Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
"Massachusetts blown away in wind power development race" says the Boston Herald, "Stop delaying the process of approving Cape Wind" shouts the Cape Cod Times, "National Grid rejects power offer from Deepwater Wind" reports the Providence Business News. What is...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Moving Beyond Oil , Nuclear Weapons, Waste and Energy , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
This post is co-authored by Brandi Colander, NRDC, and John D. Wilson, SACE. Florida is the dim bulb in the otherwise efficiency-dark Southeast, and the 2009 Energy Efficiency Scorecard from ACEEE shows how badly its electric utilities are dragging Florida's...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Nuclear Weapons, Waste and Energy , Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
There is a growing debate about domestic offshore wind siting. Fortunately, we are beyond; to build or not to build. Now of course the question is where, or perhaps how? As offshore wind technology advances there may be ways to...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Greening China , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Yesterday, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Chinese Ministry of Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) aimed at developing more energy efficient building designs and sustainable communities. This MOU enables the U.S....
Posted by Brandi Colander in Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
As state level energy efficiency initiatives and legislation crop up throughout the country, and federal energy and climate legislation looms, we are noticing new approaches to ratcheting down demand and scaling up energy efficiency occurring city by city. Effective June...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Curbing Pollution , Environmental Justice , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
Far too often, we hear cries of NIMBY: NOT IN MY BACKYARD! Well, with the recent birth of IOBY: environmental action is fostered and encouraged to occur precisely IN OUR BACKYARDS! ioby.org (pronounced eye-OH-be) enables you to support neighborhood level...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Moving Beyond Oil , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places , Solving Global Warming
Yesterday, the Fish and Wildlife Service and Minerals Management Service announced that they would cooperate with one another in an effort to protect migratory birds from offshore renewable energy development. This agreement, announced at the first of twelve regional public...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Nuclear Weapons, Waste and Energy , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
Last week, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick stated that the state has "done its job" of reviewing Cape Wind, noting that the federal permitting process was "winding down." Finalizing a Certificate of Environmental Impact and Public Interest for the Cape Wind...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
On May 4-7, AWEA hosted their annual WINDPOWER 2009 Conference at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois. In short, this conference broke records, and everyone in attendance felt like they were part of something bigger than themselves. In...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
The WINDPOWER 2009 Conference & Exhibition kicks off May 4 - 7, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. This is the largest annual wind conference and exhibition in the world and extremely timely in light of America's new commitment to renewable energy, particularly...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming
According to a recently released report by ACEEE, energy efficiency improvements in PA can save consumers an estimated $5 billion/yr on energy bills and create 27,000 new local jobs by 2025. Implementing a robust set of energy efficiency and solar...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
On Thursday, U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Salazar and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Wellinghoff signed an agreement to spur renewable energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) - i.e., ocean waters up to 200 miles from...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
It is not often that utility companies make headlines about energy efficiency. However, today Exelon, one of the nation's largest power generator's, announced that they have cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 35 percent from 2001 levels. This exercise of energy efficiency was...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Curbing Pollution , Green Enterprise , Moving Beyond Oil , Reviving the World's Oceans , Solving Global Warming
Today, my colleague Ali Chase participated in a regional public hearing by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar aimed at addressing the future of offshore energy development. As a representative of NRDC, Ali had three primary asks for...
Posted by Brandi Colander in Moving Beyond Oil , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy
The Waxman-Markey discussion draft entitled, “The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009”, places energy efficiency as title two, second to clean energy. Within this section is the promotion of energy efficiency in buildings, manufactured homes, appliances, transportation and...
