Tropical Island locations capture our imaginations: exotic, remote places that are home to unspoiled land and seascapes. Yet, our islands are not just enticing tourist destinations but places where “we the people” live and work. We face a very particular set of sustainability challenges, revolving around issues of energy, water, waste and mobility.
read more >>The answer is almost always YES, apart from a really small battery and solar panel. So, you ask what is a real small solar panel… about 5 watts or less, but can’t a 5-watt panel overcharge a small 12-volt battery that’s not being used? YES, it can.
read more >>If you’re just curious I’m going to put it layman’s terms. There are complex and scientific sounding answers abounding on the internet. This is not one. First let’s talk about the two types of basic charge controllers, so you understand the benefit of MPPT over a cheap PWM controller.
read more >>The Obama administration has made only ineffective efforts to address climate change such as shilling for “clean coal”, opening up the artic for drilling, and non-binding, unenforced climate agreements. An unfortunate truth is that the political process is bound by billionaires who will make purchases for the betterment of themselves rather than for the good of the masses.
read more >>The climate change mitigation is subject to the politicians who either recognize or, in some cases, unfortunately do not recognize the significance of the issue. Sometimes they won’t want to do anything if they believe it will cost them donations.
read more >>Sasha Issenberg lays out the Democrat’s problems here and one of those includes that 127 million Americans vote every four years in presidential elections and only 78 million vote every two years in the other off-year elections. And those who tend to miss out on the off-year elections happen to be the young, diverse, urban, and mobile voters who would help send Democrats to the White House.
read more >>2014 was a great year for the solar industry and California was the driver of record-breaking growth of solar industry in the country. Over 6,200 megawatts of traditional solar capacity came online in the U.S. in 2014. This is 30% more than in 2013 and enough to power over one million homes. California was actually responsible for over half of that growth, about 3,550 megawatts.
read more >>Extractive energy industries have dominated West Virginia for years. These extractive industries have bough off the legal system and continue to poison people and essentially destroy the environment. The data is horrific.
read more >>Bravo Macy’s for installing solar power systems at 3 of its local stores. They are expected to offset about 40% of each store’s electricity use. SunPower Corp, based in San Jose, is working on the installations. SunPower has built other solar arrays in the region including projects at the University of California Davis.
read more >>Unions have been less than receptive to action on climate change. Eugene M. Trisko is a globally well-known environmental and legislative consultant who represented the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in testimony before the U.S. House Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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