What's New at We Can Solve It - Press & Bloggers

Press Release: The Conrad Foundation and “We” Campaign Announce Partnership for Innovation (PDF)

2009-01-07T23:22:00+00:00

Sign the Petition to Repower America

2008-11-25T16:50:00+00:00

Join the millions of people calling on our leaders to Repower America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.

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Tell your friends about Repower America

2008-11-25T16:40:00+00:00

The louder our voice, the more effective we will be. Tell your friends about Repower America get them involved today.

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Donate to The We Campaign

2008-11-25T16:32:00+00:00

Support Repowering America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years by making a gift today!

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Press Release: CEO Cathy Zoi Named to Weather Channelâs 2008 Forecast Earth âHot Listâ (PDF)

2008-11-20T00:06:00+00:00

Press Release: Now What? ‘Repower America’ Plan Answers Call for Bold Solutions (PDF)

2008-11-06T21:39:01+00:00

Press Release: Gore Calls on Students to Make Climate a Voting Priority (PDF)

2008-10-30T01:14:00+00:00

Press Release: Alliance for Climate Protection: Oil Industry Hijacks Energy Debate (PDF)

2008-09-18T18:02:00+00:00

Press Release: Thousands to Participate in Green Jobs Now Day of Action (PDF)

2008-09-18T17:55:00+00:00

Scorching summer days to sizzle more by 2100

2008-08-19T15:42:00+00:00

Press Release: “We” Campaign to Our Nation’s Leaders: FREE US. (PDF)

2008-08-18T21:23:00+00:00

We Campaign CEO: “Embracing the Challenge to Repower America”

2008-08-13T21:57:00+00:00

Embracing the Challenge to Repower America
August 12, 200
Cathy Zoi

Many Americans have a hard time thinking about our energy future, largely because their energy present is so challenging. With gasoline prices hovering near $4 per gallon and rising energy bills at home and at work, our economy is struggling with the burden of imported oil and reliance on fossil fuels. The need to satisfy the nation's oil appetite has shaped our foreign and defense postures, and is a primary reason for our current entanglements overseas. Extreme weather here in the U.S. has us feeling uneasy. And the scientists remind us more urgently every week about the mounting manifestations of the climate crisis.

To solve these problems, we must repower our economy. Fast.

Vice President Gore has issued a challenge for us to do just that: Generate 100 percent of America's electricity from truly clean sources that do not contribute to global warming -- and do so within 10 years. It is an ambitious but attainable goal. American workers, businesses and families are up to it.

Meeting the challenge to repower America will deliver the affordability, stability and confidence our economy needs, as well as a healthy environment. And it will generate millions of good American jobs that can't be outsourced.

It will involve simultaneous work on three fronts. First, get the most out of the energy we currently produce. Second, quickly deploy the clean energy technologies that we already know can work. Third, create a new integrated electricity grid to deliver power from where it is generated to where people live.

The first front involves energy efficiency. The potential here is vast and largely untapped. Now is the time to begin a comprehensive national energy upgrade that will reduce the energy bills of homeowners and businesses -- even as costs of energy supplies may be on the rise.

The second front requires expanding the use of existing generation technologies. This will include accelerated growth in our wind energy industry. We have a strong running start -- the U.S. was the leading installer of wind technology last year. Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens says we can get at least 20 percent of America's electricity from wind power. We think he's right.

Solar thermal power is also booming and poised for rapid acceleration. The resource potential is so vast that a series of collectors in the American southwest totaling just 92 miles on a side could power our entire electricity system. Utilities in Arizona, Nevada, and California have already begun to tap this potential, with plans for powering nearly one million homes underway.

Advances in thermal storage technologies, along with investments in our grid, mean that solar thermal power will be able to provide electricity at night, like coal power does today.

Nuclear and hydroelectric power facilities currently combine to contribute roughly 25% of America's electricity. That will continue. Coal and natural gas can also play a significant role by capturing and storing their carbon emissions safely. Our hope is that this CCS emissions technology can be developed and commercialized quickly. Without it, coal isn't "clean." There are reportedly a few CCS plants now proposed in the U.S., although another roughly 70 proposed coal plants have no such plans to capture their carbon pollution.

The third front is the creation of a unified national electricity grid. A "super smart grid" will form the backbone and the entire skeleton of our modern power system. Efficient high voltage lines will move power from remote, resource-rich areas to places where power is consumed.

It will also allow households to make money by automatically using energy at the cheapest times and selling electricity back to the grid when a surplus is available can. A smart meter spins both ways.

Meeting this 100 percent clean power challenge will require a one-time capital investment in new infrastructure, with the bulk of funding coming from private finance. If policies reward reducing global warming pollution, private capital will flow towards clean energy solutions.

But the most important cost figures to consider may be the ones we'll avoid. American utilities will spend roughly $100 billion this year on coal and natural gas to fuel power plants. And more next year and the year after that -- until we make the switch to renewable fuels that are free and limitless.

The 10-year time frame is key.

The science, the economic pressures and our national security concerns demand swift, concerted action. The best climate scientists tell us we must make rapid progress to turn the corner on global carbon emissions or the ecological consequences will be irreversible.

The solutions are available now -- there are no technology or material impediments. Failing to move swiftly will deprive the U.S. economy of earnings from one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the world.

We've done this before. We mobilized the auto industry in 12 months to service the hardware needs of WWII. The Marshall Plan to reconstruct Europe was executed in four years. And as Vice President Gore pointed out, we reached the moon in eight years, not ten.

We can do this. With support from the American people and leadership from elected officials, America can accept the challenge of building a safe, secure and sustainable energy future.

Cathy Zoi is CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection, whose "We" Campaign is working to enlist 10 million people to call for effective policies to help solve the climate crisis.

Press Release: We Campaign Unveils New “Switch” Ad Promoting Challenge to Repower America (PDF)

2008-08-11T22:10:00+00:00

Urban Texas to be Powered by Rural Wind

2008-07-21T21:11:00+00:00

Texas regulators have approved a $4.93 billion wind-power transmission project, providing a major lift to the development of wind energy in the state. The planned web of transmission lines will carry electricity from remote western parts of the state to major population centers like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. The lines can handle 18,500 megawatts of power, enough for 3.7 million homes on a hot day when air-conditioners are running. The project should be a boon for Texas power customers, whose electricity costs have risen in conjunction with soaring natural gas prices across the state. "There's nothing volatile about the wind in terms of the price, because it's free,"said Southwest regional development director for Horizon Wind Energy, Vanessa Kellogg. Read more.

Watch Al Gore’s groundbreaking speech, delivered July 17, 2008.

2008-07-18T21:10:00+00:00

Press Release: Gore Issues Challenge to Repower America: 100% Clean Energy In 10 Years (PDF)

2008-07-17T16:29:00+00:00

Tell us what your community is doing to solve the climate crisis.

2008-07-10T23:02:00+00:00

Investment in Green Energy Skyrockets

2008-07-10T20:49:00+00:00

According to the United Nations, global investment in wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy rose 60% last year to $148 billion. This sharp increase reflects the growing concern about climate change and energy prices, UN officials said last week. Yvo de Boer, the U.N.'s top climate change official says this positive trend is reason to be optimistic about negotiations for a new global warming treaty to cut industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other atmospheric heat-trapping gases. Read more.

Climate Change Creating Refugees

2008-07-09T21:13:00+00:00

Climate change is forcing people around the world to leave their villages, or even their countries, because of the increased frequency of floods and droughts and the re-emergence of diseases, UN General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said recently. "Each nation, each city, each town, each community and individual has a stake," he said, stressing that climate change affected nearly every aspect of human activity, including the environment, health, migration, energy, good governance, security and economic development. Read more.

Spread the word about climate change and severe weather

2008-07-08T14:59:01+00:00

Press Release: “We” Campaign Finds Common Cause with Major Faith Groups (PDF)

2008-07-01T16:31:00+00:00

In search of higher ground: global warming’s impact on Alaskan Village

2008-06-25T19:29:00+00:00

The Yupik Eskimo community of more than 400 will receive state aid to help it relocate to higher ground as Alaska tries to cope with the effects of global warming. The seaside village is one of six remote villages tapped by the state for immediate attention because of their vulnerability to escalating erosion, storms and flooding linked to global warming. Read more.

UN highlights negative effects of climate change on Africa

2008-06-25T19:23:01+00:00

The United Nations Environment Programme unveiled a new atlas showing the dramatic effects of climate change on Africa. According to the atlas, Africa is losing nearly 10 million acres of forest every year - twice the world's average deforestation rate. Some areas of the continent are losing over 55.12 tons of soil per 2.5 acres each year, the atlas says. Although Africa produces only 4 percent of the world's total carbon dioxide emissions, its inhabitants are expected by some officials to suffer most from the consequences of climate change. Read more.

We Campaign Partners with Green For All: creating green jobs to lift people out of poverty

2008-06-24T20:35:00+00:00

The "We" campaign and Green For All today announced a partnership designed to ignite awareness of the ways in which climate protection policies can bring economic opportunities to some of America's largest cities. Read the press release here.

Photo credit: RichmondBUILD / Solar Richmond / GRID Alternatives / Institute for Solar Living

Press Release: New Effort Links Climate Solutions & Urban Poverty (PDF)

2008-06-24T20:22:00+00:00

NYTimes Editorial Encourages Incentives for Clean Energy

2008-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

An editorial in the New York Times this week strongly encouraged the Senate to demonstrate its commitment to halting global warming by approving a bill to renew tax credits for clean energy industries like solar and wind power."These credits are necessary to attract new investment in renewable sources until they become competitive with cheaper, dirtier fuels like coal. When the credits disappear, as they have in the past, investment shrivels. And since the credits expire at the end of this year, action now is critical." Read more.

We Campaign members deliver clean energy petitions to Congress

2008-06-13T18:36:00+00:00

More than 80,000 people signed our petition to protect clean energy jobs. We campaign members delivered a personalized letter to each Senator, stating how many people from their state had signed.

We Campaign members delivered petitions to all 100 Senators.

A “Generational Message” from Al Gore

2008-06-11T15:26:00+00:00

The clock is ticking for clean energy jobs!

2008-06-10T17:46:00+00:00

Congress will likely vote on extending incentives for clean energy industries this week. Sign our petition and urge your senators to support these valuable incentives for wind, solar and other types of renewable energy now.

Press Release: New We Ad Highlights Importance of Public Unity on Climate (PDF)

2008-06-09T17:20:00+00:00

What's New at We Can Solve It - Press & Bloggers

Press Release: The Conrad Foundation and “We” Campaign Announce Partnership for Innovation (PDF)

Sign the Petition to Repower America

Tell your friends about Repower America

Donate to The We Campaign

Press Release: CEO Cathy Zoi Named to Weather Channelâs 2008 Forecast Earth âHot Listâ (PDF)

Press Release: Now What? ‘Repower America’ Plan Answers Call for Bold Solutions (PDF)

Press Release: Gore Calls on Students to Make Climate a Voting Priority (PDF)

Press Release: Alliance for Climate Protection: Oil Industry Hijacks Energy Debate (PDF)

Press Release: Thousands to Participate in Green Jobs Now Day of Action (PDF)

Scorching summer days to sizzle more by 2100

Press Release: “We” Campaign to Our Nation’s Leaders: FREE US. (PDF)

We Campaign CEO: “Embracing the Challenge to Repower America”

Press Release: We Campaign Unveils New “Switch” Ad Promoting Challenge to Repower America (PDF)

Urban Texas to be Powered by Rural Wind

Watch Al Gore’s groundbreaking speech, delivered July 17, 2008.

Press Release: Gore Issues Challenge to Repower America: 100% Clean Energy In 10 Years (PDF)

Tell us what your community is doing to solve the climate crisis.

Investment in Green Energy Skyrockets

Climate Change Creating Refugees

Spread the word about climate change and severe weather

Press Release: “We” Campaign Finds Common Cause with Major Faith Groups (PDF)

In search of higher ground: global warming’s impact on Alaskan Village

UN highlights negative effects of climate change on Africa

We Campaign Partners with Green For All: creating green jobs to lift people out of poverty

Press Release: New Effort Links Climate Solutions & Urban Poverty (PDF)

NYTimes Editorial Encourages Incentives for Clean Energy

We Campaign members deliver clean energy petitions to Congress

A “Generational Message” from Al Gore

The clock is ticking for clean energy jobs!

Press Release: New We Ad Highlights Importance of Public Unity on Climate (PDF)

Press Release: CEO Cathy Zoi Named to Weather Channelâs 2008 Forecast Earth âHot Listâ (PDF)

Press Release: New We Ad Highlights Importance of Public Unity on Climate (PDF)