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Repealing the Halliburton Loophole would be a vote for clean water
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
One of my pet complaints is finally being addressed, at least partly. Living here in the Barnett Shale region of Texas, where drilling for natural gas is making Swiss cheese of the ground beneath, say, my house, I’ve been sensitive to these reports coming out that link fracturing chemicals to groundwater contamination.
To be fair, natural gas advocates point out that the crevices they’re tapping are typically not at the same level as groundwater. Still, that means they’re either drilling through potential groundwater territory, or above it (think: gravity).
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, fracturing, Fuel, Halliburton Loophole, natural gas, natural gas drilling, Natural Resources Defense Council
Keeping Spot and Rufus flea and toxin free
Fleas happen. So do ticks. With the trees in full leaf and the back of the lot thick with weeds, I know the hounds will soon be targets. Typically, I just shave them (the dogs not the parasites), wash them with something obnoxiously fragrant and hope for the best.
I gave up chemical dog collars awhile back, about 1992. (Reasons in a moment.) But knowing that the dogs are miserable with fleas (not to mention how miserable we’d be sharing their fleas) and that they can get Lyme disease if they pick up a tick, I’m well aware this isn’t a perfect solution. I have fed them garlic powder, a home remedy, but with mixed success.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Carcinogens, Cats, Dogs, Endocrine Disruptors, EPA, flea collars, Natural Resources Defense Council, neurotoxins, propoxur, pyriproxyfen, TCVP
NRDC issues list of Filthy 15 states to bear the brunt of future coal waste
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Seeking to show that proposed new U.S. coal plants would exact a high environmental toll even beyond their carbon air pollution, the Natural Resources Defense Council issued a list today of the states that would bear the greatest burden from coal waste.
Texas, with eight proposed plants, topped the NRDC’s “Filthy 15″ list. It was followed by South Dakota, Florida, Nevada and Montana, Illinois, South Carolina, Ohio, Wyoming, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri , Wisconsin, Georgia and West Virginia.
Those states have 54 proposed coal plants awaiting permitting. Across the nation, there are 80 proposed plants that would dump an estimated 18 million tons of dangerous coal combustion waste annually into various dump sites, largely unmonitored by the federal government.
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Tags: · Carbon Emissions, coal ash, Coal Power, coal waste, Filthy 15 list, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky Missouri, Michigan, Montana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
NRDC’s ‘Filthy 15′ future producing coal states
Here is the Natural Resources Defense Council’s list of the 15 states that would be the biggest polluters — the “Filthy 15” — based on their total of 54 planned coal plants that create nearly 14 million tons of dangerous waste (state; number of proposed plants; estimated coal ash waste in tons):
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Tags: · Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Measure B – L.A.’s solar plan sends up political flares
By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now
On March 3, Los Angelinos will vote on a solar energy measure that has created controversy in some quarters, and whose progress other U.S. cities may want to watch.
Measure B, also known as the Green Energy and Good Jobs for Los Angeles Act, calls for a major increase in the amount of solar power used by the City of Los Angeles (400 megawatts to be created by 2014; enough to power about 240,000 homes). It would create a new training academy for workers; offer tax incentives to L.A. manufacturers who move into solar power technology and installation; and place solar installation, ownership and maintenance in the hands of the municipally owned Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). Ultimately, Measure B would put up hundreds of acres of solar voltaics, on rooftops and land.
Involving two basic camps – those who oppose Measure B but not necessarily solar energy; and those who consider Measure B a strong starting point – the dust-up has swirled with anti-B accusations of back-room deal making, local-politics playing, lack of proper public vetting, union steamrolling – and worse.
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Tags: · Green Energy and Good Jobs for Los Angeles Act, Los Angeles, Measure B, Natural Resources Defense Council, Solar Energy
Stimulus plan puts green into green; the details so far…
From Green Right Now Reports:
In a alert released this afternoon, entitled “Congress Gets It Right — Recovery Deal to Spur Clean Energy Economy”, the Natural Resources Defense Council praised the compromise stimulus package hammered out by Congress for the ways it steers the American economy in a greener direction.
“Congress really got it right with this economic recovery package that will deliver jobs and green infrastructure to America. The bill makes smart investments that will jumpstart the economy, help sustain future growth, and meet the challenges of the 21st century,”effused Wesley Warren, director of programs for the NRDC. “We need to put America on a path to a clean-energy economy, and Congress has taken a big step forward in heeding this call.
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Tags: · clean energy, Congress, green incentives, Green jobs, high-speed rail, Natural Resources Defense Council, NRDC, public transportation, stimulus package, Tax Credits, Weatherization Assistance Program
Green groups need your year-end donations
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Now that you’ve worn off the magnetic strip on the credit card buying presents for everyone, gotten the letter that your health insurance premiums are doubling and your job is being “redefined,” it’s time to think about those year-end donations. Sigh.
While environmental groups will likely have an easier time on Capitol Hill next year talking policy with a new Administration that sees global warming as a real threat, they paradoxically could be facing headwinds with donors.
Consider first that some of their large contributors may have been dragged down in the Bernard Madoff securities/Ponzi scheme, which savaged many charitable foundations. While the extent of that damage is being assessed, it’s safe to assume that even nonprofits that escaped that five-alarm fire, have been singed by the economic meltdown.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Working Group, Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nature Canada, The Nature Conservancy
Green collar jobs: solving environmental and economic troubles?
October 17th, 2008 · 1 Comment
By Harriet Blake
Rick Hunter, a St. Louis homebuilder, says he’s always been interested in green construction, but in the past decade has become a true believer that green is the future of building. For him and his three-year-old company, Sage Homebuilders, a green collar job is the whole package.
“We’re small and growing quickly,” says Hunter, a co-founder of the 12-employee company. “It’s fun to see how many people want to be part of this movement. People are getting excited about green collar jobs. They’re meaningful. They make people happier in their jobs and make people feel better about what they’re doing. And you can earn a living.”
In St. Louis, Hunter says, green collar jobs are “absolutely the trend, particularly in green construction.” Sage Homebuilders uses green products in new construction and renovation projects, focusing on upgraded energy systems (like the solar panels pictured on this “Near Zero” energy-saving home).
As the country struggles with an economic downturn and job uncertainty, talk of green collar jobs is becoming a larger part of the national dialogue. Late last month, a national rally Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy prompted events in 48 states. The rally, sponsored by Green for All, 1Sky and Al Gore’s WE campaign, focused on the dual cause of social justice and a green economy with events ranging from block parties to solution fairs.
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Tags: · Alternative Energy, American Solar Energy Society, Green For All, Green jobs, Natural Resources Defense Council, Renewable Energy Policy Project, The Center for American Progress, The Green Collar Economy, Van Jones
California Leads in Fighting Oil Addiction
By John DeFore
California leads the nation in efforts to curb its addiction to oil, according to a report issued this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The group’s second annual report is mainly intended to measure each state’s relative vulnerability to rising oil prices, suggesting that while “the federal government has a responsibility to take [...]
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Tags: · California, gasoline, Natural Resources Defense Council, oil
Steeling A Green Future
By Barbara Kessler
The United Steelworkers have been busy constructing a new green future for themselves, building wind turbines, for instance, at existing mills that might otherwise be suffering in the economic downturn. Now the labor group wants to, shall we say, buttress that future, by promoting green energy and jobs all around.
Working with the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the USW today announced an American green jobs initiative that will promote renewable energy and independence from fossil fuels, an endeavor that could create more than 820,000 new green jobs nationwide, according to the press release.
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Tags: · Green jobs, Natural Resources Defense Council, Wind Power
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