Image by Guardian UK
Poor Obama: not only does he have to contend with Blue Dogs, but now it seems he is being poisoned by lead found in the People’s Garden at the White House.
In truth, the levels, while not ideal, are far from unusual or unsafe for an urban garden. The Guardian states:
The soil in the garden had lead concentrations of 93 parts per millio...Read the full story on TreeHugger
An outline of the bill, hand-scribbled by Rep. Oberstar. (image via Blueprint America)
America's "happy motoring" days are over; now is the time for a "transformational" transportation policy. On this point, the Obama Administration and Representative Jim Oberstar agree.
However, while the Administration seems content to Read the full story on TreeHuggerGlenn Beck has uncovered a plot! (Yes, another one.) Turns out Van Jones, President Obama’s green jobs czar, is going to coordinate a vast radical/communist/black nationalist takeover of our sweet, virginal land of liberty.
A crash program to improve the energy efficiency of American homes, offices, and factories could slash energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020 and produce $1.2 trillion in savings, according to a report by the McKinsey consulting firm. McKinsey said that taking steps such as better insulating buildings, replacing old appliances, and sealing ducts is the fastest and best way to cut the country’s energy consumption. The firm recommended an investment of $520 billion in energy efficiency programs over the next 10 years, an amount that dwarfs the $10 billion to $15 billion included in the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package. McKinsey executives acknowledged that carrying out such an efficiency program on a large scale faces numerous challenges, including the reluctance of homeowners and businesses to invest sizeable sums of money and a lack of tax breaks and other financial incentives for efficiency improvements. Still, the McKinsey report said that better education of homeowners and businesses, tighter building codes, stricter efficiency requirements for appliances, and the creation of greater incentives could go a long way toward cutting the U.S.’s wasteful energy use.
This piece originally appeared on Yale Environment 360
Related Posts:
Better Buildings Soon? Energy And Climate Bill Would Set National Energy Codes
The Real Green Building Challenge: Creating Policy That Works
Does Green Building Have to Break the Bank?
Help us change the world - DONATE NOW!
(Posted by Yale Environment 360 in Energy at 1:05 PM)
Dialing in the smart grid at GE in Niskayuna. (Jim Motavalli photo)
NISKAYUNA, NEW YORK-We hear a lot of talk about the "smart grid," and it sounds high-tech and cool, not to mention just around the corner. A look at how General Electric is preparing for this brave new future was both exhilarating and sobering.
Exhilarating, because it promises to give consumers considerable control over their energy efficient destiny. We'll be able to order our energy-conscious appliances to run only when the time-dependent rates are low, and switch to half-power when peak use sends those rates soaring. We'll see our real-time power use displayed on "smart meters" and home energy managers. We'll plug in our cars, and let the grid decide on an optimal charging time.
Sobering because it isn't here yet, and won't be tomorrow either. There are 140 million electric meters in use in the U.S., and just making them "smart" will take at least 10 years, GE officials said. Replacing all the transmission lines that make our grid "dumb" -- ie, unable to move wind power generated in North Dakota to, say, New York, where there's a big population waiting to use it -- will take much longer and cost much more. Estimates of total cost range from $100 billion to $2 trillion.
The Obama administration's $11 billion in smart grid stimulus funding certainly helps, but even the most optimistic estimate sees a relatively long timetable and huge investment for the full vision to be realized.
While at GE, I watched a technician simulate what it would be like for the grid to take control of my power use, and visited the "kitchen of the future," a row of cutaway appliances (with neon tubes substituting for stove burners) at General Electric's Global Research HQ in Niskayuna, New York. A computer monitor would allow me to cut my dryer's electric use from 4.5 to 2.5 kilowatts when rates spike (and increasing drying time in the process, of course).