Italian Judge Blames Coal Plant For Hundreds Of Deaths, Forces It To Shut Down

Main Entry ImageMarch 11, 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com | “Police in Italy have ordered the coal-fired power plant Vado Ligure, which they say is responsible for 442 deaths, to shutdown. The plant is located in the northern district of Savona.”

“Italian Judge Shuts Down Polluting Coal Power Plant
www.huffingtonpost.com
Police in Italy have ordered the coal-fired power plant Vado Ligure, which they say is responsible for 442 deaths, to shutdown. The plant is located in the northern district of Savona. The Italian news site Rai…”
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Illinois Powers 91 Communities With 100 Percent Clean Energy

March 8, 2014, ecowatch.com | “Many people don’t know of a state with more than one community using 100-percent renewable electricity, but one state has nearly 100 of them.  Illinois has 91 communities that have achieved 100-percent renewable energy, according to ‘Leading from the Middle: How Illinois Communities Unleashed Renewable Energy,’ a report released Friday by the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, LEAN Energy US, the Illinois Solar Energy Association and George Washington University Solar Institute.”

“Illinois Powers 91 Communities With 100 Percent Clean Energy | EcoWatch
ecowatch.com
Many people don’t know of a state with more than one community using 100-percent renewable electricity, but one state has nearly 100 of…”
COMMENTS:
  • Lindy Rose, Kevin Village-Stone, Robert Brothers and Connie Ashby like this.
  • GoodNews FortheEarth ~ The key is “Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)”, “a system (neither a company nor an organization) adopted into law in the states of Massachusetts, Ohio, California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Illinois which allows cities and counties to aggregate the buying power of individual customers within a defined jurisdiction in order to secure alternative energy supply contracts on a community-wide basis, but allowing consumers not wishing to participate to opt-out.”
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Choice_Aggregation
  • GoodNews FortheEarth ~ Growth in the use of renewable energy via Community Choice Aggregation

    GoodNews FortheEarth's photo.
  • Lindy Rose This is fantastic news! According to the article my state allows for CCAs too. This idea has got to start spreading. I wonder what it takes to bring it to my area.
  • Kevin Village-Stone There are hydro and geothermal plants in the Lake Co CA area. It’s not only environmentally significant but a strong statement when communities choose where and how their energy is sourced rather than being force-fed by entrenched commercial power suppliers and stonewalled about the existence of viable and available alternative sources. And this being community based is far more environmentally and politically powerful than just one guy buying a solar panel for himself ~Thank you Polly for sharing!

Mexico Building Latin America’s Largest Solar Farm To Replace Old, Dirty Oil-Power Plant

shutterstock_93259798

February 25, 2014, thinkprogress.org | “Last week President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Mexico for what’s traditionally called the ‘Three Amigos’ meeting. In the daylong rendezvous, energy issues were slated to play a major role, with Obama and Harper jockeying for room when it comes to the impending decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that would bring dirty crude oil down from Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast.”

This comes from Good News For the Earth correspondent Kevin Village-Stone. Thanks for the article! Great news for Mexico.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/02/25/3328651/mexico-large-solar-plant-paz/#
Mexico Building Latin America’s Largest Solar Farm To Replace Old, Dirty Oil-Power Plant
thinkprogress.org
A week after President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Mexico under the cloud of the Keystone XL debate,…
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Small-Scale Solar Can Play a Big Role in Reaching 100% Renewable Energy

February 24, 2014, solarenergy.net, | “When it comes to considering the future of renewable energy in the United States, why go halfway?  A new study by Stanford University scientists goes all the way, envisioning 100 percent of U.S. energy needs supplied by wind, water and solar by mid-century. This includes approximately 34 percent from large-scale solar power plants, 10 percent from rooftop solar arrays and 50 percent from wind turbines.”

A 50-State Plan has been developed for complete transition to 100% Renewable Energy, step by step.
solarenergy.net
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7-Eleven, Avis, Walgreens Reduce Peak Power Demand For Big Energy Savings

February 4, 2014, www.triplepundit.com | “Revenue growth and profits for U.S. power utilities have always been predicated on increasing demand, regulatory framework and relationships with regulators. Though still highly regulated, that business modus operandi is being turned on its head. Rapid growth in distributed solar, wind and other renewable energy resources and the development of smart grid and demand-response systems are two factors driving these changes. The movement to put a price on carbon emissions – based on the polluter pays principle – is another.”

“Energy Conservation is Good for Business – this is finally being discovered, as discussed in detail in this rather technical article.
7-Eleven, Avis, Walgreens Reduce Peak Power Demand, Resulting in Big Energy Savings
www.triplepundit.com
Capitalizing on rising peak power demand charges and new battery storage mandates, Green Charge Networks’ GreenStation platform is…”
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India wants to build a solar project so large (4,000 megawatts), it would dwarf all others

February 3, 2014, www.treehugger.com | “India currently depends on coal for more than half of its electricity production, but it also gets a lot of sun, giving it the potential to become a solar power titan in the future. All it needs is the will to invest in this clean source of energy. One big step in that direction might be taken soon; a deal was signed between the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, and the Ministry of Power to set up what they call an “ultra mega solar power project” in Rajasthan. At 4,000 MW of capacity, it would be by far the world’s largest.”

India is about to build the world’s largest solar array
India is a very sunny country, but because it’s choking on coal pollution, the country has set an aggressive goal for solar development, aiming for 20 GW by 2022. To kick-start that initiative, construction is about to begin on the world’s largest solar project, a 4 GW array.
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Image credit: EARTH-The Operators’ Manual

Major Corporations Say Climate Change Is Bad For Business

February 2, 2014, www.care2.com | “Thanks to Obama’s 2014 State of the Union, we now know that climate change is a fact. Though what America is willing to do about it remains shrouded in mystery. The President’s boastful comments about the ‘success’ of his ‘all of the above’ energy plan leaves me dubious. But it’s good to know that while our national policies seem to contradict themselves, America’s corporations aren’t risking another cent on debate.”

Robert Brothers shared a link.

“Major Corporations Say Climate Change Is Bad For Business – Coca Cola, Nike, Air France, BMW, HP . .
www.care2.com
Coca Cola, Nike, Air France, BMW, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft are also among the 79 global companies leading in climate change…”
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AWEA U.S. Wind Industry Fourth Quarter 2013 Market Report

January 30, 2014, awea.files.cms-plus.com | “The American wind energy industry responded to the extension of the Production Tax Credit in 2013 by starting construction on an historic and unprecedented number of new wind farms, backed by Power Purchase Agreements with electric utilities on a record scale by the close of the year.”

GoodNews FortheEarth shared a link“There is enough wind power under construction in the U.S. to power the equivalent of 3.5 million American homes, or all of the households in Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas – that’s over 12,000 megawatts (MW) in total.
“Some of the states poised for major growth in wind energy include Texas, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, and Michigan.
“U.S. manufacturing production capacity has ramped up dramatically, with major manufacturing facilities active in Colorado, Kansas, Iowa and South Dakota.”
U.S. Wind Industry Fourth Quarter 2013 Market Report over 12,000 megawatts under construction now!
awea.files.cms-plus.com
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Business needs to play full part in tackling climate change

Janaury 27, 2014, www.enn.com | “Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon kept up the drumbeat for business to play its full part in tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development for a second day today, telling the World Economic Forum in Davos that investments now will generate major savings for tomorrow.”

“‘We need trillions of dollars of investment to move from the brown to the green economy,’
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – Business needs to play full part in tackling climate change
www.enn.com
‘We need trillions of dollars of investment to move from the brown to the green economy,” the United Nations chief told a session on…'”

Getting It Right for the Arctic Ocean

Kulluk being moved after grounding.

January 22, 2014, earthjustice.org | “A court gave the Arctic great news today. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Department of the Interior violated the law when it sold offshore oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska, including the leases on which Royal Dutch Shell wants to drill. This is the second time a court has ruled against the Department’s decision to open this remarkable sea to offshore drilling.”

“Court Rules Against Drilling Oil in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea
earthjustice.org
A court gave the Arctic great news today. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Department of the Interior violated the law when it sold offshore oil and gas leases in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska, including the leases on which Royal Dutch She…”

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