Growing Renewable Energy in the U.S. through CLEAN Contracts - a Perfect Fit

A Policy to Repower the Nation with Clean Energy

No policy has helped other countries expand their renewable sources of electricity more than the CLEAN contract, also known as a feed-in tariff or FIT. Transparency, certainty and longevity of the contract forms the basis for its widespread acceptance, and its success in developing wind and solar power in other countries and a few states.

A CLEAN contract makes Clean Local Energy Accessible Now. The policy allows renewable energy project owners to sell their electricity to utilities at a predetermined, fixed price for a long period of time. Clean energy providers are paid a price for their electricity that covers the cost of the generation. It makes clean energy investment a smarter choice for homeowners, utilities, and developers of renewable energy projects.

The CLEAN contract helps overcome upfront cost barriers to investment by making renewable energy projects more easy to finance. The contract offers a standardized process for new projects, minimizing uncertainty for developers and confusion for homeowners. It reduces risk and lowers the costs of getting things built. The CLEAN contract makes it easier to run businesses, build projects, and give consumers what they want.

The Center for American Progress has written a detailed paper that examines the workings and ingredients of CLEAN contracts. The paper also looks at how lawmakers and advocates can successfully move CLEAN contracts forward given how the contracts are affected by federal regulation. Finally, it provides recommendations to ensure that policies benefit ratepayers, workers, investors, and the U.S. economy.

Learn more about CLEAN contracts at the Center for American Progress. A brief description of CLEAN contracts is provided in a video here and also below.

Isn't it time that we get on board and promote renewable energy development on a large scale through CLEAN contracts? Implementation of CLEAN contracts across the U.S. will accelerate clean energy deployment, recharge the economy and create new jobs. A shift from burning fossil fuels to utilizing clean energy sources will curb greenhouse gas emissions, reduce toxic pollution and protect human health.

Wind Action of a Different Sort

Wind turbines are for generating electricity from a clean, renewable energy source, the wind.

The local Wind Action Group in Buffalo promotes ways of developing our wind resources that maximize the benefits to the public. However, they do not advocate utilizing our resources for the type of wind action shown in the video below.

Please do NOT try this at Steel Winds or any other wind farm!



To learn more about the Buffalo Wind Action Group, click here.

VIDEO: Abreviated History of Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries. However, fossil fuel resources are limited, and obtaining, transporting and burning fossil fuels are creating problems for the environment, public health and national security. We need to prepare for moving beyond fossil fuels and transitioning to clean, renewable energy sources.

The video below depicts an abbreviated history of fossil fuels in a creative way, through time-lapse photography of hand drawn illustrations. Watch it and see 300 years of fossil fuel history in 300 seconds:

Burn Dirty Coal, Lose Facebook Friends

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, is facing criticism from many, including clean energy activists. Greenpeace, for one, objects to Facebook’s decision to build a massive new data center that will be powered disproportionately by burning coal, emissions from which are a major contributor to global warming.

Greenpeace wants Facebook to use more energy from renewable sources, such as the wind, or the sun like Google does. In their animated film, the Greenpeace warns that they have a half a million people on Facebook who oppose coal power, and that Mr. Zuckerberg could lose all those “friends” if he proceeds as planned. Check out the video:

A Road Not Taken ... Again!

President Jimmy Carter's White House Solar Panels Rejected Again

The film "A Road Not Taken" tells the story about the solar thermal panels that were put on the White House in 1979 during the administration of President Jimmy Carter, a solar energy advocate who also created the Department of Energy.

The solar panels were taken down during the Reagan administration, warehoused, and later put back into service at Unity College in Maine, generating hot water using the free, clean energy of our sun.

The title of the film is apropos even today, given the Obama Administration's refusal to take an historic Carter solar panel from Bill McKibben and students from Unity College on Sept. 10. The gift was symbolic, but for those interested in Obama's promise of a clean energy future, the refusal of the gift is just another example of a road not taken.

The film trailer of "A Road Not Taken" is below. Watch, listen and then let Obama know how you feel (see some reactions to the White House refusal, below).



Bryan Walsh at TIME.com stated, "given how unhappy many greens are feeling towards the White House, rebuffing McKibben and his friends doesn't look all that great—especially to the young, committed activists who helped form Obama's Army in 2008."

Here's what Amanda Nelson, a Unity College student who traveled with McKibben, told Andy Revkin:

I didn't expect I'd get to shake President Obama's hand, but it was really shocking to me to find out that they really didn't seem to care. They couldn't even give us a statement…. They did stress it's a slow process and I recognize that. What we did today maybe will help a year from now. But right now it didn't happen.

Personally, I think it is lame that the Obama administration refused the Unity College solar panel, which is not only a piece of history from former President Jimmy Carter's White House, but also a symbol of energy independence and a clean, renewable energy future.

But the future is now, because it was 31 years ago that Jimmy Carter said, "A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people."

It was a road not taken for Reagan, and now again for Obama.

How BP Execs handle a Spill

The tragedy of the BP oil spill, and the multiple failures to contain and stop it, beg for some comic relief. Watch a video showing how BP executives deal with a different type of spill.

Oil Spill: Are we Doomed to Repeat it?

Never again will we take the environment for granted or abuse it. Never again will we be held hostage to foreign oil. The words have been repeated, president after president, oil spill after oil spill, explosion after explosion, for four decades.

Rachel Maddow, reporting from Louisiana, provides an excellent summary looking at present and past oil spills. She poses the question: Are we Doomed to Repeat it?

Steven Colbert on the BP Oil Spill

Steven Colbert illustrates methods used to try to stop the BP Oil Spill.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
BP's Undersea Dome
www.colbertnation.com

Live Video: Climate Rally on D.C. Mall

Earth Day 2010

CLIMATE RALLY

National Mall, Washington DC

Sunday, April 25, 11am-7pm

SPEAKERS

Live MUSIC

Live Streaming VIDEO

The United States has failed to enact a comprehensive climate bill. It is time to stop protecting polluters and enact comprehensive climate legislation that will create American jobs, cap carbon emissions and secure our nation’s future.

On Sunday, April 25, Earth Day Network will organize a massive climate rally on The National Mall to demand that Congress pass strong legislation.

NOTABLE SPEAKERS include Reverend Jesse Jackson, international coordinator Earth Day 2010, Denis Hayes, Waterkeeper Alliance president, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., film director, James Cameron, AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, Green for All director, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Olympic gold medalist, Billy Demong, producer, Trudie Styler, author, Margaret Atwood, NFL player and television personality, Dhani Jones, environmental photographer Sebastian Copeland and MANY MORE.

LIVE MUSIC from Sting, John Legend, The Roots, Jimmy Cliff, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Willie Colón, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Booker T, Honor Society and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger

Click Link to see the LIVE VIDEO STREAM brought to you by EarthDay.org

Photo courtesy of LCVoters

Make EVERY Day, Earth Day!

EARTH DAY 2010

EVERY Day should be EARTH DAY!

In 1970, the first Earth Day’s original organizers made “the environment” a voting issue. A few weeks after the election — despite the furious opposition of the coal, oil, electric utility, automobile, and steel industries — the Senate version of the 1970 Clean Air Act, passed unanimously and it was later adopted by the House on a voice vote.

Denis Hayes, national coordinator for the first Earth Day in 1970, is the international chair of Earth Day 2010. He thinks that the environmental movement sometimes projects a vague image about what it stands for and that the only way Congress will act intelligently and boldly on climate change is if we give it no choice. Learn more by reading his article, "Turning up the heat on climate".

Sunday, April 25th - Earth Day Network and partner organizations will organize a massive climate rally on The National Mall in Washington D.C. to demand that Congress pass a strong climate bill in 2010. To learn more, and to Sign the Earth Day 2010 Climate Declaration demanding a comprehensive climate bill from Congress, Click Here.

President Obama marked the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in a Video. To watch the Video, Click Here.

pHarmony: Matching Polluters & Politicians

So you may have heard of eHarmony, a matchmaking site for singles. But what about pHarmony, the matchmaking site for polluters, industry lobbyists, and politicians! Check out this video: [mobile link is here]



To find polluters and politician soulmates on pHarmony, click here.

pHarmony is a project of PolluterWatch and is sponsored by Greenpeace.

Coal Humor

What if you could power an entire city for $100? In a world of ever changing climates, isn't nice to know that one thing stays the same? Coal -- cheap, abundant, clean...errrr cheap. [mobile link is here]

Colbert on Mountaintop Removal Mining

Dr. Margaret Palmer, lead author of the Science journal paper on mountaintop removal coal mining described in the post below, was brave enough to appear on the Colbert Report TV show. Watch the video here:
Coal Comfort - Margaret Palmer

"Future of Energy" Smack Down

Clean Energy

versus

Dirty Coal

Robert "The Riverkeeper" Kennedy

debates

Don "Fill the Streams with Mountaintops" Blankenship

Live Webcast from West Virginia

January 21 at 6:15pm

Be THERE! Click Here

Join the fight for Clean Energy

and Clean Water

BIG COAL'S DIRTY SECRET - Watch this VIDEO!

STOP MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL COAL MINING!

JPMorgan Chase is the largest investor in Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, which involves clear-cutting forests, blowing the tops off of mountains, and then dumping the debris into stream-beds.

Tell JPMorgan Chase to
STOP financing Mountaintop Removal!

Jason Kowalski: Clean Energy & Climate Bill

Jason Kowalski, Policy Analyst for 1Sky.org in Washington DC, discusses the recently-passed American Clean Energy and Security bill and its implications for a global emissions agreement and creating new jobs in a TV news interview shown below and here (mobile phone link).

A Clean Energy Economy

Opening the Door to a Clean Energy Economy
President Obama praised historic energy legislation passed by the House of Representatives on Friday. The legislation will help America create green jobs, ensure clean air for our children, move towards energy independence and combat climate change. Watch his Weekly Address in the video below or here:



Portions of the transcript of the President's address:
"Make no mistake: this is a jobs bill. We’re already seeing why this is true in the clean energy investments we’re making through the Recovery Act. In California, 3000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant that will create 1000 permanent jobs. In Michigan, investment in wind turbines and wind technology is expected to create over 2,600 jobs. In Florida, three new solar projects are expected to employ 1400 people."

"The list goes on and on, but the point is this: this legislation will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy. That will lead to the creation of new businesses and entire new industries. And that will lead to American jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced. I have often talked about the need to build a new foundation for economic growth so that we do not return to the endless cycle of bubble and bust that led us to this recession. Clean energy and the jobs it creates will be absolutely critical to this new foundation."

"This legislation has also been written carefully to address the concerns that many have expressed in the past. Instead of increasing the deficit, it is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions. It provides assistance to businesses and families as they make the gradual transition to clean energy technologies. It gives rural communities and farmers the opportunity to participate in climate solutions and generate new income. And above all, it will protect consumers from the costs of this transition, so that in a decade, the price to the average American will be just about a postage stamp a day."

The full transcript is here.

To see how Congress members across the country voted on the bill, view an interactive map of the US and lists of votes at The NY Times.

Gore shows Senators New Climate Slides

Al Gore testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at a hearing entitled "Addressing Global Climate Change: The Road to Copenhagen" on January 28, 2009.

His written testimony stated: "Most importantly, as long as we continue to depend on dirty fossil fuels like coal and oil to meet our energy needs, and dump 70 million tons of global warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, we move closer and closer to several dangerous tipping points which scientists have repeatedly warned – again just yesterday -- will threaten to make it impossible for us to avoid irretrievable destruction of the conditions that make human civilization possible on this planet." His full written testimony is here.

In addition to his testimony, he presented an update of his slide show. A video of Gore's slide presentation is shown below in 2 parts.

First Part:


Second Part:

Victory for Mountaintops!

An earlier blog post described the devastating effects that coal extraction by mountaintop removal has on the environment and the health and well being of nearby communities in Appalachia (watch this video). Over 450 mountaintops have been destroyed, one of which is shown in the photo [click photo to enlarge]. Environmentalists have pressured banks, including Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase and others, to stop financing coal extraction via mountaintop removal. In a victory for mountaintops, Bank of America decided yesterday to phase out financing for companies that practice mountaintop removal coal mining!

“Bank of America’s decision is a giant leap forward in the fight against mountaintop removal coal mining, which has devastated Appalachian communities and the mountains and streams they depend on,” said Rebecca Tarbotton, director of Rainforest Action Network’s Global Finance Campaign, which has pressed Bank of America since October 2007 to cease financing of mountaintop removal mining and coal-fired power plants. “We hope that Citi, JP Morgan Chase and other banks follow Bank of America’s lead.” Read more here.

Bank of America’s new policy comes just one day after the Bush administration approved a rule that will make mountaintop removal mining easier for coal companies by allowing them to dump rock and dirt from the mining operations into nearby streams and valleys. That rule has been bitterly contested by environmentalists and Appalachian communities. Edward C. Hopkins, a policy analyst at the Sierra Club, said: “The E.P.A.’s own scientists have concluded that dumping mining waste into streams devastates downstream water quality. By signing off on this rule, the agency has abdicated its responsibility.” Read more here.

The hope is that through continued pressure from environmentalists, other banks will be moved to follow Bank of America's lead and help put a complete end to mountaintop removal.

Massey Energy plans to mine more than 6,000 acres of the Coal River Mountain, one of the last mountains left intact in the beautiful Coal River Valley of West Virginia. As an alternative, local residents propose building a wind farm. To help the West Virginia residents save the mountain, and move the Governor to shift from a coal economy to a renewable energy economy, sign this petition.

Barack Obama has said that he wanted strong enforcement of the Clean Water Act, and that “We have to find more environmentally sound ways of mining coal, than simply blowing the tops off mountains.” Let's hold him to these promises. In addition, let's push him to accelerate the transition from coal to renewable energy sources. Coal is not a renewable resource, and there is no such thing as 'clean coal'. To e-mail president-elect Obama and let him know that we need Clean Energy, not 'clean coal', click here.

Obama: Smart AND Humorous

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama showed that he not only has the intellect that many would love to see reinstated at the White House, he can also deliver a joke with the best of comedians. Obama spoke at the Annual Charity Dinner sponsored by the Al Smith Memorial Foundation in NYC. Obama roasted opponent John McCain (and vice versa), as well as a number of other politicians present. The event provided a great opportunity for Obama to put aside the pressures of the campaign, display his wit and share some laughs with his opponent.

Some of Senator Obama's best lines:
To Al Smith, IV, Obama said: "I obviously never knew your great-grandfather, but from everything Sen. McCain has told me..."

The housing crisis "has been eight times harder on John McCain."

My middle name, it's not what you think. It's actually "Steve."

"There was a point in my life when I started palling around with a pretty ugly crowd.... no-good punks. That's right, I've been a member of the United States Senate."

"Recently one of John's top advisors told the Daily News that if we keep talking about the economy, McCain's going to loose. So tonight, I'd like to talk about the economy."

To hear these lines, and many more, view Part 1 of the Video, below:


Part 2 of the Video is HERE:

McCain's speech is HERE:

Plug-in Prius: Mayor of Minneapolis

The Mayor of Minneapolis drives a plug-in hybrid. The plug-in conversion of a standard Prius hybrid was done by A123 Systems. The mayor says he gets 70MPG in his driving, and A123 claims up to 150MPG in city driving. Check out this video of the Mayor and his Cool car.