This figure is staggering: The world could save $22 trillion—TRILLION, folks!—and cut carbon emissions to a level equivalent of India’s ENTIRE ANNUAL output of greenhouse gases (I'm no scientist, but in a country of 1.2 billion people, that would equate to a lot) if national governments adopted efforts to turn their cities into low carbon smart cities, says a study by independent initiative The Global Commission on Climate and Economy. This report, says PV Magazine, was backed by leading research institutes from the U.K. and six other countries (including Sweden, South Korea and Norway), and concluded that savings on transport, buildings, waste disposal and heating could reach $22 trillion globally by 2050 if strategies outlined in the report are adopted.

While it's unlikely that the whole world gets on board with this idea (here's to hoping!), there are some green cities that are ahead of our time and have either had eco-friendly infrastructure and sustainable and innovative solutions implemented for some time now, or are making these positive changes with the environment in mind moving forward. In this blog, we take a look at five of the greenest cities in the world that show us that it IS possible!

It's a whole new #solar world out there. We're pretty excited for Solar CrowdSource to be a small part of it! This solar energy news roundup includes cool new developments in solar energy, from India to Missouri. Check out these solar-fabulous examples that will go down in history as making big waves in alternative energy use.

Did you know that solar energy is the fastest growing source of renewable energy in the U.S.? It's true, and there's good reason for that — our communities need it! In this blog, we've pulled together some fantastic solar energy predictions for 2016 from various solar energy experts. 

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), for example, put out a forecast that predicts the solar market will grow 25 to 50 percent in all U.S. sectors by 2016. That's great news, right? Check out their video on how solar has grown over the last decade in the U.S.:

You may be familiar with fellow Southern states and cities' Solarize programs, such as Solarize North Carolina  or Solarize Tybee, but did you know that the Atlanta metro area hasn't—until now—had its own Georgia Solarize program? That's crazy, right? Solarize programs are growing in popularity throughout the U.S. as of late because everything about them is positive for both the individual and the community as a whole.

One of the great things about Solar CrowdSource is that, unlike some other tools out there in cyberspace, it is developed by Georgians for Georgians. Solar CrowdSource's founder and president Don Moreland wants to help you get the most out of your solar campaign with face-to-face strategy meetings, participation at local government council meetings, workshops and collaboration with campaign stakeholders, among many other things. Check out our About page for more on the company's value proposition. While you're considering our programs, get to know more about the man behind the company with this insightful Q&A session:

We hate to say it, but with all that sunshine in our great state of GA? We can do much better to grow our Georgia solar programs. Just take a look at this map of the top 10 Solar States of 2014 from Solar Energies Industry Association (SEIA)... Georgia isn't even on it!