While Trying to Force Tar Sands, Sen. Alexander Says He “Cannot Think of” Extending Tax Credits to Wind Energy

Senator Lamar Alexander, R-LA

by Stephen Lacey – With every passing day, Congress outdoes its own abysmal environmental record.

Even as federal policymakers consider a transportation bill that would open up sensitive areas for offshore drilling, encourage use of dirty oil shale, force a decision on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and derail public investments in public transportation, they couldn’t even compromise on a simple short-term tax credit for wind energy.

Wind businesses were calling an extension of the credit an “emergency” due to looming mass layoffs in the industry. But history has proven time and time again, if it’s clean and renewable, it doesn’t force any urgency in Congress. … Continue Reading

Senators Take Emergency Oil Reserve Hostage to Force Keystone Approval

Senator David Vitter (R-LA)

 In a desperate attempt to force Keystone XL, three Senators are threatening access to a vital economic and natural security safeguard, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Republican Congressional leaders have failed to force President Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. But that’s not stopping them from trying over and over again, taking hostages in the process.

First they used the payroll tax cut extension as a vehicle to force a decision on the pipeline in sixty days, even before the final route was identified. President Obama was forced to disapprove the permit because there was no time to assess its potential pollution. … Continue Reading

Green Homes Made Up 17% of U.S. Residential Construction Market in 2011, Expected to Grow 5-Fold by 2016

Green-homes' construction is similar to a "normal" home except it offers homeowners enormous financial savings benefits and it helps the environment.

By Stephen Lacey – With the construction industry still recovering in the U.S., companies offering “green” services may be able to set themselves apart and grow business faster, according to a survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction.

In 2011, green builds in the residential sector made up 17% of construction, totaling $17 billion in economic activity. And the value of the residential green building market is expected to grow five-fold by 2016, taking up to 38% of the market and representing $87 billion – $114 billion. … Continue Reading

Why the Energy-Industrial Elite Has It In for the Planet

Basic survival skils at its best

by Bill McKibben – Two Saturdays ago, I was walking with a friend in a park here in New York City.  It was late January, but I was dressed in a light sweater and a thin fall jacket, which I had just taken off and tied around my waist.  We were passing a strip of bare ground when suddenly we both did a double-take.  He looked at me and said, “Crocuses!”  Dumbfounded, I replied, “Yes, I see them.”  And there they were, a few clumps of telltale green shoots poking up from the all-brown ground as if it were spring.  Such a common, comforting sight, but it sent a chill through me that noticeably wasn’t in the air.  Even the flowers, I thought, are confused by our new version of weather. … Continue Reading

Energy secretary backs natural gas exports

Natural gas production in the United States is so robust that the industry is looking to export it aboard tankers such as this one to countries where it will command a higher price than it would at home. Photograph by Desmond Boylan, Reuters

by Simone Sebastian – The low price of natural gas is hurting domestic job growth, and exporting a small amount of the fuel will boost the economy, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a Houston audience Thursday.

Speaking at a town hall at Houston Community College, Chu said a modest increase in the price of natural gas wouldn’t significantly raise its cost to U.S. consumers who use it to heat their homes and manufacturers who need it to make products. … Continue Reading

One Solar-Wind Hybrid Goes Down, Another Goes Up

from Element Power

by Herman K. Trabish – Element Power’s proposed Wildflower Renewable Energy Farm, which would be composed of 150 megawatts of wind and 100 megawatts of solar, got dealt a significant setback on January 24 when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected the company’s application for new meteorological (met) towers. … Continue Reading

Clean energy is a wedge issue that favors Democrats

Indiana wind farm. (Photo by clarmaxwell.)

By David Roberts – During Obama’s State of the Union speech, Democracy Corps ran a dial-test focus group. Fifty swing voters were given devices that let them register approval or disapproval continuously throughout the speech. Two results in particular are worth highlighting.

Overall, there was a striking degree of unanimity, quite in contrast to the polarization in Washington. Reactions to the speech split along party lines on only a few issues. The most interesting split came during the section of the speech on energy: … Continue Reading

President Obama Announces an “All-out, All of the Above Strategy” for Energy Security

President Obama made the case Tuesday night for producing more of the United States’ energy supplies domestically in pursuing an “all-of-the-above” approach to further bolster the economy and national security.

President Obama used his State of the Union address last night to again call on Congress to deliver a bill for a Clean Energy Standard. This happens to be the case in the many developed countries around the world. He stated a more effective energy policy that ends subsidies to the oil industry, bolsters US energy security, and steps up support for clean and renewable energy would create thousands of American jobs. … Continue Reading