One of the great ironies of the transition to renewable energy is that it's going to require a great deal of fossil fuels to build all those wind turbines, solar panels, and smart grids -- because we simply don't have enough renewables already in the mix to bootstrap them up to the level we need to continue even a semblance of our 21st century civilization. So why not make that transition with the "cleanest" fossil fuel available, goes the argument -- namely, natural gas. So far so good. But lately, in op-eds in places like The New York Times and …

As exciting as alternative energy is, all the wind turbines in the world are not going to replace dirty energy unless the power they generate can get to consumers. That requires a better, smarter power grid than the U.S. has now. The Obama administration has been reasonably supportive of that goal, packing $4.5 billion for improving the grid into the stimulus bill back in 2009. And this morning, John Holdren, the White House's top science and technology advisor, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, along with a few other high level officials, are trotting out a new report [PDF] on how …

Cleantech generates 17 jobs for every $1 million spent on it, compared to just 5 for every $1 million we throw at an oil and gas industry that doesn't need it but will fight to its dying breath to preserve the government largesse shoring up its bottom line. Cleantech even generates more jobs than that other favored son of Congressional earmarks, military spending, which yields only 11 jobs for every $1 million in subsidies. Robert Pollin, an economist who studied the impact of green stimulus dollars for the Commerce Department, said clean energy gets a better payoff because kick-starting a …

.bbpBox80268799235993601 {background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme1/bg.png) #C0DEED;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px} p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px} p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block} AEP really is coordinating their PR today. WV, OK and IN media all have stories about costs of EPA compliance. http://t.co/Zgvsgkrless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplySean Casten SeanCasten This morning American Electric Power is waging a not-so-secret -- and not terribly subtle -- campaign to build sentiment against EPA regulations that would force it to shut down or clean up its oldest, filthiest coal-fired power plants. One of the …

Although all of that water flooding into the Midwest is coming from record snowpack in the Rockies, in the long term, snow pack levels in the mountain range have been decreasing since the 1980s. The U.S. Geological Survey wanted to know how dramatic the current dip in levels is, so it looked back more than 1,000 years to gauge the long-term trend. Researchers examined hundreds of thousands of tree rings, which reflect winter snow accumulation. The result: snowpack levels are in the worst dip on record. There were two other periods of decline, one in 1300s, the other in the …

Sarah Palin's emails show that even in private that she's not Big Oil's best buddy. In Arizona, the population of two towns was allowed to return home, and firefighters said they were more confident about containing the fire. Obama is visiting an LED manufacturer before convening his jobs council today; NPR asks if investing in clean energy is a gamble the U.S. should take. Grist says: Yes, duh. The Rockies are losing snowpack at an "almost unprecedented" rate. The Texas drought is hurting even oil and gas interests. (Maybe this is how action on climate change starts — when its …

Men and women probably do make passes at people who use their sunglasses purchase to provide someone in the developing world with vision surgery, eye care, or glasses. Okay, the scansion needs a little work, but the point is that buy-one-give-one shoe company TOMS is expanding into eyewear, and the concept's pretty sexy, and so are the shades. There are 284 million people in the world who are visually impaired, and at least 39 million who are blind. Most blindness-causing conditions are preventable or treatable, but many people can't afford the eye care they need, or the glasses that would …

Bike lanes and bike riders may be controversial, but bikes as an image are marketing gold right now. Want to sell it? Put a bike on it! Transportation Nation found bikes for sale or used as display elements at Kate Spade, CB2, Club Monaco, Anthropologie, the Gap, Urban Outfitters, and Brooklyn Industries. Sure, those bikes are being used to move whatever consumerist crap people are hawking. But on the flip side, the consumerist crap is also kind of selling the bike. If bikes are promoted as the image of coolness all over your favorite trendy store, you might just start …

Excited about your inevitable solar panels, but concerned they'll clash with your decor? Qsolar has you covered, you fashion victim. Their colored solar panels aren't just for the roof -- they can be integrated into the design of a building as cool-looking and functional walls or (semi-transparent) windows.

Like a shortage of bikes in a new bike sharing project, congestion in bike lanes is a problem cities should want to have, at least temporarily. And Montreal has that problem! So many people have begun using the city's most popular bike routes that more than 20 bikes often get backed up at red lights. Traffic on some bike paths has quintupled. And bike advocates and cyclists are beginning to push for more major bike lanes. No one wants to wait in traffic, but it's great to see that level of enthusiasm for cycling, even in a city known for …