Jobs Take Center Stage of Climate-Change Debate in Trump Era/Bloomberg

To us this transformation has always been about job retention, creation and balancing a robust economy with advanced environmental protection and restoration of our eco-capital.  We advocate that the best quality of life is centered on a low-carbon, digital economic future.

We see the same here in this story.  Let's hope in the US, they are listening, and seeing real data, in DC:

• There is nothing that matters more to politicians than jobs’
• Advocates urge companies to tout economics of clean energy

As the Trump administration sets to work gutting environmental regulations, the best weapon for battling climate change in the U.S. may be jobs.

Many Republicans, including the president, have been unmoved by environmental or scientific arguments that federal policies should support clean energy as a way to combat global warming. They may be swayed by the 360,000 jobs provided by wind and solar in the U.S. last year, business executives and environmentalists said Friday at a climate-change conference in Chicago.

Economics have long been at the center of arguments supporting wind and solar power. But as President Donald Trump pushes to boost fossil fuel production and cede U.S. leadership on fighting climate change, clean energy advocates are talking about employment more than ever.

“There is nothing that matters more to politicians than jobs and ribbon cuttings,’’ Bob Keefe, executive director of the non-profit group Environmental Entrepreneurs, said during a speech at the event. “They need to hear from business people that this is driving growth.’’

Climate Deniers

“The jobs part of the conversation has certainly intensified,” Bruno Sarda, NRG Energy Inc.’s head of sustainability, said in an interview.

It won’t be easy to convince conservative Washington lawmakers that global warming is a pressing threat, even with economic arguments, Mike Quigley, a Democratic congressman from Illinois, said in a speech.

“The majority of the people I serve with in the House are climate deniers,’’ Quigley said. “They don’t believe in science.’’

The conference, hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and two non-profit groups, drew representatives from General Electric Co., MetLife Inc. and dozens of other large U.S. companies. Rob Threlkeld, global manager of renewable energy for General Motors Co., said the automaker is pushing to source all of its power from clean sources by 2050 because that’s what consumers want.

“Our customers and our shareholders are more and more inquiring about what we are doing about sustainability,’’ Threlkeld said.

Private Sector

It’s crucial that lawmakers hear from corporations that cutting emissions can be good for business, said Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard University professor who has written about the effort to spread doubt about climate change.

“Who is better than the private sector to make the case that appropriate policy can actually strengthen markets?’’ she said in a speech.

e-driveretro.com//Our next featured guest on our webinar series

If you missed our first global monthly webinar, in Feb with Jeff Flath, eNow, you can catch it here (click on the banner ad bottom of our page):  http://renewablenow.biz/renewable-now-headlines.html

Here's some info on our next leading company and technology...this time, Michael Richardson, e-Drive Retro, working out of Estonia and Helsinki"

RAISON D’ETRE

To convert stylish, iconic cars of yesteryear into high performing, smart connected, green plug-in electric vehicles of tomorrow. To establish and lead an entirely new automotive category – Electric Vehicle Classic Car Conversion – as the finest producer in the world.

e-Drive Retro replaces a vintage vehicle’s complete fossil fuel drivetrain with a robust Nordic-engineered plug-in electric drivetrain featuring a proprietary control and communications system that delivers an exhilarating and authentic driving experience, which can be enjoyed reliably with minimal maintenance.

PIT CREW

Michael M. Richardson 

Founder & CEO

A proven global leader, Michael has effectively managed many cross-functional teams and led technical product strategies in many industries. He has also established pivotal alliance and global sourcing relationships, attaining aggressive business growth under the most challenging time and resource constraints. With his rare balance of applied technological vision and insightful business judgment, Michael delivers practical strategic guidance, motivation, and hands-on solution architecture. He brings more than 35 years of experience in a variety of senior management and entrepreneurial positions with leading-edge technology companies.

This energetic entrepreneur was inspired to start E-Drive Retro in 2015 with his unique vision for the future of authentic vintage cars benefitting from sustiaanble, reliable and high performance EV technology. In addition, he continues to serve as CIO and an active Board Member with Financial Services technology leader, Xtiva Financial Systems, Inc., as well as Founder/Managing Director of his Agile Business Transformation advisory services organization, Tech-Azur, LLC. His mantra is business agility and the relentless pursuit of continuous improvement and customer value delivery at every level.

Holding 19 issued patents, with others pending, Michael is an innovative thought leader with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Michael maintains a global perspective with dual U.S./E.U. citizenship, and was one of the first to receive Estonian e-Residency. He received his engineering degree, with Dual Majors in Mechanical Engineering & Computer Science, from the University of Minnesota, College of Science and Engineering.

More Americans want to downsize their homes than supersize them/Market Watch

Is the wicked witch of oversized, expensive dinosaur  houses homes dead?

This is great news.  Consumer shifts will drive much of our future sustainable progress.  Seeing all generations, not just millennials who love small spaces, moving away from big homes, which have massive environmental footprints, is cause for celebration.

Now, if we can get all these folks to make those smaller homes super efficient and start to run on renewables, we will see amazing progress on the private housing market:

The American Dream of owning your own home remains. But the home itself appears to have gotten smaller.

As American homes grow larger in size (and higher in price) many people say if they decided to move, they’d want to downsize. More homeowners would rather have a smaller house than a larger one (37% compared to 23%), according to research from real estate site Trulia.Here’s how it breaks down: Some 60% of people living in large homes of 2,000 square feet and over said they’d rather pick a smaller one next time around; 69% of people in the smallest of homes under 800 square feet said they’d like to supersize their accommodations.

Older Americans, more of whom are homeowners, are obviously more likely to want to downsize than millennials. The same percentage of baby boomers (37%) said they plan to move at some point in their life, and 42% of that number said they would prefer to live in a smaller home, according to a separate study released last December by the Demand Institute, operated by the research groups, The Conference Board and Nielsen.

Do the math: How much house can you afford?

But there are bigger forces at play too. “Those living in the biggest of homes know what the downsides are of living in those homes,” said Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist at Trulia. The expenses are large — utilities, taxes, maintenance and furnishing — in those homes and there’s greater potential for something to go wrong and need repairs. In theory, anyway. Older homes are more likely to have problems regardless of the size, like this California couple who moved to a 1929 home that was sinking and had rotten foundations.

Small homes are gaining in popularity, and are showcased in television programs like HGTV’s “Tiny House Hunters,” which pairs people with homes of about 600 square feet. Small homes can also offer homeowners big and fast returns, likely due to increased demand and proximity to city centers. Tiny homes can also be the right move for retirees, too, what with the lower costs in building and maintaining.

And the number of townhouses being built — often closer to public transport, smaller and less expensive than detached homes — also increased by nearly 13% last year to 97,000, according to a National Association of Home Builders analysis of Census Bureau housing starts and completions data released last week.

What’s more, people are getting less bang for their buck. In the fourth quarter of 2016, 29% of U.S. county housing markets were less affordable than their historic affordability averages, up from 24% of markets in the third quarter and 13% of markets a year ago, according to recent data published by the housing-research firm ATTOM Data Solutions, the parent company of real-estate website RealtyTrac.

But not everyone likes the idea of downsizing. Income plays a part in the size of a home someone wants — for people making under $150,000, the desire is to upsize (65%), while more than half (53%) of those with a household income of more than $150,000 would rather move into a smaller home, Trulia found. And those who lived in the smallest of homes surveyed (under 800 square feet) said they’d like to upsize too.

Almost half of millennials (46%), on the other hand, want to upgrade — even if they were already living in 2,000-square-foot homes. This is evident even among first-time homebuyers, who are choosing to skip the starter homer and opt for a big house in the suburbs.

Still, homes have been growing in size over the past four decades and the average size of a new home these days tops 2,700 square feet, about 1,000 square feet larger than in 1973, according to Washington, D.C.-based think tank American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. People interested in moving and finding the right size should tap their social networks to see what works for them and consider what they’ll want in the next three, five or 10 years. “Getting it right the first time will save you a lot of money in the long run,” McLaughlin said.

Boralex closes $33.4 Million in Financing for the Port Ryerse Wind Farm/Renewable Now

Story 2:

Boralex Inc. ("Boralex" or the "Corporation") (TSX: BLX) announced the closing of a $33.4 million financing for the Port Ryerse wind farm in Ontario, Canada.

Long-term financing of the 10 MW Port Ryerse wind farm, located on privately-owned lands east of the hamlet of Port Ryerse in Norfolk County, Ontario, is provided by the DZ Bank AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (New York Branch). The financing consists of a $2.0 million letter of credit facility and a long-term tranche of $31.4 million. The latter will be amortized over a period of 18 years beginning December 9, 2016, the date of the project's commercial operation. On February 7, 2017, Boralex acquired all of the units of UDI Renewables Corporation, representing 25 % of Port Ryerse Wind Farm Limited Partnership, making Boralex the sole project holder. ...

- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/investing-green.html#sthash.f9njWykN.dpuf

EPA Awards $1.09 million DERA Grant for Electric Ferry/Renewable Now.biz

Back to back we bring you good stories on improvements in powering our world.  Here's the first  as we look at a ferry running on electricity:

There is an interesting dichotomy happening with the EPA under the Trump Administration; reports state the administration cuts funding to the office while also steering away from clean energy projects. But we also see the exact opposite in terms of what the reports say, at least in the short term. Here's an example.

On Friday, February 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a $1.09 million Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant to the historic Gees Bend Ferry in Wilcox County, AL.  
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is funding this repowering project through the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) as a part of the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. The grant was announced by the EPA during an event hosted by state, federal and local officials to celebrate 10 years of ALDOT ferry service between Camden and Gee's Bend, the home of the famous Quilters of Gee's Bend.  

The DERA award will provide partial funding to replace the current diesel-powered ferry with a 100% electric ferry. This will be the first zero-emission passenger/vehicle ferry of its type in the United States, and only the second of its kind in the world....

"

- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/governmental-green.html#sthash.xGFU9qb9.dpuf

Sportswear to Clean Up the World's Oceans/Renewable Now.biz

We love the slogan "50 State for good".  We encourage you to look good, feel good and, of course, do good.



On the softer side of things and just in time to get your skin ready for spring, Tom's of Maine is introducing the newest additions to its natural body care line, including three body washes and four beauty bars available nationally. Made with some of nature's most trusted botanicals, the line features dermatologist-tested Natural Moisturizing Body Washes and new, reformulated Natural Beauty Bars. Like all Tom's of Maine body care products, these new offerings contain no artificial fragrances or preservatives and use no animal testing.

So what exactly are  botanicals, and why are they so poplar? Botanicals are the fiber, juice, oil, pulp, tissue, or other components derived from plants and they can be used in cosmetics, food supplements, personal care products, or pharmaceuticals. They're popular because they are promoted as being "all natural," and they've been around for years, Cleopatra used black cumin seed oil as a beauty treatment, and calendula has been used as a skin-healing poultice for hundreds of years. 

So lets just say they've been tested over time, for Tom's of Maine it's no wonder they choose botanicals to compliment their history of 47 years of supporting hundreds of nonprofit efforts by giving 10% of its profits back to organizations that support people and the planet and by encouraging employees to use 5% (12 days) of employee time to volunteer. - See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/natural-beauty.html#sthash.8lKQhVcw.dpuf

The Spirit of Sustainability Shines on the Oscars/Renewable Now.biz

Think about "the spirit of sustainability" as described here by our contributor, Azzura Catucci.  What is the heart of soul of this movement?  What is your spirit of sustainability?

Arts and culture lead us to deep reflection on what is deep in our heart on our commitment to give more than we take.  They shine a light inside  as well as outside.  Let the brilliant lights of the Oscars lead you to a greater performance of helping to build a cleaner, healthier future.

The stars made their way along the red carpet to attend the 89th Academy Awards ceremony  at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California last Sunday.  As they strolled through the paparazzi, cameras flashed, crowds cheered, and security kept a keen eye on everyone’s safety. This was my first time reporting from the Oscars,and I had more than just movies on my mind, I was on a mission to track down a story lead that I came across not too long ago. It was about the famous jewelry company Swarovski and how they were celebrating their 10th year of illuminating the Oscars, but this year, using over one million crystals to help make the stars shine on stage while also embracing the spirit of sustainability.

Before I got to see this incredible stage display, there was another story about Swarovski supporting sustainability at the Oscars, one that was very dear to my heart and our audience as well that was the Red Carpet Green Dress project. The Red Carpet Green Dress project was created by Suzy Amis Cameron to help stimulate sustainable design, global green education, and raise funds for the non-profit MUSE School CA and MUSE Global, which she founded with her sister, Rebecca Amis. What could be better than that? To help bring attention to Red Carpet Green Dress, Atelier Swarovski, a responsible fine jewelry collection made it’s debut that evening with along side Red Carpet Green Dress. It was beautiful and definitely got a lot of attention.

Now for those of you who follow RNN, you know how important the arts are to us and how they make a connection to sustainability. Their is no question that responsible companies also see the important connection and Swarovski is no exception. On the surface one may be be a smitten with the elegance and beauty of gorgeous jewelry, but in today’s day and age when social conscious purchasing is becoming the norm, people look much deeper at what they are buying. A s a matter of fact, Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio starred in a powerful film some years ago that showed the exploitation of workers: the violence, and abuse of children all related to the diamond industry, the film “Blood Diamond.” This film shed a light on an industry that many felt guilty for supporting. So today, with technology, you don’t necessarily need a block buster film to let you know the social practices of a company an active consumer does their homework. And I did my homework when it came to Swarovski; they have a lot to be proud of when it comes to being socially responsible.

- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/arts-culture.html#sthash.PbFkhAIa.dpuf