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Archive for New Energy Economy – Page 2

New Support for the Interconnectedness of the Environment and the Economy

A mighty industrial society discharges its waste unchecked into the environment. New reports emphasize the importance of understanding the relationship between the environment and the economy. Two new reports reiterate the scientific veracity of anthropogenic climate change while reinforcing the interconnectedness of the economy and the environment. The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Report 2013 clearly points to the interrelationship between the environment and the economy.

A draft of the third National Climate Assessment Report indicates that climate change is both an environmental and economic issue. The draft report was prepared by a federal committee and offers a comprehensive analysis of the latest and best peer-reviewed science on the extent and impacts of global warming on the US. The report restates the fact that climate change will have a wide range of impacts ranging from agriculture to water.

The draft report was prepared by a Federal Advisory Committee known as the “National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee” (NCADAC). The report was mandated by Congress in 1990 with the passage of the Global Change Research Act, which requires that a national climate assessment be conducted every four years and the results be issued to the President and Congress. As a consequence of the 1990 legislation, the US Global Change Research Program was formed, which is an inter-governmental body involving 13 federal agencies and departments. Read More→

What Obama’s Victory Means for the Earth

The reelection of Barack Obama gives the world a fighting chance to step back from the precipice of runaway climate chaos

We narrowly dodged a bullet in the 2012 presidential election. Americans were presented with the choice between Mitt Romney’s fossil fuel reliant 19th century view of energy and Barack Obama’s cleaner 21st century low carbon vision.

Even more significant than the Obama victory is the fact that Romney was denied the world’s most powerful office. The election of Romney would have had dire implications for renewable energy and it would have undermined decades of environmental protections. Romney’s reliance on oil would also have dramatically increased American greenhouse gas emissions.

As we are already precariously close to a number of environmental tipping points, a Romney victory may have made it impossible to reign in climate change. It is not overstating the case to say that a Romney presidency threatened the world with the prospect of runaway climate change.

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Video Friday: Rocky Mountain Institute Year in Review

Co-founded by Amory Lovins in 1982, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is a non-profit “think-and-do-tank” focused on resource and energy efficiency. RMI seeks to find solutions to drive our transition from fossil-fuels to a new energy economy. Working in transportation, energy, buildings and industry, RMI is a leader in “out-of-the-box” innovation and transformative pragmatism. RMI celebrates its 30th anniversary and summarizes the past year in this short video.

“Fire made us human, fossil fuels made us modern, but now we need a new fire that makes us safe, secure, healthy and durable.”
Amory Lovins, Reinventing  Fire

New York Companies Adopt Solar Energy – Reduce Costs and Increase Profits

Solar panels make economic sense for many business ownersGuest post by Carlos Delaf

New attractive incentives have convinced New York companies to turn into solar photovoltaic energy to decrease electricity bills and thus increase profits.

Solar Success Stories

Mount Kisco Truck and Auto Parts:

In April this year, Mount Kisco Truck and Auto Parts installed a 40-killowatt PV Panel on the rooftop of their business.  By doing so they reduced their yearly electricity bills, managed to increase profits and by using the grid they sold back the excess electricity to the local energy utility generating a new source of income for their business.

By using state and federal incentives and tax credits the cost of the project was reduced by nearly 44 percent. By using calculations it is expected that this system will pay by itself within 5 years, according to the Daily Voice.

 ”When we considered how quickly the payback would come, this just made sense to us,” co-owner Peter Finkelstein said to the Daily Voice We’ve been in business for nearly 100 years, and we plan on being here for a long time.”

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Carbon Tax: How to Deal with a Sagging Economy, Tax Reform, and Climate Change in One Fell Swoop

It can seem counter-intuitive, but passage and enactment of a carbon tax would have far-reaching positive effects on the US economy and society, stimulating investment, innovation and economic growth, and making US business and industry more competitive. So asserts 35-year energy and aerospace industry veteran Jim Hartung, now the president of energy information services provider GlobalEnergySolutions.org.

Several organizations have proposed variants of a US carbon tax, all of which incorporate mechanisms that both shield lower income individuals from its regressive nature while also building in incentives to reward those who lower their fossil fuel consumption and hence emissions while penalizing those who increase theirs.

Opponents have pounced on the counter-intuitiveness of carbon tax proposals, asserting they would further stifle economic recovery and growth by raising energy costs, disproportionately affecting lower income Americans. Exactly the opposite would be true, Hartung argues in his Sept. 13 op-ed on Energy Pulse. Read More→