I was shocked and infuriated to discover, as a biology student at the University of Illinois in the late 1980s, that our nation’s leaders knew that our over-reliance on fossil fuels was threatening the future of our planet and our way of life, and they were doing nothing about it. I remained shocked and infuriated throughout college and throughout law school, and was thrilled when, in 1994, I got a job with the simple, modest goal of transforming our nation’s energy economy.
Am I still infuriated? Well, yeah, a lot of the time I am. The truth is that most of our environmental problems have solutions that are being underutilized simply because not solving the problem serves some narrow special interest. But, I am also more hopeful than I’ve ever been that the crucial clean energy revolution is beginning to happen. I’m inspired every day by the people I work with, and I always come to the office with motivated to keep doing more and better work. This isn’t what I thought my career would be like as a kid – it’s far better.
Posted May 21, 2012 by Rebecca Stanfield
Last week, the regional organization that operates the electricity grid for a large part of the country from Chicago to New Jersey and Northern Virginia held an auction to procure electric generating capacity to meet power needs in the 2015-2016...continued→
Posted May 14, 2012 by Rebecca Stanfield in Curbing Pollution, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Today we are releasing a new report authored by long-time Illinois consumer advocate Marty Cohen, who estimates that givewaways to coal plant developers approved or under consideration in Springfield will cost our state's households and businesses $8 billion over the...continued→
Posted May 4, 2012 by Rebecca Stanfield in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably
On Monday, April 30, NRDC had the privilege of teaming up with the St. Louis Cardinals to host a tour and discussion of the remarkable improvements they’ve made to their energy systems at Busch Stadium. Joined by about 25 energy leaders...continued→
Posted March 26, 2012 by Rebecca Stanfield in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming
A couple of weeks ago, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder paid a visit to the Traverse City home of Elizabeth and Chris Kushman. He was there to take a look at the energy-efficiency upgrades the couple undertook with the help of...continued→
Posted December 23, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Green Enterprise, Solving Global Warming
Late yesterday, Kansas City Power and Light (KCPL) asked state regulators for approval to offer more and better energy efficiency programs to reduce electricity demand and lower energy costs for its customers. Under the plan, KCPL will invest about $25...continued→
Posted November 7, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
In its desperate bid to secure massive subsidies from ratepayers for its proposed coal power plant, Tenaska, the company proposing the Taylorville Energy Center, is flinging around all kinds of dubious and discredited “facts” about its costs, emissions, and most...continued→
Posted October 27, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Solving Global Warming
Yesterday Illinois lawmakers approved a new law allowing Illinois electric utilities to make a major investment in modernizing the electric system, through a combination of smart grid technology, upgraded underground infrastructure, small distributed renewable power and energy efficiency measures. NRDC fought...continued→
Posted October 19, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
Having failed multiple times to sell legislators on a scheme to charge Illinois ratepayers for high-priced energy from a proposed coal facility in Taylorville, Illinois, the folks at Tenaska have resorted to not just putting lipstick on the pig, but...continued→
Posted September 20, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Solving Global Warming
Perhaps you haven’t spent much time thinking about your local electric utility’s business model. Admittedly, it doesn’t come up much in casual conversation. On the other hand, for those of us who are trying to accelerate a transition to a...continued→
Posted August 29, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Solving Global Warming
Today Illinois Senate President Cullerton sent S.B. 1652, the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act to Governor Pat Quinn who has made it abundantly clear that he plans to veto the bill. Assuming he does, lawmakers may try to override the veto...continued→
Posted August 24, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield
The American Council for an Energy–Efficient Economy (ACEEE) reminded us today about the enormous benefits that an aggressive energy efficiency strategy would bring to Missouri. A serious commitment to energy efficiency would, according to the organization's extensively researched new study, reduce...continued→
Posted July 13, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Curbing Pollution, Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming
Within the last 24 hours two separate announcements set sharply contrasting courses for Illinois’ energy future. It’s worth a look at how these two proposals measure up, both in terms of economic development and environmental protection. Mayor Rahm Emanuel launched...continued→
Posted February 23, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Solving Global Warming
In case you missed it, Commonwealth Edison has proposed legislation in the Illinois General Assembly that would allow the company to move full speed ahead in modernizing the grid, at a modest cost of $2.6 billion dollars. The legislation would...continued→
Posted January 28, 2011 by Rebecca Stanfield in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil
This week President Obama reiterated his goal of deploying one million electric vehicles (EVs) on America’s roads by 2015. On the one hand, this is a pretty modest goal, considering that north of 11 million vehicles are sold each year in...continued→
Posted October 6, 2010 by Rebecca Stanfield in Curbing Pollution, Green Enterprise, Solving Global Warming
You might be surprised to learn that clean energy developers in the Midwest are waiting for permission to connect nearly 60,000 megawatts of wind power projects to the electric grid so that the abundant and clean wind in our region...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
