That’s the bad news. The good news is we can fix it with a smart approach to clean energy:

• “Output standards” for emissions, so that regulators look at how much pollution is released per unit of energy generated, rather than the current rule of basing it on how much fuel is used. This change would encourage efficiency rather than penalizing it.

Our own Tom Casten will lead a symposium on energy recycling at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Although conventional wisdom assumes that mitigating climate change will raise the cost of energy, this symposium will present a contrary view: that many proven technologies can substantially increase the efficiency of generating heat and power, cutting energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions simultaneously.

The event is entitled Gray Is the New Green: How Energy Recycling Curbs Both Global Warming and Power Costs. It will take place February 21 at 8:30am in San Diego.

The panelists include several renowned energy experts…

Our CEO Sean Casten gets political in his latest Grist post. The issue: What political barriers are keeping the U.S. from reforming its energy system?

Here at RED, we like to come up with good policy proposals that would allow the nation to mitigate climate change while slashing energy costs. But politics can throw a monkey wrench into the most finely reasoned policy argument. Read Sean’s take on the policy fixes needed to unleash clean energy.

Melissa Mullarkey, a public policy associate here at RED, argues in Trends that capturing waste energy would help the U.S. transition into a carbon-free future. Yes, we eventually need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels entirely. But that can’t happen overnight.

Bill Gates enters the energy fray to make a case for innovation in the energy industry. That’s all well and good — we need more innovation in this country. After all, there has been no Bill Gates equivalent in the electric sector. The problem is that Gates doesn’t quite understand why.