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Step it UP 2: Bigger, Badder and In Search of a Leader!
2007-08-13 20:55:00
Announcing Step it UP! 2, November 3rd, 2007. The sequel will be even bigger and badder than the original - but only with your help! On April 14th, 2007, hundreds of thousands of citizens joined forces to send a loud and clear message to Congress: Step it UP, Congress: Cut Carbon 80% by 2050. Students joined seasoned activists alongside everyone from soccer moms to hippies at over 1,400 different rallies and events held across the United States as part of the national Step it UP! 2007 day of action. At city squares and village greens, on the tops of mountains and along threatened coastlines - there were even events underwater (check out this slideshow) - concerned citizens all across the country came together in what became the largest day of environmental protest since Earth Day 1970. We came together to draw a line in the sand and demand action to address the climate crisis. Step it UP! 2007 gathered national and local media attention. We engaged our elected officials - many ...
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House Passes Clean Energy Bills Including National Renewable Energy Standar
2007-08-09 00:51:00
The House passes crucical clean energy legislation, but challenges still await in the form of a contentious conference committee and a possible presidential veto. This past Saturday, the House of Representatives took a crucial step towards creating the sustainable energy future we've been calling for with the passage of two important clean energy bills. The first, H.R.3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act is a package of energy efficiency provisions, clean energy R&D spending and other energy policies. Weighing in at almost 800 pages long, H.R.3221 has been a project of more than a half-dozen committees for the past few months. It finally made it to the House floor Saturday and passed with a vote of 241-172. The second bill, H.R.2776 is a package of tax incentives, loan guarantees and other financial incentives for clean energy, and is known as the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007. The bill incl...
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House Passes Clean Energy Bills Including National Renewable Energy Standar
2007-08-09 00:51:00
The House passes crucical clean energy legislation, but challenges still await in the form of a contentious conference committee and a possible presidential veto. This past Saturday, the House of Representatives took a crucial step towards creating the sustainable energy future we've been calling for with the passage of two important clean energy bills. The first, H.R.3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security, and Consumer Protection Act is a package of energy efficiency provisions, clean energy R&D spending and other energy policies. Weighing in at almost 800 pages long, H.R.3221 has been a project of more than a half-dozen committees for the past few months. It finally made it to the House floor Saturday and passed with a vote of 241-172. The second bill, H.R.2776 is a package of tax incentives, loan guarantees and other financial incentives for clean energy, and is known as the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007. The bill incl...
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Warnings from a Warming World: World Meteorological Organization Reports on
2007-08-08 00:06:00
The first half of 2007 was full of extreme weather events of the kind climate scientists predict will be more frequent as global warming progresses. Weather and climate are marked by record extremes in many regions across the world since January 2007, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported today. Today's press release describes a catalog of extreme weather and climate events experienced across the world in the first half of 2007, from hurricanes and cycles to torrential floods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report noted an increasing trend in these kind of extreme weather events during the last 50 years, and the IPCC report predicts that hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent as global warming progresses. According to the WMO, January and April 2007 recorded what was likely the highest land surface temperatures those months have ever seen since record began in 1880. ...
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Warnings from a Warming World: World Meteorological Organization Reports on
2007-08-08 00:06:00
The first half of 2007 was full of extreme weather events of the kind climate scientists predict will be more frequent as global warming progresses. Weather and climate are marked by record extremes in many regions across the world since January 2007, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported today. Today's press release describes a catalog of extreme weather and climate events experienced across the world in the first half of 2007, from hurricanes and cycles to torrential floods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report noted an increasing trend in these kind of extreme weather events during the last 50 years, and the IPCC report predicts that hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent as global warming progresses. According to the WMO, January and April 2007 recorded what was likely the highest land surface temperatures those months have ever seen since record began in 1880. ...
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Bush Administration Threatens Veto of House Clean Energy Bills
2007-08-03 22:29:00
Two House bills, if passed, would redirect subsidies and close royalty loopholes for oil and gas industries to provide tax incentives, bonds and R&D investments for clean energy technologies, increase energy efficiency standards, create green jobs and direct the federal government to be a leader in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Two important clean energy packages scheduled to head to the House floor tomorrow have been threatened with presidential veto, according to a Bush Administration Statement of Administration Policy released today (pdf). The Bush Administration describes the two clean energy bills as implementing unnecessary and duplicative new Federal energy efficiency and R&D bureaucracy and global climate and worker training programs and strongly opposes provisions in the bill that would redirect subsidies and close loopholes currently enjoyed by the oil and gas industries. H.R.3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security...
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Bush Administration Threatens Veto of House Clean Energy Bills
2007-08-03 22:29:00
Two House bills, if passed, would redirect subsidies and close royalty loopholes for oil and gas industries to provide tax incentives, bonds and R&D investments for clean energy technologies, increase energy efficiency standards, create green jobs and direct the federal government to be a leader in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Two important clean energy packages scheduled to head to the House floor tomorrow have been threatened with presidential veto, according to a Bush Administration Statement of Administration Policy released today (pdf). The Bush Administration describes the two clean energy bills as implementing unnecessary and duplicative new Federal energy efficiency and R&D bureaucracy and global climate and worker training programs and strongly opposes provisions in the bill that would redirect subsidies and close loopholes currently enjoyed by the oil and gas industries. H.R.3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security...
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Bush Administration Tries to Pull a Fast One with Stealth Release of US Cli
2007-08-02 08:14:00
Anyone in the news biz (or anyone who's a rabid West Wing fan like me) knows that bad news is always released on Friday afternoons. Why? Because nobody's paying attention to the newspapers on Saturday morning. Well it's a good thing that bloggers don't operate on normal news cycles because last Friday, the Bush Administration tried to pull a fast one on the American public with a Friday afternoon stealth release of the 19 month-overdue and not too cheery Fourth U.S. Climate Action Report. Luckily, Kevin Grandia of the great site, DeSmogBlog, and Rich Piltz at ClimateScienceWatch were paying close attention and spotted the stealthy and quiet news release. On Monday Mr. Grandia wrote, The [Climate Action Report] was released last Friday (July 27th) by the Department of State in the form of this media memo. The release was not mentioned in the department's daily press briefing, nor is it mentioned in the news section of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality webs...
More About: Bush administration , Release , Fast

Bush Administration Tries to Pull a Fast One with Stealth Release of US Cli
2007-08-02 08:14:00
Anyone in the news biz (or anyone who's a rabid West Wing fan like me) knows that bad news is always released on Friday afternoons. Why? Because nobody's paying attention to the newspapers on Saturday morning. Well it's a good thing that bloggers don't operate on normal news cycles because last Friday, the Bush Administration tried to pull a fast one on the American public with a Friday afternoon stealth release of the 19 month-overdue and not too cheery Fourth U.S. Climate Action Report. Luckily, Kevin Grandia of the great site, DeSmogBlog, and Rich Piltz at ClimateScienceWatch were paying close attention and spotted the stealthy and quiet news release. On Monday Mr. Grandia wrote, The [Climate Action Report] was released last Friday (July 27th) by the Department of State in the form of this media memo. The release was not mentioned in the department's daily press briefing, nor is it mentioned in the news section of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality webs...
More About: Bush administration , Release , Fast

Lawsuit Takes Aim at Proposed Montana Coal Plant and Federal Financing of N
2007-07-31 01:48:00
A trio of environmental groups has taken aim at a proposed 250 MW pulverized coal plant near Great Falls, Montana in an effort to block the plant's construction and end federal financing of coal plants for rural electric cooperatives. As reported in May (see previous post), a Depression-era program to help electrify rural areas is still providing low-interest loans to rural electric cooperatives to build new coal-fired power plants. This government program, the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, is often the only source of financing for rural electric cooperatives with less than perfect credit ratings and is a major force behind the rush to build dozens of new coal plants in the U.S. These new conventional, or pulverized coal plants spew carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas and contributor to global warming. The suit, brought by the Montana Environmental Information Center, Citizens for Clean Energy and the Sierra Club, argues that the USDA's Rural Utiliti...
More About: Lawsuit , Financing , Coal , Plant

Lawsuit Takes Aim at Proposed Montana Coal Plant and Federal Financing of N
2007-07-31 01:48:00
A trio of environmental groups has taken aim at a proposed 250 MW pulverized coal plant near Great Falls, Montana in an effort to block the plant's construction and end federal financing of coal plants for rural electric cooperatives. As reported in May (see previous post), a Depression-era program to help electrify rural areas is still providing low-interest loans to rural electric cooperatives to build new coal-fired power plants. This government program, the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, is often the only source of financing for rural electric cooperatives with less than perfect credit ratings and is a major force behind the rush to build dozens of new coal plants in the U.S. These new conventional, or pulverized coal plants spew carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas and contributor to global warming. The suit, brought by the Montana Environmental Information Center, Citizens for Clean Energy and the Sierra Club, argues that the USDA's Rural Utiliti...
More About: Lawsuit , Financing , Coal , Finan

UN Secretary-General Makes Climate Change Top Priority
2007-07-29 21:26:00
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for urgent international action to slow global warming, marking it as a top priority of his tenure. Ban pointed out the devastation wrought in developing countries because of global warming's impacts. Those same countries don't have the resources to cope with the effects, and yet have contributed to least to the cause of the problem. Ban laid out a clear timetable for action while California recently to learn about the state's aggressive campaign to cut climate change emissions. The General Assembly meets this week to discuss the issue, and Ban will convene a high-level meeting on September 24th in New York. Negotiations will begin in Bali in December. Key to those negotiations is hammering out a plan for a post-Kyoto Protocol world. The framework expires in 2012, and Ban said a successor pact must be ready for ramification in 2009 to allow time for nations to pass it into law. Earlier this month, the Secretary-General...
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UN Secretary-General Makes Climate Change Top Priority
2007-07-29 21:26:00
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for urgent international action to slow global warming, marking it as a top priority of his tenure. Ban pointed out the devastation wrought in developing countries because of global warming's impacts. Those same countries don't have the resources to cope with the effects, and yet have contributed to least to the cause of the problem. Ban laid out a clear timetable for action while California recently to learn about the state's aggressive campaign to cut climate change emissions. The General Assembly meets this week to discuss the issue, and Ban will convene a high-level meeting on September 24th in New York. Negotiations will begin in Bali in December. Key to those negotiations is hammering out a plan for a post-Kyoto Protocol world. The framework expires in 2012, and Ban said a successor pact must be ready for ramification in 2009 to allow time for nations to pass it into law. Earlier this month, the Secretary-General...
More About: Climate Change , Climate , Change , Secretary General

Florida Governor Gets In Global Warming Game - Executive Orders Will Tackle
2007-07-23 23:08:00
Recognizing the state's particular vulnerability to the threats of climate change, Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed three Executive Orders, tackle state's greenhouse gas emissions with a bold, multi-prong approach. Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed three Executive Orders on July 13th, establishing a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions. The Orders set statewide greenhouse gas emissions targets and call for increased energy efficiency, an increased use of clean, renewable energy sources and regulation of vehicle tailpipe emissions. I am persuaded that global climate change is one of the most important issues that we will face this century, Governor Crist said. With almost 1,200 miles of coastline and the majority of our citizens living near that coastline, Florida is more vulnerable to rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns than any other state [see graphic above left]. The three Executive Orders are as follows [summary from...
More About: Global Warming , Global , Game

Florida Governor Gets In Global Warming Game - Executive Orders Will Tackle
2007-07-23 23:08:00
Recognizing the state's particular vulnerability to the threats of climate change, Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed three Executive Orders, tackle state's greenhouse gas emissions with a bold, multi-prong approach. Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed three Executive Orders on July 13th, establishing a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions. The Orders set statewide greenhouse gas emissions targets and call for increased energy efficiency, an increased use of clean, renewable energy sources and regulation of vehicle tailpipe emissions. I am persuaded that global climate change is one of the most important issues that we will face this century, Governor Crist said. With almost 1,200 miles of coastline and the majority of our citizens living near that coastline, Florida is more vulnerable to rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns than any other state [see graphic above left]. The three Executive Orders are as follows [summary from...
More About: Global Warming , Global , Game

Cleantech Adoption & Worst-Case Environmentalism
2007-07-17 03:20:00
There's a slice of the environmental movement that believes, as many people before have believed with Mutual Assured (Nuclear) Destruction, and Y2k, and other assorted potential disasters that the disasters are not potential, but assured. They feel they're being realistic in their forecasts, at their most optimistic when they say that humanity may have a hope of survival. It's possible that they're right, and it's certain that they're saying something crucial about our current rates of consumption and so on. The problem is, their message is the absolute opposite of attractive. The worst-case scenarios might make for motivated activism out of a small segment of the population, and in one sense, that worked quite well for Y2k. What could have been disastrous was mitigated into nothingness by correct action on the part of the people in a position to make changes. What was different, of course, about Y2k is that there would be almost zero public impact, unless the effort...
More About: Adoption , Case , Environmentalism , Cleantech

Cleantech Adoption & Worst-Case Environmentalism
2007-07-17 03:20:00
There's a slice of the environmental movement that believes, as many people before have believed with Mutual Assured (Nuclear) Destruction, and Y2k, and other assorted potential disasters that the disasters are not potential, but assured. They feel they're being realistic in their forecasts, at their most optimistic when they say that humanity may have a hope of survival. It's possible that they're right, and it's certain that they're saying something crucial about our current rates of consumption and so on. The problem is, their message is the absolute opposite of attractive. The worst-case scenarios might make for motivated activism out of a small segment of the population, and in one sense, that worked quite well for Y2k. What could have been disastrous was mitigated into nothingness by correct action on the part of the people in a position to make changes. What was different, of course, about Y2k is that there would be almost zero public impact, unless the effort...
More About: Adoption , Case , Environmentalism , Cleantech , Opti

Throw Another Global Warming Bill on the Barbie
2007-07-13 04:42:00
Another piece of legislation aimed at cutting climate change emissions was unveiled in Congress on Wednesday. Sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the bill creates a cap-and-trade system of carbon dioxide (CO2), a major contributor to global warming. Although the Low Carbon Economy Act isn't as ambitious as other bills before Congress, it does have something the other bills don't: broad support. In addition to being bipartisan, supporters include unions like the AFL-CIO, the United Auto Workers, the United Mine Workers. Union officials said they were satisfied that the bill would make costs bearable for carbon polluters and penalize foreign countries that didn't do enough to control their emissions. Several utilities, including Duke Energy also support the bill. Duke CEO James Rogers said that while the bill isn't perfect, it does chart a path towards a low-carbon future while keeping the economy strong. But to get that labor and corporate ...
More About: Global Warming , Global , Barbie , Throw , Bill

Throw Another Global Warming Bill on the Barbie
2007-07-13 04:42:00
Another piece of legislation aimed at cutting climate change emissions was unveiled in Congress on Wednesday. Sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the bill creates a cap-and-trade system of carbon dioxide (CO2), a major contributor to global warming. Although the Low Carbon Economy Act isn't as ambitious as other bills before Congress, it does have something the other bills don't: broad support. In addition to being bipartisan, supporters include unions like the AFL-CIO, the United Auto Workers, the United Mine Workers. Union officials said they were satisfied that the bill would make costs bearable for carbon polluters and penalize foreign countries that didn't do enough to control their emissions. Several utilities, including Duke Energy also support the bill. Duke CEO James Rogers said that while the bill isn't perfect, it does chart a path towards a low-carbon future while keeping the economy strong. But to get that labor and corporate ...
More About: Global Warming , Global , Barbie , Throw , Bill

Oregon Legislature Wraps Up Landmark Session for Clean Energy
2007-07-11 05:01:00
The 2007 Oregon Legislature closed a landmark session advancing clean energy legislation and putting Oregon on the map as a clean energy leader. The Oregon Legislature wrapped up it's 75th Legislative Assembly on June 28th, ending a session that can only be considered a landmark year for clean energy and the environment. The 2006 Elections saw Democrats strengthen their majority in the Senate and squeak out a one vote majority in the House while Oregonians re-elected Governor Ted Kulongoski who made clean energy a top priority of his second term. The Governor and the Legislature certainly delivered this year, passing a slough of bills this session promoting renewable energy generation, renewable transportation fuels, increased energy efficiency and even took an initial step towards addressing climate change. Here's a recap of the flurry of activity in Salem this session: Renewable Energy Standard: Perhaps the most high profile, and arguably the most important, piece of clean e...
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Oregon Legislature Wraps Up Landmark Session for Clean Energy
2007-07-11 05:01:00
The 2007 Oregon Legi slature closed a landmark session advancing clean energy legislation and putting Oregon on the map as a clean energy leader. The Oregon Legislature wrapped up it's 75th Legislative Assembly on June 28th, ending a session that can only be considered a landmark year for clean energy and the environment. The 2006 Elections saw Democrats strengthen their majority in the Senate and squeak out a one vote majority in the House while Oregonians re-elected Governor Ted Kulongoski who made clean energy a top priority of his second term. The Governor and the Legislature certainly delivered this year, passing a slough of bills this session promoting renewable energy generation, renewable transportation fuels, increased energy efficiency and even took an initial step towards addressing climate change. Here's a recap of the flurry of activity in Salem this session: Renewable Energy Standard: Perhaps the most high profile, and arguably the most important, piece of clean e...
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Dance, Dance Sustainably!
2007-07-10 04:17:00
Okay, how cool is this? What are dance clubs but carbon generators, right? All those lights, the neon, the speaker stacks, the a/c working double overtime to keep up with the sweaty twentysomethings bumping and grinding on the dance floor. But hey, wait, that bumping and grinding is energy, right? And what's it doing but making people all hot and sweaty, just sort of burning off as heat. So why not take some of that energy and put it to work? Well, that's the idea of the nightclub featured in this YouTube video. Found in Denmark, the concept is wonderfully simple and in some ways ahead of its time. But if you want to look for the future of sustainable structures and sustainable functions spaces, there it is. Innovative concepts like these will provide much of the excitement and verve of the green movement, something which it desperately needs.
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Dance, Dance Sustainably!
2007-07-10 04:17:00
Okay, how cool is this? What are dance clubs but carbon generators, right? All those lights, the neon, the speaker stacks, the a/c working double overtime to keep up with the sweaty twentysomethings bumping and grinding on the dance floor. But hey, wait, that bumping and grinding is energy, right? And what's it doing but making people all hot and sweaty, just sort of burning off as heat. So why not take some of that energy and put it to work? Well, that's the idea of the nightclub featured in this YouTube video. Found in Denmark, the concept is wonderfully simple and in some ways ahead of its time. But if you want to look for the future of sustainable structures and sustainable functions spaces, there it is. Innovative concepts like these will provide much of the excitement and verve of the green movement, something which it desperately needs.
More About: Dance

Hawaii and New Jersey Laws Set Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reductions
2007-07-10 04:15:00
States Continue to Lead in Absence of Federal Action The legislatures of Hawaii and New Jersey both recently passed laws specifying mandatory greenhouse gas reductions, joining California (see previous post) as the second and third states in the nation, respectively, to enact mandatory greenhouse gas laws. Eleven other states have set greenhouse gas reduction targets and four of them - Maine, Minnesota, Washington and Oregon (see upcoming post) - passed legislation this year setting those reduction targets in state statute, according to this CDM Knowledge Center update on state greenhouse gas laws and actions. The other state targets were issued by governor's executive order. Like California's similarly named law, Hawaii's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2007 (HB 226 CD1), declares that the state shall reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels at or below 1990 levels by 2020, an estimated 25-30% cut over business-as-usual projections and a roughly 15% cut over current emiss...
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Hawaii and New Jersey Laws Set Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reductions
2007-07-10 04:15:00
States Continue to Lead in Absence of Federal Action The legislatures of Hawaii and New Jersey both recently passed laws specifying mandatory greenhouse gas reductions, joining California (see previous post) as the second and third states in the nation, respectively, to enact mandatory greenhouse gas laws. Eleven other states have set greenhouse gas reduction targets and four of them - Maine, Minnesota, Washington and Oregon (see upcoming post) - passed legislation this year setting those reduction targets in state statute, according to this CDM Knowledge Center update on state greenhouse gas laws and actions. The other state targets were issued by governor's executive order. Like California's similarly named law, Hawaii's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2007 (HB 226 CD1), declares that the state shall reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels at or below 1990 levels by 2020, an estimated 25-30% cut over business-as-usual projections and a roughly 15% cut over current emiss...
More About: Laws , Greenhouse , Greenhouse Gas

What It Takes to Be Carbon Neutral
2007-07-09 20:28:00
A popular newspaper in Scotland, The Scotsman, has detailed what it will take for Britain to be carbon neutral within 20 years. I have said before that despite Al Gore's pleas, despite the awareness and scientific consensus on Global Warming, I do not see the world become carbon neutral as long as there are fossil fuels left to burn. Some highlights from the article drive that point home: Green Future Demands a Radical Shift in Lifestyles for British Meat-free menus, battery-operated cars and an end to affordable flights. These are among the radical visions outlined in a report which says Britain could be carbon neutral within 20 years - but only if major steps are taken to change our lifestyles. Tumble-dryers would disappear and an armada of wind turbines would need to be built around the coast to achieve the goal, says the research by scientists from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT). But there is scepticism as to whether any of the scenarios suggested in the report a...
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What It Takes to Be Carbon Neutral
2007-07-09 20:28:00
A popular newspaper in Scotland, The Scotsman, has detailed what it will take for Britain to be carbon neutral within 20 years. I have said before that despite Al Gore's pleas, despite the awareness and scientific consensus on Global Warming, I do not see the world become carbon neutral as long as there are fossil fuels left to burn. Some highlights from the article drive that point home: Green Future Demands a Radical Shift in Lifestyles for British Meat-free menus, battery-operated cars and an end to affordable flights. These are among the radical visions outlined in a report which says Britain could be carbon neutral within 20 years - but only if major steps are taken to change our lifestyles. Tumble-dryers would disappear and an armada of wind turbines would need to be built around the coast to achieve the goal, says the research by scientists from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT). But there is scepticism as to whether any of the scenarios suggested in the report a...
More About: United Kingdom , Carbon , Carb

The Nation States of Climate Change - How Your State Compares to Nations on
2007-07-03 19:42:00
Can an individual state really make a difference in the climate crisis? Will California,or New Jersey or Minnesota or Washington or Oregon or any of the other states that have taken proactive steps to rein in their greenhouse gas emissions in the absence of federal leadership really have an impact, or are they largely symbolic gestures? Well, the answer to that question will not doubt depend on how effective the policies are, but as this excellent map from Eric de Place (originally posted at Sightline) illustrates, the climate impacts of various U.S. states are the equivalent of entire nations, and state action is clearly meaningful. For each state, the above map shows a nation with equivalent greenhouse gas emissions from energy. Click on the image here to see the full map of the United States. How does your state compare? Eric de Place has this commentary on his map: When I've shown drafts to people, almost everyone wants to compare populations. The Western states population ...
More About: Climate Change , Climate , Change , Nations , Nation

The Nation States of Climate Change - How Your State Compares to Nations on
2007-07-03 19:42:00
Can an individual state really make a difference in the climate crisis? Will California,or New Jersey or Minnesota or Washington or Oregon or any of the other states that have taken proactive steps to rein in their greenhouse gas emissions in the absence of federal leadership really have an impact, or are they largely symbolic gestures? Well, the answer to that question will not doubt depend on how effective the policies are, but as this excellent map from Eric de Place (originally posted at Sightline) illustrates, the climate impacts of various U.S. states are the equivalent of entire nations, and state action is clearly meaningful. For each state, the above map shows a nation with equivalent greenhouse gas emissions from energy. Click on the image here to see the full map of the United States. How does your state compare? Eric de Place has this commentary on his map: When I've shown drafts to people, almost everyone wants to compare populations. The Western states population ...
More About: Climate Change , Climate , Change , Nations , Nation

Tri-Nation Plan to Harness Solar Market
2007-07-01 18:45:00
Business leaders from three continents are teaming up to manufacture and sell lower-cost photovoltaic solar panels. Signet Solar is a renewable energy startup based in Palo Alto, CA. It already has a R&D facility located in Dresden, Germany because of that nation's global leadership and market-friendly policies towards solar and wind power. Earlier this month, Signet also announced plans to build three manufacturing plants in India (where the future market for solar power will likely be huge). With this breadth of expertise, resources, and geography, combined with thin solar manufacturing equipment from Applied Materials (Silicon Valley's semiconductor tools giant), Signet hopes to build global partnerships to secure more of the solar power market share. Signet is betting that solar power will soon be as inexpensive to produce as traditional fossil fuels, either because of continued government incentives and subsidies or because of new costs applied to fossil fuels that ref...
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