In this article, Deneen Borelli argues that elite environmentalists are blocking access to natural resources that are abundant and in urgent need. As a result, higher costs of stricter energy requirements hit poor black communities the hardest.
"Despite the hype about wind power and boasts about other renewable energy sources, 85 percent of our nation's energy comes from fossil fuels. Energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar only currently provide about 7 percent of our power and cannot replace fossil fuels anytime soon.
In its September 2008 report, the federal Energy Information Agency predicted a 25 percent rise in heating oil prices and a 17 percent rise in natural gas prices this winter as well as a 9.5 percent projected increase in electricity costs in 2009. Adding to that, gasoline still hovers near $4 a gallon, and the public demands more domestic energy production. A recent Rasmussen poll of likely voters found that 67 percent supported new offshore fossil fuel exploration.
Our nation is blessed with an abundant supply of natural resources. The problem is that Congress, at the demand of Club Green, blocks access to these resources at the peril of families.
What's disturbing is that, like Gore, many of Club Green's leaders are among the elite. They are the wealthy, famous, politically-connected and largely immune to the sticker shock of high energy costs. "
Read the full story: It Takes Green to Go Green
The Tulsa Race Massacre: A Century Later
On the hundred-year anniversary of the violence that destroyed Tulsa's "Black Wall Street," the country is finally reckoning with the legacy of one of the most destructive racially motivated riots in U.S. history.
Inside the National Museum of African American History
Sights and scenes from the inside of Washington, D.C.'s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Gentrification and the Bay Area's Controversial Growth Management Plan
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
California, Hawaii, Rhode Island approve housing propositions
Hawaii and Rhode Island each approved their sole proposition, while California approved two of its three.
Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review
Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority