New Year 's resolutions sometimes fade faster than a champagne hangover.

We vowed to learn Spanish...but never got past "Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo."

We meant to spend less...but those post-holiday sales were such good deals.

We started to save fruit and veggie scraps for composting...but they stunk up the kitchen.

We, the irresolute, are not alone. FranklinCovey 's third annual New Year 's Resolutions Survey found that 35 percent of respondents break their resolutions by the end of January and only 23 percent never break them.

The stats are against us, but Madison-area experts are with us, rooting us on here with baby steps to change our lives whether we 've resolved to focus on the environment, education or our physical or financial health. Here we 're offering suggestions for those who vowed to go green, act like a grown-up financially, learn something new, and stick to those diet and fitness goals. . . .

Switch to green energy. Starting in January, MG&E tripled the amount of renewable power (electricity generated through wind power) available to customers for just an extra penny per kilowatt hour, which will cost the average electric customer $6 extra per month; to sign up, go to www.mge.com and click on "Our Environment."

Tip: You might be able to make up for that cost by switching out light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs, which are on sale through March at participating stores as supplies last.

From an article by Richard Thomas posted on Business North.com:

This month St. Louis County will add wind power to the Government Services Center at 320 W. 2nd St. in Duluth.

AeroVironment Inc.,based in Monrovia, CA, will provide the micro turbines. It is one of a handful of companies nationwide that build small rooftop windmills for urban and suburban settings.

The St. Louis County pilot project uses six turbines, each six feet in diameter and producing an output of one thousand watts. They will perch on the east edge of the rooftop to catch wind off Lake Superior. Being placed at the parapet enables the turbines to take advantage of the "chimney effect" of wind hitting the side of the building and traveling upwards at increased speed.

Construction began Thurs., Jan. 17, when a crane lifted sections of a 40-foot infrastructure support I-beam onto the roof. Technicians from AeroVironment are expected to arrive during the following week to install the turbines.

The county hopes the turbines will shave costs from its $11,000-$12,000 per month electric bill. If it doesn’t produce results in the first year, the county has the option to move it to another county building, such as in Pike Lake or Hibbing, where it may be more productive, said St. Louis County property management director Tony Mancuso.

AieroVironment also installed small turbines on the roof of a Kettle Foods plant in Beloit.

BROWNSVILLE — Invenergy Wind LLC plans to have 86 turbines operating by May at the $250 million Forward Wind Energy Center.

Mick Baird, project manager for the Chicago-based firm, said General Electric has started commissioning and testing 34 turbines throughout the 50-square-mile project area in northern Dodge and southern Fond du Lac counties.

"We look forward to getting to the next step and providing renewable power to four state utilities," he said.

Those companies — Wisconsin Power & Light Co. of Madison, Madison Gas & Electric Co. of Madison, Wisconsin Public Power Inc. of Sun Prairie and Wisconsin Public Service Corp. of Green Bay — have purchased a combined 129 megawatts of electricity.

Baird said each of the 86 turbines will provide enough power for about 350 to 500 homes.

"They're hideous," Breaden said. "They remind me of 'The War of the Worlds.' They're alien. They don't belong here and anybody who doesn't see that has dollar signs in their eyes."

Approximately 168,000 electric utility customers who are served by members of Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (WPPI) will benefit from the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy program. WPPI has joined Focus on Energy, a statewide initiative to help utility customers reduce their energy use and install cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

“We welcome WPPI’s 41 Wisconsin utilities into Focus on Energy and encourage all 168,000 customers to take full advantage of the benefits available through the program,” said Dan Ebert, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), the agency that manages Focus on Energy. “By following Focus on Energy’s lead, Wisconsin utility customers can help create a healthier environment, protect our natural resources and help reduce emissions that contribute to global warming – all while lowering their monthly utility bills. It is truly a win-win opportunity.”

WPPI and its members have been aggressively pursuing energy efficiency and have joined Focus on Energy to take advantage of the experience and expertise accessible through the program. As a result, WPPI’s Wisconsin customers will be able to participate in the different programs under Focus on Energy.

Customers of the following utilities are now elegible for Focus on Energy programs: Algoma Utilities; Black River Falls Municipal Utilities; Boscobel Utilities; Brodhead Water & Light; Cedarburg Light & Water; Columbus Water & Light; Cuba City Light & Water; Eagle River Light & Water Utility; Evansville Water & Light; Florence Utilities; Hartford Electric; Hustisford Utilities; Jefferson Utilities; Juneau Utilities; Kaukauna Utilities; Lake Mills Light & Water; Lodi Utilities; Menasha Utilities; Mount Horeb Utilities; Muscoda Utilities; New Glarus Light & Water; New Holstein Utilities; New London Utilities; New Richmond Utilities; Oconomowoc Utilities; Oconto Falls Municipal Utilities; Plymouth Utilities; Prairie du Sac Utilities; Reedsburg Utility Commission; City Utilities of Richland Center; River Falls Municipal Utilities; Slinger Utilities; Stoughton Utilities; Sturgeon Bay Utilities; Sun Prairie Water & Light; Two Rivers Water & Light; Waterloo Utilities; Waunakee Utilities; Waupun Utilities; Westby Utilities; Whitehall Electric Utility.

Clean energy advocates expressed frustration over the Calumet County board’s adoption of a 70-day moratorium on issuing permits for wind turbines. The action leaves wind developers wondering whether the County, which has among the best wind resources in the state, is effectively off-limits to commercial-scale projects.

State law requires utilities to get 10 percent of the electricity they sell from renewable sources by 2015, but local restrictions have paralyzed wind developers from moving ahead with project to help meet the goal.

"As far as the wind industry is concerned, countywide limits and delays speak louder than the state’s renewable energy goals,” said Katie Nekola, energy program director for Clean Wisconsin.

“What's the point of state government promoting renewable energy development in Wisconsin when it’s practically impossible to obtain permits for wind turbines?" asked Michael Vickerman, executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a statewide nonprofit group that promotes renewable energy.

"This marks the third moratorium on wind development adopted by Calumet County 2005. It seems that every time the Board considers changes to its ordinance regulating wind turbines, it moves farther and farther away from resolving the controversy and allowing projects to move ahead. What a morass Calumet County has become!" Vickerman said.

RENEW Wisconsin is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a catalyst to advance a sustainable energy future through public policy and private sector initiatives. More information on RENEW’s Web site at www.renewwisconsin.org.

CHILTON — The Calumet County Board rejected some members' proposal for a one-year moratorium on wind turbines at about 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Four hours later, however, after largely fruitless debate over recommended changes to its ordinance regulating wind energy, the board passed a 70-day ban on permits for wind turbines.

Developers are negotiating the location of two large wind farms, composed of 400-foot turbines, in the county, which is one of the state's most promising sites for wind energy.

Advocates for the year-long moratorium said it would give the county an opportunity to observe the effects of similar projects in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties, which are under construction.

Dozens of Calumet County residents have expressed worry about how noise and vibration from the huge turbines will affect adjoining property owners.

"We need to take our time, because if we don't do it right we're not going to be able to change it in the future," Supv. Alice Connors said. "This is a very, very important decision, and I think we need this moratorium to learn from our neighbors."

Others suggested a long moratorium would just drag out what has already been a long process. Opponents have demanded tougher restrictions since the county adopted the existing ordinance in mid-2006.

They persuaded the county to impose a 120-day moratorium in September. It expires this week.

Wind farms looming on the local horizon have brought the promise of renewable energy and pitted neighbor against neighbor.

As projects set in the rural townships of Eden, Empire, Calumet and Marshfield move forward, citizens for and against the towering turbines continue to speak out.

Some see the beauty of giant blades turning in the wind and herald the environmental benefits of green energy. Others oppose corporate infiltration into their quiet countryside and backyards and consider the turning turbines an eyesore and a product of greed.

"We moved far enough out into the country and had to buy 35 acres to build a house," said Tony Moyer of Dotyville. "We thought not in our life would we have to worry about the city or a highway passing by our home. We now will be staring at this ugly wind turbine right out our back door. Go to the front porch with your cup of coffee and sit there and what do you know, here is another ugly tower in the front of my dream home. Our fellow greedy neighbors, all of whom are farmers that are supposed keepers of the land, sold out to easy money."

Becky Holl of Brownsville feels much differently about wind farms.

"It's about time our generation takes responsibility for the energy situation," she said. "I wish we had enough acreage to put one up ourselves. I would ask all residents to join in the effort of helping out our energy crunch."

Sidebars to the story offer reader comments and a timeline on the three Fond du Lac area projects -- Forward Wind, Blue Sky Green Field, and Cedar Ridge.

BROWNSVILLE — Rising up out of the winter weary farm fields, 400-foot tall wind turbines south of Oakfield stand like white sentinels against the azure sky, the seven-ton blades like arms outstretched from the tower base.

To some the 269-ton wind turbines represent the flagship of renewable energy resources in Wisconsin, while others claim wind farms are nothing more than a pipe dream and a blight on the landscape.

"What used to be a rural view of farmland, hills and woodlots and a church steeple in LeRoy, is now littered with wind mills," said Mayville resident Tony Smith, commenting on the wind turbines erected in Dodge County as part of Invenergy's Forward Wind Energy Center project.

With an approved permit for 133 wind turbines, the wind farm located in northeast Dodge County and southern Fond du Lac County is touted as the state's single largest wind farm project since 2001, and perhaps the most embattled.

NEW HOLSTEIN — Residents in some Calumet County towns have spent the last two years jousting with developers and major landowners over huge wind turbines on titanic wind farms.

The sparring is set to culminate Tuesday, when the Calumet County Board considers a special committee’s recommendations to tighten the county’s rules about where developers can put wind turbines — proposals designed to temper 400-foot wind turbines’ effects on neighbors’ lives.

Calumet County, where wind speeds average 13 mph, is one of the state’s most promising sites for wind energy. It is also an idyllic countryside former city dwellers appreciate for its rolling hills and quaint farmsteads their residential lots neighbor.

Ironically, the most likely casualty in this clash of titans is a tiny project New Holstein Utilities had been banking on to generate a fair amount of the electricity its customers will need in the future.

“I think the proposals make it extremely difficult to do anything,” said Tom Paque, vice president of customer service and administration for Wisconsin Public Power Inc., the wholesaler that buys electricity on behalf of municipal utilities. “If it were implemented I think it takes our project off the table.”

The proposed rules, according to developers EcoEnergy Inc. and Midwest Wind Energy, will make the two big projects they had planned extremely difficult. They increase from 1,000 feet to 1,800 feet the required space between turbines and houses or schools. They also add a 1,000-foot buffer between windmills and things like parks, trails and barns.

Keokuk Mayor David Gudgel believes the city is poised at the beginning of a year that will be busy and fruitful, but it is a different year than he believed it would be.

On Dec. 21, 2007, Ken Hendricks, a billionaire who had invested heavily in the Keokuk business community, died suddenly in an accident at his home in Wisconsin.

Projects he had started working on in Keokuk, such as the 350- to 400-employee wind turbine tower manufacturing plant scheduled to begin construction this year, halted with his death.

. . . The truth is that EcoEnergy is a dedicated company, composed of employees who are committed to making a positive change for the environment. Those who have worked directly with us know that we are a company that takes our commitments seriously. Organizations like Clean Wisconsin recognize this dedication, but they act on behalf of renewable energy development for their own reasons. And these reasons are that we simply must develop renewable energy to solve the greatest environmental problem of our time – global climate change. Of the renewable energy sources available in Wisconsin, wind energy is the only source that can provide utility scale power that will make a real change in our impact on the environment. . . .

It is my belief that the ad hoc committee did not look at the tremendous benefits that wind energy would bring to Calumet County when it drafted these recommendations. That is the only explanation I can think of that would account for why recommendations would be brought forward that would make wind energy development effectively impossible in the county.

As a citizen, and yes, as an employee of EcoEnergy, I feel it is my responsibility to do everything in my power to help solve the present energy crisis. It is for this reason that I urge you to reject these ad hoc recommendations that will prevent renewable energy in your county. I hope that you will provide leadership on this vital issue and tell the people of Calumet County that you stand for a cleaner environment, that you have heard the environmental groups, that you have listened to your constituents, and that it is time to make a positive difference. . . .

Because Wisconsin has the resources to create a world-class "bioeconomy," and also could become a major site of renewal wind and wave energy generation, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has begun to review some paradigm-shifting Badger State opportunities, according to documents obtained from the DNR under the Wisconsin Open Records law.

The documents are among almost 500 pages released to this blog in December, and are compiled in a transition briefing book prepared by DNR staffers for Matt Frank, the department's new Secretary.

Here are some highlights:

In Section 9, "Climate Change/Energy Independence," staffers say:"We have met with a developer who is in the early stages of proposing to put 610 wind turbines in Lake Michigan, from Kewaunee to Kenosha. While a great idea, there are legal issues that will need to be addressed and we have done an issue paper on the idea. (Attachment 2)."

That attachment, dated July 23, 2007, lays out a lengthy list of state and federal regulatory, ownership and related issues that could affect the placement of such a large number of wind turbine structures in the Great Lakes, on the lakebeds.

Calumet County Board of Supervisors
Attention: Beth Hauser, County Clerk
206 Court Street
Chilton, WI 53014

Julie Heuvelman
Director of Planning, Calumet County
206 Court Street
Chilton, WI 53014

Dear Calumet County Board of Supervisors and Ms. Heuvelman:

During an October meeting of the Calumet County Towns Association, Mr. Glenn Stoddard referred to a recent report issued by the National Research Council (NRC) entitled Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Projects, published by the National Academies Press in May 2007. In his remarks he stated that the report's findings support longer setbacks than what is currently embedded in Calumet County's zoning ordinance.

I invite you to read the relevant section of NRC's report (pages 156-162—see accompanying document). I am confident that if you do that, you will share RENEW's view that Mr. Stoddard's statement is baseless. Here is what the NRC says about sound impacts.

The sound power level from a single turbine is usually around 90-105 dB(A); such a turbine creates a sound pressure of 50-60 dB(A) at a distance of 40 meters (this is about the same level as conversational speech). Noise (sound-pressure) levels from an onshore wind project are typically in the 35-45 dB(A) range at a distance of about 300 meters (BWEA 2000; Burton et al. 2001). These are relatively low noise or sound-pressure levels compared with other common sources such as a busy office (~60 dB(A)), and with nighttime ambient noise levels in the countryside (~20-40 dB(A)). While turbine noise increases with wind speed, ambient noises—for example, due to the rustling of tree leaves— increase at a higher rate and can mask the turbine noise (BLM 2005a).

Shadow flicker is not important at distant sites (for example, greater than 1,000 feet from a turbine) except during the morning and evening when shadows are long. However, sunlight intensity is also lower during the morning and evening; this tends to reduce the effects of shadows and shadow flicker.

In the United States, shadow flicker has not been identified as causing even a mild annoyance.

Noise produced by wind turbines generally is not a major concern for humans beyond a half-mile or so because various measures to reduce noise have been implemented in the design of modern turbines.

RENEW Wisconsin has testified on several occasions in favor of the wind ordinance as currently written. In November 2006 we submitted testimony in opposition to various amendments that would have imposed longer setbacks and required the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement on any wind development regulated under the ordinance. We would like the record of the January 15 County Board meeting to reflect our opposition to the changes proposed by Wind Turbine Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee.

Also attached is a RENEW commentary that is highly relevant to your consideration of that committee’s recommendations.

Sincerely,

Michael Vickerman
Executive Director

With the first meaningful improvement in gas mileage standards in a generation, Congress took a significant step toward a new energy future this week in an energy bill signed by President Bush.

But even this big step forward is just the beginning of what we must do to address America 's energy challenges. If we 're serious about America 's transition to a clean energy economy and solving global warming, we can 't stop now.

The next milestone in the journey toward clean energy must include making a national commitment to renewable energy. And, the best way to put America on a path to clean, homegrown, renewable energy is one that is simple and has proven remarkably effective -- setting a nationwide minimum standard for renewable electricity.

Congress just missed a golden opportunity to jumpstart renewable energy in America by including a renewable electricity standard in this energy bill.

Unfortunately, the threat of a presidential veto and a Republican-led filibuster fueled by the coal industry and the utilities forced the Senate to drop a provision that had been passed by the House of Representatives to require that utilities provide 15 percent of their power from renewable resources, despite Sen. Russ Feingold 's support.