News Release | Environment America

Governor Brown Signs Two Important Solar Power Bills

Environment California applauds governor’s commitment to growing mainstream solar power market.

News Release | Environment America

Clean Energy and Transportation Can and Will Create Jobs While Protecting Our Environment

In advance of President Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress today, Environment America released a fact sheet highlighting past achievements in clean energy and green transportation industries, as well as future policies and investments that could create more jobs in those industries.

News Release | Environment America

A Healthy Environment is Key to a Healthy Economy

President Obama today addressed a joint session of Congress on the subject of job creation. While focused mostly on a job-creating agenda, the President reiterated his support for environmental and health protections including “rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury” and challenged the country to be in a “race to the top” when it comes to pollution standards.

News Release | Environment America

Salazar Announces Step Forward for Offshore Wind in Rhode Island

Today, Department of the Interior Secretary Salazar announced an important step forward for clean energy in Rhode Island. Joined by Governor Lincoln Chafee and Rhode Island’s entire congressional delegation at Compass Rose Beach in North Kingstown, Secretary Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior will be conducting research on an area off the coast of Rhode Island with potential for offshore wind.

News Release | Environment America

Lawmakers To Hold Hearings on Governor Christie's Energy Plans for New Jersey

Leading lawmakers today announced plans for a hearing to explore the impacts of Governor Christie’s proposed 10-year Energy Master Plan. Chairmen of the Senate and Assembly Environment Committees Bob Smith and John F. McKeon said the hearing, scheduled for this Thursday at 10am in Tom’s River, will give citizens and stakeholder groups the opportunity to voice their opinions on the plan.

News Release | Environment America

Finalized Building Energy Codes Would Reduce Carbon Pollution by 200 Million Tons and Save U.S. Consumers and Businesses $40 Billion Annually by 2030

Today, the International Codes Council released the final version of updated energy codes for homes and businesses. The widespread adoption of this updated code by local and state governments, which are 30 percent more effective than the 2006 code, would save American homes and businesses $40 billion annually in energy costs by 2030, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.

News Release | Environment America

Senate Committee to Vote on Dangerous Energy Bill

Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will consider the Clean Energy Finance Act of 2011. The bill would create an energy deployment administration with broad authority to provide financial support for a wide array of energy technologies. While energy use and production remains the largest source of pollution in the U.S., the deployment administration could support energy technologies that are as dirty as our current energy sources. For electricity, the bill could subsidize nuclear power, advanced coal, natural gas and municipal solid waste along with truly clean technologies such as wind, solar power and energy efficiency. In the transportation sector, the bill could subsidize fuels that are as dirty as gasoline, which is responsible for more global warming pollution than any other fuel source in the United States. Finally, the bill could also support technologies like coal-to-liquids or tar sands oil as long as their emissions were comparable to those of gasoline.

News Release | Environment America

Visionary Solar Power Legislation Considered in Senate Committee

The Ten Million Solar Roofs Act of 2011 will be considered in the Energy and Natural Resources committee today. Senators Bernie Sanders (I - VT), John Boozman (R – AR) and Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D – NM) introduced the Act, which would establish a goal of powering 10 million homes and businesses with solar energy by 2020. The measure also would incorporate a Department of Energy initiative called SunShot to make solar power more competitive with conventional energy technologies. The bill would provide grants to communities to help them make their solar energy permitting process less costly and more efficient, and would recognize and reward communities that have adopted common policies on solar permits.

News Release | Environment America

House Considers Step Backwards on Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

The House of Representatives will soon vote on Rep. Barton’s Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act. The bill would repeal energy efficiency standards for light bulbs that were originally passed with industry support and a large bipartisan majority in 2007. According to a study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy the standards could lead to $11.9 billion per year in energy savings when fully instituted

News Release | Environment America

San Antonio Power Plant Expected to Be Retired

Environment Texas hailed the expected announcement today by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro that the city-owned CPS Energy will retire the polluting Deely power plant by the year 2018 and replace its power with additional investments in solar energy. According to research by Environment Texas, in 2009, the Deely plant emitted 3657 tons of nitrogen oxide, a key precursor to smog pollution. The two Deely smokestacks join with the two “Spruce” units to make up the Calaveras Power Station, which an April Environment Texas report found ranked 11th out of the state’s 20 power plants for mercury pollution. And according to a study by the Clean Air Task Force, power plant pollution in Bexar County is linked to 282 asthma attacks and 11 deaths every year.

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