QUICK NEWS, February 16: MILITARY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE; THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SOLAR; UTILITY BACKS EV CHARGERS

MILITARY TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE U.S. military to assess and manage risks of climate change

Susan Grigsby, February 14, 2016 (Daily Kos)

“…The military is capable of doing a competent job of protecting the environment at the same time that it is training its forces for combat…Which is why the uproar on the right over the latest Department of Defense (DoD) directive is rather insulting to our military forces…Last summer, the Pentagon issued a response to a congressional inquiry on the National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate. In the introduction, the seriousness of climate change is made clear…And in the conclusion, the security threat represented by climate change is reiterated, and a plan to address the risk is promised…In a directive released last month—and much to the dismay of the climate change deniers—[DoD’s Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience establishes a plan to] identify and assess the effects of climate change on their mission…” click here for more

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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SOLAR 5 Facts You Didn't Know About Solar Energy; While oil prices have been falling solar energy has become a real force in the energy business.

Travis Hoium, February 13, 2016 (Motley Fool)

“…[Five things you need to know about solar: 1-Households in most of the Southwestern and Northeastern U.S. can] go solar for $0…The booming residential solar market has been driven by $0-down [purchase and lease agreements from companies like] SolarCity or Sunrun…[2-Utility-scale contracts from companies like First Solar] are coming in at $0.05 per kWh or less in sunny locations, which is competitive with the costs to generate electricity from fossil fuels…[B]etween 2009 and 2014, the cost of an industry-leading utility-scale solar power plant has fallen more than 50%...[3-Over] 1% of all electricity produced in the U.S. [in 2015] came from solar energy…[4-Solar energy production comes in all sizes…[SunPower is both building the world's largest solar power plant and selling solar cells to companies that make personal chargers…[5-There's enough solar energy hitting Earth every hour to replace every barrel of oil, every lump of coal, and every other energy source used on earth for an entire year…” click here for more

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UTILITY BACKS EV CHARGERS Power company proposes hundreds of electric car charging stations across Eastern Washington

February 14, 2016 (AP via Fox News)

“…[Avista Utilities] is asking [the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission] to approve a two-year pilot program [to install 265 charging stations for electric cars in eastern Washington state citing environmental benefits, fuel cost savings and vehicle performance as benefits of the plan…[The utility] estimates it will cost about $3.1 million to put the charging stations in 120 homes, 100 work places, and 45 public locations…[Avista will be ready to begin installations] in May if the plan is approved.” click here for more

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