Our newsreel focuses on news about progress and possibility – and it is in that spirit that this one also includes a call to action - incidentally right in line with our democracy challenge this month!

The U.S. Congress left the legislative session without extending important tax credits due to expire in December which enable companies to reliably plan the construction and development of solar and wind energy projects. This lack of action has far-reaching results.

And it is not too late to voice our concern and put some pressure on Washington! It would be good if our representatives heard from us during their break, and writing a letter to the editor too can help make clear, that this topic won’t just slip under the table. Can you do that? There are tools to help you with both actions here.

Inspite of federal politics still being slow off the mark, science is forging ahead full steam—a new power storing device developed by MIT will make it possible for solar energy to be stored and used at night, a development hailed as a major discovery (right up there with the taming of fire for some). It is the first step in being able to make use of solar power even while the sun doesn’t shine – a very big leap forward.

Just when you thought that nobody notices when you hop on the bike instead of taking the car to get the milk: Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in the same period last year. For the period between November and June, the figure is over 56 billion miles.... This number is mind boggling to contemplate, let alone the amounts of miles we did drive.

The promise of recovery from fossil fuel addiction is edging ever closer to reality. Among a number of electric or hybrid vehicles announced to come out over the next few years, this one is particularly exciting. How does it sound to go from LA to NYC on a single tank of gas, starting in 2010? There have been a number of hiccups, vanished websites and other delays, but now it looks more likely than ever that the Air Car will finally be available. My name is on the waiting list!

And here is to the new economy: Wall Street Journal identified the first official solar billionaire as Shi Zhengrong, founder of Suntech Power in China. Since then, at least two other solar entrepreneurs have joined the club: Frank Asbeck, who founded Germany’s Solar World, and Xiao Peng, head of LDK Solar in China.

Joining them are two American tycoons who have decided that while their past was in oil, their future, as well as America’s, will be found in renewable energy. Everyone has heard about T. Boone Pickens and his commitment to building a giant wind farm in Texas. Less well known is Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, who is developing a 2,000-megawatt wind project in Wyoming and has acquired rights to build a $3 billion, 900-mile transmission line to move his wind power from Wyoming to California, Las Vegas and Phoenix. (from Climate Progress)

Last week I took a bikeride up to Jiminy peak near Williamstown, MA, a ski resort featuring the first wind turbine in Berkshire County. High above the treetops the blades were slowly turning in the steady breeze and I couldn’t help it—I had to holler!

What a difference it makes—technology that uses the free (in both senses of the word) and infinite energy of the wind and sun! It looked down on the valley like a messenger from a different era, in which humans are turning to the light and the air for their sustenance, rather than relying on finite sources dredged up from the insides of the earth. I couldn’t help thinking that there is more than just technological significance to this change of orientation.