East End - Long Island, New York

longislandpress.com - June 12th 2016 - Rich Murdocco

The 2016 Atlantic hurricane season may have officially begun June 1, but there’s already been significant activity. Recently making waves, Colin was the third named tropical storm to churn up the coast before going out to sea, marking an early record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that 10 to 16 named storms will form this year, with four to eight of them becoming hurricanes.

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An idled West Virginia coal facility. Officials fear bankrupt coal companies are not setting aside enough to clean up Appalachia’s polluted rivers and mountains. Credit Luke Sharrett for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Michael Corkery - June 6, 2016

Regulators are wrangling with bankrupt coal companies to set aside enough money to clean up Appalachia’s polluted rivers and mountains so that taxpayers are not stuck with the $1 billion bill.

The regulators worry that coal companies will use the bankruptcy courts to pay off their debts to banks and hedge funds, while leaving behind some of their environmental cleanup obligations.

The industry asserts that its cleanup plans — which include turning defunct mines back into countryside — are comprehensive and well funded. But some officials say those plans could prove unrealistic and falter as demand for coal remains weak.

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submitted by Gordian Raacke

CLICK HERE - White House Council of Economic Advisors - Incorporating Renewables into the Grid: Expanding Opportunities for Smart Markets and Energy Storage (40 page .PDF report)

whitehouse.gov - June 16, 2016

. . The Administration is announcing new executive actions and 33 state and private sector commitments that will accelerate the grid integration of renewable energy and storage.  Together, these announcements are expected to result in at least 1.3 gigawatts of additional storage procurement or deployment in the next five years. .

submitted by Gordian Raacke

The South Fork Clean Energy Forum, a free public event we are hosting at LTV Studios in Wainscott.

This educational forum will serve to discuss the challenges and opportunities of building a renewable and resilient energy system for the South Fork.  Participants are invited from the towns and hamlets of East Hampton and Southampton townships, community organizations and leaders, as well as energy experts and industry representatives.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell is a confirmed speaker, and we are inviting Southampton Town officials. Members from both town’s energy and sustainability advisory committees will be participating. The event is co-sponsored by the Town of East Hampton, Town of Southampton Sustainability Committee, and the East End Resilience Network.

There will be informative presentations, panel discussions and plenty of opportunity for Q & A.

The event is open to the public and free of charge.

RSVPs are recommended as space is limited. Stay tuned for further updates and a list of speakers.

WHEN
June 15, 2016 at 3pm - 7pm

The East Hampton Star - Letter to the Editor 06.09.16 - by Linda James

Return of Wind Power - East Hampton - June 6, 2016

Dear David,

Last week, the U.S. Interior Department, following a presidential directive, announced it would lease 81,000 ocean acres off New York’s coastline for wind development. Announcing this new leasing auction, in a release by Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Sally Jewell, secretary of the Interior, was quoted: “In addition to providing clean power, offshore wind energy marks a new frontier in renewable energy development, creating the path for sustainable electricity generation, job creation, and strengthening our nation’s economic competitiveness.”

Aerial view overlooking landscaping on April 4, 2015 in San Diego, California.  Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

by Sarah Ferris and Peter Sullivan - April 25, 2016

The United States is on the verge of a national crisis that could mean the end of clean, cheap water.

Hundreds of cities and towns are at risk of sudden and severe shortages, either because available water is not safe to drink or because there simply isn’t enough of it.

The situation has grown so dire the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence now ranks water scarcity as a major threat to national security alongside terrorism.

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Mamaroneck, NY, another of the Sustainable Westchester communities that want to go forward – photo by Doug Kerr via Flickr

cleantechnica.com - by Roy L. Hales - March 18, 2016

Seventeen municipalities are involved in this pilot program, which has been described as “a transformative shift in the way we buy and use electricity.” Audrey Zibelman, Commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission, said she has “great hopes for this as a critical pilot for the Reforming the Energy Vision.” This will be the first Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) pilot program under Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy.

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inhabitat.com - May 27th 2016 - Lacy Cooke

Danish architectural firm EFFEKT envisioned a future where self-sustaining communities could grow their own food and produce their own energy. They incorporated that vision into the ReGen Village, a planned off-grid community that addresses issues ranging from climate change to food security through sustainable design. They plan to start building these utopian communities this summer.

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Many of us will be firing up our grills this weekend for some well-deserved barbecue time. After all, barbecuing is one of America’s greatest pastimes, but it certainly isn’t one of our most environmentally friendly. Whether you prefer charcoal, wood chips or propane, grilling releases emissions and contributes to poor air quality.

submitted by Gordian Raacke - May 15, 2016

Dear East End residents,

I am reaching out to you on very short notice today to see if you can still alert your membership about the important Public Hearings on the NYS Clean Energy Standard scheduled for this Tuesday, May 17th in Riverhead. It is crucial we show a solid turnout and explain why New York needs to switch to renewables without further delay.

Below are the details and relevant web links for the event. People interested in attending can RSVP via Renewable Energy Long Island’s website (or the Facebook event). People unable to attend can submit a comment online. We have posted some basic talking point on reLI’s website.

Image: A raccoon was to blame for the loss of power to almost 40,000 homes. Photograph: Luke Massey/Rex Features

theguardian.com - May 11th 2016 -  Nicky Woolf

Nearly 40,000 homes were without power on Wednesday morning after a raccoon broke into a substation in Seattle, Washington, and single-pawedly brought down the electric grid in a dozen suburbs.

The creature caused 13 separate system outages during its brief but energetic visit.

Seattle Power and Light tweeted that “an animal entered one of our substations” in the early hours of the morning, causing a power outage that stretched across the suburbs from Golden Gardens Park to Queen Anne, north of the city.

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CLICK HERE - STUDY - Pew Research Center - America’s Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas

latimes.com - by Don Lee - May 11, 2016

America's shrinking middle class, a growing concern for the economy and a central issue in the presidential race, cuts across virtually all communities from coast to coast, according to a study released Wednesday.

The report by Pew Research Center found that the share of the middle class fell in 203 of the 229 U.S. metropolitan areas examined from 2000 to 2014, including major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, which saw a relatively sharp drop in its middle class.

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City’s Zika action plan enhances mosquito surveillance and control - Expands testing of humans and mosquitos, and launches public awareness campaign

nyc.gov - April 18, 2016

NEW YORK––Marking the start of mosquito season, Mayor de Blasio today detailed a three-year, five-borough plan to protect New Yorkers and prevent the spread of the Zika virus in New York City.

“We are doing all we can to target the mosquito that could transmit Zika here in the city, and building the capacity to respond to every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We will spare no effort to protect pregnant New Yorkers from the devastating consequences of Zika, and we ask New Yorkers to help us by taking simple steps to get rid of standing water where mosquitos can breed. We also ask pregnant women who may have been exposed to Zika to talk to their doctors about getting tested.”

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CLICK HERE - REPORT - Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016

nytimes.com - by The Editorial Board - April 4, 2016

Some world leaders, especially in developing countries like India, have long said it’s hard to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet because they need to use relatively inexpensive — but highly carbon-intensive — fuels like coal to keep energy affordable. That argument is losing its salience as the cost of renewable energy sources like wind and solar continues to fall.