Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Democratic leaders in Congress are calling off efforts to pass a clean energy and climate bill in the near term. Reid acknowledged his party was unable to secure enough votes to pass substantial legislation, but said the focus would be shifted to legislation addressing the BP oil spill.

Senators Barbara Boxer (D. - California), Jeff Merkley (D. - Oregon), and Kristen Gillibrand (D. - New York) introduced legislation yesterday that would put property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing back in action. PACE home financing programs across the country have come to a halt due to opposition from federal mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A bill sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders (I. - Vermont) that would provide federal funds for state solar energy programs moved a step closer to becoming law this week.

A proposed $7 billion pipeline that would transport Canadian tar sands oil to the United States hit a setback this week when the E.P.A. criticized the scope of a recent State Department environmental impact report.

The United Nations is looking to revamp the way international climate change agreements are made.

Chinese companies’ ability to bring down the cost of solar energy is quickly pushing the industry to grid parity, reports Bloomberg, but also allowing China to capture a huge portion of the global market.

Global spending on clean energy research, development, and demonstration (pdf) peaked at around $23 billion in 2009, in large part due to various countries’ economic stimulus packages. But the International Energy Agency reports that this amount needs to become the annual RD&D floor rather than a temporary peak.

The size of newly constructed American homes dropped in 2009 for the first time in three decades, reports the National Association of Homebuilders.

Local Green: Utah’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Corroon outlined an energy plan that focuses on increasing efficiency and enacting policies that will help the state generate 25 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2025.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy Kate B Dixon

A draft E.P.A. plan to regulate CO2 emissions would spare small emitters and target only larger operations like utilities, manufacturers and refineries.

A coalition of environmentalists and Native American groups are suing the State Department over its approval of a pipeline that would transport tar sand oil from Canada across the U.S. border.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned that the world must make “rapid progress” on climate negotiations to avoid the worst effects of global climate change. “Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading towards an abyss,” said Ban.

Cleaner fuels and vehicles won’t be enough to substantially reduce CO2 emissions unless Americans avoid traffic jams and drive less.

Earth2Tech explores what to expect on clean energy and climate when Congress returns from its summer recess.

About half of the U.S. oil trade market is controlled by speculators - a 30 percent increase since federal regulations were eased in 2000.

The 2009 GoingGreen 100 list recognizes the efforts of private companies that develop the next wave of clean energy.

From kindergarten to college, Grist’s green cheat sheet helps your kid make the back-to-school grade in green.

Local Green: Google-funded geothermal energy company AltaRock Energy Inc. is putting a California demonstration project on hold due to “geologic anomalies.”

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of American Art Museum/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Clean energy industries provided safer working environments than traditional fossil fuel industries.

A North Korean delegation discussed denuclearization and clean energy with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Time profiled Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s efforts to orchestrate a meaningful climate policy for the United States.

Supporters and opponents of climate legislation are working hard to build grassroots support as the Senate prepares to take up the issue once again early next month.

A reinforced natural gas lobby is stepping up efforts to gain favorable footing in the Senate’s climate legislation debate.

The Washington Post asked politicians, academics, and others if they think the health care debate will eclipse climate change.

The Obama administration approved the construction of a pipeline that will carry oil sands fuel from Canada into the United States.

In a tight credit market, the ability of green home developers to forge new connections has helped some markets stay relatively strong.

The American Sociological Association added its name to a growing list of professional organizations that support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Local Green: Car sharing systems help shrink the number of cars on our roads by allowing people to pool auto resources. Earth2Tech created a spreadsheet that compares the relative merits of over a dozen networks.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of theregeneration / CC BY-SA 2.0

Speaking at the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0, former President Bill Clinton said that America needed to stop “piddling” around and implement a national strategy for building the clean energy economy.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was also at the summit.  She said that as clean energy incentives begin to kick in, green job growth will follow.

An official summit  memo called for retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency and increasing domestic natural gas production to be part of a strategy for lowering carbon emissions.

Seven out of ten Americans support Senate action on climate change.

The American Institute of Architects estimates the American Clean Energy and Security Act would create 270,00 design and construction jobs.

America’s workers are ready to build the clean energy economy, writes Mark Ayers of the AFL-CIO. “The only thing standing in our way is a handful of politicians in Washington, who seem to have lost faith in American ingenuity.”

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon warned of “incalculable” human suffering if a global climate agreement is not achieved at this year’s climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

South African President Jacob Zuma warned that the world’s poorest women would suffer most from global climate change.

China Huaneng Group and Duke Energy agreed to share information and potentially develop joint clean energy projects.

A pipeline transporting Canadian oil over the U.S. border awaits approval from the State Department. Proponents see the U.S.-Canadian energy deal as a a way to lessen the likelihood of further oil wars in the Middle East, but opponents see the potential for “environmental disaster of unimaginable proportions.”

Greenbiz.com created an interactive map that breaks down how economic stimulus funding for retrofitting federal buildings has been distributed across the country.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of U.S. Senator Harry Reid.

Today the word in Washington is energy. The Obama administration is organizing a series of international meetings centered on climate and energy issues. The house unveiled a plan energy and climate change.  And the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee begins evaluating major energy legislation today.

According to the Progressive Studies Program survey, over three quarters of Americans agree that “America’s economic future requires a transformation away from oil, gas, and coal to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.”

The U.S. and Canada may restrict emissions of sulfur dioxide, soot, and other pollutants from ships within 200 miles of ports.

Until the crash of Wall Street’s big banks, the wind energy industry had relied almost completely on a tax equity model for financing projects. Now the industry hopes to tap the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to fill the gap.

The Department of Energy produced a map detailing how much federal energy efficiency funding individual cities are eligible to receive.

Awarding carbon credits to countries that reduce deforestation could drastically cut carbon-based fuel prices shifting focus away from renewables, according to a new study.

The Energy Information Administration estimates total electricity usage will shrink by 1.7 percent in 2009.

Local Green: $6.5 million dollars of American Reinvestment and Recovery Act money will fund Renew Boston - an organization aimed at fostering energy efficiency and renewable growth.

In what speaks to a turning political tide in Indiana, two bills addressing energy efficiency and net metering have been approved by the House and have a strong chance of passing through the state Senate.

–Christopher Greenspan

Earth Hour - an unlit hour to raise global awareness about energy conservation and climate change - will take place this Saturday night. Edward Norton and Alanis Morissette discussed Earth Hour on Larry King Live last night.

Americans United For Change produced a 30 second ad in support President Obama’s budget. The group argues that the budget will produce good jobs, create clean energy, and “build real, long term economic prosperity.”

I.B.M. announced it will cut 5,000 U.S. jobs. The company says it may purchase Sun Microsystems - known for its interest in energy efficient data centers.

Recession-fueled layoffs are prompting many of the nation’s unemployed to return to school to obtain clean energy-related skills.

Grist slams The New Yorker lead story, “Economy vs. Environment,” saying the piece is “so filled with long-debunked right-wing talking points, it would barely qualify for the Wall Street Journal editorial page.”

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed a three dimensional solar cell surface that increases efficiency.

Local Green: An editorial by Policy Matters Ohio researcher Amanda Woodrum (author of a recent report on Ohio’s mass transit) argues that 20 percent of the state’s gas tax should fund public transit.  She argues her case so persuasively that the Akron Beacon Journal published and editorial today that agrees with her. Policy Matters Ohio convenes the Ohio Apollo Alliance.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership announced the locations of its 46 planned hydrogen fueling stations.

San Francisco might require downtown commercial building to shut off their lights after hours.

The Kansas legislature approved a bill aimed at attracting wind and solar energy manufacturers to the state.

Maine and New Brunswick want to create an international Northeast Energy Corridor to share renewable power.

–Christopher Greenspan

“We can’t afford to tackle these issues in isolation,” said President Obama at last week’s news conference with the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Obama also assured Canadians that his administration wants “to grow trade, not contract it.” The two leaders agreed to work together on clean energy development.

The “U.A.W. Made” guide provides information about vehicles produced by union members in the U.S. and Canada.

A.F.L.-C.I.O. international economist Thea Lee dismissed arguments that the stimulus bill’s “Buy American” provision was a protectionist move.

The economic stimulus bill passed last week will provide $2 billion for high speed rail developments.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman calls for “start ups, not bailouts.”

Scientists say that NASA’s first CO2-observing satellite will improve climate models.

Local Green: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin cut her proposed $50 million clean energy budget in half, citing declining oil revenues.

Nevada state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford introduced green jobs legislation that would use federal stimulus money to train thousands of workers in home weatherization and energy efficiency skills.

Colorado’s late-1990s tech explosion is compared to the state’s current attempts to generate a clean energy economy - this time geography may the be the difference between boom and bust.

Spain and Florida discussed potential clean energy partnerships.

Chicago, which produces 20 percent of its energy through renewables, wants to host the greenest Summer Olympics to date.

–Christopher Greenspan