This is The Source for Wednesday, December 19, 2012, green jobs news every day from the BlueGreen Alliance. Don’t forget to “tell your friends” about this great resource. You can sign up here.
TOP THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR DECEMBER 19
Time for a Change. BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster yesterday sent a letter urging senators to take action to reform the use of the filibuster in the U.S. Senate. According to Foster, “Once employed sparingly in exceptional instances of intense opposition, filibustering has now become common practice at the expense of vital issues such as the Employee Free Choice Act and Climate Change. In place of bipartisanship, collegiality and compromise, we now have rampant obstruction. This must come to an end."
Shrinkage Ahead. Vestas Wind Systems recently announced it believes the U.S. wind market will contract 80 percent in 2013. Time is running out for Congress to take action and renew the Production Tax Credit that supports hundreds of thousands of wind workers — including thousands in Missouri — before it runs out at the end of the year.
ISSUE IN-DEPTH: PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT
Additional coverage of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy includes:
- AOL Energy: GE Reaches Milestone for Wind Installations as US Industry Heads for Cliff
- Huffington Post: Don't Let Wind Power Fall Off the Fiscal Cliff
- Politico: Don’t tie tax extenders bill to fiscal cliff
- Denver Post (CO): Wind turbines make 17 percent of Xcel's electricity, but future cloudy
- Agri News (MN): Groups unite to urge support of wind power
National and International Blue-Green
Officials in Britain has a five-year plan to spur the use of solar and biomass energy, according to Reuters.
The Associated Press reports officials still haven't figured out the "source of a persistent sheen on the Gulf of Mexico."
Senators will be having a weekly “Climate Change Clearinghouse” open forum next year. The events — which are open to Senate Democrats and interested Republicans — is being co-chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer, according to the Hill.
The AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department yesterday released a statement praising Hawaii Senator Daniel Inoye for his work on transportation issues. The Hill has the following quote, “For more than five decades transportation workers could count on Sen. Inouye to defend their jobs and rights.”
To the States
A new poll, reported by the Detroit Free Press, found Governor Rick Syder’s support taken a hit after he signed legislation making Michigan a right-to-work state.
The Capital Public Radio discusses the controversy with California’s Green Chemistry regulations.
An editorial in the Chicago Tribune looks at the questions around the “smart-grid bill” in Ohio and declares it’s “time to build a modern power system, smart meters and all.”
The Statesman Journal reports Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber is releasing his ten-year energy plan today.
Napoleon, Ohio has been named “America’s Number One Solar Small Town,” the Toledo Blade reports.
The Montgomery Advertiser says one Alabama senator wants the state’s constitution to include right-to-work.
Blue-Green Links
Business Green: 2012: The best of times and the worst of times for the green economy
Bloomberg: U.S. Boosts Import Duties on Chinese Wind-Energy Firms
Yahoo Finance: Climate Change Is Killing Economy: Here's How to Stop It
TIME: Betting on Hunger: Is Financial Speculation to Blame for High Food Prices?
Union Leader (NH): Wind power growth on coastline not a breeze
South Jersey Times (NJ): N.J. solar market struggling from oversaturation
Chicago Tribune (OH): Put smart grid back on track
State (SC): Lawsuit seeking coal ash cleanup at SC’s Santee Cooper plant gets green light
Desert News (UT): Climate change already playing out in West, report says
Journal Times (WI): A call for moral action to develop renewable energy sources