When I worked at the New York Attorney General's Office, we sued coal-fired power plants because their air pollution was making people sick. But in some towns, I saw that the reliance on coal really had people in a bind. The coal plant was making them sick, but it was also a major tax generator for the town. If the plant closed, the town might have to lay off teachers and cops, in addition to losing the plant jobs.

Actress Natalie Portman, environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and other high-profile Harvard University alumni are calling for demonstrations to urge divestment from fossil fuels.

In recent months, a veritable open patent war has erupted between Tesla Motors and Toyota. Both companies have been widely cited in the industry and financial press for their respective announcements opening up their electric vehicle (Tesla) and fuel cell (Toyota) patents. Tesla CEO Elon Musk opened the first salvo with a blog post last June in which he announced that Tesla would “not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”

The annual outlook issue of Renewable Energy World magazine is our attempt to predict what will happen within the renewable energy industry over the course of the year. To do this, we went straight to the top of major renewable energy companies, asking CEOs and presidents to tell us where they are devoting their company resources in order to capitalize on some of the market growth that they expect to see in 2015.

It’s been a big news day in the U.S. Senate, with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announcing he won’t run for another term.

The proposed U.S. commitment to tackling climate change in support of a new international climate agreement is a serious and achievable plan that demonstrates the United States is ready to take significant action. Coming today, eight months before the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in Paris this December, known as COP 21, the U.S. submission adds momentum toglobal climate negotiations and should help spur other countries to act.

Yale University police cited 19 students after they staged a sit-in outside President Peter Salovey’s office to push for divestment from fossil-fuel companies.

Clean water — it’s a precious resource in hot demand right now, for more than taking a shower or watering our crops. The United Nations projects the world’s population will grow by another billion people, to 8.4 Billion, by 2030. More people means more need for food, water, electricity, and other necessities. Beyond the obvious demands for water, our increasing appetite for electricity also requires water — and plenty of it. Most of the electricity generated in the U.S. uses water in some capacity.

City councilors want to learn more about a potential multi-million dollar hydroelectric project at the South Saskatchewan River Weir in Saskatoon, a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada.  

The process of sowing the seeds of electric vehicle infrastructure — and thereby creating a backbone of charging stations that can support these vehicles — is still in its infancy. A new report outlines the technologies and business models necessary to ramp up growth in the electric vehicle (EV) market in the United States. It also explores the relationship between charging stations and consumer purchases of EVs.

Turns out that Americans are a bit overly optimistic about the role that renewable energy plays in the U.S. The average American believes that 20 percent of the country’s energy use comes from renewables—11 percent from solar and 9 percent from wind.

Australian food and agribusinesses are boosting exports to Japan by opening overseas premises that directly serve Japanese customers.

METI and NEDO are calling for entries into the World Robot 2020 Summit by 31 August 2020. Entry categories include industrial robotics, service robotics, disaster robotics and junior robotics

Join Australian digital game companies for an exclusive games-focused market-ready bootcamp in Shanghai. Connect with global publishers and explore business opportunities in China.

GE Renewable Energy and Future Wind said this week that they have signed an agreement to install the first Haliade-X 12-MW wind turbine prototype in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam this summer. The deal includes five years of testing and a 15-year full service Operation and Maintenance agreement.

PG&E Corp. is seeking court protection to amend or cancel power purchase agreements with suppliers as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.

Federal energy regulatory commissioner Cheryl LaFleur announced on Twitter on January 31 that she will not be seeking a third term and will be leaving the commission later in 2019. She said in the tweet that this is not the outcome she had hoped for but that she felt very lucky to have served on FERC for more than 8 years. She said she plans to serve out the rest of her term, which is up at the end of June.

The global strategy for mitigating climate change is no secret. Most countries have embarked on an initiative to transition to clean energy sources. According to a study by scientists from the universities of Oxford and Utrecht, we will almost certainly pass a point of no return for dealing with global warming if governments worldwide don’t transition away from fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, towards renewable energy by 2035. This would mean that renewables would need to see their total share of power generation increase by at least two percent per year.

Plenty of people, it seems, have plans for PG&E Corp. Even before the California utility giant filed for bankruptcy facing $30 billion in potential liabilities from wildfires, state regulators began studying whether it needed to be reformed, restructured or even taken over by the government. They asked interested parties -- city officials, unions, consumer groups and trade associations -- to chime in.

In late February, Hawaiian Electric Companies announced that they have achieved a consolidated 27 percent renewable portfolio standard in 2018, even with the loss of Hawaii Island’s geothermal resource for most of the year following the Kilauea volcanic eruption. Hawaii has a goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

Building solar and wind energy projects on potentially contaminated lands can be a golden opportunity, both effective and cost-effective, for developers. The 120-acre Reilly Tar & Chemical Corporation Superfund site was recently redeveloped with a utility-scale solar farm and is a prime example of the reuse potential inherent in thousands of Superfund sites, brownfields, retired power plants, and landfills.

This week New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that $280 million of support is available for energy storage projects.

GE Renewable Energy announced the shipment of the four tower sections that will be part of GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW prototype to be installed later this summer in Maasvlakte-Rotterdam (NL). The four segments at tower manufacturer GRI’s site in Seville, will be arriving in the Netherlands before the end of the month.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) said that is has begun operation of its electric thermal energy storage system (ETES), a milestone in the development of energy storage solutions, according to the company.

A sparsely populated Chinese province that’s home to the headwaters of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers is attempting to set a new record for clean energy use, serving as a test bed for the entire country.

Missouri’s smallest investor-owned utility is charting a dramatically different course two years after being acquired by new owners.

BEST DEALS ON GPS DEVICES:

• Garmin - Drive 52 5" GPS — $99.99 (save $30)

• Garmin - DriveAssist 51 LMT-S 5" GPS — $299.99

• TomTom - GO COMFORT 6" GPS — $199.99

While today's smartphones are loaded with Google Maps or Apple Maps, they are merely quick solutions for traveling short distances. Believe it or not, getting a dedicated GPS device for your car or truck is still the best way to get to your destination safely and with ease. 

Companies like Garmin and TomTom specialize in safe car travel and update their maps and traffic reports whenever changes occur on the road. GPS devices also offer the peace of mind that you'll never get lost, even when you're in a new location — including remote areas. They can also help you find the nearest restaurants, shopping mall, rest area, and other locations that might be considered off-the-beaten-path.  Read more...

BEST DEALS ON BLENDERS:

• Ninja - Mega Kitchen System 72-Oz. Blender — $149.99 (save $50)

• Vitamix - Explorian Series E310 48-Oz. Blender — $289.99 (save $60)

• Calphalon - Power Sense 10-Speed Blender — $159.99

Today's lesson in Cooking as a Grown-Ass adult: Blenders are used for more than frozen margs in summer and collecting dust in winter.

Hot soup without a stove, coffee without a coffee maker, and whipped cream without a hand mixer are just a few of the tasks these multitasking appliances can tackle. Similar to the way the mystical Instant Pot replaces a sauté pan or slow cooker, blenders can expand your meal possibilities tenfold without the clutter of multiple machines. Read more...

All it took was a pandemic, but the long-running joke finally became a reality: DEF CON is canceled. 

The annual hacker conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, typically draws tens of thousands of attendees to talk shop, compare notes, and generally cause delightful mischief. One element of that mischief is the constant — and until now false — yearly claim that DEF CON is canceled. The coronavirus changed that, and the organization announced Friday that the in-person conference will not take place this year. 

"The #DEFCONiscanceled meme has crossed over into real life, courtesy of #COVID19," read the announcement. "In early March we had hopes that things would be stable by August. That is no longer realistic." Read more...

Between the infamous Peloton commercial, the wild Boyhood wannabe that ended up being a Subway ad, and the endless #girlboss marketing reminding you that even women can be part of the capitalist machine, 2019 was a year for advertising. 

But nothing quite tops this one, which was released in September but resurfaced in a viral tweet on Friday.  

The ad starts off with a bleak statistic: women hold just 10 percent of all patented inventions. Then, it pans over to a delightful montage of ambitious young women. Each one is filmed preparing for their career goals, from mixing delicate chemicals in a laboratory to carefully testing the consistency of soil.  Read more...

TL;DR: A one-year subscription to Norton Secure VPN is on sale for £2.50 per month, saving you 50% on list price.

It feels like the world of VPNs is expanding, with more and more providers entering the market and increased demand from users. 

This market can be a daunting place, especially as you probably won't be familiar with most of the available providers. This doesn't mean you shouldn't consider these services, but we totally understand if you're reluctant to invest in an unknown provider.

Fortunately for those who would prefer to subscribe to an established provider, there are plenty of options from the leading names in securityNorton is one such brand, with a comprehensive VPN service on sale for just £2.50 per month. Read more...

With all the stress in the world — you know, a deadly, terrifying global pandemic — Spotify dropped a new service: a daily, personalized aimed at wellness. Fittingly, it's called Daily Wellness and I gave it a try. 

OK, first, let me drop my biases: I can be a cynical person and I'm pretty high energy — like hyper hyper — which has made meditation difficult for me. I can get both mentally and physically uncomfortable while trying anything resembling meditation or therapy or sincere reflection.

That being said, amid the pandemic — and battling some, let's say, serious anxiety — I've been taking active steps to try to improve my mental health. Therapy, meditation, exercise, whatever else, it all seemed like a good idea to help me get through the day. Read more...

A not-for-profit in the US is seeking expressions of interests from organisations, including academia, for their COVID-19 Health Coalition, to help preserve the healthcare delivery system and protect US populations.

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights provided a report to Congress on health information breaches from September 2009 through 2010, as required under the HITECH Act. Nearly 7.9 million Americans were affected by almost 30,800 health information breaches, according to the report.

This webcast gives 6 tips for keeping employees safe and mitigating security threats as your workforce goes remote.
Learn how to protect employees from malicious web content.

The shift to working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic is yet another reason to embrace the "zero trust" strategy, says Dave Lewis of Duo Security, who provides guidance.

This webcast gives 6 tips for keeping employees safe and mitigating security threats as your workforce goes remote.
Learn how to protect employees from malicious web content.

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights provided a report to Congress on health information breaches from September 2009 through 2010, as required under the HITECH Act. Nearly 7.9 million Americans were affected by almost 30,800 health information breaches, according to the report.

This webcast gives 6 tips for keeping employees safe and mitigating security threats as your workforce goes remote.
Learn how to protect employees from malicious web content.

This webcast gives 6 tips for keeping employees safe and mitigating security threats as your workforce goes remote.
Learn how to protect employees from malicious web content.

The shift to working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic is yet another reason to embrace the "zero trust" strategy, says Dave Lewis of Duo Security, who provides guidance.