Negative Impact

Cross-posted from Clean Fleet Report <http://www.cleanfleetreport.com/renewables/off-shore-wind-energy>

By: John Addison, 29 Apr. 10

The United States now has a new source of clean electricity for homes, buildings, and industrial stationary power and also for the growing use of electricity in rail and electric cars. Wind power is especially available at night when we hope to eventually charge millions of vehicles.

Global wind energy capacity is increasing by 160% over the coming five years from 155 GW to 409 GW, according to the annual industry forecast presented by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). A growing part of the renewable energy (RE) mix is off-shore wind, popular in Europe for 20 years, but stopped in the U.S. by not-in-my-backyard opposition, or more accurately “not in the view of my expensive ocean front property.” (continue reading…)

Cross-posted from Fresh Energy Blog <http://fresh-energy.org/index.php/blog/How-energy-reform-is-making-our-military-better.html>

By: Alison K. Linburg, 23 Apr. 10

Who should we look to for examples of implementing clean energy solutions? Turns out, the U.S. military’s a good place to start. The Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate recently released “Reenergizing America’s Defense,” a report which describes the efforts the U.S. military is taking to enhance energy efficiency and harness clean energy technology. The U.S. Department of Defense has established stringent goals that will reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut global warming pollution. (continue reading…)

Cross-posted from Green Weblog <http://www.greenweblog.net/2010/04/26/puma-to-become-the-worlds-first-carbon-neutral-sportswear-company>

By: Dan Greenslade, 26 Apr. 10

The world’s third largest sportswear retailer, Puma, announced yesterday at ‘The Business for the Environment Summit’ held in Seoul, South Korea, that it plans to become the first carbon neutral company in their industry.

‘To be the first carbon neutral company is the next logical step in our mission to become the most desirable and sustainable company in the sport and lifestyle industry,’ Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of Puma, told the press before giving his speech at the summit.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Knowledge Economy, UN Global Compact, World Wide Fund for Nature and the United Nations Environment Program, B4E is the world’s biggest summit to discuss a variety of environment-related issues. About 1,000 CEOs and high-profile figures participated in the three-day conference which ended yesterday. (continue reading…)

Cross-posted from SolveClimate <http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100124/going-carbon-neutral-austin-rocks>

By: Patricia Kirk, 24 Jan. 10

Concerned about the impact of climate change, some state and local             governments are aggressively pursuing carbon neutral status and adopting policies and strategies aimed at reducing their carbon footprint. Over the next few months, we will be discussing what it takes to attain this goal and highlighting cities and states that are leading the way.

Six cities always are among the top 10green U.S. cities no matter who compiles the list: San Francisco, Berkeley, Austin, Seattle, Chicago and Boston.

Our Going Carbon Neutral series starts with Austin, the only city so far with the political will to formally commit to this goal and start the journey.

A bastion of progressive thought in the heart of Texas, Austin resolved in 2007 to make city facilities, vehicles and operations carbon-neutral by 2020 and move the city-owned energy utility and entire community toward this goal over time. This was a courageous move for a city that serves as the seat of power for a conservative state, which ironically is both the national leader in greenhouse gas emissions and wind energy generation.

(continue reading…)

Cross-posted from Wonk Room <http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/04/26/climate-strategies-jobs>

By: Brad Johnson, 26 Apr. 10

A new macroeconomic analysis of green economic policies finds that cutting global warming pollution will make the economy grow faster. The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), building upon analysis they did of state-level climate plans for the National Governors Association, analyzed the economic and environmental impact of legislation in line with the planned Kerry-Graham-Lieberman framework. As long as state-level policies are boosted instead of pre-empted, CCS found that previous economic analyses by federal agencies and industry groups are wrong. This CCS analysis finds that instead of slowing the economy,household wealth and jobs will grow faster in a green economy. Carbon limits and efficiency-focused policies would have a net positive employment impact of 2.8 million jobs and expand the economy by $154.7 billion by 2020, while US emissions are cut to 27 percent below 1990 levels — if strong standards are set:

(continue reading…)