The Reality Coalition - a joint effort joint by the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, and the Sierra Club - just relased a new ad called “Smudge.” Check out their website for more information.
Posted in Climate Change.
Most of you have heard about a cap and trade system. But what about a cap and dividend system? This novel approach calls for sellers of energy sources like gasoline, coal, oil and natural gas to purchase permits from the government equal to the amount of carbon in their fuels.
The cost of these permits is then passed on to consumers - people like you and me who use energy to drive to and from work and to heat homes.
In a cap and dividend system, things like gas and electricity cost a lot more. The reason we have higher prices is because the true cost of carbon emissions - and the climate change that results from carbon emissions - is now included in what we pay for every gallon of gas and every kwh of electricity that we use.
To offset the higher cost of gas and electricity - and every other form of energy that we consume - everyone receives a dividend at the end of the month. This dividend provides an incentive to use less energy - the less energy that you use, the more free money you get.
The higher cost of energy also provides an incentive for entrepreneurs to innovate and supply alternative forms of energy. These alternatives are now more cost competitive with traditional forms of fossil fuel energy. Overtime, the cost of alternative energy will even go down as new technologies are commercialized and economies of scale take hold.
What’s better, a cap and trade system or a cap and dividend system? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Posted in Climate Change.
The We Campaign, a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection and founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore, has grown to over 2 million members.
With a goal of building a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis, the We Campaign advocates America generating 100% of our electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years.
Although this sounds like a lofty and perhaps unobtainable goal, remember that in 1961 President Kennedy set a goal of “landing a man on the mood and returning him safely to earth by the end of the decade.” This goal must have seemed preposterous to some - but the nation ralied behind the goal and achieved it.
You can join the We Campaign here.
Posted in Climate Change.
The Australian Government has released further details on its 20 percent Renewable Energy Target. The draft legislation to deliver the Renewable Energy Target in cludes a new rebate for households, small businesses and community groups that install solar systems.
The 20 per cent target was an election promise and Treasurer Wayne Swan says it builds on the carbon pollution reduction scheme.
“Legislation that we’re putting forward today will really turbo charge renewable energy use in this country, particularly solar energy,” he said.
“It will build upon the incentives in the carbon pollution reduction scheme to build a low pollution economy with green jobs for the future, whilst protecting our economy.” Read more at World News Australia…
Posted in Climate Change, Energy.
Data centers and servers consume vast amountsof energy in the U.S., and Laramie-based IDES Inc., the leading searchengine provider for the plastics industry, is changing how it operates to lower its impact on the environment.
The company recently opened its own state-of-the-art, naturally cooledcomputer server room at its offices in Laramie, and colocated back-upservers at Green House Data, a 100 percent renewable energy powered datacenter in Cheyenne. “For us, advancing the environment while lowering operating costs is goodbusiness,” said Mike Kmetz, president of IDES. “Our hope is that companiesboth in our community and our industry adopt new energy-saving technologiestoo.”
As a backup and disaster recovery measure, IDES also colocated servers atGreen House Data. The facility is powered by renewable wind energypurchased from the local power company’s wind farm. Because energy is a topcost driver for data centers, the high-availability and secure facility isdesigned to operate at approximately 60 percent lower energy utilizationper square foot than comparable data centers of the same size.
“We are pleased to see our customers as excited about greening their ownoperations as we are,” said Shawn Mills, president of Green House Data.”When five percent of all electricity in the U.S. is consumed by datacenters and servers, companies have a responsibility to drive their energyconsumption down for the environment as well as their bottom line.”
On the web: www.ides.com and www.greenhousedata.com
About IDES Inc.
IDES is a plastic materials information management company. The PlasticsWeb® from IDES is a website with a vertical search engine connecting tensof thousands of companies around the globe with plastics content andtechnical datasheets from 700 global resin manufacturers. The companyprovides custom information management services for nearly all resindistributors and a number of resin manufacturers. IDES is headquartered inLaramie, Wyoming, with offices in Europe. For more information, visitwww.ides.com.
About Green House Data
Green House Data is Wyoming’s first high-density data center and hostedcomputing facility. The company offers the region’s lowest cost,high-availability colocation and managed hosting facility. The company’sgreen operations deliver a zero carbon footprint facility that isapproximately ten percent less expensive than its competitors. For moreinformation visit: www.greenhousedata.com
For more information:Nathan PotterMarketing ManagerIDES Inc.Phone: 307-742-9227 ext. 246Email: Email ContactShawn MillsPresident and FounderGreen House DataPhone: 866-995-3282Email: Email Contact
Posted in Climate Change, Energy.
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