduced UK productivity so much that the nation’s CO2 emissions are below the levels set by the Kyoto Protocol, reports the Guardian.

But don’t expect the greens top be happy about it. Sandbag’s Bryony Worthington told The Guardian that,

“With too many rights to pollute in circulation, the [Kyoto emissions trading scheme] is in danger of being rendered irrelevant. At a time when other countries are looking to set up their own trading schemes and the world is set to debate a global deal on how to tackle climate change, [this] flagship policy urgently needs rescuing – starting with much tougher caps.”

So a recession isn’t good enough for the greens. We need a depression.

New study: Carbon capture doubles electric bills

A new study from Harvard University estimates that capturing carbon dioxide from power plants will double the cost of electricity.

This price tag does not include the cost of transporting and storing the carbon underground, which Michael Economides of the University of Houston estimates will cost additional trillions of dollars.

That’s a lot of money to spend to accomplish nothing of value.