St. Petersburg, Florida this week became the 20th U.S. city to commit to transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy – and is using oil spill settlement funds to do so.
The city council voted unanimously on the change, allocating $250K of BP Oil Spill settlement funds to an “Integrated Sustainability Action Plan” (ISAP), which will chart a roadmap to the complete use of renewable energy in Saint Petersburg.
Recent contributions totaling $60 million dollars to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign -- including a hefty donation from former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg -- are angering the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which calls the campaign an attack on coal miners and their families.
A group of national and regional environmental organizations has sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry urging the State Department to be thorough in its review process of the proposed Alberta Clipper expansion by evaluating the cumulative climate impacts of this project along with the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and other foreseeable tar sands pipeline proposals.