On April 24, we launched Earth Tuesday, our first-ever 24-hour fundraising event. And the results are finally in.

The Minnesota legislature has passed and the Governor has signed HF 1752/SF1463, an approximately $500 million bonding bill that included an option for public buildings to utilize solar energy.

This week, the Minnesota Department of Commerce filed official comments at the Public Utilities Commission that said Minnesota Power should shut down five of its coal plants.

News about the future of coal plants showed up multiple times in the week’s energy headlines.

If you’ve been tracking energy and climate news on Twitter, you’re no doubt aware of the Heartland Institute’s major PR debacle last week.

This week’s stories covered everything from energy codes to LEDs to a group’s comparison of so-called “global warming alarmists” to Charles Manson and the Unabomber.

The clock is ticking on the 2012 Minnesota Legislative session, and it’s down to the big issues of bonding, Vikings, and business taxes.

This week’s stories covered a Cleveland church’s $500,000 solar installation, the American Lung Association’s air quality report, and the impact of climate change on corn prices.

How do you improve the energy efficiency of apartments and other rental units when renters don’t own the property or appliances and landlords don’t see the benefits in their pocketbooks from improvement because they don’t pay the utility bills? It’s a much-debated conundrum that even has a name: the “split incentive” problem.

Today’s a special day at Fresh Energy. In fact, it’s so special that it even gets its own name: Earth Tuesday. So what is it? It’s a 24-hour fundraising event that enables you to double, or even triple, your gift to Fresh Energy on April 24.