Energy

huffingtonpost.com - by Sen. Bernie Sanders - July 9, 2014

. . . Global warming is the greatest environmental threat facing the planet and averting a planetary disaster will require a major reduction in the burning of coal, oil and other fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry for too long has shifted these enormous costs of carbon pollution onto the public, walking away with billions in profits while their emissions help destroy the planet. . .

. . . A carbon tax must be a central part of our strategy for dramatically reducing carbon pollution, a view shared by economists on both ends of the political spectrum . . .

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submitted by Margery Schab  

Texas is among the leaders nationally in the creation of clean-energy jobs.  OCI Solar

bizjournals.com - by Sanford Nowlin - March 14, 2014

Clean-energy production and energy-efficient transportation projects created nearly 6,400 jobs in Texas last year, according to a new report by nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2. 

The Lone Star State ranked No. 2 behind California, which generated around 15,400 clean-energy jobs in 2013.

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REPORT - E2 - Clean Energy Jobs: 2013 Year in Review and Q4 Report (12 page .PDF report)

environmentalleader.com - by Erica Morehouse - June 23, 2014

Governor Brown signed a budget last week that lays out for the first time how to invest the millions from California’s landmark cap-and-trade program ($734 million so far). California has shown another way that cap-and-trade is like the Swiss army knife of environmental policies: a versatile tool known for its usefulness and adaptability.

A Multi-faceted Investment Portfolio

California will invest $850 million over the next year to reduce dangerous climate pollution, a portfolio of investments that will benefit almost every part of California’s economy, going to low-carbon and public transportation, weatherization and energy efficient buildings, water efficiency, waste diversion, and natural resources like urban forests.

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submitted by Margery Schab

Natural gas well holding tanks sit next to a subdivision of homes in Denton, Texas, Thursday, May 29, 2014. (AP Photo/LM Otero) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

huffingtonpost.com - by Emily Schmall - June 19, 2014

. . . For more than a decade, Denton has drawn its lifeblood from the huge gas reserves that lie beneath its streets. The gas fields have produced a billion dollars in mineral wealth and pumped more than $30 million into city bank accounts.

But this former farming center north of Dallas is considering a revolt. Unlike other communities that have embraced the lucrative drilling boom made possible by hydraulic fracturing, leaders here have temporarily halted all fracking as they consider an ordinance that could make theirs the first city in the state to permanently ban the practice.

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