Energy Exchange

New Poll: U.S. Latino Communities Overwhelmingly Support Clean Air Protections

By Lucía Oliva Hennelly / Published: August 28, 2015

Politicians and political observers are increasing the amount of time spent trying to figure out how to engage with Latino voters – a large and growing part of the American electorate. Issues such as immigration reform usually dominate the discussion nationally, but a new poll from the national polling firm Latino Decisions shows that clean water and healthy air are also of utmost importance for Latinos.

According to their poll 85% of those surveyed found reducing smog and air pollution to be extremely or very important, compared to 80 percent for comprehensive immigration reform.

This comes as no surprise to those of us that are rooted in this community where issues of the health of our communities and families are often top-of-mind around the dinner table. In reality, it also comes as no surprise to decision makers who have listened to our communities, and know Latinos have rich ties to the outdoors, but are too often the first and worst impacted by pollution. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, California, Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Colorado, Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged air quality, California, Clean Air, Clean Power Plan, Colorado, diversity, Latinos, Methane, Natural Gas, New Mexico | Comments are closed

Real Energy and Cost Savings. Right Now. Here, in Texas.

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: August 27, 2015

: 2015 Climate Corps fellow Phoebe Romero and her supervisor sitting near a solar-powered phone charging station on the Huston-Tillotson campus.

We are nearing the end of another successful season of EDF Climate Corps, the 8-year-old program run by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) that “embeds” grad students inside companies to find ways to save energy and money and lower carbon emissions.

Over the course of its history, EDF Climate Corps has developed into something of powerhouse from both sides of the energy sector: enterprising students (called “fellows”) discover a passion for sustainability through the act of finding efficiencies in the energy systems of their host organizations, and the hosts benefit from these energy savings while jumpstarting or contributing to their sustainability goals.

This year, 12 Texas companies and public sector entities hosted fellows, and this got us to thinking, what kind of evolution and impact has the Climate Corps program had in Texas over the years? We decided it was worth a closer look and turns out, fellows have been saving Texas schools, businesses, and other organizations a lot of energy – and a lot of money.

Also posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy-Water Nexus, Texas / Tagged EDF Climate Corps | Comments are closed

Game Time for Fixing The Gas Industry’s Achilles Heel

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 20, 2015

By Ben Ratner and Sean Wright

As the dog days of summer expire and football season approaches, many sports fans will anxiously scan their favorite team’s rosters for training camp injuries–finding everything from the innocuous, to the dreaded torn Achilles that already sidelined several pro players for the season’s start.

When it comes to the energy industry, methane emissions loom as the Achilles heel of natural gas. On the surface, natural gas appears to many as a star American player – abundant and cleaner burning than coal.

But unchecked methane emissions, which are 84 times more potent than CO2, undercut natural gas’ climate change performance. Read More »

Also posted in Methane / Tagged Investment, regulations | Comments are closed

Four Powerhouse Bills to Help California get to 50 Percent Renewable Energy

By Lauren Navarro / Published: August 18, 2015

California is deep into the dog days of summer, and pressure is mounting on the state’s electric grid to keep up with demand. Luckily, California’s legislature is working to bring more clean energy resources to the grid, diversifying how we power our homes and businesses while also improving the resiliency, efficiency, and carbon footprint of our energy system.

State lawmakers are directly addressing our dependence on polluting fossil fuels used to produce electricity. They are doing this by increasing California’s reliance on renewable energy, establishing energy efficiency resource standards, and providing certainty that California will meet its renewable energy and climate goals. The state’s current Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) has already achieved tremendous success in growing the market for renewables while bringing down associated costs. Building on this success, California’s legislature is currently undertaking four bills that will keep the state on a path to a reliable, affordable, and clean energy future – for the health of its citizens and economy.

The following bills are all advancing through the legislature and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) hopes they will become law this year. If they do, they will put some serious voltage behind California’s transition to a cleaner electric grid. Read More »

Also posted in California, Clean Energy, Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

The Clean Power Plan: A Ticket to the Top

By Fred Krupp / Published: August 5, 2015

Paxson Woelber

With the Environmental Protection Agency’s now final, the era of unlimited carbon pollution from America’s power plants is finally coming to an end.

With the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan now final, the era of unlimited carbon pollution from America’s power plants is finally coming to an end.

That’s excellent news, because climate change has put us in the race of our lives – and the countries that move the fastest toward clean energy will be the most competitive, create the most jobs and have the healthiest air. It’s a race to the top, and the Clean Power Plan gives the United States a better chance of winning.

Below are excerpts from an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal where I lay out the opportunities this groundbreaking initiative will bring to our nation.
Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Energy Efficiency, General, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

Lights will Stay on with New Power Plant Pollution Rules. Find out Why.

By Cheryl Roberto / Published: August 5, 2015

The Clean Power Plan is designed with reliability in mind, a fact detractors tend to ignore. The specter of grid failure is a frightening image, one that critics of the new power plant pollution standards have fixated on, but it’s just that: a specter, an illusion not grounded in reality.

The fact is that regional and state-level regulators have repeatedly demonstrated they are up to the task of planning for future power needs without any threat to grid reliability. And if, for some reason, it proves an especially daunting task this time, the final plan includes special provisions that further address grid reliability issues: Read More »

Also posted in California, Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan / Comments are closed