Open thread for night owls: States rejecting ALEC's attack on renewable energy standards

We could all use a bit of good news, right? John Upton at Grist provides some by pointing to a victory for renewables and a defeat for those fun fellows at American Legislative Exchange Council:

State laws requiring utilities to sell a certain percentage of clean energy have been attacked across the nation over the past year. But these renewable portfolio standards have been holding their own just fine. Not only were all of the legislative efforts to roll back such standards defeated, but some states actually strengthened their laws, requiring still more clean energy to flow through the grid. From Bloomberg: None of the 26 bills to roll back requirements passed before most state legislature sessions ended, according to a July 9 report from Colorado State University?s Center for the New Energy Economy. Eight states voted to strengthen or modify laws that require utilities to purchase electricity produced from renewable sources. Challenges to so-called renewable portfolio standards in effect in 30 states have increased since the lobby group American Legislative Exchange Council released model legislation in October that state lawmakers are using as a blueprint to try to water down rules supporting wind and solar energy. ?There was a big push to slow down progress after ALEC got involved but the momentum is in renewable energy?s favor,? Adam Browning, executive director of the San Francisco-based Vote Solar Initiative, said ? in an interview. ?Poll after poll shows that Americans want clean, renewable energy and support these policies.?

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Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2004?Another egg on face of IL GOP:

The beaten Illinois Republican Party, desperate to find a candidate for its Senate race to lose to Barack Obama, had turned its eyes toward "drug warrior" Andrea Grubb Barthwell (an ?obvious Rove choice). Except that she might actually make disgraced former candidate Jack Ryan look good. In front of her staff, Andrea Grubb Barthwell made repeated comments about the sexual orientation of a staff member and used a kaleidoscope to make sexually offensive gestures, according to the findings of a March 19, 2003, "hostile workplace memorandum" prepared by drug policy office staff. The Associated Press obtained the memorandum.

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Tweet of the Day:

I like when people who defended Dick Cheney foreign policy call #TrayvonMartin a 'thug.'
? @JohnFugelsang

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On today's Kagro in the Morning show, lots from Greg Dworkin, Armando and Meteor Blades. Greg tipped us off to the Brookings essay, "The Promise: The Families of Sandy Hook and the Long Road to Gun Safety." But mostly, it was about the aftermath of the Zimmerman trial and the killing of Trayvon Martin. The state of the legal system, the nature of "shoot first" laws, militarized response to even non-violent mass public reaction, and more. Also: more "nuclear option" details in advance of tomorrow's expected trigger, and we set the table for further discussion of the ongoing Snowden/NSA affair.

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High Impact Posts. Top Comments.

Originally posted to Daily Kos on Mon Jul 15, 2013 at 08:30 PM PDT.

Also republished by Good News.

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Source: http://rss.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/wJig_mbI80A/-Open-thread-for-night-owls-States-rejecting-ALEC-s-attack-on-renewable-energy-standards

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