Odds and Ends

I LOVE Thomas Friedman.
Check out his October 21st OP-ED piece in the New York Times.

Also, go to Ecospot to vote on your favorite Climate Crisis Ecospot video.

To view some very encouraging videos about Solar Power from the huge San Diego convention in September, go here.

Solar Berkeley

Yesterday's Chronicle carried a story on Berkeley's proposed new solar model which would pay for the upfront costs of installing a solar PV system on homes and letting the homeowner pay the City back through an assessment on property tax bills over twenty years. According to the article, the cost of this assessment would be more than offset by energy savings, meaning that the homeowner could install solar at no cost (especially no upfront cost!).

This clever approach is a variation on the CCA (Community Choice Aggregation) model for increasing renewable, decentralized energy. It would still require a municipality to handle the administrative duties of the program but wouldn't require as much additional bureaucracy or costs for upfront feasibility studies. Plus it could happen a LOT quicker than CCA, which is critical. The program would still rely on bond money, which would mean the financing costs would be as cheap as possible.

I'm still in favor of pursuing a CCA model too, but Berkeley's approach (and I have heard San Jose is doing something similar) could really ramp up the installation of residential and commercial solar and/or small wind in the shortest amount of time, thereby reducing GHG emissions while a CCA group is still being pursued.

More information can be obtained about Berkeley's great sustainability programs and initiatives here:

Sustainable Berkeley

Bioneers

I just returned from the three-day Bioneers Conference and my head is swimming with ideas, emotions and hope for our society and our planet. There was so much positive information, so many success stories from people on the front lines of the new sustainable paradigm, that it was impossible for anyone who witnessed it to come away unchanged, or unmotivated.


Yes, it's easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom scenarios we face because of global climate chaos, but I heard the stories of so many incredible people doing the most amazing things that it truly made my heart sing. From Van Jones' work training the disenfranchised youth of Oakland for green jobs to the incredible inventor Jay Harmon's use of BioMimicry in industrial design; from food expert Jeffrey Smith's lecture on the documented health risks of genetically engineered foods to Paul Anastas' amazing tour of the emerging field of green chemistry; and from Vagina Monologues' author Eve Ensler's inspiring talk on her V-Day project to Native Movement chairman Evon Peter's wise guidance, this conference presented a wealth of information about solutions to climate change challenges as well as social justice, farming, and spiritual topics. I have come away profoundly affected by this eclectic yet interrelated community of doers, creative thinkers, and problem solvers. I don't mind saying I was affected emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. And I came away very heartened at the potential for cooperation in the coming months and years.

I will be writing more on some of these talks in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out some of the links above for some interesting reading.

Raymond

Green Investing

Opportunities abound to profit from the greening of America, and the world.

Here are 3 interesting companies poised to make lots of money helping turn our wasteful, polluting economy in a sustainable one:

Greenfuel Technologies Corp.
GreenShift
Nanosolar

I personally believe the sustainable living/green revolution will serve as one of the greatest economic engines this country has ever seen, and as soon as the business world understands that there's just as much money to be made saving the environment as there was in poisoning it, with much better PR to boot, we'll see an economic "greenrush" of epic proportions.

The True Cost of Food

The Sierra Club has a new campaign to promote sustainable food choices called "The True Cost of Food" and it's worth checking out their web site to see a movie packed with fascinating information about how our food is produced.

The web site is: The True Cost of Food.

Also, check out the Free Range Graphics website for more great films on food production.