This just in from the Boston Globe:

After months of speculating, Curt Spalding, the longtime executive director of Save the Bay in Rhode Island, has just been named New England’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief.

Spalding was considered a strong candidate, but pundits were placing bets on Charlie Lord, who helped found Boston College’s Urban Ecology Institute or David Cash, Massachusetts assistant secretary for policy at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The US Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee today signed off on Rode Islander Cynthia Giles' nomination to the Environmental Protection Agency's top enforcement post. From Sheldon Whitehouse's office:

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, applauded the committee’s voice vote today endorsing the nomination of Cynthia Giles, of Barrington, RI, to be the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The Ocean State's latest bid for a little love from Washington is underway. The US Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee is conducting a hearing this morning on the nomination of Cynthia Giles for the top enforcement post at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Giles, beloved by our own Phillipe and Jorge, is the director of the Conservation Law Foundation's Rhode Island Advocacy Center.

UPDATE: Release from Langevin's office:

“I am proud to be a part of this energetic group of lawmakers who are dedicated to building a robust green economy in our nation,” said Langevin. “The time has long come and gone for Congress to take a strong leadership role on issues relating to the environment and energy.

The dour fiscal climate is likely to make more difficult efforts to promote renewable energy in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, in a recent exchange of letters, two General Assembly leaders and Governor Carcieri debated the state's approach for selecting Deepwater Wind to develop an offshore $1.5 billion wind farm.

So writes David Bernstein, who offers a top-20 list in this week's Phoenix of why the planet is feeling happy about 44.

Obama has signaled his intentions to make environmental concerns a priority within his administration — as suggested by the top-level team of appointees he introduced this past week.

Clean Water Action's Annie Costner sends word about efforts to fight diesel pollution:

Cities and Towns, Students, and Activists Gather for ‘Diesel Pollution Revolution’ A Day of Action Highlighting Citizen Based Advocacy to Prevent Toxic Diesel Pollution

When: Saturday December 6th, 11AM - 2PM

Enviros have expressed concern about at least one past plan for an energy plant near the Central Landfill in Johnston. How this initiative will be greeted remains to be seen.

From Vision Strategies:

Ridgewood Renewable Power, an international owner and operator of renewable electric power and infrastructure projects, will announce the development of a major electric power plant fueled by landfill methane gas, which will be located at the state’s central landfill in Johnston, Rhode Island.

From the General Assembly:

STATE HOUSE –The Public Utilities Commission is preparing to review National Grid’s proposed plan to comply with a new law requiring the company to credit customers for excess solar or wind energy they produce.

The new law, sponsored by Rep. David A. Segal of Providence and passed by the General Assembly in June, requires electricity suppliers to use “net metering,” the practice of allowing customers on the electrical grid to be credited on their electricity bills for the value of electricity that they produce with generators such as solar panels or wind turbines but do not use.

Our ongoing fiscal nightmare complicates the quest for the green economy, the New York Times reports today.

Yet a few days earlier, the paper had this:

OAKLAND, Calif. — California’s energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000, according to a study to be released Monday.

N4N is all for promoting bicycle use. Back in 2001, I wrote a piece exploring why there aren't more people on bikes in Providence, a surprising situation given the city's small size. Yet as I riffed back in July:

The new bike lanes on Blackstone Boulevard will probably cause more confusion than anything else.

The environmental group offers its favorites in General Assembly races.

The group also announced its 3rd biannual Electoberfest scheduled for this Thursday, October 16, 2008 from 6:30-8:30pm at Trinity Brewhouse in Providence. Proceeds from the event will benefit Clean Water Action’s work both to elect pro-environment candidates and to pass and enforce laws to protect Rhode Island’s environment.

State Senator Josh Miller is rasing concerns about the wind farm project announced by Governor Carcieri last week.

“While the General Assembly has fully supported developing renewable energy projects in Rhode Island, I am concerned that Governor Carcieri has unilaterally moved Deepwater Wind to the front of the line when major questions remain about their experience and background.

Saul Kaplan of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and Andrew Dzykewicz, the governor's energy czar, join Tim White, Arlene Violet and myself to talk about the planned off-shore wind farm and related topics. The show will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12, and at 10 am on Fox 64.

Also joining us is Christine Lopes, the departing head of Common Cause of Rhode Island.