58 percent of all cans recycled last year in the U.S., But…

Aluminum can recycling rates in the U.S. peaked at over 65 percent in 1994. At the time, the country was a world leader in the category. Times have changed.

In 2008, when the U.S. aluminum can recycling rate (more…)

As soon as gas prices rise, our nation becomes focused on energy. When they drop again, it falls off most consumers’ radar. Yet the importance of energy goes way beyond the cost of filling up your gas tank or paying your electric bill. In often-extraordinary ways, energy is interwoven into absolutely everything (more…)

On Feb. 14, U.S. Pres. Barack Obama made a proposal to Congress to raise 2012 budget funds for renewable energy research. He proposed paying for this budget increase by cutting subsidies for fossil fuels including gas and oil.

This budget increase comes at a rather sensitive time for the White House. (more…)

A state panel recommended that most of the proceeds from a proposed carbon tax in California, set to take effect in 2012, should be given back to consumers. The 16-member Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee, charged with figuring out the most cost-effective way to implement a tax on carbon emissions, threw its support behind a so-called “cap-and-dividend” approach.

Such a plan would set a steadily decreasing limit on CO2 releases by major emitters, place a price on carbon dioxide emissions, and then give most of the revenue back to citizens.

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