Buy Green Power

The document outlines how U.S. consumers can support renewable energy via green pricing, green marketing, and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). It contrasts the environmental benefits of renewables—such as wind, solar, and geothermal—against the pollution and health risks associated with coal, oil, nuclear power, and natural gas. It also provides tools for verifying green power claims, including the Green-e certification and the Power Scorecard tool.

• Electricity generation is identified as the largest industrial polluter in the United States, contributing approximately 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, 30 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, and two-thirds of annual sulfur dioxide emissions.
• Coal is described as the primary source of electricity in the U.S. and the leading cause of acid rain and global warming emissions, while nuclear power is the second largest source and presents risks of radioactive waste and catastrophic failure.
• Consumers have three primary options for purchasing green power: Green Pricing, where customers pay a premium to their current utility; Green Marketing, which involves switching to a different electricity provider in competitive markets; and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which allow consumers to purchase the environmental attributes of renewable generation regardless of their provider.
• As of March 2006, green pricing options were offered by more than 600 utilities across 36 U.S. states.
• To verify the authenticity of green power claims, consumers can look for the Green-e logo, which certifies that at least 50 percent of the supplied power is from renewable sources, or use the Power Scorecard tool available in specific states.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2006). Buy Green Power. https://www.ucs.org/resources/buy-green-power

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Buy Green Power. 2006. https://www.ucs.org/resources/buy-green-power.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Buy Green Power |date=6 June 2006 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/buy-green-power |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2006buy, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Buy Green Power}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2006}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/buy-green-power}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }