A modest tax incentive proposal in Boulder, Colorado, creates a solar renewable energy fund from local sales tax revenues on solar energy equipment. About one third of the revenues will go for partial sales tax rebates and the other two-thirds will go to upgrade and fund new solar projects in the city at low income and nonprofit organization sites.
A growing number of communities are fighting back against the rising power of large retail stores like Wal-Mart. But real change won’t come until we stop thinking of ourselves as consumers and start thinking of ourselves as engaged citizens.… Read More
One of the first orders of business for the new Congress should be to eliminate a single sentence in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The language was added in the waning hours of the conference committee negotiations. According to ILSR, if it does not, the commercialization of ethanol made from cellulose could be delayed.
The article below by David Morris provides and overview of the mess.
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A three-year-old campaign to encourage people in northwest Washington state to "Think Local First" is having a dramatic effect on spending behavior, according to a recent survey. … Read More
Our program continued its tradition of solving problems in ways that reinforce economic and environmental security. Our work continues to help community development organizations, small businesses and government agencies increase productive employment, recover increasing amounts of valuable recycled materials and products, save environmental resources, and lower operating costs. Read Waste to Wealth 2006 Report (PDF)
The San Diego City Council voted 5-3 to prohibit supercenters — stores that are larger then 90,000 square feet and devote more than 10 percent of their floor area to groceries. The measure will prevent Wal-Mart and Target from opening large supercenters in the city. Wal-Mart supercenters average 187,000 square feet in size.… Read More
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that 610 projects have been given the authority to issue Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) to help finance renewable energy development across the country. State and local governments and municipal and cooperative utilities were eligible to apply.
In September 2006, the Whatcom County Council (Washington) voted to use $62,000 out of $85,000 in projected energy efficiency savings for purchasing a block of renewable energy for a $0.01 per kWh premium. The renewable energy credits from Puget Sound Energy will cover 100 percent of the electricity used in county operations in 2007.
In this Q&A with Bookselling This Week, Stacy Mitchell talks about how big chains benefit from government favoritism and misperceptions about price and value. … Read More
