Read about the current funding cycle for federal energy efficiency programs, and what the Alliance is doing to protect funding for these critical programs.Sultana High School, Hesperia Unified School District
In this lesson students are introduced to concepts such as electromagnetic radiation and the greenhouse effect. In addition, students gain an understanding of the correlation between burning fossil fuels and greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere, and how energy conservation can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Sundance Elementary School, Beaumont Unified School District
In this lesson students learn about electrical energy, and the difference between common items that use electricity, and those that do not. In understanding how and when energy is used, students gain awareness of ways to save energy.
Deer Canyon Elementary School, Alta Loma Unified School District
In this lesson students work together to identify items that use electricity, and the role they play in every day life. Students conclude by illustrating these objects, while simultaneously practicing their pronunciation to build phonemic awareness.
July 29, 2008 – The Alliance to Save Energy supports the critical energy efficiency provisions and extensions of the federal efficiency tax provisions that are included in S. 3335, the Jobs, Energy, Families & disaster Relief Act of 2008, which will be considered by the Senate this week. A key vote is expected in the Senate tomorrow which will determine whether the tax incentives will be approved by the Senate before the August recess.
Today, Alliance President Kateri Callahan participated in a press conference, called by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to discuss the need for and benefit to the American people of passage of such legislation:
The new Drive $marter Challenge podcasts feature Sam Hornish, Jr., driver of the number 77 Mobil 1 Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as the humorous Drive $marter PSAs in Spanish and English.
New episodes will be released on Mondays over the next several weeks and will feature Sam talking about how to save gas and money by regularly maintaining your car, curbing aggressive driving, replacing faulty oxygen sensors, planning your route, and more! Get your iPod ready by subscribing via the Drive Smarter Challenge listings in the iTunes store or on Podcast.com.
July 16-17 You can’t get much farther from Washington, DC, than Seattle, Washington, geographically speaking. Yet when it comes to environmental initiatives, Washington-to-the-West is making some bold moves.
Minnesota's Governor Tim Pawlenty and Alliance president Kateri Callahan at an Alliance Associate Lunch in St. Paul, sponsored by Trane. Nearly 60 guests representing many of Minnesota’s major businesses joined us to hear about the legislative measures in place to double the amount of energy savings in Minnesota and about the Governor's vision for even more energy efficiency for the state. For information on the Alliance Associate Event program, please contact Marcy Devaney
On Monday July 14, Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan and 19 other national thought-leaders in business, community development, the arts and the environment convened at Wolf Trap’s National Summit on the Arts and Environment to discuss environmental initiatives and policies within the arts.
During the day-long event, participants addressed the environmental responsibilities of artists and art organization, as well as opportunities for cross-sector collaboration benefiting the environment.
The results of the summit are available on the Wolf Trap website.
In June I attended and presented at two events in Colorado, where I encountered some thought-provoking debates and inspiring developments in the realm of energy efficiency.
On June 6, 2008, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) with Alliance Board member Rob Pratt of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation at the AIA sponsored Associate Breakfast in Boston where Senator Kerry spoke of the importance of energy efficiency in buildings.
The Alliance is pleased to contribute a chapter to the Presidential Climate Action Plan, which will provide the next President of the United States with guidelines for tackling the three interrelated problems of climate change, energy stability and national security. The Alliance report Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions through Improved Energy Efficiency in Buildings will serve as the foundation of the section to be titled Low-Carbon Buildings—the actual chapter in the PCAP report will be slightly shorter, due to space constraints. This study includes policy recommendations to put the buildings sector on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to speak at a truly unique event called the Virtual Energy Forum (VEF). A two day online-only event, VEF focused on how leading companies and institutions can adopt better energy management practices to cut cost, while at the same time adopting clean energy alternatives. Featured speakers presented alternative energy technologies, policies, and best practices in a live, interactive environment.
On June 3rd, Brian Castelli sat on a distinguished panel of energy leaders at the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC) annual conference. The plenary session panel was entitled “Climate Change” and addressed the many challenges the utilities, regulators, and financial communities will face as they respond to limits on carbon dioxide emissions. On June 5th, Brian also served on a panel at the Wharton Club of Washington, DC’s “Green Business Summit; Adapt – Innovate – Transform”.
Steve Capanna, Selin Devranoglu and Joe Loper, May 2008
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires agencies to purchase energy-efficient products. Government shopping websites are likewise required to only list energy-efficient products. A Review of Federal Agency Compliance with Energy-Efficient Procurement Laws, a new report from the Alliance to Save Energy, suggests that government agency compliance rates with these requirements remain extremely low. The report offers several recommendations to help federal agencies meet these requirements, which, if followed, would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually and would significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Nils Petermann and Jeffrey Harris, April 2008
The energy saving goals of the federal government require deployment of advanced energy-saving technologies. In its new report, Deploying New Technologies to Increase Energy Savings in the Federal Sector, the Alliance to Save Energy gives an overview of near-term opportunities to deploy promising new technologies and recommends strategies to enable agencies to effectively coordinate the introduction of those technologies.
Vestal Tutterow, Alexander Filippov and Jeffrey Harris, April 2008
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 imposed on federal agencies increased energy efficiency requirements for new building design. Energy-Efficient New Federal Buildings: Awareness and Implementation of Federal Building Standards and Case Studies, a new report from the Alliance to Save Energy, provides a summary of how agencies are working to comply with the requirements and suggests a number of actions that can be undertaken to assist federal personnel in their efforts. Upcoming requirements from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 are also discussed.
The Alliance is pleased to contribute a chapter to the Presidential Climate Action Plan, which will provide the next President of the United States with guidelines for tackling the three interrelated problems of climate change, energy stability and national security. The Alliance report Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Federal Buildings, Facilities and Vehicles will serve as the foundation of the section to be titled Managing Federal Emissions—the actual chapter in the PCAP report will be slightly shorter, due to space constraints. This study includes policy recommendations to put the federal sector on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
Proving themselves yet again the heartiest of the commuting masses, bikers – including Alliance riders Jane Teeling, Sally Larsen, Adam Hudson, and Merilee Harrigan, pictured here – braved a morning drizzle to meet, breakfast and celebrate cycling in the Capitol region.
On May 7th Alliance President Kateri Callahan, as part of a distinguished panel including Nobel Prize winner Mario J. Molina; former EPA Administrator Bill Reilly; European Climate Foundation CEO Jules Kortenhorst; and J. Rachel Shimshak, Director of the Renewable Northwest Project, delivered a presentation at the Council on Foundations conference session entitled: Getting Serious About Climate Change: A Guide for Foundations.
Every year in the United States, buildings are responsible for 38% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy use, and 70% of electricity use. Building energy codes are a key tool in reducing the two-fifths of U.S. energy use.
On April 10 2008, Alliance President Kateri Callahan and Director of Policy Lowell Ungar participated in two briefings about building energy codes as a response to climate change. Presentations from those briefings are available here.
On April 15, Earth Day, in Washington, D.C. Alliance President Kateri Callahan participated in a Team Challenge event for KidsCom, an online “edutainment” virtual world with a focus on teaching kids about Global Climate change and sustainability in the real world.
Presented to the Energy Efficiency Partnership of Greater Washington
April 23, 2008
The 2008 Great Energy Efficiency Day (GEED), which took place on April 16, was by all accounts the most successful in Alliance history with record breaking attendance and an unparalleled speaker line-up. In the picture above, Diane Munns (Edison Electric Institute), Kaj den Daas (Philips Lighting), John Conover (Trane) and Jeff Harris (the Alliance) discuss energy efficiency in buildings. Pictures and presentations from the event are now available.
On April 15, new Alliance Vice-chair Congressman Steve Israel was featured at an Alliance Associates’ Breakfast where he spoke about the role of energy efficiency in national security. He is welcomed here by National Grid’s David Manning and Alliance president Kateri Callahan.
The Alliance EE Global team was recently in Paris for informational meetings with European businesses and government officials. The very successful week ended with a joint meeting of the planning committees who are enthusiastic and engaged in developing a comprehensive and exciting agenda for EE Global '09 which is scheduled for April 27-29 in Paris, France.
South Carolina Manufactures Alliance 2008 Annual Meeting
March 28, 2008
Could a new effort to fight global warming save money and create jobs at the same time? A recent episode of PBS's NOW features Alliance Board Member Rob Pratt, of the Kendall Foundation, who is a principal leader in an innovative project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to make all its buildings more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent in just five years.
Watch the video online direct from the NOW web site or check your local listings to watch it on PBS.
The energy efficiency guidebook (1.9 MB PDF) for Indonesian hotels includes guidelines on good housekeeping measures and technology improvements for energy savings.
International Conference on Intelligent, Green, and Energy Efficient Buildings
April 1, 2008
Good Neighbor Environmental Board
March 19, 2008
US-Ukraine Foundation Webcast/Seminar – Kyoto Protocol/Energy Options for Ukraine
March 19, 2008
George Washington Law School – EISA 2007 Lecture
March 18, 2008
Foreign Service Institute – Beyond Oil Lecture
March 7, 2008
Presented at "European Energy Efficiency Conference"
March 6, 2008
January 17, 2008
Director of Policy
Presented at AESP Brown Bag Seminar
March 6, 2008
ExxonMobil 2008 Energy Day
March 5, 2008
Organization of American States Inter-American Meeting on Sustainable Development in the Americas
March 3, 2008
RESNET 2008 Annual Conference
February 18, 2008
Green Campus
February 11, 2008
US-Russia Energy Working Group
February 5, 2008
Alliance Associates welcomed Senator Mark Pryor, Alliance Honorary Chair, at a special breakfast on Capitol Hill. The Senator discussed several timely subjects, including the Stimulus package and he even opined on the impending Super Tuesday results. For more information on Alliance Associate breakfasts and other events, please contact Marcy Devaney.