Clean Energy

5 Ways Trump’s Clean Power Rollback Strips Away Health, Climate Protections

August 22, 2018 John H. Cushman Jr., Insideclimatenews.org Educate! Clean Energy, Climate Change, health, pollution, Trump Administration

The Trump administration has proposed to replace the nation's landmark climate regulations with a watered-down version that would do next to nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and wouldn't even set a specific national goal. If the new plan survives legal challenges, it would fulfill a campaign pledge to abort the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. And in combination with the freezing of automotive emissions standards announced a few weeks ago, it would gut any attempt to achieve through federal regulations the goals of the Paris climate agreement, which the Trump administration has also renounced. Given that the new rule does not challenge the finding that greenhouse gas pollution from coal-fired power plants causes global warming and endangers people and the planet, nor court rulings that the Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to bring it under control, the proposal is breathtaking in its embrace of apathy.

‘Carbon Bubble’ Could Spark Global Financial Crisis, Study Warns

June 8, 2018 By Fiona Harvey, Theguardian.com Educate! Clean Energy, Crisis, Finance, Fossil Fuels

Investors beware, climate change is upon us. The energy industry is transforming to a new clean energy economy. Your investments in old dirty energy may end up being lost investments, know as stranded assets. This has been discussed in recent years, but now the reality is hitting. Investors should get out of carbon fuels and investment in carbon infrastructure now or their losses could be significant. A cross-party task force in Great Britain published a recommended force that large companies, pension funds and other big investors to report their exposure to climate risks. Reuters reported: “The report said companies should examine and disclose how climate change could impact their businesses in the future, such as increased exposure to extreme weather events for insurance companies and the impact of physical disruptions to supply chains for companies in the agriculture sector.

Help Us StopTrump’s #DirtyEnergy Plan And Save Our #CleanEnergy Future

June 5, 2018 Staff, Dirtyenergytrump.causevox.com Resist! Clean Energy, Trump Administration

Trump has issued an order calling for a massive dirty energy bailout to ensure America continues to rely on nuclear and coal for years to come. This is a fight for America’s clean energy future and everything that comes along with it--millions of good jobs, thriving communities, and safe, healthy food, air, and water. Despite renewable energy's benefits, President Trump is prioritizing coal and nuclear industries and their executives by funneling billions of dollars in subsidies to keep dirty, old, dangerous power plants going. NIRS is organizing to stop them, and we need you to join us! We have to educate and mobilize the public across the country. It is going to take petitions, protests, and lots of grassroots organizing – and we have to start now.

56 Climate Activists Arrested Outside Of Cuomo’s office

April 25, 2018 Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance Resist! Andrew Cuomo, Clean Energy, Climate Change

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was protested in Albany on April 23rd over his policies on the environment and climate change. Fifty-six people were arrested, among them Green candidate for governor, Howie Hawkins. Protesters demanded Cuomo block all new natural gas infrastructure in the state, including pipelines and power plants; move transition to 100 percent renewable energy (not just electric energy), and tax emissions to fund the transition. Local groups also protested individual natural gas projects in their communities. In the civil disobedience portion of the action as" joyous, loud, beautiful-sounding singing" with people "gathered in a big circle in a room, 'The War Room,' on the same floor as the Governor’s office" The protesters "sat in a nearby hallway in a very big oval-like circle, lifting our voices as if the future depended upon it." In an op-ed explaining why it was necessary to risk arrest to save the planet from climate change, Hawkins describes five decades of activism that has included civil disobedience for clean energy, against carbon energy as well as against nuclear energy.

Congress Extends Tax Breaks for Clean Energy — and Carbon Capture

February 11, 2018 Georgina Gustin, Inside Climate News Create! Carbon Capture, Clean Energy, Solar Energy

Some of the tax breaks, like one that restores a tax credit for home geothermal heating and cooling, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars to install, should make a significant difference to individuals trying to lower their carbon footprints. The credit is 30 percent if the system is installed between 2017 and 2019, then drops to 26 percent in 2020 and 22 percent through 2021. Others, like the carbon capture and sequestration provision, offer complicated and uncertain benefits to costly technologies that might or might not pay off—and that are hotly debated in environmental circles. Senators with widely divergent views of climate policy, including Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, favored it. Bob Perciasepe, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), praised the tax cuts for promoting low-carbon sources of energy, which he called "critically necessary to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050."

Plan Now And Electric Cars Can Help Create The Clean Energy Grid

February 6, 2018 Nick Stockton, Wired.com Create! Cars, Clean Energy, Electricity, New Economy

ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE a fixture of many a transportation utopia, and for good reasons. In a world still reliant on private transportation, they promise everything from lower pollution to higher torque. However, at least one counterpoint mars the dream of exhaust-free street racing: Today’s grid would likely fail catastrophically if the entire US car fleet immediately made the switch to running on electricity. Let’s call this scenario of massive, simultaneous electric vehicle uptake the Pluggening. “If every customer starts buying electric vehicles, obviously that would cause a big impact on utilities,” says Mohammed Beshir, a professor of electrical engineering at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. Picture transformers spewing sparks like they were celebrating Chinese New Year. That scenario, though, is pure fantasy. Current EV trends show low to moderate uptake rates.

How The Oil & Gas Industry Sees Pipeline Protesters

December 25, 2017 Heather Saucier, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Educate! Clean Energy, Climate Change, Pipelines

It is interesting to see how corporations view protesters. This article describes how pipeline protesters undermine the infrastructure of the oil and gas industry, giving us a glimpse into their mindset. We found the sentence: “There is little question that professional activists and the mainstream media, which have been echoing their voices, have beat the industry to the punch when it comes to communicating with the public and mobilizing citizens to take a stance.” The reality is, it is not “professional protesters,” it is common people who are angry at the destruction caused by carbon polluters, pipelines and other infrastructure. It is not the corporate media that gets the story out. Mass media follows independent media (sites like this one) and social media where masses of people spread the word -- if they cover protests at all.

Tax Bill To Preserve Critical Credits For Wind, Solar & Electric Vehicles

December 19, 2017 Georgina Gustin Educate! Clean Energy, New Economy, Solar Energy, Tax Reform, Taxes, Wind

The booming renewable energy industry is breathing a wary sigh of relief as Congress prepares to vote this week on a sweeping tax bill that preserves critical tax credits for wind energy, solar power and electric vehicles. As lawmakers were working over the past week to resolve issues between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the clean energy industry kept a keen eye out for details of the legislation, including provisions in the House bill that would have weakened or eliminated the tax credits for renewables. By rejecting that approach, Republicans sent a message that they won't back attempts to kneecap ongoing growth in renewables, despite pressure from the oil and gas industry to scale back incentives for clean energy.

Atrocious Anti-Wind Article Published; Devoid Of Scientific Evidence

December 16, 2017 Brendan DeMelle, desmogblog.com Educate! Clean Energy, Journalism, Media, Propaganda, Wind

Meanwhile, in the realm of scientific facts, the American Wind Energy Association, the main trade group representing the wind power industry, points to 25 scientific reviews that document the safety of wind farms for human health and the environment. One health researcher has told DeSmog the GateHouse article was “simply irresponsible journalism” and actually had “potential to exacerbate the experience of anxiety and related health effects.” Although GateHouse, a syndication outfit that publishes 130 daily newspapers in 36 states, briefly mentions the fact that scientific evidence for these claims is nearly non-existent, it plows ahead with a lengthy article full of anecdotes and unsubstantiated claims that aren’t supported by real science.

Declaration On Climate Finance

December 11, 2017 Staff, notapennymore.info Create! Clean Energy, Divestment, Finance, Fossil Fuels

We the undersigned, call for an immediate end to investments in new fossil fuel production and infrastructure, and encourage a dramatic increase in investments in renewable energy. We are issuing this call to action in the lead up to the climate summit hosted by President Macron in Paris this December. President Macron and other world leaders, have already spoken out about the need for an increase in finance for climate solutions, but they have remained largely silent about the other, dirtier side of the equation: the ongoing finance of new coal, oil and gas production and infrastructure. Ongoing global climate change and environmental destructions are happening at an unprecedented scale, and it will take unprecedented actions to limit the worst consequences of our dependence on oil, coal, and gas. Equally as critical as drastically curbing the carbon intensity of our economic systems is the need for immediate and ambitious actions to stop exploration and expansion of fossil fuel projects and manage the decline of existing production in line with what is necessary to achieve the Paris climate goals.

Environmentalists Gaining Enemy In Fight Against Natural Gas Pipelines

November 7, 2017 Mark Hand, thinkprogress.org Educate! Clean Energy, Environmental Justice, Fossil Fuels, Pipelines

By Mark Hand for Think Progress - The electric utility sector’s top lobbying group is teaming up with fossil fuel trade associations as part of an effort to intensify the industry’s campaign against citizen and environmental groups opposed to fracking and new natural gas pipelines. A senior official at the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) said at a recent conference in Pittsburgh that her trade group has grown “very aware of the ‘Keep It in the Ground’ movement” as its member companies have become more reliant on natural gas. These activists are opposed to the extraction of all fossil fuels, not just coal, said Karen Obenshain, senior director of fuels, technology, and commercial policy, according to Matt Kasper, research director at the Energy and Policy Institute, who attended the conference. (Kasper worked at the Center for American Progress from 2012-2014. ThinkProgress is an editorially independent project of CAP.) From Keystone XL to Dakota Access to ongoing efforts to curtail oil and gas drilling, anti-fossil fuel activists caught the attention of energy companies and their representatives in Washington years ago. Aside from only a small number of victories, however, the activists have largely been unable to stop pipelines or slow down fracking. And yet the gas industry isn’t taking any chances; it wants to ensure its winning percentage remains strong.

Fossil Fuel Allies Are Tearing Apart Ohio’s Embrace Of Clean Energy

October 30, 2017 Brad Wieners and David Hasemyer, www.insideclimatenews.org Educate! Clean Energy, Fossil Fuels, Ohio

By Brad Wieners and David Hasemyer for Inside Climate Change - COLUMBUS, Ohio—On March 30, Bill Seitz, a charismatic Republican, took to the floor of the Ohio House to make a case for gutting a 2008 law designed to speed the adoption of solar and wind as significant sources of electricity in the state. The law, he warned, "is like something out of the 5-Year Plan playbook of Joseph Stalin." Adopting a corny Russian accent, he said, "Vee vill have 25,000 trucks on the Volga by 1944!'" Nine years before, Seitz and his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, had voted overwhelmingly for the measure he now compared to the work of a Communist dictator. It made Ohio the 25th state to embrace requirements and inducements to lure utilities away from coal, a major contributor of the gases fueling global climate change. Studies suggested the law would help create green energy jobs and boost the Ohio economy—and it has. Now, Seitz said, it was obsolete. Natural gas, rapidly displacing coal, was the resource Ohio ought to foster, he said. He also argued the law gives an unfair advantage to wind and solar when the state's last nuclear plant is fighting for its life. Most important, Seitz insisted, the government had no business telling anyone what kind of energy to buy.

These City Bus Routes Are Going All-Electric ― And Saving Money

October 20, 2017 Lyndsey Gilpin, www.insideclimatenews.org Create! Clean Energy, Electricity, New Economy, Public Services, Transportation

By Lyndsey Gilpin for Inside Climate News - Two years ago, the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) in Louisville, Kentucky, bought 10 electric buses to replace its aging diesel fleet. The agency installed two on-route chargers, where the buses now stop to recharge in less than 10 minutes before continuing their downtown route. TARC officials liked the buses so much, they've since ordered five more. A few hours to the south in Nashville, Tennessee, nine electric buses have been running fixed routes around the Music City since 2015. And across the country in Park City, Utah, the local transit authority recently purchased six electric buses to help reach a goal of a net-zero carbon footprint by 2022. In all, 40 transit authorities in the United States have looked to Proterra, an electric bus manufacturer based in South Carolina and California, to help them transition away from diesel buses and toward a solution that can save cities money and lower their emissions. Since 2004, Proterra has sold more than 400 buses to city transit authorities. The company has a waiting list of orders, and it recently opened a new manufacturing facility outside of Los Angeles that will employ 100 people and ramp up production to 400 buses a year. It's also pushing the envelope for what electric power might do for public transit. Last month, Proterra broke world records by test-driving an electric bus 1,100 miles on a single charge. The trip put the previous record for an electric bus―632 miles―to shame, and was more than triple the average mileage of a Tesla.

Solar Power Is Fastest-Growing Source Of New Energy

October 6, 2017 Adam Vaughan, www.theguardian.com Educate! Clean Energy, New Economy, Solar Energy

By Adam Vaughan for The Guardian - Solar power was the fastest-growing source of new energy worldwide last year, outstripping the growth in all other forms of power generation for the first time and leading experts to hail a “new era”. Renewable energy accounted for two-thirds of new power added to the world’s grids in 2016, the International Energy Agency said, but the group found solar was the technology that shone brightest. New solar capacity even overtook the net growth in coal, previously the biggest new source of power generation. The shift was driven by falling prices and government policies, particularly in China, which accounted for almost half the solar panels installed. The Paris-based IEA predicted that solar would dominate future growth, with global capacity in five years’ time expected to be greater than the current combined total power capacity of India and Japan. Dr Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said: “What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar photovoltaics [PV]. We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology up to 2022.” The authority, which is funded by 28 member governments, admitted it had previously underestimated the speed at which green energy was growing.

General Motors Is Going All Electric

October 4, 2017 Alex Davies, www.wired.com Create! Cars, Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Electricity

By Alex Davies for Wired - AFTER MORE THAN a century peddling vehicles that pollute the atmosphere, General Motors is ending its relationship with gasoline and diesel. This morning, the American automotive giant announced that it is working toward an all-electric, zero-emissions future. That starts with two new, fully electric models next year—then at least 18 more by 2023. That product onslaught puts the company at the forefront of an increasingly large crowd of automakers proclaiming the age of electricity and promising to move away from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. In recent months, Volvo, Aston Martin, and Jaguar Land Rover have announced similar moves. GM’s declaration, though, is particularly noteworthy because it’s among the very largest automakers on the planet. It sold 10 million cars last year, ranging from pickups to SUVs to urban runabouts. “General Motors believes the future is all-electric,” says Mark Reuss, the company’s head of product. “We are far along in our plan to lead the way to that future world.” Reuss did not give a date for the death knell of the GM gas- or diesel-powered car, saying the transition will happen at different speeds in different markets and regions. The new all-electric models will be a mix of battery electric cars and fuel cell-powered vehicles. To be sure, GM’s sudden jolt of electricity is planned with its shareholders in mind. The Trump Administration may be moving to roll back fuel efficiency requirements in the US, but the rest of the world is insisting on an electric age.

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