Well, look at us bloggers, all spiffy on the takepart front page, being all important and whatnot. And, if you’ve read us at all in the past, you know it’s times like these I like to lay down a big old buzzkill. You may have noticed gas prices going down recently, which of course is tied to the price of oil, and you’re all thinking, hey, great, I can drive again. Sweet deal.

Not so fast there, speedster. Nobuo Tanaka, the head of the International Energy Agency, has proclaimed that even with this dip in prices, “The low energy price age is over.” The New York Times also reports that Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of a French oil company, has a bleak outlook as well.

Mr. de Margerie said that when oil prices bounce back, they could reach unprecedented levels, making it wise for investors to keep investing in alternatives.

So, on the plus side of all this, though, is that this may lead to more investment in alternative energy. But once again, not so fast there tree hugger.

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Alternative energy sources like wind power may be under threat because of the credit freeze and sudden drops in the price of oil and gas, according to the New York Times.   Despite both presidential candidates talk of increasing the use of green energy, advocates are worried that the changeover might not be so smooth and that clean power could lose support.   Companies are having a hard time raising money for projects because of high initial costs, but hopefully investors will see that the long term financial and environmental benefits of wind and solar power far out weigh the ugly costs of fossil fuels.

takepart by thanking your legislator for extending Wind Energy Tax Credits and urge them to continue to support Clean Energy.

Related:

Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Green Policies Are Good For The Economy, Too!

Don’t Let Falling Oil Prices Slow the Push For Alternative Energy

It’s easy to run around convincing people of the need for alternative energy sources when they’re being forced to pay over $4.00 for a gallon of gasoline.   But now that oil prices have nosedived to about $74.00 per barrel, just slightly more than half their record all time high of $145 per barrel reached earlier this year, the job of pushing for alternative energy becomes all the more challenging.

The facts remain the same.   Regardless of what you’re paying at the gas pump, the emissions spewing out of the tailpipe of your vehicle are speeding Global Warming and destroying the environment as we know it on this planet.   And if environmentalism isn’t your thing, keep in mind that the money from your gasoline purchases is still going straight into the bank accounts of some of the most repressive governments on the face of this earth.   They may not be getting a flush as quickly as they were at peak prices, but that’s still money that could be staying here in America to pay for energy resources like wind, solar and tidal that are readily available every day across this country.

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So, while the stack of books I plan to read threatens to topple over on me one day, I continue to add to the intimidating collection with inspiring books such as The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones. Without having read it yet, I recommend you get yourself a copy right now and start reading.   Jones’ book, as you might have guessed, examines our urgent need and potential to tackle both the economic and environmental crises that we now face.   I saw Jones speak last month at Slow Food Nation and, along with the rest of the audience, was awestruck by his refreshingly candid vision for how we can change course for the better.   Support for this vision has come from all over, including Al Gore:

Van Jones demonstrates conclusively that the best solutions for the survivability of our planet are also the best solutions for everyday Americans.

The promotional efforts for The Green Collar Economy have been entirely grass-roots, and yet it managed to hit #17 on Amazon’s overall best sellers, #2 for a non-fiction book, #1 for economics, and #1 at Powells.com.   There’s still a chance it could make it to the New York Times Best Seller list, so I highly encourage you to grab a copy and support this important effort.

takepart by ordering a copy from Powell’s, a great independent, unionized bookstore, or find an independent bookstore near you that carries The Green Collar Economy.

As reported here by Danny, the massive $700 Billion+ bailout contained the much sought after extension of the renewable energy tax credit.   While the widely disparaged porkbarrel spending of the bailout bill may not be the most noble legislation around, it’s a large consolation to this taxpayer that there is a whole lotta Green Pork packed into this mother of all omnibuses.   Now that the bill has been more thoroughly combed over, let’s take a look at the spoils:

- Finally, the Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit has been extended, a full 8 years, for investment in solar and wind energy.   This tax credit is vital to the growth of these industries going forward and makes a sector that was already a good bet, practically the best place around for capital in very uncertain financial times.   Plus, as a sweetener, the tax credit is paid for by a change to the tax code for oil and gas companies.  

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The State of New Jersey has announced plans to build a $1 Billion Wind Farm off its coast. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has picked Garden State Offshore Energy, a partnership between Public Service Enterprise Group Renewable Generation and Deepwater Wind, to construct an offshore wind farm capable of generating more 350 MW of electricity. The facility will be located in a rectangular grid situated between 16 to 20 miles off the coast of Cape May and Atlantic Counties, in South Jersey.

The location so far offshore will make the facility barely visible from land, as illustrated above in a visual presentation from PSEG, which alleviates the opposition of beachfront property owners and coastal communities to the technology. As much as people claim to love renewable energy, the “Not in my backyard” concern is still alive and well with these public works.

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If we were so inclined, our country could create two million green jobs in two years, according to one estimate made by a consortium of environmental and labor groups.  Now, this would cost $100 billion in government investments, half in the form of tax breaks, almost the other half in direct investment, and the rest in guaranteed loans.  That’s a pretty large chunk of change.  However, if we’re to use context, that stimulus package earlier this year cost the government $168 billion.

In an article published today by Reuters (who also supplied the photo), the economist Robert Pollin noted that many jobs would be created in the construction field, an area where America has been bleeding jobs at almost a half-million a year over the last few years.  As well,

Pollin said the plan would create four times more jobs per dollar spent than spending the equivalent amount of money within the oil industry, and 20 percent more jobs than increasing spending on household consumption — the main target of the April 2008 stimulus package.

Unions are obviously behind this, because it’s hard to outsource alternative energy.  Steel mills would start back up to help make windmills, environmentally-sound building construction would ensure glassmakers a job, and so forth.  Environmental groups are excited because, well, they’ve been desperate for this kind of investment for years.

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Because sometimes the world is a just and good place, the football season is upon us. In the preseason, you may have heard of some pretty big changes made up in Green Bay, home of the Packers. I’m talking, of course, about the Packers’ decision to use renewable energy to power Lambeau Field for all home games this season. From the Green Bay Press Gazette:

The renewable power – generated by wind turbines near De Pere and Fond du Lac and biogas facilities in Northeastern Wisconsin – will cost about 15 percent more than standard power, but is a step at making Lambeau Field more environmentally friendly.

Powering a football stadium for only one game is no small task - each Sunday the Packers “expect to use about 1.2 million kilowatt hours for game day efforts this year – enough electricity to power 140 homes for a year.”

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With renewable energy sources constantly coming online, the power grid is proving too antiquated and congested to handle the additional electricity.   An article in today’s New York Times details the enormous challenges North America faces in upgrading its power infrastructure for the needs of the 21st Century.   If you remember the massive Northeast Blackout of 2003, you know firsthand the shortcomings of the power grid.

The need for new power infrastructure is currently most vitally needed for wind power production.   Moving electricty from the wind rich Great Plains - the Saudi Arabia of Wind according to Billionaire T. Boone Pickens, whose “Pickens Plan” advocates a full on push for wind energy - to the population centers of the Midwest and Texas will require an enormous investment in power transmission lines.   Notably, the State of Texas has already approved a $4.9 Billion investment in power transmission lines to move wind energy from the Texas panhandle to its major population areas.   But such initiatives will need to be taken up across the entire continent in order to make room on the on the power grid for the enormous amounts of additional energy capacity which will be required to convert to a truly green economy.

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a sweeping energy plan last night with a huge focus on renewable energy. The initiative depends heavily on wind power and calls for wind turbines on New York City bridges as well as on many city skyscrapers. Bloomberg also called for wind turbines off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Hizzona also stressed the need for greater energy efficiency.

In a speech presented to the National Clean Energy Summit last night Bloomberg said:

We don’t generate a lot of electricity in New York City, but we can work on using less. And in New York, we’re determined to do what no other city has ever attempted, and that is to keep our energy usage at or near its current level even as our population grows.

The financial information technology billionaire turned Mayor also noted the financial gains waiting to be capitalized on with alternative energy:

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