Nearly a thousand gas stations have shut down in D-C, Maryland and
Virginia in recent years.

And as Jessica Forres reports... that number is expected to rise.



A chain-link fence surrounds what used to be a gas station in downtown
Bethesda, Maryland. The gas pumps have been ripped out and all that
stands is a boarded-up convenience mart. There's a popular sports bar
next door. Rob Benning is the manager. He says the station has been closed since
January.

IT WAS SURPRISING BECAUSE I THOUGHT, I MEAN I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY
PEOPLE STOPPED IN THERE FOR GAS, MAYBE THAT WAS THE PROBLEM.

Abandoned gas stations line South Capitol Street near the Nationals
Ball Park. Stanley Bradley lives in the neighborhood.

THERE WAS ONE BP UP THERE, THEY SHUT THAT DOWN, THERE WAS TWO EXONS,
ONE BP, ONE SHELL STATION ON M STREET AND UP FURTHER AS YOU GET TO
11TH STREET WAS AN EXON, THEY SHUT IT DOWN.

Jeff Lenard is with the National Association of Convenience Stores.
He says the closings are an acceleration of a national
trend spanning more than a decade.

NUMBER ONE GAS MARGINS ARE VERY THIN, TYPICALLY YOU NEED ABOUT 12
CENTS TO BREAK EVEN SELLING THE GAS PER GALLON. THE MARKUP THE FIRST
HALF OF THE YEAR HAS BEEN ABOUT 10 CENTS PER GALLON AND RETAILERS
HAVE REALLY TAKEN A POUNDING FROM THIS. THE OTHER FACTOR IS THE
LIQUIDITY CRISIS. YOU’RE HAVING BANKS PULLING BACK ON LOANS. LOANS
THAT THEY WERE PERFECTLY WILLING TO MAKE LAST YEAR, THEY’RE NOT
MAKING NOW AND IT’S PUTTING A SQUEEZE ON SOME OF THE SMALLER BUSINESS
THAT DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL. AND PUTTING A REAL SQUEEZE.

More than 30-thousand gas stations have closed in the U.S since 1995.

______________________________

Gas stations continue to disappear from the Washington region.

And as Jessica Forres reports...some local residents are not happy about it.



A chain-link fence surrounds the lot of what used to be a gas station
in Bethesda, Maryland. Rob Benning is the manager of the sports bar
next door. He says the gas station, which closed in January, was there
one day and gone the next…

THERE WAS A BRIGHT LIGHT AND NOW IT’S KIND OF EMPTY OVER THERE. YOU
DON’T GET THE SAME LIKE FOCUS OF LIGHT. SO YOU WALK OUT AND YOU
DEFINITELY MISS IT. IT’S LIKE ONE OF THOSE THINGS, LIKE THE EXONN USED
TO BE THERE.

The scene is much the same on South Capitol Street in D-C., where we
counted three abandoned gas stations. Stanley Bradley lives in the
neighborhood.

WELL IT’S A LITTLE ROUGH FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD. PEOPLE WHO HAVE CARS WE
ALL HAVE TO GO UP TO 11TH AND WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT.

Since 2001, more than a thousand gas stations have closed in D-C,
Maryland and Virginia. Jeff Leonard...with the National Association of
Conveniece Stores... says it's a nationwide trend..

I THINK WHAT WE’RE SEEING NOW WITH A NUMBER OF STORES CLOSING IS
REALLY AN ACCELERATION OF WHAT WE’VE SEEN FOR MORE THAN A DECADE…. IN
1995 THERE WERE ABOUT 200-THOUSAND FUELING LOCATIONS IN THE U.S.
TODAY THERE’S ABOUT 160-THOUSAND THAT’S A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT DROP
AND I THINK THAT DROP HAS BEEN CONTINUED BY THE LIQUIDITY CRISIS THAT
RETAILERS FACE IN GETTING CAPITAL. THE CONTINUING SQUEEZE ON MARGINS
AND IRONICALLY THE COMPETITION FROM BIG BOXES.

He says

Jessica Forres

Some member of Caribbean community are urging the U.S. Census Bureau to add a
Caribbean-American race category to the 2010 census.

Jessica Forres reports…



Hundreds of local residents are celebrating D-C’s 17th annual
Caribbean Carnival at Banneker Recreation Park. Among the vendors is
the U.S. Census Bureau. Representatives with the agency are passing
out information about the 2010 U.S. Census.

Chris Toussaint is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, but he’s lived
in the U.S for more than twenty years. He believes American-Caribbean race
category should be added to the census.

IT’S NOT THAT WE’RE TRYING TO SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM BLACK-AMERICANS
BECAUSE WE ALL BLACK PEOPLE, BUT WE WANT TO SAY YES AMONG THESE BLACK
PEOPLE, THIS PERCENTAGE IS FROM THE CARIBBEAN.

Judith Martin…who was born in the U.S.… disagrees. Her grandparents
are from Jamaica and Antigua, but she considers herself
African-American.

I FEEL WE’RE ALL ONE YOU KNOW THAT WE ALL BLEND IN AS ONE. I DON’T
CONSIDER US AS SEPARATE EVEN THOUGH WE’RE FROM THE CARIBBEAN.

Alison Assanah-Carroll is a spokeswoman for the Bureau. She urges
residents to fill out "other" if they don’t identify with a particular
group.

BY DOING SO IT CAN ACTUALLY ESTABLISH A GIVEN PATTERN AND HELP TO
DESIGN FUTURE QUESTIONAIRES RELATIVE TO HOW WE SEE THE DATA BEING
TABULATED OR REPORTEDBY PERSON’S WHO ARE SELF-IDENTIFYING WHEN THEY
RESPOND TO THE QUESTIONAIRE.

More than 300-billion dollars of government funding are awarded to
states and communities based on census data.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 news.

Thousands of local residents are celebrating D-C’s 17th annual Caribbean Carnival...

Jessica Forres took in some of the festivities…



Music blares as Micah James and her family walk around the baseball field in Banneker Recreation Park …. where vendors are selling Caribbean food and reggae music. She lives in Maryland, but is originally from the island of Grenada. She says carnival is a celebration of her culture.

WE HAVE CARNIVAL IN GRENADA AROUND AUGUST WHICH IS UPCOMING AND YOUKNOW IT ALSO CONNECTS US WITH BEING BACK HOME.

Chris Toussaint is originally from Trinidad and Tobago. He helped organize the two-day festival....starting with a parade down Georgia Avenue.

FOR THE FOLKS WHO LIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY, THEY HAVE GROWN TO LOVE ANDSOMETIMES HATE THE CARNIVAL BECAUSE WHEN WE COME DOWN THE AVENUE ITTENDS TO CREATE A LITTLE BIT OF TRAFFIC.

He says the festivities end at 7pm.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

Concentrating solar thermal (CST), a renewable energy technology that can provide electricity around-the-clock, has the potential to replace traditional fossil fuel-based power sources and become a central part of the U.S. power supply.

“Now, while Congress works on climate and energy legislation, is a good time to focus on CST and what is needed to fully realize the potential of this attractive renewable energy option,” said Britt Staley, the lead author of a new report by the World Resources Institute (WRI). “State and federal support for developing renewable energy sources and increased federal oversight of the transmission grid are needed.”

The authors of Juice from Concentrate argue that CST is different from many renewable energy technologies that provide power intermittently. When combined with thermal storage, CST can generate electricity on demand, not just when the sun is shining. It can also be integrated with other kinds of backup power.

Electricity from other renewable sources can be stored in batteries, but these are inefficient and expensive. CST power can be stored as heat in tanks - like coffee in a thermos - and used to produce electricity when needed. CST’s ability to provide electricity on demand and around-the-clock could enable utilities to meet baseload power instead of relying on coal-fired power plants.

If CST displaced new coal plants built in the United States today until 2030, carbon dioxide emissions could be reduced by 5 billion tons cumulatively - offsetting the annual emissions from electricity consumption of 35 million homes over that period.

“Even though there are 9,000 megawatts on the drawing board worldwide, several barriers exist to solar thermal power development,” Staley said. “Up-front investment for CST is high compared to that associated with coal plants. Federal and state policy support can help bring down costs over time to make CST competitive with coal.”

For instance, a 30 percent Investment Tax Credit for CST projects constructed before 2017 has helped spur investment in the U.S. Generous feed-in-tariffs have supported development in Spain, where electric utilities are obligated to purchase solar thermal power at a fixed, above-wholesale price for the electricity.

Water usage is another barrier highlighted in the report. One CST plant uses roughly the same amount of water per kilowatt hour of output as a coal plant. This can create a problem in arid regions, such as the Southwest U.S., where solar conditions are favorable, but water resources are scarce.

“Alternative cooling systems are available and can reduce water requirements, but these systems can increase project costs,” Staley added. “Creating investment incentives for plants to incorporate these technologies will be important to the long-term sustainability of CST.”

Truly taking advantage of CST’s potential will mean building a more complete infrastructure to bring power from sunny deserts to urban centers. The authors suggest that greater federal oversight of the electricity grid and improved coordination between grid operators are necessary.

Climate experts at the World Resources Institute (WRI) applaud the six Midwestern governors and Manitoban premier who have released today recommendations for a regional cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Midwestern governors recognize the need to tackle climate change while simultaneously growing the economy,” said Franz Litz, senior fellow at WRI who advised the region. “In the absence of federal climate legislation, regional partnerships are vital to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, spurring energy innovations, and creating green jobs.”

Signed by the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin and the premiere of Manitoba, Canada, the recommendations are the result of an 18-month process that began in 2007 when the governors formed the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord.

Following other regional carbon-trading agreements in the western and northeastern U.S., this is the first to address the unique climate challenges faced in America’s heartland.

In the Northeast, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) caps carbon-dioxide emissions from large electric utilities in 10 eastern states with a goal of reducing emissions by 10 percent by 2018. The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) is a cap-and-trade program covering various industries in seven western states and four Canadian provinces. WCI released its design last fall.

The Midwestern program’s design will focus on promoting carbon sequestration through good agricultural practices, investment in carbon capture and storage, and energy efficiency.

“If a cap-and-trade program can work for the midwestern, northeastern and western regions, it can also work for the entire country. These agreements should form the basis of a federal greenhouse gas emissions market under the Obama administration,” Litz said. “WRI’s climate policy experts will continue to work with both state governments and federal policy makers to develop a program design that works nationwide.”

The governors of Indiana, Ohio, South Dakota and the premier of Ontario will observe the recommendations for now.

WHAT:Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) will host the first annual Ecosystem Services on Corporate Lands conference. Representatives of government, industry, conservation, and community groups will host panel discussions and workshops. These will explore how companies can reduce their costs, generate new revenue, and improve their reputation by managing ecosystems on lands they own. Other areas of discussion will include ecosystem services markets - such as water quality trading - that companies can take part in and regulatory information on habitat management.

WHEN:
Thursday, June 11, 20098:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Friday, June 12, 20098:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Crowne Plaza Hotel8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910
(Red line to Silver Spring Metro Stop)

WHO:
Lafarge North America, U.S. Department of Agriculture, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Constellation Energy, Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Banc & Exchange, Exxon Mobil, Rio Tinto, ENTRIX Inc., NOAA, BP, Virginia Department of Forestry, US Forest Service, Defenders of Wildlife, Kinder Morgan, Inc.