Last year North Carolina ranked 2nd (only to California) in terms of solar capacity added. But we still get less than 1% of our energy from the sun. Durham has a history of innovation and leading on the environment, so we should encourage the city to take the lead on solar, and commit to getting 15% of it's energy from solar power. We can clean up the environment AND create local jobs at the same time. So let's Grow Solar Durham!

New York State is one of the largest and most visible institutional investors in the world. It could also be one of the first to divest from destructive fossil fuels. At $160 billion, our state's Common Retirement Fund is the third largest pension plan in the country, and it's heavily invested in the fossil fuel industry. Climate change is real, it's here, and it's endangering the biodiversity and natural resources we depend on, as well as the physical infrastructure that makes our state run. So why are we invested in the very companies driving this crisis? Comptroller DiNapoli has the power to divest New York State from fossil fuels. Divestment has the power to rein in the fossil fuel industry and support our transition to a clean energy economy. With the evidence mounting that fossil fuel stocks are overvalued, divestment also protects our public funds from serious financial risks. Around the country, a movement is brewing to divest public institutions from fossil fuels, and it's growing every day. It's growing because divestment is both the smart thing to do and the right thing to do. It's time to divest New York State from fossil fuels and invest our public money in a sustainable future.

Lack of jurisdictional and political cooperation (federal, state, regional, local) prevents implementation of moderate-cost high-yield remediations of land disturbances of all kinds in the primary drainages to Clear Lake. Local economic stringencies and short-term strategies are insufficient to provide long-term investment in natural resource protection, and low-level marketing programs short-change the value of our source water production services. Our County government is helpless to transcend the multi-jurisdictional stalemates; we need professional support to develop practical projects for community stewardship as the basis for ecosystem husbandry. We need our Watershed Protection District to be supported by strong community leaders, Congress, the Governor, and all Friends of Clear Lake, California.

For years Big Oil has been exploiting an outdated tax loophole, called the extracted fuel exemption, that subsidizes oil refineries at the cost of millions of dollars to our state. But our legislators have a choice before them this legislative session: continue to give in to Big Oil or invest in our kids’ education and future.

Forced Pooling is legal under the Oil & Gas Conservation Law in shale formations that sit beneath the Onondaga layer. The Utica Shale is one of those formations. Forced Pooling strips landowners of their property rights and that's just the beginning. Forced Pooling exposes Pennsylvanians to decreased property values, contaminated water, illnesses, and all of the other dangers of shale gas drilling even though they never signed leases. Tell your legislators to end the threat of Forced Pooling in PA! And do it now! The PA DEP is about to hold its first public hearing on an application that will subject private properties in Lawrence County to Forced Pooling!

For millennia, the cool, clear waters of Barton Springs have flowed into the Colorado River, in downtown Austin, Texas. This incredible resource generates millions of dollars for Austin each year. Now, a lame duck majority of Travis County Commissioners wants to commit $15 million dollars of taxpayer money to build this toll road before an environmental impact statement can be completed. Keep the aquifer toll road off of the recharge zone for Barton Springs!

Governor Christie and the Motor Vehicles Commission passed new rules that prohibit Tesla from selling directly to consumers, beginning on April 1st. They did this without a public hearing or going through the normal legislative process, in violation of their responsibility to the citizens of this state. New Jersey residents should have access to electric cars and the option of buying directly from car manufacturers instead of having to go to a car dealer.

Despite all the evidence about the reality of climate change and the damage it is causing, Congress has so far failed to do anything about it -- lulled through this crisis by polluting special interests. We need to send a clear message that the American people want Congress to wake up. Monday night, I joined 30 of my colleagues in pulling an all-nighter on the Senate floor to wake up Congress to the importance of taking action on climate change -- and the response has been phenomenal. For nearly 15 hours straight, we controlled the debate on the floor while our Republican counterparts sat virtually idle on the sidelines. But that's not all. In the past 24 hours, hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters across our country have taken action online to add their voices to our efforts -- with thousands more taking action every hour. Monday’s all-nighter was historic, but it was just the beginning. I am more energized and more inspired than ever by this outpouring of support. This is the first effort of a new Climate Action Task Force that Barbara Boxer and I announced at the beginning of this year – an effort to break through the lies of Big Coal and Big Oil and finally galvanize our colleagues to acknowledge an undeniable truth: Climate change is real. The overwhelming support we have received has heightened our confidence about our ability to get a significant climate bill passed in Congress. We can win, but we have to fight. And in order to fight, we need your voice. Join me and thousands of others today to tell Congress: Wake up to climate change and take urgent action.

On June 5th, 2013 a whitehouse.gov petition was created asking the White House to weigh in on Tesla Motors' ability to sell innovative electric vehicles directly to consumer in all 50 states. It's been 9 months and there hasn't been a response despite the petition receiving over 130,000 signatures. The Obama administration owe's the public a response sharing their perspective on innovative green vehicles that the Dept. of Energy funded the development of and whether they think preventing direct sales of cars is or is not in the best interest of consumers. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-tesla-motors-sell-directly-consumers-all-50-states/bFN7NHQR

The issue of replacement power for the San Juan coal plant is perhaps the most important energy decision that is looming and will have enormous consequences for at least the next 20 years. PNM’s abandonment and replacement power filing - Is not the lowest cost solution; Is not the best environmental outcome; Is not the best jobs outcome; Locks in fossil fuel energy when an avalanche of scientific data demonstrates that we must transition from the burning of fossil fuels to renewables.

The inland waters of the Eastern North Pacific particularly Puget Sound and the Salish Sea are experiencing stress already and the science and governmental action needed to prevent or remediate problems is not being supported. The Navy’s EIS admits that Midrange sonar testing is damaging to threatened and endangered Dolphins and Whales who are dependent on the use of sonar for hunting. The Navy already conducts hundreds of explosive tests and training exercises in the test area with potential for ingestion of pollutants, entanglement, physical damage, and stress on the entire marine environment. These stressors can be cumulative and have widespread affects on the whole ecosystem besides threatened and endangered mammals. The Environmental Impact Statement can be viewed at: www.nwtteis.com

Millions of pounds of arsenic-laced coal ash rushed into the Dan River last month, near Eden(!), North Carolina, because Duke Energy ignored danger warnings and regulators looked the other way. The disaster in the Dan River is the inevitable result of mixing coal ash with cold cash. For years, Duke Energy has spent millions on political donations and lobbying to avoid more expensive pollution controls that protect public health and the environment. Duke Energy took a big risk – and its stockholders should pay the price, not the customers. The price tag to clean up all Duke’s coal ash dumps in North Carolina will likely exceed $1 billion. Duke must be held accountable, and so must the politicians who accept its money and its excuses. Democracy North Carolina’s research shows that Gov. Pat McCrory’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns benefited from $1.1 million in Duke political donations – the most from any corporation. Gov. McCrory is talking tough now, but he’s prospered in a political culture that accepts corporate cash and pollution. Duke has a new Chief Executive Officer – Lynn Good. She could do “good” and put the company on a new path for clean energy and clean government. She needs to know she’s being watched. Sign the petition to CEO Lynn Good to demand that Duke clean up its act!