Renewable energy is an emerging industry and according to CleanTech a record $8.4 billion dollars was spent on clean technology venture capital investment in 2008.  Solar, wind, transportation and smart grid technologies (among others) will continue to experience exciting technological advancements in coming years.  This technological progress will increase efficiencies, reduce costs and incorporate new innovations into available...

You celebrate a traditional Valentine’s Day – flowers, candy, a romantic dinner – but this Valentine’s Day, you are dating an environmentalist.  If you are, you know what I’m talking about.  You look at every item before you throw it out to see whether you can reuse, recycle or, compost it.  You check sockets to see if the appliance HAS to be plugged in.  You purchase RECs or Carbon Offsets.  Everything in the...

Anyone who has stopped by or enrolled in a clean energy program at one of Community Energy’s many community outreach tables may have noticed our miniature 1-foot model wind turbines made from pewter.  In the fall, the editors of Norwalk, Connecticut-based E, The Environmental Magazine, noticed our miniature model and thought one would make the perfect prop for their upcoming “Wind Power” issue.  Yes, that’s a model wind turbine...

Two weeks ago, Al Gore returned to Capitol Hill to press the case for quick action on climate change legislation, particularly the components in President Obama’s stimulus package that he feels will spur renewable energy and energy efficiency investments.

His accomplishments and impact on the debate are well known by now, and the world is preparing for the next round of climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. With the former vice...

The other day I was reading the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) Blueprint for Legislative Action on climate change. USCAP is a coalition of major corporations (like GE, Ford and PepsiCo) and highly-regarded environmental NGOs (like The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Council), so this is a group that stands to have some major influence on the final form of national climate change legislation.

USCAP is pushing for...