Solar Panel Hit Record
Global sales of solar panels up sharply from last year with installations expected to reach a record 52 gigawatts in 2014
August 29, 2014
Energy Behavior Change 101
NY Energy Innovators
Missed the 4th Annual On Energy Forum? Here's the video
Lifetime Carbon Emissions
Since power plants operate for decades, measuring their carbon footprint should be in decades
August 28, 2014
Fossil Fuel Disinvestment - Yes/No
What should investors do about this $5 trillion challenge asks a Bloomberg New Energy Finance White Paper
China: Bike Share Is Big
Of the world's 30 biggest city bike share programs, 24 are in China
Solar For All
Consider these state programs for putting solar power in everyone's reach
Australia: Renewables U-Turn
A political battle is brewing over whether to pull the plug on Australian renewable power policies & goals
Benchmarking Data Mining
What could utilities & energy efficiency program staff learn from building energy benchmarking data?
28-Page US Climate Action Plan
Federal legislation that puts a price on carbon gets star treatment from the Washington Post
White House Pushes Back
The White House counters critics of its non-treaty strategy for the upcoming international climate talks, but some Dems are not happy
Wouldn't It Be Nice...
... if global power plant construction & CO2 emissions were declining? They're not
The Premise Behind A Carbon Tax
For Harvard economist Dale Jorgenson a carbon tax is the most efficient way to cut carbon emissions. Why is that?
August 27, 2014
Climate Week: Day One
September 28, be there or be square
UBS: Fossil Fuel Power Going Extinct
Banking giant UBS says the end is near for the era of centralized fossil-fueled power plants
Sydney: Uni Halves Coal Investment
The University of Sydney, Australia joins the coal disinvestment movement
Neutral News From Palo Alto
Palo Alto’s utility now provides guilt-free electricity http://t.co/1hV7DybPuq pic.twitter.com/l0iZzCGnqa
— grist (@grist) August 27, 2014What The World Needs Now
Follow The Smart Money
$11.2 billion of utility sector investment in smart grid services could be in play by 2023
Japan : US Firm Does Solar
Aiming to install 250 MW of new solar power in Japan, US solar panel maker starts with a $100 million investment
Paris Climate Talks: What To Expect
Hot Off The REV Press
No time to read hundreds of pages of NY's Reforming the Energy Vision staff reports?" Read this and see what's to gain with a shift to distributed energy resources
August 26, 2014
We're ****ed
Runaway global greenhouse gas emissions risk “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts” says UN
Superfund Status Is No Problem
Proximity to Superfund cleanup sites is no deterrent to gentrification for these 3 NYC neighborhoods
3 Million Places To Waste Energy
The bulk of today's 3 million data centers, are energy guzzlers but they can do better
NY-Sun Rises
The NY-Sun Initiative will assemble $1 billion of incentives to add 3GW of solar generation capacity by 2023
New Hampshire Voter Alert
If elected, Scott Brown, Senate candidate in New Hampshire, won't act to fight climate change
China: Billions For Plugging In
China contemplates a $16 billion fund for a network of electric vehicle recharging stations
Demand Destruction
Defining demand destruction, how it differs from energy efficiency & why that's important
Lead With The Facts
A call for ramping up media attention on climate change facts & the dangers we already are facing
August 25, 2014
Sidewalks Hot Enough To Fry Eggs
Urban heat islands are no joke
WaPo: Ciimate Action Now
The Washington Post launches a series of editorials calling for serious federal climate action because the need is urgent
Big As The Path To Extinction
Will traditional utility companies go extinct in the face of distributed power creation & storage assets?
Help Wanted
How you can use satellite photos to fight urban air pollution
World Wind Power Portrait
While European wind power leadership is no surprise the numbers on China's installed capacity is
August 23, 2014
Triple-Glazed Windows
Di Caprio Calls For Pricing Carbon
On the remote chance you missed Leonardo di Caprio's ardent call for pricing carbon video, watch it now
August 22, 2014
Impact Of Urban Heat Islands
Why the urban heat island effect does not skew global climate change measurements
Germany: Energiewend's Next Steps
German transition to renewable energy sees both opportunities & challenges
Riding The Green Line
The back story on the new Minneapolis-St Paul intercity light rail line
NYC Ephemera
A postcard celebrating the NYC subway system circa 1904
Fight The Oil Train
Albany County hires environmental law firm to defend its moratorium on expanding crude-oil handling facilities at the local port
Scotland: Steaming Ahead
A tide-powered steam generation proposal raises millions to install 1.5 MW project in the Pentland Firth
Commuting Doesn't Have To Suck
Make your day better, walk, bike or use mass transit to get to work
Grim GHG Outlook
Upcoming UN talks have low prospects for cutting enough GHG emissions by 2100 to alter bad climate outcomes
Where The Heat Is
Global warming slowdown answer lies in depths of Atlantic, study finds http://t.co/a6FPZ4QDEi
— Guardian Science (@guardianscience) August 21, 2014August 21, 2014
$100 Million For Climate Resilience
USAID & the Rockefeller Foundation establish a $100 million fund to develop resiliency-enhancing programs in Asia & Africa
Charting Solar Progress
Take hope: America's great #solar boom--in 6 encouraging charts http://t.co/yibuLgx6Dm pic.twitter.com/glC59gfSoh @btschiller via @FastCoExist
— Carl Siegrist (@CarlSiegrist) August 21, 2014NY Green Bank Czar Profile
Across the US the New York Green Bank CEO is getting noticed
Tower Of Deep Retrofits
Cutting energy use by 38% with an ROI of 3 years the Empire State Building deep energy retrofit offers can-do ideas for other projects
Phnom Penh: Smart Traffic Lights
Can the wild traffic of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh be tamed by linking its traffic lights together with a computerized central control station.?
Public Spaces On Resilient Waterfronts
Urban watefront access does not have to be lost to storm and flood risks
Uncle Sam Wants You
Will the US military campaign for energy efficiency impact on civilian climate attitudes & national security?
Brazil: Eco-Activist Runs For President
Marina Silva, a former Green Party member, is in the running to become Brazil's next President
3:46
See how NYC recycles its waste paper into new products in just under 4 minutes
August 20, 2014
Storyboarding The Climate Tax
Natural Gas - Just Another Fossil Fuel
True or false? natural gas is a bridge to a low-carbon fuel future
L.A. Anti-Leak Law Leaks
Laws requiring water conservation in drought-stricken Los Angeles go unenforced
China: The Car Cult
With auto sales leaping 20% annually China's starting to pay the price for it
Chinese Who Don't Learn From US Urban Land Use Errors...
Coal: Down And Declining
Reduced Chinese coal demand brings global prices down to 2009 levels & may be facing a structural decline
Global Cities: The Climate Penalty
How climate change will make urban smog smoggier
Microgrids For NY
Rather than threatening NY's power utilities, customers' microgrid subscriptions can rejuvenate them
Rise:NYC - The Short List
See who's made the final cut in the Rise:NYC Competition to identify/deploy new technologies and solutions that drive business recovery and resilience by better protecting us from the impacts of future storms, sea level rise and other effects of climate change.
August 19, 2014
Demand Response - Just Do It
Chicago's energy savings could be powered by office building protocols for demand response
South Asia: Climate Change Will Shrivel GDP
The Asian Development Bank predicts an 8.8% decline for the economies of 6 south Asian nations by 2100 under a business-as-usual climate scenario
Malaysia: Time Is Now For Low-Carbon Future
Making the case for Malaysia to go low-carbon & climate-friendly
PVs: The Glut Is Over
The Campaign Season
While running for re-election, Florida Governor Rick Scott, a climate skeptic, meets with climate scientists
Something New Under The Sun
Innovations in solar project finance are warming up big-ticket investors
It's A Bird, It's A Plane...
It's an e-bike and Europeans are flocking to get one
Getting REV'ed Up
Don't miss this new blog about New York's Reforming the Energy Vision, because it's no longer grandma's energy system
August 18, 2014
Passive House Not Loved By All
What's not to love about a Passive House-level rehab of an old Queens row house?
Solar Installer IPO
Who is Vivant Solar and what's its model for going public?
Science At Work: Warmer Water To Shift Rainfall
A poleward shift of heavy rainfall is projected to result from hotter oceans
Gas Pipeline Wins In Court
A federal court upholds a regulatory OK for a siting gas pipeline compressor in Minisink, NY
How About That July Heat
JUST IN: Global temp was 4th highest for July, per @NOAANCDC #StateOfClimate analysis http://t.co/NSFNtVtxZC pic.twitter.com/pM0VjWWWBg
— NOAA (@NOAA) August 18, 2014Passive House - The Slide Show
A house that's 90% more efficient than yours looks like this
Methane Update
Six times more climate-changing than carbon dioxide, methane emissions are getting more attention now
Bringing It All Back Home
Could investing in domestic infrastructure upgrades be the key to bringing corporate tax revenues home?
August 15, 2014
The Talk-To-Action Gap
Why everyone talks about climate action but so little gets done
August 14, 2014
Australia: Be Prepared
An advisor to Australia's Prime Minister worries about a lack of preparedness for global cooling and guess who's to blame?
Not All LEDs Are Created Equal
Stockpickers For The Apocalypse
There's a method to the madness of picking stocks that bet against seven climate & resource apocalypses
A Carbon Price Thought Experiment
Stop US corporate inversions by cutting corporate taxes & raising carbon levies. Hmmm?
More Fuel From Food Scraps
A pilot program that turns food waste into natural gas fuel is set to expand in NYC this fall
A New Kind Of Moving Violation
NYC police to start ticketing cyclists for breaking rules of the road
Antarctica: Threat To Megacities
Melting Antarctic glaciers could quickly translate into New York and Shanghai flooding, while uncertainty over how much sea levels will rise only increases the risk
August 13, 2014
Beijing: Cooling On Coal
So far this year Beijing has burned 7% less coal & China will ban the sale and import of high-ash/high-sulfur coal starting September 1
CO2 Satellite Up and Running
First findings from NASA's brand new carbon dioxide monitoring satellite
A Question Worth Asking
NYC Recycling At 25
PACE Lives In California
CaliforniaFirst allows for home energy efficiency & solar power loans up to $75,000, backed by a state insurance fund covering losses to lenders due to PACE property liens
Getting Active On Passive Housing
Whether for affordable or market-rate buildings, New York is getting serious about leading with Passive House design
Energy Efficiency - Looking Up
Four factors driving an energy efficiency renaissance
Micro Nano Grids
How to make buildings the masters & power grids the servants
August 12, 2014
Copenhagen: Smart Lights Do More
Copenhagen's smart lights field lab finds there's more than just slashing carbon emissions
Consumers Report On Teslas
The highly-rated Tesla EV shows some flaws after 10,000 miles of driving
Probably Not Photoshopped
Quite a pic: RT @climateprogress: Humpback whales return to New York http://t.co/ry63YOf8bt pic.twitter.com/YVl2m4oSY1
— Alex Wood (@ALEXatSP) August 12, 2014NYCHA's Structural Crisis
With pressing demands for affordable housing and plunging public dollars NYCHA's annual $577 million utility bill and projected structural, heating & plumbing repair costs of nearly $3 billion stand in stark relief
Science At Work: Not Your Grandma's Arctic
A rapidly warming Arctic is filled with surprises for scientists
Pipelining The Truth
The Keystone XL pipeline project will worsen climate change, really
This Can't Be Good
Rising mercury levels in the ocean linked with the burning of fossil fuels
August 11, 2014
Less Solar States
Why some sunny states like Florida aren't solar power stars
In Defense Of High-Speed Rail
How the depressing New York Times high speed rail story got it all wrong
Top Ten Solar States
With California as the #1 solar state, find out who the other top nine are
Fossil Fuel Sell Off
What explains why oil and gas companies are selling assets & borrowing so much money?
Wind Power: Mainstream Finance
$621 million in Japanese finance for UK offshore wind power shows the mainstreaming pf renewable power projects
The Short History of Pay To Sit
When private seating in NYC parks didn't have legs!
East New York: Urban Farming Takes Root
How urban farming eases the food desert crisis in communities like East New York
New Tack For Eco-Progress
The Nature Conservancy tries out a high-tech persuasion to get China to share its environmental data
UK: Nuke Plant Old Age Not Golden
Plant shutdowns due to mechanical problems is a sign of what's ahead for the UK's fleet of aging nuclear power plants
August 08, 2014
Fracking For Something Else
Tapping geothermal energy could be a climate-friendly hydrofracking application
Your Local Dead-Zone
If you're in the eastern US, your nearest ocean dead zone is really close. Me for @OnEarthMag http://t.co/fZeDyAsLt6 pic.twitter.com/QfN7JceDyX
— Brian Palmer (@PalmerBrian) August 8, 2014PACE For Pasadena Hotel
A $6.9 million county-backed PACE bond will help finance an energy efficient hotel in Pasadena, CA
Brazil and China: Climate Pals
Under the banner of developing nations Brazil and China seek to reframe the international climate agenda
In Praise Of Cheap Subway Fares
3 reasons why NYC should continue to subsidize the price of subway & bus rides
A Reset For Climate Normal
For people born since 1985, an altered climate is experienced as normal
Macon It Green
Which tree-lined & flower-filled block in Brooklyn wins this year's prize?
August 07, 2014
Plugging Into The 100-Year Flood Plain
New maps show power plants across the U.S. could be inundated by 100-year floods: http://t.co/avWR0eedJ4 pic.twitter.com/1y61dHQ8nD
— ClimateCentral (@ClimateCentral) August 7, 2014Deny The Deniers
Edelman is the first US public relations firm to refuse new climate denial business
Offshore Wind Update
Momentum builds for US off-shore wind power projects
Frankfurt: Passive House Hospital
Hospitals are especially energy intensive, and a passive house architect takes on the first design challenge of its kind in Frankfurt
Take a 4 Minute Vacation
Stunning time lapse video of Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park
China: 13 in 14
13 gigawatts of installed solar power is China's 2014 goal
May The Best Idea Win
8 semi-finalists announced in the MIT CoLab challenge for proposals for creating public demand for green buildings
Brooklyn Navy Yard Goes Green
How Superstorm Sandy pivoted the Brooklyn Navy Yard and its business tenants toward sustainability
August 06, 2014
When Money's Not The Metric
Why declining global investment in renewable energy might be good news
Higher Ed: Grow Endowments, Go Green
Invest in campus energy efficiency, conserve the endowment fund
Don't Say We Can't
UN Study: The top polluting countries could cut emissions while also tripling economic output http://t.co/5LQrrgnne2 pic.twitter.com/vEtvN8BtaT
— Climate Reality (@ClimateReality) August 6, 2014Glacial Pace For High-Speed Rail
$11 billion hasn't bought much high speed rail in the US
An Inconvenient Marriage
Can cities get rail project funding without supporting highway funding?
Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
New York sewer projects set to lose funds because rebuilding the Tappan Zee bridge for $4 billion is more glamorous
Beijing: Short-Game And Long
Beijing cuts vehicle traffic to clean its air ahead of November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit but also vows to be coal-free by 2020
An Icon For Our Times
August 05, 2014
IMF: Price Carbon
The IMF makes it clear, 'we must make sure that energy tax systems around the world properly reflect environmental side effects'
China: New Solar Policy
Looks like China is looking into increasing domestic PV installations
Coal Industry's Biggest Headache
3-Prong Renewable Project
Hot rocks + solar panels + mirrors = ~100% renewable power for Fallon, Nevada
India: Smart Grid At Home
A smart grid in Indiranagar, India will be able to shut off home electric appliances & figure out who's using too much ppower
GOP Climate Policy Blows Smoke
Republican climate policy keeps getting less intelligent http://t.co/QXbXmAzZVA pic.twitter.com/CWbonQNWCE
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) August 5, 2014In Memoriam Via Street Stencils
Bike riders & pedestrians killed on NYC streets are mourned with spray-painted stencils
Reopen Rockaway Rail Line
Restoring rail service to the Rockaways, shut since 1962, is advisable & feasible according to the NYS Comptroller
August 04, 2014
Japan: Shift To Enery Storage
Sharp Corp. exits the PV business and pivots to energy storage products to cap US peak demand
Assesing Corporate Sustainability
While McKinsey finds executives buy into sustainability, programmatic reputation, execution, and accountability remain underdeveloped
From Dallas To Houston Much Faster
If a private developer succeeds, a Japanese bullet train will speed riders from Dallas to Houston by 2021
Courting A Grid Edge Decision
Ohio's Supreme Court will decide whether to uphold a state rule entitling net-metering customers to the full value of the electricity they feed back into the grid from distributed generation technologies
Germany: Renewable Energy Highs
With 28.5% of its energy produced by renewables at last count, Germany sets a new record in 2014
Taking Out The Trash
New York still lacks an acceptable waste management strategy & why that matters
Geoengineering: Gee Whiz Or OMG
What is geoengineering and why should climate & energy policy makers want to know?
PR Shuns Climate Deniers
Prominent public relations firms to refuse work from climate deniers
August 03, 2014
Climate Sloth
August 02, 2014
UK: Opening Carbon Loopholes
The UK wants to cut costs for heavy industry's clean energy responsibilities
August 01, 2014
Utility Ranking On Efficiency & Renwables
.@CeresNews/@CleanEdgeInc scored 32 utilities on clean energy and efficiency. Super interesting—and full of good news http://t.co/3SqwPGduCC
— Opower (@Opower) August 1, 2014Russia: Energy Efficiency, Not
Amended 19 times since 2009, key problems still plague Russia's energy efficiency law
White House Blog: Climate Insurance
When it comes to climate change act now, each decade of delay will add 40% to the mitigation price tag, depress economic output every year and could create irreversible tipping points
IMF: Tax Carbon Now
The head of the International Monetary Fund urges nations to tax fossil fuels now, calling climate change the greatest crisis of our era
100x50
The 100% renewable energy scenario for California by 2050 that relies on off-the-shelf technology
Japan: Energy Data Partners
Opower teams up with Japan's giant utility to mine customers' energy data & cut consumption
Australia: Wave Power Sinks
Called commercially non-viable, a proposed 19 MW Australian wave power project is doomed
Denmark: Cheap Wind
By 2016, Denmark predicts onshore wind power will be the nation's cheapest energy source