The treasury department announced yesterday that it will start sending the majority of its 136 million benefit checks through a system of direct deposits, eliminating the use of paper checks and postage. The move will likely save the U.S. government approximately $303 million during the first five years after the switch, and about $49 million dollars in postage.
On Thursday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that the federal government would green light construction of Cape Wind, the nation’s first off shore wind farm.
The North American International Auto Show kicks off in Detroit today and big car companies will be featuring green vehicles and focusing on electrification. We talk with Jim Motavelli, blogger for The New York Times and author of "Forward Drive: The Race to Build "Clean" Cars for the Future
Read Jim Motavelli's post in The New York Times, "Detroit Auto Show: A Green Preview."
The climate talks in Copenhagen will finish later today, with last minute appeals from major world leaders, including President Barack Obama. Obama has singled out one American town for praise regarding the work they have done in becoming more energy efficient and self sufficient. Bob Dixon is the mayor of that small Kansas town, Greensburg, which was ravaged by a tornado in 2007 and rebuilt itself as a green town. Matt Dellinger is a journalist who specializes in urban planning and believes that focusing overmuch on Greensburg as a model could be a mistake.
This week, Exxon acquired XTO Energy, one of the largest domestic producers of natural gas. Natural gas is considered a cheaper and greener form of energy due to its somewhat lower carbon footprint... but the companies who may own the natural gas market may wind up being the same oil giants we already know. Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, is joined by Lisa Margonelli, from the New America Foundation, to explain what these developments in the natural gas market signify.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is in Copenhagen this week to take part in the Climate Summit for Mayors. Last week, the Mayor passed his Greener, Greater, Buildings Plan, and this week he hopes to inspire leaders from other cities to follow suit. With cities around the world producing more than 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, changes in urban systems can have green effects globally. We speak with Bloomberg from Copenhagen. (click through for the full interview transcript)
[Trailer for 'The Greening of Southie']
This morning we take a look at one way to reduce our impact on the environment ... green building. Commercial buildings use 36 percent of our electricity and produce 25 percent of our green house gases; residential buildings contribute a large share, too. So architecture is an area with a lot of potential for environmental improvement.
We talk with Curt Ellis, one of the filmmakers behind "The Greening of Southie," who spent nearly a year documenting the construction of Boston’s first L.E.E.D.–certified residential building, the Macallen Building. We're also joined by Yvan LaCroix, construction foreman on the Macallen Building.
If you knew where all the energy zooming into your house was being used and wasted, would you change the way you consume power? One company is banking on it. Our Power Trip heads to Redwood City, California to talk to Joe Polastre, CTO and co-founder of Sentilla. The company has invented an unassuming rectangular box that tracks —dollar by dollar, watt by watt—how much energy the appliances in your home are using. Clothes dryers and air conditioners beware: your energy guzzling ways are secrets no more.
While green investors are throwing money at solar, wind and nuclear technology, researchers are exploring some innovative and surprisingly attractive alternatives to the alternatives.
Read our top ten list, including notes on the possible impacts of the technologies in 2020 from The Energy Roadmap's Garry Golden.
When most people stumble across a polluted pond, they would sigh over the fate of our beloved planet and maybe quote some Thoreau. Fortunately, there are some very crafty individuals out there who see a polluted pond and devise a way to both clean up the pond and create a renewable energy source. As part of our Power Trip we go visit an algae company in Washington State where green goo in dirty water is being turned into biofuel.
Want to see the algae start-up in action? Watch the video. For more stories from our Power Trip, click here!
The Takeaway is on a Power Trip, taking an in-depth look at the future of energy: technologies, ideas, innovators, and your stories about the one thing that you won't give up to save energy.
All this week, The Takeaway is on a Power Trip, taking an in-depth look at the future of energy: technologies, ideas, innovators, and your stories about saving energy.
Political and industrial leaders are now in near consensus: The world must change how it produces and consumes energy to address the geopolitical and environmental challenges of our current energy systems. The transition will take decades, but the vision is starting to come into focus.
Continue reading...
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Today's Takeaway: Focus on Violence Syria
In-Depth Look at the Situation in Syria
Today's Takeaway: Big Night for Rick Santorum
'Tebow Bill' May Allow Home-Schoolers to Play on High School Teams
Newly-Discovered Recordings Shed Light on a Young Malcolm X
Is Our Constitution Out of Date?
Today's Takeaway: Multi-Billion Dollar Foreclosure Settlement Imminent
Multi-Billion Dollar Foreclosure Settlement Imminent
Today's Takeaway: What the Mortgage Settlement Means
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