Clean energy jobs and traditional energy jobs were a hot topic of debate during yesterday’s Senate hearings on climate and clean energy legislation.

Senatorial testimony opposing clean energy jobs legislation ironically reinforced arguments in favor of it, illustrating how the “do nothing” federal policies of the last eight years have decimated blue collar industries.

The Sierra Club’s Carl Pope explains why reducing CO2 emissions 20 percent by 2020 is not nearly as ambitious as critics of the Senate’s Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act claim.

$2.2 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds will help hundreds of public power companies strengthen their renewable energy portfolios.

A new study published in Science suggests the greenhouse effect of methane gas has been underestimated.

A joint U.S.-China wind power project - the largest between the two nations so far - will bring more than 600 megawatts of clean energy to Texas. The project is expected to create 300 construction jobs.

Renewable Funding - a company that helps home and business owners with clean energy and energy efficiency project costs - announced it had received more than $12 million in new venture capital funding this week. The company helped Berkeley, Calif., develop its flagship municipal clean energy financing program.

Local Green: Grist’s continuing series investigating how Senators are likely to vote on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act profiled Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo).

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of Amanito / CC BY 2.0

The Department of Energy and U.S. Treasury announced over $500 million in cash grants to companies developing clean energy projects. The grants are part of a federal effort to put “Americans back to work in good construction and manufacturing jobs,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Ten of twelve projects under the grant program will be wind energy projects. The American Wind Energy Association pointed to a recent study that found government investment in wind projects would create green-collar jobs.

At this week’s Regional Clean Energy Economy Forum in Michigan, Obama administration officials connected CO2 emissions regulations, government incentives for renewable energy projects, and jump starting the economy. Other countries will take the lead in clean energy development “if we don’t provide these incentives for American companies to do it,” warned U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

A poll of likely voters in climate bill swing states found 60 percent of respondents would vote for their incumbent senator if he or she supported the legislation.

A U.N. report says an annual investment of $500 billion will be needed to help developing nations transition to clean energy sources.

Duke Energy is breaking with the the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, because of the organization’s opposition to Congressional clean energy and climate legislation.

New federal regulations will slash vending machine energy consumption by over 40 percent.

United Steelworkers International president Leo Gerard envisions a twenty-first century, green industrial revolution.

Local Green: Colorado laws that take effect this week boost funding for solar energy projects and tech start ups.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Faye / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Letters opposing Congressional climate legislation, purportedly sent from North Carolina-based organizations representing people of color (including a local NAACP chapter), were exposed as forgeries and have been traced to a Washington-based lobbying group. Several organizations, including the Sierra Club and MoveOn, are asking the Department of Justice to commit to a full investigation.

Delegates attending a series of State of the World Forum climate talks in Brazil will develop the organization’s 2020 Climate Leadership Campaign, which calls for an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has produced reports on global warming for two decades, but the agency’s lack of power to direct policy threatens its relevancy.

A $2 billion extension of ‘cash for clunkers‘ became more likely yesterday when several key Senators dropped their opposition to the plan. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned that the program’s future relies fully on the Senate’s approval of the extension.

The Energy Department and U.S. Treasury began accepting applications for cash payments to companies setting up renewable energy facilities. The two agencies anticipate distributing $3 billion to about 5,000 projects.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hear one more climate change-related panel this week before entering a month long recess.

Click on any swing state on this US Climate Action Network map for information about climate change and the clean energy economy.

National Public Radio’s All Things Considered is hosting a month-long series called “How Green Is It?,” which examines the relative merits of popular, consumer-oriented energy saving strategies.

Local Green: New Jersey launched the CHP grant program on Monday as part of its master plan to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent and increase its use of renewables.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of manitou2121 / CC BY 2.0.

President Obama linked clean energy jobs, quality health care, and a reformed education system to the creation of a new foundation for America’s economy in a Sunday editorial.

The economy needs a “Rebuild America” plan, which may sound familiar to friends of Apollo as it is part of The New Apollo Program.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu will be in China this week to discuss a Sino-American “clean energy center.”

A piece at Its Getting Hot In Here sums up where the 60 Democratic Senators stand on climate legislation negotiations.

The Treasury and the Energy Departments announced rules for the distribution of the $3 billion in economic stimulus clean energy funds.

Workers and union leaders marched through Little Rock, Arkansas over the weekend in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Local Green: The Dayton Daily News profiles Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D. - Ohio) efforts to create green-collar jobs and position his state as a leader in the clean energy economy.

Oakland, California’s Alliance For Climate Education aims to inform highschoolers about global warming with a teen-friendly approach.

California’s more conservative, inland communities are catching up with the coast when it comes to solar energy.

Austin’s GreenChoice energy program has successfully provided energy to electricity consumers generated entirely by renewables for the last decade. But rising demand for wind energy and an inadequate transmission system have pushed prices to an all time high.

A new Vermont law clears some red tape for clean energy businesses in the state.

–Christopher Greenspan