Clean Start: September 2, 2011

Welcome to Clean Start, ThinkProgress Green’s morning round-up of the latest in climate and clean energy. Here is what we’re reading. What are you?

– A tsunami warning is in effect for parts of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake was recorded in the ocean. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck in the waters at about 6:55 a.m. ET, and there are no initial reports of injuries or damage. [MSNBC]

– When you think about Green Energy and its jobs, Albany, New York, probably wouldn’t be the first city that pops into your head. But according to a report, the upstate New York region has the highest concentration of green jobs in the country. Another surprising name in the top 10: Cleveland and northeast Ohio. [NPR]

– House Republicans on Thursday intensified their investigation into Solyndra, a California solar-panel manufacturer favored by the Obama administration that shut down this week. [WaPo]

– If you think gas prices seem to shoot up faster than they come down, you are not hallucinating. Federal Trade Commission economists conclude in a report released today that prices do rise faster than they fall, a phenomenon known as “asymmetric pricing” or “rockets and feathers.” [ABC]

– Only one in eight insurers has a formal policy in place to manage climate risk, despite rising evidence that environmental changes are exacerbating insurers’ disaster losses, according to a coalition of public interest groups. [Reuters]

– The American Lung Association is pressing the White House to set a deadline for unveiling pending smog standards. “It is long past time to complete this work,” the public health group said in a letter Thursday to White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. [E2Wire]

– Interior Secretary Ken Salazar vowed Thursday to move swiftly to identify offshore energy zones after touring a university center that’s developing deep-water wind generation technology and intends to deploy its first offshore wind-power prototype next year. [Reuters]