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Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant
The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.
Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall
These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.
A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool
Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

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New Energy Efficiency Rules Will Cut Carbon & Lower Costs

Expert BlogCaliforniaLara Ettenson, Mohit Chhabra

With the sixth annual Energy Efficiency Day planned for Wednesday, it’s a good time to remember that efficiency is one of the most effective ways to fight dangerous climate pollution and catalyze action to address historic underinvestment in vulnerable communities.

Many States Lead on Energy Efficiency; More Needed

Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Ettenson
Clean energy, including energy efficiency, has struggled to maintain momentum in a year marked by a global pandemic, racial and social unrest, economic hardship, and subsequent recession.

High-Quality Jobs Help Protect the Planet

Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Ettenson, Marc Boom

The coronavirus pandemic has illustrated the drastic inequities in our society, and it’s decimated the workforce across the board. More than 20 million people are unemployed, most of them Black and Latino. Losses through June exceeded 400,000 jobs across the…

How to Plan for Equitable Energy Efficiency in a Pandemic

Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Ettenson
As the ongoing pandemic further exacerbates racial and economic disparities across America, it is important to examine whether programs aimed at helping utility customers cut energy waste are reaching everyone.

Federal Energy Efficiency: Promoting Equity and the Planet

Expert BlogUnited StatesKhalil Shahyd, Lara Ettenson
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately affect low-income communities of color and threatens to plunge our economy deeper into a recession at a time when many families and communities are already struggling to meet basic needs. The federal government should…

Energy Efficiency Reform Is Needed to Reach All Communities

Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Ettenson
As energy efficiency advocacy intersects housing, energy, and employment systems built on policies that disproportionately burden low-income people and communities of color, it’s important to ask: how are energy efficiency policies, programs, and processes perpetuating inequities from systemic racism and…

Energy Efficiency Can Help Us Emerge from the Pandemic

Expert BlogLara Ettenson
Energy efficiency policy may seem far removed from the immediate need to support COVID-19 pandemic frontline workers and lift up people struggling to pay their bills in this devastating health and economic crisis. But energy-saving programs can help make buildings…

The Time Is Now to Stand with Clean Energy Workers

Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Ettenson
All sectors of the U.S. economy have been pummeled by the COVID-19 pandemic, making it critical to support all those whose jobs have been affected, such as by including worker protections in federal stimulus packages.

More Proof of the Amazing Impact of Energy Efficiency

Expert BlogLara Ettenson
Energy efficiency – the quickest way to cut energy waste in our homes, workplaces, and vehicles – spans so many facets of daily life that it's easy to take it for granted. In fact, a new sweeping, data-driven report (Energy…

Cheers to 2019 Energy Efficiency Progress with More in 2020!

Expert BlogLara Ettenson
Reflecting on 2019, it is hard to grapple with the extent of this year’s climate tragedies like massive wildfires and flooding. Yet even when things seem as dire as ever, there is continual news of progress, perseverance, and hope. And…

California Sets a Bold Path for Energy Efficiency Innovation

Expert BlogLara Ettenson
Fighting the climate crisis requires new ideas to dramatically cut the dangerous pollution responsible for changing our environment and harming our health. The California Public Utilities Commission recently voted unanimously to do just that when it approved a decision and…

La eficiencia energética: la superheroína del planeta

Expert BlogInternationalLara Ettenson
En una era de cambio climático acelerado, cuando estamos presenciando incendios forestales, inundaciones, y tormentas sin precedentes, no existe un mejor momento para recordarle al mundo lo que la eficiencia energética ofrece para contrarrestar el cambio climático.

Energy Efficiency: The Planet’s Superhero

Expert BlogInternationalLara Ettenson
The fourth annual Energy Efficiency Day planned Wednesday reminds us energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest answer to fighting climate problems.

We Know How to Cut Climate Pollution But Need Political Will

Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Ettenson

According to a new analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)—Halfway There: Energy Efficiency Can Cut Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Half by 2050—the great news is that we already have the tools to affordably…

Clean Energy Jobs Still Lead, But Worker Diversity Needed

Expert BlogLara Ettenson
Government leaders looking to put people to work should set their sights on policies that boost clean energy―especially energy efficiency. That’s the lesson of a new, comprehensive report that found industries whose products cut energy waste are leading the entire…