California Dreamin’ Golden State Leads in Clean Energy Standards
In the nation’s most aggressive clean energy legislation to date, Califor- nia will require utilities in the state to obtain at least 33 percent of their electricity from clean, renewable sources such as the wind and sun by 2020, revising the previous standard of 20 percent by 2010 (they hit 18 percent, on track for the full 20 by 2012). Adopted as part of a green jobs stimulus package, “Today’s vote is not just a victory for California’s economy and environment, but for the entire nation,” says Laura Wisland, an energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Sci- entists (UCS). The new standard garnered the
backing of a broad range of electric utilities, ratepayer groups, environ- mental organizations and renewable energy businesses. The UCS estimates that the state will be responsible for more than 25 percent of the re- newable energy generated by state standards across the country in 2020. The amount of heat-trapping global warming emissions displaced as a result will be equivalent to removing about 3 million cars from the road. A 2011 Gallup poll found that of eight actions the U.S. Congress could take this year—from overhauling the tax code and immigration reform to speedy withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan—Americans most favor an energy bill that provides incen- tives for using alternative energy; 83 percent said, “Do it!”
Eco-Europe Ban Planned For Gas-Fueled Vehicles by 2050
A new report by the European Commis- sion, an executive branch of the Europe- an Union, proposes to completely eliminate gasoline and diesel- fueled cars and trucks in favor of clean- running vehicles by 2050, in a bid to decrease traffic con- gestion and drastically reduce the continent’s carbon footprint. The commission
also would like to enact a ban on the
shortest air flights, requiring passengers to travel by other means of transporta- tion, such as trains, for distances under 186 miles. Meanwhile, infrastructure will be updated to cater to more sustainable forms of transportation across the continent. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas describes the plan as being com-
posed of, “very radical, very ambitious targets.” Changing the way a continent moves doesn’t come cheap: “We are talking about the necessity of an investment of 1.5 trillion euros ($2.2 trillion),” as Kallas was quoted in The Independent, in the UK. “Curbing mobility is not an option; neither is business as usual. We can break the transport system’s dependence on oil without sacrificing its efficiency and compromising mobility. It can be a win-win.”
Source:
Treehugger.com June 2011 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60