El Phoenix Sun

Funds allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are heading to renewable energy and efficiency programs in seven states and territories. DOE Secretary Steven Chu announced the disbursement of $119 million to state-run programs in Alabama, American Samoa, Washington DC, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota and Wyoming.

Sec. of Energy Steven Chu

In announcing the awards, Secretary Chu stressed the importance of local control in how the federal energy dollars are spent.

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Since I happen to be in Washington, DC at the moment, I decided to take time off from work and visit the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. It’s great (and a good excuse to use my Flip video). It was a perfect day for it. Dramatic lighting, courtesy of the clouds. Cherry blossoms from deep pink to white. Kids running around everywhere. Traffic completely jammed.

It struck me that while I’ve been online looking for solar festivals to visit (and blog about) I was standing right in the middle of one of America’s biggest, oldest and most beautiful solar festivals. Fire up those cherry trees, Bucko!