Welcome to the June 2010 Green InSight eNewsletter!

Jon Dougal Editor, Green InSight

"Environmental Stewardship: Stewardship is an ethic that embodies cooperative planning and management of environmental resources with organizations, communities and others to actively engage in the prevention of loss of habitat and facilitate its recovery in the interest of long-term sustainability."
Wikipedia

This insightful and progressive newsletter is concerned with energy issues as well as a sustainable future. The information is brought to you in living color, free of animal testing, on widescreen digital HD format, and sparing paper use, saving fragile water systems, with our long shelf-life phthalate free plastics, using greedy little electrons to deliver the latest from the far corners of the alternative and renewable energy empire to foster sustainable development. We exalt your feedback and contributions of your latest experiences and reactions to our content. Consider reading this your attitude adjustment hour. Sustainability is not just our mission, it is our passion.

Energy Efficiency Spending To Climb In 2010

By: Ariel Schwartz
Date: April 19, 2010
Source: Fast Company (www.fastcompany.com)

Ednote: SCE’s (Southern California Edison, SoCal’s major energy provider) new peak rate is .34/kilowatt-hour. Northern California’s major energy provider (investor owned) PGE just spent $42 million in a recent election to stop cities from forming their own electric providers. Non-profit and city owned utilities generate and sell their power at far less per kWh than for-profit utilities. Fear is the main component behind steadily rising energy rates and voting initiatives to curb creation of new power producers.

As more energy efficient buildings, appliances and policies become more popular for-profit energy producers loose more share of the revenue from distribution. Doesn’t matter what the projections for huge energy demand forecast are, fear is riding rampant.

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Northern California Endorses Pace Financing Program

By: Mary Duan
Date: April 30, 2010
Source: Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com)

Ednote: AB811 invades NorCal. Northern California has been a leader in green technology from the early 90’s. The USGBC was formed there, the various counties implemented AB939 the country’s first recycling law that levied fines on municipalities for not recycling, and Berkeley was the 1st city to implement AB811. Which is the precursor of the green economy to be created by AB32 the California Anti-Global Warming Act. AB32 will generate many jobs using AB811 as an example in just the energy audit, and upgrade market. Energy efficiency allows more disposable income as a result of less spent on energy. More disposable income translates to more spending and thereby more jobs. Consumer spending in the U.S. is fully 70% of the economy.

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Recurve Releases Energy Audit Software

By: Katherine Tweed
Date: April 19, 2010
Source: Clean Tech Media (www.greentechmedia.com)

Ednote: Maybe there is progress in the energy efficiency market. California’s AB811 is taking hold not only in California, but being modeled in many other cities across the nation. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reportedly going thru with their “HomeStar” programs that allow for energy upgrades to be added to new mortgages. PACE (property assessed clean energy) programs have large federal monies behind them. But what is the implementation mechanism? Energy Audits. A means of measuring the energy efficiency of the building.

A private contractor service company does an energy audit by sealing off the building and measuring air transfer as well as doing thermal imaging of the building to monitor where heat (cold) is being transferred. Termed “thermal bridging” areas like poorly insulated windows, electrical plugs on outside walls, gaps in air ducts, poorly insulated walls and door headers are sought and estimates made for an upgrade. The upgrades which could include solar panels for electricity or solar thermal for preheating hot water, insulation and windows are not done by the energy auditing company.

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A Green Lamp That Lives and Breathes

By: Katie McCaskey
Date: June 6, 2010
Source: rentedspaces (www.rentedspaces.com)

Ednote: Renewable energy buffs have been enamored with algae as a source of bio-fuels. Algae can also be used as a carbon sink, fuel & food source. Now we have the potential to having a “Pet Rock” in the form of an algae lamp.

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Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch)

Ednote: Out of sight – out of mind! If we aren’t confronted by it we’re neither aroused nor insensed, it is just dead, a non- issue. For that reason newsletters like Green InSight exist. This is one of those issues that average individuals don’t understand the gravity of inspite of hearing the stats on the issue. Like there is more plastic in the ocean than phytoplankton. That daily scrub you use on your face to renew the surface cells, uses finite plastic particles as an abrasive. That is unless you read the ingredients, which manufacturers don’t have to list unless the product is to be ingested. Scrubs use to use oatmeal, or some other “organic” abrasive. So together with un-metabolized medications, we are fast filling the ocean with both visible (see article below) and invisible plastics, which infiltrate the food chain.

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From Sprawl to Sustainability

Smart Growth, New Urbanism, Green Development, And Renewable Energy

Robert H. Freilich, Robert J. Sitkowski and Seth D. Mennillo
American Bar Association, Section of State and Local Government Law,
June 2010, 368 pages

Ednote: New Urbanism is all the rage in today’s city planning environment, from reducing air emissions from gridlocked traffic, to creating community pride as a mechanism of reducing crime. This book gives a “zoning” perspective from a qualified source that actually works in the field with major cities.

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Gen Y’ers Want Green In The Workplace

By: Ariel Schwartz
Date: May 20, 2010
Source: Fast Company (www.fastcompany.com)

Ednote: If you’ve followed the trends coming out of Silicon Valley over the past few years you would have anticipated what you’ll read below. Corporations have been following the triple Bottom line philosophy as a means of attracting the best and the brightest minds, hoping that their employees would be proud of the company they work for and staying later than their paid hours. Now there is a new requirement for attracting and keeping those innovative creators of tomorrow’s technology.

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Fighting for 'made in the USA'

A battery maker's story shows the hopes and hurdles of green technology.

By: Don Lee
Date: May 8, 2010
Source: Los Angeles Times (www. latimes.com)

Ednote: No one that knows me would guess even for a second that I am not all for sustainability, saving the planet, etc. I never thought I would be promoting “Buy American” but I am now. I look at the UPC - that multi bar universal product code - on every product I buy. I want the ones that start with #1, that means they are U.S. made. I want U.S. Jobs.

I have been working for years to fund various green products and projects that would be economic engines for the US. I meet like-minded people with big bucks who want the same thing “buy back American manufacturing”.

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Interested in sponsoring our next eNewsletter issue? Contact Jon Dougal at (415) 798-1933 or editor@greenmotion.org.