THE POWER TO CHANGE

“If the ideas that rule our culture are stopping us from saving ourselves, then it is within our power to change those ideas.”  Naomi Klein

We humans are adept at fighting for what we are against.  Can we fight as hard for what we are for?  Socrates reminds us “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Many people, including ninety seven percent of climate scientists, agree that climate warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities.  Some of the results of global warming, according to “Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet” are: global sea levels are rising, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass and the thickness of the Arctic Sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades. Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world.  The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed in the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by approximately 2 billion tons per year.  James Hansen, adjunct professor of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, believes that carbon pollution is set to end the era of stable climate.

Solar for Seals project 2014

With these facts pointing to the devastation of life on Earth as we know it, what actions are we willing to take to assure the continuation of life on our beautiful planet?  We must join together now to do what we can do to make the necessary changes to reverse these trends.  Human beings have the capacity to learn and adapt quickly.  We are able to change old thinking and patterns of behavior and create change in positive ways.  There are political and economic forces that sometimes stand in the way of progress, but we do not have to allow these forces to prevent us from doing what we must.  Many individuals are moving forward with ideas to save our planet and creating supportive communities to make effective change.

One of the ways to avert this climate change crisis is to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.  To this end, it is possible to switch to renewable energy.  People all over the world are creating wind farms, working with tidal power, wave power, solar power, hydroelectricity, and geothermal power.  Our organization, Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar (PES) of San Clemente, CA. have successfully completed two solar projects: Oso Lake Boy Scout Camp Solar project, 2013 and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center Laguna Beach “Solar for Seals”, 2014.  ROSE and PES are currently working on a third solar project, “Solar for Non Profits” project for 2015.  We are committed to bringing people together in a community effort to provide solar power to non -profit organizations.  These organizations are already helping our social and environmental communities in various ways.  By assisting them with conversion to solar power, this adds another layer of depth to their commitment to bettering our world.

Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar (PES) have selected The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley (CSLCV) in San Clemente, CA. for our 3rd Solar Project 2015.  A 60 kW system consisting of 197 solar panels to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy will be built for the Center’s facility. As PES and ROSE and CSLCV donate our time and labor for this project, please join us in taking this environmental action as a citizen of the world. Be a part of the solution for our world’s clean and renewable energy future by donating today. The total cost of this project will be $135,000.00. The money the Center saves on energy costs will go to community projects. Your donation to this solar project will be greatly appreciated.

To help us, please use our Razoo fundraising site at:  https://www.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Spiritual-Living-Capistrano-Valley for your “tax deductible” donation.

“We are all flowers in the Great Spirit’s garden. We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth.” Hopi Prophecy 

“The environment isn’t over here. The environment isn’t over there. You are the environment.” Chief Oren Lyons

It will take all of us working together now if we are to make a positive change for future generations.

Love, Gene and Joyce

ROSE and Planet Earth Solar 3rd Solar project 2015. Join with us.

Hello everyone,

Thinking back, we have not forgotten your kind help with our 2014 “Solar for Seals” project for Pacific Marine Mammal Center of Laguna Beach where we put 87 solar panels on their small roof.  It went so well we looked for a much bigger roof for 2015, and we found it.

We are happy to announce that Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) and Planet Earth Solar has selected The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley (CSLCV) in San Clemente, CA. for our 3rd Solar Project 2015.  A 60 kW system consisting of 197 solar panels to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy will be built for the Center’s facility. As Planet Earth Solar and ROSE and CSLCV donate our time and labor for this project, please join us in taking this environmental action as a citizen of the world. Be a part of the solution for our world’s clean and renewable energy future by donating today. The total cost of this project will be $135,000.00, saving the Center over $150,000.00 over other bids. You may donate to this Solar project in one of two ways.

1. Make your “tax deductible” check payable to “Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley” please mail check to Gene Stone 1203 Via Presa San Clemente 92672, so I can make sure to get your check into the Solar account at the center. Please note in the bottom left memo area of your check “Rose Solar project.” The check payment method will insure that 100% of your donation will go to the solar project, using the fundraising site we will lose 5% of your donation to Razoo.

2. Or use our Razoo funding raising site at for you “tax deductible” donation:

https://www.razoo.com/story/Center-For-Spiritual-Living-Capistrano-Valley

The Center’s Environmental statement:

“The Centers for Spiritual Living are committed to our vision of a world that works for everyone– a world in which resources are valued, cared for, and grown, and where there is generous and continuous sharing of these resources. A big part of that world is sustainable safe energy. At the Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Clemente California, we are contributing to this vision by installing a solar system to provide clean, sustainable and environmentally safe energy for our Center’s facility. We know that other spiritually minded people and organizations will want join us in taking this action for the betterment of all future generations. Not only will this new solar energy system provide our Center with safe sustainable energy, the cost savings recognized by lower energy bills will allow the Center to pursue numerous projects that will benefit our community.”

P.S. Please remember that it was this Center in San Clemente that gave ROSE such a great deal and made it so easy to do the Nuclear Symposium in October 2013.  They are willing and excited to help us with future events. We could not have done it with them.

The Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley in San Clemente California, Planet Earth Solar and Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) thank you for your kind and generous donation towards our solar project.
With your action today, you join us in being part of a clean energy future and take a step towards helping manage climate change.  You are now part of the growing number of people around the world who are “being” the change. We are honored and happy to walk down this path with you.

Sincerely,

Gene Stone
Residents Organized For a Safe Environment (ROSE)

A Little EcoShaming – Powerful Motivation

    

For years my wife and I put off that Solar Array for our roof.  We’d checked into it several times, but the cost always seemed too great to pull the trigger.  Then 3/11/11 brought massive destruction and unthinkable death and suffering for the people of Japan.  It was a wakeup call to me, seeing the Fukushima Daiichi plant in a state of complete disarray.  The earthquake and tsunami left them completely crippled and unable to stop hydrogen explosions in the containment, and unprecidented, three separate reactor core meltdowns.  I immediately started looking for how I could learn more about our local nuclear plant.  I found people who had been actively concerned about the safety of nuclear power for more than 35 years.  As I attended activism rallies and NRC meetings, there were a few voices who seemed to be a little off message at first.  That message was, “If you live in Southern California, and you don’t have solar on your rooftop, then you are part of the problem.  You need to get solar!”  As that sunk in over the next few months, I also was reflecting on the fact that shutting down our unsafe plant would create a new void in our local grid.  After all, one seemingly strong argument Southern California Edison kept making was, “Like it or not, you need our nuclear plant to keep your lights on.”  So 14 months after the Japanese disaster and following the surprise SCRAMming of San Onofre, an act that would eventually become a permanent shutdown, we switched on our 36 panel, 11.5 kW system for the first time.

How did we make the numbers work?  We’re lucky to be pretty well off, but very few of us have $35-$70,000 set aside for ecological feel good renovations.  The truth is, in addition to San Onofre activists encouraging us, there was a solar wave hitting our coast.  Our electric bill had been rising alarmingly for years, now accentuated with 4th tier penalty rates.  Having a koi pond and a swimming pool meant no amount of cutting back on air conditioning on our inland home in Fallbrook was putting a dent in our excessive $400/month bill.  The economy is still pretty weak, and an entire generation of children is asking the question, “What’s an interest rate on a savings account?”  I saw the immense rebates being offered that assured a 30% return on our investment, via a federal solar credit, plus $2500 from California.  Viewed from that perspective, solar was a great initial investment and also one we knew would keep paying us back.  Top it off with the knowledge that we’re now part of the climate change solution, rather than continuing to be part of the problem, and the EcoShaming that a few folks planted in my mind was now a blessing in disguise.  We withdrew a big portion of our rainy day money and took the plunge.

In two and a half years, we’ve generated 44 MegaWatt hours, an average of around 48kWh per day.  Last year, we replaced our original pool pump with a high efficiency variable speed run four times as long at 1/4 the flow rate, resulting in ~75% electric savings on that electric pig.  With that electricity freed up, and because we overbuilt our system as much as we could, we hope to buy an electric vehicle soon, and really start helping to solve climate change, and a whole host of other problems oil dependance has caused.  Notice we put the solar first and the EV car next, making sure that we don’t increase electricity demand from power companies who seem unable to ride the solar wave thus far.  Their loss.  It’s my dream that rooftop solar is adopted by every homeowner and every business nationwide.  Power companies will still be needed to maintain the grid.  They will also need to build and operate hydraulic pump storage to meet our nighttime power needs, including charging electric vehicles.  If you research it a little, you’ll see that pump-storage hydro is now excess power is stored for later usage the world over, even at Helms east of Fresno (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pumped-storage_hydroelectric_power_stations).  I hope our personal story might help encourage you, or someone you know, to ride the solar wave, perhaps with a productive bit of EcoShaming.  Now about that Diablo Canyon…

By Karl Aldinger

Fallbrook, CA

ROSE’s 2nd free solar project goes to PMMC in Laguna Beach, CA.

WANT TO STOP NUKE’S then join with us. ROSE’s 2nd Solar Project. Solar Panels For Marine Mammals in Laguna Beach Ca. Pacific Marine Mammal Center’s Fundraiser on CrowdRise http://www.crowdrise.com/solarpanelsformarine

Now that we have shutdown San Onofre please help with our 2nd free solar project and be part of the solution to CA’s energy needs.

 THE STORY: Help light up the lives of marine mammals by helping Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a non-profit organization that rescues and rehabilitates marine mammals, go SOLAR! The new year brings new goals, and for 2014 we at PMMC have set our focus on making a big effort towards becoming a more environmentally friendly hospital. By adding solar panels to our facility, PMMC will be able to reduce its energy costs by more than 30%, which saves over $500 in utilities for our Center. Because every $1 at PMMC equals 1 lb of fish, this is approximately 500 more lbs of fish for our seal and sea lion patients each and every month! Help us reduce our energy costs, become a leader in green initiatives, and put more funds back towards food and medication for marine mammals. PMMC has partnered with Planet Earth Solar, LLC and R.O.S.E. (Residents Organized for a Safe Environment) http://residentsorganizedforasafeenvironment.wordpress.com/ to help make this project a reality. Planet Earth Solar has already agreed to donate much of their labor and supportive materials, and R.O.S.E. has already helped us to raise over $2,000 for the project! Please join with us on our journey to be better stewards of the environment and make a tax-deductible contribution to PMMC’s Solar Panel project.

San Onofre Power Replaced By Solar

Solar power generation in California reached an all-time high Friday, with enough energy to power more than 1.5 million homes, replacing what was lost by the closure of the leaky old San Onofre nuke state officials said Sunday.

The record of 2,071 megawatts hit at 12:59 p.m. Friday, said Steven Greenlee with the California Independent System Operator, which operates the state's electricity grid.

Every solar panel we build is driving efficiencies that make the next ones thinner, cheaper, more energy efficient.

Getting into solar and other renewables now is actually going to make energy cheaper in the long run, and boost our economy.  California is READY TO GO!

 So follow, follow the sun & which way the wind blows, when this day is done!

Related articles

• Solar Is Sustainable - San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down
• Solar power generator hits record levels
• Visions of a Nuclear Free World
• San Onofre Power Replaced By Solar

Proactive Solar Action, Be Part of the Solution

To my friends,

Residents Organized for a Safe Environment (ROSE) is proud and happy to announce our first solar project in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America, Orange County.  For practical and teaching purposes, ROSE will provide the scouts with a solar project at their boat house at Oso Lake. The object of the project is to provide lights and the recharging of the batteries that are needed for the boats off grid. Each weekend there are as many has 300 young scouts and family members at the lake. They will all get to see and learn about the practical applications of solar energy and have the chance to participate in a renewable energy merit badge.

ROSE is honored to ask you to join us in this project.  Your help will be greatly appreciated. Our project goal is $3,315 with shipping.   Checks may be made out to Gene Stone. The Boy Scouts of America will provide a receipt for a tax deductible donation.

Join with us in this proactive approach to educate our children about the benefits of renewable energy. Help us replace nuclear power one solar panel at a time.

Sincerely,

Gene Stone

ROSE, genston@sbcglobal.net