A Lease On Solar Panels? Some States Pitch In

For decades, high installation costs put solar energy out of most homeowners' reach. Now a California company is offering a way to make solar panels affordable by leasing them. But there's a catch: Consumers won't get to take advantage of the offer unless their home state provides incentives for clean energy.

SolarCity, a four-year-old company, leases solar panels to its customers, so they don't have to shell out a lot of money up front to buy them. Customers often pay less for the leases and their electric bills than they used to pay for their electric bills alone.

The company is quickly spreading to more states, but only ones that are subsidizing renewable energy.

"A key thing for us when we move into a market is can we save a business or homeowner money, and if there's no local incentive you can't do it," says SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive.

That explains why Maryland, which offers incentives, is among the 10 states served by SolarCity, but neighboring Virginia is not.

Creating Economies Of Scale

Companies like SolarCity hope that offering affordable leases now that are subsidized by the state and federal government will help them create the economies of scale necessary for solar to stand on its own feet when those subsidies expire.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/22/133870498/a-lease-on-solar-panels-some-states-pitch-in?ft=1&f=1007

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Could Gaming Be Good For You?

What if games could help solve, rather than exacerbate, real-world problems? Jane McGonigal, author of the new book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, thinks they can. She explains how games fulfill needs that reality doesn't, and how to make real life more like a game.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133870801/could-gaming-be-good-for-you?ft=1&f=1007

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Starving Wisconsin's Unions

Eugene Robinson, Washington PostLet's be clear: The high-stakes standoff in Wisconsin has nothing to do with balancing the state's budget.It is about money, though -- but only in the sense that money translates into political power. At this point, it's clear for all to see that Gov. Scott Walker's true aim is to bust the public employee unions, thus permanently reshaping the political landscape in the Republican Party's favor.

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/22/starving_wisconsins_unions_108973.html

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Wis. Senate Democrat: Stalling Vote Was 'Only Option'

Democratic senators left Wisconsin last week to prevent a vote on a bill that would limit the collective bargaining rights of some public employee unions. Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller says they thwarted an attempt to rush the bill through and have "provided an opportunity for cooler heads to prevail."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/22/133955165/Wis-Senate-Democrats-Linger-In-Ill-To-Avoid-Vote?ft=1&f=1014

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Chicago Voters Head To Polls To Replace Mayor Daley

For the first time in more than two decades, voters in Chicago go to the polls Tuesday to elect a mayor who is not named Richard Daley. Last year, Daley announced he would not seek a record seventh term.

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is one of the candidates hoping to replace Daley. Although Emanuel leads in both polls and fundraising, the other candidates predict there will be no clear-cut winner and that a runoff is likely.

Here's what all the candidates running for mayor of Chicago want to do: get 50 percent plus one more vote. That's what it will take to claim outright victory.

During the last full day of campaigning on Monday, the candidates crisscrossed the city.

Emanuel started at a familiar place — one of the city's elevated train stations in the L system.

"It's either 109 or 110 L stops since we started," Emanuel says.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/22/133955282/chicago-voters-head-to-polls-to-replace-mayor-daley?ft=1&f=1014

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Obama Team Holds Business Summit In Cleveland

President Obama is looking to small business to play a big role in the nation's economic recovery. The president and several members of his cabinet travel to Cleveland to meet with entrepreneurs on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/22/133955133/Obama-Team-Holds-Small-Business-Summit-In-Cleveland?ft=1&f=1003

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Could Gaming Be Good For You?

What if games could help solve, rather than exacerbate, real-world problems? Jane McGonigal, author of the new book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, thinks they can. She explains how games fulfill needs that reality doesn't, and how to make real life more like a game.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133870801/could-gaming-be-good-for-you?ft=1&f=1007

fox news hamid karzai barak obama hillary clinton george w bush