Installing a solar energy system on a home in Florida may soon be less of a financial headache for residential property owners. That’s because the Florida legislature recently passed House bill 277. It exempts the value of renewable energy devices from the assessed value of new and existing residential property. The bill awaits the governor’s [...]
Did you know that, according to a recent poll by the Florida AARP of its members (see page 3), a majority of seniors agreed that raising electric rates for new nuclear reactor proposals that may never be completed is bad business? Seniors are clearly getting the worst end of this deal, with no guarantees that they [...]
This guest post, originally published here by the Tampa Bay Times, was written by Mark Cooper, an economic analyst with the Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment. He is the author of the recently released report, “Public Risk, Private Profit, Ratepayer Cost, Utility Imprudence.” To engage more on this issue, click here, [...]
Today, April 20, marks the 3rd anniversary of the tragic Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil disaster. In spite of how apparent it seemed three years ago that offshore drilling is a bad idea whose time has gone, today we are facing the threat of even more drilling off our beautiful coasts. As we’ve reported before, the [...]
On March 18th, I attended the Florida State Senate’s workshop on nuclear cost recovery, also known as Florida’s “nuclear tax,” where industry advocates and the big power companies extolled the many virtues of nuclear energy for the Sunshine State, with nary a mention of the skyrocketing costs of the proposed new reactor projects nor the problems [...]
Over the last few weeks several Southeastern states introduced coal ash-related legislation. Presumably these actions are in response to the ongoing delay of the Obama Administration to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize national coal ash rules. The lack of guidance from EPA actually led North Carolina Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Greensboro) to testify [...]
UPDATE: On today’s 2-year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, a landmark decision occurred here in the U.S. that squelches the so-called nuclear renaissance even further. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Commissioners today upheld last summer’s licensing board denial of a construction/operating license for the proposed Calvert Cliffs-3 nuclear reactor in Maryland. The decision [...]
I was ecstatic; we filled the bus! Twenty-two people boarded in Gainesville and another thirty-three got on in Jacksonville; so many had traveled a long way to join us. It was 9pm and I finally got to relax: we were really off to Washington D.C. to join the Forward on Climate Rally. What started with [...]
There’s nothing like a heaping serving of data to really drive a point home – and that’s exactly what the Environmental Protection Agency does with its most recent report of plant-by-plant emissions data. EPA’s 2011 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program report is loaded with emissions data from 1,594 fossil fuel plants across the nation. The resoundingly [...]
“Forward on Climate” rally, expected to draw 20,000 Americans, will be largest climate rally ever. UPDATE: 35,000-40,000 participated–it was an exciting and inspiring day! Look for follow-up post soon. On Sunday, February 17, fifty-six people of all ages from North Florida will be in Washington, D.C. to join a massive rally calling on President [...]
