Photo of a lightening storm in Martinez, California. Photo by Toni Irwin.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has lost two of its members: Exelon and New Mexico’s Public Service Company and Pacific Gas and Electric.

Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power generator, says “inaction on climate is not an option.”

They quit the Chamber citing the Chamber’s stance on climate change legislation.

The Chamber doesn’t like doing anything about climate change. [Huffington Post]

It boils down to money—again. Anything to protect profits of business. Profits aren’t going to matter if we destroy the planet in the process.

Show your support for a Clean Energy Plan

Let our elected officials know we need green jobs.

Host: Nevada State Democratic Party

Type: Meetings – Informational Meeting

Date: Monday, August 10, 2009

Time: 8:30am – 10:00am

Location: Steps of the Cox Pavilion of the UNLV campus

Street: UNLV campus at Tropicana and Swenson

City/Town: Las Vegas, NV

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Email: kirsten@nvgreenvote.org

Description

Friends,

Last year, Americans voted overwhelmingly for change, including an energy policy for the 21st Century.

Members of Congress are working to jumpstart our economy and create new, green jobs in Nevada by passing a historic Clean Energy Plan. Unfortunately, big oil and gas companies are using scare tactics to stall this work and are organizing a protest Monday against any sensible reform to our nation’s outdated energy policy.

PLEASE JOIN US — Monday, August 10, at 8:30 a.m. on the steps of the Cox Pavilion of the UNLV campus — to let our elected officials know we need green jobs and a Clean Energy Plan now! It’s important that we show our support for a Clean Energy Plan.

Join other Nevadans to send a public “thank you” to Sen. Harry Reid for the work he is doing to support a Clean Energy Plan in Congress and call on other senators to vote in favor of jobs that can’t be exported overseas. Sen. Reid recognizes that we must harness Nevada’s vast solar, wind and geothermal energy potential to stabilize our energy costs and create much-needed jobs!

Free parking is available in the Cox Pavilion parking lot on the UNLV campus at Swenson and Tropicana. For more information, please go to www.rebuildnevada.org. To RSVP, please email kirsten@nvgreenvote.org.

Jobs and the New Economy

Host: U.S. Senator Harry Reid, UNLV, and Center for American Progress Action Fund

Type: Meetings – Convention

Network: Global

Date: Monday, August 10, 2009

Time: 10:00am – 6:00pm

Location: UNLV – Cox Pavilion

Street: 4505 S. Maryland Parkway (corner of Tropicana Ave. & Swenson Ave.)

City/Town: Las Vegas, NV

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Description

JUST ADDED: Former PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON!

PENDING: Keynote Address by GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

WHAT: High-level industry leaders, scientists, policy experts, and public officials, along with citizens and the media, will gather in Nevada for a day-long summit hosted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, U.S. Senate Majority Leader HARRY REID (D-NV), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

This year’s summit will bring together the nation’s top minds, including former Vice President AL GORE, Secretary of Energy STEVEN CHU, energy executive T. BOONE PICKENS, White House Council on Environmental Quality Special Advisor VAN JONES, Nevada State AFL-CIO executive DANNY THOMPSON, and many others to chart a course for our nation’s clean energy future.

WHY: 2009 provides a pivotal opportunity for our nation to come together to define a policy agenda that accelerates the deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency, creates good jobs, advances energy independence, and ensures long term economic prosperity for Nevada, the nation, and the world. We hope you will join the conversation.

For more information on the summit and to register online, visit: http://www.cleanenergysummit.org

$25 discounted admission price for students!!!

Want to participate in a different way? Volunteer at the event by applying at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SS_2fKOgcDwWwNwh6armDwVw_3d_3d

– Today is Energy Independence Day and the One-Year Anniversary of the Pickens Plan.

- The goal of the Pickens Plan is to make us safer here at home and create millions of high paying new jobs by ending our country’s dependence on foreign oil.

- I believe this is critical to the future of our country and future generations.

- The basics of the Plan are for 20% of our nation’s electricity to come from wind power and to divert excess natural gas to the transportation grid. We currently import nearly 70% of our oil from overseas.

- HR 1835 or the ‘NAT GAS Act of 2009’ is in front of Congress right now with over 70 bi-partisan Co-Sponsors in the House. It would provide incentives for natural gas to become a viable transportation fuel alternative to foreign oil.

- The Senate version of HR 1835 is being introduced today and Boone is in Washington for the announcement.

- Call your congressman and senator today to ask for their support of this bill, HR 1835 that will help get us off of foreign oil.

- This bill stands to create a number of new jobs at a time we need it most.

- Boone is dead on with this plan! We do have enough natural gas. In fact the Potential Gas Agency says there’s enough natural gas in the U.S. for every man, woman and child to drive a car for the next 120 years.

- This plan is also the right choice for the environment. Natural gas burns 23% cleaner than gasoline and 60% more than diesel fuel plus it’s ¼ the cost of foreign oil.

- And if you took just one 18 wheeler off the road and replaced with a natural gas rig, it’s the environmental equivalent of taking 325 cars off the road.

- Learn more and sign up at www.pickensplan.com.

President Barack Obama

Organizing for America (OFA) has officially landed in Nevada. Organizing for America is dedicated to forwarding President Obama’s agenda through grassroots action, and to creating a progressive, grassroots movement in the State of Nevada.

In order to best serve Nevada, OFA will visit cities throughout the state to re-engage and mobilize the grassroots movement in support of President Obama.

For Organizing for America to succeed, we need to hear from you – your effort and commitment are the backbone of this movement, and your input will help guide our action in Nevada. [Read more →]

Republicans in Congress will spend the Memorial Day recess attacking Democrats for pushing a cap-and-trade bill that could raise Americans’ transportation and energy costs wrote The Hill on May 23, 2009.

“Democrats and the Obama administration have said that putting a price on carbon emissions is the best way to wean the country off of foreign oil and stem global warming while also creating new jobs.”

“The attacks on the Democratic energy proposals is part of a larger GOP effort to paint the Democrat-led Congress as big spenders who backed a $787 billion stimulus plan and are now pushing an energy tax and a “government takeover of healthcare,” according to House GOP talking points.”

Not much new about any of this. Republicans just naturally call anything the Democrats do as too expensive, socialistic, and an expansion of government. All the same things the Republicans did while they controlled the White House and Congress. [Read more →]

That is what the Wall Street Journal says. A whole lot of it has been found in Northern Louisiana.

So what, you say!

The discoveries have spurred energy experts and policy makers to start looking to natural gas in their pursuit of a wide range of goals: easing the impact of energy-price spikes, reducing dependence on foreign oil, lowering "greenhouse gas" emissions and speeding the transition to renewable fuels.

is what the WSJ answers. “A climate-change bill being pushed by President Barack Obama could boost reliance on natural gas. The bill, which could emerge from the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May, is expected to set aggressive targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent man-made greenhouse gas.”

Meeting such goals would require quickly moving away from coal-fired power plants, which account for substantial carbon emissions. President Obama wants the U.S. to rely more on renewable energy such as wind and solar power, but those technologies aren’t ready to shoulder more than a fraction of the nation’s energy burden. Advocates for natural gas argue that the fuel, which is cleaner than coal, would be a logical quick fix. In addition, billionaire energy investor T. Boone Pickens has been touting natural gas as an alternative to gasoline and diesel for cars and trucks.

What? Move away from coal-fired power plants? Nevada has a love affair with coal-fired power plants! Or did, until recently.

T. Boone Pickens tells us:

98 percent of the natural gas used in the U.S. is produced right here in North America. Why is that important? Just ask Europe. This January in the dead of winter, Russia slashed natural gas shipments to the Ukraine and Western Europe and completely cut off the Balkans and Turkey over a contract dispute. How did the European Union respond? By telling the Russians that their actions were "completely unacceptable." Hell of a response. You think OPEC wouldn’t cut off our crude over a major disagreement? Hugo Chavez would do that in a heartbeat.
Remember, establishing a sustainable energy policy that relies on domestic resources such as natural gas is not just an economic issue. First and foremost, it’s a security issue.

Security issue? That should bring everyone to the table.

Just read a tweet from Paul Reeves which, in turn, provided me a link to the Sonoma Press Democrat in California.

Looks like Sonoma is far ahead of Nye County. Property owners in Sonoma County will be able to borrow money from their county government for energy-efficient improvements, the pay it back in installments on their tax bills over 20 years at 7% interest. The loans will be for things such as solar panels, double-paned windows voltaic units, solar thermal devices, tankless water heaters, attic and wall insulation. Water efficient technologies to conserve water (i.e., low-flush toilets) are also eligible.

Their program will create energy improvements, jobs and kick their economy into gear. People can apply for loans this coming Wednesday.

More than half of homeowners found it “motivating” to participate, along with an equal number of commercial property owners.

Property owners will also be eligible for additional rebates, as well as state or federal tax credits once they make the improvements.

The energy-saving measures are intended to help achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and cut water consumption during the drought.

Shouldn’t Nye County Commissioners be taking a look at the Sonoma County program?

More information is at www.sonomacountyenergy.org.

Here is some good news for a change:

NV Energy, Las Vegas, has teamed up with two companies, Solar Millennium, LLC, and MAN Ferrostaal Inc., to develop a solar facility in Nye County. [Pahrump Mirror, Thursday, March 5, 2009, page 3]

It will be a 250-megawatt “solar trough technology plant” somewhere in Nye County, expected to be within the Amargosa Valley.

It will include a thermal storage capability which will enable it to generate energy beyond daylight hours during the summer months.

It is hoped construction can begin no later than 2010 and completed by 2013-2014.

The Public Utilities Commission must approve the project first.

“The 250-megawatt output will generate enough electricity to service between 150,000 and 250,000 homes, depending on seasonal variations in weather conditions.

The project should give a significant boost to Nye County, including Pahrump. Keep your fingers crossed.