REBUILD THE UNITED STATES!

Where Is Harry Bridges When We Need Him? By Stas Margaronis, RBTUS A new, innovative tug and barge service between the California ports of Stockton and Oakland that can shift as many as 750 truckloads per week off Northern California highways and reduce fuel costs and emissions, has been put on hold due to manning objections from dockworkers in Stockton. This barge service is expected to carry...

FLOATING WIND PLATFORMS: AN INTERVIEW WITH PAUL WILLIAMSON, DIRECTOR, MAINE WIND INDUSTRY INITIATIVE (MWII) BY STAS MARGARONIS RBTUS spoke with Paul Williamson, director of the Maine Wind Industry Initiative which is playing a leading role in developing new floating wind turbines that can reduce the time and installation cost of older fixed platform wind turbines being installed at sea. The new...

BLUE GREEN ALLIANCE PUSHES  PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT EXTENSION FOR WIND INDUSTRY BY STAS MARGARONIS The Blue Green Alliance,  a coalition of union and environmental organizations, is lobbying  Congress to approve a production tax credit (PTC) for the wind industry by the end of 2012 so as to maintain the momentum of new installations. Eric  Steen, deputy director of communications,  said: “It would...

ASCE: ONE MILLION JOBS AT RISK WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL REPAIR FUNDING BY STAS MARGARONIS One million American jobs are at risk if essential spending on repairing ports, waterways and airports is not forthcoming, according to a new Failure to Act report from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). During a Washington press conference, Andrew W. Herrmann, P.E., president of ASCE, said that...

ASCE REPORT SAYS CUTBACKS POSE THREAT TO U.S. PORTS BY STAS MARGARONIS Cutbacks in federal spending pose a threat to U.S. waterborne transportation, according to a new report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The report says the expansion of  the  Panama Canal in 2015 offers new opportunities for East Coast, Gulf and inland waterway ports that could be lost by federal cutbacks....

GENERAL MCCHRYSTAL’S CALL FOR A NEW DRAFT CAN RESCUE YOUNGER AMERICANS BY STAS MARGARONIS In June, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the  former U.S. commander in Afghanistan,  stunned many Americans by advocating that the United States bring back the draft: "I think we ought to have a draft. I think if a nation goes to war, it shouldn't be solely .. represented by a professional force, because it gets...

SPENDING CUTS, INCOME DECLINES AND AGE DISCRIMINATION DIM JOB PROSPECTS BY STAS MARGARONIS Federal spending cuts are worsening job prospects for Americans at a time when people over 50 are facing serious challenges finding work, according to a Southern California employment trainer. Robert Grimm, vice president for Experience Unlimited (EU) in Lancaster, California says, “Prospective employers...

FLOATING OIL PROJECTS ARE BOOMING BY STAS MARGARONIS   High oil prices are driving demand for new offshore oil units to an all time high, according to a FLOATING PRODUCTION SYSTEMS report issued by International Maritime Associates (IMA), based inWashington,D.C. Jim McCaul, head of IMA, says that continued high oil prices plus the large reserves of oil being found in deep water are driving...

LESSONS FROM KOREA BY BENITA MARGARONIS, ELSIE ALLEN HIGH SCHOOL,  SANTA ROSA, CA During my summer vacation, I spent five days in South Korea and I went to two shipyards, Samsung and Daewoo. I've learned some very important things while being here. America should learn these things also. If we as a country learned from the Koreans  then we would be a strong independent nation again. These things...

  BAILOUT: PLACING BANKS BEFORE HOMEOWNERS BY STAS MARGARONIS While supporting the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout of the banking industry, the Obama administration is still struggling  to help millions of homeowners devastated by the 2008 financial crisis. The administration decided to help homeowners save their homes by relying on mortgage companies to modify unaffordable...