Students Calling for Divestment

A phenomenon is sweeping university campuses across the country:  students are organizing to demand their schools divest from fossil fuels. 

Earth Day Origins

Coal Shrinking - Solar Growing

While the solar sector is currently experiencing exponential growth and opportunity, the coal industry is seeing an opposite situation.  Government regulations and lowered costs of renewable energy and natural gas are driving a nationwide transition away from coal (over 187 coal plants have already been closed to date.)   SNL Energy reported that in 2014 coal mining jobs had fallen 8.3 percent to 79,658. As the movement away from coal-powered energy continues, what are the options for the coal industry employees? One option is job retraining programs in renewable energy fields.

Investment Tax Credit - Critical for Solar Development

As part of its annual Environmental Poll, Gallup just reported that 91% of respondents said the U.S. should place more emphasis, or the same emphasis, on solar development. In this newly released nation-wide poll, solar was voted as the #1 domestic energy source that should be developed with greater emphasis.

Doomsday Climate Change Reporting

We all know climate change is a major threat - potentially a catastrophic one.  But it is not too late to still tackle the worst effects of climate change and there are many solutions available. Unfortunately, a recent study published in Nature Climate Change revealed that news outlets almost exclusively report climate change doomsday scenarios and rarely report solutions. This unbalanced reporting leads to hopelessness, disengagement - even fatalism (when what is really needed right now is effective action).  

Solar development is spreading throughout the United States as PV costs fall and utilities rush to take advantage of federal subsidies for solar, which could expire at the end of 2016 if Congress fails to renew them. 

Founded in 2003, The Post Carbon Institute’s mission is to lead the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world by providing individuals and communities with the resources needed to understand and respond to the interrelated economic, energy, and ecological crises of the 21st century.

Go Solar California, a joint effort of the California Public Utilities Commission and Governor Schwarzenegger's "Million Solar Roofs" program, had a goal to encourage Californians to install 3,000 megawatts of solar energy systems on homes and businesses by the end of 2016. For larger CA utilities such as PG&E and SCE, the rebates have run out, but for smaller municipal utilities such as the Truckee Tahoe Public Utility District, rebates still exist. 

Solar pays for itself in some impressive ways.  According to new research sponsored by the Department of Energy, buyers are willing to pay significantly more for homes with solar panels installed.  Yearly electricity savings, options to feed electricity back into the grid for credit and a higher home resale value all prove solar is a savvy investment.