United States | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

Can Jobs be Created by Setting a National Renewable Electricity Standard?

By Naimish Upadhyay on March 17, 2010 7 Comments biomass energy, clean energy jobs, energy economy, hydropower, Renewable Electricity Standard, renewable energy, RES Alliance for Jobs, solar energy, Union of Concerned Scientists, United States, waste-to-energy, wind energy

The RES Alliance for Jobs, a coalition of America’s renewable energy companies and national renewable energy associations, has released a new study showing that a 25% by 2025 national Renewable Electricity Standard would create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the United States. The “Jobs Impact of a National Renewable Electricity Standard” study found that a 25% by 2025 national RES would result in 274,000 more renewable energy jobs over no-national RES policy. This additional employment is equivalent to 2.36 million additional job-years by 2025. The study found that new jobs would be supported by renewable energy in every region of the United States. While the biomass, hydropower and waste-to-energy industries would see significant job gains in the Southeast, the states of the Great Plains and Midwest would employ thousands developing their wind resources and the Western United States would see job gains in its solar and hydropower industries. Without stronger near-term targets than currently envisioned, the study found that industries like wind will experience flat job growth and long-term stagnation, while the U.S. biomass industry could collapse altogether. The Alliance recommends that aggressive near and long-term federal RES targets should be pursued in order to attract manufacturing investment in the sector and to ensure global competitiveness of the U.S. renewable energy industry.

The Economic Case for Slashing Carbon Emissions

By Yale Environment 360 on March 16, 2010 2 Comments Can We Afford the Future? Economics for a Warming World, carbon capture and storage, carbon emissions, Center for Progressive Reform, China, clean energy, clim, Climate Change, Climate Economics Group, climate policy, climate protection, climate skeptics, climate stabilization, CO2, coastal cities, cost-benefit analysi, E3 Network, economic disaste, Economics for Equity and Environment, Economics of 350: The Benefits and Costs of Climate Stabilization (E3 Network and Poisoned for Pennies: The Economics of Toxics and Precaution, Economist, economists, efficiency standards, emission standards, emissions reduction, Environmental Defense Fund, flooding, Frank Ackerman, GDP, Global Development and Environment Institute, Greenpeace, ice-free earth, MA, massive reforestation, McKinsey & Company, military spending, Nathaniel Keohane, National Association of Manufacturers, Peter Goldmark, phaseout of coal use, sea levels, Somerville, Stockholm Environment Institute, Tufts University, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, UCS, Union of Concerned Scientists, United States, Washington

Amid a growing call for reducing atmospheric concentrations of CO2 to 350 parts per million, a group of economists maintains that striving to meet that target is a smart investment — and the best insurance policy humanity could buy.

Over $1 Trillion Invested In Green Since 2007

By Tracey de Morsella on December 13, 2009 3 Comments agriculture, Brazil, China, Climate Prosperity Alliance, energy efficiency and storage, Ethical Markets Media, Europe, Geothermal, Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard, green economy, India, North America, ocean/hydro, private investment, solar;, sustainable growth, United States, wind

Last week, Ethical Markets Media and The Climate Prosperity Alliance launched their Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard, which tracks private investment in companies growing the green economy globally. This new, never before reported number, showing $1,248,740,645,993.00 (over $1.248 trillion) in total investment since 2007, indicates how investors and entrepreneurs are leading governments in promoting sustainable growth. The scoreboard totals investments in solar, wind, geothermal, ocean/hydro, energy efficiency and storage, and agriculture.

U.S. Department of Energy Announces Winners of the 2009 Solar Decathlon

By Chris de Morsella on October 17, 2009 Comments Off on U.S. Department of Energy Announces Winners of the 2009 Solar Decathlon 2009 Solar Decathlon, appliances, California, Canada, Cube House, Daniel Poneman, Darmstadt, energy-efficient solar powered house, Germany, home entertainment, hot water, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, net metering, Solar Decathlon, space heating and cooling, Spain, Team California, Team Germany, United States, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Minnesota, US Department of Energy, Washington D.C., zero carbon home

The Solar Decathlon is a competition in which teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar powered house. The winners of the 2009 competition – the fourth to be held – were announced on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. by U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman. The contest is organized by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and supported by event and team sponsors from the private sector.

What Makes Europe Greener than the U.S.?

By Yale Environment 360 on October 12, 2009 5 Comments American cities, CO2 emissions, Denmark, Elisabeth Rosenthal, energy-efficient, environment, environmental strategies, environmentally conscious, environmentally reckless, environmentally responsible, Europe, Europeans, France, France. Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, garbage collection, infrastructure of life, Italy, live green, low-carbon footprints, northern Europe, social pressure, Sweden, UK, Union of Concerned Scientists, United States, Yale Environment 360, Zurich

The average American produces three times the amount of CO2 emissions as a person in France. A U.S. journalist now living in Europe explains how she learned to love her clothesline and sweating in summer.

US Catches Up with International Carbon Market

By Tracey de Morsella on August 19, 2009 1 Comment cap-and-trade, carbon credits, carbon market, carbon prices, carbon products, carbon trading, CDM, Clean Development Mechanism, developing countries, emission reduction projects, EU Emissions Trading Scheme, EU ETS, European Emission Allowances, kyoto protocol, New Energy Finance, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, trade emissions, United States, Waxman-Market

According to a new report release by New Energy Finance, the volume of carbon credits bought and sold in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the United States matched the entire volume of credits traded on the international carbon market in the second quarter of this year. The number of carbon credits sold under the CDM in Europe, in the second quarter of this year, increased by 25% on the first quarter. However the volume of credited traded on the secondary market decreased by 15% during this period. Most of this decline was due to reductions in the volume of future contracts, possibly in reaction to the higher volume of European Emission Allowances now on the markets as a result of the economic downturn. In stark contrasts, the number of carbon credits traded in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast region here in the States, increased by 319% over the first quarter of this year.

Retrofitting Buildings will Create Green Jobs

By Tracey de Morsella on August 18, 2009 9 Comments A Policy Framework for Investment in Energy Efficiency Retrofits, across the country. retrofitting homes, brand equity, building efficiency retrofits, building stock, buildings, Center for American Progress, CNBC, construction, consumer energy expenditures, corporate environmental, economic recovery, electricity consumption U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, energy insecurity, energy waste, energy-efficient, global warming, good jobs, green building standards, green jobs, green retrofitting, housing stock, John Podesta, manufacturing sectors, pollution, real estate values, Rebuilding America, Retrofit, retrofitting, retrofitting businesses, sustained economic growth, The Dollars and Sense of Green Retrofits, United States

Retrofitting 50 million buildings in the United States, about 40 percent of the building stock, by 2020 to make them energy efficient would create 625,000 permanent jobs, John Podesta, CEO of the Center for American Progress, told CNBC. “There’s probably a $500 billion investment that’s needed, but the vast majority has to come from the private sector,” Podesta added. “The government has a role to play in orienting policy toward getting the financing right.”

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Has Increased Dramatically

By Tracey de Morsella on August 11, 2009 4 Comments Africa, Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency and Reporting, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, environmental performance, Ernst Ligteringen, Europe, G3 Guidelines, Germany, Global Reporting Initiative, greenhouse gas emissions, GRI, Italy, Japan, Latin America, North America, Oceania, public disclosure, social performance, South Africa, Spain, sustainability crisis, sustainability indicators, sustainability performance, sustainability reports, UK, United States, USA

New figures released recently show that the number of companies and other organizations publicly disclosing their performance against a range of key sustainability indicators has risen markedly over the last year. The Global Reporting Initiative is now tracking of over 1000 organizations worldwide who issued sustainability reports based on the GRI G3 Guidelines in 2008 – the highest number ever recorded. The figure represents an increase of 46 per cent on the 2007 figure of 685.

Department of Energy Announces Grants To Establish 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers

By Chris de Morsella on May 6, 2009 2 Comments Actinides, Adaptive Materials, advanced catalysis, advanced energy storage, advanced nuclear energy systems, advanced nuclear systems, Albuquerque, Alex Zunger, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Amherst, Ann Arbor, ANSER, Argonne IL, Argonne National Laboratory, Arizona, Arizona State University, Armstrong Neal, atomic scale, Atomic Scale Design, Atomic-Level Synthesis, Austin, Bartosz Grzybowski, Baton Rouge, Berend Smit, Berkeley, Berkeley CA, bio-polymers, biofuels, biomass, Brent Gunnoe, brookhaven National Laboratory, C3Bio, California, California Institute of Technology, Cambridge, carbon capture, carbon sequestration, carbon-neutral energy, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Chas, Christopher Marshall, CIS:HSEM, CITFAM, Clare P. Grey, Clean Energy Technologies, coal, College Park, Colorado, Columbia, Columbia University, combustion Science, Computational Catalysis, Cornell University, Danforth Plant Science Center, Daniel Cosgrove, David Wesolowski, Deleware, Department of Energy, Dieter Wolf, Dionisios Vlachos, DOE, Donald DePaolo, Donald Morelli, East Lansing, efficient combustion, EFRC, Efree, electrical energy storage, electricity storage, electrode components, emergent Superconductivity, Emerging Materials, Energy Conversion, energy economy, energy efficiency, Energy Frontier Research Center, Evsnston, excitonics, fossil fuels, Fritz Prinz, Gang Chen, Gary A. Pope, Gary Rubloff, Gas Separations, General Electric Global Research, Geologic CO2, geological storage of carbon dioxide, Golden CO, greenhouse gases, Grigorii Soloveichik, Gust J. Devens, Harry Atwater, Hector Abruna, Ho-Kwang Mao, hung K. Law, hybrid inorganic-organic materials, Hybrid Solar-Electric Materials, hydrocarbon gases, hydrogen, IACT, Idaho, Idaho Falls ID, Idaho National Laboratory, Illanois, Indiana, Ithaca, J.C. Davis, James Spivey, James Yardley, Jerry Simmons, John Bowers, Kenneth Reifsnider, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Light-Material Interactions, lignocellulose Pennsylvania State University, Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Angeles, Louisiana State University, Malcolm Stocks, Marc Baldo, Maryland., Massachusets, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, materials sciences, Maureen McCann, Michael Nastasi, Michael Thackeray, Michael Wasielewski, Michigan, Michigan State University, Missouri, MIT, molecular catalysts, Molecularly Assembly, Morris Bullock, nanoparticles, Nanoscale, nanoscale architectures, nanoscale material architectures, Nanostructuring, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, natural photosynthesis, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newark DE, Niskayuna, NOCESC, North Carolina, Northwestern University Evanston IL, Nuclear Fuel, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Pasadena, Paul Barbara, Paul Daniel Dapkus, Peter C. Burns, Peter Green, Photovoltaics, plutonium, predictive combustion, predictive computational models, president obama, Princeton, Princeton University, Purdue University, renewable energy, Richard Sayre, Richland, Robert Blankenship, S3TEC CENTER, Sandia National Laboratories, Santa Barbara, Seamus, SECCM, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, self-assembled polymer materials, solar energy, Solar Fuel, solid state lighting, SOuth Carolina, St. Louis, Stanford CA, Stanford University, State University of New York, Steven Chu, Stony Brook, superconductivity, Tempe AZ, Tennessee, Texas, thin films, Thomas Meyer, Tuscon, UCLA, UCSB, United States, University of Arizona, University of California, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California, University of Texas, University of Virginia, Upton NY, uranium, USC, Victor Klimov, Vidvuds Ozolins, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., Washington University, West Lafayette, White House

The White House announced that the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science will invest $777 million in Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) over the next five years. In a national effort to accelerate scientific advances in critical areas of the new energy economy the United States Department of Energy (DOE) will establish 46 new multi-million dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (or EFRCs) across the nation.