An overview prepared by Solar San Antonio of The Rifkin Report “San Antonio: Leading the Way Forward to the Third Industrial Revolution”

The following is an overview of Jeremy Rifken's report “San Antonio: Leading the Way Forward to the Third Industrial Revolution”. This overview was prepared by Solar San Antonio and is available in Word Document form on their website at this link.

THE RIFKIN REPORT – An Overview

The following is an overview of “San Antonio: Leading the Way Forward to the Third Industrial Revolution” prepared by Solar San Antonio. The full report can be read and/or downloaded at http://www.solarsanantonio.org/pdf/A_Vision_for_Sustainability.pdf
The plan incorporates the principles of what Mr. Rifkin calls the Third Industrial Revolution

Prelude: Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction.

Pillar One: Renewable Energy – Wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and other renewable energy sources; some centralized and lots of distributed.

Pillar Two: Buildings as Power Plants – After energy efficiency is achieved, then solar, micro-wind, etc. are added to meet part of building’s energy needs and, if possible, make building a net energy provider.

Pillar Three: Hydrogen Storage – Use the hydrogen solution to energy storage to make renewable/hydrogen hybrid the baseload power supply.

Pillar Four: Smart Grid and Plug-in Vehicles – Establish an electric grid that can manage energy consumption and receipt of power from thousands of disbursed energy generators.

Solar San Antonio presents: "Burning the future: Coal in America" October 15, 2009 at Alamo Draft House

From Solar San Antonio:

October 15, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Burning the Future: Coal in America examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging “clean coal” energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction. Faced with toxic ground water and the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, our heroes launch a valiant fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.


Solar San Antonio, together with a host of local civic and environmental groups, introduces a new monthly film series at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. The series is designed to make educational opportunities around environmental issues more widely available through high quality, award--winning films and documentaries.
Third Thursday of every month at 7:30 at Alamo Drafthouse Theater, Westlakes, 1255 SW Loop 410


$5 discounted admission for Students, SSA members, EchoTown green card holders, and members of Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, Green Spaces Alliance, Sierra Club, and Bexar Audubon Society.


$9 general admission


And you can always grab a bite to eat at the Alamo Drafthouse, too!


Be sure to visit the Solar San Antonio information table near the theater entrance. Clothesline Cleaners will be giving away EnviroBags and $5 FREE CLEANING to every ticket holder. Use these bags to cut down on single use plastic. We look forward to seeing you there!

Solar Hot Water Workshop, September 3, 2009 by Solar San Antonio and Tony Stephenson of Solar Texas

Solar San Antonio presents a Solar Hot Water workshop, September 3, 2009 at International Center 203 S. St. Mary's Street, Suite # 385, San Antonio.

Tony Stephenson, of Solar Texas and long time member of San Antonio Sustainable Living will present information on Solar Hot Water Fundamentals, types of systems, sizing and determining the amount of storage and collectors, installation techniques for mounting collectors, options and types of pre-heat storage tanks, miscellaneous system components, sizing pumps and piping, procedure for soldering and supporting copper, pipe insulation, Controls, system fill and start-up, options for space and/or pool heating.

Tickets may be purchased through eventbrite

American Solar Energy Society home tour to include San Antonio, October 3 & 4 2009

From Christine Chapa of Solar San Antonio comes this information:

The American Solar Energy Society National Solar Tour is the largest grassroots solar event in history. Tour homes and buildings to see how your neighbors are using solar energy to reduce their monthly utility bills -- and how you can too.

Last year close to 140,000 attendees visited some 5,000 buildings in 3,000 participating communities. Now in its 14th year, this event is coordinated nationally by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society. It takes place annually during the first Saturday in October in conjunction with National Energy Awareness Month.

An increasing focus of the tour is on energy-saving techniques and sustainability through building design, energy efficient appliances, and use of green materials during remodeling. Tours also provide helpful, real-world examples of costs and how to save money with federal, state, and local incentives,

Ultimately the tour inspires people across the nation to make sustainable energy choices that help lower costs, support energy independence, protect against power outages, and reduce carbon emissions. We invite you to join the renewable energy revolution by participating in the ASES National Solar Tour.

2008 marked the first year San Antonio participated by featuring ten homes and buildings in Bexar County. Participating 2009 San Antonio locations will be posted soon.

Sounds great! Be sure to mark your calendars. You can indicate your support for the event by your RSVP on the event's Facebook page.

Solar Water Heater , PV and Solar Window Screen rebates offered by City Public Service

Thanks to Solar San Antonio for pointing out links to the CPS pages explaining their rebate programs for Solar Water Heaters, Window Solar Screens and films, Photovoltaics.

By following the links you'll find the applications and the detailed information you will need to qualify.

San Antonio has a number of fine companies offering these products. Tony Stephenson, a San Antonio Sustainable Living group member and owner of Solar Texas, sells and installs a variety of well tested solar water heater systems.

Special benefit showing of "Addicted to Plastic" Thursday May 28 at 7;30 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes

From Solar San Antonio:

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Solar San Antonio would like to invite you to a series of environmental films to be showing the third Thursday of every month.

On Thursday May 28th, at 7:30 pm see Addicted to Plastic at Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes, 1255 SW Loop 410, San Antonio 78227.

From styrofoam cups to artificial organs, plastics are perhaps the most ubiquitous and versatile material ever invented. No invention in the past 100 years has had more influence and presence than synthetics. But such progress has had a cost.

For better and for worse, no ecosystem or segment of human activity has escaped the shrink-wrapped grasp of plastic. Addicted To Plastic is a global journey to investigate what we really know about the material of a thousand uses and why there's so darn much of it. On the way we discover a toxic legacy, and the men and women dedicated to cleaning it up.

Addicted To Plastic is a point-of-view style documentary that encompasses three years of filming in 12 countries on 5 continents, including two trips to the middle of the Pacific Ocean where plastic debris accumulates. The film details plastic's path over the last 100 years and provides a wealth of expert interviews on practical and cutting edge solutions to recycling, toxicity and biodegradability. These solutions - which include plastic made from plants - will provide viewers with a new perspective about our future with plastic.

All ticket proceeds will benefit Solar San Antonio.

Discount Tickets available for Solar San Antonio Bill Sinkin's 96th birthday luncheon and address by Jigar Shah

Celeste Diaz Ferraro of SOLAR SAN ANTONIO asked that we announce the following:

Solar San Antonio's 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, May 19 is going to be amazing. Jigar Shah, visionary founder of SunEdison and proponent of the power purchase agreement model that has driven growth of the solar industry, will keynote the event and we expect some fireworks! You can read a great profile on Mr. Shah at On Earth.org . And now we’re super excited about an extra opportunity to make sure that people like you who are truly passionate about solar now can attend at a special discounted rate.

Tickets are priced at $96 in honor of Bill Sinkin’s 96th birthday. Very cute, but in this economy it’s just too much for some. So NuStar Energy has generously donated seats so that 20 people can attend the luncheon at half off the normal ticket price of $96. That’s right - $48 for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear an informative, challenging and thought-provoking talk with Jigar Shah, plus lunch at the Pearl Stable and the opportunity to network with leaders in energy and sustainability from around the region. You can’t beat that.

So the first 20 people to rsvp online at http://solarsanantonio.eventbrite.com using the special discount code THXNUSTAR will get the special $48 tickets. Hurry! Won’t last long! If anyone has questions, call 210.313.2445.

Registration begins at 11:15 a.m.
Luncheon & program from 12:00 p.m. –1:30 p.m.
Pearl Stable, 312 Pearl Parkway, San Antonio, TX
More info and online registration at http://solarsanantonio.eventbrite.com

Jigar Shah of SunEdison will keynote Solar San Antonio's 10th anniversary luncheon May 19th

This is not a traditional luncheon, but rather an opportunity to participate in a pretty historic celebration. Jigar Shah, founder of SunEdison (world's largest solar power services provider) will keynote Solar San Antonio's 10th anniversary and founder Bill Sinkin's 96th birthday. Mr. Sinkin was adamant that this event not be overrrun with corporate sponsors and that seats be reserved for individuals who are passionate about solar and renewable energy.

Please join fellow advocates, activist and socially/environmentally conscious neighbors for a celebratory luncheon in honor of the 10th anniversary of Solar San Antonio & Bill Sinkin’s 96th birthday

May 19, 2009
11:15 a.m. Registration
12:00 p.m. Luncheon & Program

Pearl Stable
The Historic Pearl Brewery
312 Pearl Parkway, San Antonio, Texas 78212

Individual Tickets: $96
Purchase tickets online at www.solarsanantonio.org
or R.S.V.P. by May 15 to 210.313.2445 or rsvp@solarsanantonio.org

Essentially SunEdison installs the solar system and continues to own and maintain the system. The energy user pays a fixed fee over a long term for the energy consumed. Using the contracts to purchase energy as collateral, SunEdison attracts lenders, who also benefit from a package including city and state solar rebates, accelerated depreciation benefits, and a thirty percent Federal tax write-off.

The energy user benefits from a fixed energy price, savings in electricity cost over time, and reduction in carbon emissions.

This win-win combination brought SunEdison from a start-up company in 2003 to a company that operates 200 commercial installations with a total capacity of 60 megawatts.

Overall, from 2000 to 2007, worldwide investment in solar rose from $66 million to $12.4 billion. In the 2004-2007 period, United States investment rose from $215 million to $3.2 billion. With innovators like Mr. Shah, this level of investment will skyrocket over the next decade.

Mr. Shah left SunEdison to pursue new and innovative endeavors. He will share his experience at SunEdison and his newest ideas at the luncheon on May 19.

The online version of OnEarth's article of Jigar Shah can be found here:
http://www.onearth.org/article/selling-the-sun?page=all

May 20, 21 symposium shows school administrators, architects and engineers the benefits of going green.

On Wednesday May 20 and Thursday May 21, 2009 the local chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the US Green Building Council (USGBC) together with Solar San Antonio present the 2009 Green Schools Symposium, intended for architects, designers, consultants, engineers, developers, contractors and manufacturers

The first day of the symposium will be a full day LEED for Schools Technical Review Workshop. The LEED for Schools rating system is designed to improve children’s health, productivity and learning capacity while also helping school building to be more energy efficient and resource friendly. LEED for Schools emphasizes: classroom acoustics, master planning, indoor air quality, mold prevention, energy efficiency, water conservation, and more.

The second day of the symposium will offer a broad range of topics, including central Texas case studies, energy efficiency and renewable technologies, commissioning, acoustics and indoor air quality, along with legislative updates. An awards ceremony will also recognize outstanding schools in two different categories: new construction and renovation.

The fees for attendance at each part of the symposium vary according status of membership in sponsoring organizations and profession. Of course you can join the event's Facebook page too.

LEED for Schools Technical Review
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
International Center
203 S. St. Mary's Street
Register at www.usgbc-centraltexas.org/calendar

2009 Green School Symposium
Thursday, May 21, 2009
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
International Center
203 S. St. Mary's Street
register at www.aiasa.org

Solar Fest 2009 San Antonio. Saturday May 2. The area's first 100% renewable powered event

This year's Solar Fest at Maverick Park , Saturday May 2, will be the first festival in San Antonio to be powered entirely by renewable energy.

The event starts of with a 5 K "Run on the Sun" at 8 am. Race from Maverick Park to Pearl Brewery, which is a major re-use, live, shop and work project on the soon to be opened northern extension of the Riverwalk, and which will soon have the state's largest solar power array.

From 9 to 4 at Maverick Park attendees can enjoy live music on a solar powered stage, learn about sustainable and green living and see a variety of energy efficient, recycled products.

Volunteers, exhibitors and sponsors are all wanted. Solar Fest is a project of Solar San Antonio.

Solar San Antonio brought leader in solar design to town for seminar

A number of organizations in San Antonio are working simultaneously on green and sustainable issues. In the forefront promoting solar energy is Solar San Antonio. With help from the San Antonio Area Foundation, they hosted a seminar for professionals on incorporating photovoltaics into building design by Steven Strong founder of Solar Design Associates and author of The Solar Electric House .

Upcoming Events

February 27 to March 1: Austin Green Living Expo at the Austin Convention Center. $7.50 admission.

Friday, Feb 27 3 pm @ Austin Green Living Expo. Design Build Live's Introduction to Natural Building $7.50 admission to entire Expo includes this talk

Saturday Feb 28 1:30 pm @ Austin Green Living Expo Design Build Live's Straw Bale Construction Overview $7.50 admission to entire Expo includes this talk

Saturday March 7, Earth Plaster Finish Coat Workshop, Austin. Cost $75 Hosted by Design Build Live.

Saturday, March 14, Earthen Floor Workshop, Austin. Cost $75. Taught by Frank Meyer (the Thangmaker) and hosted by Design Build Live.

Wednesday, March 18, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm -Design Build Live Monthly Presentation
Introduction to Straw Bale Construction. Guest presenter: Ben Obregon of The Sustainable Design Center

Tuesday, March 31, San Antonio Sustainable Living, monthly meeting. 7 pm. Whole Foods Market at the Quarry. Training room.

Wednesday, April 15, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Design Build Live Monthly Presentation: Conserving Resources: Reduce, Reduce, Reduce Guest presenter: Jenny Nazak of Austin Permaculture Guild

Friday, April 17, to Sunday, April 19, 2009 - DBL Special Event
Rainwater Harvesting Rockstar Comes to Austin: Brad Lancaster
A series of talks and events with the dynamic author of the Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands series. Prepare to be amazed. Brad shows how urban residents not just people in the countryside can harvest water in ways you've never imagined. His site: http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

May 2, 2009: SolarFest San Antonio, at Maverick Park sponsored by Solar San Antonio .