Report: 'Green' jobs in Hawaii to rise 26 percent

32 states borrow billions from feds to cover unemployment benefits...
BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - Hawaii has applied to be the 32nd state to borrow from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to pay state Unemployment Benefits. Hawaii will temporarily take up to $30 million this December to cover payments to the state’s 17,000 unemployed workers who lost their jobs within the last 26 weeks. That is the beginning of what will likely be an 18-month borrowing streak, says State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Interim D...

Tide turns against corn ethanol
Biofuel subsidy sees limited extension in US tax bill as opposition grows. Buffeted by the economic crisis and a drop in the oil price, US producers of corn Ethanol are encountering increasing scepticism from the legislators on Capitol Hill even as producers of the 'greener' cellulose-derived Ethanol struggle to move beyond basic research and development. Producers of Ethanol from corn (maize) starch got what they needed out of a tax package enacted by the US Congress last week: a year's extens...

Opposing View on Energy: Subsidies? Just Say No
The problem with Electric Vehicles can be summed up with one word: subsidies. Subsidies are prima facie evidence that consumers would not buy the product at its market price. Subsidies distort markets, compromising Economic Growth, and are simply wealth transfers. This particular wealth transfer (up to $8,500 for today's Electric Cars and home charging equipment) is highly regressive, robbing from the poor to help a few greenies burnish their green credentials. Deloitte Consulting surveyed...

Reducing (massive) fossil-fuel subsidies as key as carbon price in the climate fight
This post originally appeared on the Great Energy Challenge blog, in partnership with National Geographic and Planet Forward. In a low-key way, the last few days at COP-16 accomplished more than I have seen at a COP climate meeting for some time (and I have been attending them for over a decade now). For example, there have been a series of business-led discussions and proposals on how to develop energy-efficiency master plans at all levels -- company, municipality, and country. An exciting asp...

Does big wind suck or blow
Image by twicepix via Flickr A reader sends the following info on the current state of the Wind Energy business: Wind produces about 1% of our energy. O&G produces a combined 62% of our domestic energy needs. The wind industry claims to employ 85,000 people. O&G directly employs over 2 million and supports over 9 million jobs domestically. Wind just got a 1-year extension to a $3 billion grant in the Tax Cut deal, and "Clean Energy" got more than $30 billion in the 2009 stimulus ($475,...

Malavika Jain Bambawale: Access to power would spark an economic revolution for many
There are close to 1.5 billion people globally without access to electricity. Unfortunately, in today's world it is almost impossible to find viable income-generating activities without access to electricity. Renewable Energy technologies (RETs) are invaluable to those who live outside the boundaries of Power Grids. The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century estimates that there are tens of millions of rural households served by renewable en ADVERTISEMENT ergy globally - a mere d...

Renewables forcing consumer energy price rise in Oregon
Come New Year’s, better strip the lights off the house and the Christmas Tree ASAP. Customers of Pacific Power will see their electric rates spike 14.5 percent in January. The increase comes in a one-two punch: an 8.4 percent general rate increase state utility Regulators approved Friday, and a 6.1 percent increase for increased power costs they are expected to approve Dec. 28. Both take effect Jan. 1. Meanwhile, customers of the state’s largest electric utility, Portland General Ele...

NY, NJ Renege On Green Energy Pledges
Two of the 10 Northeast states that agreed to dedicate millions of dollars to reduce Carbon Emissions and promote green energy have reneged on their promise, instead diverting substantial funds to saving their Budgets. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Two of the 10 Northeast states that agreed to dedicate millions of dollars to reduce Carbon Emissions and promote green energy have reneged on their promise, instead diverting substantial funds to saving their Budgets. New York and New Jersey over the pa...

Lomborg Replies to Dot Earth Readers
Bjorn Lomborg, the Danish writer who has built a career around challenging worst-case depictions of Global Warming and other environmental problems, has sent short video responses to the six most-recommended reader questions from my post about “Cool It,” the documentary on his work. (I apologize for the delay in getting these on the blog. The news flow, and my academic work, kept pushing this post back.) Some of the questions were longish, so I’m including introductory lines a...

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Funds Raided By States To Balance Budgets
CONCORD, N.H. — Two of the 10 Northeast states that agreed to dedicate millions of dollars to reduce Carbon Emissions and promote green energy have reneged on their promise, instead diverting substantial funds to saving their Budgets. New York and New Jersey over the past year have raided accounts set up under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first mandatory U.S. cap-and-trade program for Carbon Dioxide. The accounts were created to pay for Energy Efficiency programs aimed at ...

3 states in regional compact raid pollution funds
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Two of the 10 Northeast states that agreed to dedicate millions of dollars to reduce Carbon Emissions and promote green energy have reneged on their promise, instead diverting substantial funds to saving their Budgets. New York and New Jersey over the past year have raided accounts set up under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first mandatory U.S. cap-and-trade program for Carbon Dioxide. The accounts were created to pay for Energy Efficiency programs aimed ...

Actor Injured in Fall During 'Spider-Man' Performance
An actor playing Spider-Man was injured during a performance of the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” on Monday night. Above, an image from a video taken by a New York Times reader. An actor performing in the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” was injured during a performance Monday night, according to the police and several witnesses. Theatergoers who attended Monday’s performance of “Spider-Man,” a $65 million musical featu...

Megan Fox Marries Brian Austin Green in Hawaii
It took two Engagements, but Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green finally made it legal. Reports the couple were married at the Four Seasons Hotel resort last weekend while vacationing on the big island of Hawaii were confirmed to PEOPLE early Tuesday. "Yes they are married," a rep for Fox says. Fox, 24, and Green, 36, who met in 2004, initially got engaged in November 2006, only to call it off in February 2009. At the time, a source said the decision was "mutual." PHOTOS: Surprise! We're Married...

From laughing to judging in fifty years
A new study from NBC reveals how emotions generated from TV shows have mirrored American society. And 'judgment' is the current king of the charts. If you're on TV, whether in a drama or reality show, chances are that Americans are sitting on their couches, silently judging you. Those are the findings from a new study conducted by NBC Universal, which examined the top 20 broadcast programs (via Nielsen Ratings) of each year, over the past 50 years. NBC asked nearly 3,500 heavy TV-watchers, ages...

1 in 7 Americans rely on food stamps
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The use of Food Stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the Federal Government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population. The number of food stamp recipients increased 16% over last year. This means that 14% of the population is now living on food stamps. That's about 43 million people, or about one out of every seven Americans. Email Print Comment In some states, like Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon,...

1 in 7 Americans rely on food stamps
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The use of Food Stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the Federal Government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population. The number of food stamp recipients increased 16% over last year. This means that 14% of the population is now living on food stamps. That's about 43 million people, or about one out of every seven Americans. Email Print Comment In some states, like Tennessee, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon,...

McConnell slams START, but facts don't back him up - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com
WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell detailed Monday on the Senate floor his reasons for opposing New START, the nuclear arms reduction accord the Obama Administration negotiated with Russia. Many of his assertions don't check out. Here is an assessment of the case made by the Kentucky Republican and other critics for opposing passage of the treaty by the lame-duck Senate. -"First and foremost, a decision of this magnitude should not be decided under the pressure of a deadline...

The War Against Israel
[Editor's note: Below is the transcript -- and video -- of a distinguished panel discussing the threat that Israel faces at David Horowitz's Restoration Weekend in Palm Beach, Nov. 18-21.] The first words I offer of this important serious panel are simply celebration of Israel — its history, its meaning, its presence, its Democracy, its gifts to the world, its humanitarianism, and its moral and Military alliance with the United States.  Nevertheless, unfortunately, we gather this Sab...

US orders nearly all personnel out of Ivory Coast (AP)
WASHINGTON – The State Department is ordering most of its personnel to leave Ivory Coast because of what officials are calling a deteriorating political and security situation and growing anti-Western sentiment. The order issued Sunday exempts only the State Department's emergency personnel. U.S. officials are also warning all American Citizens to avoid travel to the West African nation until further notice. The U.S. Embassy's Consular Section in Ivory Coast's largest city, Abidjan, has ...

R.I. DEM adjusts deer-hunting season, opens new areas to help reduce population, and ecological damage
Deer take to the open areas at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown. Want to see deer? Visit the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown at dawn or dusk. Dozens of deer often emerge from the thick brush and stroll across the lawns or down the paths by the rugged shoreline. The problem is, too many people in Rhode Island are seeing deer under more unpleasant circumstances. Farmers are watching them destroy their crops. Foresters are viewing the destruction of plant ...

U.S. welcomes U.N. counter-terrorism move
Published: Dec. 21, 2010 at 2:29 PM WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A counter-terrorism measure passed by the U.N. Security Council reinforces key elements of U.S. Foreign Policy, a U.S. State Department spokesman said. The U.N. Security Council extended the Counter-terrorism Committee Executive Directorate through 2013 in a unanimous vote. The committee was established after al-Qaida attacks launched on U.S. targets on Sept. 11, 2011, by Resolution 1373, which calls on Member States to criminalize...

R.I. DEM adjusts deer-hunting season, opens new areas to help reduce population, and ecological damage
Deer take to the open areas at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown. Want to see deer? Visit the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown at dawn or dusk. Dozens of deer often emerge from the thick brush and stroll across the lawns or down the paths by the rugged shoreline. The problem is, too many people in Rhode Island are seeing deer under more unpleasant circumstances. Farmers are watching them destroy their crops. Foresters are viewing the destruction of plant ...

QDDR -- No bull's-eye, but generally on-target
On Dec. 15, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rolled out the State Department's first ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) at an internal town hall meeting -- a year behind schedule. No surprise, it turns out to be more of a Public Relations document than a disciplined strategic review. Yet if it doesn't score a bull-eye, the QDDR at least hits an outer ring by describing an ambitious and needed reform agenda. Quadrennial reviews -- used by the Department of Defense since 1...

New communications director for the Department of Education
Hilary McLean - who has spent the last seven years as Press Secretary to state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell and Communications Director for the State Department of Education - is leaving government to join a private consulting firm, the agency announced today. Incoming state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson has tapped Paul Hefner as his communications director. Hefner has worked at Ogilvy Public Relations and on the staffs of Assembly Speakers Herb Wesson and Bob Hertzberg and Sta...

Willful Blinders at the State Department
Last week, the Miller-McCune blog posted a report concerning the trend among Secular European governments to provide public funds to build and support Mosques within their countries. The operative theory behind this public financing of Islam is to replace the mostly radical clerics who espouse Islamic Extremism throughout much of Western Europe with more moderate, government-approved and funded versions. "A glamorous French-funded mosque, goes the logic, is better than a back-alley prayer room ...