Steal This Idea: City Water Generating Green Power

A previous LucidPipe installation, with one of the turbines visible inside the pipe (Photo: Lucid Energy)

Portland to Generate Electricity Within Its Own Water Pipes 

By Ben Coxworth
SolidarityEconomy.net via Gizmag

Feb17, 2015 – There’s a lot of water constantly moving through the municipal pipelines of most major cities. While the water itself is already destined for various uses, why not harness its flow to produce hydroelectric power? Well, that’s exactly what Lucid Energy’s LucidPipe Power System does, and Portland, Oregon has just become the latest city to adopt it.

LucidPipe simply replaces a stretch of existing gravity-fed conventional pipeline, that’s used for transporting potable water. As the water flows through, it spins four 42-inch (107-cm) turbines, each one of which is hooked up to a generator on the outside of the pipe. The presence of the turbines reportedly doesn’t slow the water’s flow rate significantly, so there’s virtually no impact on pipeline efficiency.


A diagram of the system (Image: Lucid Energy)

The 200-kW Portland system was privately financed by Harbourton Alternative Energy, and its installation was completed late last December. It’s now undergoing reliability and efficiency testing, which includes checking that its sensors and smart control system are working properly. It’s scheduled to begin full capacity power generation by March. (Continued)

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CCDS Statement on Solidarity with Vietnam

Solidarity with Vietnam

April 30, 2015 marks the 40th Anniversary of the end of the war in Vietnam and its total liberation from US imperialism and foreign occupation. For ten years, from 1965-1975, Vietnam was at the center of world attention as a small but proud country fought the most powerful imperialist military power in history and won. The price was very high. Three million to four million Vietnamese were killed, millions more maimed, and another 5 million people poisoned with Agent Orange. A massive anti-war movement, in the US and world-wide, grew during the war years to support the Vietnamese people, to put social, economic and political pressure on the US war makers to withdraw funds and troops from the war.

Since the war’s end, Vietnam has overcome tremendous obstacles to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. With nearly full employment, Vietnam has made among the greatest improvements in raising living standards and eradicating poverty of any country in the world.

Vietnam is also a leader in increasing life expectancy, advancing education, electing women and minorities to government at all levels, and developing a rich humanistic culture, all components in building a vibrant socialist society.

The Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism sends warm fraternal greetings to the people of Vietnam, its government, the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Vietnam-USA Society, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange, and the many mass people’s organizations on the 40th Anniversary of its total liberation, and wishes Vietnam and its people many future successes. Many of the leaders and members of CCDS were leaders and activists in the US anti-war movement over 40 years ago. We continue to express our solidarity with Vietnam and pledge to continue our work for the victims of Agent Orange, and to advance the friendship between our two peoples.

A Populist Challenge to Hillary Clinton

By Katrina vanden Heuvel

Washington Post

April 14, 2015 – Hillary Clinton’s decision to “go small” by formally announcing her presidential campaign in a video, before heading off for “intimate” meetings in Iowa, touched off saturation national press coverage that other contenders can only envy. The former first lady, former senator, former presidential contender, former secretary of state has been in the public eye for nearly a quarter of a century. She’s the prohibitive favorite to get the Democratic Party nomination this time, and odds-on to win the presidency.

Yet hurdles remain. Clinton’s biggest challenge probably isn’t in capturing the middle from the Republican nominee. Republicans have already virtually ceded that. Her challenge is to inspire the Obama majority coalition to vote in large numbers, not only to guarantee her election but also to help Democrats take back the Senate, gain seats in the House and capture a clear mandate.This won’t be easy. Historically, after eight years of one party in the White House, voters are ready for change. The Republican base will be roused by venom toward Clinton that is almost as poisonous as that directed at President Obama. In contrast, many Democrats are discouraged by the disappointments of the Obama years. Key parts of Obama’s base — African Americans, Latinos, millennials — haven’t exactly thrived during his presidency. The election of 2014 took place in a low-turnout, by-election year, but it showed how destructive a lack of enthusiasm could be on the Democratic side.

Some pundits suggest 2016 will be a foreign policy election. Some Democrats are tempted to turn it into a culture clash, since Republicans are now on the wrong side of a growing range of concerns — gays, women, immigrants, voting rights and global warming. But as Clinton’s campaign acknowledges, the central question is still about the economy: how to make this economy work for working people once more, to rebuild a broad middle class, increase wages and reduce income inequality. Here, although Clinton has been in the public eye for decades, her views are largely unknown, if not unformed.

And on these questions, a populist temper is building in the party — symbolized by the split between the “Warren” and Wall Street wings of the party, and by the spread of the movement to draft Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to run for the presidency. And Clinton will find that this movement will force her to decide where she stands early and often. (Continued)

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