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Understanding Prosperity Without Growth

David Bent at GreenBiz provides a great summary of the new report, Prosperity Without Growth - The Transition to a Sustainable Economy, produced by the Sustainable Development Commission over in the UK.

There seems to be a strong parallel between the report's conclusions and the ideas of Dr. Marc A. Weiss, who founded the Climate Prosperity Project, which is helping local governments, regional governing bodies, and states put sustainability principles at the core of their economic development strategies. Dr. Weiss argues that society must move from "resource-wasting capitalism" to "resource-saving capitalism." (His strategy for local governments is detailed in this two-part interview with ICLEI back in January.)

The Prosperity Without Growth report appears to make the same case, with a strong critique of our consumption-fueled model of economic growth. Bent lists 10 bullet points from the report, many of them relevant to green local governments. Click here to read them.

Local Action Roundup

• Chicago, D.C., Lead U.S. Cities on Green Roofs (GreenerBuildings)
  
• King County Cuts Energy Costs With PC Mgmt Software (Environmental Leader)
  
• Study: Northeast U.S. Most at Risk for Sea-Level Rise (The Daily Green)
  

$467 Million in New Solar and Geothermal Funding

Guest blogger: Cyrus Bhedwar, ICLEI Southeast Regional Manager

On May 27, the Department of Energy (DOE) continued its full court press to advance President Obama’s vision for a clean energy future by announcing $467 million in funding for solar and geothermal energy technologies.

The announcement included a total of six funding opportunity announcements addressing several areas of interest with individual awards reaching into the millions of dollars. (Those local governments who attended the Local Climate Leadership Summit got a sneak peek at several of these announcements during a session held on Monday.)

Of particular interest to local governments in the solar arena are High Penetration Solar Deployment and Solar Market Transformation. While the FOA is not yet available, local governments will also want to keep an eye out for a solicitation for geothermal demonstration projects.

A word to the wise: While geothermal energy technologies have been historically restricted to the western United States, those east of the Mississippi and in other areas not consider “geothermal country” won’t want to miss this announcement, which seeks to expand the range of geothermal energy projects. 

For those interested in other topics, a complete list of DOE’s Recovery Act funding opportunities can be found here.

Fewer Renewable Resources in the Southeast? We Think Not

Guest Blogger: Eli Yewdall, ICLEI Program Associate

During discussions on climate protection in the Southeast, it's not uncommon to hear a claim that the region simply doesn’t have the renewable energy resources that other parts of the country do.

ICLEI member local governments know there's no shortage of sunshine in the Southeast -- not to mention biomass, landfill gas, and onshore wind -- and they've got the installations to prove it:

• Orange County, FL, recently installed a 1 MW solar electric system on their convention center;
• Gainesville, FL, is implementing biomass and solar energy through their municipal utility; and
  
• Knoxville, TN, is installing 4.8 kW of solar power on their downtown transit station.

Now, a new set of reports estimate just how much potential there is in the Southeast for renewable energy and energy efficiency.