Check out Climate Central’s new wind energy widget showing just how much wind power potential each state has.
Some Key Highlights Include:
Texas alone could provide more electricity from wind power than the whole nation currently uses.
New Jersey could power 7 percent of total US energy use just by placing wind turbines offshore.
The Great Plains could replace corn with wind as it’s main energy export within the next 50 years. (Corn is currently used to produce corn ethanol, a form of biofuel.)
From Boston to Washington D.C., anyone along the East Coast who spent time outside last Friday can tell you one thing: it was mighty hot out. And the meteorologists have confirmed the heat was record breaking!
In Newark, New Jersey, the temperature hit 108°F setting an all time high for the largest city in the state. Records were broken elsewhere around the state, with Trenton hitting 105°F beating a record held since 1926. Atlantic City, with temperatures of 104°F, smashed the previous record of 98°F, which was set in 1998.
Elsewhere along the coast, New York City hit its second highest temperature of all time at 104°F. A little farther north, both Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut set record highs at 103°F. The heat also extended south, and at Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport temperatures hit an all-time record high temperature of 106°F.
We wanted to get creative with how to convey the crazy heat. So, instead of asking people to take pictures of themselves, either in their bikinis by the pool or sporting newly minted sunburns, we opted for a collection of car dashboard photos, submitted by some of our readers.
Credit (Top to Bottom):
Antonia Hayward: Washington, DC
Rolando Pujol: Sleepy Hollow, NY
Alyson Kenward: Princeton, NJ
Neil Davis: Syracuse, NY
While Governor Christie and the New Jersey legislature continue to differ over whether the state should proceed with leaving the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Environment New Jersey (an environmental advocacy group) released some numbers regarding the benefits that RGGI has played in New Jersey and the various other states that encompass the program. RGGI is a program implemented by several northeastern states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while raising money for energy efficiency measures.
Gov. Christie contends that it is ineffective and expensive, while environmental groups say it has benefitted both the environment and state economies.
$872 million: What has been raised for the states in 11 carbon credit auctions held so far.
$440 million: What the states have invested in energy efficiency projects using proceeds from the auctions.
$2.6 billion: Estimated increase in gross state product (the total output of a state’s economy) in member states through spending of RGGI funds.
$209.9 million: Estimated increase in gross state product in New Jersey through spending of RGGI funds.
184 million: The peak in carbon dioxide emissions in tons by the 10 states, which occurred in 2005.
$35 million: Total amount of money invested in clean energy in New Jersey from RGGI funds.
$90 million: Estimated energy savings in New Jersey through money spent on energy efficiency.
2 percent: What power plants in RGGI contribute to the national total of greenhouse gas emissions.
(Source: s.tt)
