clean energy

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#ForewordFriday: Energy Democracy Edition

As the current federal government tries to breathe new life into a dying fossil fuel economy, foment racial intolerance, reassert U.S. military dominance, eliminate health and other protections, and otherwise bow to corporate interests, it is a critical time to strengthen and empower our communities. To save the planet—and ourselves—we must find solutions that democratize energy, making it a vital resource for advancing the environmental, economic, and social justice needs of our communities.
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Trump’s Coal Delusions

During the second presidential debate on October 9, Republican presidential nominee (now President-Elect) Donald Trump claimed that “clean coal” could meet the energy needs of the United States for the next 1,000 years. Now that Mr. Trump will be in the position of making national energy policy, it’s worth examining that assertion.

Renewable Energy Around the World and At Home

Around the world, renewable energy is making headlines: last May, clean energy supplied almost all of Germany’s power demand for one day, while Portugal ran entirely on renewable energy for 107 hours straight. We asked some of our authors how these accomplishments will affect the way other countries think about renewable energy, and what this means for the US. Check out what they had to say below. 

Lessons Along the Path to 100 Percent Clean Energy

In early May of this year, Portugal ran on renewable electricity alone for four consecutive days. And later that same month, on May 15, Germany filled almost all its electricity needs with solar, wind, and hydro power.  This is good news: it tells us we’re making progress toward a zero-carbon energy system. But it also helps us see the challenges to a full renewable energy transition.

Racial Equity, Poverty and the Promise of Clean Power

Very influential people are starting to connect the dots among climate change, racial equity and poverty. The United Nations' new sustainable-development goals explicitly link these issues, and in his historic address to Congress last month Pope Francis called for an "integrated approach" to the climate, requiring inclusive dialogue and a focus on fighting poverty. 
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Is There a Silver Lining to Our Environmental Actions?

Is There a Silver Lining to Our Environmental Actions? Recent human and environmental crises are a stark reminder that we are all connected by the vast meridians spanning planet earth. We share the same atmosphere, affected by the same hydrological and climatic systems, and therefore are vulnerable to the waste products we spew. With population levels expected to rise to 9 billion by century’s end, what kind of planet are we leaving for our children and is there hope for a better future?
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Yes, we can!

Yes we can! - That unforgettable call-and-response, heard again last night in Barack Obama's stunning acceptance speech, echoes today around the world.  And I and my fellow climate activists are happy to take all the credit for the President-elect's use of this phrase.
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The Beginning of a Revolution

On December 18, 2007, there was a sound heard across America coming from Washington D.C. It was the sound of the beginning of a revolution - the clean energy revolution. Until that day, we had been waiting 30 years for the first shot to be fired in this effort to totally transform America's energy economy. That wait finally ended six months ago when I joined 234 of my colleagues  in the House of Representatives and passed a comprehensive clean energy bill that finally broke the strangle hold of the oil and gas industry on congress and ushered in the era of clean energy.
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Liftoff

Rocket launches are always exciting. So are clean energy revolution launches. Although I have never attended the launch of an American space rocket, I have been there at the launch of a clean energy revolution, a more terrestrial but just as important effort – one that will surely be as big a leap for mankind as the one that took place on the Sea of Tranquility.