Co-hosts Stacy Mitchell and Marie Donahue speak with Tulsa City Councilwoman, Vanessa Hall-Harper. Earlier this year, the city council of Tulsa, Oklahoma passed an ordinance restricting dollar stores from building new locations in north Tulsa, a predominantly African-American area. … Read More
Until November 6th, community leaders in Loveland, Colorado, vacillated between whether or not to hold a referendum for final voter approval on a muni project. Asking voters to make the final call can remove political uncertainty, but there are times when elected officials have to make the call themselves. When the city opted out of Colorado’s restrictive SB 152 three years ago, 82 percent of voters supported the measure. On November 6th, Loveland City Council vacated a previous order to put the issue on the ballot and decided that it’s time to move ahead on establishing a broadband utility.… Read More
Clean energy advocates are optimistic following the midterm elections. Despite failed ballot initiatives in Arizona and Washington, advocates are hopeful for renewable energy gains at the state level thanks to Democrats gaining seats in many state legislatures. … Read More
How does a growing, national nonprofit organization help homeowners complete the circle between clean energy ownership and policy advocacy? ILSR’s Energy Democracy Initiative director John Farrell talks with Anya Schoolman of Solar United Neighbors (SUN) in this October 2018 recording about two major clean energy policies before the Washington, D.C., city council. SUN’s solar co-op model has spread to 10 states, and builds the constituency for clean energy policy.… Read More
The midterm elections are over. We know who our representatives will be and hope they justify our faith in them. But the 2018 elections also gave us a glimpse into what voters might do if they voted on policies rather … Read More
Contributions will primarily cover our scholarship fund, but also our networking reception, printed agendas/materials, and other direct expenses. The scholarship fund will help us bring more community composters to the event – especially from underserved urban areas – and cover their travel and registration costs.… Read More
ILSR is convening the 6th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum in NYC next May. These events will bring together community composters (and those who love them) to network, share best practices, and build support for community-scale composting systems and enterprises. … Read More
For many rural Americans, the local electric or telephone cooperative is their best hope for finally obtaining modern-day connectivity. With the support of government funding, rural cooperatives have brought electricity, telephone service, and more recently broadband access to some of the most rugged and sparsely populated places in the country.… Read More
We’re inspired by the passage of the Portland Clean Energy Initiative this week, a ballot measure that will now provide $30 million per year for the city’s clean energy and climate work. Even better, the funds will target local energy deployment that lifts up low-income folks and people of color with energy savings and solar energy, as well as jobs installing these cost-saving measures. But there are other tools more readily at a city’s disposal for funding climate work.… Read More
