California’s Senate has just passed some important new renewable energy legislation that will, if approved in the Assembly and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, require utilities operating in the state to obtain one third of their electricity from renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar or geothermal. This is a big increase from the current 20% targets set by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a 2009 executive order.
The implementation of de-risking by consumers (and potentially voters) is a growing force for restoring the economy, environment and jobs. There is emerging market research that point to consumers embracing de-risking as a key lifestyle component. And there is also growing business documentation that aligning with this de-risking trend affords an attractive revenue growth path for businesses offering de-risking solutions.
As part of the ongoing federal response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, EPA today established a website to inform the public about the spill’s impact on the environment and the health of nearby residents. The website – http://www.epa.gov/bpspill – will contain data from EPA’s ongoing air monitoring along with other information about the agency’s activities in the region.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently announced their list of the greenest cities in the United States and have released their findings on a new web site, called Smarter Cities. The survey includes all cities in the United States with populations larger than 50,000. Smarter Cities is considered to be one of the nation’s most comprehensive and robust database of U.S. urban progress toward sustainability. Seattle ranked number one and San Francisco ranked number 2 among the 67 large cities that were evaluated. Madison, Wisconsin placed firstand Santa Rosa, California came in second among the 176 medium cities that were surveyed. Among the 402 cities that were evaluated, Bellingham, Washington came in first place and Mountain View, California came in second.
As part of its Earth Month outreach efforts, EPA today launched “Pick 5 for the Environment,” encouraging the public to commit to taking at least five actions to protect the environment. Pick 5 helps people identify ways they can protect their environment and makes use of social media sites to allow them to share their tips and stories. Since April 1, EPA has issued daily green tips via podcasts and email subscription. EPA is asking the public to pick 5 of the 10 actions listed below and then to share their own thoughts by using a variety of social media sites.
