Yesterday the Trump administration put out a press release titled “President Donald J. Trump Unleashes America’s Energy Potential”. In it, the release describes how Trump has done this: Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord Rescinding the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan Fast-tracking approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline Ending the Obama Administration’s coal leasing moratorium on Federal land Rescinding the […]

One small section of a 798-page bill titled the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017” was clearly written by lobbyists for the forest products industry. Buried on page 366 is this statement: To support the key role that forests in the United States can play in addressing the energy needs of the United States, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Agriculture, […]

While the world was reeling and dealing with the outcome of the November 2016, an election won by a man who claims to value jobs over the environment and the climate, wind energy was quietly sneaking into fourth place as the source of electricity in America. In 2016, for the first time, wind energy became the leading source of renewable […]

A new law called the Energy Policy Modernization Act is on the fast track to being sent to President Obama to sign into law. Inside this bill is a small provision that could have wide ranging impacts. An amendment introduced by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski would designate the burning of wood and wood products for energy as “carbon neutral”. The […]

Michigan Republicans have long been known for as being ultra-friendly to our major utility companies. The most recent evidence of that comes from legislation that will end what’s known as “net metering”. With net metering, homeowners who install solar installations that produce more energy than they use can send the bonus electricity back to the grid and receive a credit […]

Since today is Earth Day, I thought it would be a great opportunity to hear from a group that does more than most others in terms of protecting our planet from further damage by human activity. Clean Water Action is on the forefront of this and their organization is a model for how to organize and create change one doorstep […]

Last December, Aric Nesbitt, a proud Republican member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), introduced a bill, H.B. 5205 that went largely unnoticed. The bill would reclassify petroleum coke (“petcoke”) and solid waste as a “renewable energy resource”, eligible for renewable energy tax credits. Yes, you’re right to gasp. Earlier this month, Executive Director for the Michigan League of […]

Last October, I wrote about an exciting new project in Detroit called the Veterans Green Village to bring green energy projects to the city and put military veterans to work. I have stayed in contact with Gordon Soderberg (pictured right) who heads up the project. His group has teamed up with the Motor City Blight Busters of Detroit to create […]

“What I learned from my military experience is that…there’s no way this is sustainable and there’s gonna be one day when we go back and die for this stuff.” I meet a lot of really terrific people in my travels but Gordon Soderberg is one of he most selfless, compassionate men I’ve met in a very long time. He has […]

Who knew we had six wind energy scientists in the state legislature? Six Michigan Republicans have decided that Michigan shall not have wind energy installations on the Great Lakes. Why? Not, supposedly, because they are against renewable, clean wind energy. No, it’s because they have decided that (a) it’s not feasible and (b) we should never conduct studies to determine […]

Last week, the BlueGreen Alliance announced the launch of its “Repair America” campaign designed to push action on repairing crucial national infrastructure across the country and create thousands of valuable jobs in the process. The BlueGreen Alliance is a partnership of labor and environmental groups working to expand the number of jobs in the renewable energy sector. Over 100 people […]