September 25, 2009
The following news advisory was issued by the Sustainable Energy Coalition.
According to the latest issue of the “Monthly Energy Review” by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable energy sources, e.g., biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, and wind, provided 11.37 percent of domestic U.S. energy production in June 2009 – the latest month for which data has been published. In both April and May, renewables accounted for more domestic energy production than nuclear, and in the first six months of 2009 provided 11.18 percent of net U.S. electrical generation.
For the first six months of 2009, renewable energy production accounted for 10.67 percent of domestic production, rising to 11.32 percent for the second quarter. This compares to 10.2 percent for the first half of 2008 and 9.89 percent for the first half of 2007. In terms of electrical generation, renewables provided 11.18 percent in the first half of 2009, an increase of 1.28 percent over the previous year’s figure.
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September 17, 2009
Can he give us strong action on climate change?
The U.S. Congress is faltering in its attempt to give us clean energy and climate legislation this session. Cap-and-trade legislation that should already have been introduced by the Senate has been put off until next month, as backers of climate action try to persuade their colleagues not to water its provisions down to meaninglessness. And it’s becoming more and more unlikely, especially as the ongoing health care debate uses up all the oxygen on Capitol Hill, that a climate bill will become law before the crucial U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in mid-December.
What are they doing on the Hill?We hear talk of the ‘easy’ parts of the legislation, such as renewable energy and green building standards, being separated out from the ‘difficult’ parts, meaning anything remotely concerned with climate, and passed in a bill of their own. And as solar power advocates, we are at least happy that there’s talk that might lead to more of it. But with all we know about the dangers of climate change, it’s distressing that our (presumably) well-informed Congresspersons seem to have such an underdeveloped sense of urgency about the issue. (more…)
