Green Leaf Report

The last couple of months have been amazing…eye-popping…will be studied in business schools for years to come.  We discovered our economy was built on air and second mortgages (popularly known as “home equity lines of credits,” as the commercials smiled our nation into debt).  It feels like half our population was willing to trade their […]

At a time when traditional technology firms, mortgage companies, home builders and more are laying off employees, wind energy, solar energy, and various alternative fuel companies are actively recruiting.  I see articles repeatedly touting green jobs as a great growth area.  But how do we balance the green industry growth opportunities with the risk […]

My Earth Day resolution this year was to continue to chip away at the personal and professional challenges to living right.   In honor of Earth Day, this past week I’ve:

Planted another tree in my yard. It’s an apricot tree- so hopefully it will have a dual role of absorbing CO2 and providing local fruit.
Updated […]

Last year I wrote about using solar panels on cell phones, and the great benefits of taking consumer devices off the grid.  Texas Instruments just issued a press release that even goes a step further than solar panels- a joint project between TI and MIT is developing chips for consumer and medical applications that require such low amounts of power the devices […]

The Energy Bill of 2007 did not pass the Senate with the much discussed renewable energy plans in place.  The Senate voted as follows on December 13th:
Republican Senators Voting ‘Nay’ on Cloture Vote for Energy Bill Tax Title
Stevens (AK), Sessions, Shelby (AL), Kyl (AZ), Allard (CO), Martinez (FL)
Chambliss, Isakson (GA), Craig, Crapo (ID), Brownback, Roberts (KS)
Bunning, […]

I’m very excited that the energy bill just passed in the House with renewable energy incentives in place; some of these details are listed below. It’s a good start, but we need to get this past the Senate..  Solar Nation has a coordinated letter-writing campaign: http://capwiz.com/re-action/go/GENenergyvote.  Add your voice today!
“Among its provisions, the energy […]

I just noticed in a previous post how similar the words politician and pollution are when my spelling abilities temporarily lapsed.  With that in mind, I wrote letters to my two Texas state senators this week for their political pollution in blocking the energy bill provision that would support renewable energy standards.  We could have this […]

We all need optimism to survive; we all need to feel like we matter, that we can make a difference, don’t we?  I’ve changed my life over the years to try to lessen my impact, to live a more environmentally aware lifestyle; the changes can be so small, but I feel better with each one. My […]

I just attended a one-day solar seminar, taught by a gentleman who works on various aspects of the California Energy Commission’s Renewable Energy programs.  I enjoyed it; I didn’t know what I didn’t know about net metering and grid-connected solar. But one of the most eye opening discussions was the household wattage analysis. Before we discussed […]

A friend of mine sent me a link to the Sanyo Solar Ark the other day.  I love the message of teaching the community about environmental concerns and protecting the planet. 
Deep down, I have to wonder if Japan is getting ready to load their animals up, two by two.
 
Technorati tags: Solar+Ark+Sanyo

  Dale Julin writes an interesting article about growing pains in the solar industry: “The Utility Fox is Guarding the Solar Henhouse.” The California Solar Initiative’s earmarking of around $2B for solar energy production is a program that should be repeated across every state, in whatever form of renewable energy is most appropriate for the […]

With all of the debate about global warming, I’m happy to see religions jump into the fray. The argument so often is an economic one, it’s good to sometimes see the religions pull back to the big picture: economic growth aside, what is the right thing to do for our fellow man and our planet?  Pollute […]

There are too many arguments about the efficiencies of solar panels: good enough, not good enough…We fall into analysis paralysis, and keep using the older, polluting energy sources. Texas Instruments was innovative in the ’80s with solar strips on calculators- now let’s put those little solar strips on all consumer devices! I just love this […]

I’ve seen several articles recently about solar panels made from plastics.  While I agree a lighter weight solar panel option can open greater possibilities for the technology, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of solar panels made through any association with the petroleum industry.  Doesn’t this seem like a contradiction of basic principals: reduce our dependency […]

Yesterday I attended a Green Home and Garden Show. It was a little surreal to see the growing marketplace for green products and services first-hand. I debated with a gentleman over why he thought waterless urinals weren’t as good as very low water urinals (ask me if I’ll ever use a urinal in any ladies […]

Surprise surprise, north Texas in August is hot. We peaked at 104 degrees today, and now are being warned on the news of possible rolling energy blackouts. I’ve never understood why north Texas hasn’t embraced solar power; we hardly ever have a cloud in the sky, why are we relying on fossil fuels? Rolling blackouts gives us […]