President Obama announced on Friday the award of $2.3 billion in tax credits for clean energy manufacturing — part of a broader push by his administration to stimulate job growth during the highest period of sustained unemployment in decades. “Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future,†said Mr. Obama, according to prepared remarks. The......read more
President Obama announced yesterday that his administration will aim to reduce the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions 28% over the next decade. “As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient,†said President Obama. “Our goal is to lower costs, reduce......read more
An extensive new report published by Greenpeace alleges that Koch Industries is the single largest funder of the climate denial industry, claiming that the privately-held corporation controlled by the billionaire Koch brothers is "a financial kingpin of climate science denial and clean energy opposition." Koch Industries is the second-largest privately-held company in the United States,......read more
At present, upwards of 200,000 gallons of oil are pouring into the Gulf of Mexico daily. President Obama is rushing to assign responsibility, which BP CEO Tony Hayward readily accepted before shifting the blame to the drilling contractor. The left-wing is trying to contain damage to the environment as the right-wing does the same with its political agenda. But, for all the commotion, precious few......read more
Give us some of those good vibrations. How everyday behaviors can produce clean energy. Livable cities all have one thing in common; they're designed for people, not cars. It's hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. What does that mean for the worst oil spill in U.S. history? Now that's sustainable architecture. Straw, string or human hair, urban birds build nests with......read more
When entertainment and environmental politics collide so beautifully, as they often do on Real Time, SHFT needs to share. Nobody does it better than Mr. Bill Maher. Not only does he take the piss out of the boneheads at BP who are "trying" to curtail this messs, but he frequently lands on answers that need to be seriously considered. Van Jones has been talking about the green economy......read more
The EU, which says it will meet 20% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, gets set to switch on solar power in the Sahara Desert. Vertical agriculture takes off: 11 "farmscrapers" that build on the success of living walls and mobile gardens. A fake oil spill was staged at the Tate in London, as BP protestors railed against the unholy alliance between oil companies and......read more
A group of bi-partisan group of senators met with President Obama on Tuesday to discuss the proposed climate bill. After the meeting, Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman said that they were prepared to scale back the bill to in exchange for Republican support. While the exact details of the bill were not divulged, the shift in position includes a middle of the road compromise on how carbon will......read more
On his new political blog at The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn looks into the policy implications of the Gulf oil spill, arguing that public pressure for clean energy legislation has been fairly muted in the aftermath of a massive environmental disaster. In the post, Cohn presents a persuasive argument that the lack of public action may limit the chances of pushing comprehensive legislation through......read more
Some welcome news from Washington, as President Obama announced Saturday that the federal government will provide nearly $2 billion in loan guarantees for new projects by two solar power companies. As many as 5,000 green jobs will be created by the guarantees, which are to be covered by money from the $787 billion Recovery Act stimulus package. Colorado-based Abengoa Solar, a division of Spanish......read more