Sheila Simon Receives Conservation League Endorsement

The Illinois League of Conservation Voters (ILCV) has endorsed Sheila Simon for Mayor of Carbondale.

Sheila is one of only twelve municipal candidates statewide that has received the coveted endorsement.

ILCV's endorsement decisions were based on the Illinois Environmental Council's scorecard of incumbent's environmental voting records as well as the ILCV's candidate questionnaire that probed candidates' views on pressing environmental issues.

From the LCV website:

The Illinois League of Conservation Voters (ILCV) is the political arm of the environmental movement in Illinois. Through elections, we actively support candidates who promote sustainable economic development and oppose candidates who vote for anti-environmental legislation.

• We run tough and effective campaigns to defeat anti-environment candidates, and support those leaders who stand up for a clean, healthy future for Illinois.
• We hold elected officials accountable for their actions Environmental actions..
• We build coalitions, promote grassroots power, and train the next generation of environmental leaders

“Sheila Simon is a fantastic example of an experienced leader who understands the essential role environmental conservation plays in sustaining the social and economic health of our cities,” said Amanda Espitia, Executive Director of the ILCV.

Press Release of Simon endorsement

Council Candidates: Timid Souls

I wrote yesterday about Carbondale’s mayoral candidates’ positions on energy and the environment. If you thought I was disappointed with their inadequate meager ‘action plans’, you should understand why we should be even more disappointed by the candidates for City Council and their lame and archaic remarks about protecting the environment. I seriously wonder if they are channeling for Caspar Milquetoast!

I’ve reviewed all the candidates’ campaign literature that I could locate, as well as their published survey results regarding energy and environment issues hoping to find a glimmer of hope that the next crop of leaders will show more wisdom. If you read the responses to questions posed in the 2007 Carbondale Nightlife council candidate survey, you will likely be disappointed. My primary observation about the statements can be summarized by one simple question, “Have most of them been asleep since 1970?” Do they not know about the bold moves toward building sustainable communities are being undertaken across the nation? Have they not heard of global warming and local government actions in support of the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement? At least the candidates' statements are not as bad as Mayor Cole's record of saying "I do not think investments in photovoltaic energy options would be beneficial to tax payers."

The council candidate's milquetoast and pandering comments are a sad statement on the depth and quality of their thinking about your future.

“(Paul) Simon passionately believes that politicians, the media, religious leaders, and educators have, individually and collectively, abandoned their responsibility to lead. In doing so, says Simon, they have made us vulnerable to future political, moral, and economic disasters.” — Publishers Weekly review of Our Culture of Pandering, 2003.

To not draw unwanted attention from the easily distracted public, candidate statements tend to be platitudes about the importance of being careful and the need for further dialogue. Political consultants advise, above all else, say nothing controversial that might alienate constituents. Consequently, what words of wisdom do we get from Carbondale's candidates? Lewin asserts the safe position that recycling is good for Carbondale. Jack says, “We should strive to be a leader…” Pohlman says, “We should … look to the long-term good…” Haynes says, “we have started the first steps to explore …” Brown says, “The City should research grant programs.” Pretty scary stuff, huh?

The one person showing some original thinking seems to be Luanne Brown when talking about lighting and noise abatement; however, both she and Pohlman dismiss out of hand the possibility of operating a municipal energy distribution system. Why? How did they form that knee-jerk opinion without the City thoroughly investigating the situation?

Five of the six candidates take the safe, but timid position, that the city should defer to the state and federal government to solve our worsening environmental problems. Most, like G.W. Bush, just want to stay the course and talk, talk, talk about the issue until we are distracted by more important news such as, "Who is Anna Nicole's baby's biological father, really?"

The best of the candidates appears to be young Joe Moore. He’ll get my vote. I don’t know if any of the rest have a chance. Moore says, “On the power generation end, we need to increase our use of solar, wind, and thermal power. On the consumption end, we need to be promoting energy efficient products to cut our consumption.” While lacking specifics, he at least ‘gets it’. He sees that energy issues need to be approached from both directions and has an appreciation on how Ameren is hurting the region.

Its truly embarrassing, but only three candidates even mention the words conservation and alternative energy in their survey statements. While three reference the importance of walking, biking, and the current bus system in town, no one specifically talks about Cool Cities, sprawl, other transportation planning issues, telecommuting, purchasing green power, green building codes, encouraging green businesses, solar rights, water and waste management (other than recycling), education and outreach, and dozens of other proven municipal energy policies and projects.

"The electorate, without fail, gets the government it deserves.”

How will you vote? And then, after the election, what will you do?

Mayors Matter: My Pick

I have a little experience in energy management, energy conservation and renewable energy. So, when it come to voting for local government leaders to guide our communities to a sustainable future, my obvious preference is to select representatives that understand science and technology and have a vision for taking a smarter energy path than the one that has gotten our nation into such dire straits. The newest report on global warming shows how badly Illinois leaders have done on this issue.

• Illinois’s carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption grew from 191.1 million metric tons to 233.8 million metric tons between 1990 and 2004, an increase of 22%. Illinois ranked third nationwide for the largest absolute increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the 15-year period.
• In Illinois, carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants jumped by 64% between 1990 and 2004, rising from 55.7 million metric tons to 91.5 million metric tons. Illinois ranked first nationwide for the largest absolute increase in carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants over the 15-year period. (1)

Since the overwhelming consensus among scientists is that we have less than a decade to drastically alter our path to self destruction, I refuse to vote for a candidate that doesn’t understand the urgency to act quickly and responsibly, or who lacks a the personal will and vision to take bold steps to save the planet.

When I look at the records of accomplishment (both personal and business) of Carbondale’s two mayoral candidates, I see some promise in both, but I am also very disappointed in both for doing so little when so much is needed at the local level.

We are working within a new scientific paradigm. We no longer have the luxury of waiting for new technology to save the day, or slowly adopting Commercial Off-the-shelf Technologies (COTS), nor do we have the luxury of addressing environmental issues as a solely feel-good, do what is politically expedient experiment.

Technology, the environment and environmentalists (me included) have changed since the first Earth Day in 1970. Today, when we talk about protecting the environment, we talk about ALL the ramifications of not taking the ‘long view’. We talk about decreasing the incidence of cancers, heart attacks and strokes caused by environmental toxins, eliminating lead and mercury damage to children’s developing brains, reducing waste and converting waste materials into value-added commodities, reducing air particulates that are causing soaring asthma rates, safely eating fish from our local lakes and rivers, building sustainable and efficient transportation systems, and makingsound investments in both energy conservation and renewable energy technology that create jobs and community.

I appreciate Mayor Brad Cole for taking some important baby steps in improving the carbon footprint of the City of Carbondale, for signing the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, considering operation of a municipal power distribution company, proposing to purchase some hybrid vehicles for the City fleet, pursuing funds for an expanded recycling program, installing efficient LED lighting in City street lights, symbolically encouraging bicycle use in the city, and advocating a community clean-up program.

I appreciate Sheila Simon for her initial efforts in promoting bicycle use and an expanded recycling program, advocating for a smoke-free community, for advocating energy audits and installation of photovoltaic power systems on city buildings, and for favoring action consistent with the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. She prominently lists environmental goals in her campaign platform. "My most immediate goal is to address city government as a consumer of energy. Since all of us together pay the power bill for the city, we have both an economic incentive and an environmental incentive to reduce our energy use. The city can be a leader in energy conservation. The city can also be a leader in some very simple ways to address environmental issues."

Where Sheila Simon failed me was doing far too little at the municipal level and not using the election campaign to address environmental issues in a stronger fashion. The Ameren crisis, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports about human caused global warming, SIU’s proposal to build a new coal-fired power plant, and other ‘teachable moments’ could have been used to highlight how the environment is a local issue needing a strong local response.

Sadly, Mayor Brad Cole did the same thing. Cole further failed me by not taking bold action from his bully pulpit as mayor. He has simply taken the slow, easy and politically expedient path. For example, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) unanimously passed the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement on June 13, 2005. I wrote about it in my first blog at the start of the 2007 and shared it with the mayor. About a week later and six months after the USCM took action (nine months after other Illinois cities had already joined the Cool Cities bandwagon), Cole, without any discussion or approval from the Carbondale city council, signed the agreement. Since then, all he has done with it is forward it to the Carbondale Energy and Environmental Advisory Commission – the same City commission that Cole has sought to eliminate.

What I think distinguishes the two candidates on the issues of the environment is that Brad postures as an environmentalist and Shelia embodies it to her core. Sheila rides her bike to work and Brad drives his SUV. Where Sheila prints campaign literature on recycled paper, Brad spends lavishly on non-recycled political junk mail.

I suspect that if I visited either candidate’s homes I could immediately see in action the environmental sensibilities of the candidates. At Sheila’s, I suspect I’d see laundry hanging outside on the line, multiple recycling containers, and a fleet of bikes for all family members and all occasions. It seems unlikely that I'd see that at Brad's place.

Where Sheila believes in investing City funds in renewable resources, Brad says, “I am not sure solar power is a viable option for our location on the globe.” Say what!? Is that due to Brad’s astounding ignorance on the topic or is he simply playing it safe? Where Sheila envisions multiple opportunities for renewable energy applications, Brad comes off looking like a spokesperson for Exxon in both style and substance.

No mayor or city council candidate is perfect. I do not expect elected officials to be energy and environmental engineers, just as I do not expect them to necessarily be CPA’s, bond counselors, legal experts, health administrators, traffic engineers, or business owners. What I am looking for at this point in Carbondale's and the nation’s history is a well-rounded candidate that not only talks-the-talk about saving the planet, but walks-the-walk. On issues of climate, energy and the environment, I want a person that boldly responds to the grave danger we are in and is willing to not only live a sustainable life by example, but also take bold steps to rethink and guide the City of Carbondale into a sustainable future. Of the two candidates for mayor, I believe Sheila Simon is a better person for that crucial leadership role.

Carbondale Mayoral Primary Primer

Of the four candidates running for mayor in Carbondale’s primary, only two truly have much of a real chance of making it to the general election: incumbent Mayor Brad Cole and challenger Sheila Simon, daughter of former US Senator Paul Simon. The other two candidates with underfunded campaigns are succeeding in bring to the forefront issues that the community needs to address, but their tactics and message have been weak and amateur.

To understand this campaign you need to, as always, follow the money! According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, with less than a week to go before the primary, the Cole campaign (Team Brad) has raised $23,450 in contributions and the Simon campaign (Sheila Simon for Mayor) has raised $10,048. Challenger Jessica Davis has raised zero dollars and challenger Pepper Holder has apparently not even filed the required financial disclosure reports. Clearly, there are only two serious candidates. Too bad. A campaign among fiscal and intellectual equals would have been invigorating.

Despite the fundraising disparities of the top two fundraisers, the race is shaping up as a hedge bet by the state party war chests. The Republican Party, despite its lukewarm relationship with Cole, doesn’t want to lose a recognizable name and voting puppet for when it comes time to find a replacement for either State Representative Mike Bost or State Senator David Luechtefeld. You can bet that the IL Republicans will soon start filling Cole’s campaign coffers by hosting expensive plate dinners in Springfield to help further distance the downstate wunderkind from the opposition. I estimate that this election will set a new record for election spending for a small town mayoral election. And don't forget, its supposed to be a non-partisan election.

Currently contributing the most money ($2000) to Cole’s campaign is Pepsi MidAmerica. The next biggest contributor ($1500) is Jackson Hewitt Tax Service whose principals own the usually empty two buildings on Main Street (Clark Gas Station and former Jin’s Barbeque). More importantly, they also own the adjoining large property - CCHS athletic football and tennis court. This property is the last, large development parcel remaining in NW Carbondale. The third largest contributor ($1000) is another large commercial real estate developer, Sun Valley Estates LLC. Oh, and Volunteers for (US Senator) Shimkus has primed the media pump by giving Cole another thousand dollars.

Illinois Democrats aren’t stupid. They recognize the importance of the downstate mayoral race and are encouraging support for Simon from throughout the state. Where Simon lacks individual fat cat contributors because of a pledge to limit personal campaign contributions to $50, she has instead acquired the endorsement boost of Democratic Party luminaries such as presidential candidate, Barack Obama, US Senator Dick Durbin, and Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan. Expect more of the same and maybe some other ‘star power.’

The election is shaping up to be the all too familiar downstate spitting contest between the ‘Fat Cat’, conservative, right wing, Chamber of Commerce, landlord/developer against the left/moderate-wing Democrat, academic, neighborhood oriented, home owning soccer moms and dads. – only without the spit – unless you count the drool from one local blogger. At least so far. Let us hope it stays that way.

We could benefit from a nice, clean battle of ideas for the voters hearts and minds.

Having followed some of the money, in my next blog entry I will compare the campaign styles and platforms of the both Cole and Simon. And don't worry, "following the money" will continue as more information arrives.

Incumbency über Alles

Determining which candidate to vote for in an election can be a difficult process. Being a responsible voter typically requires devoting time to assessing both the tangible and intangible attributes of the candidate, as well as, the issues of the campaigns.

The incumbent usually has a distinct advantage in any election since the person may be more of a “known quantity.” Incumbents usually run on their record unless, of course, its really, really bad. However, they still need be seen as not resting on their laurels. The expression refers to “someone relying on their past success to cover up their current shoddy efforts.” Most elected local government positions are for short terms. This gives the electorate a chance to “throw the bum out” is they are dissatisfied. As such, the election is often "fundamentally a referendum on the incumbent." When the candidate is popular, voter turnout is often low. Over the last 40 years, voter turnout has been steadily declining. When the incumbent is bad, turnout increases.

There is a tendency of some voters to always vote for the incumbent because they believe it unfair for someone in office to be "fired". They say that unless the official is mentally unfit, guilty of a serious crime, or dead “ya oughta stand by your man.” Then again, criminals, the mentally unfit and the dead have all been reelected to office in this country. Thus, as the saying goes “the electorate gets what it deserves.”

The Carbondale primary will occur on February 27th and the general election is March 17th.

The Greening of Carbondale Candidates

The Daily Egyptian newspaper ran its second installment Monday about the Carbondale mayoral race and included comments from an interview I provided last month regarding Carbondale's energy future and past. Except for the glaring error stating that I am an “active member with the local Green Party chapter” (I have never had an affiliation with the Greens), I thought the story was fair and balanced in describing the four mayoral candidate’s attitudes about environmental issues.

1) Brad Cole said he is addressing environmental needs by having signed without the City Council's consent the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and taping down light switches so they won’t get used. The Shawnee Green Party say he supports (in principle) the Urban Environmental Accords which prescribe 21 steps city governments can take to help the environment. For this election, he is emphasizing spending funds on cleanup of Piles Fork Creek.

2) Sheila Simon’s priorities are to “reduce the city's energy use by encouraging bike riding, investing in solar panels and better utilizing the city forester.” Her campaign platform describes several other specific actions the city government should undertake including energy audits of city operations.

3) Candidate Jessica Davis wants the city to take a more aggressive role in creating a more bicycle-and-pedestrian-friendly town and either talk about or study to “moderate city usage should aggressively explore alternatives to moderate the utility rate increases for each of our residents.”

4) Candidate Pepper Holder wants to focus his environmental attention on the Koppers Wood Treatment Plant. He appears to have no position on other environmental issues or the global problems that a municipality can address locally. He has no website.

Later this week I will release a more detailed assessment of the candidate’s positions, or lack thereof, on environmental issues and discuss their potential to lead Carbondale into a sustainable future. I’ll examine their record and critique their approaches. You can then decide who has the vision, leadership ability, and wisdom to be the next mayor of Carbondale. You may be surprised.

I'm wondering about the ethics ...

I'm wondering about the ethics of writing a blog.

Gordon Peterson of WUSA-TV tells the story about how writing has its risks. He described his first job application in the writing business. “In my long talk with the editor, he asked, "Why do you want to do this, kid?" "Because I want to show how decent the American people are," I said, "I want to show them both sides of the coin; I want to give the people a sense of the ultimate goodness of their community." He answered, "That’s all right, kid, but remember one thing: serenity’s not news."

Gregorian Rants, a year-old blog coming out of Carbondale, Illinois, has succumbed like so may in-your-face talk shows and attack blogs to the allure of rhetoric over substance, derision over analysis, and insult over discourse. This is a sad development for Carbondale - a university community that has a history of fairly civil political discourse supported by candidates for office that avoid dirty campaigns, and civic organizations such as the League of Women Voters that foster public debates rather than let ad hominem attacks rule the civic conversation. As much as I like citizen journalism that blogging supports, I disdain the decline of civil discourse that some bloggers encourage by their name calling and vitriol – often with the seeming purpose of recruiting voyeuristic readers with similar attack mentality. I’m certainly no journalist, but I know muckraking when I see it.

Recent posts of Gregorian Rants help substantiate the fact that “traditional journalists view citizen journalism with some skepticism, believing that only trained journalists can understand the exactitude and ethics involved in reporting news.”

You may be asking ‘Hey, what’s the problem? Who needs serenity? ’ Well, it all comes down to the blog's constant use of questionable logic, hyperbole, insults, innuendo and exaggeration that results in turning away his audience. For example, Peter arrogantly writes about Carbondale politics saying:

• The Greens (the political party) like being poor as church mice, it make them more righteous or something.


• The (mayoral candidate Sheila Simon) is a Senator's daughter after all, bigger and more expensive government is the family business.


• If Sheila had been mayor or if Maggie (a former councilwoman) had won the last election, the drug addicts would still be shooting up in the American Tap.

I surmise that Peter relies upon hyperbole for so many arguments because it is titillating to read… oooooh, ahhh...ahhh, snicker, snicker.
Integrity and accusing candidates of illegal or unethical acts.
The blog favors using a variety of attack mechanisms including the classic ‘straw man argument’. To use the technique, one first sets-up an easily refutable distortion of an opposing viewpoint or action, and then attacks distortion rather than the person. Here are two examples.

(The Distortion): Since Sheila isn't clearly calling for a pro-business city hall, I assume she doesn't want one.
(The Attack): At the end of his term, Brad is going to have the best business development record of any Carbondale mayor in my lifetime. Sheila is going to stink in comparison if she is elected.

(The Distortion) Sheila thinks that employers are going to get their employees to live in Carbondale? (The Attack): What a stupid idea.

He also just loves to complain about the very behavior he uses in his own blog:

I notice that in addition to the $50 shell game that the platform and campaign tactics are going to be based on accusing of illegal or unethical acts. This is a pretty standard political tactic when you have no accomplishments and your opponent does. You use attack, innuendo and deception to get ahead. If your primary campaign tactics are the standard Illinois rough house BS, does that give you the high ground on having integrity?
Another. (The Distortion): Guess it would be impossible for her to win on merit.(The Attack): Daddy's name and mud are her game.

So and So's economic development plan is really, really stupid.
When Peter isn’t using phrases like the above to insult the opponent of his favored candidate, he expounds on “least government” salvation for the masses and derides civil servants:

One of my frustrations with professors, state employees and other people in the public sector in Carbondale is you guys have been on the reservation too long. The USA is a incredibly efficient capitalist machine. Capitalism isn't perfect, but it is better then all of the options. So many people in Carbondale and Illinois don't honestly look at results of this huge government machine we have made (and their trailing costs). I guess, if you are part of the system it is hard to admit there is a system wide problem. More government isn't the answer, we have plenty already.

And from that philosophical wellspring comes the Peter’s musings about state and municipal code enforcement:

If Carbondale really needed another army of inspectors there would be warning signs, for example we might see lots of fires? Lawsuits from students who have fallen through their floors or the like? Does anyone see that?

As a matter of fact, most people have seen the warning signs and worked to create laws, organizations and programs to address the health and safety problems in the region. You can drive by the local fire station every day and see the fire call board increase in numbers nearly every day. City of Carbondale fire fighters respond to about 900 emergency calls a year. In the first 50 days of this year, they have been on at least 142 calls. In addition, the small volunteer Carbondale Township Fire Department goes on about 80 emergency calls a year, a quarter of which are structure fire calls.

In the end, Peter has become just another “Kool-Aid drinking” pundit. Such pundits are so committed to a political cause, candidate, or philosophy that they senselessly ignore facts in conflict with both their political viewpoint and their reader’s notion of entertainment. Being a pundit didn’t use to have this derogatory connotation. A pundit once meant being an expert or opinion-leader who analyzes events in their area of expertise. Peter has valuable expertise in running a software business, but not in government, university management, or downtown revitalization - all topics on which he covers with passion.

Until late I’ve been regularly reading all that Peter publishes. We even agree on quite a few things the blog covers, but I will probably stop reading his rants because doing so just makes me sad. I recently came across the Biology of Mind blog that triggered my decision and summarized my melancholy about Gregorian Rants:

The real shame, though, is that the kneejerk "everyone else is an idiot" tenor is poisoning the potential the Internet once had. People used to dream of a global village, where maybe we can work out our differences, where direct communication might make us realize that we have a lot in common after all, no matter where we live or what our beliefs.“… instead of finding common ground, we're finding new ways to spit on the other guy, to push them away. The Internet is making it easier to attack, not to embrace. Maybe as the Internet becomes as predominant as air, somebody will realize that online behavior isn't just an afterthought. Maybe, along with HTML and how to gauge a Web site's credibility, schools and colleges will one day realize that there's something else to teach about the Internet: Civility 101.”

Presidential Candidates: Who Will Protect the Planet?

The League of Conservation Voters has compiled candidate statements from 19 Presidential candidates and posted them at this site. Visit it and return with your comments. Who would you vote for and why?

This blog is soliciting similar answers from the spring election candidates in Carbondale, IL and will post them here when available.

Enabling Death

I don’t smoke. Never have, never will -- intentionally that is. Yet, I did last night, and not by choice. I spent two hours at the Hanger 9 bar in Carbondale in conjunction with the ‘Hangin’ with the Candidates” gathering. I was fortunate to talk with old friends I haven’t seem for some time, as well as, meet any candidates that took the effort to talk to this grey-haired, old guy.

The small crowd was thinning about 9 PM and I felt compelled to also leave because the cigarette smoke was making me sick. Interestingly, throughout the event, others without any prompting by me, others commented to me about the dismal air quality. When I got home, I immediately took a shower because I reeked of smoke. The next morning I could still smell cigarettes on my hands, in my hair, and the objects I brought with me to the event. Stupid me. I should have known better.

I don’t think the event was attended by two candidates championing an anti-smoking ordinance for the city: Mary Pohlmann and Paulette "Will" Sherwood. Makes perfect sense to me to not attend a medically harmful event since the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that adult male smokers shorten their lives by an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lose 14.5 years of life because of smoking. Despite those grim statistics, 44.5 million US adults were smokers in 2004. That equates to 20.9% of all adults, 23.4% for men, and 18.5% for women.

It turns out that Monday's smoke-filled candidate event was held the same day as European Union announced plans for a total smoking ban across 27 countries.

The anti-smoking ban movement is quite active in Europe where “passive smoking still kills 79,000 people in the EU every year, and adults who are in daily contact with a smoker increase their mortality rate by 15 per cent, even if they have never smoked themselves.” In the US, secondhand smoke is estimated to cause 35,000 to 45,000 deaths each year from heart disease and 3,000 more deaths from lung cancer among nonsmokers.

As a technologist, I want to believe that there ought to be some effective technical answer to prevent damage from second-hand (passive) smoke. Yet, I am convinced that it just isn’t going to happen! Which brings us to Carbondale government’s enabling of death.

When talking about addition, psychologists refer to people who “enable” addicts. Enabling refers to behavior by someone other than the addict that contributes to the continuation of addiction. Enabling can be either intentional or unintentional. An example of enabling behavior a local government that publicly encourages smoking cessation while facilitating citizen and city employee smoking. Lots of well intentioned folk do it. Take Southern Illinois Regional Social Services (SIRSS), for example. It’s a Southern Illinois mental health agency that counsels smoking cessation, yet the agency finances a designated, sheltered smoking area for its clients and staff.

For Carbondale City government, enabling is licensing businesses that permit smoking on their premises because they are "afraid" of what will happen if they don't: business owners angered at losing business from addicts, irate smoking addicts who want unfettered rights to smoke in public spaces, and, of course, possibly lowered cigarette sales tax revenue. Enabling is permitting smoking in public places. Enabling is setting aside special smoking zones for those with addictions. Enabling is promoting events where smoking is expected to occur. Enabling is making excuses for addicts and other enablers of dangerous behavior to continue with the status quo.

I remember about 25 years ago when I, as an employee of the City of Carbondale, brought a small American Cancer Society display to the lobby of city hall. I was directed to remove it because it was deemed offensive to city employees that smoked freely throughout in the building. Now, 20 years after the definitive 1986 US Surgeon General’s Report showed that secondhand smoke can cause lung cancer, we still have government and health care agencies enabling death. Since the report was published over 12 million premature deaths are being attributed to smoking. (1)

Can a city ban smoking? Of course it can! Pueblo, Colorado implemented a smoke-free law in July 2003, heart attack rates fell by 27%, from a rate of 257 per 100,000 people per year to 187 per 100,000. In comparison, researchers found no decrease in heart attacks in nearby counties without smoke-free laws. (2)

What is the ultimate answer to the smoking problem in our community? Maybe citizens need to elect leaders who aren’t enablers?

Digesting the Digital Divide

My recent blog about the 2007 election primary in Carbondale dealt with the election candidates (8 out of 11) deliberately not using of the Internet for voter communications. I intentionally listed the candidate’s age along with one web address providing information about either their campaign, background, or other presence on the web.

One reader questioned if publishing the age of the candidate had any significance. The answer is simple. Age has always had an influence of technology adoption, as have other factors, particularly race, income, and geography.

The issue of consumer technology adoption has historically been couched in the context of the so-called “digital divide.” Wikipedia defines it as the gap between those with regular, effective access to digital technologies and those without. The term digital divide refers to those who can benefit from it, and those who don't, as opposed to just talking about who has direct access to technology, and those who don't.”

The Web began its explosive growth in about 1993 – the same year I founded southern Illinois’ only non-profit ISP, the Shawnee Free-Net. Its early mission was to help close the digital divide in this region. We pioneered wireless WAN use to connect schools to the Internet and hosted over a hundred websites for community non-profits. This was done to empower the non-profit community and their constituents because they were among those that could especially benefit from better access to information resources more available to wealthier, better-educated, higher income, younger, and significantly Caucasian citizens.

Fourteen years ago, few schools had Internet access. Very few senior citizens had access. While university students did have access, they certainly did not have the ease of access and range of providers and technologies available today. To place the situation in context, one should recall the history of the predominate PC desktop operating systems (OS). In 1993 it was Windows 3.x – hardly the most robust, secure and user-friendly software!

Age remains a factor in Internet use today. One study shows significant productivity differences in performing online tasks by users of varying ages.” Age is negatively associated with one's level of Internet skill, and experience with the technology is positively related to online skill, and differences in gender do little to explain the variance in the ability of different people to find content online.”

Today the divide in the USA is still significantly racial and is linked to broader issues such as black and Latino community poverty and even a cultural reluctance to use the Internet. Every day I see a lot of that reluctance in the workplace.

The most disheartening aspect about all the effort put into closing the digital divide is that the divide is “widening, not narrowing, and at an ever-increasing rate.”

DigitalDivide.org postulates nine truths about the digital divide that act as a guide for what we still have to accomplish in this depressed region of southern Illinois. I encourage reading the nine truths in the context of of the claim by some that southern Illinois is similar to a small, third-world nation. Illinois has "the highest poverty rate for adults and children of eight Midwestern states, (where) 12.5 percent of Illinois residents - more than 1.5 million in all - live below the federal poverty level and nearly 30 percent of all state residents live at what the report calls "near poverty."” (Source) Southern Illinois continues to have the highest poverty rates in the state.

1. The Divide is widening, not narrowing, and at an ever-increasing rate.
2. Closing the Digital Divide may be the only way to make globalization work for the poor.
3. The consequence of not closing the Divide is terrorism.
4. Closing the Digital Divide is fundamentally about empowerment, that is, it is about using new technologies to empower the poor just as they now empower the rich.
5. Closing the Digital Divide is the only way to sustain the growth of world markets.
6. World leaders from every sector -- business, government, academia, NGOs -- can benefit from closing the Divide. Yet no one sector has the incentives to lead the effort to close the Divide.
7. Closing the Digital Divide requires building an "enterprise ecosystem" that offers "end to end solutions" for the poor.
8. The midlevel countries in relatively advanced emerging markets, not the poorest countries, are the best settings for experimental efforts to close the Digital Divide.
9. Closing the digital divide involves using new technologies to formalize the "informal economy," thereby bringing the poor into established markets.

Is there a relationship between election candidates’ non-use of the Internet, local poverty and the growing digital divide in southern Illinois? I think so. Is there an ultimate answer? Talk about it.

Carbondale Candidates Online - NOT!

According to Internet Usage and Population website there are over 210 million people in the Unites States that use the Internet. That is a 120% increase since 2000.

So, why is it so difficult to locate the e-mail address of local candidates for public office? If the candidates are running on a platform, why isn't it on a public website for everyone to see?

Read more about the candidate "web presence" in the 2007 Carbondale, IL election at: Bytelife

Crosswords for Carbondale

Take the 2007 Carbondale Election
Campaign Crossword Puzzle!
(Click cartoon or puzzle to enlarge and print)

ACROSS
3 Seven candidates pursue
4 Climate treaty
6 Renewable power
10 Librarian’s daughter
11 Froze utility rate
13 Mayor Hans
14 Candidates for mayor
15 Raising rates
19 Carbondale form of government
21 Before the general
23 Slaw
24 Top Manager
25 Pepper

DOWN
1 Carbondale could become a (___) city
2 Formerly Ameren
3 Energy Advisory
5 Youngest daughter of seven
6 Burning issue
7 Cole Gang
8 Determines outcome
9 Carbondale provided these audits
12 Wired power
16 The mayor wants to use this domain
17 Annual threat to city reputation
18 Carbondale men’s club
20 Surrounding government
21 Sheila wants one on Eurma Hayes
22 Carbondale utility

Puzzle solution will be found in the comments on 1/28/07. Good luck!
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