Tag: solar power

Why US and Chinese Cities Will Make or Break Any Global Climate Deal

THE CONVERSATION 09/23/15 By Michael Shank Cities are acting ambitiously on climate change and that has big implications for the rest of the planet. Urban officials last week attended the US-China Climate Leaders summit and announced a raft of carbon emissions targets, clean energy partnerships, and initiatives around transpacific climate […]

Dirty Energy Dollars

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 10/28/14 By Michael Shank and Julia Trezona Peek Members of Congress should refuse campaign donations from fossil fuel industries. Despite the fact that the American people mobilized in historic numbers last month to demand climate solutions, with the march in New York City drawing up […]

Don’t Let China Dominate

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/18/14 By Michael Shank, Elena Krieger and Julia Trezona Peek This month’s report on renewable energy markets from the International Energy Agency indicates that by 2020, China will account for almost 40 percent of the growth in renewable energy capacity. The United States, meanwhile, lags […]

Embracing Healthier Communities Through Clean Energy

ROLL CALL 06/10/14 By Michael Shank and Rep. Lloyd Doggett When it comes to choosing the right energy to power America’s communities and economies, it’s safe to say that most Americans, if given the option, would choose an energy source much like they might choose a neighborhood in which to […]

The Fix for Fossil Fuel’s Spill Legacy: Democratization of Energy

NATIONAL JOURNAL 07/22/13 By Michael Shank If Washington wants to avoid another Canadian case study and minimize the disasters associated with transporting fossil fuels it should, simply, stop transporting them. Here’s why and here’s how: The fossil fuel spill legacy is long. Most memorable is the Deepwater Horizon spill in […]

Climate Change Fight Includes Private Sector

ROLL CALL 01/25/12 By Michael Shank and Melissa Powell With last month’s climate talks in South Africa postponing specific carbon cuts until 2020, it is clear that something more than mere nation-state commitments will be needed to counter climate change and reduce global warming. With nations reluctant to recommit to […]

Larger Meaning of ‘Use it or Lose it’

THE HILL 07/10/08 By Michael Shank That Congress is pressuring oil companies to “use it or lose it” on public lands is understandable enough given constituent discontent with rocketing petrol prices (article, “Energy bill out of gas,” July 8). But this narrow and nebulous agenda is near-sighted for two reasons. […]