It began with measuring the school's carbon footprint.  That was in 2007 as part of what they called the Cool Schools Challenge, which a Redmond teacher and group of students established with help from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and Puget Sound Energy.  They got training in conducting energy audits and learned ways that teachers and students could reduce greenhouse gases.

Marcy Wheeler, writing at FireDogLake, provides the best description of the new Fuel Efficiency Standards for cars and trucks going forward, as presented by the Administration.   Here's the core agreement:  "Everyone (the companies, the states that wanted higher standards, and the EPA) agrees to one nationwide standard that will be in effect through 2016. And in exchange, CA will drop its push for its own state standards and the standards will be slightly postponed (though the outcome by 2016 will be roughly the same)."

Energy Northwest, a non-for-profit agency that provides 1,300 megawatts of non-fossil fuel energy to 24 public power utilities and municipalities in the Northwest, has added biomass to their mix of nuclear, hydro, solar, and wind energy.  They signed an agreement with ADAGE, a joint venture between AREVA of France and Duke Energy to construct biomass power plants in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.  ADAGE will be working with local communities to explore potential development sites.  Biomass plants utilize tree trimmings and damaged trees as well as residual wood waste from our forest floors.

One of my favorite writers on energy-related issues, A. Siegel, wrote a piece at DailyKos describing a set of low tech energy-saving solutions that will alter the lives of poor people around the world.  These are things like solar powered lighting that replaces kerosene, wood cooking stoves that use biomass instead of wood, and radios that use renewable energy.  Add in business models that utilize micro-loans that enable people to buy, for example, solar energy, battery, light combinations for $25 and make more money immediately because they can work into the evenings later.  People buy them because they meet a need at an affordable price and pay for themselves in a few months. 

Washington State researchers have developed a Smart Charger Controller that recharges electric cars at the best and cheapest time.  The Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland has developed this grid-friendly new technology to be ready as electric cars come onto the market.  According to the PNNL, "owners program the controller to charge at a specific time of day or night or at a set price point. The controller uses a low-range wireless technology to communicate with the power grid and determine the best and cheapest time to recharge vehicles. By charging vehicles during off-peak times, the controller saves consumers money."

UPS' hybrid trucks, Walmart's hybrid trucks, London's hybrid buses and now hybrid school buses.  Yeah!  A. Siegel, DailyKos blogger who writes on energy and energy policy issues, has a post discussing the $10 million the Department of Energy just set aside for another round of plug-in school bus improvement along with funding another 60 buses for testing.  There has been a Plug-In Hybrid Electric (PHEB), school bus program for awhile.