Tag Archives: energy

Washington, Approve R-52

11/01/2010 Nativegrl77

Tomorrow is Election Day, and you have an opportunity to make Washington‘s schools more energy efficient and create energy savings for Washington taxpayers. Vote to approve Referendum 52 and stand up for a clean energy economy that starts with retrofitted schools.

Too many of Washington’s schools are falling apart, and R-52 provides the necessary bond money to fund the energy-efficiency retrofitting of older schools and university buildings.

Not only does this enable Washington to repair its schools in an environmentally sound way, but it will create much-needed energy efficiency jobs across Washington.

Please vote by mail today — and don’t forget to approve R-52.

Repower America has been working all year on passing national legislation to help fight climate change. Tomorrow there is something you can do right in Washington to make a real change in your community.

R-52 supports a tough, smart measure that will save taxpayers money and make our air cleaner. But it can’t pass without your support.

Approve R-52 — and mail in your ballot today.

Thanks,

Maggie L. Fox
Chief Executive Officer
Climate Protection Action Fund

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop Liberty,BP’s Next Big Drilling Disaster

09/27/2010 Nativegrl77

Urge Interior Secretary Salazar to stop BP‘s next drilling disaster before it even happens!

Right now the only thing standing between BP and its next big drilling disaster is the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. BP built a gravel drilling island three miles off Alaska’s north coast and classified the Liberty drilling project as “onshore,” thereby dodging the recent moratorium on offshore drilling in the arctic waters off Alaska. BP calls Liberty one of its “biggest challenges to date,” and if it moves forward, the company will push the limits of drilling in Alaska’s Arctic, just as it pushed the limits of deepwater drilling in the Gulf with the Deepwater Horizon.

What BP is proposing is crazy. The company’s current plan calls for a well to be drilled that extends two miles below the seabed and then six to eight miles sideways to get at the oil they believe lies below federal waters in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea. It’s a disaster waiting to happen in a place where it’s simply impossible to respond to and clean up a large oil spill.

Allowing the company responsible for the worst oil spill in US history to attempt such a risky drilling project in the ice-infested waters of Alaska is the true definition of insanity repeating the same mistakes yet expecting different results. Take action now and ask Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to stop BP from moving forward with Liberty.

It took BP more than three months to end the gusher in the Gulf, and the region will be feeling the effects of the nearly 5 million barrels of oil that were spilled for decades to come. Alaska’s arctic marine environment is even more fragile than the Gulf of Mexico, and moreover, BP lacks adequate response assets in this remote part of the state where darkness, intense cold and storms, and solid or broken sea ice are the norm for much of the year. It’s no wonder the US Coast Guard called an oil spill in Arctic waters a “nightmare scenario.”

BP’s own analysis says there’s an eight percent chance of a large oil spill at Liberty. Would you get onto a plane if the pilot told you there was an eight percent chance of it crashing? Didn’t think so.

BP has already built Liberty Island and has received all of its permits except for one the federal government’s final sign off on BP’s “application for a permit to drill.” Secretary Salazar can deny this final permit, urge him to stop BP’s next big drilling disaster now.

Sincerely,

Melanie Duchin
Arctic Program Director

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Get down and dirty with RAN

09/02/2010 Nativegrl77

Take Action With RAN On 10/10/10

On 10/10/10 we’re joining our friends at 350.org and thousands of people around the world for a day of action meant to inspire real leadership on the climate crisis and demand that corporations clean up their dirty energy. In true RAN style, however, we’ll be targeting one of the country‘s biggest and baddest corporations: Chevron.

Will you join us in demanding that Chevron clean up its dirty energy?

RAN will be heading to Chevron gas stations across the country to show this corporate polluter how the clean up their act. From their dirty oil refinery in Richmond, California, to their toxic legacy in Ecuador‘s rainforest, Chevron is a danger to our communities, our health and the climate.

Take action on 10/10/10 at a Chevron gas station near you.

Head out to your local Chevron station with us. Sign up to start a 10/10/10 day of action at your Chevron station. All you need are some “cleaning supplies,” some friends and some fun. Don’t worry; we’ll make sure you have all the things you need to make your event a success.

One last thing: we want to share your actions with the world. So don’t forget to bring a camera, capture the moment and send us your photos or videos.

Let’s get to work and hold corporate polluters like Chevron accountable on 10/10/10.

See you at the stations!

		For a cleaner future,
		Nick Magel Change Chevron Campaign

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Top U.S. Cities For Green Energy Programs

04/23/2010 Nativegrl77

Over the last few years, there has been a great deal of public discussion about the need to transition to sources of energy beyond fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. The reasons are clear: some of these fuels are likely to be exhausted in the next few decades, the U.S. must import large amounts of oil and all fossil fuels create some level of pollution. To commemorate Earth Day, The Nielsen Company studied the top 10 DMA markets most likely to participate in renewable energy programs derived from natural resources such as the sun, the wind, water, geothermal and biomass. These are abundant in supply and do no harm to the environment. Companies and consumers are looking at these energy alternatives to reduce their carbon footprint and ensure a sustainable energy future.

Residents in the San Francisco metro area were the most likely to participate in such programs – not much of a surprise given the region’s long-time reputation for being among the most environmentally conscientious areas in the country. More surprising might be the second and third ranked metro areas of Los Angeles and the Washington, DC.

Top 10 Market Potentials for Utility Green Energy Programs
Rank	DMA	Users/100 HHS	Index
1	San Francisco metro area, CA	4.54	138
2	Los Angeles, CA	4.1	125
3	Washington metro area, DC-MD	4.04	123
4	New York, NY	4.01	122
5	San Diego, CA	3.95	121
6	Chicago, IL	3.95	120
7	Las Vegas, NV	3.86	118
8	Sacramento metro area, CA	3.77	115
9	Salt Lake City, UT	3.74	114
10	Houston, TX	3.71	113
Source: The Nielsen Company

Nielsen works with a number of utilities around the U.S. to help them evaluate such programs. One such client is Oregon’s Portland General Electric (PGE), which has been recognized as having one of the most successful residential programs of its kind. While the Portland DMA falls just outside of the Top 10 market potential report above, PGE’s customers have enthusiastically adopted this program, and participation levels are approximately three times the national average for residential renewable energy programs. With 73,000 renewable power customers, PGE is constantly evaluating customer “touch-points” to make enrollment into renewable programs easy.

“Embracing renewable power is one of the easiest ways for customers to reduce their carbon footprint,” said Thor Hinckley, Manager of PGE Renewable Power Program. “We have to thank our more than 73,000 renewable power customers who have made PGE’s renewable power program one of the nation’s most successful. For the past four years, PGE residential customers have purchased more renewable power than from any other utility in the nation.”

“As PGE has shown, there is greater market potential out there for renewable energy support from the U.S. consumer than has been tapped. Understanding which households and consumers embrace renewable energy will continue to be a driving factor in the success of these types of programs nationwide,” said Jonathan Drost, Account Executive, Nielsen Claritas.