Rainforest Action Network: Energy

Energy

Electrical consumption is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in the United States. Coal is the dirtiest form of energy, yet it supplies more than half of the country's electricity—and we continue to burn more of it each year. It’s time to fund our nation's future by diverting money away from new coal-fired power plants and into energy efficiency initiatives and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Such sound investments would allow the U.S. to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 and obtain 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.

Transportation is the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas pollution in the United States. Americans use more gasoline per capita than residents of any other country, due largely to the fact that American automakers are producing vehicles that are less fuel-efficient than the cars that were on the road 30 years ago. RAN is pushing for dramatically increased fuel-efficiency standards and the elimination of vehicle greenhouse gases.

Get the truth about biofuels

Biofuels began with a great dream: making fuel from oil or plant waste. But when agribusinesses got involved, the dream went bad.

Biofuels made from recycled waste products differ greatly from agrifuels – agribusinesses’ industrial alternative. To meet increasing demand for these fuels, U.S. agribusinesses are destroying pristine ecosystems to make way for palm and soy plantations. Clearing the rainforest furthers global warming by releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and threatens to increase world hunger by diverting crops from food. Don’t support biofuels that come from newly cleared rainforests.

Agribusiness in the Rainforest: Stories from Frontline Communities

Energy

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Coal is over, fund the future

Wind and solar power, energy efficiency, a green energy grid—these are our energy future. It’s time to end dirty coal development and invest in sustainable solutions.

Coal is the country's largest, dirtiest source of electricity and climate-changing greenhouse gases. U.S. coal plants are a leading cause of asthma and lung cancer. Despite what the coal industry would have us believe, there’s no such thing as “clean coal.” RAN is calling for a complete halt to new coal development and demanding that banks divert funding away from coal and into renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power and energy efficiency initiatives.

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Spread the word about the destructive impact of tar sands development

The desperate scramble for dirty oil in Canada's tar sands is pushing a massive expansion of pipelines throughout North America. Learn how to take action in your community.

Use our fact sheets to spread the word in your community about what many have called the most destructive industrial project on earth.

Help stop the Tar Sands
Banking in Canada? Investigate your bank at climatefriendlybanking.com.

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Follow the money

Banks and governments plan to invest $300 billion in coal and oil projects through 2015. Learn about the carbon footprint of Canadian bank financing of fossil fuels at climatefriendlybanking.com.

Got something to say? Use our email alerts to demand clean fuels from Congress.

Help RAN follow the money on SourceWatch, a research wiki for activists and journalists.

Calculate the carbon footprint of your Canadian bank checking account and switch to a low carbon bank.

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Build support for good alternatives to oil

America can no longer afford the risks associated with our oil addiction. The auto industry has myriad options at its disposal to lead us into an oil-free, pollution-free 21st century.

Mass production of fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid electric vehicles powered by clean, cheap, domestic electricity is one way to wean America off oil. Using existing technology to improve the efficiency of traditional internal combustion engines is another. There's no shortage of options that, if adopted, will pay huge dividends for the environment and the climate.