Van Jones hired in Washinton DC!

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley announced yesterday that Van Jones – an early green jobs visionary -- will start Monday as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at CEQ:

Van Jones has been a strong voice for green jobs and we look forward to having him work with departments and agencies to advance the President’s agenda of creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources. Jones will also help to shape and advance the Administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communities

Jones is the founder of Green For All in Oakland, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas. He is also the co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, and was the author of the 2008 New York Times best-seller, The Green Collar Economy.

Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker profiled Jones in January:

"Your goal has to be to get the greenest solutions to the poorest people," Jones told me. "That’s the only goal that’s morally compelling enough to generate enough energy to pull this transition off. The challenge is making this an everybody movement, so your main icons are Joe Six-Pack—Joe the Plumber—becoming Joe the Solar Guy, or that kid on the street corner putting down his handgun, picking up a caulk gun."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/10/Van-Jones-to-CEQ/

The Sustain miniHome: A Modern Green RV!!!

The miniHome was created by the Sustain Design Studio team, and they describe it as:

The world’s first, completely self-sufficient, ecological trailer design, the miniHome features many of the ‘mod-cons’ that consumers have come to expect, without the associated energy, resource or material use. Within a well-organized 38 sm (350 sf), there is everything you need for comfortable, year-round, sustainable living.

We have designed the MiniHomes with:
* Engineered, High-Strength Recycled Steel Chassis (allows for easy siting and relocation)
* Natural and Rapidly Renewable Materials
* FSC Certified Woods
* Non-toxic and healthy finishes (no vinyl, no formaldehyde, no VOC’s)
* Wood-Efficient Framing Technologies (30% less material)
* Passive Solar Heating with Optimized Area:Volume ratio
* Natural Ventilation (exhaust high, supply low, cross ventilation)
* Passive Solar Shading (to prevent overheating)
* Air-tight Construction (to 0.7 ACH/hr)
* Heat Recovery Ventilation - for a constant supply of pre-heated fresh air
* Ultra-High Efficiency, Quiet Air Handling Unit (20W)
* Tankless Boiler/Water Heater
* Excellent control of vapour-flow and thermal resistance in the building envelope
* Rain-Screen Detailing (commercial grade)
* AC and DC Circuits
* LED Lighting
* Ultra-low Load Appliances (best of class Energy Star ratings)
* Hybrid energy systems are designed for the ‘plug-and-play’ addition of renewable energy sources, such as solar (photovoltaic) and wind.

Our models can be classed as trailers (ANSI-A119.5 or CSA Z241.1) or buildings (Conventional Building Permit Obtained for our site-built Kit Version) to comply with your municipal zoning or financing requirements. Turnkey and low-maintenance housing solutions are available from as low as $109,900 (USD) and with total combined annual operating costs of less than $500 - the MiniHomes represent excellent value for your dollar.

http://www.metaefficient.com/architecture-and-building/the-sustain-minihome-a-modern-green-rv.html

Eco Warriors Series...

Eco Warrior Series

Environmental Awareness Reality Series featuring Actress/Dancer Cyd Schulte and Eco-Celebrities as they team together to find solutions to environmental Issues around the globe.

Blur To Focus Productions phone:(505) 242-0556 email:blurtofocus@gmail.com
©2007 Blur To Focus Productions; All Rights Reserved Without Prejudice
http://www.blurtofocus.com/series.html

SF City Hall endorses Earth Hour 2009!

The City Hall of San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Wade Crowfoot and local government officials are in full support of Earth Hour on March 28th, 2009. This worldwide event to combat global climate change happens from 8:30pm to 9:30pm; to have people turn off their lights and other non-essential power for one hour of action and solidarity. There will be a full list of events going on throughout the day and culminating in the lights going out on city landmarks, businesses, commercial buildings and private residences.
Log onto:
www.earthhourus.org/sanfrancisco/sanfran cisco.php
for more information and about how to best participate!

March 28th, 2009 8:30pm to 9:30pm Turn Out, Take Action!

Van Jones's Landmark Green Jobs Speech!

Thomas Friedman on the Green Revolution

Thomas Friedman pushes ‘green revolution’ during CU visit
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist speaks at Macky

BOULDER, Colo. — Thomas Friedman wants Al Gore to apologize.

Not for sounding the alert about the effects of global warming, but instead for underplaying the consequences of not reversing the current course.

“The climate science has been going beyond even what Al Gore predicted five years ago,” he said. “All the climate deniers are going to live long enough to see how wrong they are.”

The three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times foreign-affairs columnist and best-selling author addressed a sold-out crowd Monday night at the University of Colorado. The talk centered on his latest book, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.”

“This book is my argument about how we get our groove back as a country,” he said.

He said America can get back on track by staging a “green revolution,” saying the country needs to redefine what it means to “live like an American.”

“Green is the new red, white and blue,” he said.

He said the country that owns “abundant, cheap, clean, reliable electrons and molecules” will be the country with the most economic power and highest standard of living.

“Energy technology is the next great global industry,” he said.

He said the key to the green revolution will be innovation, stimulated by making “dirty fuels” more expensive and “clean fuels” cheaper. To do that, he said, it’s necessary for Congress to pass a carbon tax.

Ultimately, he said, the word “green” should disappear.

Instead of a small number of energy-efficient buildings and cars, he said, all should be built that way — eliminating the need for a “green” designation.

“It won’t be a green car, just a car,” he said.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/feb/16/thomas-friedman-cu-boulder-green-revolution/