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Here's a breath of fresh air: Wind energy is blowing up. Thanks to President Obama's commitment to clean energy and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) incentives, wind power breezed to the top of the list of new electrical energy sources in the United States last year. Wind energy and natural gas accounted for 80% of new generating capacity created in 2009, according to a fourth-quarter report from the American Wind Energy Association. The U.S. wind sector added nearly 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity, blowing up previous industry records.

Wind sector outlook isn't completely balmy. Business Wire reports, "Recovery Act incentives spurred the growth of construction, operations and maintenance, and management jobs, helping the industry to save and create jobs in those sectors and shine as a bright spot in the economy. At the same time, the continuing lack of a long-term policy and market signal allowed investment in the manufacturing sector to drop compared to 2008, with one-third fewer wind power manufacturing facilities online, announced and expanded in 2009."

While China remains the world leader in wind energy, U.S. trends paint a bright picture for renewable energy. We've got a long way to go to catch up to their more robust power production—but the winds of change are blowing in!

(Photo credit:bluegum, SXC)

We're sure you've all heard the news on the climate change accord at Copenhagen: a last-minute deal that falls far short of both global consensus and original goals, leaving smaller nations and many environmentalists feeling betrayed. Emotion is still running high, fingers are being pointed every which way, and nobody seems quite sure whether the whole thing is a conservative success, a decent first step, a neutral flop, an outright failure or a political travesty and environmental tragedy.

Let's look at some of the recent analyses:

• Is the weak agreement Obama's fault? The European reporters I met wanted Obama to lead their nations—lead the world—when in reality he leads a country whose progress on climate change is many steps behind the developed world. (Grist)
• Renewable energy outlook brightens The wind market is heating up in India and China, and some see China solidifying its position as the world's renewable energy trend leader if the United States does not come up with a green energy policy. (Seeking Alpha)
• An outright failure Low targets and dropped goals make Copenhagen's weak agreement an outright failure. (The Guardian)
• What's missing from the current agreement? The most important part of this deal is what's not in it. Crucial unresolved questions will continue to dog climate negotiators into 2010 and beyond. (Treehugger)
• Improved position for Obama at home President Obama may have improved his chances for passing global warming legislation in the Senate by forging an interim international agreement here that puts both rich and poor countries on a path to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. (The New York Times)

It's hard to end the year on such a limp note. We have to hope that individual nations will honor the pledges they've made. We have to hope that these lukewarm results don't have a chilling effect on our ability to affect real change to the conundrum of climate change.

(Photo credit:america.gov, flickr)

From the Department of Oh, Really?: In case you didn't already have suspicions of your own, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that greenhouse gases are harmful to your health and to the environment. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson laid down the law in a press conference yesterday: "This administration will not ignore science or the law any longer, nor will we avoid the responsibility we owe to our children and grandchildren. Today, I’m proud to announce that EPA has finalized its endangerment finding on greenhouse gas pollution, and is now authorized and obligated to take reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse pollutants under the Clean Air Act."

We kinda dig Jackson. With the blessing of the Obama administration, she's not-so-quietly changing the face of the EPA from obstructor to facilitator. And this dog has teeth. Jackson and the EPA appear ready to chomp into growing an economy based on clean energy and shaking loose from our dependence on foreign oil.

As for climate change, Jackson has words about that as well. "But the overwhelming amounts of scientific study show that the threat is real – as does the evidence before our very eyes," she notes. "... After decades of this mounting evidence, climate change has now become a household issue. Parents across the United States and around the world are concerned for their children and grandchildren. Governments are investing billions in adaptation strategies. Businesses are investing billions in efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Military planners are projecting new hotspots of instability and conflict. They know that if we do not act to reduce greenhouse gases, the planet we leave to the next generation will be a very different place than the one we know today."

Onward!

(Photo credit:xymonau, SXC)

It's getting harder and harder to resist the urge to call President Barack Obama "Daddy Greenbucks." Especially today, when he announced that he's shelling out $3.4 billion in grants to build a smart energy grid that would bring our nation's antiquated electrical system into the digital, green and clean age.

Obama's big cash-money, and I mean big in a "largest-award-made-in-a-single day-from-the-$787-billion-stimulus-package" way, will:

1. Give far more than a face lift to our aging "dilapidated" electricity grid with the addition of 18 million digital smart home meters and reams of energy powered by renewable sources, like solar and wind energy. (But how and how soon can I get a a smart meter?! )
2. Create historically more watts than ever before with less impact on the climate. (Speaking of, the climate bill battle kicks off in the Senate today.)
3. Energize business for 100 green companies in 49 states with deep-green grants ranging from $400,000 to $200 million.
4. Inject tens of thousands of new green-collar jobs into the already-exploding green industry. Hey, kids, it's not too late to change your major.
5. Significantly reduce rolling blackouts (which we deserve and suffer plenty of in power-hungry Southern California).
6. Save some decent utility bill cash for America's energy vampire consumers, that is if we're smart, like this grid. (How? Basically, with the digital smart grid, electricity prices will increase when demand increases and decrease when demand decreases, empowering us to make better, more energy- and cost-efficient choices.)

The White House isn't so pallid white anymore, in all the very best ways—and none so inspiring to us here at Super Eco as its green initiatives. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the first family are very much walking the talk when it comes to taking care of the hearth of the nation in an eco-friendly, sustainable way. Now, the Obamas are taking aim at LEED certification for the White House itself. As the Green Guide reports:

According to government officials familiar with greening efforts, the Obama White House intends to be the first White House to earn LEED certification, a system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to measure and reward buildings and communities that implement green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

“LEED certification of the White House is absolutely possible and viable,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and president of USGBC, which has offered to help advise the White House on the process. However, Fedrizzi noted, it will not be easy because of the building’s historic status and the security required to protect the President and his family.

“A normal building is already a challenging assignment, and this is something that’s a historic structure, one of [the] nation’s most historic structures,” he says.

Here's something you may not realize: the Obamas didn't have to start from scratch to paint the White House a deeper shade of green. What the Obamas bring, though, is the interest, energy and fresh new faces it takes to color the White House and its activities a greener shade of sustainable.

• Victory for a White House garden
• The first garden: A fertile source of green ideas
• The first soil: Dirty business at the White House
• New White House chef is a lunch revolutionary
• Group urges first family to eat it (homegrown organic food, that is)

(Photo credit:The White House/Joyce N. Boghosian)