I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas

bliss

December
07

I’m not going to deny it — a partridge in a pear tree would be a pretty amazing holiday gift.  Ditto for twelve drummers drumming.  I would even settle for four calling birds, provided they turn their ringers off at night while I sleep [groan].

 

If your true love dwells more on the practical side of life (or doesn’t understand the magic that is the 12 days of Christmas) then you might want to drop hints for the following five solar-related gadgets and gizmos:

 

1.  The Ray Solar Charger.  Ever walked into a meeting late with your laptop that can’t hold a charge, only to find all of the outlets taken?  Quirky’s Ray to the rescue.  It suctions to a desk (or a car window, or any other flat non-porous surface) and provides enough juice to fully charge a cell phone.

 

 

2. Lux solar powered jewelry turns sun into swank.  Two hours in the sun equals four hours of dazzling LED “pearls,” which should be enough bling to impress even the grinchiest grinch.

 

 

3. A sun table comes in handy when you want to sit outside and Skype or Facetime with your friends , but your computer’s battery icon is lingering in the red zone.  When fully charged, the table provides enough power to fuel a laptop or portable TV for four hours.

 

 

4. Feeling the need to share your solar milestones?  How about a SOCIAL solar charger?

 

 

The Changers charger lets you share how much electricity you create via your social networks #ElectrifyingInnovation

 

5. If you’re been 0% naughty and 100% nice this year then you might just get away with asking for a hybrid automower (think Roomba, but bigger, badder, and with blades).  Yes, it’s $3,000, but it’s also “the world’s first fully automatic lawn mower that is partly powered by the sun”.

 

 

Those are my top 5 picks for solar gifts this season, so. . .

 

What was that?

 

I forgot the best one of all?

 

YOU’RE RIGHT!  I DID!  The best one of all is the gift of light to a child in need.  Sungevity has paired up with Empowered by Light to fight energy poverty in Zambia.  For just $22 you can join the battle and make a real difference in someone’s life.  You can donate a Pharox solar light here, or if you don’t have a PayPay account you can donate over here.  It might not be as flashy as a partridge in a pear tree, but the gift of light is the gift of education, as the lights allow students to study after dusk.

 

Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding line, and no way of knowing how near the harbor was. “Light! Give me light!” was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.
Helen Keller

Posted in Every Child Has a Light, Green Living | 2 Comments

Around the World in 80 Rays: Solar Impulse Takes Flight

bliss

December
05

As a white knuckle flier, it has always mystified me why people would want to fly around the world.  It seems like a lot of time up in the air in a confined space where a lot could go wrong and bathroom breaks are anything but luxurious.  Clearly there are people who disagree; and they’ve devoted their lives to doing exactly that — flying around the world.

 

  • In 1929 the first flying man-made airship, LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, circumnavigated the world.
  • In 1933 Wiley Post made the first solo flight around the world.
  • In 1964 Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock became the first woman to successfully fly around the world.
  • In 2002 Steve Fossett became the first person to complete an uninterrupted and unrefueled solo circumnavigation of the world in any kind of aircraft (a balloon).
  • In 2005, Fossett made the first solo, nonstop, unrefueled circumnavigation of the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, a single-engine jet aircraft.

 

So what’s next?  What could possibly top a solo nonstop and unrefueled circumnavigation?  How about a circumnavigation without any fuel at all?  That’s right.  I said without any fuel at all.

 

In 2014 Solar Impulse will attempt to fly around the world without any fuel aside from the sunlight that falls from the sky.

 

 

The idea for Solar Impulse came from Bertrand Piccard, the first man to travel non-stop around the world in a balloon.  ”We almost failed (because of) lack of fuel,” Piccard said of his epic journey back in 1999.  He decided the next time he flew around the world it would be sans fuel.

 

The Solar Impulse team has already completed the first solar day-and-night flight in history: 26 hours, 10 minutes, 19 seconds, and 3 world records!  They are determined to demonstrate that progress in transportation is possible using clean energy.  Their first prototype (the one that set those 3 world records) has the wingspan of an Airbus A340, the  weight of a family car, and the power of a scooter.  I don’t know about you, but that sure looks like progress to me.

 

Just imagine they are able to develop a prototype that could commercialize mass solar flight.  That innovation could dramatically slash the carbon footprint of air travel, which is slated to be an annual 1.5 billion tons of CO2 by 2025.

 

You can track their progress or ask a question on the Solar Impulse Facebook page.

 

Posted in Solar Innovation | 1 Comment

Green Gift Monday

bliss

November
23

What’s in your treasure box?

 

That’s the question of the moment.

 

You know what I’m talking about: that box of special trinkets you’ve been adding to since you were a child.

 

I’m betting there are some classroom photos from elementary school, maybe a lanyard that your BFF made you at 6th grade camp, a homemade coupon book from a younger sibling, ticket stubs from a Pink Floyd laser light show, a love note from your first significant other, your Boy Scout or Girl Scout sash loaded up with patches, a scorecard from the day the Red Sox overcame their 86 year losing streak and won the World Series, a photo of the woman you gave a Kiva loan to, and maybe even some pressed flowers from a special event like a quince or a wedding.

 

You know what I bet is NOT in that box of treasures?  That Hungry Hungry Hippos game you BEGGED for.  The Debbie Gibson cassette tape you NEEEEDED.  Your first Pet Rock.  A necktie.  Tickle Me Elmo.

 

The things that are truly worth treasuring are the things that money can’t buy.  They are memories, experiences, things people made for you, things that fill up your heart, and things that replenish your soul.

 

I challenge you this holiday season to fill up someone’s treasure box instead of adding to their clutter and the piles of stuff that weigh them down.  This challenge officially begins on November 28th, which is not just Cyber Monday, but also Green Gift Monday.

The Nature Conservancy created Green Gift Monday in 2010 to raise awareness for green gifting options and to provide ideas like making a charitable donation, purchasing eco-friendly gifts, or making homemade gifts.  You can also give the gift of an experience, which could be anything from season tickets to the opera, membership to a museum, a year’s worth of music via a cloud-based subscription service, or a few sessions with a life coach.

 

As part of your green gifting you can choose to support Sungevity’s Every Child Has a Light program, which provides solar light to rural schools in Zambia, allowing children to study after sundown.  For just $22 you can buy a light and join the critical fight against energy poverty.

 

Join the Green Gift Monday movement by signing The Nature Conservancy’s pledge to give green this year and then share some of your own green gift ideas.

Posted in Partnerships | Comments Off

Sungevity Goes International: Welkom Zonline!

bliss

November
17

Big news today: we announced our international expansion.  And what better country to expand into than one known for gouda cheese, chocolate sprinkles on bread (hagelslag), tulips, windmills, and wooden shoes?  That’s right Holland, I’m talking about you.

 

Welcome to the Sungevity family, Zonline!

Good looking bunch, eh?

 

Zonline, which roughly translates to “sunshine online,” is a Dutch solar start-up.  With this partnership Sungevity becomes the first US residential solar company to go overseas.  I think that’s worth a collectively shouted, “SHINE ON!, don’t you?

 

If you’ve spent any time in the Netherlands you might be curious about why we chose that particular market; Holland certainly isn’t the sunniest place in Europe.  What Holland does have, however, is the continent’s second-highest electricity rates.  Ack!  Additionally, Holland puts our model to test in a country without any solar subsidies.  Did I mention that people from the Netherlands love orange?  That wasn’t necessarily a driving factor behind the partnership, but it sure didn’t hurt :-)

 

So how did we get to this point?  It’s been a long journey, but here is the story of how it all began: penguin suits, oil giants, and all.

 

 

No matter how big a tree you become, you should never forget your roots, be they American, Australian, Scottish, or Dutch. . .

 

 

Posted in Partnerships | 1 Comment

Save the Delaware River

bliss

November
16

Going solar is bigger than just saving money each month on your utility bill.  Going solar is about being part of the solution.  It’s about standing up for what’s right and leading a desperately needed change in our energy portfolio.

 

On Nov. 21st the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will vote on fracking regulations, that will allow thousands of gas wells to be drilled in the Delaware River Basin — the largest unfiltered drinking water supply in the world.  Join Mark Ruffalo in Trenton, NJ on Nov 21st to tell Obama, Wall Street, and the DRBC that our health and our lives are not collateral damage for the oil & gas industry.  Help stand up for New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

Visit the Water Defense website for additional details on the event.

For more information on fracking or how Mark Ruffalo is involved with Sungevity, check out our blog post from July 11th.

Posted in Commentary, Fracking, Partnerships | Leave a comment