Electric Vehicles are Rolling! February 24, 2010

That’s what happens when Cleveland Car Company Alumni move to Santa Monica.  They call all of their engineer friends stuck in Michigan and brag about the amazing weather.  Then the engineer buddies show up with suit cases.  And all of a sudden, all these car guys from all the different mid-west based car companies scour their ccollective resources and voila- CODA.  The electric vehicle is born.  The battery is finally light enough.  It’ll be priced as a modest mid-size vehicle.  And it is cuter than a KIA.  Look for their first California release Q3 of this year.  I know I’m excited!

Now my suggestion would be- buy a Coda, get a solar array over-sized for your house and your plug-in electric vehicle, go net-zero in 1 fell swoop.  Someone’s gotta come up with a killer financial package to make this possible.  It could even be the opportunity for one of those big gross banks to redeem themselves!

Congratulations to the Senate! February 23, 2010

Hear ye hear ye! Jobs Bill passes in Washington with bipartisan support!

Five republicans in the Senate including newly elected Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts voted with 59 democrats to push a modest jobs bill through to conference committee.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s version of the Jobs Bill is one lean chunk of change, only $15 billion, compared to the House version which calls for a $150 billion investment.  But the bill looks to do some unarguably helpful things.  The $15-billion proposal includes a payroll tax holiday for new hires, re-authorizes the highway trust fund to build roads, and creates a bond issue to finance construction of schools and energy projects. The bill will now go through conference committee, whose job it is to somehow marry the Senate and House bills.

Great job U.S. Senate! If only we could give everyone of you who voted for this bill a gold star for playing nice and getting along. Yes, we are alluding to some infantile behavior in recent weeks, but for the most part, we’re serious. This is a great accomplishment for the Senate. We totally understand that you have to compromise a lot to get very little done in Washington. To be honest, we’re fine with that, but we commend you for doing something.

More than the actual good it will do as a bill, we’re excited about the shift in the GOP’s pattern of blockading anything and everything that democrats try to do.  We at the Lamp Post Group would like to congratulate all the senators who voted for this $15 billion injection into the economy. We especially commend the Republican senators who stepped up to show support alongside the democrats.

Good work deserves good rewards. In elementary school my teachers used pizza parties as a reward for good behavior. As such, why not make it so that  if the Senate can go two weeks without another filibuster, the United States will have a national pizza party day.  But if the senators keep fighting,  there’s going to be timeout during their recess…

Isn’t that coming up soon…?

That might be something to bring up during the congratulate a senator challenge! Take a minute out of your day to call up a senator’s office, especially one of the republicans, who supported this measure.

The republican senators are Sen. Scott Brown of MA, Christopher Bond MO, Susan Collins MN, Olympia Snowe MN, and George Voinovich OH.

Obesity Be Gone- Let’s Move! February 22, 2010

While living in LA, I was always scared of getting stuck in the freeway system during a disaster, especially a monster/alien attack.  On any of L.A’s freeways during the the day it would be impossible to drive to safety because of all that traffic. It would be like that scene in Independence Day where people would have to run, jumping over cars and smaller, slower people.   But in the terrible event that something like that were to happen, I realized then that most of the people stuck with me wouldn’t be able to jump up and over the cars to get out of the way. They’d be stuck in a doom gaze, too overweight and out of shape to make a run for it.

So yes, it’s come to this.  Our nation is so fat that it may threaten our National Security.

Did you know that 27% of American youth can’t serve in the military because they don’t meet the physical requirements?

Perhaps it’s no wonder then that Michelle Obama is taking on her role as Mama America and with some big plans cooking in the kitchen.    She wants everyone in the country to have access to delicious, nutritious foods in order to obliterate childhood obesity in ONE generation!   Serious problems need serious solutions.  And the best part is, in creating solutions, she’s creating JOBS FOR AMERICANS as well.  Project “Let’s Move” is helping Americans get up and LET’S MOVE!

Watch Mrs. Obama take aim at fixing our country.  This is what progress is all about.  Thank you to our administration to taking on serious issues that are pulling our country down in an effort to uplift us all.

The Blooming Bloom Box! February 22, 2010

Renewable Energy just got its newest vocabulary. CBS reports on 60 Minutes that the mysterious “bloom box” technology, having been tested by such trendsetters as Google, Ebay, and Walmart, works like a charm.

Over the last 8 years, since he founded Bloom Energy, K.R. Sridhar has been raising what amounts to $400 million in venture capitol for his company, but hushing specifics about what they were doing with that money. It’s only this week that the former aerospace engineering professor has come public with his breakthrough technology. In a matter of days this guy may have added a new entry into our dictionary.

Picture a metal framed box a bit larger than an industrial air conditioner, now fill it with ceramic plates and sophisticated wiring and tubes whose powers somehow combine to convert hydro carbons into clean electricity, and voila, you’ve got a mini energy plant without any need for combustion. That means all you would need to power your house is a bloom box and a tank of natural gas to provide the fuel. That’s it! No ignition, no plugs, no humming, the Bloom Box just sits there in silence and the juice keeps coming. You can plug the box into the grid to give power back to the system, but the “bloom boxes” convert fuel into electricity all on their own.

No wonder it was such a secret. By saving the announcement until now after the Bloom Boxes have already proven their value,  CEO and founder of Bloom Energy K.R. Sridhar has effectively tiptoed upon the renewable energy industry and kicked it in the behind.  Bloom Energy looks to compete aggressively with Solar Panels and Wind Turbines, claiming their technology as the newest, cleanest, and most economical way for citizens to power their homes off the grid.  Bloom Boxes are already installed in 20 notable corporations’ headquarters, for testing purposes. According to CEO and founder K.R. Sridhar, these technologies will soon be in the White House.

“Bloom Box”.

Keep an eye on this.

Two weeks on Buzz February 20, 2010

Two weeks ago Google broke into the social networking game with Buzz, the new Google tool that allows people to microblog through the Google interface. Rather than signing into your twitter or facebook accounts, Google suspects that your Google portal or G-portal, will eventually replace the need for twitter/facebook.   Odds are that for a lot of people, Google is right. After using this for two weeks, I can totally understand why a reluctant social networker might totally give in to Buzz. The Buzz application streamlines the complex universe of social networking. It’s pretty basic, you can see pictures, post little thoughts on your g-wall, and as with other networking tools, whatever others post on your g-wall is public to the other Google users who are following you on Buzz.

But something doesn’t feel right about Buzz, and after watching the progress with other uses, I’m not sure how great this is.  Granted, it’s only been two weeks, but nobody I know seems too eager to post a lot of stuff on their buzz walls. And it’s probably beacause of the same reason I don’t feel like posting. Email just isn’t the place for social networking. Yes G-chat is kind of cool, but really, doesn’t it get kind of awkward when you can see when your email associates are online or not?  It breaks down certain walls that must remain up between email users.  After all, email accounts are often vehicles for very bad news, or private correspondences,  surely the combination of the buzz wall and the G chat features are sort of invasive. Even our email accounts no longer belong to us privately.

Maybe I’m too old fashioned, but I do think it’s a little different with Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter, which are applications designed specifically for social networking.  Do I really want my accountant or my lawyer or some other private online cohort following me on Buzz?

Obama-Lama Meeting Puts People First… February 19, 2010

It happened.

Obama meets Lama in auspicious gathering of human rights activists from around the world. The move sends a message to China that the United States does not turn a blind eye to the human rights violations that Tibetans have endured for so many generations. The Chinese have worked to belittle the Dalai Lama’s reputation, but President Obama, by keeping with the tradition of U.S Presidents meeting with the Tibetan leader, draws a boundary between the U.S. and China that will keep the two superpowers distinct in the years ahead.

When the Dalai Lama said,

“Ultimate ambition is to become superpower. In order to become superpower, moral authority is very important     condition. Superpower in the sense of military force, [inaudible] like former Soviet Union. That brings more fear, more distrust, more uncomfortable.”

he was warning of the dangers that come with military authority when it’s not buttressed by moral authority. The warning could apply to both China and the U.S. for all we know, but it seems that in this case, the warning is directed more explicitly to the Chinese. Obama, by many measures, has succeeded in reclaiming the moral authority of the United States. Whether that is enough to restore the United States to number one remains to be seen.

I am trying to find a transcript of their conversation, I would be eager to know what words they exchanged.

A call for more positive photographs in the news February 19, 2010

It’s happening all over the place. Slowly but surely, the black shine of hundreds of solar panels covering the land around factories and plants will grace its way into our iconography. We will see industrial solar panel fields on stamps and in our cartoons, just like old-school factories and power plants and things of the like have become so recognizable to us.

But if we really want that to happen, we have to start really pushing these kinds of success stories. And when we do, we should include lots of photographs. I found this story about the new water plant in Delaware twice with no pictures! Look. There’s really no excuse for this, there’s more than enough technology at our disposal to find some kind of photograph to go with this great story. Great stories have pictures. Part of the way you build an industry that everyone needs is by planting images in people’s brains.  During WWII, there was a sense of national pride over building the guns, jeeps, tanks, planes and whatever else needed building. And there was enough photographs, graphics, and factory propaganda to go around. We need to get that kind of stuff going again, because yes, it’s that serious.

Congratulations to these guys for including some pictures.

Once we get back to work, that’s when we can start working on that cool stuff we see in movies,  like flying cars and time travel. But for now, let’s just start building some stuff we know how to make already.

Don’t build a nuclear reactor in my backyard, my backyard’s full February 19, 2010

One bottle of pop, two bottles of pop, three bottles of pop, four bottles of pop… You know how the song goes.  five bottles of pop, six bottles of pop, seven bottles of pop- POP!

I know people who consume 7 bottles of pop.  It’s not pretty.  Also not pretty, economic stimulus through nuclear programs.  Although, in defense of the idea, spending money building things that create energy provides jobs.  It’s just a step backwards kind of job instead of a step forwards kind of job.  Let me explain:  as I look out on my working future, there are a few industries that I’m not not going to choose -for the lack of future growth potential.  I mean really think about it, taking a job is a choices we make about ourselves, our society, our environment, and after a point, our future.  (26 and under, take any job, especially a hard one, and get experience.)   So for the record, taking all those factors into consideration, I’m probably not looking to take a job in oil, fisheries, lumber, farming, nuclear reactors, or  health insurance…  (Health Insurance:  it’s a bad business model- making money off of people’s health.  As I stated, humans inherently fall ill and die, trying to make money off of that just isn’t sustainable, it’s actually totally perverse… but that’s a different conversation…)

Alright let me clarify- If I took a job in one of the aforementioned industries, it’d have to be under the proviso of restructuring the entire model to make it sustainable.  In essence, my job would have to include crafting a future into the business model so that it could continue far into the future, create a positive legacy.  For example, if I got into farming, my job would be to figure out how to provide natural food and textiles to 13 billion people.  Cuz that’s what’s coming.  That’s what our future looks like.  The first farmers who figure out how to get us there sustainably WIN$$.  Solutions could include ideas like hemp farming, (clothes, paper, dyes, textiles) or heterogeneous farming practices to simulate natural growth, lessen the need for poisonous  additives from Monsanto that kill things and hurt our human bodies… (woah- harsh judgement? three words- Agent Orange, Wikipedia)

If I got into oil, it’d be to help the oil industries gracefully pass their authority to the next generation, setting up the futures of the owners and workers who have spent their lives doing exactly what they were supposed to do as well as they could so that they could discontinue their industry without cause for worry about themselves or their compatriots because let’s face it, they didn’t do anything wrong.  They did their jobs well.  But it’s time for them to stop. And this is the major part of the story.  How to get them to give up the oil.  They’re not just going to stop because we tell them to or ask them nicely.   We’ve got to give them a good reason to retire and pass authority to a new crew of experts in an entirely different industry that’ll end up doing the exact same thing without all the Earth plundering parts.  Don’t believe me, the energy industry in the next 2 years will see about 40% of its workforce retire.  (That means everyone running the oil show is old.)  They probably would have gone two years ago except their retirement funds all evaporated so they had to stick it out for a few more years while we climb out of this economic situation we’re in right now…  (Which is more up to us than them so we should get on that…)

Let’s hear it for “Commission Impossible” – the President’s first efforts to tackle the debt problem that’s built up since the end of the Clinton Administration (read- built up *during* the Bush administration, we don’t need to mince words, prove me wrong, I’m down for the discussion, I’ve got facts on my side…)  And  BOOM!  Obama takes on another problem he didn’t start.  Gotta say, it’s a hellofatime to be an American.  Our President really does want to help the people be healthy, go to school, get smart, not be fatties, regain the respect of the world, pay down the debt, re-energize the economy, get Americans back to work restructuring our communities.  I’m in.  All the way.

I digress.  Let’s get back to talking about what job I want for the future and how it’s not in the lumber industry.  The question arises- what happens if you’re 50, live in the country, took on the lumber business that your daddy started way back when Lewis and Clark first made their way out Wes.  You’re probably feeling a bit uncomfortable that some young wipper snapper just told you to stop chopping down trees because that youngster doesn’t believe that your daddy’s business that you’ve been running successfully all your life isn’t sustainable.   People take pride in their work.  I’m sorry that I may have just bruised your pride.  Let me help you feel better about yourself and get on with it.  Right now, I’m pointing to all the big trees out the window.  See?  Now I’m beg you to please leave those trees right where they are thanks.  They’re doing a ton of good for society and our planet just hanging out there.  They’ve been doing it for a lot longer than I have.

One suggestion could be to just retire.  You’ve done your part old man.  Time to learn to golf, knit, or potentially how to vent through blogging (it really is quite satisfying).  Sit on your butt, use Skype and talk to your grandkids for free over those dang computers that everyone’s talking about.  I’ll bet if you invited your grandkids to your cabin and told them your plan, they’d show up with a little webcam and set the whole thing up just for you.  And print out some directions on how to push the right button so that you can Skype chat to your heart’s content.  (I’m a big fan, it’s free, download at www.skype.com, it’s free.)

What if you’re not ready to retire?  I disagree with the adage about old dogs and new tricks.  You’ve probably got some equipment that someone else could do something with.  You’ve probably got an intense business savvy that some young person would love to consult with, work with.  You’ve probably got enough energy to help some young wipper snapper launch a new ball busting, change oriented program that could potentially alter the face of the entire country.  (And if you’re reading this message, send me a note, it would be my honor to help point you in the right direction.)  Don’t think that because you’re ending one life you can’t begin another.  I’d say that’s what it’s all about!   That’s what this whole economic restructuring thing that’s happening right now is all about.  Trying to figure out how the old ways can transition into some new ways. But the old guys are having trouble wrapping their heads around how to do it the new way cuz they’ve been doing it so well their whole lives.  And that’s great!  That’s exactly what you were supposed to do.  But now, it’s time to see the light.  Ally with a youngster.  We’re awesome.  We’re vibrant.  We work really really hard. We have to because we have a lot of problems to solve in a very short time and with an extremely limited budget.  But hey, we’re good at that, and we’re working like it’s do or die.  Our national pride, our national identity, our national standing is at stake. Not for you particularly, but for us, for sure.   But the best part is, we’ve got the best leader to help make it happen because he sees all the changes that need to be made.  He sees what we could look like when we make it out of this tunnel.  And you know what?  All the Americans who donated 5$ to get him elected see it too and believe he’s the one to get us there.

Wind turbines.  Solar panels.  Microinverters.  New roads, bridges, high speed rails, green construction projects, rooftop gardens, liberty gardens, and it’ll all happen as soon as the old guys in power start looking at the youngsters like allies instead of enemies scrambling to steal their thunder.  It’s not us vs them.  It’s a team effort.  Folks of experience and wealth gotta start finding their young allies and moving forward with some new ideas.   And not firing us in the middle because you just don’t get it.  We get it and we’ll explain it in as many different ways as it takes to help you get it too.  You’ll feel rejuvenated and lively in your new endeavors.  That’s a promise, I’ve seen it happen.  We’re all in flux and in transition together.  Look at is as an adventure and join the party.  Meet me at the Lamp Post.

Americans Round-UP- on caring February 18, 2010

Three topics, all different, and yet totally connected:  The *Most Recent* Health Care Scandal that Americans should take as a national affront, Help from Canada is Finally on the way for the energy sector, AND Banking- it could be better…

1) Heath care premiums (the premiums, not the care) are about to increase by a huge percentage (in dollars) for a huge percentage of people (Americans). I don’t get it!  The rules of contract have been around for ages, I pay you to care for my heath and as a result, you are entrusted with the responsibility to Care for My Heath.  It’s not really more complicated than that.  Heath care providers make choices about what they provide, people in need of health care choose what plan they want, get into contract with that provider with the mutual understanding of I Pay for Health Care, You Care for My Health.  Whenever that balance is offset by the Health Care provider demanding more money, the response should be, what am I getting in return?  And it has to be something.  If it turns out to be nothing, then that contract isn’t supported by consideration.  And isn’t a contract.  Therefore, if your premium is about to go up and your care does not go up, please put your contact information at the bottom of this blog so that we can sue their pants off.   We just need names and stories.  I’m sure Michael Moore will get involved if we get enough people together.

Alternatively, it’s so sad that Americans have trouble wrapping their heads around the simple concept of as a human, I’ll have health issues.  Health issues are tended to by doctors.  Doctors should be able to attend to health issues of humans…  It doesn’t really have to be much more complicated than that.  And, just in case you didn’t know, Medicare is a government run program.  I’m just sayin- for the record.

2. Hallelujah the Canadians are finally coming!  The Premires of “Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are in town for the first-ever meeting of the governors association and its Canadian counterpart, the Council of the Federation.”  Now let’s talk about why this is the best news ever!!

A)  Ontario has in the past year and a half passed a Feed-In-Tariff making Ontario the NUMBER ONE biggest renewable energy market in NORTH AMERICA. (According to the North American Electrical Distributors we spoke with at their Western Region conference.)  Just like that.  I think that America would be very interested in learning how to create a giant market.  There are many of us in the country who are waving our hands in the air and shouting about how we know what’s going on but until we’ve got a national STRUCTURE in which we can get everything done, we’re all having trouble getting a foothold.  But we’re here, we’re ready and we don’t want to wait anymore.  PLEASE take a cue from a neighbour that’s “got ‘er done” already.

B) New Brunswick has wind farms everywhere! Trans Alta, and electric generation company founded in Alberta in 1909, began investing in wind technology in the ’90s and now is the biggest publicly traded electric generation company on the NY stock exchange.  Energy- economic development- creating markets.  Just do it!

3)  Quebec is a province of people who love life.  Living is cheap and easy because of an amazing public transportation system that is clean, efficient, safe and expanding.  Montrealers speak 2, 3, 4 and up to 6 or more languages.  The food is international and amazing.  University is world-class and inexpensive because citizens believe that education is a right, not a privilege.  And they have a large and globally organized student community making sure that governments and people hear that message loud and clear.   Oh and by the way, Quebec has been talking green like it’s the real deal for over a decade…

And are reaping the rewards. Seriously.

3) The banks in Canada have been stable and well managed through the entire mess made by their American counterparts.  We should invite Canadian bankers to come teach Americans how to run national systems correctly.  But I’m sure they’d be blow away by the greed and lies they encountered upon arrival…  We should be ashamed that we even have to ask for their help.  After all, Americans don’t tend to speak very nicely of their neighbours to the North or South.  But they should.

“If you have no money, be polite.”

Danish Proverb quotes

scandal

Energy Miracles February 17, 2010

When smart people talk, I listen.  When Bill Gates spoke at the most recent TED Talk (the video hasn’t been released yet?) on his desire to find an Energy Miracle to get us, the society of our world, out of the predicament we’ve gotten ourselves into (oil addiction, everything runs on it, peak oil meaning that there’s not much left, prices will go up and there’s that constant importation fee paid to less-than-friendly neighbouring governments) – take heed!  And keep your peepers open for that energy miracle too!  Guaranteed, once we find it, a whole lot of gears are going to start turning very quickly.  And everything’s going to change.

What am I talking about- good question.  Are we looking for an energy miracle in an imported wind turbine?  That helps but probably not.  Are we looking for imported solar module technology?  That also helps (as long as the manufacturing process isn’t destroying the environment around the manufacturing plant, we’re all well aware that there are some jurisdictions where waste management just isn’t dealt with and chemicals end up in people’s drinking water…  Please do your due diligence and ask about manufacturing processes when you purchase or lease solar systems!  And don’t take “I don’t know” for an answer, find out.  People’s lives are at stake!)  Are we looking for the inexpensive solar module that consists of tin foil coated with solar conducting ink in a printing press? (When their main website comes back online, I’ll link it up.)  Cool technology, but is it the energy miracle we’re looking for?  Are we holding out hope for solar paint?  (I might be actually.)

All I can say is that we’ve got our eyes open and we’re scanning the horizon for an energy miracle.  We’ve got tools to get it out there.  We’re ready to make it happen.  Go science!