At the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, the overarching topic of "resource scarcity and the environment (specifically the future of fossil fuels and fighting climate change denial)" was recognized as one of the top global challenges. 

Christina Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 2010, drew four primary conclusions on climate change and energy from the disucssions circulating at the forum.

Consumers are embracing renewable energy for many reasons:

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a law August 17 requiring power utilities to get 6 percent of their energy from solar in 2015 and every year thereafter.

The Lone Star State may be best known for its oil industry, but it also leads the nation in one renewable energy and has the potential to do a lot more.

Down in the Sunshine State, Governor Charlie Crist plans to hold a special session of the state legislature to address the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to oil, he wants to focus on renewable energy policies, especially those that do not raise electricity rates or energy costs—including measures such as solar rebates and solar incentives.

Green Mountain Power, a utility company serving 25 percent of Vermonters, said the number of customers using small-scale renewable energy sources to generate their own electricity has more than doubled since 2008. The largest growth came from customers who generate electricity with solar panels, the company said in an April 6 press release.

The New York Public Service Commission set aside $279 million in incentives over the next five years for small-scale renewable energy projects. About $170 million of the total has been tagged for solar-technology projects. The Commission’s approval came on March 25.

Utopias have always had a place in the American vision, from William Penn's "Sylvania," to Robert Owen's New Harmony, to the Oneida and Shaker communities and the Amana Colonies, right up to The Farm, in Tennessee founded in 1971 by back-to-the land hippies.