Superstars of AB 811 Rock Palm Desert @ EcoMotion Conference

Part I – Burning Man’s Got Nothing On This “World Changing Revolutionary Movement”

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Left: Bob Williams, Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets Right: Cisco DeVries, Renewable Funding

You know you’re at some kind of  special conference when all the sessions seem to end way too soon and the eight hour agenda blasts by like the all star jam session at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame dinner.

But that’s the way it felt to the Creative Greenius as I covered the EcoMotion Palm Desert AB 811 Conference on Friday at the University of California Riverside Graduate Center. Admittedly I am a geek when it comes to AB 811 type programs that give people loans to put solar on their roof and add energy efficiency to their homes.  And I tend to get a little fired up when I’m around people who actually make things happen instead of just pontificating about it.  Imagine that…

EcoMotion’s President, Ted Flanigan made sure Friday was one of those rare days filled with all substance and no smoke, mirrors or dog & pony shows.  What an exhilarating difference a well organized and smartly thought-out lineup can make. Just ask Los Angeles Lakers Basketball fans.

Solar Powered Greenius Producing Massive South Bay Energy

Marilyn Lyon of the SBESC with your Creative Greenius at the PV Street Fair June 7
Marilyn Lyon of the SBESC with your Creative Greenius at the PV Street Fair June 7

As our climate change crisis worsens and spins out of control with each passing day there’s no time to spare for those of us whose job it is to educate and motivate our fellow citizens to actions that cut our greenhouse gas emissions.  I’m talking about committed environmental journalist/activists like myself who believe we have a responsibility to play more than a stenographers role in covering the single greatest threat to our civilization of our lifetimes.

That’s just one reason I spent 12 hours on behalf of the South Bay Environmental Services Center talking to people at the Palos Verdes Street Fair last weekend.  And when you hear the questions folks ask at events like these you instantly realize just  how little people know and understand about what’s happening to our climate and their world.  Most have no idea.  It’s not their fault either – their local governments and the mainstream media have failed them big time.  That’s certainly the case here in Torrance, California where I live and work.

The good news is that positive things ARE happening and our efforts are starting to make a difference.  It’s all happening excruciatingly too slowly of course, and at the pace we’re currently on we are quite simply as doomed as doomed can be – but in the meantime it IS starting to happen and the first signs of momentum are now starting to show.  As all Lakers and NBA fans know, if you’ve got Mr. Momentum wearing your jersey you’re going to go on a scoring run.  It’s a slam dunk.

Greenius Goes All AB 811 Over Green Task Force

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Creative Greenius talks AB 811 Financing to the Green Task Force / photo (c) Debra Bushweit Galliani

Last Thursday afternoon your Creative Greenius took yet another step on my journey to employ my professional skills, talents and resources for greater green good and not just to line my own pockets.

And so it was that I found myself in the Hermosa Beach City Council Chambers addressing the Green Task Force audience you cannot see in this photo as I presented my Finding The Green To Green The Grid House By House PowerPoint. (Click Here to Download a PDF copy of my presentation)

That audience is made up mostly of city staff members from the 17 different cities that make up the South Bay COG plus some interested citizens of those cities.  On this day it also included several board members of the Environmental Priorities Network, the Reverend Ron and even Mrs. Greenius.

Fortunately I suffered no stage fright or stress because I had spent many weeks researching, interviewing, analyzing and then crafting a presentation that simplifies the information and makes the subject clear and easy for everyone to understand.  For the past two decades I’ve been one of the top freelance pros in the United States doing this kind of work for my multinational corporate clients.  I bring the same level of focus, dedication and work ethic to the pro bono work I’m now doing.

But I also bring something more on top of all that.

Cisco Devries, the Godfather of AB 811, Shows Us The Money For Solar

Cisco DevriesA couple of years ago, Cisco Devries was the mayor’s chief of staff in Berkeley, California.  One day he decided he wanted to get solar PV panels for his home’s roof so he could generate his own clean, green renewable energy.  But he ran up against the same money wall the rest of us do – that huge up front out of pocket expense of $15,0oo-$25,000 you need to pay to get the solar.

So Cisco started looking for a better way for people to pay for solar and he started talking to other folks in Berkeley government.

Before too long they came up with the idea of creating special tax or assessment districts – just like the ones used when people have their utilities undergrounded.  They created the innovative concept of selling bonds to finance loans for the solar installations and then letting property owners pay back those loans over 20 years as an assessment on their property taxes.        

Greenius Weekend Update

weekend greenius updateHoliday greetings from teetering on the precipice of bankruptcy California, where we’ve had a couple of unnerving earthquakes, a historic election and a disappointing Lakers’ home loss in the NBA Western Conference Finals since last I posted.

slideshowImageClearly it’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine – because the s-bomb hasn’t quite hit the fan yet, the sun is shining at 10am here at the beach and it’s Fiesta Hermosa Weekend! And for the first time ever it’s an all green Fiesta Weekend in Hermosa!

And not just from the look of those tourists who force feed themselves too much kettle korn. No!  It’s because all the buses and generators involved in the Fiesta will be fueled with clean-burning biodiesel, made from used vegetable oil donated by local restaurants Patrick Molloy’s, Sangria, and Café Boogaloo. Glass and plastic containers will be recycled by Consolidated Disposal, and the food court vendors will be using compostible plates and cutlery.

Sure, we’re as doomed as doomed can be, but why worry when there’s still time to pour a big tall one and party the weekend away?  And to help kick it all off for you, after the jump I’ll offer up the first ever Greenius Weekend Update:

See You On the EPN Solar Homes Tour

Dency at 08 Energy Fair with his ev

That’s my friend, Dency Nelson, with his EV RAV4 at last year’s EPN Energy Fair. Dency charges his plug-in electric car using the clean, renewable energy he produces from the solar panels on the roof of his Hermosa Beach house.

Dency’s house is just one of 7 houses you can tour on tomorrow’s EPN Solar Homes Tour which you can check out on the EPN’s fabulous new web site.

They’re each great examples of how well solar works here in the South Bay, but only Dency’s house will feature your Creative Greenius as a volunteer docent.  I’m just saying…                                          

Solar Smackdown in Torrance – Installer Sues City on Behalf of the Sun

Nice Guy-LargeAfter a decade in the solar power installation business, Bradley Bartz is tired of being Mr. Nice Guy.  He’s tried the sugar and honey approach for ten years but instead of catching flies he’s caught hassles and obstructions from local Southern California city officials who haven’t kept up with modern technology and remain both ignorant and adversarial when it comes to helping their citizens go solar.

Idiots!” is what Bartz calls them and he’s doing more than name calling.  He’s filed suit against Torrance, the proud home of Exxon/Mobil’s refinery, for stopping him from installing solar panels in the Hillside Overlay district.

In this exclusive and wide-ranging interview with your Creative Greenius, the outspoken Bradley Bartz of ABC Solar shares the inside story of not only his legal suit against Torrance, but his broader plans to force cities to live up to the state’s California Solar Rights Act, his unique views on the California’s solar rebate program and his red tape experiences in dealing with Southern California Edison.                              

Real Men of Greenius

Thanks to my creative and green friend Sam Novey, Class of 2011 at a little place back east they like to call Harvard University, I now offer up the following video with an important message for you always thirsty college kids:

As my Ivy League bro Sam likes to say:

Because Reusing A Solo Cup Doesn’t Mean Going Home Solo

Green Manhattan Beach Going Plug-In. Here Comes BMW’s Mini E!

The Mini E - Soon to be seen Plugged-into Manhattan Beach

And we’ll have fun, fun, fun, till daddy takes the Min-E Away

Reliable sources inform your Creative Greenius that Manhattan Beach is about to be named the first Southern California city to be part of BMW’s test of the new plug-in Mini E, the EV version of the popular Mini Cooper.

The local paper had a piece on April 26 that said MB was under consideration and outlining the unbeatable $10 a month cost of the cars.

Expect an official announcement after the Manhattan Beach city council approves the arrangement.