SF Solar Map

The city of San Francisco has created a goal of achieving 10,000 solar rooftops city-wide by 2010. With their new site they hope to help you design "hassle-free and convenient solutions to your solar needs. We have streamlined the solar permitting process and give planning priority to businesses that meet high-level green building (LEED gold or above) standards."

Roper Survey on Solar Shows Growing Consumer Interest

05/30/2007 - According to a recent Roper survey commissioned by Sharp Electronics Corporation, nearly 90 percent of Americans think that solar electricity should be an option for all new home construction, up significantly from one year ago (79 percent). Three-quarters of survey respondents perceive solar power to be more important than ever, evidence that Americans recognize the value of solar as a clean, renewable form of energy. The survey was conducted in May of this year among 1,004 adults to measure their perceptions of solar power.

Saving money on monthly energy bills was the primary motivation for consumers to install a solar system, with 84 percent of respondents citing this over any other reason. More than half of respondents said they would be more interested in learning about solar energy for their homes, if the system would cost them zero money down and they would start enjoying an immediate payback in the form of lower energy bills. This was the primary motivation for Sharp to create an alliance with CitiMortgage, which enables homeowners to fund the purchase of a solar energy system through a streamlined Home Equity Program where homeowners can use the equity in their homes to help offset the cost of installing solar panels on their roofs.

The findings of the survey include:

• 87 percent feel that homebuilders should offer solar power as an option for all new homes; older Americans are less enthusiastic, with 77 percent of those over age 65 supporting solar on new homes
• Respondents understand that solar power can be used to turn the lights on (82 percent), heat bath water (82 percent) or heat a swimming pool (80 percent)
• Respondents are less likely to understand that solar can power electric devices such as computers or appliances (71 percent)
• Americans over age 65 are least likely to recognize this functionality (56 percent)
• Those in the Northeast (63 percent) and Midwest (65 percent) were significantly less likely to identify this functionality for solar energy, compared to those in the South (75 percent) and West (78 percent)
• 82 percent say that a decrease in monthly energy bills is their primary motivation for installing solar power; other respondents indicated it was to reduce overall energy usage (79 percent), reduce oil dependence (77 percent) or because it is a secure source of energy (75 percent)
• 56 percent would be interested in learning more about solar for their homes if the system could be obtained for zero money down and their utility bills would be lowered right away
• Younger adults, ages 25-34, are more encouraged by monetary savings, with 67 percent expressing interest in solar

via GreenProgress
More on Sharp's Solar Systems

Waves of Change Conference

International Urban Design Conference
Gold Coast, Australia 6,7 & 8 September, 2007.

The Conference theme “Waves of Change – Cities at Crossroads” will challenge us all to examine our towns and cities.

Population growth and economic prosperity have consequences on the environment and on the longer term social well-being of our communities.

The wave of environmental challenges will affect communities through global warming and likely sea level rises. The ability of urban centres world-wide to cope with the impacts of high level fuel costs will also be examined. The physical separation of home from work and recreation may need to be re-addressed in city design.

>> Day one celebrates the official conference launch followed by challenging keynote addresses about the issues confronting our cities and what we might do about it.

>> Day two is a whirlpool of presentations taking the macro view down to micro insights into local and international research, design tools and models that can lead the way towards sustainable urban habitats.

>> Day three erupts with a hot debate moderated by Jennie Brockie, followed by even more keynote addresses exploring the ways and means of building capacity within our communities, our future designers, and policy makers to implement the necessary adaptations to our cities.

The event includes workshops, debates and tours of South East Queensland, Australia’s fastest growing region showcasing the attributes of a premier tourist destination, from tall buildings to medium density housing to the hinterland “Eco-village” development.

The conference Gala Dinner will include the bi-annual Gold Coast Urban Design awards for 2007.

Confirmed speakers include:

* Mr Michael Sorkin - USA
* Prof Kongjian Yu - China
* Mr Michael Norton - UK
* Prof Elaine Gallagher - Canada
* Prof Ian Bentley - UK
* Mr Jeremy Harris - USA
* Ms Ruth Durack - AUS
* Mr Richard Neville - AUS

Lovins on MicroPower

In a recent debate over the future of nuclear power, Amory Lovins cites some interesting statistics about micropower generation:

"Risk-taking capitalists are concluding that nuclear power is not an attractive option compared with other technologies" including distributed power from co-generation (combined heat and power generation), next-generation biofuels, solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal energy.

Lovins said that micropower (i.e. distributed energy generation) now accounts for one-sixth of world power, surpassing nuclear as a source of electricity for the first time in 2006. He noted that in 2005 micropower added four times as much output and eleven times as much capacity as nuclear added.

Photography by Ben Stechschulte
DISCOVER
Vol. 27 No. 02 | February 2006

Global Gas Prices

Conservation, politics and economics all wrapped into one. This graphic from Wired magazine does a great job of inferring the ways in which social behaviors are correlated to the price of gas.

Consumers Don't Trust Corporations, Gov't on Climate Change

Source: ClimateBiz.com

LONDON, June 22, 2007 -- Only 10 percent of consumers in the United States and the U.K. believe efforts by governments and companies to inform them about climate change, according to a new study from AccountAbility.

The report, "What Assures Consumers on Climate Change?" finds that rather than trust institutions and corporations, most people in the two companies instead trust information from friends, family and environmental groups. Even though 54 percent said they were willing to make personal sacrifices to fight climate change, three-quarters of respondents still feel unable to take action.

"What consumers are crying out for is leadership," said Philip Monaghan, a director at AccountAbility. "More serious policy action and less photo shoots with Leonardo DiCaprio is key to building consumer trust and action."

One remedy for this lack of trust is for governments and companies to take serious, concerted action on climate change. Two-thirds of the people surveyed said they wanted tougher action from governments and companies on products that contribute to climate change.

It's not just big institutions that respondents want to take action: the survey showed that most people believe everyone shares responsibility for reducing their contribution to climate change.

"What's interesting is that at this moment in time, we're seeing consumers increasingly taking interest in environmental social issues -- what was previously niche ethical consumerism appears to be mainstreaming," Monaghan told Reuters.

The findings of the study also emphasize that consumers want to buy ecologically friendly products and services. Almost 40 percent said energy efficient products should be priced in a fair and affordable manner, and 51.5 percent believe the government should take action to remove environmentally damaging products from shelves.

Furthermore, most respondents believe that companies and governments alike need to embrace and enforce independent third-party verification of any claims that a product or service is climate-friendly.

"The critical factor which will determine businesses' credibility in the environmental arena is verification," Richard Sadler, CEO of Lloyd's Register, an environmental verification service, said of the report. "Without it, trust will erode and trust is the essential currency of any market system. What we need now is a common standard, providing a basis for independent verification, to give consumers claims they can trust."

Interim results of the joint poll by AccountAbility and Consumers International of 2,734 people also revealed that more than 50 percent believe governments need to make sure that products that are damaging to the environment are removed from stores.

Tech for Green :: River Glow

Soo-in Yang and David Benjamin demonstrate how design, sustainable values and technology can come together in a remarkably poetic way. On only a $1000 budget, their RiverGlow floating LED's generate an "ethereal cloud of light hovering above the water’s surface that changes colors according to the condition of the water below.”

One of those 'why didn't I think of that?' ideas with layered simplicity.

More pics and info here.

UK's 2016 Code of Sustainability

All new housing in the UK is expected to meet a new set of standards by 2016. Treehugger has featured a couple of prototypes designs submitted by architects that attempt to meet the standard. See their entry on the zero-carbon Lighthouse, and the Sigma House. What's interesting about both--and particularly Sigma--is how closely they resemble (in function) vertically-oriented Earthships.

More about Earthship systems here: water, electricity, sewage.









An Earthship 'energy roof.'

Yahoo! Green's Take Action

Yahoo! Green's tips for CO2 reduction are a good demonstration of how the home has become the new locus for environmental change. Check out their Take Action tab on their new site. Functionality also includes the ability to make your own CO2 reduction plan.

Design for the Other 90%

An interesting exhibit now showing at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

"Designers, engineers, students and professors, architects, and social entrepreneurs from all over the globe are devising cost-effective ways to increase access to food and water, energy, education, healthcare, revenue-generating activities, and affordable transportation for those who most need them."

The terrifying potential of data visualization...

The Breathing Earth project was created by David Bleja, based on 2005/2006 census data around the world. Great way to visualize human impact and it's varying scale and proportion.

CFP: IDEAS for sustainble technology

Workshop on Ubiquitous Sustainability: Technologies for Green Values

In Conjunction with the Ninth International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp 2007)

September 16th, 2007, Innsbruck, Austria

Overview

This workshop will explore how Ubicomp research can intersect with values and practices linked to environmental sustainability. Growing concerns about resource depletion, global warming, and environmental degradation have led increasing numbers of people to reconsider their actions and the impact they have on the planet. This upswing in public interest in making positive change for the environment has substantial implications for how the Ubicomp community frames and executes the design of technologies in realms as diverse as energy conservation, healthcare, home systems monitoring and automation, environmental monitoring, community planning, and social networking. The goals of the workshop are to gain an understanding of emerging practices in which technologies align with emerging environmental values, and to distill a set of challenges for the Ubicomp community that are synchronous with those developments.

What's Happening in Europe?

Sustainable Innovation 07 will provide a platform to discuss 'state of the thinking' in sustainable innovation, technology, product and service design and development. It will highlight best practice and provide a range of case studies and examples. Sustainable Innovation 07 will include invited and refereed papers covering sustainable innovation from academics, consultants, designers, sustainability, environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) managers as well as other business functions. The event will be a unique learning experience and networking opportunity.

Delegates will come globally from large companies, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized (SMEs), as well as academia, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The conference is supported by a leading-edge international Advisory Board.

Global Warming and the 2008 election

Find out where the candidates stand here. Makes me wonder if there may be a convergence of right-wing and left around this issue as dependence on imported oil is increasingly viewed as a defense issue.

Consumers Want Energy Independence, Still Say 'NIMBY'

What this study is missing, of course, is some data around how consumers might respond to micro-power generation (solar, wind, bio-diesel) that directly benefits their block, street, or neighborhood. It's time to get serious about this concept. There is good news from this study, however, especially for the 2008 elections...

From Green Biz:

NEW YORK, June 8, 2007 -- A new study by RBC Capital Markets finds that almost all Americans say the country needs to be self-reliant in its energy production, but don't want traditional energy plants in their hometowns.

Among the other highlights of the survey are:

• 74 percent of Americans said they would consider a candidate's stand on energy issues when voting in the 2008 presidential election, up from 49 percent who did so in 2004


• When asked, "Will the United States find a solution to its energy problems in your lifetime?" 57 percent said no. Even the survey's youngest respondents (18 to 24 years old) did not believe the nation would find a solution to its energy problems in their lifetimes, with close to half (48 percent) expressing disbelief


• Three-quarters said that companies who adopt and comply with environmentally friendly and energy efficient standards should receive a meaningful reduction in corporate taxes

LED Art Fan from ThinkGeek

More evidence that geek and cool are merging. :)

Green Marketing Resource

Sustainable Life Media has a great set of resources for green marketing, including the Sustainable Brands newsletter. See also their news page.

Eco-Interiors

NeoCon World's Trade Fair is next week. See some of the innovations here.