The U.S. Department of Energy hosts the 2015 Solar Decathlon which challenges collegiate teams all across the country to compete against each other to see who can originate, construct, and maneuver solar-powered homes that are economical, energy-efficient, and eye-catching.

The team that combines affordability, buyer appeal, and design superiority with optimum energy production and all-out efficiency will win the competition. The competitors will spend roughly 2 years creating these houses that are to be powered by the sun.

Once completed, the final competition will consist of the teams facing off in 10 different contests to determine which house will be the overall winner.

The winning home will be affordable, aesthetically appealing, and simple to live in. It will also maintain relaxing and healthy interior environmental quarters.

It will supply energy to cook, clean, entertain, and commute with. It must provide acceptable hot water, and finally, produce as much, if not more, energy than it consumes. We are excited to watch the events unfold and see what the future holds. Let the games begin!

To learn more about it, check out the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon!

Are you in love with your energy source?

A strange question, isn’t it?

Strange because:
a)    more than likely, you don’t know where your energy comes from, and
b)    even if you did know, what’s love got to do with it?

What I mean is, do you feel good about where your energy comes from?

I know you like the energy you use. That’s not the question. Electricity and gasoline have given many people around the world a wonderful life. Both are taken for granted. You use them without having to think much about it. Plugging in your cell phone or laptop is about the most effort you have to do. Filling up at the convenience store is all it takes to go anywhere you want to go. But these conveniences have a source… and a price… that is not often considered… which I won’t get in to here.

Do you know where your energy comes from?

Do you know where your electricity and gas come from?

And, assuming you do know, are you in love with your energy source?

After 35 years in the solar industry, I know I am in love with the sun.

When you get connected to the sun, in a real way, something fundamental changes in your head… or is it your heart?

You satisfy an unconscious desire to be at one. It’s an alignment… or perhaps an atonement.

At its core, solar energy is in alignment with all life.
And because of that, solar energy is an energy source that can be loved.

Solar energy has incredible universal appeal!

“Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers Beach Sand Removal
to Provide Clean Energy to West Virginia!”



How would you like it if the beaches of Florida were dug up to provide energy for West Virginia?

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, this is, in essence, what Florida is doing to West Virginia.
A significant portion of the energy Florida uses is produced by coal from West Virginia. The coal is “mined” by blowing up mountains!

The people of West Virginia don’t really like their mountains being destroyed.
The question is… do you care?

If so, what are you going to do about it?



Once you watch this movie, Kilowatt Ours, you’ll understand:

•    where does most of your energy comes from?
•    what harm does it cause?
•    what are your options?

Oh, and by the way, here's another interest related resource I found recently:

http://ilovemountains.org/

Learn more by searching for "mountaintop removal" on Google.com.

Have a great day,

Dan

If you're looking for a great read that discusses creating a sustainable future...I highly recommend reading Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. 

You know may his other work, The World is Flat.

Here's a description from Amazon:
"Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the astonishing expansion of the world’s middle class through globalization have produced a planet that is “hot, flat, and crowded.” Already the earth is being affected in ways that threaten to make it dangerously unstable. In just a few years, it will be too late to fix things--unless the United States steps up now and takes the lead in a worldwide effort to replace our wasteful, inefficient energy practices with a strategy for clean energy, energy efficiency, and conservation that Friedman calls Code Green."

Let me know what you think!

Dan