Green Jobs Conference registration deadline EXTENDED!

We talked about the Green Jobs Conference once before, and now it's time to highlight it again. UPDATED: Friday March 7 is now the registration deadline for this awesome conference, which is bringing together people from all sorts of backgrounds to discuss jobs in the renewable energy industry. The conference is March 13 and 14 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Here's a list of the workshop and breakout session topics:

• How Wind and Bio-fuels Are Rebuilding Iowa
• The Potential and Growth of Biomass in Rural America
• Strategies for Rebuilding the Heartland with Clean Energy and Efficiency
• Retooling Local Economic Development Planning: Commercializing Renewable Energy
• Creating Demand for Green Chemistry and the Public Policies We Need to Get There
• From Brownfields to Green Cities
• The Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement
• Green Jobs Around the World    
• The Relevance of Trade
• Public Sector Investment
• Workforce Development
• Jobs and State Global Warming Regulation
• Creating Jobs through Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy Success Stories
• Creating Demand for Green Chemicals
• Building Power: Bringing About Change
• Green Jobs and the Domestic Auto Industry

Such interesting and valuable workshops! What are you waiting for? Register today!

House passes renewable energy package

We just watched it on C-SPAN: By a margin of 236-182, the House of Representatives passed an $18 billion package of incentives for the production of clean, renewable energy; credits for the purchase of hybrid cars; and energy efficient homes, buildings, and appliances.  The bill renews crucial renewable energy incentives that are in danger of expiring at the end of this year.  The bill will create tens of thousands of new clean energy jobs, stimulate the economy with billions in new investments, and bring affordable clean energy to American consumers.  The bill avoids new deficit by repealing taxpayer-funded giveaways to Big Oil.

Now it's the Senate's turn!

Gas prices rise and crimp your budget

That's the story in a NY Times article today. Notable quote:

"An oil crisis is coming in the next 10 years," John B. Hess, the chairman of the Hess Corporation, said at a recent conference held by Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "It's not a matter of demand. It's not a matter of supplies. It's both."

Looks like it's time to start running our cars on vegetable oil. Or how about driving less and biking more?

Energy news round-up

Found three news articles that I'd like to share today. First up, an editorial in the San Jose Mercury News by  a solar company CEO advocating the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008. Notable quote from the writer:

"I've been a registered Republican for more than 20 years. This year I find it impossible to support a party that bends to the wishes of Big Oil. Their excuse is that the White House does not want to reduce incentives for finding new sources of oil and gas. We've obviously got an energy shortage, but let's put these renewable energy incentives in perspective."

The second article of note is from the Boston Globe and covers Boston's exploration of the use of their lawn waste compost pile as an energy source. And the third article of note is for the computer geeks out there. Ever wonder about making your own computer more energy efficient by completely rebuilding it? Check out this article from Ars Technica.

Enjoy!

House Tax Package Headed our Way!

The good ole U.S. House of Representatives expects to vote Wednesday morning (February 27) on the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008.  Unlike many bills that move through Congress, this one could actually affect your bottom line as a consumer!

Have you recently toyed with the idea  of making a few energy efficiency upgrades to your home but haven't found the time?  Do you have your eye on plug-in hybrids headed toward auto showrooms in the next few years?  Without passing this tax package, consumer tax credits for home retro-fitting and plug-in hybrid purchases will expire at the end of 2008!

Clean energy industry tax credits will also expire at the end of this year if Congress does not vote to extend them.  Booming clean energy industries such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal heavily rely on production and investment tax credits to provide investment security for venture capitalists putting their green bills toward green action.  But without extending these incentives, these growing industries could being to shrink.

And for what?  So we can continue dolling out billions of dollars to oil and gas companies enjoying record breaking profits! Hey, I'm all for a free market, and there's certainly nothing wrong with turning a profit.  But it kinda irks me when my hard-earned dollars subsidize oil and gas companies that continue to pull down jaw-dropping profits at the end of every quarter.  Am I missing something here?

HR 5351, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, would pay for clean energy tax incentives by rolling back the billions of dollars in tax handouts we give to oil and gas companies every year.  Isn't this a no-brainer?  Take action! Tell your members of congress to stop giving handouts to Big Oil and instead extend consumer and industry clean energy tax incentives!

Environmental justice and global warming

CNN International has an excellent article on environmental justice and global warming today. The article's point is summed up very well right at the top:

The general dialogue on adapting to a world affected by climate change by definition excludes the world's poorest people. And yet it's the world's poorest who are often put forward as the ones who are likely to feel the affects of climate change the most and are likely to be able to deal with them the least.

The article later on goes to put the term environmental justice in quotes, saying that it's something that's just now being thought about. The Sierra Club hired its first Environmental Justice Program organizer in 1992, and the program has been expanding as more communities invite us to help them unite for clean air and water and a safe place to.

Environmental justice is close to our hearts. The club's Greg Haegele had a good write-up on it in his Treehugger blog recently, and major news broke last week about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) knowing about the formaldehyde in their travel trailers but still giving them to Hurricane Katrina survivors to live in - a problem the Sierra Club documented two years ago!

Back to the article - environmental justice must be considered when it comes to global warming solutions. Some leaders have spoken about any U.S. global warming legislation requiring that funds also be raised to protect and prepare low-income and indigenous communities around the world.

If you want to do something for environmental justice right now, check out this Sierra Club Take Action for an environmental justice bill currently in Congress. This sentence from the CNN article describes a reason for the Environmental Justice Renewal Act:

According to UNEP, in Los Angeles more than 71 percent of African Americans live in "highly polluted areas," compared to 24 percent of whites. Across the U.S. black children are three times more likely to have "hazardous levels of lead in their blood" as a result of living near hazardous waste sites.

This bill would require that the government take discrimination and environmental justice issues into account when making decisions on siting facilities.

The week in coal

Last week had some interesting developments in the coal industry.

Most recent was the decision by Kentucky Gov. Beshear that Peabody Energy Corp. give back a $400,000 grant meant to study the feasibility of bringing a liquid coal plant to the state because the corporation had made no progress on it, nor had they submitted any invoices about how they were spending the money.

This is good news because liquid coal is actually worse than regular coal when it comes to global warming emissions. You'd think that news might prevent companies from wanting to build liquid coal plants, but there are some planned and you can check out where they are using our coal plant tracker web site.

The older news was environmental analyst Lester Brown (head of the Earth Policy Institute) saying that "The United States should leave its estimated 200 years' supply of coal in the ground and invest in wind farms and solar technology for its power-generating needs."

It's an excellent article about the movement against coal. Yes, coal plants are still planned and much work is still needed to stop the coal rush, but progress is being made.

Candy hearts with a message

Ever want to know what candy hearts made by our federal government would look like? Our own Greg Haegele blogged on the fun Valentine's Day topic over at Treehugger. You can even send an ecard with your own favorite candy heart. All that - and even our own Green Life blog has been running some great tips this week on greening your Valentine's Day. Check it out, spread the love - and have a great Valentine's Day!

Analysis: New direction necessary for Nevada's energy needs

There's been some great work identifying Nevada's huge clean energy potential, and a new report out from The Energy Foundation lays out some specific doable projects that can be started now and help the state avoid building any new coal-fired power plants.

The report lists projects related to electricity transmission lines, energy efficiency, renewables and natural gas - all projects that will have Nevada avoiding the "risks associated with large-scale centralized generation," meaning putting all your eggs in the coal basket. The report's author is Dr. Carl Linvill, who once served as Nev. Gov. Kenny Guinn's energy advisor and as a commissioner on the Nevada Public Utilities Commission.

Click here to read the Energy Foundation's press release (which briefly outlines the projects), and click here to read the entire report.

Arctic explorer talks global warming to Kansans

Arctic explorer Will Steger is currently on a tour around Kansas to discuss the realities and impacts of global warming. There's a great article in the Hutchinson News today on Steger and the tour. Steger's seen the effects of global warming up close and said he is excited to share them during his lectures around the state. From the article:

"Right now is the time to act," Steger said, noting that change from warming has been accelerating over the past decade. "If we move quickly, we can avoid the worst of the catastrophe. But we've reached a tipping point."

The good news, Steger said, is that the response can have significant positive economic benefits, particularly in a region that can supply so many alternative energy solutions.

Steger's tour is co-sponsored by the Sierra Club's Kansas Chapter and a number of other environmental organizations - and is well-timed considering that the Kansas legislature has been discussing a bill that could permit two new coal-fired power plants. The article's a good read, so check it out!