EcoLocalizer

This past weekend most of the swarms listened to rock and roll, rap, hip hop, and pop at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco’s great Golden Gate Park, but we took time from the audio overload to explore the some of the green aspects of the festival.

It actually didn’t take long as a set of solar panels sat just outside the main entrance. After that, we hit the Eco Lands. The PG&E sponsored area offered up booths (organic farmer’s market), tents, exhibits (like solar education classes) that one doesn’t normally see in a rock ‘n’ roll venue. We grabbed an Eco Lands Passport, an inspiration from Jack Johnson’s All At Once Community, where green minded rockers could obtain “stamps” for doing certain activities such as recycling a cell phones, use the bike valet (we did), calculate your carbon footprint, or donate to a non-profit.

We found ourselves super impressed with the Panhandle Stage not only because we saw the politically and socially charged K’Naan here but the stage actually ran on solar. That’s right, all the amps, mikes, lights, everything off the grid. The stage utilized a 4-kilowatt solar system, and by using solar power rather than a diesel generator or grid power, they avoided emitting approximately 3,000 lbs per day (1.5 metric tons) of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Read the rest of this entry »

It takes a village to raise a child, but apparently it takes only one blogger with a lawyer friend to hobble a whole city’s efforts to encourage bicycling.

Wall Street Journal writer Phred Dvorak describes all the sordid details in an article about San Francisco resident Rob Anderson, who has almost single-handedly stopped the city’s pro-bicycle plans cold.

Anderson began his crusade against bikes in 2004, when San Francisco officials unveiled a massive plan to create more bike lanes, bike parking and cycling incentives across the city. The plan set a goal of having bicycles responsible for 10 percent of all city trips by 2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

Also published in Sustainablog
This is The City. A city with lots of old appliances that seemingly get discarded onto the street or simply get tossed in the city dump. Not a pretty picture for the numerous washing machines, refrigerators and other large appliances that not only create a landfill nightmare but could seemingly be put to use.

So what do we do with our old washing machines and such? We stumbled upon a place that picks up washing machines and other appliances. For free. Could this be real? This place called Rancho Grande, located in the Mission near Bernal Heights picks up appliances (and recently picked up some of our non working washing machines) for free. But where’s the Green slant? In the case of washing machines, they fix the machines (often with the used parts they have collected) and resell the working machnies for a susstantial discount verses new ones. The people at Rancho Grande say that the used machines from the 70s and 80s often last longer than the new ones because the current models have so many plastic parts that don’t last.

For machines that can’t be repaired (or the cost is too much) they first drain the oil (which is then reused) then take the appliance to a local metal yard where it finds new life as crushed metal scrap. Sure, the newer Energy Star models use less energy but like cars it’s probably a better bet to use the old one to its final days before buying a new, more energy efficient version.

Originally published in Green Building Elements

When San Franciscans and anyone else living in the Bay Area hear about Richmond the first thing that comes to mind certainly isn’t anything related to Green, Eco, or Sustainable anything. That will hopefully change as the semi-rural farm Eco Village Farm Center, which already teaches sustainable farming and growing practices to underprivileged local youth, recently added a solar system to power the farm.

In a not so pastoral location surrounded by freeways and railroad tracks, the Eco Village offers a green sanctuary to local youth who wish to find a green place to learn and relax. The farm grows a variety of vegetation including: fruit trees, Oaks, Beach, Banana, California Buckeyes, Bay Laurels, Blackberries and Walnuts.

The recently added solar system not only will decrease their energy bill but many young Richmond residents received an opportunity to help install the system. The program sponsored by Solar Living Institute, Solar Richmond, Rising Sun Energy Center, Sun Light & Power, SunPower Corporation and Bay Area Air Quality Management District brought a human element to the system by providing access for disadvantaged children to gain skills and interest in the green business movement.

We’re big fans of this project not just because of the reduced carbon footprint but the program gives youth an opportunity to become more eco-literate, as it creates a cross cultural dialogue and moves across economic lines as well. Learning about Green power, grey water harvesting and urban food production isn’t just for people who can afford it.

We’d like to see more solar training and eco-literacy spread from the suddenly Green city of Richmond.

Down in Menlo Park, where Tesla Motors recently opened its industrial chic showroom, people might not think “Who Killed the Electric Car?” but rather “Who Can Afford the Electric Car?”. Nevertheless we’re totally juiced about the nearby showroom that displays a half dozen juicy Tesla Roadster electric car models that make the Prius look like a gas guzzling Hummer. It’s our checkbooks that aren’t as excited.

If you happen to be one of the numerous stars like Matt Damon or green politicians (like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Gavin Newsome) then it’s easy to tool around in one of these electric beauties but with the current $98,000 price tag (going up to $109,000 for the 2009 model) it isn’t exactly priced like a Buick. Even, with the cash, the waiting list sits at about 1100.

At least these guys continue to drive in the right direction instead of General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler which, according to The Detroit News, spent more than $15 million in the first six months of 2007, mostly to lobby against large hikes in federal fuel-economy standards.

We know what you’re thinking, you want to just stroll in and ask for a test drive. The local dealership will offer test drives with a $5000 deposit or a convincing story that you are a legitimate buyer. We plan to re-visit the showroom soon after we scrape up $5,000 from our sustainably built sofa.

Photo courtesy of Tesla Motors

Following the lead of our progressive neighbors to the north, San Francisco, the City of Los Angeles has decided to ban plastic bags by 2010. A bit of a disclaimer, though - the ban will be implemented only if the State does not impose a 25 cent fee for each bag requested by a customer. This bill (AB 2058) is coming up for a vote in August. Still, it’s a step in the right direction, putting pressure on lawmakers to reduce the 2.3 billion bags used by consumers in Los Angeles.

The announcement comes after Los Angeles County supervisors caused disappointment in January when they abandoned a threat to ban the bags, choosing instead a voluntary program where stores were to “encourage” customers to bring reusable bags. In other words, the status quo.

The City Council also voted to ban Styrofoam at all city-owned facilities, including LAX, by 2009. Though Los Angeles collects Styrofoam for recycling, there isn’t really a market for it - by the time it is melted down, very little material is left. Last I heard, Styrofoam was being stored until another solution could be found…like a ban! Ta da!

Read the rest of this entry »

Calling all sustainability hounds: EcoTuesday, the sustainable business leaders networking forum, is launching its highly anticipated Ambassador Program. Through the program, people can produce EcoTuesday events in their city and generate income from event sponsorships. Ambassadors are responsible for organizing events, securing venues and speakers each month, and developing relationships with companies that want to sponsor EcoTuesday events.

EcoTuesday is currently held on the 4th Tuesday of every month in San Francisco, Marin/North Bay, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. The event features opportunities for sustainable business leaders to network and learn about green issues from visiting speakers. Don’t be shy about attending; participants come from areas as varied as real estate, organic food, and climate change policy, just to name a few.

For more information on getting started with EcoTuesday, check out their website.

Photo Credit: EcoTuesday

A church more often than not needs to draw its inspiration from the heavens, but San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral has taken that stereotype to the next level, as they announced Thursday that they would be partnering with Pacific Gas and Electric to install a new photovoltaic power system.

The project will see PG&E commit $65,000 for the installation, and designed and implemented by SolarCity of Foster City; it is expected to be completed later this year. And it is all thanks to the hard work of Reverend Canon Sally Bingham, the president of California Interfaith Power and Light, an organization founded upon the idea that the religious aspects of the community must respond to global warming as a moral issue.

Read the rest of this entry »

Starting tomorrow, San Francisco’s Moscone Center will play host to Intersolar North America, the country’s premier exhibition for photovoltaics, solar thermal technology, and solar thermal architecture. The Intersolar conference, which has previously only been held in Europe, will attract 210 solar companies and over 12,000 attendees.

Corporate participants will come from every part of the solar energy supply chain—ranging from PV cell manufacturers and components suppliers to service companies and manufacturers of solar thermal applications for heating and cooling.

Not only will the event have a massive exhibition center for the participating companies, but it will also put on a variety of solar-themed workshops. Topics will include solar cooling, solar thermal energy, introductory photovoltaics, and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

The area in front of San Francisco’s city hall doesn’t exactly represent lush farmland but that doesn’t prevent it from being a viable SF food source. For the first time since 1943,
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Slow Food Nation founder Alice Waters and more than 100 volunteers planted the first edible garden in the City’s Civic Center. This victory garden, which takes its name from from 20th Century wartime efforts, helps to address food shortages by encouraging citizens to plant gardens on public and private land.

Victory gardens continue to spring up in and around the City as food prices continue to rise and food sustainability becomes more of an issue. This Civic Center venture found its funding through various organizations including Slow Food Nation, CMG Landscape Architecture, City Slicker Farms, The Presidio Native Plant Nursery, Alemany Farms, Friends of the Urban Forest, Ploughshares Nursery, Urban Permaculture Guild, Coevolution Institute and many others.

Our salad bowl spins with the thought of the many crops being grown Amaranth, Snap Bean, Pole Bean, Dry Bean, Broccoli Raab, Ground Cherry, Chicory, Chinese Cabbage, Collards, Cowpea, Cress, Leeks, Okra, Bunching Onion, as well as Calendula, May Flowers, Sunflowers and many others. Being realists, we thought that in this City that how will these crops survive with all the pesky homeless and veggie thieves but the city provides on-site security to guard against theft.

Read the rest of this entry »