By this point in the 2010s we’ve achieved something very important in the ongoing struggle to preserve our environment and maintain a healthy climate: conservation and clean energy are cool. This an be attributed to changing attitudes toward climate change, major projects detailing the dangers in accessible ways, or even entrepreneurs and tech leaders like Elon Musk – who, for …

In an op-ed in The Hill, IPI resident scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews writes: It appears Russian internet trolls didn’t limit their mischief to the last presidential election. According to a March report from the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Russian trolls are actively trying to disrupt U.S. energy markets. The committee’s report focuses on the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian internet …

Energy Commission Approves Biomass System in Shasta County and Zero-Percent Loan for Solar System in Soledad Schools New energy standards approved for Lancaster SACRAMENTO – The California Energy Commission today approved a $1.5 million grant to demonstrate a containerized biomass-to-energy system in Shasta County as part of the state’s effort at creating economic drivers to support renewable energy that also benefits California’s forest health crisis. The Berkeley-based …

Early-Stage Energy Ideas Also Receive Funding  The California Energy Commission approved a $5 million research grant today to address the unprecedented tree die-off across the state and turn dead trees to energy. More than 100 million trees have died across the state due to drought and bark beetles since 2010, and the dead trees can fuel larger, more damaging wildfires. The Fall River …

Cements partnership with State of California on onshore, offshore clean energy development; Approves two transmission lines to deliver energy across Southwest WASHINGTON – As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution and create clean energy jobs, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced new steps with Western states to encourage the development of renewable power, …

  “What is the use of a house if you don’t have a decent planet to put it on?” This is what the author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau first asked back the 19th century, and his question still applies to our lives today. Because if we’re not living sustainably– then we’re slowly ruining our own and only planet. And …

The Government of Saint Lucia has a target of generating 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. This pristine island currently depends on dirty diesel generators for power, but has ambitious goals to revolutionize its economy with solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Solar represents the easiest attainable resource, and Saint Lucia is already famous for its sunshine, which draws visitors from around …

Thanks to Solarize Hastings-Dobbs Ferry, 85 more homes in the two villages will be generating their own solar power in coming months. The Solarize Hastings-Dobbs Ferry campaign, which launched in October 2015, just concluded the residential part of its program, but commercial property owners still have until April 30 to sign a contract for solar. Solarize Hastings-Dobbs Ferry is a community program created to encourage …

Interior Department, State of California Announce Innovative Strategy for Renewable Energy and Conservation on Public Lands in California Desert Renewable energy milestone continues to advance Administration’s clean energy goals in push toward Paris climate discussions  U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird today announced the final environmental review of an innovative landscape-scale …

Conservation measures at Coleman, Fla., facility to exceed federal mandates for water and energy reductions, expected to save $79 million over 19 years  Constellation  today announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Federal Bureau of Prisons to implement $45 million in water and energy conservation measures and install a 2-megawatt (DC) solar generation project at the Federal …

   Green Hygienics to Address Critical Global Power Demands and Conservation The advantages of low-cost, clean forms of energy are increasingly moving from the margins to the mainstream of public awareness in countries around the world, especially developing nations with fast-growing economies, rising numbers of middle class consumers and traditional power supplies that are unreliable or heavy polluters or both.The decision by Warren Buffett’s utility company …

Report commissioned by LABC Institute encourages incentives to share benefits of emerging commercial solar market with low-income areas throughout Los Angeles; many local programs already benefiting from the LADWP feed-in tariff   A significantly expanded commercial rooftop solar program in Los Angeles would create thousands of new jobs and spur hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment, with particular …

Conversion of a ’71 Volkswagen Bug into an all-electric vehicle – the first known freeway worthy, 100+ mile range plug-in retrofitted by high school students Last week, a group of Santa Monica High School students of the environmental science and advocacy group, Team Marine, finished their gas-to-electric car conversion project. Working for four years on a 1971 red convertible Volkswagen …

Replacing synthetic fertilizers with organic ones could help reduce climate impacts and improve agricultural systems By Deirdre Lockwood In efforts to mitigate climate change, we’re more likely to think about changing how we power our cars than how we grow our food. But as University of Washington geologist David R. Montgomery likes to remind people, farming has a huge impact …

A pretty big wad of money – $40 billion – is hiding somewhere inside the lights, AC, thermostats, furnaces and fans of our offices, stores, hospitals and schools. That’s the amount of money the federal government estimates we can save annually by reducing energy use in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020. To achieve the goal, the Obama administration in …

Public Utilities Commission orders utilities to use renewable sources before electricity from fossil fuels San Francisco – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted unanimously today to strengthen a key clean energy policy in California called the Loading Order. The Loading Order sets a priority list for electricity sources. California’s utilities must first employ energy efficiency and conservation to meet …

By Elisa Wood September 21, 2011 Not so long ago the green energy movement celebrated because President Obama used words like ‘renewable energy’ and ‘climate change’ in his inaugural speech. It was a first for a US president. Now comes the downside of being a political darling. Opponents of green energy – or rather opponents of its proponents – are …

Energy efficiency programs save UC $21 million per year Improved light controls, such as those that are part of UC Davis’ Smart Lighting Program, are among ways UC campuses are improving energy efficiency in existing buildings. By Harry Mok UC has won national praise for its 50 LEED-certified facilities, the most of any U.S. university. Many are considered shining examples …

Due to the Resort’s drought-prone desert location, they have also installed drift eliminators which automatically shut off water features when the wind is blowing, along with water-smart plants and artificial turf throughout the property. The result has been beautiful, earth-friendly landscaping. Apart from water, they’re even lessening their waste in the kitchen. They are transforming food waste into feed and providing it to the R.C. Combs animal farm, as well as converting 23,000 gallons of used kitchen grease and fryer oil into bio-diesel fuel each year.

The new stadium, which will replace 57-year-old Fouts Field, is designed by award-winning architects HKS Sports & Entertainment Group (www.hksinc.com), the firm that designed the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. The UNT System will be seeking LEED Gold or Platinum certification. If the project is awarded LEED Platinum, it will be the first of its type to achieve this rating in the country.