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Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

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Carbon-Cutting Success Stories

Monday, September 19th, 2016
With help from the New York Green Bank, Hunt Country Vineyards installed 348 rooftop solar panels. Credit: Joyce Hunt

Fortunately, leading states continue to prove that curbing dangerous carbon pollution can reduce the risk of global warming and benefit local communities at the same time. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have dramatically reduced dangerous power plant pollution, using tools including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a policy that limits pollution over time and makes polluters pay for the privilege of using the sky for waste disposal. Much of the revenue is then invested in clean energy programs, which have boosted the regional economy by nearly $3 billion.

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Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Green, Infra Views, Pollution, Sustainability

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2016 International Energy Efficiency Scorecard

Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
2016 Energy Efficiency Scorecard - International Rankings

The third edition of ACEEE’s International Energy Efficiency Scorecard examines the efficiency policies and performance of 23 of the world’s top energy-consuming countries. Together these countries represent 75% of all the energy consumed on the planet and over 80% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013. We evaluated and scored each country’s efficiency policies and how efficiently its buildings, industry, and transportation sectors use energy.

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Posted in Energy, Environment, Global, Infra Views, Sustainability

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The Greatest Energy Story You Haven’t Heard: How Investing in Energy Efficiency Changed the US Power Sector and Gave Us a Tool to Tackle Climate Change

Friday, August 26th, 2016
Figure 1: US Energy Use

An invisible resource is working quietly behind the scenes to provide American families and businesses with the power necessary to live and work. This resource lowers harmful pollution, creates US jobs, reduces energy burdens for those most in need, and strengthens community resilience. It also improves the bottom line for business, returns at least double its investment, and saves American households, on average, $840 dollars a year. Energy efficiency has become the nation’s third-largest electricity resource. With increased support it could become the largest—and one of the world’s core strategies to tackle climate change.

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Emerging Issues: Integrating Solar Energy

Friday, August 19th, 2016
Figure ES-1. Marginal and average PV LCOE (based on SunShot goals) due to curtailment under increasing penetration of PV in California with low and enhanced grid flexibility

Achieving the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative cost targets could greatly accelerate deployment of grid-integrated solar technologies. Global experience with increasing amounts of wind and solar on power systems has shown that variable generation resources can be integrated into the grid at penetrations well beyond current capacity. However, the prospect of dramatically increased photovoltaic (PV) deployment requires detailed examination to ensure that high-penetration solar technologies will provide their intended benefits, including reducing fossil fuel use and reducing the conventional capacity needed for reliable service.

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Posted in Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Smart Grid

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Deschutes River, OR: We The River

Thursday, August 18th, 2016

Promotional piece for Deschutes River Conservancy’s We The River campaign.

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Posted in Environment, Inland Waterways, Local, Show Us Your Infra, Sustainability

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Opportunities to Increase Corporate Access to Clean Energy

Friday, August 12th, 2016
Table 1 – States ranked among the top 5 states for one or more of the identified policies, based on potential to increase corporate access to advanced energy

Advanced energy sources that use little or no fuel, such as wind, solar, hydropower, fuel cells, and energy storage create opportunities for corporations to capture savings and hedge against energy price volatility. The price of advanced energy sources has decreased dramatically during the past decade, and companies are increasingly seeking to purchase power from these resources in order to increase competitiveness and achieve corporate responsibility targets. A growing number of corporations have set formal goals for purchasing renewable energy, which they are integrating into their operations and decision making.

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Posted in Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Policy, Private Investment, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Technology

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Natural Gas and Global Warming: A Review of Evidence Finds that Methane Leaks Undercut the Climate Benefits of Natural Gas

Friday, August 5th, 2016
Figure 1. Avoiding Climate Tipping Points Requires Immediate Reductions in Methane Emissions

In recent years, a number of studies have challenged that assumption, finding that natural gas production, transportation and storage results in major leaks of methane to the atmosphere that erode or nullify the climate benefits of shifting to natural gas. These findings should lead policymakers to reject natural gas as a “bridge fuel” and instead lead them to redouble America’s efforts to repower with truly clean energy from the sun, the wind and other renewable sources of energy.

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What are the health and climate benefits of offshore wind farms?

Friday, August 5th, 2016

This Harvard researcher created a model in which an offshore wind farm that could power most of Washington D.C. could also save 50 lives per year and generate $690 million per year in climate and health benefits. Dr. Jonathan Buonocore, Program Leader of our Climate, Energy, and Health Program, talks about the science behind “Health and Climate Benefits of Offshore Wind Facilities in the Mid-Atlantic United States,” a paper he and colleagues from Synapse Energy Economics, University of Delaware, and Boston University published in Environmental Research Letters.

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

“Fossil fuels, which provide 85% of our current energy, suffer from two fatal drawbacks. One of which is the fact that they produce greenhouse gasses that are undermining the viability of our climate and therefore our future of industrial society…The other drawback of fossil fuels is that fact that these are depleting, non-renewable resources…So one way or another we will be moving away from fossil fuels as time goes on, it’s just a question of whether we do it in a planned and organized way, or just wait until we can no longer afford to extract the stuff that’s left.”

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Green Infrastructure Improves Communities

Wednesday, July 27th, 2016

Through the Great Urban Parks Campaign, NRPA and APA are working to demonstrate the benefits of green infrastructure in urban communities. Using parks for green infrastructure is a creative and cost-effective alternative to gray infrastructure that allows nature to filter pollutants from rain water, reduce storm water issues and give communities access to more green space.

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Posted in Environment, Public Parks & Recreation, Show Us Your Infra, Sustainability, Urban Planning, Wastewater

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