Below are several selected upcoming committee hearings and several, but not all, of the key bills we are tracking. For a complete list of the 44 bills we are currently tracking in 2020, click HERE. Please send updates, suggestions, corrections to info[at]cleanpowerexchange.org. Our next update will be published here on March 26. SPECIAL NOTE: Due … Read more
URGENT: Have your organization sign on here to support utility reform and clean community energy resilience. Individuals, please reach out to your state elected officials here. A key priority of The Climate Center’s Climate-Safe CA effort is to advance the ability of local governments to create fossil fuel-free, safe, resilient and accessible local electricity systems. Technology advances — including rapidly-declining … Read more
by Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News Highlights: Wind-driven ocean currents are moving towards the poles, causing impacts such as sea-level rise and storms. The shift in poles will affect sea-level rise on the East Coast of the US and disrupt salmon fishing waters on the West Coast Gyres, which are large systems of ocean currents, … Read more
by Zoya Teirstein , Grist Highlights: Senators Lisa Murkowski (R) and Joe Manchin (D) revealed the American Energy Innovation Act of 2020: The bill does not stop drilling or fracking but does develop more solar and other renewable energy as well as carbon capture Portions of the bill mention exporting natural gas, a known emitter … Read more
by Mark Fischetti and Amanda Montañez, Scientific American Highlights: Marilyn A. Brown and Majid Ahmadi of the Georgia Institute of Technology modeled a $25 and $60 tax on each metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted by the U.S. energy system. The $25 tax resulted in more jobs, but substantially less emissions reductions (see charts below). Brown … Read more
by Eric Roston, Bloomberg Green Highlights: According to a new study, wetland preservation will be increasingly important to protect Atlantic and Gulf Coast communities against hurricanes and cyclones. The study evaluates how much wetlands are worth based on the cost of the damage caused by storms One square kilometer of wetlands is worth almost $2 … Read more
by Adele Peters, Fast Company Highlights: A Salt Lake City apartment complex, named Soleil Lofts, is the first to incorporate solar plus storage into every unit. The local utility will use solar and storage as a virtual power plant and will avoid using fossil fuels during peak hours The developing company, Wasatch Group, used batteries … Read more
by Aaron Sheldrick, Reuters Highlights: Electricity generation from fossil fuels in the United States, European Union, and India fell in 2019. Renewable power generation increased at a faster rate than the overall growth in power output for the first time The decline of fossil fuels is likely to accelerate due to countries trying to commit … Read more
by Gerson Freitas Jr and Vanessa Dezem, Bloomberg Highlights: Investors are ditching natural gas and fossil fuels in order to invest in renewable energy such as solar and wind: Environmentalist push-back on dirty energy investments has put fossil fuel valuations at a tipping point For the first time in about a decade, local gas distributors indices are … Read more
by Patty Wetli, WTTW Chicago Highlights The human response to Coronavirus is more urgent because it is considered an “immediate” issue, as opposed to the climate crisis, which appears to many to be a distant threat Behavioral economist Katherine Milkman explains that our inaction on climate change and our collective mobilization on the Coronavirus is … Read more
