In Midst of Gulf Disaster, New National Ocean Policy Gives Hope for Our Seas

Sigourney Weaver

I have always loved the oceans. My father was a Navy man and one requirement he had for us growing up was that we had to live near a body of saltwater. I was raised listening to foghorns by night and being chased by horseshoe crabs by day.

The oceans are filled with so much life and variety — nearly all of it hidden from our sight. This makes the process of learning about the seas an endless series of surprises, a constant discovery of secrets. Like a lot of us, I always thought the oceans were infinite, vast and forgiving of what we were doing to them. They seemed somehow indestructible.

Now we know that’s not true and these same features that make the oceans wonderful — their mystery and other-worldliness — have also worked to their disadvantage. Life beneath the surface is often out-of-sight and therefore out-of-mind. As a result, we tend to forget a rather important fact: we depend on the oceans for our survival regardless of where we live or what we eat. After all, our oceans generate most of our oxygen, regulate our climate, and directly provide a critical food source for much of our population. We cannot prosper unless the oceans prosper, too.

But as the oil disaster continues to ravage the Gulf of Mexico and the people who depend on it, we are being reminded daily of the often-forgotten value of these resources, and our responsibility to protect them. That’s why I was filled with hope today when President Obama announced he is creating the first-ever comprehensive national policy — like a Clean Air or Water Act — to protect our oceans. It is now clearer than ever that our country needs this to protect our oceans from the threats they face. If we had a policy like this in place before the Deepwater Horizon rig sunk — not only would we have better able to respond, an accident like this might not have happened there are at all. Read more

Things that make you go

Hmmm…

See the video click below…Things that make you go

Hmmm

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Solar Energy Companies Step Into the Branding Spotlight

By UCILIA WANG

A fake oil tycoon. The biggest sports event in the world. A Formula One racing team. What do they have in common? They’re all part of branding initiatives by solar panel makers seeking to make their names in a fast-growing industry.

The biggest news that heralded the first day of Intersolar North America, a solar-energy trade show and conference in San Francisco July 11-15 that drew more than 20,000 attendees, was a video of Larry Hagman, who played a Texas oilman in the old nighttime soap, Dallas. German solar panel maker SolarWorld managed to lure national media and local bloggers to a press event with the promise that a “former oil tycoon will give a keynote address calling for radical change within the U.S. energy market.”

Some reporters thought SolarWorld would produce someone who made a fortune in black gold. In real life. But Hagman showed up instead in the video, which contained the slogan “shine, baby, shine,” a solar counterpoint to Sarah Palin’s “drill, baby, drill.” Read More

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GE ECOMAGINATION CHALLENGE

The GE Ecomagination Challenge

Is  a $200 million innovation experiment where businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students

share their best ideas on how to build the next-generation power grid – and just might get funded.

__________________________________

BP Fall Fashion

__________

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

Green For All

As Senators enter the final rounds of negotiations on the climate and energy bill,
big utility companies are apparently making unconscionable demands that threaten the
health and safety of all Americans.

From trading carbon limits for relaxing smog, mercury and acid rain pollutants to
bargaining away Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to protect America from
dirty air and water, *these demands are unacceptable*.

Please take action now:

And, if the bill limits the ability of the EPA to enforce greenhouse gas regulation,
or worse limits its ability to enforce regulation of mercury and ozone, the American
people will suffer immediate and long-term health consequences, from asthma to early
death.

The American people deserve a climate and energy bill that not only improves air
quality, but also creates jobs that will help pull the economy out of recession.
This bill is in danger of doing neither.

Please take action and tell your Senators not to shortchange the American people:

If the Senate can get this right, this historic climate and energy bill will
maintain our clean air protections, while opening the door to a new era: one in
which our nation is no longer addicted to dirty, dangerous fuels; no longer
dependent on overseas supplies of oil; and finally able to put millions to work in
clean, new industries.

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Demonstrators from the 2010 G8 Summit

Ellen Cantarow

If you live on the Gulf Coast, welcome to the real world of oil — and just know that you’re not alone.  In the Niger Delta and the Ecuadorian Amazon, among other places, your emerging hell has been the living hell of local populations for decades.

Even as I was visiting those distant and exotic spill locales via book, article, and YouTube, you were going through your very public nightmare.  Three federal appeals court judges with financial and other ties to big oil were rejecting the Obama administration’s proposed drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico.  Pollution from the BP spill there was seeping into Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans. Clean-up crews were discovering that a once-over of beaches isn’t nearly enough: somehow, the oil just keeps reappearing. Endangered sea turtles and other creatures were being burnt alive in swaths of ocean (“burn fields”) ignited by BP to “contain” its catastrophe.  The lives and livelihoods of fishermen and oyster-shuckers were being destroyed.  Disease warnings were being issued to Gulf residents and alarming toxin levels were beginning to be found in clean-up workers.

None of this would surprise inhabitants of either the Niger Delta or the Amazon rain forest.  Despite the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969 and the Exxon Valdez in 1989, Americans are only now starting to wake up to the fate that, for half a century, has befallen the Delta and the Amazon, both ecosystems at least as rich and varied as the Gulf of Mexico.

The Niger Delta region, which faces the Atlantic in southern Nigeria, is the world’s third largest wetland.  As with shrimp and oysters in the Gulf, so its mangrove forests, described as “rain forests by the sea,” shelter all sorts of crustaceans.  The Amazon rain forest, the Earth’s greatest nurturer of biodiversity, covers more than two billion square miles and provides this planet with about 20% of its oxygen.  We are, in other words, talking about the despolation-by-oil not of bleak backlands, but of some of this planet’s greatest natural treasures. Read more

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UPDATE FROM THE GULF

____________________

GE ECOMAGINATION CHALLENGE

The GE Ecomagination Challenge

Is  a $200 million innovation experiment where businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students

share their best ideas on how to build the next-generation power grid – and just might get funded.

__________________________________

BP Fall Fashion

__________

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins

Green For All

As Senators enter the final rounds of negotiations on the climate and energy bill,
big utility companies are apparently making unconscionable demands that threaten the
health and safety of all Americans.

From trading carbon limits for relaxing smog, mercury and acid rain pollutants to
bargaining away Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to protect America from
dirty air and water, *these demands are unacceptable*.

Please take action now:

And, if the bill limits the ability of the EPA to enforce greenhouse gas regulation,
or worse limits its ability to enforce regulation of mercury and ozone, the American
people will suffer immediate and long-term health consequences, from asthma to early
death.

The American people deserve a climate and energy bill that not only improves air
quality, but also creates jobs that will help pull the economy out of recession.
This bill is in danger of doing neither.

Please take action and tell your Senators not to shortchange the American people:

If the Senate can get this right, this historic climate and energy bill will
maintain our clean air protections, while opening the door to a new era: one in
which our nation is no longer addicted to dirty, dangerous fuels; no longer
dependent on overseas supplies of oil; and finally able to put millions to work in
clean, new industries.

Spain overtakes US with world’s biggest solar power station

There’s a crime in progress. We are witnessing a cruel insidious act against people, profits and the planet - in fact all living things in the Gulf. What could cause a crime of this scale?  “Money, money, money, money, money…money. Some people got to have it. Some people really need it! Money makes people go out of their minds…” So says the classic O’Jay’s song…”Money.” How else can you explain the ever growing tragedy BP has caused by drilling a well 23,000 fleet into the ocean that has been gushing  millions upon millions of barrels of deadly oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico for close to 70 days as of this writing. John Wathen an environmentalist with WaterKeeper Alliance has released some mind twisting and disturbing video he shot flying over miles and miles of the Gulf. His interview with Keith Obermann should turn us all into environmental activists and true stewards of the earth. It’s not just money though. As English historian John Dalberg – Acton was quoted:”Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” The unenlightened pursuit of power and money has created an industrial, military, media and political complex that former President Dwight Eisenhower warned against. This cartel is so strung out it refuses to see the obvious – offshore deep water drilling is too dangerous and not sustainable. By the way there are 3000 other offshore rigs in the Gulf.

When you see the vastness of the oil spread out miles at sea and it’s journey towards the shores of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida it’s got to register that unlike Godzilla and other monsters of the deep there’s little we can do to stop it, despite all cleanup efforts. How fragile, futile… when you see and hear John’s report on the Gulf it’s clear things are bad, really, really bad. In fact some think big media is deliberately down playing the magnitude of what’s happening. But how is that possible when BP is literally setting the ocean on fire in an attemp to burn off some of the oil. Meanwhile the Senate is stalled on creating a comprehensive energy bill that could begin the process of transforming our stone age and deadly energy policies – into ones that use clean wave, wind, solar power and electric vehicles.  But what can you do? Maybe you can channel your efforts into organizations such as Waterkeeper Alliance. Waterkeeper Alliance is among the world’s fastest growing environmental organizations, with nearly 200 local Waterkeepers patrolling rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on six continents.

Waterkeepers defend their communities against anyone who threatens their right to clean water. Through Waterkeeper Alliance, Waterkeepers speak with a single, powerful voice as they tackle the world’s most pressing water issues. The Alliance stands behind every Waterkeeper, increasing their ability to function as community defenders in their efforts to protect the world’s waterways.

Waterkeepers connects individuals to each other, and supports them by providing expertise in science, law, strategic planning and communications, making them more effective in their communities’ courtrooms and classrooms, and in the media.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Paris looks for power from turbines beneath the Seine - Kim Willsher

Paris is hoping to use underwater turbines to harness power from the river Seine.

The river Seine, the historical “sacred river” running through Paris, inspired Monet, Matisse and even the British painter Turner, who sat on its banks to capture the scenery.

Now the landscape is to undergo a subtle change, with a plan to install eight turbines underneath the city’s celebrated bridges to raise energy from river currents.

Paris city hall is to launch an appeal this week for power companies to come up with suitable projects to install the turbines, or hydroliennes.

“After a study by our urban ecology service and the French waterways, four potential sites have already been identified,” Denis Baupin, the deputy mayor, told Le Parisien newspaper. One is to the west of the city, at the Pont du Garigliano, while the others are in central Paris, at the Pont de la Tournelle, Pont Marie and Pont au Change. Two energy-harnessing machines will be placed at each spot.

“At these places the current speeds up a little,” said Baupin. “The idea is to locate all the natural power sources that we have in Paris and that we might be able to exploit.”

French energy company EDF has already declared the idea “interesting”.

The companies interested in the project have until the autumn to submit proposals. The winner will be chosen next January and the first turbines or propellers installed by next spring.

While the bulk of the machinery to harness the currents of the Seine will be hidden under water, part of the structure of many modern hydro-mill prototypes sits above the water.

Paris authorities — already experimenting with the heating of buildings with water from underground springs, and installing mini-windmills on buildings — say the project is aimed more at raising public awareness of renewable energy than powering the city.

“We’re not expecting the moon and the stars with these techniques,” Baupin said, “but the educational impact of these experiments is just as important. Vélib [Paris's free bicycle scheme] has made Parisians realise they can use cycles in the city, and these renewable energy schemes will make them aware of the need to watch what they consume.”

The reaction of Le Parisien readers was mixed: “Bravo! Let’s hope the local authorities and fishing community understand the importance of this kind of energy,” one wrote.

Another said: “The idea seems good at first glance, but when they say before they’ve even started that the quantity of energy produced will be symbolic, almost ridiculous, why push ahead?”

“We’re going to throw a fortune into useless hydroliennes,” another commented. “Their cost will be considerably higher than the electricity produced. All that to be ‘educational’?” .

An underwater turbine has previously been placed under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

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TESLA…fresh off IPO

Tesla had a coming out party for  Tesla stock  smacked of a Hollywood premiere. The electric car is the toast of the celebrity set — George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brad Pitt.

Tesla also opened its’ 13th worldwide showroom, in the heart of Copenhagen, recognized internationally as one of the world’s most environmentally friendly places. Copenhagen, which hosted the most recent UN Conference on Climate Change, generates a growing percentage of its grid’s energy from the famous offshore wind farm at Middelgrunden. The city is working to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2015.

“People in Denmark believe in social responsibility, and the Tesla Roadster is the only electric vehicle that combines a world-class sports car with their values of environmental stewardship,” said Cristiano Carlutti, Tesla’s Vice President for European Sales and Operations. “We are thrilled that customers in Denmark and throughout Scandinavia have embraced not only the Roadster but the core business philosophy of Tesla Motors.”

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Antonio Roman-Alcalá of In Search of Good Food

Urban Farming Debate at The Hub SoMa in San Francisco

In Search of Good Food

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MEGAN EPLER WOOD

Ecotourism Icon

Megan Epler Wood Launching

Environmental Management of International Tourism Development at Harvard Extension

Listen Here

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Intersolar North America

Taking place from July 13-15 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center West Hall, promotes the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 550 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and 20,000 trade visitors are expected.

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GREEN FOR ALL

Dirty Energy Independence Week July 1 – July 7th, 2010

This July, Green For All IS ASKING YOU TO TAKE ACTION: SIGN UP AT:

Dirty Energy Independence Week of Action:

President Obama gave an address about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico — and what it teaches us about America’s economic and ecological future.
President Obama has heard and joined our call for bold, decisive action to clean up
the spill and build a safe, clean-energy future for the Gulf region and for America.
Now, we must help him and Congress turn his words into the change we need.

______________

Visit these sections below

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES HERE

EVENTS –

A GREEN DOOR –

GREEN NEWS WALL –

GREEN TRANSPORTATION-

INSIGHT –

N THE MIX – webcasts

TV

POSITIONS -

RESOURCES -

SOLAR WALL –

VIDEO -

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES HERE

The last time I checked I didn’t see undergraduate or graduate programs being offered in pimping although on Saturday Night Live Eddie Murphy teaches a class “How to be a Ho.”  Most parents don’t exactly encourage their children to go into the field. It ‘s not listed next to environmental engineer in college catalogs. Yet somehow through the ages the “life” goes on. The Hughes Brothers film “American Pimp” chronicled the business in a very interesting way as did the unglamorous  portrayal of that life in the Academy Award winning film “Hustle and Flow.”

Why someone would sell their body is a real personal decision. At the street level when someone decides they want to leave the worlds’ oldest profession you can expect the reply from the pimp isn’t going to be one of support. In fact it could get real nasty. One might be bribed with more money, gifts, trips, cars, condos clothes and more depending on the level the game is being played. Or their family and friends could be threatened, beaten or even worst. No pimp or pusher wants to give up their money makers. And make no mistake they’ll do everything to keep their “ho’s in check.”

For those who want to break out many fail and never leave…why? Is it fear and habit?  Are you getting the symbolism with corporate pimp BP and we their “customers?” For decades now every new American President talks about breaking our national addiction to oil. Before the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico many Americans could have cared less about the ecological effects of pollution. So a few birds got oiled down – but now that the economic effects are wiping out entire communities people are beginning the rethink the vice like grip that oil has on our society. From wars, pollution and corruption its effects are metaphysically tragic. Reports are now coming in that it’s raining oil in Louisiana and as the upcoming hurricane season rolls in we have no way of determining just how devastating  this could become. This is the worst catastrophic environmental event in US history.

In some communities pimping is perverselyrevered  because those in it are improvising in response to the lack of choice, however in the world of energy we do have a choice…or do we? More electric vehicles are being introduced and renewable energy such as solar, wind, and wave are available and viable now. It’s hard to accept the long dark history that our country and others around the world have been pimped and punked into oil consumption, a toxic and dangerous source of  energy.  Make no mistake about it… getting away from it isn’t going to be easy. If there was an award for Global Pimp of the year I wonder if Tony Hayward President of BP would win? See the comedy video clip from I’m Gonna Get You Sucka.

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Urban Farming Comes to Vancouver as Chicken By-Law Passed

Vancouver residents can now keep a small number of chickens in their backyards. The initiative has plenty of supporters as well as numerous detractors.

On June 8, 2010, Vancouver city council passed a by-law that will permit Vancouver, British Columbia residents to keep up to four chickens in a coop. The by-law had been much discussed and maligned over the past year prior to its’ quiet approval by council. Despite some vociferous opposition to the plan, Vancouver joins a growing list of North American cities to jump on the urban farming bandwagon. Kansas City also recently voted to change rules encouraging residents to turn lawns and vacant lots into food sources.

The approval of backyard chicken coops in Vancouver highlights the movement towards urban and sustainable farming and the increased desire of people to know where the food they eat comes from. The movement is so popular that the subject of raising chickens has its’ own book in the Dummies series.

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Antonio Roman-Alcalá of In Search of Good Food

Urban Farming Debate at The Hub SoMa in San Francisco

In Search of Good Food

________________________

MEGAN EPLER WOOD

Ecotourism Icon

Megan Epler Wood Launching

Environmental Management of International Tourism Development at Harvard Extension

Listen Here

________________

Intersolar North America

Taking place from July 13-15 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center West Hall, promotes the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 550 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and 20,000 trade visitors are expected.

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EPRI and SolarCity to Install Photovoltaic Rooftop Research System

PALO ALTO, Calif. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and SolarCity®, a national leader in solar financing, design, installation, monitoring and related services, announced a project today that will install a 187-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) research system at the institute’s headquarters.

The SolarCity PV rooftop system is expected to produce more than 7.3 million kWh over the next 30 years and offset about 11 percent of EPRI’s annual power usage at its four-building research campus. When completed in mid-August, it will be the second largest solar installation in Palo Alto .

The PV array will facilitate EPRI’s research on a low-carbon generation portfolio in which solar and other renewables, such as wind and biomass, will play an increasing role in the future. It is expected to provide real-time data on electricity generated that will be used to measure the impact of variability on a distribution system.  Additionally, it will supply power-quality data that could be used for distribution circuit analysis and assessment of optimized performance levels.

“The SolarCity system will help us better understand distributed resources and how we can reliably integrate them into distribution systems,” said EPRI President and CEO Steve Specker. “This project is a key part of our sustainability program to reduce our carbon footprint, and clearly demonstrates how we can address environmental goals in a cost-effective manner.”

SolarCity estimates that over the next 30 years, the system will offset the production of more than 4.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide, a leading contributor to climate change. It is also expected to offset the release of significant amounts of compounds and particulates that contribute to smog, acid rain and can cause asthma and other respiratory ailments. The system will be financed through a power purchase agreement with SolarCity.

About the Electric Power Research Institute

The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI, www.epri.com) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public.

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GREEN FOR ALL

Dirty Energy Independence Week July 1 – July 7th, 2010

This July, Green For All IS ASKING YOU TO TAKE ACTION: SIGN UP AT:

Dirty Energy Independence Week of Action:

President Obama gave an address about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico — and what it teaches us about America’s economic and ecological future.
President Obama has heard and joined our call for bold, decisive action to clean up
the spill and build a safe, clean-energy future for the Gulf region and for America.
Now, we must help him and Congress turn his words into the change we need.

______________

Visit these sections below

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES HERE

EVENTS –

A GREEN DOOR –

GREEN NEWS WALL –

GREEN TRANSPORTATION-

INSIGHT –

N THE MIX - webcasts

TV

POSITIONS -

RESOURCES -

SOLAR WALL –

VIDEO -

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES HERE

As the world continues to watch in horror at the BP undersea volcano gushing toxic oil and gas fumes into the Gulf of Mexico; we ponder what can we do? How did we get to this place? What made BP and all the major oil players believe they could play with mother nature? How many times have we been confounded by the awesome power of the ocean…”master the tempest is raging. The billows are tossing  high. Carest thou not  that we parish? Oh how can they lie asleep? The winds and the waves shall obey thy will.” It’s a story as old as time… we see it again and again – arrogance, greed – corruption. It’s easy to trash BP, after all the signs point to a history of violations and subterfuge. But we all share some responsibility. For many of us get a daily fix of gas. Scientist tell us we know far, far less about the oceans of the world then we do about the surface of the moon. And yet offshore drillers persist in their eyes closed shark attack mentality to drill, drill baby drill (See Brave New Foundation video Power without Petroleum). And yet some of BP’s offshore drilling plans, one in Alaska specifically are moving ahead despite the reality of what’s happening around us.

We know that alternative renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and wave energy offer solutions to our economic and environmental problems. In Irwin Allen’s hit TV show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea the high tech submarine SeaView traveled the world’s oceans saving us from the demons of the deep.

But TV is one thing and Admiral Nelson of the SeaView isn’t likely to come jetting in on that flying yellow sub to patch up that undersea hell hole BP’s stabbed into the earth. We probably really do need a new voyage to the bottom of the sea – but one that’s based on scientific, economic and environmental renewal. If we have any intension to harness the power the ocean we’ll need to do it in a way that doesn’t destroy it and us in the process. The risk of offshore deep sea drilling has been proven to be an economic ecological killer. The tempest is raging.

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MIKE PAPANTONIO

________________________

MEGAN EPLER WOOD

Megan Epler Wood Launching

Environmental Management of International Tourism Development at Harvard Extension

Listen Here

___________________

Philippe Cousteau

CEO Earth Echo International

Water Planet Challenge -
EarthEcho International’s Water Planet Challenge is an unprecedented national call-to-action that engages middle and high school youth to bring about global change by taking action in their communities through service-learning projects. The Challenge provides revolutionary science-based environmental education materials, tools, and resources to empower youth to take action to restore and protect our water planet.
Water is the single most important substance on the planet—it is the one element that connects each and every being on earth to one another, from human consumption to energy production. It is also expected to be the cause of the greatest crises of our century.
Today’s youth are more engaged and excited about environmental issues than any ever before, however there are few unified and accessible resources and tools to help them take action and measure their impact in a significant manner. In other words, we have an unparalleled team primed and ready to go without a proper game plan to take action. Indeed, environment is one of the three most requested service-learning opportunities by teens, yet a quick scan of any aggregator sites of this type of content shows very little that exists on a national level at high quality.
The Water Planet Challenge’s core partners make this a powerful initiative that can take place now, not at some point in the distant future:
CBK Associates has produced seminal education materials utilized by the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and books that set the standard for being easy to use, practical, and providing teachers and youth what they need to successfully improve their communities.
Discovery Education provides engaging digital resources to schools and homes with the goal of making educators more effective, increasing student achievement, and connecting classrooms and families to a world of learning. Discovery Education’s digital services are used by over 1 million teachers and reach 35 million students.

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Intersolar North America

Taking place from July 13-15 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center West Hall, promotes the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 550 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and 20,000 trade visitors are expected.

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SUNPOWER ANNOUNCES NEW WORLD RECORD SOLAR CELL EFFICIENCY
Full-Scale Prototype Produced at 24.2 Percent

SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced today that it has produced a full-scale solar cell with a sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency of 24.2 percent at its manufacturing plant in the Philippines. This is a new world record, confirmed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), for large area silicon wafers.
“This new world record demonstrates SunPower’s ability to extend our lead in manufacturing the world’s highest efficiency solar cells,” said Bill Mulligan, vice president of technology and development for SunPower. “Our patented and proprietary, high-efficiency solar cell technology drives down the cost of solar energy by increasing the energy production from each solar panel.”
Improved cell efficiency reduces the levelized cost of energy by increasing the energy production from each wafer manufactured into a SunPower solar cell. For the same reason, increased efficiency reduces the cost per watt and cost per kilowatt-hour for feedstock and materials, depreciation and other manufacturing expenses, installation time, land and system operations, and related maintenance.
“As we celebrate SunPower’s 25th anniversary this year, I am thrilled to see the company achieve technology milestones that were inconceivable only a few years ago,” said Dr. Richard Swanson, SunPower founder and chief technology officer. “SunPower’s research and development and engineering teams have increased cell efficiency by a full four percentage points over the last five years while radically driving down manufacturing costs. We are extremely proud of their continued success.”

__________________

GREEN FOR ALL

Dirty Energy Independence Week July 1 – July 7th, 2010

This July, Green For All IS ASKING YOU TO TAKE ACTION: SIGN UP AT:

Dirty Energy Independence Week of Action:

Dirty Energy Independence Week of Action:

President Obama gave an address about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico — and what it teaches us about America’s economic and ecological future.
President Obama has heard and joined our call for bold, decisive action to clean up
the spill and build a safe, clean-energy future for the Gulf region and for America.
Now, we must help him and Congress turn his words into the change we need.

______________

Visit these sections below

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES HERE

EVENTS –

A GREEN DOOR –

GREEN NEWS WALL –

GREEN TRANSPORTATION-

INSIGHT –

N THE MIX - webcasts

TV

POSITIONS -

RESOURCES -

SOLAR WALL –

PG & E and SunRun

Create $100 Million Home Solar Financing Fund

Pacific Energy Capital II, LLC, a non-utility subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), and SunRun Inc., the nation’s leading provider of home solar financing, today announced a $100 million tax equity project financing agreement to fund SunRun’s installation of more than 3,500 new home solar installations across the nation. The investment, principally funded by PG&E Corporation shareholders through Pacific Energy Capital, creates the largest residential solar financing vehicle established to date. Under the agreement, Pacific Energy Capital will provide financing for the rooftop energy systems and both parties will receive payments from SunRun customers. SunRun will manage the projects.  Read more

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TERI FLYNN HUB SOMA ARCHITECT

See Video

VIDEO -

SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES HERE

Now that the environmental and economic impact of the BP oil catastrophy is coming into full view, Americans are seeing how an oil based economy  can destroy the fabric of  society. Word out of Washington is that President Obama’s six month moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf which was challenged in court by Governor Jindal of Louisiana  has been lifted by a New Orleans judge. The White House has said it will appeal. None the less clean up of the area continues and so too does the eruption of the under sea oil volcano created by BP. The concern is now that the seabed around the well is also seeping oil and toxic gas.

As this crisis continues  we should be mindful that  eleven people died on the DeepWater Horizon the day it exploded. The president of BP Tony Hayward who was recently criticized for his stonewalling before congress, attending a private yacthing race in Great Britain quiped, “he wanted his life back” so I guess he’s got it back. Too bad the eleven who died never will and I fear the Gulf of Mexico as we have known it will not get the life it once had for a long, long time, if ever.

Lea Morris has produced a film called “Cries From the Gulf” which does an excellent job of showing the impact of this horrific tragedy on the people of the Gulf. Brave New Foundation has produced a film called Power without Petroleum which you see by clicking

here.

President Obama this week will meet  with leaders of Congress to re-energize a new national energy plan which has been dying a slow death in the Senate. Apparently Congressman Joe Barton from Texas who received over $1.5 million dollars from the oil industry has apologized about his apology to BP after what he called a shake down by President Obama who got an initial upfront $20 billion dollars from BP for the US to pay oil related damage claims. People from all walks of life and leaders in the green movement around the country are also crying out for a strong national clean tech energy plan that includes solar, wind, wave, electric vehicles and high speed rail and other sustainable ventures; A strong new energy plan which has the potential to transform our toxic energy systems and create millions of new green jobs.

________________

GREEN FOR ALL

Dirty Energy Independence Week July 1 – July 7th, 2010

This July, Green For All IS ASKING YOU TO TAKE ACTION: SIGN UP AT:

Dirty Energy Independence Week of Action:

Dirty Energy Independence Week of Action:

President Obama gave an address about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico — and what it teaches us about America’s economic and ecological future.
President Obama has heard and joined our call for bold, decisive action to clean up
the spill and build a safe, clean-energy future for the Gulf region and for America.
Now, we must help him and Congress turn his words into the change we need.

In his address, the president called the BP oil spill “the worst environmental
disaster America has ever faced.” He vowed to hold BP accountable for the terrible
damage it has caused. And he promised to remove the threat of future spills by
ending America’s dependence on oil and building a strong clean-energy sector that
can power our economy.

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Intersolar North America

Taking place from July 13-15 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center West Hall, promotes the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 550 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and 20,000 trade visitors are expected.

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A Growing Concern

Urban Farms Are Sprouting up across the United States

By Sena Christian

Sean Hagan shoves a digging fork into the soil and pries out a bunch of carrots. He ties the bunch together, then stops and looks across the crops to another farmer calling for his attention. She holds a gnarly root in her hand.

“Do we have something against large turnips around here?” asks Sonya Ciavola.

“I have something against turnips in general,” Hagan says. He’s not fond of their taste.

On a gloomy February morning, the blond, 29-year-old Hagan trudges through muddy row crops growing on six acres of agricultural land operated by Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture and Education Project, a nonprofit farm in Sacramento, California. Soil Born has two other acres for pasture and plans to plant a three-acre fruit tree orchard this fall. To read more go:

here

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COWS GO GREEN

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