policy

In the opening speech of the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas last night, Bill Clinton offered a list of ten actions the United States could take to help solve the energy crisis and perhaps convince other nations to join in the crusade.

He emphasized that any such plan would have to be economically feasible if we are to convince others to follow suit. Without further ado, here are his suggestions:

1. Congress should put a price on carbon and establish a cap-and-trade system.

2. Tax credits for clean energy should be renewed and lengthened. The current time frame is three years. Clinton thinks that should be doubled or tripled in order to stimulate investment

Over 150 member companies from around the globe are meeting at The Green Grid consortium's first technical forum in San Francisco. The group develops and promotes energy efficiency for data centers and business computing systems.

Presentations and topics of discussion at the forum will include assessing and reducing energy use, a review of the current state of the industry, and how to address organizational barriers to managing efficiency.

The US Department of Energy has entered into a partnership with the state of Hawaii to reduce the state's heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels. The initiative sets a goal of 70 percent renewable energy by 2030, and would make Hawaii into a global model of clean and sustainable energy use.

The Clean Energy Initiative will generate electricity using wind, solar, wave, geothermal, and biofuel technologies. Goals of the project include integrating clean energy into existing infrastructure, designing renewable energy systems for islands, and developing regulations and policies that will encourage efficiency and sustainability.

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), an independent, nonpartisian environmental advocacy organization, has released its 2008 Primary Voter Guide. The guide assigns a score to each candidate based on their proposed policies and lifetime record on environmental issues.

The goal of the LCV and its voter guide is to give citizens the information necessary to choose elected officials shaping the future of environmental and conservation policy. In the latest voter guide, Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama scored the highest of any candidate in the field.