I'm a renter. Always have been.
I support solar power. Always have.
Those two statements are NOT in conflict.
Locally generated and distributed electricity reduces the amount of power that must be generated in the first place, since long transmission lines lose power as heat.
For a proposed Xcel Energy solar installation in Colorado's San Luis Valley, about 15 percent of the electricity would be lost in transmission.
So park PV panels close by, on roofs, as parking structures, in odd corners of industrial lots.
Gang up on utility bills and form a solar garden. You and nine people can literally change the world by changing your power source.
And profit is standing in the wings, not yet ready for her closeup, but ready to bring home green in two ways.
Talk to the folks at The Solar Gardens Institute.
November 10, 2010
August 21, 2010
Purging the bookshelf and more
It had to happen someday. I had to let go of an absurd number of books.
I'm exhilarated that it is done, but getting there took, well, years.
You see, I love books. I was raised to love books. None of my childhood books had crayon marks, if we bought them new.
Books and learning were our religion.
I love books; the information and stories between the covers, the potential in a craft or home improvement book, the promise of family meals in cookbooks.
One of my favorite bands has the line "oh there's nothing better/ than the smell of a used book store/ we'll get lost between the covers."
Thanks, Ezra and Keith!
(song is Old Things by Trout Fishing in America, a band named after a book.)
But the books had to be set free. I am moving into a small place that already has an occupant, and very little room for stuff of mine.
Two years ago, my library numbered close to 1000 books. It is now four beer boxes.
I'm reeling, in one way and feel liberated in another.
Now I have to use the library heavily, and that will keep me from reading the same 100 books again and again.
I culled my CDs in a similar way.
I had acquired many from a previous employer, CDs from every artist who played over a seven year span. I was given the majority as a thank you for selling merchandise.
Some were from the free box.
In many ways, culling clothing was easier. I don't have a shoe fetish. I don't have handbags or purses. I dress in what is kindly called an eccentric way.
Over the past two years, I've started dressing in black and green with the odd brown shirt.
Long way from the tie dye I lived in for 14 years!
One item took me by surprise.
I have a nice but holey warm sweater from Nepal. I bought it in Ft. Collins before a String Cheese Incident concert in 1998. I said then that it would bring me to Colorado to stay.
So, packing in an apartment in Englewood, Colo., I folded up the well worn sweater and started to drop in in the donations bag.
But I couldn't. I felt a wave of sadness at the idea. Honestly, I cried. over a sweater. (yes, pitiful, isn't it?)
But I listened to that impulse, and kept it.
A fleece took its place in the donation bag.
What strangely emotion moments have you had during moves? What surprised you?
I'm exhilarated that it is done, but getting there took, well, years.
You see, I love books. I was raised to love books. None of my childhood books had crayon marks, if we bought them new.
Books and learning were our religion.
I love books; the information and stories between the covers, the potential in a craft or home improvement book, the promise of family meals in cookbooks.
One of my favorite bands has the line "oh there's nothing better/ than the smell of a used book store/ we'll get lost between the covers."
Thanks, Ezra and Keith!
(song is Old Things by Trout Fishing in America, a band named after a book.)
But the books had to be set free. I am moving into a small place that already has an occupant, and very little room for stuff of mine.
Two years ago, my library numbered close to 1000 books. It is now four beer boxes.
I'm reeling, in one way and feel liberated in another.
Now I have to use the library heavily, and that will keep me from reading the same 100 books again and again.
I culled my CDs in a similar way.
I had acquired many from a previous employer, CDs from every artist who played over a seven year span. I was given the majority as a thank you for selling merchandise.
Some were from the free box.
In many ways, culling clothing was easier. I don't have a shoe fetish. I don't have handbags or purses. I dress in what is kindly called an eccentric way.
Over the past two years, I've started dressing in black and green with the odd brown shirt.
Long way from the tie dye I lived in for 14 years!
One item took me by surprise.
I have a nice but holey warm sweater from Nepal. I bought it in Ft. Collins before a String Cheese Incident concert in 1998. I said then that it would bring me to Colorado to stay.
So, packing in an apartment in Englewood, Colo., I folded up the well worn sweater and started to drop in in the donations bag.
But I couldn't. I felt a wave of sadness at the idea. Honestly, I cried. over a sweater. (yes, pitiful, isn't it?)
But I listened to that impulse, and kept it.
A fleece took its place in the donation bag.
What strangely emotion moments have you had during moves? What surprised you?
June 5, 2010
Sunrise for community solar gardens
On an appropriately sunny Colorado afternoon, the community solar gardens act became reality.
With the flatirons in the distance, Gov. Bill Ritter signed HB1342 into law June 5.
“At SolarGardens.org, we see the Community Solar Gardens act as a step toward enabling everyone to own their own solar panels,” said Joy Hughes, founder of SolarGardens.org. “Even if you have shade on your roof or rent your house, you can subscribe to the sun, and if you move, your subscription moves with you.”
Rep. Claire Levy ,D-Boulder, author and House sponsor of the bill, credited a single resident with the idea of community solar.
He mentioned that his neighbors in the mountains above Boulder have good exposure, but don't necessarily have the money for their own system. The constituent, Solargardens.org board member Greg Ching, thought allowing panels on another owners property would help the mountain residents generate power for their homes.
Levy looked into the law, and saw several impediments to siting solar panels off one's own land.
At the same time, Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, was looking for a way for her constituents to own collaborative solar. They joined forces and carried the Community Solar Gardens bill.
As Ritter signed it, he spoke of the leadership Colorado has taken in the new energy economy, and the 56 bills, of which Community Solar Gardens is the latest, that position Colorado as the national, and Ritter argues, international leader in new energy economies.
Allowing people to purchase subscriptions to solar gardens benefits the customers by allowing them access to benefits, from rebates to tax incentives, that homeowners get. The act also aids utility companies in achieving their state-mandated 30 percent renewable energy standard as customers sell excess power back into the grid.
David Eves of Xcel Energy said the act allows those who cannot Participate in Xcel's Solar Rewardsz program to do so.
“You have a lot of good ideas coming out of Boulder,” Eves said. “Thank you for pushing us.”
The Community Solar Gardens act will allow people to own solar panels that are not on their property.
Becoming part of a community solar garden brings clean, sustainable power to renters of homes, apartments or offices, condo owners, people with locations that are not ideal for solar panels or live in areas with homeowner associations that limit the number or location of panels.
A Community Solar Garden is at least 10 people, called subscribers, who own panels at a site.
HB 1342 directs the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to create rules that require public utilities to extend rebates and other offers available to homeowners who install photovoltaic panels to these groups.
One of the benefits for the utilities is more renewable power generated in areas where it is used and sold to the grid.
State Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, sponsored the bill in the House and State Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, sponsored it in the Senate.
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-El Dorado Springs, is sponsoring a similar bill at the federal level, the Solar Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Act.
For more information on Community Solar Gardens, visit www.solargardens.org.
With the flatirons in the distance, Gov. Bill Ritter signed HB1342 into law June 5.
“At SolarGardens.org, we see the Community Solar Gardens act as a step toward enabling everyone to own their own solar panels,” said Joy Hughes, founder of SolarGardens.org. “Even if you have shade on your roof or rent your house, you can subscribe to the sun, and if you move, your subscription moves with you.”
Rep. Claire Levy ,D-Boulder, author and House sponsor of the bill, credited a single resident with the idea of community solar.
He mentioned that his neighbors in the mountains above Boulder have good exposure, but don't necessarily have the money for their own system. The constituent, Solargardens.org board member Greg Ching, thought allowing panels on another owners property would help the mountain residents generate power for their homes.
Levy looked into the law, and saw several impediments to siting solar panels off one's own land.
At the same time, Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, was looking for a way for her constituents to own collaborative solar. They joined forces and carried the Community Solar Gardens bill.
As Ritter signed it, he spoke of the leadership Colorado has taken in the new energy economy, and the 56 bills, of which Community Solar Gardens is the latest, that position Colorado as the national, and Ritter argues, international leader in new energy economies.
Allowing people to purchase subscriptions to solar gardens benefits the customers by allowing them access to benefits, from rebates to tax incentives, that homeowners get. The act also aids utility companies in achieving their state-mandated 30 percent renewable energy standard as customers sell excess power back into the grid.
David Eves of Xcel Energy said the act allows those who cannot Participate in Xcel's Solar Rewardsz program to do so.
“You have a lot of good ideas coming out of Boulder,” Eves said. “Thank you for pushing us.”
The Community Solar Gardens act will allow people to own solar panels that are not on their property.
Becoming part of a community solar garden brings clean, sustainable power to renters of homes, apartments or offices, condo owners, people with locations that are not ideal for solar panels or live in areas with homeowner associations that limit the number or location of panels.
A Community Solar Garden is at least 10 people, called subscribers, who own panels at a site.
HB 1342 directs the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to create rules that require public utilities to extend rebates and other offers available to homeowners who install photovoltaic panels to these groups.
One of the benefits for the utilities is more renewable power generated in areas where it is used and sold to the grid.
State Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, sponsored the bill in the House and State Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, sponsored it in the Senate.
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-El Dorado Springs, is sponsoring a similar bill at the federal level, the Solar Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Act.
For more information on Community Solar Gardens, visit www.solargardens.org.
June 3, 2010
Solar rebates and benefits for all in Colorado
Gov. Bill Ritter signs HB 1342 into law at noon Saturday, June 25 on the top level of the parking garage at 15th and Pearl streets in Boulder.
“At SolarGardens.org, we see the Community Solar Gardens act as a step toward enabling everyone to own their own solar panels,” said Joy Hughes, founder of SolarGardens.org. “Even if you have shade on your roof or rent your house, you can subscribe to the sun, and if you move, your subscription moves with you.”
The bill will allow people to own solar panels that are not on their property.
Becoming part of a community solar garden brings clean, sustainable power to renters of homes, apartments or offices, condo owners, people with locations that are not ideal for solar panels or live in areas with homeowner associations that limit the number or location of panels.
A Community Solar Garden is at least 10 people, called subscribers, who own panels at a site.
HB 1342 directs the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to create rules that require public utilities to extend rebates and other offers available to homeowners who install photovoltaic panels to these groups.
One of the benefits for the utilities is more renewable power generated in areas where it is used and sold to the grid.
State Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, sponsored the bill in the House and State Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, sponsored it in the Senate.
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-El Dorado Springs, is sponsoring a similar bill at the federal level, the Solar Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Act.
For more information on Community Solar Gardens, visit www.solargardens.org.
“At SolarGardens.org, we see the Community Solar Gardens act as a step toward enabling everyone to own their own solar panels,” said Joy Hughes, founder of SolarGardens.org. “Even if you have shade on your roof or rent your house, you can subscribe to the sun, and if you move, your subscription moves with you.”
The bill will allow people to own solar panels that are not on their property.
Becoming part of a community solar garden brings clean, sustainable power to renters of homes, apartments or offices, condo owners, people with locations that are not ideal for solar panels or live in areas with homeowner associations that limit the number or location of panels.
A Community Solar Garden is at least 10 people, called subscribers, who own panels at a site.
HB 1342 directs the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to create rules that require public utilities to extend rebates and other offers available to homeowners who install photovoltaic panels to these groups.
One of the benefits for the utilities is more renewable power generated in areas where it is used and sold to the grid.
State Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, sponsored the bill in the House and State Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, sponsored it in the Senate.
U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-El Dorado Springs, is sponsoring a similar bill at the federal level, the Solar Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Act.
For more information on Community Solar Gardens, visit www.solargardens.org.
May 14, 2010
Take out without
A few months ago, a new web site started up promoting the bring your own bag mentality at restaurants.
I started bringing stainless steel straws and my own cutlery about three years ago, and maybe the thought of bringing my own take away containers flitted across my mind.
And I probably thought, "once I start driving again, I'll do that."
Three years later, I'm still walking, but finally remembering containers, on occasion.
Until I ran across Take Out Without .
The idea is to bring a container for leftovers or take out and make it as common as bringing a bag to the grocer's.
Easy? Seems so. I'm good if I'm planning on going out or getting to the salad bar, but when I run late, I still wind up with a plastic 6 or styro container.
Except now, each one I see reminds me to be prepared in the future.
I started bringing stainless steel straws and my own cutlery about three years ago, and maybe the thought of bringing my own take away containers flitted across my mind.
And I probably thought, "once I start driving again, I'll do that."
Three years later, I'm still walking, but finally remembering containers, on occasion.
Until I ran across Take Out Without .
The idea is to bring a container for leftovers or take out and make it as common as bringing a bag to the grocer's.
Easy? Seems so. I'm good if I'm planning on going out or getting to the salad bar, but when I run late, I still wind up with a plastic 6 or styro container.
Except now, each one I see reminds me to be prepared in the future.
February 3, 2010
My choices have changed
Well, I spent three years working two jobs, one during the week with the occasional weekend coverage needed; and one each Friday and Saturday night , adding Wednesdays in the summer.
That is a lot of time spent doing something, and I felt both were a calling.
I wrote for a newspaper for five years, and in December 2009, they let me go.
One month later, the music venue dissolved my position.
So now I am drawing unemployment and getting emails that read, "we have selected a candidate with more closely matched qualifications."
People, that was for stocking shelves at a grocery store.
However, I now know how to rewrite that part of my resume, and I may yet become a wage slave again.
However, I created a wrench and tossed it in the works of my unemployment claims.
I told the state I was laid off from my part time job.
This means my benefit amount needs to be recalculated, because the original calculation was based on my full time job.
I have to start all over, wait, no that would be easy. I have to "reopen" my claim, which means keep dialing into a number that might, or might not, have real humans on the other end.
This seems like a chance to put some of the unemployed professionals to work handling these claims.
Update: I'm back on hold, up to an hour, the recording says. Wish me luck!
That is a lot of time spent doing something, and I felt both were a calling.
I wrote for a newspaper for five years, and in December 2009, they let me go.
One month later, the music venue dissolved my position.
So now I am drawing unemployment and getting emails that read, "we have selected a candidate with more closely matched qualifications."
People, that was for stocking shelves at a grocery store.
However, I now know how to rewrite that part of my resume, and I may yet become a wage slave again.
However, I created a wrench and tossed it in the works of my unemployment claims.
I told the state I was laid off from my part time job.
This means my benefit amount needs to be recalculated, because the original calculation was based on my full time job.
I have to start all over, wait, no that would be easy. I have to "reopen" my claim, which means keep dialing into a number that might, or might not, have real humans on the other end.
This seems like a chance to put some of the unemployed professionals to work handling these claims.
Update: I'm back on hold, up to an hour, the recording says. Wish me luck!
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