One State's View of new EPA Regs/WRPI News

We touched on this yesterday and gave our assent to Obama's crackdown on coal-fired plant emissions.  RI, according to WRPI News, has similar praise:AG praises EPA on new greenhouse regsRegulations will limit greenhouse gas emissionsUpdated: Thursday, 29 Mar 2012, 5:20 PM EDTPublished : Thursday, 29 Mar 2012, 5:19 PM EDTPROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin says he's happy with the newly proposed limit on greenhouse gas emissions by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.The EPA's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of new coal-fired power plants by roughly 50 percent over the plant's life.“Addressing the threat posed by climate change is one of the most important challenges of our time – one...

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Obama's line in the sand on global warming‏

In case you did not see this previously:When the coal companies get going on this it is going to be brutal.   Yesterday, President Obama drew a historic line in the sand with an EPA proposal that puts strong limits on the power plant pollution that causes global warming. This is the pollution that leads to worse air pollution, more devastating floods, and more extreme weather — with low-lying coastal states like Rhode Island especially vulnerable. Join us in showing your support for the first-ever nationwide limits on carbon pollution from new power plants.This action is a huge step toward tackling this huge problem. But now comes the hard part. The coal companies, utilities, and other special interests are furious that these rules could force them to stop spewing...

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See who contacted the PSC and add your comment about Focus on Energy!

272 days since Focus on Energy "suspended" the renewable energy business program! 88 days since Focus on Energy "suspended" the renewable energy residential program! Dozens of people submitted comments asking the PSC to restart Focus on Energy renewable incentive. Have you? You’ll be in good company if you comment. Go to this PSC Web page, then click on “Documents” to see who already signed. You have only until the end of next week, March 30 to tell the Public Service Commission to RESTART the incentives. Remember when Wisconsin used to give incentives, as directed by state law, to people, organizations, and businesses that installed renewable energy systems – solar, wind, biodigesters, and more – through Focus on Energy, which the Public Service Commission oversees. Not any more! ...

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Pawtucket, RI

As many of you know, we started our 12 City tour in Pawtucket with four great shows.  This week, on Thursday, we film the next 4 in Woonsocket.We hope you've had a chance to watch the opening four shows.  With an amazing history and, we found, a very bright future, Pawtucket became the perfect launching pad to the series.Interestingly, right after our shows aired, The Providence Journal, a major newspaper in town, focused--from a different perspective--on the same city and story.  Here's the link to their video:  http://www.youtube.com/user/ProvidenceJournal.Don't forget, too, we have followed up our great success broadcasting the compost conference with a media sponsorship of the upcoming Grow Smart Summit in Providence.  Take a look at the video promoting the event...

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We ran this last year and had a great response

This from Nature's Conservancy:  ou're Invited: Picnic for the Planet‏Newsletters |1:36 PMReply  ▼ The Nature Conservanc​y Schedule cleanupTo peterarpin@msn.com  Trouble viewing this email?You’re invited to celebrate with us on Earth Day, Sunday April 22! Attend a picnic, host one of your own or find other ways to join in the fun.Get InvolvedYou’re invited to Picnic for the Planet — our global Earth Day celebration!On the weekend of Earth Day, April 22, people in Rhode Island and around the world will celebrate the planet we live on, the food that it provides and the people with whom we share it.There are many ways to participate: 1) Attend a Picnic — The Nature Conservancy is holding...

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Thanks to Barbara Seeley

For sending us an excellent article on RI (but it could be any state) standing in the way of destructive, devastating weather as the environment changes around us.  This from the Warwick Beacon:Environmentalist warns RI 'in path of storm'By Kim KalunianThe sun has been shining and the birds have been chirping in the unseasonably high March temperatures, but environmentalists see this season as a possible effect of global warming. Channing Jones, field associate with Environment Rhode Island Research and Policy Center, said yesterday at a press conference that pollution and emissions have a direct correlation to natural disasters, and if action isn’t taken now to reduce our collective carbon footprint, the state can look forward to...

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Enjoy the show on Saturday at 2:30p, EST on ABC 6 and on line

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Session wrap-up: Wind lives! Bad bills stopped!

A wrap-up of the 2011-2012 legislative session from Michael Vickerman: As RENEW Wisconsin’s new Program and Policy Director, I would like to report on recent results of the 2011-2012 legislative session. Though the session as a whole presented Wisconsin’s renewable energy community with unprecedented challenges and a few setbacks1, we were able to fend off a number of bad proposals in the final days. Had these proposals been adopted, Wisconsin’s ability to support and host investments in renewable energy would have been permanently damaged. Wind-sitingAs you probably know, the Legislature adjourned March 16 without taking any follow-up action on the wind siting rule (PSC 128). In doing so, the Legislature allowed the rule, which had been in a state of suspension for more than a year, to take...

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Thank you to Mark Learn

For a great update, from Technology Review, on some amazing advances in the solar cell production process:Startup Aims to Cut the Cost of Solar Cells in HalfA new process uses a high-energy ion accelerator to make thin silicon solar cells.TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012BY KEVIN BULLISAudio »Twin Creeks Technologies—a startup that has been operating in secret until today—has developed a way to make thin wafers of crystalline silicon that it says could cut the cost of making silicon solar cells in half. It has demonstrated the technology in a small, 25-megawatt-per-year solar-cell factory it built in Senatobia, Mississippi.Siva Sivaram, the CEO of Twin Creeks, says the company's technology both reduces the amount of silicon needed and the cost of the...

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Grow Smart's Power of Place Summit Highlights

We are thrilled to be one of the media partners to this year's Summit, and are happy to post some highlights below.  Also, take a look at the video we have posted on our site as well:Keynote Presentation:How 21st century development trends can be a competitive advantage for Rhode Island Demand for more walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods is growing across the United States. However, the challenges associated with financing and permitting these developments are allowing much of this demand to go unmet. There's demographic evidence; there's consumer research evidence; there’s economic evidence, but probably the most compelling evidence is the price premium people are willing to pay to live and work in a walkable urban place.  Hear from one of the nation’s leading thinkers and doers...

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