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| February 2009 | Home · Events Calendar · Visit Us ·
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In This Issue |
Did you know CCSE offers free, ongoing workshops on energy efficiency, solar energy, green building, transportation and climate change? Register now! Click on the links below or call (866) SDENERGY.
Solar Water Heating Pilot Program Training
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Intro to Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tubular Skylighting
Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009
Comparing Energy Requirements
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Solar Shade Workshop
Date: Thursday, February 19, 2009
Solar Water Heating Basics for Homeowners
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Green Building for the Building Industry
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
SWH Contractor Meeting
Date: Friday, February 27, 2009
Other Events
Yes! A healthier, greener tomorrow depends upon healthier children and communities today! Learn about what nature means to our health, children, families and quality of life… and it’s all nearby! Join us at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 for an inspiring talk by Richard Louv, catalyst for the national "No Child Left Inside movement" and author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Find more information at www.richardlouv.com and www.childrenandnature.org. Local environmental, educational and community groups will set up information tables starting at 6:00 pm.
Louv will speak at Point Loma Nazarene University, Brown Chapel, which is just inside the University main entrance, on the left; directions are posted at http://www.pointloma.edu/Directions.htm Tickets are $5 in advance, $10 at the door, and free for high school and college students with a student ID. Organizations are encouraged to buy a “block” of tickets and distribute them. You can purchase tickets before February 13th by clicking here or send a check and your mailing address to Edie Chapman, LJML, 3900 Lomaland Drive, San Diego, CA 92106. Call 619-849-2297 for more information.
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Employee Spotlight
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Cristina Frisby
Energy Engineer
Cristina Frisby is an energy engineer for CCSE working on a wide variety of topics, from residential lighting to commercial solar power generation. The bulk of Cristina’s work is done through the Tax-Exempt Customer Program ( TEC), which provides technical support to tax-payer funded institutions (including local governments, K-12 schools and the military) to implement energy-saving projects. Most of these projects involve retrofitting existing buildings with energy-efficient lighting, advanced air conditioning systems, energy management controls and other energy-saving technologies. Her work in energy efficiency directly contributes to the reduction of fossil fuels consumed to generate electricity and to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Cristina brings vast experience to her role at CCSE. Prior to joining CCSE, Cristina was a project engineer at SunTechnics-Conergy and, before that, a process engineer at Koch Membrance Systems. In her position at SunTechnics-Conergy, Cristina provided leadership in the design and construction of commercial and residential photovoltaic systems. At Koch Membrance Systems, Cristina handled machine design, developing processes, training and preventative maintenance programs.
Cristina also provided service to our country as a combat mechanic/recovery driver in the California Army National Guard, where she offered leadership and combat support as a noncommissioned officer in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She performed 54 missions, while deployed with Task Force Liberty and earned several Army Commendations including: Valor, Driver, Mechanic and Combat Action badges.
At CCSE, Cristina also provides outreach and education to the general public at the Energy Resource Center ( ERC). Visitors can receive an in-depth explanation of the technologies displayed in the ERC and have their sustainable energy questions answered personally and professionally by email, phone or in person with Cristina or other ERC staff. Cristina volunteers on CCSE’s "Green Team" and she works as both an energy efficiency and solar consultant as part of CCSE’s Energy Advisory Service. Cristina also serves as a volunteer member of Balboa Park’s Sustainability Alliance. Cristina earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering at San Diego State University, and a BA in Sociology from Wichita State University.
"...Ms. Frisby gave me a terrific overview of y’all’s work. She also sent me several additional studies. The information she provided was invaluable. I doubt that I would have been able to find it on my own, much less put it into the context she provided. I could not have asked for a better or more proactive response. Ms. Frisby is clearly an expert in the field and enthusiastic about her work. She is a great public face for your organization. Please thank her on our behalf."
-Bill Badger
CPS Energy
Greening Your WorldSM
Tip of the Month
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Did you know that it takes 26 liters of water to produce a one-liter plastic water bottle and that doing so pollutes 25 liters of groundwater? Instead of using bottled water choose a refillable stainless steel or aluminum water bottle to conserve energy and help keep our groundwater clean.
Source: www.thedailygreen.com
Notable & Quotable
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Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find.
-Quoted in Time
I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?
-Robert Redford,
Yosemite National Park dedication, 1985
Contact Us
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Energy Connection is a monthly e-newsletter of the California Center for Sustainable Energy.
We value your feedback. To submit comments, questions or suggestions, please click here.
From the Director's Desk:
Promoting Change for a Clean Energy Future
Last month our country welcomed change in the form of a new president. In President Obama’s inaugural address, we listened to words of hope packaged with a direct call to action for ownership and responsibility that we, as Americans, must answer to create needed change. President Obama said,
“Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth...” “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have for-gotten what this country has already done.”
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For more than a decade, through our renewable energy and energy efficiency workshops, technical assistance, energy resource center and incentive programs, CCSE has been answering our new President’s call. By both educating the public and offering real world strategies to help our community become energy efficient and harness the sun and the wind to fuel our homes and businesses, CCSE has been laying a solid foundation for growth, replacing these short memories with sustainable solutions. While some, whose ‘memories are short,’ have forgotten what this country has already done, some, like seniors who lived through the depression, have longer memories and remember what they and their country did to conserve during lean times. Understanding our current environmental imperatives, like slowing global warming, mitigating water shortages and decreasing, or potentially eliminating, our collective dependence on foreign oil, some of these individuals make conservation a lifestyle…one they learned then, but continue to practice now.
Conserving water and energy, composting and washing windows with eco-friendly vinegar and water instead of chemical products are tricks many retirement community residents learned as children in the 1930s. Retirees like Janie Howell, 83, of the La Costa Glen retirement community in Carlsbad, showers every other day, washes her hair once a week in the sink instead of the shower, shops for clothes at second-hand stores and reuses and recycles everything from twist ties to plastic bags to lessen her environmental impact, reported Mike Lee in the January 22, 2009 Union Tribune article, “Eco friendly seniors pitch in.”
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| Janie Howell, 83, of the La Costa Glen retirement community in Carlsbad Photo Source: www.signonsandeigo.com |
Some local retirement communities are implementing recycling programs using fewer disposable coffee cups, posting dining room menus online, switching to earth-friendly products and eliminating the need for irrigation by installing synthetic golf courses. For these communities, others like them and those yet to ‘make hard choices to prepare the nation for a new age,’ CCSE is here, accessible, ready and anxious to help.
Not even a week after the inauguration, from the East Room of the White House on Monday, January 26, President Obama reminded, "It falls on us to choose whether to risk the peril that comes with our current course or to seize the promise of energy independence. And for the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and the commitment to change." By offering education and resources to improve conservation, the adoption of renewable energy and energy-efficiency practices, CCSE helps our community, young and old, “green your world.” In doing this, CCSE continues to answer the call and invites you to act with us to ‘lay a new foundation for growth’ in 2009 and ‘prepare the nation for a new age.’
TEC Program Extended Through 2009
Originally a 2006-2008 cycle CPUC funded program, CCSE’s Tax Exempt Customer Incentive ( TEC) program has been extended through 2009 pursuant to the CPUC’s Bridge-Funding Decision. Generous incentives are available to local government entities, military, as well as public and private K-12 schools – provided they submit new applications by August 30, 2009 (although by April 30, 2009 is recommended) and complete installations by December 31, 2009.
The TEC program provides technical and administrative assistance, plus financial incentives to help these tax-exempt organizations implement energy efficiency measures. The program addresses the barriers to becoming energy efficient that tax-exempt organizations face, including time, staffing, technical resources and funding. TEC provides the extra resources needed to take projects from concept to successful implementation. All this can dramatically shorten the payback period and reduce greenhouse gasses ( GHG) linked to climate change.
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To be considered for TEC eligibility, projects must plausibly deliver at least 500,000 kWh or 25,000 Therms of annual energy savings. Some projects can be combined to meet this minimum energy savings requirement. Also, all energy efficiency measures must be retrofits or replacements of existing operating equipment. New construction, CFL’s, fuel-switching installations and cogeneration projects do not qualify.
For incentive rates and more information, call toll-free at 1-866-SDENERGY, send an email to
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, or go to the TEC website. We'll ask a few questions about your project or facility, discuss options and, if appropriate, schedule a free technical energy audit.
Be My (Green) Valentine
By Louisa Thomas
O, The Oprah Magazine
Though we celebrate romance on February 14, our well-meaning gifts of chocolate and flowers may have a toxic backstory. The International Labor Organization estimates that West Africa's cacao plantations employ nearly 300,000 children (many of them sold into forced labor). Some South American flower farms use harmful pesticides and herbicides; one report from Ecuador found that flower workers suffer higher-than-average rates of miscarriages, birth defects and asthma. Plus, that adorable greeting card from your soul mate was likely made from virgin trees. What's an earth lover to do?
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For chocolate:
Go to GlobalExchangeStore.org to find organic and fair-trade goodies from small, sustainable farms, such as the heart-healthy Dark Chocolate Minis Gift Box ($11) or the Sweetheart Chocolate Trio package ($12) from fair-trade company Art Bar.
For flowers:
Consider a native potted plant from your local nursery, or nudge your sweetheart toward OrganicBouquet.com, which offers VeriFlora-certified blossoms (grown using sustainable techniques). Our pick: the dazzling Cherry Love Roses ($50).
For cards:
The simple yet elegant V-Day cards at PancakeAndFranks.com are made from 100 percent recycled card stock and use only nontoxic inks. Or forget the card: Just flip out the lights and tell your honey how much you care, face-to-face.
MASH
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| MASH Program Manager Jeremy Hutman. |
The newest program within the California Solar Initiative ( CSI) is set to launch on February 17th. Designed to bring the benefits of solar to the low-income community, the Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing ( MASH) program will provide incentives to residents and owners of existing multifamily buildings that have a relatively high proportion of low-income units. At a rate of $3.30/Watt for common areas and $4.00/Watt for tenant areas, rebates are higher than the general market CSI. There are several innovative components of MASH, including a new tariff from the investor-owned utilities (IOUs) that will allow credits from a solar system to be distributed to meters throughout an affordable housing complex. Another new approach, set to launch later this year, will allow applicants to bid for higher incentives through a competitive grant proposal format.
For more information on MASH visit CCSE’s website or contact the Program Manager, Jeremy Hutman, at 858-244-7281,
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| Inside the San Diego Energy Resource Center Lending Library |
| The Energy Resource Center ( ERC) has a vast array of books, periodicals, DVDs and tools to assist businesses and home owners with energy efficiency products, services and practices. Books, periodicals and DVDs can be checked out free of charge. Please call toll-free: 1-866-SDENERGY for more information. For a look at tools and resources available in the lending library, click here. ERC Featured Display
The PV shingles are textured to blend and complement the granular surface of conventional surrounding shingles. These small home PV systems are commonly attached directly to appliances or lighting systems. ERC Featured InstrumentName: Sonin Inch Mate 2000 Conversion Calculator - Tool #66 This Sonin Calculator helps people who work with dimensions to simplify difficult and tedious calculations. This tool calculates and converts between: Feet, Inches, Fractions, Decimal Feet, Decimal Inches, Board Feet, Yards, Miles, Kilometers, Meters, Centimeters and Millimeters including Square and Cube of each. Plus, now with the Sonin Inch Mate 2000 Conversion Calculator you can calculate tons, pounds, dry ounces, metric tons, kilograms, grams, gallons, fluid ounces, liters and milliliters.
Availability: Loaned free of charge for up to 10 business days. ERC Featured BookName: Designing Sustainable Communities: Learning from Village Homes - Book Code: DE3 Authors: Michael Corbett and Judy Corbett Description:The movement towards creating sustainable communities has gained increased prominence with approaches such as New Urbanism, yet there are few examples of the successes. This text offers an analysis of one such example: Village Homes outside Davis, California. The area offers features including extensive common areas and green space; community gardens, orchards and vineyeards; narrow streets; pedestrian and bike paths; solar homes and an innovative ecological drainage system. The authors were instrumental in the design of Village Homes and draw extensively on their practical experiences, as well as examples from a number of other sustainable village projects, to deliver a comprehensive analysis of the process of designing and building sustainable communities. NOTE: Books, periodicals and videos can also be checked out free of charge at CCSE. Please call Toll Free: 1-866-SDENERGY for more information. To find prior editions of "Inside the San Diego Energy Resource Center Lending Library" information, including DVD reviews, click here. |
Description: This cutaway features more than twenty ideas for 
| Energy Policies, Regulations & Legislative Updates | |||
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Energy Efficiency (R.06-04-010)
What’s this? California Solar Initiative, Self-Generation Incentive Program and Other Distributed Generation Issues (R.08-03-008) What’s this?
CSI: On January 8, the CPUC Energy Division presented the Virtual Net Metering (VNM) for Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing ( MASH) Tariff Implementation Workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to allow interested parties and stakeholders the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion to facilitate VNM implementation prior to the utilities’ formal VNM tariff filings. Post-workshop comments were to be filed by January 16, and were made publicly available, along with the VNM presentation, at the CPUC webpage.
Sunrise Powerlink Transmission Project (A.06-08-010)
What’s this? For a complete list of energy-related State and Federal legislation, please visit our Web site at www.energycenter.org.
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Copyright 2008 • California Center for Sustainable Energy
