Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 2/28/2024 The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has revised its goals for expanding solar energy projects on public lands throughout the western United States and introduced a new solar development “roadmap” to help achieve them. The revised goals and roadmap are part of the Biden administration’s efforts to establish a net-zero … Read more
Emily Collins, Zondits guest, 2/1/2024 By now, it’s no secret that heat pumps just might be a key factor in climate solutions. From reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to saving homeowners money on their monthly utility bills, the heat pump continues to increase in popularity. In 2022 alone, even before the U.S. passed the Inflation … Read more
Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 1/9/2024 At the close of 2023, 100,000 individuals representing nearly 200 nations met in Dubai to negotiate an updated climate action agreement at the United Nations COP28 conference. The UN Climate Change Conference – United Arab Emirates | UNFCCC, officially known as the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties, … Read more
Camryn Hansen, Zondits guest, 11/15/2023 After hearing for years how much more efficient heat pumps are than any other type of heating system, I was dismayed to discover how much it actually cost to use them to heat my home in Maine during the winter. The answer is that last year, for me, it was … Read more
Peter F. Hoffman, C.E.M., LEED AP, Zondits guest, 10/30/2023 This article has been amended from a version previously published on LinkedIn: Demand-Side Resiliency leading to risk mitigation and reduced insurance costs under a traditional Energy Efficiency programmatic framework Utilities invest significantly in the resilience of the electrical and natural gas transmission and distribution systems in … Read more
Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 9/26/2023 The first United Nations Stocktake on Climate Change Progress calls for a dramatic acceleration of policy and technical action to combat climate change. The report, released in early September, recognizes that some progress has been made since the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, but states that both “ambition and implementation” must … Read more
Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 8/15/2023 For most California residents, electric rates will soon be based partly on customer income levels. A controversial law passed last year required regulators to establish the new rate structure by the summer of 2024. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is now considering several proposals detailing how the new rates … Read more
Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 6/7/2023 Climate activists and clean energy advocates have widely applauded the investments in climate-related action promised in both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure legislation. Those investments are now in jeopardy as House Republicans hold the debt ceiling hostage and propose to gut the administration’s clean energy portfolio. Real Clear … Read more
Matt Arisohn, Zondits guest, 4/25/2023 Matt Arisohn is the President at Next Energy World, LLC where he works with commercial customers to obtain higher energy efficiency levels, install clean energy systems, and reduce costs. This article has been edited from a blog entry posted by Matt, https://new-sustainability.com/f/utility-bill-triage-standby-rates. During this past winter, electric and natural gas … Read more
Matt Montalbano, Zondits guest, 4/7/2023 Coal ash landfills are known sources of groundwater pollution, and the pollutants involved include arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and lithium. A loophole in EPA regulations has allowed hundreds of existing coal ash landfills to be operated without the safeguards required of new landfills. Thanks to concerned citizens, that may soon … Read more