 
Results in New Hampshire:
The New Hampshire Power 2 Change campaign culminated in an Earth Day rally at Manchester City Hall plaza with more than 500 people in attendance. The rally, which took place on the evening of April 22, was headlined by Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta and New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie. Both Guinta and MacKenzie spoke about New Hampshire playing a leadership role on developing a clean energy economy, and how elections will provide choices between a clean energy future.
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Below: good and bad energy actions in this state, as profiled in our report.
The New Hampshire Carbon Challenge is a program that challenges people to cut their carbon emissions by 10,000 pounds a year - roughly a fifth of the CO2 produced by an average New Hampshire residence. In its first 18 months the challenge has produced a reduction of nearly one million pounds of carbon.
The Carbon Challenge was launched in August 2006 by founders Denise Blaha and Julia Dundorf. The two were discussing changes they had made at home and how they could help others decide on energy-cutting moves when the challenge was born.
"There are so many opportunities we have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money in the process," said Blaha.
Working with a variety of organizations, challenge members have spoken to more than 5,000 people in 70 New Hampshire towns and cities, created two regional pilot challenge programs, and designed and implemented a carbon estimator calculator on its website.
Taking the challenge requires as few as ten minutes, said the two, and their calculator will show families how much carbon dioxide they produce while also showing them ways to save money. One New Hampshire company is even providing the calculator on its web site for employees to utilize. Blaha says she also frequently has people telling her how much money they're saving when they make the changes the challenge encourages.
"There's a lot of evidence that when a person makes changes in their home, it really effects how they see their world in a larger sense: You also want your town, your government, your company to take action," Blaha said. "That's how big changes will come about, when people make them happen."
New Hampshire Carbon Challenge on the web at:
www.nhcarbonchallenge.org.
One step forward, two steps back?
 Even though New Hampshire has recently taken many steps to reduce emissions from power plants and other sources, huge emitters of pollution beyond the state's borders continue to contribute to New Hampshire's global warming and air pollution problems.
New Hampshire state and local governments have committed to reducing energy consumption and promoting renewable energy solutions. A new state law has committed the state to getting 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by the year 2025, while the cities of Concord, Dover, Hanover, Keene, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth and Rochester have committed to a goal of reducing global warming pollution to 7% of the 1990 levels by the year 2012.
In the meantime, 10 coal-fired power plants in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan were named in a list of the fifty dirtiest power plants by The Environmental Integrity Project in July 2007. These and other "downwind" coal plants continue to negatively affect New Hampshire's environment with New Hampshire citizens left without recourse by an inactive and lax federal government that does nothing to solve the problem.
"New Hampshire citizens and elected officials are taking the lead by acting to reduce pollution and global warming emissions, said Sierra Club volunteer Jerry Curran of Amherst. "We must make choices that put us on the right track."
We need to reduce our dependence on dirty coal by retiring and replacing these plants with clean energy alternatives like wind, solar, and improvements in energy efficiency. We have the technology today to implement real energy solutions that will move the entire country forward into a brighter energy future. These solutions can curb global warming and cut air pollution, while at the same time building a clean, sustainable economy that lowers energy bills and creates thousands of new jobs in New Hampshire and across the United States.
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