Environment: Energy, Climate Change, Nuclear Proliferation, and the Green New Deal

The Electric Industry is the largest single cause of Climate Change, Nuclear Proliferation, and Childhoold Asthma. Until very recently, the U.S. Electricity Industry has denied responsibility for causing Climate Change, and in fact has denied that its cause is industrial or even human. Due to the unending pressure of heroes like James Hansen, Ross Gelbspan, and James Lovelock, most (not all) major energy companies that cause Climate Change admit to doing so. Few if any are doing anything meaningful about it however; instead, a multi-billion dollar barrage of greenwashing and green marketing is the only greening going on as of March 2009. With the Obama Administration taking major steps to change this, and City Governments leading the way with Cities for Climate Protection and similar initiatives all over the nation and the world, a new movement for a Green New Deal has emerged in the 2009 Stimulus Package, which includes major public and private sector investments in renewable energy, smart grid, and electric vehicles.

Background: Supply-Side Paradigm Crisis, Community Choice and the Green New Deal

Green is Not Enough! No Carbon Solution Without Realocalization, Radical Demand Reduction (Coming Article by LPI CEO Fenn and LPI Senior Carbon Analyst David Erickson - Spring, 2009)

SAN FRANCISCO APPROVES LOCAL POWER COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE PLAN: City to Switch Electricity Providers in 2007 & Use H Bond Authority to Build 360 Megawatts of New Solar, Wind, Efficiency, Conservation Technologies, With a 51% Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2017 (June, 2007)

HELEN CALDICOTT, ROSS GELBSPAN, ENERGY & CLIMATE EXPERTS COMMENT ON SAN FRANCISCO LPI PLAN (PDF)

SAN DIEGO-AREA COALITION PLAN WOULD REPLACE POWER PLANT WITH SOLAR POWER FACILITIES: Environmental Health Coalition Releases Local Power Plan to Use Community Choice and H Bonds to Build Wind Farm, Pumped Hydro, Solar Thermal and Photovoltaics Facilities For Competitively Priced Power (February, 2007)

CLIMATE PANIC: Lovelock, Panicked Scientists Join Industry's Orwellian Call for Nuclear Revival as Energy Markets Fail to Answer Apocalyptic Climate Crisis (EXCLUSIVE article by Paul Fenn) (2006)

LOCAL POWER SLIDESHOW: Califoria Community Choice Opportunity (PDF)

SONOMA COUNTY GROUP PREPARES CLIMATE ACTION PLAN: 20% Across-the-Board Greenhouse Gas Reduction from 1990 Levels by 2015 Using Community Choice (January, 2007)

MARIN COUNTY PREPARES COMMUNITY CHOICE PLAN TO GO 50% GREEN: Funds Implementation Plan for 2007 (2006)

OAKLAND, BERKELEY, EMERYVILLE PLAN 50% GREEN PLAN FOR COMMUNITY CHOICE: CCA Now Bay Area-Wide (2006)

SAN LUIS OBISPO, VENTURA COUNTIES MOBILIZE AGAINST DIABLO NUCLEAR, LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS TERMINAL: CCA Campaign Pits Renewable Energy Against Fossil, Nuclear Investments of Utility PG&E (2006)

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY CHOICE REGULATIONS COMPLETED BY STATE REGULATORS: CPUC Decisions Favorable for Urban Green Power Conversions, Climate Action Plans (2006)

THE PLAN: San Francisco Commission Approves Local Power Community Choice Implementation Plan: H Bonds to Finance 360 Megawatts of Local Green Energy Installations in First Three Years, With 51% "Build Not Buy" Renewables Portfolio Standard by 2017 (2005)

NATIONAL ENERGY FIRM NIXON PEABODY REPORTS ON COMMUNITY CHOICE TO SAN FRANCISCO COMMISSION - THUMBS UP TO USE OF H BOND FINANCING AUTHORITY & BOARD OF CONTROL TO IMPLEMENT CCA PROGRAM (November, 2005)

GOLDMAN SCHOOL REPORTS TO STATE REGULATORS ON COMMUNITY CHOICE: A Judge-Commissioned UC Berkeley Public Policy Report Released on Community Choice in California (June, 2005)

GREEN FORTY-NINER - S.F. Leads Forty-Nine California Cities and Counties Now Seeking To Implement Community Choice, Many With 40% Renewables Goal - (November, 2004)

MONOPOLY THREAT - San Francisco Protests PG&E's Proposed Power Plants and Contracts, Announces Intention to Find New Power Provider - Berkeley Funds Implementation Plan to Follow Suit (March, 2005)

NEW LOCAL POWER LEGISLATION BACKED - San Francisco Board of Supervisors Asks Legislative Delegation to Sponsor Local Power's Community Choice Bill of Rights - Solar Networking, Local Control of Energy Efficiency, Limits on Utility Power Contracts, Recognition of Value of Solar included (March, 2005)

Recent Event: Special Guest Speaker Paul Fenn to Join Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(CRIMES AGAINST NATURE, 2004) on California's Growing Community Choice 40% Green Power Movement San Rafael Civic Center, Friday Evening, March 4 or Buy Tickets at Ticketmaster

Recent Event: Pulitzer Prize Climate Change author Ross Gelbspan (BOILING POINT, 2004) and Local Power's Paul Fenn to Discuss Local Power Solution to Climate Change - Public Forum in Marin County on Friday Evening December 3

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS THREATENS MORE CLIMATE CHANGE: Position of Ratepayers for Affordable Clean Energy (RACE, October, 2004)

CALIFORNIA'S MOMENT OF DECISION 2004: Permanently Increased Fossil Dependency for California Electric Grid or Green Energy Independence with 22 Cities and Counties Going 40% Green (RACE/Sierra Club Briefing at State Capitol Building, Sacramento - September, 2004)

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW: California Climate Crisis Looms With Maneuvers to Make Golden State Power Grid Dependent on Imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) (May 31, 2004)

SCHWARZENEGGER Plan: Will Governor Do Deals With Power Monopolies Seeking to Lock Customers into New Power Contracts, Gas-Fired Power Plants and a Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, or Back 22 Cities and Counties Now Seeking to Go 40% Green? (April 29, 2004)

LOCAL POWER, R.A.C.E. COALITION WARN CALIFORNIA REGULATORS AGAINST PUTTING RATEPAYERS ON THE HOOK for Foreign Liquefied Natural Gas Contracts, LNG Terminals & Pipelines as Bush Administration Threatens to Force LNG Infrastructure and Drilling on State Coastlines (April 6, 2004)

LOCAL POWER, COALITION WARN CPUC NOT TO ALLOW MONOPOLIES TO BLOCK ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IN 2005-6, Propose Utility Gatekeeping System for Community Choice (April 15, 2004)

ELECTRIC PROCUREMENT VICTORY A GREEN LIGHT TO CA CITIES: California Regulators Limit Utility Power Contracts: Door Open for Community Choice, Green Power (January 22, 2004)

Local Power Fact Sheets: San Francisco Can Now Switch Electricity Providers & Convert 1/4 of Entire City to Green Power Without A Rate Increase (2004)

MONOPOLIES TO LOSE ENERGY EFFICIENCY FUNDS: California Regulators Implement Community Choice Law Provisions Requiring Independent Administration of Energy Efficiency Funds as Communities Seek to Administer Funds Locally (August, 2003)

GAS CRISIS ARTICLE: Natural Gas Prices Jump as California's Clueless Politicians Call for Construction of New Gas Power Plants to Avert New Energy Crisis (January, 2004)

California Administrative Law Judge Agrees With Local Power: Regulators Must Open Up Whole $300 Million?Yr. Energy Effiency Fund to Non-Utilities (August, 2003)

Local Power tells Assigned Commissioner Susan Kennedy that CPUC is Barred From Continuing Utility Control of Energy Efficiency Funds under Community Choice Law (July, 2003)

Local Power Criticizes California Regulators' Draft Decision on Energy Efficiency Funds (July, 2003)

Local Power Asks CPUC to Give Community Choice Aggregators Full Access to their Customers' Energy Efficiency Funds (May, 2003)

New Local Power Legislation: "Solar Networking bill," Senate 697 by Senator Nell Soto Would Allow Decentralized Renewable Energy Networks (April 2003)

California Community Choice Bill in State Senate: $300 Million/year in Conservation, Energy Efficiency Funds Still At Risk in Senate Appropriations Committee August 12 (August 7, 2002)

San Francisco to Build World's Largest Solar Power Network, Financed by "H Bond" or Solar Bond Authority Approved by Voters last Winter (July, 2002)

Factsheet (PDF): President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, League of Women Voters, Others Call for Community Control of Energy Efficiency Funds in California Community Choice Bill AB117 (June, 2002)

View A Petition Calling for Local Control of Energy Efficiency Money, Not Continuation of Failed Utility Control of Funds Paid by Customers. Print Sign and Fax to 925 377 0746 (PDF May, 2002)

Local Power Comments (PDF) to California Power Authority on its Draft Investment Plan (February, 2002)

San Francisco Voters Approve Proposition H: Green Light for Proposed 50MW Solar Power Facility (November 8, 2001)

Download Fact Sheet on San Francisco Solar Iniative Campaign YES on PROP H

Download Global Warming Factoids on 50MW San Francisco Solar Initiative: How Big Is It?

California Governor Vetoes Unanimous Community Choice Bill(October 14, 2001)

Summary of Local Power Solar, Wind Projects in San Francisco Bay Area (July 11, 2001)

California Community Choice Bill Faces Hostile Amendments in Senate Committee (June, 2001)

World's Largest Solar Plant Proposed by San Francisco Board President (May, 2001)

Let Us Build Urban Solar: A Policy Proposal to the California Energy Commission (May, 2001)

Local Power's California Community Choice Bill Sponsored by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) (February, 2001)

Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Neighbors Become Nation's Largest Clean Power Purchaser with Community Choice Agreement: Contract Doubles the Number of Americans with Non-monopoly Power, Quintuples Green Mountain's National Customer Base

• Love is Hate, War is Peace, and Nuclear Power is Green: The Coming Nuclear Revival

• Nuclear Industry Bill Would Override Community Resistance to Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Shipments: 50 Million Americans Impacted

• California City Council Votes to Power All Municipal Facilities With Green Energy: Under California's Anti-Community Choice Law, Residents and Businesses are Not Included

• December, 1998 Guest Opinion: "California Green Power Marketing: Predictably Disappointing," by Nancy Rader

• Massachusetts Community Choice Law to Give Cape Cod Towns $25 Million for Conservation (June, 1998)

• Massachusetts Lawmakers Pass Nation's First Pro-Community Choice Electric Deregulation Bill Which Lets Communities Administer Renewables and Efficiency Surcharge Funds, Sets New National Standards for Renewables Investment, and Lets Communities Control Energy Efficiency and Renewables Development

• After Kyoto, Unreleased DOE Report Says Electric Deregulation Will Drive Up Global Warming Above Promised Level

• Local Efforts to Fight Global Warming "At Risk" Under Electric Deregulation as California, Massachusetts Plans Discriminate Against Municipal Aggregation, Franchising

• Environmental Action Report Says "Automatic Aggregation" is Essential for Consumers & Environment Under Deregulated Electric Industry; California's New Dereg Law Discriminates Against Local Governments While Favoring Utilities, Private Aggregators

• Davis, California Residents form "Coalition for Local Power" for Referendum on Creating Green Municipal Power District

• In Eugene, Green Citizens' 1994 Renewables Bond, Public Power Break Ground with Largest Utility Wind Power Project to Date

• The Future of Renewables Under Deregulation: "Green Pricing Won't Work," by Energy Economist Eugene Coyle

• Facing California's Deregulation Law, Sacramento's Municipal Utility Cuts Green Fund, Relies on "Green Pricing" to Support Renewables and Energy Efficiency

• Greening of Communities Offers Hope for Renewables and Energy Efficiency, by Paul Fenn

• "Demand Side Management in A Community Electricity Franchise:" Testimony of Cape and Islands Self Reliance before the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on the Economic Feasibility of Energy Efficiency Investment (July, 1996)

• Sustainable San Francisco Plan: Energy, Climate Change and Ozone Depletion" (June, 1996)