solar power – Page 11 – Creative Greenius

That Super Sexy Clean Tech Roundtable, Part II of a Greenius Exclusive

July 2, 2009July 2, 2009climate change, electric cars, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, Killer Coal, News Media, plug-in cars, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!2 Comments

If you’re like me you would have found yesterday’s gathering in Santa Monica a very sexy day at the beach. And by sexy I mean hot and arousing, the way I get when serious people talk serious talk about renewable energy, about the revolution that’s needed to respond to climate change and about the reality of current world situation. You know, the kind of stuff never discussed on television or in the newspapers anymore. The kind of stuff that transcends the bread and circuses offered to the masses today.

P1040894 — The Broad Stage at Santa Monica College Parking Lot post Roundtable

But let’s face it, I’ve got a pretty unconventional sense of sexy and as one of the ace marketers of my generation I know what brand of sex sells best to the people. That’s why I’d always like the features and benefits of any product I introduce to the mass market to be pointed out by someone like the young woman in the sunglasses above. Having the world’s greatest car is nice. But knowing how to sell it best is the kind of genius I can appreciate.

Continue reading ➞ That Super Sexy Clean Tech Roundtable, Part II of a Greenius Exclusive

Exxon/Mobil Guilty of Climate Change Coverup. Now Ordered Out of Torrance 3 Years Sooner.

July 1, 2009July 27, 2009carbon producers, climate change, environment, fossil fuels, greenwashing, renewable energy, solar power4 Comments

torrnace refinery

I initially gave Exxon/Mobil till 2020 to get out of Torrance and clean up their toxic mess here in my town. But now that I’ve found out they’re still lying and covering up their role in climate change and the size of their own carbon footprint, I’m going to have to get tougher with them. Some people just cannot be negotiated with and need a swift, hard kick in the ass. Sometimes they need several of them.

The global gangbangers from Exxon/Mobil are like that. They’ll forever claim to be reformed and rehabilitated but in the end they’ll always knife you in the back and sell crack to your kids. It’s just part of their DNA. They’ve been acting that way for generations.

That’s why I shouldn’t have been surprised when I read this today in the Guardian of England:

The world’s largest oil company is continuing to fund lobby groups that question the reality of global warming, despite a public pledge to cut support for such climate change denial, a new analysis shows.

Continue reading ➞ Exxon/Mobil Guilty of Climate Change Coverup. Now Ordered Out of Torrance 3 Years Sooner.

Ted Lieu Wants My Money, Wants My Vote, But Doesn’t Want To Talk About AB 920

June 28, 2009June 28, 2009campaign, climate change, election, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, politics, solar power6 Comments

I’m beginning to think that Ted Lieu only co-authored AB 920, the Feed-In Tariff bill as window dressing in order to try to pad his environmental resume.

Ted doesn’t talk about the bill in public, won’t put anything about it on his own web site, and looks down at his shoes and changes the subject if you ask him about the bill personally.

Why shouldn’t we conclude that Ted is practicing political greenwashing when he won’t show any backbone or courage and lobby on behalf of his own bill even when you ask him to?

Until Ted proves otherwise, that’s the conclusion I have reached. And in case you’re wondering, I’m a registered Democrat and a member of the Beach Cities Democratic Club, but fellow Democrat Lieu gets zero slack cut on this issue from me.

Ted Lieu used to be one of my city councilmen here in Torrance, but he didn’t stay local long because Ted had much bigger political ambitions than that.

Continue reading ➞ Ted Lieu Wants My Money, Wants My Vote, But Doesn’t Want To Talk About AB 920

Electric Company Too Scared To Tell Truth About Climate Change

June 26, 2009June 26, 2009carbon producers, climate change, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green education, greenwashing, Killer Coal, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!1 Comment

If SCE Won’t Tell The Truth About Climate Change Why Should We Trust Them About Anything?

I attended the Southern California Edison’s free Solar session for homeowners last night. I was there as a volunteer for the South Bay Environmental Services Center. After my volunteer stint was over I stayed for the presentation and workshop.

P1040773 Overall it was a good workshop with lots of solid basic information for people who don’t know much about solar but are considering a solar electric system. Javier Burgos, a Project Manager with the SCE’s California Solar Initiative program gave a nice, if overlong and overwordy PowerPoint presentation.

The workshop was very well attended with over 130 local people showing up. Their interest level was very high and they were a very attentive audience.

But it’s too bad Javier was too afraid to tell the truth about climate change to the people who came to his presentation hoping to get the facts and the straight story.

Continue reading ➞ Electric Company Too Scared To Tell Truth About Climate Change

Superstars of AB 811 Rock Palm Desert @ EcoMotion Conference

June 16, 2009June 18, 2009climate change, environment, green building, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, water conservation, Yes We Can!5 Comments

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

P1040634 — 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.

Continue reading ➞ Superstars of AB 811 Rock Palm Desert @ EcoMotion Conference

Solar Powered Greenius Producing Massive South Bay Energy

June 11, 2009June 12, 2009citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, plug-in cars, politics, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!5 Comments

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.

Continue reading ➞ Solar Powered Greenius Producing Massive South Bay Energy

Greenius Headed To Palm Desert Looking for AB 811 Green to Green the Grid

June 4, 2009June 4, 2009climate change, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, renewable energy, solar power, SustainabilityLeave a Comment

Greenius Goes All AB 811 Over Green Task Force

May 31, 2009June 1, 2009citizen volunteer, climate change, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, green building, green education, Killer Coal, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability2 Comments

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.

Continue reading ➞ Greenius Goes All AB 811 Over Green Task Force

See You On the EPN Solar Homes Tour

May 15, 2009May 23, 2009citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, environment, green buildings, plug-in cars, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!1 Comment

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…

Continue reading ➞ See You On the EPN Solar Homes Tour

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

May 14, 2009November 21, 2009carbon producers, climate change, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green education, greenwashing, plug-in cars, politics, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Yes We Can!3 Comments

After 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.

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