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State gets grant to study green jobs
Salem Statesman Journal
11/20/2009
The state of Oregon has received a $1.25 million grant from the federal government to study green jobs.
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$3.1 million coming to Northwest for green jobs
Seattle Times
11/18/2009
Pacific Northwest states are getting more than $3.1 million from the US Department of Labor to encourage green jobs. The stimulus grants include training for jobs that reduce energy use and benefit the environment.
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Senate to put off climate bill until spring
Wall Street Journal
11/17/2009
Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would put off debate on a big climate-change bill until spring, in a sign of weakening political will to tackle a long-term environmental issue at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.
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OR governor orders review of energy tax credits
Oregonian
11/17/2009
Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered a hurry-up review Tuesday of Oregon's incentives for renewable energy companies in the face of ongoing criticism of the tax breaks, asking whether the increasingly expensive Business Energy Tax Credit is necessary for continued expansion of renewable and wind energy.
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So you want a green career?
Los Angeles Times
11/15/2009
Although the recession has emptied shopping malls and filled jobless centers, the call has only gotten louder for renewable energy, environmentally gentle products and eco-friendly practices - and for people to make all of that happen. The giant push has even created job opportunities for those with little or no experience.
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Report: Ignoring climate change will be costly
Los Angeles Times
11/11/2009
Governments must act now to ward off catastrophic climate change or face additional costs of $500 billion per year of delay, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency.
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Gore pushes for renewable energy
San Francisco Chronicle
11/10/2009
Al Gore and his crusade against global warming landed in the Bay Area this week with a call to arms and a message for those who still think the former vice president is tilting at windmills.
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No clear map to new energy plan
New York Times
11/08/2009
Congress is unlikely, this year or next, to establish the "cap and trade" system for curbing carbon emissions that President Obama and Democratic party leaders seek. Nor are world leaders next month likely to strike a concrete deal to limit emissions. The Democrats' challenge is to make enough progress to avoid defeat in the near term and achieve their priorities in the long run.
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Views: Climate change bill is in trouble
Los Angeles Times
11/08/2009
If you think the partisan divide over healthcare reform is ugly, take a look at the animus in the Senate as debate continues on a key climate change bill. So wide is the gulf that long-held Senate traditions on decorum are breaking down. And as Washington fiddles, the Earth burns.
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A new lease on solar
USA Today
11/08/2009
California-based SolarCity has helped pioneer a way to bring solar to the masses and remove one of the biggest hurdles to its widespread adoption: up-front costs. Its residential customers can lease a system at no money down, and in many areas, save 10% to 15% a month on their combined electric and lease-payment bill.
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Climate change: Threat or opportunity?
Washington Post
11/06/2009
A curious debate has broken out among American environmental groups, as the Senate balkily starts to focus on the threat of climate change. Is this really the time to talk about shrinking glaciers?
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Solar plant's opening may light Salem future
Salem Statesman Journal
11/03/2009
Sanyo Solar of Oregon LLC officially has started making silicon ingots that are sliced into wafers for solar cells at its new Salem factory. On Monday, the company dedicated an $80 million manufacturing plant which officials hope will usher in a new era for Salem as a location for renewable energy companies.
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WA, OR on cutting edge for green jobs
Vancouver Columbian
11/03/2009
The green research firm, Clean Edge, has released a study of "clean-tech" jobs, identifying the top 15 metro areas in the US for jobs in fields such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Puget Sound region (Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton) and the Portland-Salem area in Oregon, ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.
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BC seeking green energy proposals from private industry
Toronto Globe and Mail
11/03/2009
British Columbia will ask private industry for a new slate of green electricity proposals in the spring, Premier Gordon Campbell says, as the government pushes to more quickly develop clean energy for the province and for export.
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Obama urges 'bold innovative action' to create jobs
Los Angeles Times
11/02/2009
Convening a meeting of his economic advisory board, the president calls for a focus on three areas: increasing US exports, expanding green technology and rebuilding infrastructure.
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Offshoots of nonprofits teach green-job skills
New York Times
10/28/2009
There's a tiny but growing trend among small businesses: for-profit ventures spun off by nonprofit groups that teach the job skills necessary to join the nascent green economy.
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Oregon grid to get $30 million smarter
Oregonian
10/27/2009
President Barack Obama announced $3.4 billion of taxpayer investment in so-called smart grid projects, and about $30 million of that is headed to Oregon. The improvements are meant to make energy use more efficient and include things like meters that charge homeowners less for power that's used when overall electricity demand is low.
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Greenbacks for green energy
Seattle Times
10/27/2009
President Barack Obama made a pitch for renewable energy Tuesday, announcing $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the nation's power grid and delivering energy more efficiently. The projects include installing "smart" electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors.
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Snohomish Co. PUD to get $15.8M of federal stimulus
Seattle Times
10/28/2009
The Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) will receive $15.8 million in federal stimulus money to integrate new energy sources into its electrical grid and to better identify and respond to power outages. The utility, one of two in WA to receive funding, estimates that 76 new "green" jobs will be created with the funds.
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Economics of climate change move to the fore
Washington Post
10/28/2009
For a decade or more, the political battle over climate change has been fought largely over the validity of the science of global warming. But Tuesday, as the Environment and Public Works Committee opened its first hearing on a Senate climate change bill, those concerns took a rear seat to a different issue: the potential economic impact of climate change.
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Thousands rally for action on climate
Vancouver Sun
10/25/2009
About 5,000 people, including a shouting, sign-waving group of secondary school students, demonstrated on Vancouver's Cambie Bridge as part of the International Day of Climate Change. They were among millions of people around the world who took part in weekend demonstrations demanding government action on climate change.
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WA company crafts a sleeker solar panel
Everett Herald
10/25/2009
Sometimes it's what you don't see that makes a product special. When you stand beneath a solar panel built by Arlington's Silicon Energy, Washington's first solar panel manufacturer, you won't see jumbled, ugly wires or opaque padding. You'll see blue from the silicon cells and sunlight streaming through.
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Rallying for (climate) change
Oregonian
10/25/2009
Kayakers and canoeists formed a giant 350 in the Willamette River this weekend joining actions in 181 countries that urged world leaders to act quickly and aggressively to reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change. Many climate scientists say the Earth can remain healthy at a top limit of 350 parts per million of carbon in the atmosphere.
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Obama presses case for renewable energy
New York Times
10/25/2009
Taking aim at business interests that have lobbied against an energy and climate bill moving through Congress, where some members worry about job losses and rising energy costs, President Obama urged lawmakers to rally around the push toward using more renewable energy.
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Vancouver as world's greenest city?
Vancouver Sun
10/20/2009
Mayor Gregor Robertson announced an ambitious 10-year plan Tuesday to make Vancouver, BC, the world's greenest city by 2020. It would include creating a low-carbon economic development zone, reducing waste, requiring green building techniques and having more than 50 percent of residents walking, biking or using public transit to move around the city.
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