Report

Renewables on the Rise 2021

Clean energy

Renewables on the Rise 2021

Clean energy is sweeping across America and is poised for more dramatic growth in the coming years. Wind turbines and solar panels made up a tiny fraction of our energy infrastructure 10 years ago. Today, they are everyday parts of America’s energy landscape. The number of homes heated with clean, efficient electric heat pumps increased by 28% in a decade from 2005 to 2015. Just a few years ago, electric vehicles seemed a far-off solution to decarbonize our transportation system. Now, they have broken through to the mass market. Virtually every day, there are new developments that increase our ability to produce renewable energy, apply it to a wider range of energy needs, and reduce our overall energy use. These developments enable us to envision an economy powered entirely by clean, renewable energy.

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An Electric Vehicle Toolkit for Local Governments

Electric vehicles

An Electric Vehicle Toolkit for Local Governments

Local governments have an important role to play in making clean transportation a reality. Every day, local governments make decisions about municipal purchasing, the use of public streets and parking garages, planning and zoning, and other issues that can either make it easier or more difficult for their residents to own an EV. By using a set of key tools to encourage EV adoption, local governments can help clean up the air in their communities and take meaningful action against global warming. 

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Trash in America

Recycling & compost

Trash in America

The United States produces too much waste. Natural resources are continually extracted to produce goods that are used in the U.S. — often only briefly — before they are thrown into landfills, incinerators or the natural environment. This system of consumption and disposal results in the waste of precious resources and in pollution that threatens our health, environment and the global climate. Because the costs of this system fall on society at large — not on the producers and consumers who drive it — there are few direct incentives for change.

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Blocking Rooftop Solar

Clean energy

Blocking Rooftop Solar

Solar power is cheaper, more efficient and more abundant than ever before. Over the past decade, the amount of solar energy produced in the United States has increased 30-fold, while the average cost of a residential solar energy system has fallen by more than half. The American public is increasingly supportive of solar energy. By 2020, according to Pew Research, 79% of Americans – a broad majority – believed that developing non-fossil fuel energy sources, including solar and wind power, should be the country’s top energy priority.

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Green Scissors

Clean energy

Green Scissors

Every year, the federal government spends billions of taxpayer dollars on wasteful and environmentally harmful programs that are polluting our air and water and driving the climate crisis. Green Scissors is the definitive guide to polluter welfare in the federal budget.

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We Have the Power

Clean energy

We Have the Power

It is time for America to move beyond fossil fuels. Coal, oil and gas are responsible for a rapidly warming planet, for hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year from air pollution, and for untold environmental damage. A shift to emission-free energy from the wind, sun and other renewable sources can solve many of America’s most pressing environmental and public health challenges.

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A Perfect Storm

Clean water

A Perfect Storm

Since 1980, The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Superfund” toxic waste cleanup program has been responsible for identifying the worst toxic waste sites across the country and holding polluters accountable to cover the cost of cleaning them up. When the polluting party cannot be found or afford the cleanup, the Superfund program has the authority and funds to clean up the site.

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