Local Power Marin Launch (Radio Show Post)

Marin Carbon activists Bing Gong, Bernie Stephan discuss the potential of the newly created Marin Energy Authority with green power author/activist Peter Asmus and myself. This is a 60 minute radio show on Local Power's vision for transforming electricity into "a new kind of power."  Marin County, California has released its request for a new energy service that will achieve a "Deeper" green for its residents and businesses and achieve historic greenhouse gas reductions for the North Bay. Having begun working in Marin some ten years ago, Local Power is now involved in the active discussions here around energy independence, the transition town movement, and the so-called "Green New Deal." As a major hub for food sustainability, Marin is now leading the green power /  regional Climate Action movement. To listen to the show, click here.

Greenwashed

Transmission is Dumb and Brown. Gas and electric monopoly utilities are exploiting public misunderstanding of green power to promote new transmission lines and ratepayer-funded brown investments that will not reduce carbon emissions. Saying we need new transmission to reach remote wind sites, the industry is avoiding tough but necessary relocalization of power and dramatic demand reduction to deliver meaningful climate action. Moreover, without reducing power sales (and gas, coal and electric utility load growth) greenhouse gas reductions from the power industry will cause Policy Collapse that has already engulfed California's promise-the-sky with no follow-through political culture. I joined Local Power staff Robert Freehling and David Erickson in authoring this new article in Natural Gas & Electricity, a pre-print (Wiley, May, 2009).