This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Yesterday, Former Vice President Al Gore gave a speech in Washington, D.C. that called for the U.S. to produce all electricity from carbon-free sources by 2018.

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You can read the full transcript on WeCanSolveIt.org.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Check out Stephen Colbert on the EPA's decision to delay regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. It's hilarious.

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This post is by Jackie Roberts, director of sustainable technologies at Environmental Defense Fund.

In the midst of reports of six straight months of U.S. job losses, there were two reports on a more hopeful note:

• Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding (Worldwatch Institute)
• Job Opportunities for the Green Economy (University of Massachusetts)

The Worldwatch Institute finding that green economy jobs were increasing as other jobs declined was part of their Vital Signs Update. From Senior Researcher Michael Renner:

Renewables are poised to tackle our energy crisis and create millions of new jobs worldwide.

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This post is by Tony Kreindler, media director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund.

Quick post because I'm about to get on an airplane to join the migration to Austin for Netroots Nation 2008…

Environmental Defense Fund is hosting a reception in Exhibit Hall 4, Saturday evening at 7pm, just before the keynote speech. If you're attending the conference, stop by for free beer and to meet Lisa Moore, myself, and some EDF folks from the Austin office.

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

There was a great editorial in Sunday's Waco Tribune. It starts like this:

It takes quite a leap of faith to see Texas as a national leader in global warming solutions.

But if there’s anything Texas has plenty of, it’s faith – from Protestant evangelical fervor to contemplative Catholic spirituality to Eastern mysticism and beyond.

And in growing numbers, communities of faith across Texas are moving by leaps and bounds to respond to the moral imperative of global warming.

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This post is by Lisa Moore, Ph.D., a scientist in the Climate and Air program at Environmental Defense Fund. You can meet Lisa at the Netroots Nation conference, July 17-20.

Congress and producer groups are pressuring the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to release millions of acres from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts and open them up to crop production. Supporters say this move would increase production and bring down food prices.

Wrong! Ripping up conservation lands would not make a big dent in commodity supplies or prices, but it would waste billions of taxpayer dollars that have been invested in conservation on these lands.

It also would be a tragedy for wildlife, water quality, and climate.

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This post is by Tom Olson, a consulting attorney for the Climate and Air Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund.

Last Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally released its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – EPA's answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases fall within the Clean Air Act's definition of "pollutant".

There are a number of differences between the final document and the leaked May 30th draft. (See this post from a Georgetown Law professor praising the draft's balance and expertise.) Most significantly, EPA chief Stephen Johnson prefaced the document with a series of denunciations by White House officials. And then, adopting the views of the White House, he disparaged the work of his own staff.

The final version also included some disturbing changes to the analysis itself.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

People tend to do things the way they've always done unless something forces them to change – even if the new way is better and cheaper. So Hawaii has taken action to spur people along. From an article in the L.A. Times:

California last year passed legislation offering homeowners and businesses $250 million in incentives to install 200,000 solar water systems over the next 10 years.

But Hawaii Thursday took far bolder action, becoming the first state in the nation to require all new homes built after January 1, 2010 to be equipped with solar or other energy-efficient hot water systems.

The article goes on to say that Hawaii's switch to solar hot water will save homeowners money, and prevent the emission of more than 10,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year.

Rod Fujita, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Oceans program at Environmental Defense Fund.

Coral reefs aren't just pretty places for scuba divers (although they do bring in billions of tourist dollars). These rich ecosystems supply the inhabitants of coral reef countries with the fish that they depend on as their main source of protein. Coral reefs, like rainforests, are also treasure troves of biodiversity that may hold the keys to fighting diseases like cancer and arthritis. Human wellbeing is tightly bound to the health of coral reefs.

Unfortunately, coral reefs are in trouble, and climate change plays a major role.

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This post is by Nat Keohane, Ph.D., director of economic policy and analysis at Environmental Defense Fund.

A few weeks ago, it came out that the White House is excising major portions of an EPA document on regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The document – a draft Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – is EPA's answer to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases fall squarely within the act's definition of "pollutant".

The 252-page draft document [PDF] was leaked. In it, EPA projects that controlling greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks would result in substantial net savings to Americans – as high as $2 trillion in net present value over the next few decades.

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