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More Than 300 Local Officials From 40 States Call For Green New Deal, End Of Fossil Fuels

           

Workers install solar panels.  Associated Press

The open letter includes a signature from a former high-level Mobil Oil executive.

CLICK HERE - Elected Officials to Protect America - Empowering lawmakers to act boldly on climate

huffingtonpost.com - by Alexander C. Kaufman - December 14, 2018

In a little over a month, the so-called Green New Deal has won endorsements from more than three dozen sitting or incoming federal lawmakers as Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) makes a high-profile bid to shift debate over climate change toward policy on the scale of the crisis. 

On Friday, the effort got a boost from 311 state and local officials.

Forty-four mayors, 63 county and state legislators and 116 city council members were among the officials from 40 states ― including some top oil and gas producers ― who signed an open letter issuing a sweeping, full-throated call for the phaseout of fossil fuels and adoption of Green New Deal-style climate policies.

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As rooftop solar costs drop, utility attempts to raise barriers may not work

A solar array at Duke Energy Florida's 3.8 megawatt solar array in Osceola County, near St. Cloud. [Times files]

Image: A solar array at Duke Energy Florida's 3.8 megawatt solar array in Osceola County, near St. Cloud. [Times files]

tampabay.com - November 13th 2016 - Mary Ellen Klas

Florida's utility industry steered more than $20 million of their profits into a failed constitutional amendment to impose new barriers to the expansion of rooftop solar energy generation, but developers say that as the cost of installing solar panels drops, the state could quickly become a leader in private solar energy expansion no matter what the energy giants do.

The Florida Solar Energy Industry Association estimates that over the next five years, Florida homeowners, businesses and utilities are projected to take advantage of the falling prices and install 2,315 megawatts of solar electric capacity — 19 times more than the amount of solar installed in the last five years.

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Clean Water Crisis Threatens US

           

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.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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Why we should care about the United Nations’ COP21


From Nov. 30 — Dec. 11, delegates from 194 countries throughout the world will convene in France for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This conference on climate change is expected to culminate with a new international agreement to mitigate climate change. FIU Law Senior Scholar Ryan Stoa and Journalism and Broadcasting Professor Juliet Pinto will be in attendance at the conference. In this op-ed, Tiffany Troxler, director of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center, explains the importance of the international gathering.

Tiffany Troxler, director of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center

Tiffany Troxler, director of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center

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Business Facilities: 2015 State Rankings Report

Posted by:  Albert Gomez

By Business Facilities Staff
from the July/August 2015 Issue annual-rankings-report

We’ve revamped our Metro and Global rankings this year to include some new technology oriented benchmarks. The new Metro category entries include Advanced Manufacturing (Specialization), Tech Jobs Leaders, Fastest Broadband and STEM Leaders. Our Global Rankings this year also include a new ranking for Leading ICT Hubs (European Cities).

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Coastal, Riverbank Homeowners Brace for U.S. Flood Insurance Hike

      

A home destroyed during the landfall of Superstorm Sandy is pictured in Mantoloking, New Jersey March 22, 2013.  Credit: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

reuters.com - by Barbara Liston - September 24, 2013

(Reuters) - More than a million homeowners living in older houses along the coastlines and riverbanks of the United States are being jolted by federal flood insurance rate hikes under a law passed in the wake of devastating storms.

Carol Giovannoni, 51, of St. Pete Beach, a barrier island community off Florida's west coast, is one of the people dreading October 1, when the law takes effect. Giovannoni said the annual flood insurance premium on her standard 1950s concrete-block, ranch-style home on the waterfront will jump from $1,700 to $15,000 over the next few years.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012

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