As world leaders gather in Copenhagen to negotiate international strategy to lower global greenhouse emissions, I'd like to share a vision for part of the solution. Greenways and other improvements in bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure can make make a huge impact lowering emissions in the coming decade. Some economists and...

This past week, our East Coast Greenway began to move from a solely grassroots initiative to a project also backed by the most important transportation institution in the country. We have great relationships with many of the state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), but achieving federal partnership interest will effect...

I got a call a few weeks ago from my good friend and former college roommate, Pablo Torres from Durham, NC. He said he and his girlfriend, Gabrielle Trapenberg, were planning to ride their bicycles from New York City to DC (a 300-mile journey) as part of the 2009 Climate...

US wind capacity continued its impressive growth in the second quarter while fossil fuel consumption continued to fall. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) just released their second quarter report, and it's full of surprisingly upbeat news for a sector hard-hit by the recession. The resilience of wind power...

Most of the time we think of NYC innovating policy and then sharing it with the local suburbs and beyond. But this summer, New York City's suburb of New Rochelle has passed a groundbreaking policy for the region that will hopefully make its way to NYC. The policy helps New...

A new wind power report just came out of the US Department Of Energy that bodes very well for future wind power growth. After a difficult year in 2009, record growth is expected to continue 2010-12. In fact, wind power is expected to be the biggest source of new...

As I wrote last month would probably happen, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered its estimate for fossil fuel energy demand in 2009, translating into a huge drop in greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions projections for coal, oil, and natural gas were all lowered in its July Short Term...

Mother Nature News celebrated the renewable energy efforts of Austin, the recycling of San Francisco, the green roofs of Chicago, and the bikeways of Portland. But they left our fair City of New York out of their list of top 10 green US cities. Now it's up to all...

Most of my posts have focused on the environmental and public health impacts of burning fossil fuels due to their greenhouse gas emissions. But the 12 deaths from a liquefied petroleum gas explosion on an Italian train today are an important reminder that reduced emissions are not the only...

The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) has further lowered its emissions projection for 2009 this month, as I said in May, was likely. Lower coal consumption drives the reduction, based on a drop in industrial demand for fuel and the substitution by natural gas for coal for electricity...

During the first quarter of 2009, more bicycles were sold in the US than cars and trucks. While the Great Recession is hurting bike sales, they didn't fall as fast as automobiles. Around 2.6 million bicycle purchases were made, compared to less than 2.5 million cars and trucks that...

The prices of oil and natural gas appear to have bottomed now. But with inventories near record levels, a quick price spike much higher doesn't seem sustainable in the short-term. Yesterday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly petroleum report clearly showed that recessionary low demand continues to dominate...

We've all heard of Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) within states, directives that at least a chosen percentage of a state's electricity be provided by renewable energy sources. Goals range from 25% renewables in NY by 2013 to 12.5% in NC by 2015. But the American Council on Renewable Energy...

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) US electric power estimates for January and February just came out. And the numbers are dramatic. Net generation in January was down ~3.3% from January 2008, largely on lower demand from industrial users. February showed an even greater ~6.9% nosedive in net generation...

Only a few days after Roman Catholic Easter, the tradition's faith leaders announced a plan to care for God's Creation by harvesting energy from sunlight. Solar photovoltaic (PV) power exists in a small scale all over the world, from arrays less than 1 kW to a couple dozen MW....

For the first time since the last oil shock of the early 1980s, global greenhouse gas emissions are poised to fall significantly. The International Energy Agency (IEA) just released its monthly oil report within which they lowered oil demand projections by 1 million barrels per day (Mbd)...

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released their Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2009) this week and their numbers are a lot better than last year when the climate is concerned. It's exciting to see the progress. But reference scenarios still have emissions growing throughout the period, so we have plenty of...

I've got some good news to share -- coal is losing its market share in the US electricity mix to less carbon-intensive sources. In the late 1990s, coal-fired power plants produced almost 53% of total US electricity. And the US EIA just released in its estimate for 2008 electricity...

Recent growth rates for the world's solar PV have been impressive at 40+% these past several years. But the newly published Solarbuzz Annual Report, Marketbuzz 2009, shows last year's rate blew those numbers away. The global solar installation market more than doubled (growing 110%) to add 5.95 GW of...

What a conference! Powershift not only built community among 12,000 active students and allies bringing them under one roof. The gathering also inspired and empowered these young people and their colleagues to make a lasting impact from the campus to the federal policy level. One of the projects that...