Millions of Americans tuned in Tuesday night to watch President Obama deliver his first address from the Oval Office. At the heart of the president’s speech was his diagnosis of the BP oil spill. If the disaster can be thought of as a disease, then treatment of the symptoms are the current efforts to clean up the spill and restore the Gulf Coast. But, like with any disease, the most critical step is to understand the cause and prevent a future outbreak. What began as an update on the oil spill cleanup efforts ended as a push for a clean energy future, led by solar, wind, and energy efficiency.

This oil spill was not merely an accident, but a consequence of “America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels.” As Obama made clear last night, the larger lesson from the spill has been that “drilling for oil these days entails greater risk” and our nation must transition to a clean energy future. Cause and prevention are inextricably tied – preventing future oil spills require eliminating our dependence on oil. “The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now,” President Obama declared, “Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America’s innovation and seize control of our own destiny.”

Clean technology continues to develop, but much of it is already available. A clean energy future is not, as Obama insisted, “some distant vision for America.” Our nation has already taken “unprecedented action to jumpstart the clean energy industry” with solar panels, wind turbines, and energy efficient windows. Your home pollutes more than two times what your car pollutes. Power your home with clean, solar energy, and you are making a bigger difference than you think. For each home that goes solar, 40% of that home’s pollution is offset. And for every six homes that go solar, 1 clean American job is created.

This is why we’ve created a national cause for 10,000 additional solar roofs in the U.S. in 2010, in addition to the 50,000 new solar roofs projected to be added this year. It’s clear that the time for a clean energy future is not in the future, but the present. We must, as our president urged us last night, “seize the moment….rally together and act as one nation” to make that hope a reality. People all over the country, including solar companies, are uniting behind the 10,000 Solar Roofs Challenge. What more are you waiting for?

Please support a clean energy future by spreading the word and joining the cause today.

SunRun Advisor and former U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary, T.J. Glauthier, was interviewed on Fox Business News regarding President Obama’s oil spill response.  Obama has a a big job ahead of him, according to Glauthier, but the president is engaged.  Glauthier also had some encouraging words to share — “If we can make significant inroads in efficiency, conservation, and renewables, we will be able to get through this in fine shape.”

Please check out the Fox Business News clip on Obama, renewable energy, and the oil spill below!

Have you ever wondered what the power plants near your house are like? Now you can find out how clean your local power plant is.

Around 129 million tons of coal combustion waste (CCW) is produced at American power plants every year.  A threat to public health, CCW makes up the second-largest waste stream after municipal solid waste.  Here’s a list of the top 25 dirtiest power plants in the United States from the ISS, in terms of coal waste:

1. Stanton Energy Center; Orlando, FL
2. Sherburne County Generating Plant; Becker, MN
3. Coal Creek Station; Underwood, ND
4. Scherer Steam Electric Plant; Juliette, GA
5. Detroit Edison Monroe Power Plant; Monroe, MI
6. Gibson Generating Station; Owensville, IN
7. Gorgas Steam Plant; Parrish, AL
8. Cholla Power Plant; Joseph City, AZ
9. Wansley Steam Plant; Roopville, GA
10. Kentucky Utilities Ghent Station; Ghent, KY
11. J.M Stuart Station; Manchester, OH
12. Branch Steam Plant; Milledgeville, GA
13. Barry Steam Plant; Bucks, AL
14. Gaston Steam Plant; Wilsonville, AL
15. Miller Steam Plant; Quinton, AL
16. Lacygne Generating Station; Lacygne, KS
17. Gallatin Fossil Plant; Gallatin, TN
18. Boswell Energy Center; Cohasset, MN
19. Leland Olds Station; Stanton, ND
20. Widows Creek Fossil Plant; Stevenson, AL
21. Paradise Fossil Plant; Drakesboro, KY
22. Labadie Power Plant; Labadie, MO
23. Kingston Fossil Plant; Harriman, TN
24. Cardinal Plant; Brilliant, OH
25. Bowen Steam Plant; Cartersville, GA

Check out our solar map to see where the dirtiest power plants are compare to where you live!

If you don’t live in Pennsylvania then you probably haven’t heard of Centralia, PA. The long standing history of coal mining in Centralia has left it an abandoned ghost town.

Abandoned Highway in Centralia, Pennsylvania

Starting in 1962, the town of Centralia started to burn trash in an abandoned mine, which connected to a coal vein. The constant burning of trash eventually ignited the coal vein setting off a huge fire. Fire officials thought they had put out the fire, but a few days later the fire reignited. The fire was thought to be extinguished but it was not and erupted again. Eventually, the coal began to burn underground. For two decades, fire and government officials worked hard to extinguish the underground fire but all of their efforts failed. In the 1980s, over 400 acres of land and communities were forced to evacuate because of the dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. In 1984, Congress allocated $42 million dollars for the evacuation process. Most Centralia residents moved to the nearby towns of Ashland and Mount Carmel, although a few families did choose to remain in Centralia. In 2002, the United States Postal Service revoked Centralia’s zip code, further erasing Centralia off the map.

Without knowing the history, a passerby wouldn’t know what hit Centralia. The only visible indications of the fire are low metal steam vents and the numerous warning signs of fire and high levels of carbon monoxide. On an abandoned portion of Route 61 steam and smoke can be seen coming up through the cracks in the road.

47 years later and $40 million dollars later, the fire still burns through the underground coal mines. A 1983 study indicated that the fire could continue to burn and affect 37,000 acres. Currently, the fire will continue to burn for a predicted 250 years and may spread to nearby towns.

It is unclear how the fire started, but it is clear that coal has proved to be a viable threat to the rural communities of Pennsylvania.  We have been using extreme and dangerous avenues for energy that are destroying our environment. seen through the dramatic and small example of Centralia. It is time to look towards renewable energy sources to fuel our country in a clean manner, like  solar energy.  Find out more information about the environmental benefits of going solar.

Today, SunRun got an inside look into one of the dirtiest industries around — and it wasn’t pretty.  At our headquarters in San Francisco, Pat Gallagher, the director of the Environmental Law Program at the Sierra Club, screened the club’s latest documentary, Coal Country. Taking us into the heart of coal mining in West Virginia, the film brings us to mining sites, public meetings, demonstrations, and the Appalachian homes directly affected by mining to show us how the “coal industry is poisoning Appalachia.”

The problems of coal are clear: the natural environment is being visibly and drastically destroyed, public health is at great risk (one researcher estimates that there are approximately 578 extra deaths per year in West Virginia than the rest of the United States), and 36% of our CO2 emissions are from coal combustion (more than any other fossil fuel!).  Don’t trust the hype behind clean coal — there is not a single clean coal plant in the U.S. today.  In addition, coal mining can dismantle the local economy, particularly tourism and the real estate market.  Staring at her lovely and well-kept house, one homeowner added ruefully that her home had depreciated well over $100,000 to value at a mere $12,000, due to the local coal mining industry.  Not only mountains and streams, but also individuals, their livelihoods, and their homes are at stake.

The politics of coal are complicated, but the solution is simple.  According to Gallagher, the answer is three-fold: preventing new coal plants from opening, getting rid of existing plants, and finally, offering clean energy solutions.

Now, one of the arguments the coal industry and their miners make is that coal creates jobs and that shutting down these plants are going to hurt the local and national economy.  However, as Coal Country revealed, the actual number of jobs at stake are not very high, given the automated and mechanical nature of the industry.  Explosives blow up mountain tops and machines push aside the rubble.  But in any case, these voids can be more than filled with green jobs in renewable industries, such as solar, wind, geothermal.  That’s where SunRun comes in!  According to the EIA’s latest annual coal report, 86,859 people were employed by the coal industry in 2008.  Not a small number, but not exceptional either, if you examine the stats across industries.  Thomas Friedman, in a recent New York Times op-ed, cites that there are over 50,000 jobs created by the renewable industry in Germany, with the country generating around half of the world’s solar power!  Germany is about the size of Montana and as sunny as Seattle.  The potential for a clean growth economy is undeniable!  If there are any doubts about the credibility of green jobs, SunRun is here to fill that gap; coal is no longer “the only job in town.”

Join the Sierra Club (and others all around the world) in their fight against coal.  To date, Sierra Club successfully halted 108 new coal projects!  Coal affects all of us, even those outside of the mining regions, and with everyone’s help, the administration will have to listen.

Host or attend a house party to watch and discuss Coal Country, write a letter to Obama, or show your support for clean energy by signing up for solar today!

Details:
Coal Country, airing on the Planet Green network on November 19th, 11pm EST and November 20th at 3pm EST.  Watch the trailer here.
Executive Producer: Mari-Lynn Evans
Written, Produced, Directed by Phylis Geller

Serving mom breakfast in bed.  A walk to the local bakery.  Nine holes of golf.  Gifts galore.  Each family has its own traditions for celebrating the love and hard work our moms contribute to the longevity of family life.  One of my favorite things to do for my mom on Mother’s Day when I was young (and a slightly precocious one I admit) was to make a booklet of coupons which she could redeem to get me to do various chores around the house: one coupon for doing the dishes, one coupon for vacuuming the living room, etc.  My mom put a mountain of time and effort into making our home a warm, loving, inviting place, and while doing chores was a fact of life for me, I wanted to assert that I was a willing helper…and I wanted to smooth things over for the times I whined.

Fast forward to 2009.  This year, “greening” the home is getting a lot of play in the blogosphere around Mother’s Day.  There are countless lists of green gifts you can buy your mother.  But while organic chocolate and bathrobes spun from organic cotton might add creature comforts to your mom’s life that are less environmentally harmful, there is little discussion of the fact that simply heating, cooling, and powering a home harms the environment significantly.  And not even a truckload of organic chocolate, unfortunately, will help matters…except to relieve the stress your mom would feel from realizing her house is crawling with brown energy made from dirty fossil fuels.

Even if your refrigerator is full of sustainable organic products, it’s also infested with brown energy.  Even if your playlist is full of Al Gore’s podcasts, the power flowing through your stereo is dirty brown juice made by burning fossil fuels.   Moms who make the switch to solar set a great example for their kids and help rid their homes of dirty brown energy.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I challenge all kids out there to make a coupon for their moms with this IOU: “If we go solar and stop using so much brown energy, I promise not to serve you a Lucky Charms omelet [et al.]  in bed next Mother’s Day.”