The new report found that North Carolina has a lot of solar energy potential due to its “vast” solar energy intensity (which is nearly as much as Florida’s) combined with other economic, policy and technological factors.

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This facility is PSEG Solar Source’s first large-scale solar project. It is one of the largest solar projects in the state of New Jersey, which is already 2nd only to California in its amount of installed solar capacity. The MARS headquarters adjacent to the solar garden is the workplace of about 1,200 employees and is where M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies are manufactured.

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Brave New Films has just created this short video which clearly exposes the utter hypocrisy and obdurate cruelty of Republican health care “efforts”. I commend Congressman Grayson for his honesty and bravery. It is so incredibly rare and refreshing to hear one of our nation’s elected officials actually speak the truth and call out divisive Republicans on their bald-faced lies and obstruction.

Ironically, as I am writing this I am at present a patient at UCSF Medical Center, one of the best hospitals in the country. Three days ago I just had a big scary surgery, and have been receiving amazingly great health care, for which I am immensely grateful. Thanks to the visionary Tom Ammiano, San Francisco, unlike nearly every other place in the United States, provides universal health care coverage for all of its residents. It is now time that the rest of the nation does the same. Health care is a human right, not a privilege.

Global Solar Center just finished a comprehensive, 50-state survey of solar incentives and adoption. Who leads the nation? It is surprising. As they say, it is the states who were “solar laggards” that are now “solar leaders”. But incentives aren’t the only issue.

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A 150 lb feral pig has emerged as an unlikely hero after evading capture by the authorities in Florida for an incredible five months.

The pig, dubbed ‘Wilbur’ or the ‘freedom pig’ by supporters, has survived being shot with tranquiliser darts and a taser stun gun since first appearing in a park in the Cove neighbourhood of Panama City.

Last week, Mary Sittman a follower on the “Pig of the Cove” Facebook group launched to chronicle the pig’s adventures asked, “Is the pig a symbol of our desire to live free of government controls?”

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If Florida embraced its solar and wind power potential and got 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, it would create 37,000 new jobs, generate more than $16 billion in economic activity by 2025, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 319 million tons, a new study commissioned by the state Department of Environmental Protection shows.

The just-released report examined 28 policy measures in Republican Gov. Charlie Crist’s 2008 Climate Action Plan, including the 20 percent by 2020 renewable electricity standard.

In all, it found that implementing the full Climate Action Plan could add almost 150,000 new jobs and bring almost $40 billion in increased economic activity to the Sunshine state.

Unfortunately, the Florida legislature undermined the governor’s efforts to turn that renewable energy standard into law this spring during what longtime observers of the statehouse said was one of the most dysfunctional and depressing legislative sessions in memory.

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Scientists found unusually high levels of flame retardant in dolphin blubber.

The closer the dolphins lived to downtown Miami, the more of the chemical was concentrated in them. The flame retardant can cause sterility in dolphins. Brominated flame retardants are applied to furniture, clothes and electronics to prevent them from burning. They also help slow the ignition of items that are in a burning room.

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Humane Association of Wildlife Care and Education (H.A.W.K.E.) is a not-for-profit group that rehabilitates rescued animals. They help injured animals like Patty, an orphaned baby river otter.

I have to admit here that I have often joked about wanting a pet otter. Raising a baby otter is little different in real life, though. According to H.A.W.K.E.’s website:

It takes over a year to raise and care for a baby otter and thousands of dollars in food. They have to stay inside in a incubator and kept warm and given a special otter formula milk when they are this small.

All of that care gets expensive! Combine that with rising food and gas prices, and H.A.W.K.E. is in desperate need of support! If you want to help H.A.W.K.E. take care of Patty and the other critters they’ve rescued there are a few things you can do to help:

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Every year, more schools across the country are doing their part to protect Mother Earth by practicing green initiatives that conserve energy, cut their carbon dioxide footprints and promote environmental awareness.

Public and private schools across Miami-Dade County are following suit.

Environmental studies are also being worked into the curriculum of several schools, including three new ones opening in the fall: a K-8 center in Homestead, a high school in North Miami and another high school in Kendall, which will be the first LEED-certified school in Miami-Dade, meaning the school meets the national standards for green construction.

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Congressman Alcee Hastings recently wrote a letter addressed to President Obama regarding the extremely small population of wild panthers living precariously in south Florida.

He spoke of the two main threats to the critically endangered animal - habitat loss and death from car accidents - in order to underscore the need for designating a protected space for them. His letter was signed by four other Democratic Florida Representatives: Corrine Brown, Robert Wexler, Alan Grayson, and Ron Klein. 

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Not only will Babcock Ranch, the planned community near Fort Myers, run on solar, the 75 Megawatt photovoltaic power facility they’re planning will produce more power than residents will use. The facility will be the world’s largest, at 350 acres. Developer Kitsch & Partners hopes the community will demonstrate that sustainable living is not just feasible but economically practical.

Check out some awesome renderings of the community!

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The first 100% solar powered city in the U.S. is in the works, and will be powered by the world’s largest photovoltaic plant.

The eco-city, called Babcock Ranch, is a joint venture between a real estate developer, Kitson & Partners, and Florida Power & Light, and will be located near Fort Myers, Florida.

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Two years later, they’re not only still in business; they’re profitable.

In a brief interview with the Naples (Florida) Daily News, Snyder and Brinkman note that green cleaning isn’t just about jumping on a bandwagon: Snyder notes that their services can contribute to better indoor air quality (and fewer employee sick days), and can also contribute to LEED certification points. In the end, though, their most effective pitch involves cost savings: the two entrepreneurs have made sure to keep prices affordable while maintaining high green standards for their clients, and in their own operations.

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“If you are standing in front of a large snake right now don’t panic…” 

So says the greeting message for the Florida Keys python hotline, 888-IVE-GOT1. Over the years enough pet Burmese pythons in south Florida have been released into the wild that one National Park Service scientist has estimated now there could be as many as 30,000 of them in the Everglades National Park area. (Between 1996 and 2006 about 99,000 were imported into the United States).

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Scientists in Florida have come up with a strange way to stop crocodiles from crawling into cities and towns.

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is testing a program to strap magnets onto the heads of crocodiles that wander into developed areas, saying the magnet could “break the homing cycle” and prevent them from returning.

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Wrong.

The so-called feed-in tariff will guarantee payment for any power produced over the subsequent 20 years.

For some, the feed-in tariff is a long time coming. Advocates see the immediate potential the policy mechanism can have on growing renewable energy generation, as well as the impact said growth can have on the burgeoning solar, wind, and other clean energy industries.

Feed-in tariffs have been responsible for meteoric rise in renewable energy generation and the industries supporting it in Germany, Spain, and Denmark, but they have yet to take hold in the U.S., largely because of the fragmented nature of our electricity generation and transmission.

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After camping near the Barley Barber Swamp for a week, 17 activists were arrested yesterday for trespassing and resisting arrest. The group, all members of Everglades Earth First!, say they were camping out to convince Florida Power & Light to open the swamp to the public due to increasing concerns that their nearby coal plant is draining the swamp of its water.

According to Earth First!, independent scientific studies have shown the swamp’s water level to be decreasing dramatically every year, but FPL denies the accusation and says they have maintained appropriate water levels under an agreement with the South Florida Water Management District.

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That’s just what one Florida-based company, Dreamscapes, located in Wesley Chapel, is doing. The seller of sex toys, videos, books and other sex-related products has launched a company-wide “Commitment to Green.” The initiative involves not only eco-friendly office lighting and paper and battery recycling, but a “Recycle Your Sex Toy” program.

Here’s how it works:

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