Kentucky Coal Museum installs solar panels. I think there's a joke here somewhere.

Courtesy of the AP:

Don't look to the Kentucky Coal Museum to bring coal back. 

The museum is installing solar panels on its roof, part of a project aimed at lowering the energy costs of one of the city's largest electric customers. It's also a symbol of the state's efforts to move away from coal as its primary energy source as more coal-fired power plants are replaced by natural gas. The state legislature recently lifted its decades-old ban on nuclear power. 

"It's a little ironic or coincidental that you are putting solar green energy on a coal museum," said Roger Noe, a former state representative who sponsored the legislation that created the coal museum. "Coal comes from nature, the sun rays come from nature so it all works out to be a positive thing."

Yeah good luck with bringing those coal jobs back Donald Trump.

If this is not an indication that the coal industry is all but dead I don't know what would be.

US Solar energy companies now employ more people than coal, gas, and oil combined.

Courtesy of The Independent:  

Solar energy in the US employs more people than traditional coal, gas and oil combined, a report has found, in a revelation that could undermine Donald Trump’s argument that green energy isn’t good for the economy. 

The latest report from the US Department of Energy (DOE) reveals solar energy accounts for the largest proportion of employers in the Electric Power Generation sector, with wind energy the third largest, while the coal industries have declined in the past 10 years. 

Solar energy employed 374,000 people over the year 2015-2016, making up 43 per cent of the sector’s workforce, while the traditional fossil fuels combined employed 187,117, making up just 22 per cent of the workforce, according to the report. 

“Proportionally, solar employment accounts for the largest share of workers in the Electric Power Generation sector. This is largely due to the construction related to the significant build out of new solar generation capacity,” the report states. 

Look a fast growing industry that promises more jobs,  a guaranteed return for investors, and no negative impact on the environment.

Gee if only our country were run by a smart businessman type who recognized a great opportunity for economic growth.

Las Vegas becomes the largest American city to switch to 100% green energy.

Courtesy of the Independent:

Last week, Las Vegas reached its decade-long goal of completely powering the city with renewable energy, making it the largest city in the United States to do so. 

“Las Vegas is one of the few cities in the entire world that can boast using all of its power from green sources,” Mayor Carolyn Goodman told reporters at city hall last Monday. 

The city reached the goal thanks to the opening of Boulder Solar 1, a 100-megawatt solar plant located near Boulder City. Now, the city’s government buildings, streetlights, and parks are fueled the renewable energy.

Apparently the city has been working toward this goal since 2008, and  have now reduced energy emissions by 30%.

And this Sarah Palin is why we do not need to spend billions on oil exploration in the Arctic.

Thank you President Obama.

Survey finds that Americans overwhelmingly want to get away from fossil fuels and move toward green energy sources.

Courtesy of Forbes:  

Americans “overwhelmingly” prefer solar and wind energy to coal, oil, and nuclear energy, according to a Harvard political scientist who has conducted a comprehensive survey of attitudes toward energy and climate for the last 12 years. 

Americans see natural gas as a bridge fuel that falls somewhere in between, offering some benefits over traditional fuels but more “harms” than solar and wind, said Harvard Government Professor Stephen Ansolabehere during a December appearance at the University of Chicago. 

“Americans want to move away from coal, oil and nuclear power and toward wind and solar,” said Ansolabehere, introduced as “the leading energy political scientist in the world” to climate scientists, physicists, economists and public-policy experts at The Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC). Ansolabehere described solar and wind energy as “hugely popular, overwhelmingly popular.” 

So popular, in fact, that they easily cross the partisan divide that polarizes Americans on so many other issues. About 80 percent of Americans said they want solar and wind energy to “increase a lot,” and another 10 percent or so want it to increase somewhat. 

“In order to get 90 percent, that means a lot of Republicans like solar and wind—more than coal. Everybody likes those sources. This is non-partisan.”

And yet virtually every Republican politician is voting against renewable energy and arguing for more exploration and continued reliance on coal. 

Gee it's almost like somebody is buying them off or something.

President to use executive action to advance solar power and energy efficiency in move that will be the "equivalent of taking about 80 million cars off the road for a year."

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

President Obama is expected to announce a series of executive actions and agreements on Friday morning that will advance solar power and energy efficiency in the United States, part of his pledge to tackle climate change without having to go through a gridlocked Congress. 

According to a statement from the White House, the initiatives will represent an 850-megawatt increase in solar power deployed, or enough to power 130,000 homes. They will also lead to more $2 billion in energy efficiency investments in Federal buildings, $26 billion in savings for businesses on energy bills, and a 380 million metric ton decrease in carbon pollution — the equivalent of taking about 80 million cars off the road for a year, the statement said.

You see while the Republicans are spending all of their time, and our tax dollars, attacking this man on a never ending basis, HE is doing what he can every day to make our lives, and the health of our planet, better. 

In fact, along those lines, the President is also having those solar panels that Ronald Reagan had removed put back onto the roof of the White House:  

Technicians have finished installing solar panels on the White House roof, capping a project that President Barack Obama hopes will send a signal that renewable energy is feasible and environmentally shrewd.

You may remember that President Carter originally put the solar panels up in the 70's. However that oil company whore Ronald Reagan had them removed when he started his disastrous presidency.

Imagine if he had continued to promote renewable energy policies, and how much better off the country, and even the world, would be today.

What am I saying? Ronald Reagan could never have had that kind of foresight.

The Koch brothers and their fellow conservatives finally find a tax they can support. They want to tax the sun.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

At long last, the Koch brothers and their conservative allies in state government have found a new tax they can support. Naturally it’s a tax on something the country needs: solar energy panels. 

For the last few months, the Kochs and other big polluters have been spending heavily to fight incentives for renewable energy, which have been adopted by most states. They particularly dislike state laws that allow homeowners with solar panels to sell power they don’t need back to electric utilities. So they’ve been pushing legislatures to impose a surtax on this increasingly popular practice, hoping to make installing solar panels on houses less attractive. 

Oklahoma lawmakers recently approved such a surcharge at the behest of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative group that often dictates bills to Republican statehouses and receives financing from the utility industry and fossil-fuel producers, including the Kochs. As The Los Angeles Times reported recently, the Kochs and ALEC have made similar efforts in other states, though they were beaten back by solar advocates in Kansas and the surtax was reduced to $5 a month in Arizona. 

But the Big Carbon advocates aren’t giving up. The same group is trying to repeal or freeze Ohio’s requirement that 12.5 percent of the state’s electric power come from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2025. Twenty-nine states have established similar standards that call for 10 percent or more in renewable power. These states can now anticipate well-financed campaigns to eliminate these targets or scale them back.

The reasons that they are giving for wanting this ridiculous tax is that the ability of the solar panel users to sell back unused energy to the utilities "would hurt older people on fixed incomes by raising electric rates."

But of course that's just bullshit. And even if it WERE true there is no way the Koch brothers give a shit about anything that does not provide a profit for them.

No these assholes simply know that once renewable energy catches on in this country that their businesses are going to take a serious hit, and that scares the crap right out of them.

Rachel Maddow discusses in depth the influence of ALEC in this country and how they are trying to recreate themselves in response to blowback after the Trayvon Martin case.

Click image to play video

Does anybody doubt that much of the criticism aimed at Jimmy Carter was the result, not of his problems with the hostages in Iran, but instead due to his attempt to take the country away from fossil fuels, and toward renewable energy sources?

The fact that this group has had such a significant, and negative impact on our politics, is deeply troubling, and should inspire us to keep an eye on them moving forward. 

Which President has done the most to encourage growth in the US energy industry? Are you thinking Ronald Reagan or George Bush? Wrong again!

"You oil executives see my tie? That is an indication of the future of energy in this country. Deal with it!"

Courtesy of Chron.com:

Advocates for the U.S. energy industry routinely say they wish President Obama would pursue pro-growth energy policies. Well, he has been, and not just for the likes of fallen green giants like Solyndra. Under Obama, the traditional U.S. energy sector is flourishing. The domestic energy sector is experiencing its largest growth since the halcyon days of the 1950s and 1960s. As importantly, we're growing in the right directions. 

For the first time in decades, we are seeing sustained increases in U.S. oil production and decreases in oil consumption, which means imports are dropping. 

U.S. domestic oil production is up an incredible 14 percent since Obama took office. A few years ago we imported nearly two-thirds of our petroleum products. Today we import less than half. The reduction in imports means tens of billions of dollars now stay in our own economy. 

But it's not just oil: dry natural gas production is up 16 percent, natural gas liquids are up 26 percent, solar generation is up 14 percent and wind generation is up 59 percent. Even production of coal - supposedly the main target of Obama's policies - is flat over that same time period. There are even headlines blaring that U.S. refining capacity is at the highest point in decades, exceeding levels achieved under recent Republican administrations. All of this growth produces royalties and taxes to address our budget challenges. 

Despite the numbers, many in the energy industry describe Obama as if he's intent on making us freeze in the dark. They'd have us believe Obama and his team are singlehandedly killing the American energy industry. 

The facts tell a different story: This is a pro-energy president.

And that my friends is the difference between having a comprehensive energy policy, and just coming up with bumper sticker slogans like "Drill Baby, Drill."

By the way if anybody is standing near Sarah Palin when she reads this I will pay serious money for a picture of the look on her face at this news.

Though in my minds eye, it will look something like this:

Let's face it this is YET another area where the Republicans simply have no ammunition to use against the President. I swear if this jobs crisis turns around before the election, all the Republican candidate will be able to do is point at his face and say "Yeah, but at least I'M white!"

What if solar energy got the same subsidies as fossil fuels?

Knowing this is possible, and that American energy companies are fighting to keep it out of our reach, drives me crazy.