welcome to "on the money." let the sunshine in. solar energy, is it real or hot air? fossil fuels. a delivery dell yuj uge. coping. hint, some are not happy about rage against the machine. if you're sick of robocalls, we've got ways to get off the list. and purr with pleasure or bark

holiday gifts for pets and pet lovers alike. "on the money" starts right now. >> this is "on the money," your money, your life, your future. >> fossil fuels and natural gas have powered this country for generations but concerns about global warming looming, can the u.s. rely on it to power the future? that's the cover story. right now, fossil fuels supply more than 80%anf america's energy needs but that's beginning to change. renewables now fuel 10% of the nation's energy consumption including wind, solar, hydroelectric, and biofuels. and that share is on the rise. growing by 83% between 2004 and 2014. and it's continuing to expand. solar capacity is expected to increase 123% by the end of

wind power is forecasted to grow 27% in the same period. the boom in wind power in states like texas led some companies to offer free electricity at night but could alternative energy ever fully replace fossil fuels? it's typically been more expensive to produce. and renewable energy is not always available. cloud cover and wind strength and rain can all affect energy output. california has cut drought by 8% and still, experts say the u.s. has some of the best renewable energy sources in the world. and the prices to harness nature decrease, alternative energy can fuel more of the nation. the obama administration has made investments in future energy technologies a priority, but how realistic is the idea that america can replace fossil fuels with renewable sources of power? back from paris and the united nations climate change conference is ernest, u.s.

thank you for joining us. >> pleasure, sharon. >> the bulk of the u.s. energy still comes from fossil fuels from oil, from natural gas. can we actually have renewable energy that e generates more than 10% of energy output and how much would that cost? >> we expect renewables to far exceed 10%. of course, we recognize that fossil fuels will continue to be part of the portfolio for quite a long time but wind energy has gone up by severalfold in the last five to six years and now provides about 4.5% of our energy. with solar, 5% and i should add, solar and wind together now account for about a quarter million jobs in the united states. that's a lot bigger than a lot of the traditional industries and as far as cost goes, we have

signed contracts to deliver electricity as low as 2 cents per kilowatt hour. it's very competitive in the right places today and the geography is going to only spread as we go forward with new technology. >> certainly, wind and solar are part of the talks in paris and just curious, will global agreements cut carbon emissions and slow global warming? are we really seeing progress here? >> i guess we are. almost every country in the world, 184 countries, declared their targets to cut down on emissions pretty substantially but i also want to highlight what i think is a very important announcement made on the very first day by president obama and the leaders of 19 other countries a commitment called mission innovation to double our energy technology rnd, increase the innovation pipeline, provide more investable opportunities, and of course, in parallel, a

investors promising to put billions on the table to capture the fruits of that increased innovation. >> we've covered on this program solar power and how many people are trying to get solar panels in their home, but right now provides less than 1% of u.s. electricity. the power grid was designed as a one way delivery system with solar panels. can they send energy back to the grid? >> the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. we have right now, of course, in many states, exactly that happening. and there are programs like net metering which allows the homeowner to recover some of the cost by selling excess power back to the grid. that's already happening. but we do look forward to really developing a more extensive smart grid in the future which will allow everything from big renewable projects of long distance demand centers to the

commercial enterprise generating electricity both for themselves and to feedback to the grid. >> we said renewable energy is growing enough that subsidies could potentially end. can wind and solar power survive without the billions of dollars in government health? >> it's all about cost conduction. as i said, with the wind already, we've had two cents of kilowatt project hours. cost production will make these technologies more widely competitive with existing sources. again, we see it now, but it will grow even further. and now, of course, in the future, we are hoping that through legislation, we will be able to have economy-wide approaches, policies, that put the appropriate charge on greenhouse gas emissions as a deployment to carbon-free renewables. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you. now here's a look at what's

new week "on the money." americans were shopping at a solid pace last month. retail sales rose 0.20% and the number depressed by lower gasoline prices. retail sales watch because consumers make up more than two-thirds of the u.s. economy. after a mostly down week, the dow rebounded on thursday and the price of oil. those stocks fell on friday. two of the biggest chemical companies in the world plan a mega merger. dow and dupont will create $130 billion giant which will then break up into three separate businesses that will likely face regulatory challenges in several countries including the u.s. walmart doesn't want you to take your wallet out. they want you to use the new mobile payment system. the app is being tested in some

effort to make shopping faster an and easier. up next, we're "on the money." the lump of coal some residents are giving for the holidays and how to hang up on the phone scammers and spammers before they get to you and a look at

why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard,

the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough. give it a pop. online shopping is growing exponentially and so is the number of packages arriving at apartments across the country this holiday season. landlords are struggling to handle it all. some using high-tech and some just plain refusing to deal with any of it. one thing we know for sure is the problem will only get worse. diana olick joins us from washington with more. diana? >> reporter: sharon, it's the second part that raises

some major landlords said no to packages claiming the glut cost too much. with the holiday season upon us, they're rolling in. santa's sleigh got nothing on ups and fedex this year. and apartment landlords like monigram residential trust are struggling under the weight of it all. >> our portfolio, 11,000 units in operation right now and 4,000 under development, we have this year estimated 300,000 packages coming in. it's become a real challenge for the industry the last several years. >> reporter: so monigram turned to tech, installing lockers in some of the buildings, access directly. no more mail room. >> it's a very easy search system. they find the name. you take a picture of the label. so we have a record of that. we save the label and we choose the package locker size.

and then the rest gets an e-mail or a text message. >> reporter: tenants retrieve packages as a security camera watches. the system costs over $30,000 to install but in high end buildings -- >> for our particular demographic, it's absolutely a requirement. >> reporter: but other landlords claim this won't handle the surging supply, especially in larger buildings. why one major read said no to packages in the mail room. managing this glut was costing them more than $3 million a year. >> productivity was absolutely part of the equation. but it really came down to more about allowing our employees to service our residents and take care of our real estate which is the business that we're in. >> reporter: camden property trust has 59 units spanning ten states and the district of columbia. last march, they rolled out the no package policy which was not popular with tenants.

tell us they plan to not renew their release but anytime you make a change to any kind of policy, you run the risk that you do upset some residents. >> reporter: camden allows you to deliver to doors and leave packages there. 75% of tenants opted to do that and more than 100,000 packages have already arrived that way. >> it doesn't bother me because we have a lot of security here. i've seen things on people's doors for weeks. >> reporter: safer by elevator perhaps than by sleigh. now, the announcement did bother other tenants and some may actually move out. but apartment demand is so red hot right now and supplies so constrained that camden is clearly willing to take the risk with the no package. the next question is will they allow drones through the window windows? is that really what's next for

>> what are they going to do to handle the packages? >> reporter: that's my idea, but they're looking at cold storage. some are looking at groceries delivered and at work when it comes, so they have cold storage put into some of the buildings along with the package areas. >> with all this high-tech comes high prices, i'm sure. thank you so much, diana. up next, we're "on the money." if you're sick of the robocalls and can't figure out how to stop them, you're not alone. ways to hang up on them before they start. and later, the holiday shopping season is under way and that means buying for family,

we've got the why let someone else have all the fun? the sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. the why can't it smell like this all the time fun. the learning the virtue of sharing fun. why let someone else have all the fun? that's no fun. unleash the power of dough.

this holiday season, get ready for mystery. romance. family fun. and non-stop action. it's the event you don't want to miss. it's the season of value sales event. the holiday season is in full swing and so too are unwanted and unsolicited calls. chances are you've received a row bow call that deliver a recorded message usually trying

and you're not alone. >> americans have registered more than 217 million phone numbers on the federal trade commission's do not call list. to put things in perspective, the entire u.s. population is 319 million. 3 million complains were about unwanted calls. scams from robocalls result in estimated $350 million in losses annually. according to a new report by consumers union. why are the calls so rampant? some legitimate companies are not paying heed to the calls and some are not. it's difficult according to consumers union. today, the ftc collected 8% of the $1.2 billion in fines for those entities that violated the do not call list.

stanger at consumer reports here to talk about stopping unwanted calls once and for all and toby, just why are these calls so rampant? when i am home during the day which is rare, they're constant. >> the reason is it's cheap to have a row bocall system. they know how to spoof the numbers and make it look like it's a real call and then it makes it difficult for consumers to identify them as robocallers and scammers and difficult for regulators to track them down. >> some of my colleagues were talking about being on a do not call list, what can you do to stop this? >> there is opportunity through the tell codes to get some blacklists created. but we feel that they're not really -- >> blacklist, is that something

>> you go through your telephone company and say, i don't want certain numbers to call me. but it's limited. and the roe robocallers change their numbers. >> there is a paid service? >> it's called digi caller block plus. $110 on amazon. we got people to test them and you attach it to your phone and it has a blacklist and a white list of people who you do want to call and it's effective and works silently and no mo robo to avoid customer and not all markets and it's very effective

>> if i hang up or don't pick up the call, which is better? am i still -- are they going to call me back? don't pick up. >> it's best not to pick up. if you happen to pick up, do not dial through to tell them to stop. that just makes you -- then they know you're a live person and they're going to keep calling you. >> great information. thank you so much for joining us, toby. up next, "on the money." new look for the week ahead. surprise your pet with the perfect present. we'll have unique holiday gift

for more on our show and guests, go to our web site. otm.cnbc.com and on twitter. consumer price index is out. an important of inflation. and we'll get a report on the manufacturing sector with november's industrial production number. but the big question for next week, will the fed raise interest rates? we'll get that answer on wednesday after the open market committee wraps up its two-day meeting. and time to go digging in your closet for that festive sweater your grandma made you because

is ugly christmas sweater day. the holiday season is here and that means shopping for your loved ones and pets. more than 16% own pets and between $5 billion to $7 billion are spent on pet holiday gifts. joining us is katie nelson, what to watch out for this holiday season. when you look for the best gift, there are some things to avoid there and maybe some product recalls as well. what should we be wary of? >> the best thing as far as food recalls and tree recalls is fda's web site, fda.gov. it's all pet products as well as human products and look at the center for pet safety's web site and they have alerts there for recalls on dwaul products. >> is it realistic to spend more on organic food or expensive products at all? >> we know it's more expensive

to go through the drive-through at a fast food restaurant or buy that organic non-gmo type stuff but we all know it's better for us in the long run but it's the same for our pets. you get what you pay for when it comes to pet food. cheap foods use cheaper products but if it comes down to putting down food on your table, we go for the cheaper bag of pet food. >> some people say they get a few things that aren't that expensive. in terms of gifts for their pets, so let's talk about that. what are affordable products for your dog? >> let's start here. we've got bark box. one of the cool new ideas. this is a subscription based service that comes about $19.99 a month with multidogs, big doll gs or little dogs. with allergies, you can have treats that don't mess your dog up and then a bunch of cool little trees and toys that show up every month and this is a great safety product.

and based on stoplights. so red is caution. yellow is, you know, look out and then green is come on over, i'm friendly. >> that's great. if you've got a big dog that maybe looks scary, you can look the green one on there and then might bite your fingers off, you can use that one. >> you have a lot of fun stuff. i like this catnip. >> this is the bark box for cats. again, you can customize it and multi-cat households in conditions. the great thing about these companies, they give back. they support about 3,000 rescues and shelters across the country. kidnip does about 100. it's $19.99 a month as well and cats, we have to encourage them to drink. cats are notoriously dehydrated all the time but if they like moving water, there's a great little fountain and circulates all the time so it kind of

>> what about if you have a lot of money and you want to splurge, where should you go for that splurge? >> my two favorites are -- one is sleepy pod. this red thing here. it's a carrier and bed combination. so as a veterinarian, one thing we always get is people cancelling their appointments for their cats because they can't get them in the carrier. it smells like them, it's their home and all you have to do is zip the top on and bring them in. less chance of missing the appointment. the ortho cloud and you can take the cover off and wash it with a water hose. so you get rid of all the dust mites and things like that. but it's a cool gel technology that's cool for the joints. i wish it came in humans. it's the small version that goes all the way up to extra large. sleepy pod starts at $179 and these beds the

>> wow, but you get what you pay for. >> thaing. nk you. >> that is our show for today. becky quick will be back next week. unlimited vacation days, is it the greatest idea since the five-day workweek or is it a catch? each week, keep it here and we're "on the money."