25 Cities Now Committed to 100% Renewables
Madison, Wisconsin and Abita Springs, Louisiana are transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy following respective city council votes on Tuesday.
Madison and Abita Springs are the first cities in Wisconsin and Louisiana to make this commitment. They join 23 other cities across the United States—from large ones like San Diego, California and Salt Lake City, Utah to smaller ones like Georgetown, Texas and Greensburg, Kansas—that have declared similar goals.
Madison is the biggest city in the Midwest to establish 100 percent renewable energy and net-zero carbon emissions. The Madison Common Council unanimously approved a resolution to allocate $250,000 to develop a plan by January 18, 2018 that includes target dates for reaching these goals, interim milestones, budget estimates and estimated financial impacts.
Madison Common Council Alder Zach Wood said that his city is determined to "lead the way in moving beyond fossil fuels that threaten our health and environment."
After a unanimous vote, Abita Springs is aiming to derive 100 percent of the town's electricity from renewable energy sources by December 31, 2030.
The Sierra Club noted that Tuesday's votes from the politically polar municipalities reflect the growing bipartisan support for alternative energy development. To illustrate, during the November election, more than 70 percent of Madison voters supported Hillary Clinton versus the 75 percent of voters in St. Tammany Parish, where Abita Springs is located, who supported Donald Trump.But as Abita Springs' Republican mayor Greg Lemons said, "Transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy is a practical decision we're making for our environment, our economy and for what our constituents want in Abita Springs."
"Politics has nothing to do with it for me. Clean energy just makes good economic sense," Lemons added.
LeAnn Pinniger Magee, chair of Abita Committee for Energy Sustainability, had similar remarks.
"In a state dominated by oil interests, Abita Springs is a unique community that can be a leader on the path to renewable energy," she said. "Our town already boasts the solar-powered Abita Brewery and we can see first-hand how clean energy benefits our businesses and our entire community. By transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy, we will save money on our utility bills and protect our legendary water and clean air in the process."
Last year's Gallup poll indicated for the first time that a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents prefer an alternative energy strategy. Fifty-one percent of Republicans favor alternative energy, up from the previous high of 46 percent in 2011.
"Whether you're Republican or a Democrat, from a liberal college city or a rural Louisiana town, clean energy is putting America back to work and benefiting communities across the country," Jodie Van Horn, director of the Sierra Club's Ready for 100 campaign, said. "That's why Madison, Wisconsin and Abita Springs, Louisiana, today join the ranks of 23 other cities and towns across the United States that are going all-in on clean, renewable energy."
Van Horn noted that local leaders and governments will be increasingly tasked to curb President Trump's pro-fossil fuel policies and gutting of environmental regulations.
"As the Trump Administration turns its back on clean air and clean water, cities and local leaders will continue to step up to lead the transition towards healthy communities and a more vibrant economy powered by renewable energy," she said.
The Solutions Project, which aims to make clean energy accessible and affordable for all, is advocating for towns, cities, states and even the whole country to convert its energy infrastructure to renewables.
The Solutions Project team published a study and roadmap that illustrates how each U.S. state can replace fossil fuels by tapping into the renewable resources they have available, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, as well as small amounts of tidal and wave power.
The authors found that converting the nation's energy infrastructure into renewables is ideal because it helps fight climate change, saves lives by eliminating air pollution, creates jobs in the rapidly booming renewable energy sector and also stabilizes energy prices.
Teenagers See Renewables as Fuel of Their Generation
By Andy Rowell
Donald Trump this week is launching an "energy week," pushing the argument that the U.S. will become a net exporter of oil and gas.
The president and his cronies are talking about a new era of "U.S. energy dominance," which could stretch for decades to come. However, no one believes the president anymore.
France to Ban All New Development of Shale Oil and Gas
By Andy Rowell
There is a growing feeling within European capitals that a quiet, but deeply positive, revolution is happening under Emmanuel Macron in France.
Macron's opinion poll rating is high, especially boosted in how the young French president has reacted to Donald Trump on the international stage.
Schwarzenegger and Macron Take Selfie Video to 'Make the Planet Great Again'
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a selfie video Friday with French president Emmanuel Macron, in what some are reading as Schwarzenegger's latest jab at President Trump on climate change.
This Blog No Longer Accepts Comments, Thanks to GMO Trolls
With regret, I asked my site managers at Cre8d to block all future comments to my site, Food Politics.
The GMO trolls—people who post deliberately hostile comments—have defeated me.
SeaWorld Subpoenaed for Executives' Comments on 'Blackfish'
According to Bloomberg, "SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. received a subpoena earlier this month from regulators investigating disclosures and public statements by executives, including comments about the Blackfish documentary that caused a public backlash against the confinement of orcas.
10 Fashion Brands That Will Keep You and Planet Earth Looking Good
By Mary Mazzoni
In 2013, shoppers were reacquainted with the tragic story of their clothing when a massive factory collapse claimed the lives of more than 1,100 Bangladeshi garment workers.
The nonprofit Fashion Revolution, formed in response to that disaster, continues to track the apparel industry's progress on environmental stewardship and human rights. But four years later, big brands are still not doing enough to disclose their efforts to customers, the organization concluded in a recent report.
Huge Milestone: Renewables Now Provide More Electricity Than Nuclear Power
The latest issue of the U.S. Energy Information's "Electric Power Monthly" (with data through April 30) reveals that—for the first time since the beginning of the nuclear era—renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar—inc. small-scale PV, wind) are now providing a greater share of the nation's electrical generation than nuclear power.
Tour the World's Largest Indoor Vertical Farm
Check out this great 360° virtual reality video by NowThis on the world's largest indoor vertical farm, AeroFarms. Located in Newark, New Jersey, AeroFarms grows more than 2 million pounds of greens a year without sunlight, soil or pesticides.
As reported by EcoWatch in July 2105, the $30 million, 70,000-square-foot AeroFarms headquarters dwarfs Japan's (already impressive) 25,000-square-foot vertical indoor farm, which had been the world's largest until now.
'There's No Such Thing as Clean Coal'
"There's no such thing as clean coal," according to this ATTN: video.
Watch above as ATTN: explains the many hazards of coal beyond carbon emissions, that no matter what there's no reviving the coal industry and how investment in renewable energy is the best way forward.
Share this video if you think America needs real energy solutions.
