Get Energy Smart! NOW!

In the last week, several studies (okay, one lobbyist press release packaged as a “study” and the other a real study) have made a splash. The first, the Price Waterhouse “study” for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) on implications of moving toward a public option and universal coverage. The other, the month’s old Congressional Budget […]

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The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) is determined to prove to any and all its anti-science, anti-knowledge credentials. Here is the RPV candidate for Attorney General parroting global warming denier lines, showing his tendency to allow his ideological preferences and biases to triumph over science and the work of 1000s of scientists. Should it surprise […]

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Let’s face reality, it takes a sort of unusual person to describe crawling through attics to seal air leaks or slithering in crawl spaces to insulate piping as a “fun” activity. Turning over the compost pile; separating materials for recycling; turning off lights; putting on an extra sweater while turning the thermostat down in winter; […]

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One Senator has chosen to pay attention to The Solar Decathlon on the Mall and issue a challenge. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has issued A Challenge to Universities. He opened with a strong statement of praise and support for The Solar Decathlon. Every two years at this time of year, an exciting thing happens on […]

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The U.S. Congress is often the site of friendly (sometimes not so friendly) wagering, when rival teams meet each other in important events. This occurs around University football games, World Series, the Superbowl, March Madness, and other competitions.  Right now, there is a 20-team competition underway almost literally in the shadow of the US Congress […]

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Solar innovation has come to The National Mall from the north as part of the 2009 Solar Decathlon, with two Canadian teams out of the 20 energy efficient solar powered homes. Team Ontario/BC took their geography to heat, forming Team North to North House to Washington, DC. Considering where they come from, no surprise that […]

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Electrification of rail is one of the most effective currently available technology paths for reducing carbon emissions. It should be on the top of the policy agenda. It is, basically, nowhere to be found. Here is a guest post by the very thoughtful BruceMcF, looking at this gap and providing a path forward for addressing […]

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Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina, and Senator John Kerry, Democrat from Massachusetts, have joined forces in what might be one of the most important single opinion pieces published in a newspaper so far in 2009. Published in The New York Times, Yes, We Can (Pass Climate Legislation), provides an indication of a ‘bipartisan’ […]

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The University of Kentucky has brought its own color to a plot on The National Mall. . Their entry into the Solar Decathlon, as one of 20 energy efficient solar powered homes,, is called “s•ky blue” with the motto “live.light”. As with all the houses, s•ky blue almost certainly exceeds the U.S. Green Buildings Council’s […]

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Thronging The National Mall at this time are thousands of curious people, visiting the Solar Decathlon with the 20 energy efficient solar powered homes, being awed by their designs, their technologies, and their visions for the future.  Team Boston has centered their entire project around that very sense of curiosity, with CURIO House having as […]

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