Green Forward

Obama, Ford and the First NYC Green Festival

2012-05-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

2012 Ford Focus Electric charging up at inaugural New York City Green Festival, held April 21st and 22nd at Javits Center North on Manhattan's West Side. Photo credit: Josh Marks

(Cross-posted at Winning Progressive)

Earth Day weekend the inaugural New York City Green Festival took place at Javits Center North on Manhattan’s West Side. The most striking thing about the nation’s premier sustainability event was the convergence of corporate titan Ford Motor Company with an event more known for progressive politics, vegan cooking demonstrations and lefty speakers like environmental advocate Van Jones and “Democracy Now!” broadcast journalist Amy Goodman.

The fact that Ford — a former gas-guzzling enemy of the environmental movement — was displaying its new eco-friendly vehicles, is attributed directly to President Barack Obama not just saving the United States automobile industry and more than a million American jobs, but retooling Detroit by forcing them to produce smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles.

Obama’s auto industry rescue unleashed a wave of innovation and environmentally friendly design. Ford, GM and Chrysler now are spectacular success stories. Not only are they making cars people want to buy and creating jobs, but their lineup of fuel efficient cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles are good for the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, good for national security by reducing dependence on petroleum and good for consumers by reducing trips to the pump. The numbers speak for themselves — 14.3 million auto sales expected this year, 1.5 million more than last year; and more than 139,000 jobs added in the last three years.

So there was Ford going green at the NYC Green Festival. Ford was a Corporate Innovator partner, meaning the company underwent a rigorous environmental review to be named a company that is moving toward social and environmental responsibility. Not only did Ford sponsor the recycling, compost and landfill bins scattered throughout Javits Center North, but the Ford Pavilion showcased the company’s latest enviro-friendly cars such as the C-Max Energi Plug-In Hybrid. The C-Max launches in North America fall of 2012 and will have a projected driving range of 500 miles with better fuel economy than the Toyota Prius v and better miles per gallon equivalent (MPG-e) in all-electric mode than the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Also on display was the Focus Electric, which is undergoing a limited launch right now in North America and will launch in more markets later this year. The all-electric, zero emissions car delivers a range of 76 miles and has an EPA-rated 105 MPG-e, making it the most fuel-efficient compact car in the U.S.

Ford at the NYC Green Festival was a vivid reminder of the real results from Obama saving the auto industry and increasing fuel efficiency standards. This is what hope and change looks like in 2012 in the United States of America.

Obama for America recently launched Environmentalists for Obama to help supporters inform voters about the President’s green policies like the EPA’s historic fuel economy standards. Click here to log into the online calling tool and start making calls asking citizens to join Environmentalists for Obama.

Green Traveler: California

2012-05-02T13:16:00.001-07:00

Nissan Leaf electric vehicle charging up in Santa Monica, California.

December 24, 2011-January 2, 2012 -- California is on the cutting edge of America's green revolution, so whenever I visit the Golden State there is always something new to write about on Green Forward.

San Francisco Airport

The last trip to the Left Coast took me first from Washington Dulles International Airport on Virgin America (the best domestic airline in my humble opinion) to San Francisco International Airport's spectacular new Terminal 2, where I was greeted by a Google representative at something called a Chrome Zone pop-up shop. He explained to me that as a promotion, Google was renting out their new Chromebook laptop to Virgin America customers. The Chromebook could either be used while waiting in the terminal for a connecting flight or on a flight to another airport with a similar pop-up shop where it could be returned.

SFO's new terminal was built using green materials and has the distinction as being the first U.S. airport to achieve LEED Gold status. There are composting and recycling bins placed throughout the terminal so it is easy for passengers to do the right thing.

San Diego/Encinitas

The next stop after a four hour layover at SFO, was San Diego. While in S.D. we visited the new LEED Silver certified mixed used development called Pacific Station in downtown Encinitas. Pacific Station includes town homes, lofts, flats, office space and retail including a Whole Foods Market. It is public transit accessible too, located across the street from the Encinitas bus depot and only two blocks from the Encinitas rail station, serving the North County Transit District's (NCTD) COASTER commuter train that takes passengers up to Oceanside or down to downtown San Diego with stops in between. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner train to San Diego south and north to San Luis Obispo via Los Angeles does not stop in Encinitas, so you have to board the train either at Solana Beach or Oceanside.

Southern California is car crazy. The region epitomizes America's excessive obsession with the automobile over other forms of transportation such as walking, biking and riding mass transit. But to stereotype Southern California as nothing more than freeways and traffic is to ignore the real efforts being made to encourage alternative forms of transportation. There are some shining examples of this transformation in downtown San Diego.

The Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge is one of the longest self-anchored pedestrian bridges in the world. The bridge crosses over the train and trolley tracks and connects pedestrians to the Convention Center and Petco Park, the home of the Padres baseball club. It is an architectural marvel and shows San Diego's commitment to constructing a pedestrian friendly community.

And for nearly 31 years the shiny red San Diego Trolley light rail system has become as synonymous with San Diego as San Francisco's famous cable cars. The three main lines cover 53.5 miles and average more than 91,000 daily boardings, making it the 5th busiest light rail system in the country. The Orange Line, pictured below, makes stops at central locations like the Convention Center, Gaslamp Quarter and Seaport Village. Click here for information on the renovation and expansion plans in the works as the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) continues its important investments to provide San Diegans with a world-class public transportation system for the 21st Century. Next time you visit San Diego, give the trolley a try!

San Diego trolley at Gaslamp Quarter stop.

Los Angeles/Santa Monica/Pacific Palisades

Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner train is a relaxing, scenic and low-cost alternative to the stress and gridlock of driving up the 405 freeway from San Diego to Los Angeles. I rode the Pacific Surfliner from Solana Beach station to L.A.'s Union Station to visit friends.

When I arrived in the City of Angels, I picked up the L.A. Weekly newspaper and was pleasantly surprised to see a full page ad selling the new 2012 Fisker Karma luxury electric vehicle. L.A. Car Guy is a family of dealerships that has made a genuine effort to go green. LAcarGUY recently became the first car dealer in the United States to offer public charging stations at its dealerships. Owner Mike Sullivan has also set up a green Web site to educate car buyers about environmentally friendly cars like hybrids and EVs and why going green when purchasing a vehicle is good for the environment and the pocketbook.

From the pages of the L.A. Weekly to a real world example in Santa Monica, where I witnessed an all-electric Nissan Leaf charging up at one of the seven new public charging stations in the city of Santa Monica. This charging station is located at Montana Avenue and 11th Street. The charging station is built by ClipperCreek and managed by EV Connect. There is also an old-school Magne Charge charging station that only works with the retired Toyota RAV4 EV from 1997-2003.

And Santa Monica's serious commitment to electric vehicles extends beyond public charging infrastructure to city-owned vehicles, like this all-electric Park Operations community maintenance truck, pictured above.

Santa Monica is also leading the way in transforming into a bicycle-friendly community. The latest development is the opening of the Santa Monica Bike Center, strategically located near the terminus of the future Expo light rail line extension. The Santa Monica Bike Center provides residents with secure bicycle parking, showers, lockers, bike rentals, bicycle and segway sharing programs, guided bike and segway tours, bike education, bike commuter retail products, bike valet, and self-service repair station. The Bike@Work bike sharing program costs $45 per year to borrow a bike from the Bike Center to run errands, go shopping, ride to a meeting, or get some exercise in downtown S.M. The program is not available on weekends or holidays.

Santa Monica Bike Center

There are two locations -- the main location at Colorado Avenue and 2nd Street and a second location at 4th Street and Broadway. The Bike Center is managed and operated by Bike & Park.

Once you get on that bike, Santa Monica makes it easy to pedal around the city. The popular Strand bicycle path runs along the beach next to the Pacific Ocean from Pacific Palisades to Torrance. The bike path is generally crowded with tourists on the weekends, but is worth the ride for the awesome views of the beach, ocean, mountains and Santa Monica Pier.

Beyond green cars and biking, the greater L.A. area offers amazing hiking trails that are easily accessible from the city. Temescal Canyon is a valley lying in the Los Angeles County portion of the Santa Monica Mountains. The hike up to the top provides spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the Los Angeles basin. On clear days you can see the downtown L.A. skyline and as far as Long Beach and beyond.

L.A. is a sprawling urban jungle that is unique in that within the city and county limits, there are so many excellent hiking trails that provide an easy respite from the constant traffic, smog and stress of the city. High above the city, the hiking trails of the Santa Monica Mountains are an oasis of peace and quiet, clean air and spectacular natural surroundings. Not many cities offer the year-round warm and dry weather and close proximity to so many amazing hiking trails.

Tinseltown's unique proximity to so many excellent hiking trails with breathtaking vistas reminds residents and visitors alike why it is so important to preserve the fragile ecological balance of the planet so future generations can enjoy the same natural surroundings and climate we too often take for granted.

Here are more pictures of California's green progress.

And here is video of the San Diego Orange Line trolley arriving at Gaslamp Quarter station and view of trolley traffic from Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge.

Green Traveler: Wilmington, Delaware

2012-04-29T17:16:00.001-07:00

April 7-8, 2012 -- A weekend in Wilmington, Delaware reveals why Vice President Joe Biden took the train up from Washington every day for 36 years (last year Wilmington's Amtrak station was named for Biden, who was instrumental in securing funding for the rail station's renovation). The city and the state provide citizens with well-planned outdoor recreational areas to enjoy nature.

The Northern Delaware section of the East Coast Greenway runs right through the heart of Wilmington and is frequented by walkers, joggers and bicyclists. The East Coast Greenway is a project to create a nearly 3,000 mile urban path to connect major cities along the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Florida. So far, 25 percent of the trail is complete.

Brandywine Park is a spectacular recreational area running along the Brandywine River. The historic park was inspired by Frederick Law Olmstead's design of Central Park in Manhattan. Olmstead was even involved in the early planning stages of Brandywine and his influence is felt at the park. Brandywine, which also houses the city's zoo, hasn't changed much since the late 1800s and that is a good thing. There is a timeless quality to the park and the old bridges, fountains and stone structures reminds one of the faded glory of this area. Just as at the turn of the 20th Century, Brandywine today is a popular spot to escape Wilmington's urban 21st century life and reflect on the wondrous nature of this special place.

Here are more photos from the Northern Delaware Greenway Trail and Brandywine Park.

As Playoffs Heat Up, NHL Aims to Ice Global Warming

2012-04-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

Photo credit: Chealion/Michael J. at Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/chealion

Game three tonight between the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals promises to be a scorcher. But it is the heat outside of the Verizon Center that could play a factor.

Washington, D.C. and more than 90 other American cities already experienced the warmest March on record. And today temperatures are expected to reach historic highs of near 90 degrees fahrenheit in the nation's capital, which could cause problems with the Verizon Center ice surface. Despite being indoors, a hot day outside can affect ice conditions. Warm weather can soften the ice, making it difficult to skate and control the puck.

But if the game was in Boston it would be no better. Ask the more than 4,000 Boston Marathon entrants who sat out today's race due to the record mid-80s heat wave. It was the second slowest race since 1985 thanks to the blistering heat.

Hockey, more than any other sport, depends on cold weather to keep the ice sheet smooth and hard. That's why the climate change forecasting trends should have every hockey player and fan running to replace their gas guzzler with an electric vehicle. A new study published in the Institute of Physics’ journal, Environmental Research Letters, concludes that because of steadily rising temperatures, by mid-century there might not be any outdoor ice rinks in Canada. Let me repeat that. Climate change could kill outdoor ice hockey in Canada. If that isn't a wake up call then nothing short of Lake Ontario overtaking Toronto will convince skeptics.

Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change is something the National Hockey League takes very seriously. The NHL publicizes its efforts to lower its carbon footprint at its NHL Green Web site, a partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Some recent headlines include a story about New York City's gigantic Stanley Cup fountain that encourages visitors to taste the pure, clean NYC tap water from the Catskill Mountains. The event was part of the NHL's Gallons for Goals initiative, which aims to educate people about the importance of freshwater as a natural resource. Other recent news items include a story about the New Jersey Devils using biodiesel at the Prudential Center and how NHL clubs are honoring Earth Hour by switching-off non-essential lighting for one hour.

And Canada, the spiritual home of hockey, is starting to take climate change action. Perhaps the Harper Administration took notice when a weekend heat wave in late March in Ottawa spawned the capital's first smog day of the year. Ottawa doesn't generally get much smog and certainly not as early as March 19. Whatever the reason, there is encouraging news today from Canada as it was reported that the government is cracking down on heavy duty vehicle emissions. The new regulations for large pick-up trucks, buses and other heavy duty vehicles will by 2020 reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3 million tons per year.

Will GOP’S Solyndra Witch Hunt Backfire?

2012-04-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Energy Secretary Chu and President Obama. Credit: U.S. Department of Energy.

(Cross-posted at Winning Progressive)

Solyndra was never about the facts. It was never meant to be. House Republicans put on a cynical show trial to attack the Obama Administration’s clean energy policies. They dragged Nobel Prize-winning physicist and Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to Capitol Hill in order to brow beat one of the most respected scientists in the world over the DOE Loan Guarantee Program.

Sadly, Republicans might have committed serious damage to American competitiveness in the global clean energy race. The United States is attempting to compete with China, Germany, Brazil and other nations whose governments are massively investing in the renewable energy sector. The Loan Guarantee Program is crucial to ensuring success in the industries of the future. Now comes the news that because of Solyndra, the DOE is being overly cautious in issuing loans. The first victim could be California-based luxury electric car maker Fisker Automotive’s plans to build a hybrid-electric car factory in Wilmington, Delaware for their new model Atlantic. The project was supposed to create 2,000 factory jobs and more than 3,000 vendor and supplier jobs. Wilmington’s unemployment rate stood at 10.4 percent as of last December so the city could really use those jobs. So Fisker is now considering placing the plant and all those jobs in Finland. Fisker already manufactures its Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan in Finland. Fisker founder Henrik Fisker was quoted in ABC News as saying the following:

“There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle. They don’t exist here. We’re not in the business of failing; we’re in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business. That’s why we went to Finland.”

Are the Republicans listening to this? Now the United States could lose more manufacturing jobs because of the Solyndra witch hunt.

If the Republicans cared about the actual facts regarding the Solyndra “scandal” instead of pursuing a political witch hunt against anything Obama, they would have brought up the following:

The Bush Administration advanced the Solyndra loan guarantee for two years, starting in 2007. The Bush Administration also tried to conditionally approve the Solyndra loan just before Obama took office.
The DOE Loan Guarantee has been a great success. It was enacted in 2005 with bipartisan support and has handed out $34.7 billion in loans on 40 projects around the country, creating more than 60,000 jobs. One of these projects will be one of the largest land-based wind farms in the world — Shepherds Flat Wind Farm is an 845 megawatt wind farm under construction in eastern Oregon. The project has created 400 construction jobs and is estimated to have an annual economic impact of $16 million.
Solyndra was a victim of the rapid success of the solar industry and the price of solar dropping, which is a good thing for consumers and the planet. The solar industry employs more than 100,000 people in the United States, a figure that has doubled over the past two years and will continue to skyrocket.

Governments must invest in renewable energy research and development. America is no exception. The U.S. must send the right market signals and invest in the clean energy sector so instead of American companies manufacturing solar panels in China, wind turbines in Germany and electric cars in Finland, they are made in the United States.

Some Republicans are starting to get the message. A recent story in Politico points out that that the GOP is “running out of gas on Solyndra.” The article cites Florida Republican investigator Rep. Cliff Stearns as being mired in his own political mess. Stearns is a birther who is being accused of bribery. And Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s alleged criminal past is well documented.

And one Republican is even breaking ranks, a politically risky move in the ideologically rigid, foot soldier mentality of the new Republican Party. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) called the attacks on Solyndra “finger pointing,” and called out his GOP colleagues for their hypocritical stance given their own support for energy projects in their districts.

The way to end once and for all the Republican attacks on Obama’s clean energy initiatives is for more courageous individuals such as Simpson to step forward and shame their colleagues, and for the DOE to defy the House GOP investigators by being even more aggressive in issuing loan guarantees to ensure that companies like Fisker keep their thousands of jobs in the United States instead of taking them to Finland.

Is Obama Serious About Climate Change Action?

2012-03-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

President Obama speaking recently at the Solar Panel Field at the Copper Mountain Solar 1 Facility in Boulder City, Nevada, the largest photovoltaic plant operating in the country.

(Cross-posted at Winning Progressive)

When it comes to climate change action, the Obama Administration is feeling the heat. Literally. All the president needs to do is step outside the White House doors and spend some time in the Rose Garden to feel Washington’s warmest winter on record. And cities across the United States have been experiencing record high temperatures this winter. Obama’s campaign headquarters is in Chicago, where the Windy City last Wednesday hit a high of 87 degrees Fahrenheit. The next day the temperature at O’Hare Airport was 83 degrees, capping nine straight days of record-breaking or record-tying high temperatures in Chicago.

While there is a difference between daily weather changes and climate patterns over time, the “summer in March” has climatologists concerned. “Global warming boosts the probability of really extreme events, like the recent U.S. heat wave, far more than it boosts more moderate events,” climate scientists Stefan Rahmstorf and Dim Coumou wrote recently in the RealClimate blog.

But is President Obama concerned?

Progressives have been pressing President Obama to take more forceful action to reduce carbon emissions and explain to the American people the reality of man-made global warming and the clean energy and energy efficient solutions to counter climate change.

The Obama Administration appears to have made a political calculation that it would be unwise right now to rally the American people behind bold climate change action. He has disappointed progressives by calling for an “all of the above” energy strategy and then staging events like last week in Oklahoma where he announced he is fast-tracking an oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. And last summer there was the broken promise that the Department of Energy would install solar panels and a solar water heater on the roof of the White House. It appears this was another political calculation in the wake of the Solyndra witch hunt from Congressional Republicans.

But while standing in front of oil rigs and installing White House solar panels make for nice political theater and photo ops, there are encouraging signs that this administration is taking aggressive action behind the scenes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are two actions the Obama Administration has taken that will play a substantial role in transforming the United States into a low carbon economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The first is the historic gas mileage standards that will nearly double the fuel economy of vehicles by 2025, when cars and light trucks will get nearly 55 miles per gallon. Thirteen major automakers signed onto the deal that will significantly reduce carbon emissions with more fuel efficient, hybrid, electric and alternative fuel vehicles. Cars and trucks account for 20 percent of carbon emissions.

The second significant decision was yesterday’s Environmental Protection Agency rules to limit carbon pollution from new power plants. For the first time, new power plants will be required to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of electricity produced. The ruling effectively kills any new coal-fired power plants.

These two actions to reduce carbon emissions are remarkable considering the United States has still not joined the 191 other countries that have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol and are thus not obligated by the international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So these climate change actions have come internally from the Obama Administration.

The hope is that if Obama is elected to a second term that he will take more aggressive action on climate change and be able to have a real conversation with the American public about the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions and deal with climate change. Kari Marie Norgaard, professor of sociology and environmental studies at the University of Oregon, said recently at a Planet Under Pressure news conference in London that “cultural inertia” is slowing down climate action.

“We find a profound misfit between dire scientific predictions of ongoing and future climate changes and scientific assessments of needed emissions reductions on the one hand, and weak political, social or policy response on the other,” Norgaard said. ”Climate change poses a massive threat to our present social, economic and political order. From a sociological perspective, resistance to change is to be expected. People are individually and collectively habituated to the ways we act and think. This habituation must be recognized and simultaneously addressed at the individual, cultural and societal level — how we think the world works and how we think it should work.”

If Obama is not re-elected, the future of the planet is most certainly in peril. Leading Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said this about man-made global warming last October:

“My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us.”

What the End of Gasoline Looks Like: Green Cars in America

2012-03-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric Vehicle on display at the Washington Auto Show.

There is a green revolution taking place in the American automobile industry—cars are getting smaller, more fuel efficient, more electric and more capable of carrying cleaner burning alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. This long overdue shift to low and zero emission vehicles is largely thanks to the Obama Administration's increased fuel efficiency standards. The fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions rule adopted in 2010 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) took effect in 2011 and will increase miles per gallon requirements every year until 2025, when the window sticker rating must be 54.5 MPG. That means less trips to the gas station, more money savings, more energy security with less reliance on foreign oil, cleaner air to breathe and combating climate change by reducing CO2 emissions.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and EPA's website www.fueleconomy.gov provides consumers with fuel saving tips, information on the new fuel economy and environment label designs for the new generation of vehicles that will begin model year 2013, and helps car buyers choose the most fuel efficient vehicles on the market.

The DOE's National Clean Fleets Partnership is also making a big difference by working with large private fleets to reduce oil use by converting to electric vehicles, hybrids and more fuel efficient delivery vehicles. This partnership is ensuring that high gas prices won't have as much of an impact on the bottom line. Some of the companies in the partnership include Best Buy, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Staples and Verizon.

Here are some photos I took recently of green cars at the Washington Auto Show and around D.C. as well as New York City and Santa Monica, California. Click "Show Info" on the slideshow to see what type of vehicle is being displayed.

Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe Charged Up About Green Economy

2012-03-12T20:13:00.001-07:00

Terry McAuliffe in a Greentech electric car.

Yes Virginia, there are forward-thinking leaders in your state. I know it seems like all hope is lost with the Republican legislature, governor and attorney general determined to turn the clock back by forcing a radically divisive social agenda upon the residents of the Old Dominion. The right-wing regime in Richmond would like to roll back all the progress that has been made. That’s one reason why it was refreshing to hear former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe give a positive message about clean energy jobs and growing the green economy.

The McLean resident spoke this past November at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy in Arlington about his electric car company and how to get Virginia and the United States competing in the global green economy. The event was titled “The Green Economy: Competing Globally for Jobs of the Future.”

“I believe renewable power is the future for all you young people here. I’m passionate about it,” said McAuliffe, who co-chaired former President Bill Clinton’s successful 1996 re-election campaign and has been involved in the renewable energy industry for over a decade. “I realized that we can’t continue to do what we do in America. As you know we spend a billion dollars every day importing oil and petroleum products, many of which come from Middle East countries, some of whom particularly don’t like us. You saw what happened last spring with all the nations in the Middle East. We don’t know what could possibly happen in the future. We cannot continue to rely on nations to provide us with oil. It really can become a stranglehold on us. A billion dollars a day results in half of the trade deficit in America. We spend a hundred billion dollars a year on the Department of Defense just protecting (oil shipping channels) like the Strait of Hormuz between Qatar and Iran. We spend about 65 million dollars a year on respiratory problems from CO2 emissions that come out of cars.”

McAuliffe pointed out that Virginia is the only state in the Mid-Atlantic region that doesn’t have a mandatory renewable energy standard and that makes it hard to bring in jobs and start new businesses.

“Why am I doing business in the only state that is not required by law to buy the product that I’m making — renewable energy? I could go to North Carolina, D.C., Maryland, Ohio or Pennsylvania. They have a mandatory standard, meaning some mix of their power supply has to be renewable,” said McAuliffe. “We’ve got to get in the game here. We ought to have wind turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach. We have the highest wind content in the entire East Coast. We have a very shallow outer shelf to put the pylons in. We have the largest transmission port on the entire East Coast outside of New York City. We could light up hundreds of thousands of homes and create hundreds of thousands of jobs if we started to get serious about it.”

He has invested in wind energy in Europe for years and talked about how in Europe if you burn coal you can only burn 80% so the rest has to be renewable. Because of this many utilities in Europe are buying wood pellets to fill the 20% renewable mandate and the wood pellets are being shipped overseas from America. McAuliffe was excited to discuss his plans to produce wood pellets in Franklin, Virginia where 1,100 people were laid off when the hundred-year-old paper plant shuttered. The wood pellet factory will save 832 jobs and export 500,000 tons of wood pellets annually to Europe.

Greentech Automotive is the name of McAuliffe’s electric vehicle company. The headquarters are in Virginia and there is a plant in Mississippi. But the story of Greentech started in China when McAuliffe bought the largest Chinese electric car company and moved the entire company to the United States. He said EV-friendly Denmark has already purchased the whole first year of production.

“In Denmark if you buy a new vehicle there is a 180% excise tax and they exempt electric vehicles. That’s why there is such a huge market in the Nordic countries, particularly Denmark. We will start delivering those cars to Denmark the beginning of next year. So a Chinese company brought from China to the United States is now made by American workers and shipped overseas,” said McAuliffe.

McAuliffe warned that America cannot become a service economy and that we need to boost our manufacturing sector and lead the world in manufacturing, pointing out that China is going to invest 10 billion dollars to manufacture 10 million electric cars and we cannot allow them to out-compete us in the electric vehicle industry.

So Virginia, I know you are worried about losing residents to the progressive state across the Potomac with the Democratic governor committed to clean energy jobs and growing the green economy (read about Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s offshore wind power push). And I’m sure O’Malley would welcome Virginia taxpayers with open arms. But maybe, just maybe bold visionary leaders like Terry McAuliffe can turn Virginia blue again and move the state and the country towards a green future.

“We’ve got to move forward in America and we’re going to do it with renewable energy,” said McAuliffe.

Professional Hockey Player Andrew Ference Goes Green

2012-02-25T14:11:00.002-08:00

Picture credit: National Geographic Channel

Most hockey fans know about Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference because of the team's Stanley Cup championship run last season. And recently Ference made headlines for a three-game suspension he received after a hit on the New York Rangers' Ryan McDonagh. But the National Geographic Channel is showing another side of Ference that many NHL fans might not be aware of: eco-warrior.

"Beyond the Puck," a web video series featuring new episodes every Thursday, provides brief glimpses (the videos average only a few minutes) into the off-ice life of Ference and his family as the Edmonton, Canada native goes green. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki inspired Ference to pursue a carbon neutral lifestyle and helped him start in 2007 the NHL's first environmental program that encourages players to go carbon neutral and think about their impact on the environment.

One webisode shows how Ference ditched his gas-guzzling truck for a bicycle. He now bikes to work and plays with his two children on bikes. Other webisodes show Ference grocery shopping for healthy organic food and composting at home with his kids.

Ference joins other current and former NHL players like ex-Rangers goalie Mike Richter in taking a public stand for protecting the planet. With so many professional athletes these days making headlines for all the wrong reasons, it is nice to see someone like Ference inspiring others to do the right thing.

Here is the trailer:

President Obama's Energy Speech at University of Miami

2012-02-23T19:48:00.000-08:00

Today President Obama gave a great speech touching upon issues relating to American energy. He called for a comprehensive energy policy that would end oil subsidies and boost biofuels and other renewables to reduce our reliance on the volatile world oil market that is subject to so much turmoil in the Middle East. Obama told the students gathered at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida that, while his administration is doing everything in their power to tap domestic oil and gas resources, it is politically dishonest to tell the American people that "drill, baby, drill" will realistically solve all our energy problems. The president said that public investments in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies will spur entire new industries and create millions of new jobs. As an example, he cited homegrown algae-based biofuel as having the potential to eventually replace imported petroleum entirely as a transportation fuel for airplanes and automobiles.

President Obama said the following about algae:

“We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline and diesel and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance — algae. You’ve got a bunch of algae out here, right? (Laughter.) If we can figure out how to make energy out of that, we’ll be doing all right. Believe it or not, we could replace up to 17 percent of the oil we import for transportation with this fuel that we can grow right here in the United States. And that means greater energy security. That means lower costs. It means more jobs. It means a stronger economy.”

Here is video of the speech at the University of Miami.

Michael Mann: Climate Hero With a Hockey Stick

2012-02-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

It is no secret the fossil fuel industry for years has been funding front groups denying the reality of human-caused climate change and working against clean energy technologies. These attacks on science and reason have amazingly come from the same dirty energy industry that is actually making contingency plans for the effects of man-made climate change. That's right, Big Oil is well aware that the millions of tons of carbon they carelessly pump into the atmosphere is contributing to global warming so they are planning for the consequences, while at the same time spending millions of dollars discrediting climate scientists and misleading the public.

Thankfully, climate scientists like Michael Mann (the physicist and climatologist, not the Hollywood film director) are, to use a hockey analogy, dropping the gloves and fighting back against climate-change-denying think tanks like The Heartland Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Koch Family Foundations, The Manhattan Institute, The Heritage Foundation, The Cato Institute and The Mercatus Center. Mann's new book, titled "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines," is being released on March 6 and is going to expose the moneyed special interests behind the attacks on science and reason and convey to the public the fossil fuel industry giants funneling money to these anti-science front groups.

The title of the book comes from Mann's controversial hockey stick graph, which shows the temperature record over the past 1,000 years and the sharply upward warming trend during the late 20th century.

Click here for a link to an insightful profile of Mann from Mother Jones via The Guardian's Climate Desk.

Here is video of Mann discussing his new book.

Honoring Gabrielle Giffords by Embracing the Green Economy

2012-02-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

When it comes to the green economy, sometimes it seems like the United States of America is stuck in neutral while the rest of the world is fully charged up and racing ahead at warp speed.

Take electric vehicles as an example pulled from recent headlines. The Chevy Volt, General Motors' new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, recently became a political punching bag on Capitol Hill by a Republican-led Oversight Committee on a witch hunt against any project related to the Obama administration. Before it was Solyndra and solar energy, now it is the Volt and electric vehicles.

Lack of political will from Republican lawmakers in Congress is really the only thing that is holding back the United States of America from leading the "next industrial revolution"—the clean energy economy that is already rapidly transforming countries like Germany, Brazil, China, Canada and other governments that get it when it comes to giving the market signals with cap and trade programs and taxes on carbon. The fossil fuel industry seems to have the Republicans on too tight a leash for them to make decisions on behalf of the American people and the future of this great country.

Perhaps Gabrielle Giffords can provide some inspiration and convince at least some of the Republican lawmakers in Congress (the Obama administration and most Democrats are already onboard the high-speed clean energy train) that they must break the shackles of the oil, gas and coal industries and begin to embrace renewable power sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, biomass, biofuel, tidal and wave.

Giffords is a big advocate for solar energy because her home state of Arizona is blessed by the sun. She has supported clean energy legislation as well as ending oil industry subsidies and redirecting that money into clean energy research.

When Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) read Giffords' letter of resignation on the House floor in January, she said the following:

"In public service, I found a venue for the pursuit of a stronger America by ensuring the safety and security of all Americans by producing clean energy here at home instead of importing oil from abroad."

Here is video of the entire speech.

Photos: New York City High Line

2012-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

This past November I visited one of the finest examples of urban renewal and the greening of cities—New York City's High Line. The High Line is a 1-mile (1.6 km) linear park built on the former elevated tracks of the New York Central Railroad's West Side Line on the lower west side of Manhattan.

The recycling of the railway into an aerial greenway has revitalized surrounding neighborhoods and turned what was once an abandoned, blighted industrial area into one of New York City's biggest and greenest tourist attractions.

Here are pictures of The High Line.

A Bright Idea: LED Street Lights

2012-02-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

L.A.'s 6th Street Bridge with LED street lights. Photo credit: Clean Tech Los Angeles

Cities across the United States are saving energy and costs by installing light-emitting diode (LED) street lights. LEDs not only consume less power for the same amount of luminance compared to traditional lighting, but they also last longer.

There are many LED street lighting pilot projects taking place, including in my former home of Los Angeles, California. L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has partnered with the Clinton Climate Initiative to undertake the largest green street lighting program in history. According to the Bureau of Street Lighting website, as of February 9 the city had replaced 62,064 traditional light fixtures with LED lights, going from 10,740 kilowatts down to 4,205 kilowatts for 60.8 percent energy savings, or 26,664 megawatt hours. The program has also reduced carbon emissions by 15,766 metric tons and saved $2,357,567 in energy costs. The city expects annually to save $10 million, save energy by 40% and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40,500 tons.

Arlington, Virginia is where I currently reside and this forward-looking county across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. is installing LED street lights as well. Arlington's project is funded by the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program and local capital funds. In 2010 the county spent $1.5 million to replace 1,800 existing streetlights with LED fixtures. Arlington plans to replace all its street lights with LED technology, a move that will save the county $1 million per year.

LED street lights are a smart and efficient way for cities to save money, save energy and save the environment. Expect to see many LED street lights in cities across America and the world.

Up in the Air: Tel Aviv to Istanbul to Washington, D.C.

2012-02-20T12:05:00.001-08:00

A Turkish Airlines plane at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.

August 28-29, 2011 -- After traveling around Europe by train and Israel by bus for one-and-a-half months this past summer, including working on a kibbutz for two-and-a-half weeks, it was time to fly back home to the United States. I took Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport to Istanbul Atatürk International Airport and then an 11 hour flight from Istanbul to Washington Dulles International Airport.

An airport shuttle picked me up at my hostel in Jerusalem very late at night and made the rounds to pick up more people—all Orthodox Jews—in different neighborhoods in West Jerusalem. We then drove to Ben Gurion, the best-secured airport in the world. Being the only non-Orthodox passenger in the van, I was singled out with questions upon arriving to the security checkpoint just to drive into the airport. The security guy asked me to take off my hat and then asked me where I was going. I was tired and irritated, and answered loudly "Washington, D.C.!" Once you finally enter Ben Gurion, you must wait in a long security line where you will be asked pointed and personal questions to make sure you don't have any bad intentions once you board that plane. Your luggage will also be thoroughly examined and, as in my case, will sometimes be double checked by airport security. Sometimes passengers will be taken for another line of questioning and inspection if the authorities are not satisfied with the first round of questioning. While it can be a maddeningly frustrating and humiliating experience, Ben Gurion will not take any chances when it comes to security, which is why it is the safest airport in the world to fly into and out of. It is not a pleasant experience to be looked at with suspicion, especially at 4 a.m. before a long flight. But it is the reality of Israel and there is some comfort in knowing all the intense security precautions that took place once you finally board that flight. It was around a two hour flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul.

Although half of Istanbul is on European soil (it is the only metropolis in the world situated on two continents, the other being Asia) and it is the third largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and Moscow, my initial impression upon arriving at Atatürk airport was more Eastern and Muslim than Western and secular. It was somewhat of a culture shock after having traveled around Europe and Israel to see passengers arriving on a flight from Barcelona who were almost entirely young bearded Muslim men in full Islamic garb. The international terminal was an interesting mix of religious Muslims and secular Turks and visitors from across the world. I was wearing a Jerusalem t-shirt from the Old City and I was definitely getting some not-so-nice stares from the Muslims making their way around the terminal.

The international terminal at Istanbul Atatürk International Airport.

The security precautions to board my flight to Dulles were like nothing I have ever experienced. There were at least three rounds of thorough baggage checks and questioning. Some passengers were taken aside and questioned even more. And there was a security check just to enter the boarding area. The authorities at Atatürk do a great job in making sure everyone has a safe flight to their destination.

Turkish Airlines is a world-class airline with fantastic service. We even had our own chef! It was a wonderful flight up until we hit some bad turbulence over the Atlantic Ocean, just east of Boston. The pilots had to change to a more southerly route at the last minute but couldn't avoid the incredibly choppy weather front. We were violently tossed and turned and everyone was praying in whatever their faith was (I became an Orthodox Jew for about 15 minutes). It was a harrowing experience. Moments like these, when you feel out of control at 35,000 feet, are the times when you really feel blessed to be alive.

There is no way around it, turbulence is no fun. But it is part of flying and I've started to learn to embrace the bumps as part of the total experience of flying. I now enjoy flying a lot more knowing to expect turbulence. So when it is a smooth flight it's even better, but when we hit a few bumps it's no big deal because I can just look back at that awful turbulence I experienced on the Turkish Airlines flight and be reassured it likely won't get that bad again, and if it does I'll know that I got through it before and I'll get through it again. It is also good to remember that the perception of turbulence in the passenger seat is almost always worse than the reality from the cockpit seat, where the experienced pilots are in control and know what they are doing. Educating myself about the mechanics of air travel and and the science behind turbulence has really relieved much of my anxiety and fears. I suggest Googling "airplane turbulence" to find websites that will help you understand turbulence and way to overcome fears and anxiety when it occurs. Education and awareness are really the keys to enjoying your flight and even learning to welcome turbulence as a normal, everyday in-flight experience.

The airplane finally reached smoother air after about 10 to 15 minutes of turbulence and the prayers changed to thanking God, the heart beats slowed down and the adrenaline stopped flowing. The descent into Dulles was relaxing and enjoyable. Turkish Airlines has cameras on the nose and underneath the plane and as we approached Dulles, passengers were treated to the view of the runway from the cockpit and the landscape passing by below the plane.

Having gone through major security checks at Tel Aviv and Istanbul, it would have been nice to know I was home and could leave Dulles right away. Not the case. A border patrol agent marked me down for a further inspection, so I had to wait in line at a Department of Homeland Security area for international arrivals for another 45 minutes to be questioned again about my travels through Europe and Israel and my flight from Istanbul. I finally was approved to enter back into the United States.

From when I left the hostel in Jerusalem to the moment I collapsed in my own bed in Arlington, Virginia, it was a total of around 18 hours of travel time. When you didn't get any sleep the night before, have to go through three rigorous security checkpoints, sit on an airplane for 11 hours and have to suffer through some bad turbulence, you will sleep like a baby. And that's exactly what I did.

Here are more pictures of the trip from Istanbul to Washington, D.C. Click here for the Flickr set.

Green Traveler: Jerusalem, Israel

2012-02-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem's new light rail powers forward along a grass track between Damascus Gate and Jaffa Gate.

August 19-29, 2011 -- Jerusalem was the last city I visited on my summer 2011 journey through Europe and Israel and it is also one of the most environmentally-friendly cities in the world thanks to its mix of ancient and modern infrastructure, traditional religious observations and forward-thinking political and economic leadership.

Before I get to Jerusalem's new light rail line that is providing residents with a clean, green form of transportation, there are a couple of ancient factors that automatically make the city green. The most obvious factor in keeping the air clean is that the Old City was settled during the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, in the 4th millennium BCE (Before the Common Era). The last time I checked, the internal combustion engine had not been invented yet so the Old City was not made for vehicular traffic. That means there is a large section of the city that is car-free and therefore pollution-free. Also, Jerusalem almost completely shuts down from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday for Shabbat. That means thousands of cars and buses are taken off the roads for 24 hours every week, thereby dramatically reducing the city's carbon footprint.

Now with the new light rail line, Jaffa Road is permanently closed off to motor vehicles, reducing pollution along West Jerusalem's main artery from the Old City to Mount Herzl. In fact, there has been a dramatic 80% decrease in air pollution on Jaffa Road since cars and buses were replaced by light rail trams. And in addition to reducing air pollution, light rail reduces noise pollution. In contrast to honking taxis and rumbling buses, light rail is incredibly quiet.

In addition to new green public transportation projects like the light rail line, Jerusalem is also on the forefront of promoting the use of electric vehicles. Electric car operator Better Place is partnering with the city to add a network of electric car charging stations all over the city.

Biking is also big in Jerusalem. There is a group that gives midnight bike tours of the old and new city. And it is easy to rent a bike like I did and get to know the City of Peace on two wheels. I biked during Shabbat when the streets are empty. I started at Davidka Square where my hostel is located, and biked along the light rail tracks up Jaffa Road to Mount Herzl and then down to the Christian village of Ein Karem. While Jerusalem doesn't have a bike sharing system like Tel Aviv yet, the city is on its way to becoming the bicycle capital of Israel.

And of course, as in the rest of Israel, there are rooftop solar water heaters everywhere in Jerusalem. I even saw solar water heater systems on top of the ancient buildings in the Old City, like those pictured to the left in front of a church in the Armenian Quarter. And Jerusalem has many white roofs, also called cool roofs because they reduce heat transference to buildings by reflecting sunlight, thus reducing the need to power air conditioners and saving energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

While Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, it is also taking environmentally friendly actions such as the new light rail line to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy The City of Peace.

Click here for more observations from Jerusalem on Josh's Travel Blog.

Here are more pictures from Jerusalem. Click here to see the full photo set on Flickr.

Here is a musical video montage of Jerusalem's new light rail system.

Here is video of me bicycling across the Chords Bridge and up to Mount Herzl on a Shabbat Saturday when the streets are empty and the light rail line is not in service.

Boarding the Bus: Beersheba to Jerusalem

2012-02-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

Passengers hoping to board an already crowded bus on a Friday afternoon at Beersheba Central Bus Station.

August 19, 2011 -- After a couple of days exploring Mitzpe Ramon and Midreshet Ben-Gurion, I was going to travel via bus south to Eilat and then Petra, but a big terrorist attack on the same bus route I was going to take made for a change of plans. The roads were closed around Eilat and the Israeli Defense Forces were advising the public to avoid the area after a well-coordinated ambush near the Egyptian border murdered eight innocent civilians and injured dozens. So instead of soaking up the sun along the Red Sea and visiting Al Khazneh (featured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"), I took a bus north to Beersheba and then transferred to another bus to Jerusalem.

I crowded onto the packed bus with Israeli soldiers on leave for the hour-and-a-half ride north. Friday afternoons are very busy at Beersheba Central Bus Station because everyone wants to catch the last buses to their destination in order to be able to spend Shabbat dinner with their families and friends. I arrived at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station just in time for the Friday opening of the new light rail line along Jaffa Road and preparations for Shabbat in the Holy City.

After checking in to Abraham's Hostel next to Davidka Square in the heart of Israel's undivided capital, I was ready to explore my favorite city in the world—from Mount Herzl to the Western Wall and beyond. Jerusalem. Yerushaláyim. יְרוּשָׁלַיִם‎.

Here are more pictures of the bus trip from Beersheba to Jerusalem. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr.

Green Traveler: Mitzpe Ramon, Israel

2012-02-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

August 17-19, 2011 -- Israel's water crisis really comes into focus when traveling through the arid Negev desert. But the potential to power the nation through solar energy also becomes clearer as the sun shines down upon uninhabited, non-arable land as far as the eye can see. The Jacob Blaustein Institute of Desert Research, on the Sde Boker campus of Ben-Gurion University near Mitzpe Ramon, is a world-class research facility with world-class researchers hard at work finding solutions to water resource sustainability and tapping into solar power in Israel. The institute operates the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, which is home to the world's largest solar dish. The director of the Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center, David Faiman, believes that the Negev could be home to massive solar energy plants that could meet Israel's future energy needs.

For eco-conscious travelers, a visit to The Jacob Blaustein Institute of Desert Research and Ben-Gurion National Solar Energy Center should definitely be on the itinerary. However, make sure to reserve a tour ahead of time. I did not book ahead of time, and therefore was not able to walk through the facilities. The Mitzpe Ramon area offers much to do for the outdoor enthusiast. There are great hiking trails at Makhtesh Ramon (a stunning geological formation cratered out through millions of year of erosion) and Tzin Canyon next to Ben-Gurion University and the tombs of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and his wife Paula. There are also places to rent mountain bikes and explore the Negev using pedal power. Geofun Desert Cycling Center specializes in Negev bike tours. For those travelers interested in animal conservation, there are lots of Nubian ibex and other animals to observe. Although unfortunately you will probably see many people illegally feeding the ibex human food despite the many signs warning visitors that human food can injure or even kill the ibex.

And a green place to stay is the aptly named Green Backpackers Hostel, which uses rooftop solar water heaters like many buildings throughout Israel. In fact, Israel is the world leader in the use of solar energy per capita with 85 percent of the households today using solar thermal systems, estimated to save the country 2 million barrels of oil a year, the highest per capita use of solar energy in the world, according to Wikipedia.

Click here for more observations of Mitzpe Ramon and Midreshet Ben-Gurion on Josh's Travel Blog.

Here are more pictures from Mitzpe Ramon and Midreshet Ben-Gurion. Click here for the Flickr set.

Here is a panoramic video montage of Mitzpe Ramon and Makhtesh Ramon.

The End of Occupy DC

2012-02-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, February 4, 2012 in Washington, D.C.'s McPherson Square, U.S. Park Police in riot gear, some on horseback, along with a hazmat team, raided the Occupy DC encampment and set up a perimeter around the park and began to clear out tents, bedding, debris and other belongings with forklifts and trucks.

They said they were enforcing the no camping regulations and not evicting the demonstrators.

This occurred in front of protesters, onlookers and the media on a cool, rainy, dreary winter day in the Nation's Capital.

Streets were blocked off to traffic around McPherson Square by the Metropolitan Police Department traffic enforcement division.

While many in the Occupy movement are criticizing the heavy-handed tactics and unnecessary show of force by law enforcement, the U.S. Park Police are actually doing the movement a favor by shutting down the encampment. It will allow the next phase of the movement to begin, whatever that may be.

Occupy DC was one of the last remaining encampments after other cities such as New York had evicted their demonstrators. Frankly, the encampment at McPherson Square was beginning to become an eyesore and attracting anarchists and others not interested in reshaping our democracy to benefit the 99% but in destroying the system altogether. And the reports of rats and filthy conditions were becoming a distraction from the main message of this movement, which is to address the unsustainable social and economic inequality in America.

The slogan "you can't evict an idea" that gained traction after Zuccotti Park was cleared out, will certainly apply to Occupy DC. Their heroic actions and sacrifice on behalf of working people everywhere will always be honored and one day there will be a plaque at McPherson Square remembering the brave men and women who slept under the stars to dream of a better America. But for now, it's time to move on.

Here are more pictures taken Saturday afternoon of the end of Occupy DC at McPherson Square.

Arrested Anti-Fracking Filmmaker Fights Back

2012-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

It is a rare sight to see an Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker arrested while recording a public congressional hearing. But that is exactly what happened yesterday as "Gasland" director Josh Fox was handcuffed before a hydraulic fracturing hearing at the request of the Republican leadership of the House subcommittee on Science, Space and Technology.

Fox is making a follow-up to his critically acclaimed movie about the risks to public health and contamination of the water supply from chemicals used by the natural gas industry when they drill and then administer high-pressure injections into shale rock to fracture the shale and extract natural gas. His sequel explores the corrupt connection between the oil and gas industry and the United States government.

Anyone concerned about the First Amendment, Freedom of the Press and civil liberties should be outraged that the Republicans would first deny Fox a media credential, as was reported on many news sites, and then ask for him to be arrested for filming without a credential. This despite the fact that it was a public hearing where people take pictures and shoot amateur video of proceedings all the time. I have attended many of these public hearings and sat there with my video camera shooting and never have been asked to be removed.

And anyone concerned about the stranglehold the oil and gas industry have on Republicans in Congress and our government should be appalled at the arrest of Fox. There are serious questions that need to be asked about chemicals seeping into groundwater from the fracking method. This is about the public health of the citizens of the United States, not just about jobs and the economy in this rush to tap into every inch of shale rock for every drop of natural gas in this country.

And remember that these are the same anti-science Republicans who have done nothing to implement a renewable energy policy in America. Millions of jobs are being lost overseas because the United States does not incentivize clean energy nearly enough compared to subsidizing the fossil fuel industry. Republicans are in no position to talk about jobs when they refuse to allow America to compete in the global clean energy race with biofuel, biomass, wind power, solar power, tidal power, wave power, hydroelectricity and geothermal energy.

Here is Fox's statement to the press followed by video of him talking about his arrest on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" with Ed Schultz.

I was arrested today for exercising my First Amendment rights to freedom of the press on Capitol Hill. I was not expecting to be arrested for practicing journalism.

Today’s hearing in the House Energy and Environment subcommittee was called to examine EPAs findings that hydraulic fracturing fluids had contaminated groundwater in the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. I have a long history with the town of Pavillion and its residents who have maintained since 2008 that fracking has contaminated their water supply. I featured the stories of residents John Fenton, Louis Meeks and Jeff Locker in GASLAND and I have continued to document the catastrophic water contamination in Pavillion for the upcoming sequel GASLAND 2.

It would seem that the Republican leadership was using this hearing to attack the three year Region 8 EPA investigation involving hundreds of samples and extensive water testing which ruled that Pavillion’s groundwater was a health hazard, contaminated by benzene at 50x the safe level and numerous other contaminants associated with gas drilling. Most importantly, EPA stated in this case that fracking was the likely cause.

As a filmmaker and journalist I have covered hundreds of public hearings, including Congressional hearings. It is my understanding that public speech is allowed to be filmed. Congress should be no exception. No one on Capitol Hill should regard themselves exempt from the Constitution. The First Amendment to the Constitution states explicitly “Congress shall make no law…that infringes on the Freedom of the Press”. Which means that no subcommittee rule or regulation should prohibit a respectful journalist or citizen from recording a public hearing.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Occupy D.C.'s Last Stand

2012-01-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

Occupy DC demonstrators erect a huge blue tarp labeled 'Tent of Dreams' over the McPherson Statue, in defiance of a U.S. Park Police order to enforce no camping rules after noon today.

Tonight there might be arrests. There might even be violence. But this afternoon in the epicenter of the K Street lobbying corridor, a symbol of what so many Americans believe is wrong with Washington, Occupy DC at McPherson Square made a defiant last stand in a joyous celebration of one of the last remaining encampments inspired by last October's original Occupy Wall Street protests at Zuccotti Park in New York City.

Yesterday the U.S. Park Police, who have authority over the park, warned demonstrators of a noon deadline today when they would begin enforcing a no camping ban. At about 11:45 a.m., in front of a swarm of media and hundreds of curious onlookers, some of the protestors climbed the statue of Major General James Birdseye McPherson and hung a big blue tarp called “Tent of Dreams.” Then the Occupiers entered the tarp and began chanting and singing and listening to music.

While many downtown office workers looked down from the roofs of their buildings in anticipation of seeing a showdown, it never materialized as the noon deadline passed. There were only a scattering of uniformed police officers manning the corners of the park. So the afternoon instead turned into somewhat of a final hurrah for a phase of a movement that has inspired so many people around the world.

Even for those who dismiss the Occupy movement with harsh words aimed at the lack of organization and singular message, or even criticizing the “aging hippies” and “entitled white kids” that are involved, as many Tea Party trolls angrily comment on news websites, they cannot deny the power that Occupy has had. Income inequality has become a part of the national consciousness and populist rage aimed at money in politics is now being discussed by the mainstream media and politicians. Even President Obama's State of the Union recently took a page from the Occupy movement by addressing the growing gap between the wealthiest 1% and the majority of Americans and calling for economic fairness.

Tomorrow the tents may be gone and the jails may be full, but Occupy has already won because they have put political and economic justice front and center. And until our economic and political systems start benefiting the 99% instead of just the 1%, then the Occupy message will continue to resonate regardless of whether or not people are physically occupying a public space.

Here is video of the "Tent of Dreams" tarp being hoisted over the McPherson Statue.

And here is video of the scene on Occupy DC's last day at McPherson Square.

Here are more pictures from an eventful day in downtown Washington.

Occupy Movement Targets Congress

2012-01-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

(This story was originally posted on the website Winning Progressive.)

Thousands of demonstrators from across the country descended on the Capitol this past Tuesday to partake in the Occupy movement’s latest evolution – Occupy Congress. The protests took place on the day that lawmakers returned to Washington amid historically low approval ratings.

I hopped on the Metro after work and arrived at the Capitol South Station (the closest station to Congress) and was dismayed to see the station plastered with dirty energy ads from the American Petroleum Institute. The “I Vote 4 Energy” campaign is a cynically misleading attempt by the oil and gas industry to influence policymakers by falsely representing domestic fossil fuel production as a job creator and something a majority of Americans support. Click here for a detailed take down of API’s ad campaign from the website Political Correction. Contrary to Big Oil’s propaganda, a study conducted by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication last November on public support for energy and climate policies revealed that 90% of Americans believe developing sources of clean energy should be a very high to medium priority for the president and Congress; and 69% of Americans oppose federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. So the oil and gas industry is right about voting for energy, they are just wrong about the type of energy. Americans want clean renewable energy, not dirty fossil fuels.

And a renewable energy policy is but one of many issues Congress has failed to address, which is why the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol was full of people protesting the undue influence big money lobbyists like the American Petroleum Institute have on congressional lawmakers. A rainy, dreary Washington winter day transformed into a clear, starry night as live folk music lifted the spirits of thousands of Occupiers gathered in the muddy grass in the shadow of the brightly lit Capitol dome.

Soon after I arrived the majority of protestors left for a march to the Supreme Court and White House (on Friday a group called Move to Amend marked the two year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision with rallies at courthouses across the country.)

I interviewed Vince from Durham, North Carolina, asking him why he came up to D.C. for Occupy Congress.

“I’m here to support what I think is going on here, which is a lot of inequality and injustice between the wealthy and the rest of the people. I have no problem with wealthy people, it’s just that the system is kind of skewed, so it makes it not only really bad for us but ultimately it’s going to be bad for them as well as it keeps going forward and forward. You’ve got to have customers to buy your stuff.”

Here are a few of my general observations about the Occupy movement so far. I’ve walked through the Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square encampments in Washington, D.C. and Zuccotti Park in New York City multiple times and now have experienced Occupy Congress.

* The Occupy movement has been criticized for remaining leaderless and issueless. But that is the most brilliant aspect of this movement and what has allowed it to remain relevant and constantly evolving. The Occupy movement cannot be pigeonholed into just another special interest group or coopted by a political party or corporation like the Tea Party was corrupted by the Koch brothers and the Republican Party. The fact that Occupy has not been absorbed into the Democratic Party and has refused to be defined by a narrow agenda is exactly what has kept it so vital. Its populist 99% slogan is all it really needs because everyone brings their own issues and points of view to the table.

* Beyond the issues, the Occupy movement (and even the Tea Party movement before it was hijacked by right-wing businessmen and conservative Republicans) spawned from an underlying sense that something isn’t right in America. Poll after poll shows Americans believe the country is on the wrong track and there is deep distrust and resentment towards the political and economic establishment. The feeling that we have lost our way and that we need to get back to being great again is a prime motivator of this populist movement. The Occupy movement will last until the majority of Americans regain confidence in our political and economic systems.

* I’m still shocked that the Occupy movement has even taken place at all. I thought the economic crisis was not bad enough yet and that most Americans were too pacified by our crass commercial culture and media circus to get off our couches and take to the streets. I thought it would have to get to Great Depression levels with Hoovervilles again, which was the current trajectory we were on until Obama saved us from falling over the cliff. America is actually really lucky the Occupy movement is taking place right now and pushing leaders to take action so we not only avoid a Great Depression, but power out of this seemingly never-ending Great Recession and restore American Democracy and the American Dream for future generations.

When Metro Fails, Capital Bikeshare to the Rescue!

2012-01-07T00:31:00.000-08:00

Credit: online.wsj.com

There was a time when Washington's subway system was the envy of the nation. So clean. So efficient. So modern. Well, thirty plus years of deferred and poor maintenance, mismanagement, safety lapses and lack of proper funding has turned Metro into a mess. The subway system of the most powerful city in the world has become an epic embarrassment and even a symbol of the nation's neglect towards its public transportation infrastructure.

Yes, Metro is spending $5 billion on improving the system and making necessary safety repairs following National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations after the horrific 2009 Red Line collision that killed nine people and injured 80 others. But these projects have really inconvenienced riders with long delays due to single tracking and stations being shut down for repairs. Also, it is dispiriting for many riders to still see so many broken down escalators. Or there was the incident October of 2010 when during the Rally to Restore Sanity the L'Enfant Plaza escalator collapsed injuring several people. And even when the escalators are working they run dangerously slow and sometimes produce truly horrific sounds.

The bottom line is sadly Metro is in a depressing state of dysfunction and it will take years, perhaps decades, for the system to be restored to its former glory. But thankfully there are other new and innovative ways to get around town as I discovered yesterday evening.

I was riding the Orange Line from Ballston to Metro Center for dinner and got stuck on a delayed train at the Clarendon Station due to a mechanical failure on a train at the Stadium Armory stop. After fifteen minutes of not moving on a packed rush hour train and no announcement to passengers on when we would start moving again, I decided to exit the train and the station and walk across the street to the new Capital Bikeshare station. The shiny red bikes were a sight for sore eyes. I was so glad bike sharing had expanded to Clarendon. I rented a bike, hopped on the saddle and was breezing along Wilson Boulevard while the Metro train was still stuck at the station. I rode through Rosslyn, across the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge into The District, past the White House and to Gallery Place-Chinatown where I dropped the bike off at a station. I was only around 15 minutes late to dinner thanks to Capital Bikeshare.

Credit: wamu.org

So when Metro fails, and trust me it will let you down, know that Capital Bikeshare is always there as a backup. Plus you get exercise and it's just plain fun bicycling around town. The only problem is that the system doesn't provide helmets so unless you just happen to carry around a bike helmet on your Metro ride, be extra careful if you go bike sharing without a helmet!

'Turbine' Showcases Wind Farms of Missouri

2012-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Most movies about clean energy sources such as wind power are documentaries that put the technology front and center. That is one reason why NYC-based Last Ditch Pictures' 2011 feature film "Turbine" is so intriguing. Brother and sister Isaak and Eva James have directed a film that, despite its title, uses the booming wind industry of rural Missouri as mostly a cinematic backdrop and subplot for the larger erotic and dark drama unfolding between a couple who has relocated from New York City to Missouri so Nick (played by James) can pursue a career in wind energy.

It is interesting the filmmakers chose Missouri as opposed to states with larger wind generating capacity such as Texas and Colorado. But a 2009 story on the New York Times' Green blog reveals that in the second quarter of that year Missouri's wind power capacity increased 90%. The American Wind Energy Association provides an online fact sheet on Missouri that shows that all the wind projects are clustered in three counties in the northwestern part of the state but that there are wind energy manufacturing facilities spread out across the Show Me State.

"Turbine" recently nabbed the Spirits Independents Award at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival and screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival.

'Cars 2' Revs Up Alternative Fuels Message

2012-01-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

On the Virgin America plane ride from San Francisco to Washington Dulles yesterday I had the pleasure of watching Pixar's computer-animated action film sequel "Cars 2." I knew there was some "controversy" stirred up by some conservative blog about director John Lasseter taking on Big Oil by making the fossil fuel industry the bad guy and clean alternative fuels and electric vehicles as the heroes. Apparently to the conservative blogger, "Cars 2" is another example of left-wing Hollywood propaganda meant to indoctrinate oil-loving American children into becoming Prius-loving hippies, or something like that.

So a movie that advocates conserving the planet for future generations by ending our addiction to fossil fuels and embracing alternative energy is attacked by a conservative? Isn't a conservative supposed to conserve? As in conserving the environment and conserving fuel. Aren't the real radicals Big Oil and their political allies who are radically altering the climate with unknown consequences by keeping us chained to carbon-based modes of transportation?

"Cars 2" is a movie with an inspiring environmental and clean energy message and I recommend it to liberals, conservatives and everyone in between. Kudos to Pixar and Lasseter for taking a stand against Big Oil.