The 1st ever US Social Forum kicked off in Atlanta on Wednesday. Before the Social Forum began. RAN’s grassroots organizing team organized a youth action camp that was phenomenal. 25 or so RAN/RYSE activists joined staff for 4 days of workshops on strategy, anti-oppression and RAN campaigns in general. A community developed [...]

This article in the Guardian lays out why the recent push on the part of the coal lobby for government coal-to-liquid subsidies is such a crock. Some basic math indicates that even if the only concern were so-called “energy independence,” it still wouldn’t make much sense. And although the industry is simultaneously asking taxpayers to [...]

Former EPA director Christine Whitman is having a rough time lately. She was appointed by Bush to head the environmental agency, until she abruptly resigned in 2003. A few weeks ago, scandal broke around statements she had made to the public shortly after Sept 11th – declaring the air quality in NY was “Safe to [...]

Early 2007 has seen a sea change in the movement for a moratorium on coal. While there are still approximately 140 proposed coal plants on the drawing board in the U.S., the hurdles facing coal development are growing. The fight against new coal has taken off with local community groups fighting coal development in their [...]

We here at RAN join the Grist crew in being underwhelmed by the new energy bill. Requiring 35 mpg fleet fuel economy in a decade or so is a modest improvement, sure. But plug-in hybrids—hybrids that allow you to recharge from the electrical grid in addition to generating electricity from gasoline—already get around 80 mpg. [...]

“You can’t save the Earth unless you’re willing to make other people sacrifice.“

Joe Brewer at the Rockridge Institute just posted an interesting analysis of the energy debate in this country. Even though one finds a lot of rhetorical similarities between conservative and progressive approaches the problem of energy, the underlaying frames — their hidden assumptions and values — differ greatly. The post correctly identifies biofuels as an [...]

On Monday of this week, Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, announced the launch of their 10 million dollar plug-in hybrid electric vehicle initiative (RechargeIT), and unveiled the largest solar charging station in the country. Google’s support of plug-in hybrid technology gives a healthy boost to the movement to demonstrate that plug-in cars are viable, marketable [...]

On Saturday June 9th RAN activists headed to Sacramento to protest Pardee Homes’ newest developments at Poppylane and Cottonwood. The action was great – we spent most of the morning and afternoon talking to Pardee employees, potential home buyers and passers by about the environmental destruction and human rights abuses caused by Pardee’s parent [...]

we may face a scorched and lifeless earth. but they’re accountable to their shareholders first. thats how the world works. - Propagandhi I got to spend the last week touring with a band called Propagandhi. video 1 – ranting