With the Obama administration preparing to release its groundbreaking rules for carbon pollution at existing U.S. power plants this coming Monday, there's already a great deal of discussion and debate swirling around. Some of that discussion is the usual, unfounded hysteria and falsehoods from predictable quarters (e.g., the Chamber of Commerce), and should be treated with the scorn and mockery it deserves. In contrast, we strongly recommend a New Republic article by Jonathan Cohn, "Obama's New Rules for Coal Plants Are a B.F.D. The Ensuing Political Fight May Be Even Bigger," as it provides an excellent overview of what's happening and why. Here are a few key points from the article:

According to The Wichita Eagle:

Bad news for fossil fuels; good news for clean energy.

Here are five recommended reads for today (5/21/14)

By Mark Sokolove, Executive Vice President of Tigercomm

How is the U.S. residential solar installation market changing? Mike Munsell of Greentech Media has a fascinating article on the subject, which we strongly recommend.  A few highlights:

See here for more on Tom Steyer's challenge to Charles and David Koch to a public debate on climate change. So far, the only thing we've heard from the Koch brothers is "crickets." Perhaps that's because they know that Steyer would reveal them to the world for the frauds that they are?

There are so many advantages to switching from dirty energy to clean, renewable energy - environmental and national security, for instance - that the case for moving in this direction should be crystal clear.  Yet we often hear, mostly from the fossil fuel industry, that it will be too costly to make this switch. Other than the fact that renewable energy costs have been plummeting, and are now competitive with fossil fuels in many parts of the country, keep in mind that fossil fuels continue to receive both explicit and implicit subsidies, such as being allowed to pollute at little or no cost.  This means that renewable energy is increasingly beating fossil fuels on a pure cost basis despite serious, structural obstacles arrayed against.

If we needed any more reasons to move as quickly as possible from environment-destroying fossil fuels to clean energy, how about this?

More coddling of the fracking industry at the expense of people's health and safety.

A new report in The Guardian is disturbing yet sadly not surprising.

According to the White House, which now has solar panels on its roof for the first time in decades, "[s]olar power is an increasingly important building block on our path toward a clean energy future." U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz explains:

Here are five recommended reads for today (5/12/14).

So, in addition to polluting the environment and fighting a rapid transition to clean energy, a new article adds yet another reason why we're not fans of the oil industry.

The Wall Street Journal explains why the the U.S. coal industry is too dirty for America, and thus is being forced to send its product overseas.

This past September, Tigercomm President Mike Casey interviewed former “super lobbyist” Jack Abramoff. Whatever else you think about him, the fact is that Abramoff knew the business of Capitol Hill influence peddling inside-out. What Abramoff said to Casey was that the fossil fuel industry is deadly serious about this game, and that the clean energy industry needs to fully understand that. Case in point? A new analysis on The Great Energy Challenge blog by Bill Chameides, Dean of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. The key takeaways?

Greentech Media provides yet more evidence that fossil fuel's days are numbered.

Here are five recommended reads for today (5/7/14).