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Going Solar or Going for Broke?
Healthy and Green Living » Blogs — Some girls dream of diamonds. I have always dreamt of solar panels. When I was a child in the ’70s, I remember hearing about solar energy and thinking that someday it would be everywhere—a solar energy farm on every roof. What happened? Last weekend, my husband and I took a field trip to Real Goods in Hopland, an innovator in solar technology, and as we wandered around the grounds checking out all the panels and reading the educational boards (note to self: take nephew there when he gets a little older), I was reminded once again why solar energy is the smartest choice for ...

Nation’s Most Effective Solar Community Purchasing Program Descends Upon Los Angeles
Green Options — ... (as depicted in the takeover of the map above). The original pilot campaign brought in 184 San Francisco residents who signed up for solar discounts from RealGoods, and 42 of them followed through to buy a system—double the normal adoption rate. The latest 1BOG campaign in the Bay Area has already brought in 1,070 sign ups, a 6x increase over the pilot.  ...

Friday Food Storage - and Food Pantry - Quickie
Casaubon's Book — ... In addition to stocking up each week on a couple of food items, I also try and remind people of one “preparedness” item or project they might not be up to date on.  This week’s reminder is about fire safety equipment.  First of all - batteries for your smoke detectors (and carbon monoxide detectors if necessary) are a good thing to store. Real Goods www.realgoods.com sells a 10 year smoke detector battery, but some extra backups are extremely valuable.  You do not want to lose power and lose your smoke detectors.  ...

Ed Begley, Jr., on Eco-Investments, Solar Powered Pool Pumps, and More
Planet Green Articles Feed — ... would use. Depending on the season, I need to run the 11 Amp pump for 8-12 hours per day to keep it clean. This costs $100-150 every month and uses a lot of electricity. I've tried running it for less, but I get algae in the water. Maybe someday I can turn the algae into bio-diesel, but for now I'd rather keep my water clear without adding more toxic chemicals. Can solar be used to power my pump? A. You could certainly install a small solar array to power just your pool pump. Try www.realgoods.com - they sell small systems that would be perfect for such an application. Ed Q. ...