Today, the Environmental Protection Agency granted California the right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

Earth2Tech compiled reactions to the House of Representatives’ passage of the Waxman-Markey energy bill. President Obama said he was “confident” that the Senate would pass some version of the bill.

The politics to achieve the 60 Senatorial votes needed to pass the energy bill are tricky.

The Interior Department will designate 1,000 square miles of federal land in the Western U.S. as potential solar energy zones in an effort to fast track solar energy projects.

Hilda Solils, U.S. Labor Secretary, talks to The Washington Post about jobs and unions.

Developers of a new software program say it can help increase efficiency and cut buildings’ energy costs by 25 percent by metering ‘energy drift.’

Valero Energy Corporation will use wind turbines to power a Texas oil refinery.

Local Green: Alaska’s relatively clean burning natural gas supply could replace some the country’s CO2 intensive power generation, but some fear it could fuel Canadian tar sands operations.

Colorado has laid the groundwork for a clean energy economy and has created green jobs despite the recession.

The New York State pension fund invested $15 million in a wind farm.

Great Lakes Echo is running a series on Michigan’s environmental education programs.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of cowsgomoo / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

The House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act on Friday, which calls for America to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The bill includes provisions to help American manufacturers retool their plants to produce components for clean energy projects.

President Obama praised the bill’s passage, but criticized a provision that would levy trade penalties on nations with no system for limiting CO2 emissions by 2020.

Today President Obama announced new energy efficiency measures that include standards on lighting and an accelerated distribution of $346 million in Recovery Act funds slated for energy efficiency.

Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman likened climate change denial to a form of treason.

The Democratic Party’s Congressional moderates and conservatives may be the biggest obstacle to party leaders’ ambitious climate and health care agenda this year.

The clean energy industry worries that funding for new projects will dry up when stimulus package money runs out.

Biosolar is introducing environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum-based solar panel components that cut can costs by 25 percent.

Local Green: West Coast ports fear that they will lose business to Canada and Mexico without improved railway corridors for transporting Asian imports.

Sacramento County, California chose a builder for its smart grid, which will serve about 600,000 homes.

–Christopher Greenspan

The debate over Waxman Markey on is on in the House.

In yesterday’s speech supporting the Waxman-Markey energy bill, President Obama focused on the economic aspects of the legislation, calling it a jobs bill.

Environmental groups are working with members of the Senate, hoping to strengthen the Waxman-Markey bill after it leaves the House.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll found 75 percent of Americans favor regulating greenhouse gas emissions produced by power plants, cars, and factories.

A new report says the recession, high oil prices, and growing clean energy use helped curb CO2 emissions growth last year.

Arguing against the adoption of national, smart, supergrid, a piece at Alternet makes the case for microgrids.

Local Green: Virginia will evaluate pollution emitted from older power plants that were grandfathered with the passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act.

Five federal leases were granted to wind energy companies to investigate offshore wind potential along the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware.

Chicago’s Sears Tower - America’s tallest building - will undergo a green retrofit that aims to cut electricity consumption by 80 percent.

G.E. says its new Detroit research and development facility will create 1,200 green jobs.

–Christopher Greenspan

Is your Congressman one of the 101 fence-sitters on the Waxman-Markey climate bill?

The League of Conservation Voters will not support any candidate in the 2010 election cycle who did not vote for the Waxman-Markey energy bill.

Despite a recession and rising unemployment, skilled labor remains in high demand across America.

Over 200 economists signed a statement saying that the Employee Free Choice Act is crucial to the rebuilding of the country’s economy.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced $500 million in grants for green job training as put forth by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

Jerome Ringo, Apollo president, talked about the green economy on Minnesota Public Radio.

The American auto industry could save $3 billion a year by boosting vehicles’ fuel efficiency 30 to 50 percent.

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2020 is “not in the cards,” according to U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern. A U.N. Panel of climate scientists recommend that industrialized nations cut emissions from 25 to 40 percent.

Denmark’s Vestas - the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer - plans to invest $1 billion in the United States, largely because of clean energy incentives in President Obama’s economic stimulus.

Sustainable Industries released its annual Top 10 Green Building Products list.

Scientists at Columbia University are developing an artificial tree that captures CO2 1,000 times faster than real trees.

Local Green: California is considering the first state mandated carbon fee to pay for its strict greenhouse gas emission law.

Across Northwestern Montana, small businesses are fueling the transition to a clean energy economy.

–Christopher Greenspan

House energy bill co-author, Representative Henry Waxman (D - California), cut a deal with Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, making a yes vote in the House this Friday very likely.

President Obama bolstered support for the Waxman-Markey energy bill yesterday, encouraging the House to support the legislation, because it would “spark a clean energy transformation.”

Environmental groups are divided over the energy bill, some calling its passage a must, while others fear it gives polluters too much for modest emissions reductions.

The United States and Chile signed an agreement yesterday that strengthens scientific cooperation between the two nations, particularly in the area of clean energy.

Blackouts along America’s aging power grid cost the economy $150 billion each year.

The common refrigeration agent hydrofluorocarbon will make a larger contribution to climate change over the next few decades than previously thought.

Zeta Communities aims to design relatively inexpensive, prefabricated, ‘zero energy’ homes.

Local Green: Rhode Island issued nearly $700,000 in grant money to 17 renewable energy projects.

Climate Week NYC will be held in September to boost support for an international climate treaty by year’s end.

–Christopher Greenspan

The on-again-off-again Waxman-Markey energy bill is now on-again as it should make it to the House floor by Friday. Bones of contention include rural conservation practices and carbon offset levels.

Twenty U.S. climate scientists sent a letter to Congress that urges it to pass a strengthened version of the Waxman-Markey bill.

Economist Paul Krugman calls climate activists the realists in the energy legislation debates.

G.M. says the development of its plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt is on time and under-budget.

Three auto companies - Ford, Nissan and Tesla - will receive $8 billion in loans to build fuel-efficient cars.

Some observers say the federal government is playing a more important role than venture capital in clean energy investment.

A new study found that 98 percent of “natural and environmentally friendly” products in the U.S. are marketed with “potentially false or misleading claims.”

Local Green: A clean energy “Texas two step” could help create jobs, save money, and propel the Lone Star State’s economy.

A three-acre organic farm on New York City’s Governor’s Island will give city kids an opportunity to learn about growing food and sustainability.

New Hampshire’s first commercial grade wind farm began operating last week.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of Robert Insall.

Mexico hosts the Major Economies Forum this week, a another round of talks that will help lay the groundwork for major global climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year.

Last week was the Asian Development Bank’s Asia Clean Energy and Climate Week. The U.S. says it will invest $600 million in Asian clean energy projects.

Oxfam’s top climate policy adviser called for an annual investment of $150 billion in the developing world for climate change “adaption and mitigation.”

The call for a domestic manufacturing policy is becoming louder. Apollo advocates for it to be a green domestic manufacturing policy.

The Waxman-Markey energy bill would make significant greenhouse gas cuts while costing each American household, on average, 18 cents per day. Expect a vote this week.

The Senate approved a $1 billion “cash for clunkers” program that offers car owners a cash incentive to trade in gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient vehicles.

A new study finds diesel vehicles are 90 percent cleaner than just a few years ago, exceeding E.P.A. emissions reductions targets.

Local Greens: In California, some unions are using environmental regulations to push big clean energy developers to adopt labor friendly practices.

Outside New York’s Madison Square Garden, a seven story sign tells passersby how much CO2 is being emitted into the atmosphere.

Vermont dairy farmers are switching up their cows’ diets to cut back on “methane burps.”

–Christopher Greenspan

A $150 billion investment in clean energy would create a net increase of 1.7 million jobs, according to new analysis.

Despite criticism that greenhouse gas reduction targets aren’t high enough, Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the Waxman-Markey energy bill is worth passing.

Yale E360 discussed the Waxman-Markey bill with 11 environmental and energy experts.

A new television spot, co-sponsored by environmental, veteran and labor groups, in support of the Waxman-Markey bill is airing in the Washington, D.C. area.

The U.N. says that energy efficiency could save $900 billion annually worldwide by 2020.

Carbon dioxide levels in the earth’s atmosphere are at a 2 million year high.

U.S. natural gas reserves are 35 percent larger than previously believed, in part due to extractions methods considered economically feasible for the first time. Debate continues around the public health consequences of extraction.

Google is developing “smart charging” software for plug-in electric vehicles.

Local Green: A green-collar jobs work force plan is now in the hands of the Oregon State Senate after having passed by a large margin in the Oregon House.

–Christopher Greenspan

Vice President Joe Biden gave the keynote address at yesterday’s Senate Democratic Green Jobs Summit. Apollo Alliance president, Jerome Ringo, also spoke about how boosting the clean energy manufacturing sector can create jobs.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced a bill that would create a $30 billion loan program to help small and mid-sized manufacturers transition to the clean energy economy. Apollo played a large role in crafting the legislation, and estimates the bill will create over two and a half million jobs during the next five years.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved an energy bill that sets a federal renewable energy standard and revamps federal clean energy financing. The bill also repeals mandatory royalty waivers for some offshore oil and gas drilling operations.

The White House will give high profile support to Congressional energy and climate legislation next week to counter criticism that it is not doing enough.

The Congressional debate over a massive expansion of the country’s energy grid is being “driven more by politics than policy wisdom.”

World leaders will meet in Copenhagen later this year to put together a post-Kyoto Protocol climate treaty. Scientific American looks at some possible courses of action and the obstacles to their adoption.

Boeing says bio jet fuels have outperformed standard fuels in recent tests.

Automobile air conditioners account for six percent of the nation’s fuel consumption, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Lab wants to improve the devices’ efficiency by 33 percent.

Duke Energy is testing a smart grid project it has dubbed the ‘virtual power plant.’

–Christopher Greenspan

The U.S. Global Change Research Program released an impact assessment of climate change in the U.S., and called for swift action to avoid disaster. A thorough breakdown of the report can be viewed here.

Some critics contend the Waxman-Markey energy bill does little to improve renewable energy production over what would occur “naturally” without government intervention, but a piece at Grist finds one “silver lining.”

The renewable energy potential of forests and other sources of biomass is a a subject of debate as Congress moves forward with clean energy legislation this year.

While business leaders at the National Summit in Detroit touted the clean energy economy as an economic stimulant, others gathered outside to protest unfair work conditions, home foreclosures, and big business bailouts.

Peatlands - a type of wetland ‘carbon sink‘ - can store large amounts of CO2 in soil deposits that can reach 60 feet in depth.

PowerSat Corporation filed patents for two technologies it says will make solar energy harnessed in space more cost effective.

Local Green: Expecting the stimulus package’s clean energy provisions to strengthen America’s renewable energy industry, Mainstream Renewable Power, an Irish company, bought three wind farms in Illinois.

New Jersey launched a clean energy incentives program that offers interest free loans as well as grant money.

A San Francisco jobs training program received over $500,000 for “environmentally friendly construction jobs.”

–Christopher Greenspan