This year's SolFest will be more exciting than ever. A new stage location, redesigned workshop tents, and many other changes will make the event more fun and more pleasant than ever. And what a lineup we have!

Perhaps most exciting is the incredible lineup of panels and speakers on our main stage. You can hear the latest news in alternative fuels, with experts discussing pros and cons of biodiesel, hydrogen, ethanol and electric vehicles. Experts will update you on the latest breakthroughs in solar and renewable energy technologies and policy. And keynoting on the main stage will be national political commentator Jim Hightower, often called "America's most popular populist." Don't miss him! In addition to Jim, this year you will also hear Ed Begley, Jr., Caroline Casey, Betsy Rosenberg, John Francis, and Deborah Koons Garcia.

Headlining the music this year will be the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. For more than 40 years, mandolinist/composer David Grisman has inspired a whole new genre of acoustic string instrumental music. David has recorded and produced dozens of critically acclaimed recordings of acoustic music, five of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards. Additional musical acts include Vince Herman, New Monsoon, and Hot Buttered Rum.

Of course, world-class speakers and music are just some of many reasons to come to SolFest. Great workshops are just as important to many of you. We will have five workshop areas this year with 60+ workshops -- more than ever before -- covering topics from renewable energy and post-petroleum preparation to yoga and health. These workshops are all FREE with the price of admission. There is truly something for everyone at SolFest.

Also, if you are interested in being one of the 400 volunteers needed for us to stage this event, please be sure to complete our volunteer form as soon as possible. Scheduling of volunteer shifts has been underway for weeks, but there are still many interesting and important positions available.

SolFest 2006, in its efforts to remain the premier educational event, is featuring an especially exciting and informed series of panel discussions on our main stage.

• Are you wondering whether to buy a hybrid, an electric, a biodiesel, an ethanol, or a hydrogen car?
• Are you curious about when solar panels will be as common as roof shingles on every roof in America?
• Do you wonder whether 'organic' or 'GE-free' are really meaningful or how 'slow food' differs from 'fast food'?
• Did you know that oil will soon be a distant memory and that communities around the country are 'localizing'?

Whatever questions you have about the future of green technology and policy, there is a fascinating discussion to be had at SolFest XI. Take a look at the exciting lineup of discussions, and the world- class lineup of experts, who will be on hand to update, inform and inspire you.

The Future of Solar: When Will It Really Be Mainstream?
(Sun., Aug. 20 - 12:00 PM)

• Julie Blunden, VP, External Affairs, SunPower Corp., SLI Board (Moderator)
• Ed Smeloff - Sharp Solar
• Bernadette Del Chiaro, Executive Director, Environment California
• J. P. Ross, Vote Solar/Solar Nation

Alternative Fuels Smackdown!
(Sun., Aug. 20 - 2:00 PM)

• John Schaeffer, Founder and President of Real Goods, Founder and President of SLI (Moderator)
• David Blume, Alcohol Fuel and Ethanol pioneer and author
• Charris Ford - Biodiesel pioneer and advocate
• Steve Heckeroth - Director of BIPV, ECD Ovonics, Electric Vehicle Pioneer, SLI Board
• Tai Robinson - Solar Hydrogen advocate

Future of Food
(Sat., Aug. 19 - 4:00 PM)

• Penny Livingston, Executive Director, Permaculture Institute of Northern California, SLI Board (invited) (Moderator)
• Deborah Koons Garcia - Filmmaker, The Future of Food
• Els Cooperrider - Activist, organizer of a GMO- Free Mendocino, business owner

Media at the Tipping Point
(Sun., Aug. 20 - 11:00 AM)

• Dan Hamburg - Former Congressman (Moderator)
• Ed Begley Jr. - Environmentalist/actor
• Betsy Rosenberg - Journalist/activist/talk show host

Peak Oil and Localization Movements
(Sun., Aug. 20 - 3:00 PM)

• Steve Heckeroth, Director of BIPV, ECD Ovonics, SLI Board (Moderator)
• Dr. Jason Bradford - Founder, WELL (Willits Economic LocaLization)
• Cliff Paulin - organizer, GULP (Greater Ukiah Localization Project)

This year we are striving to recruit 400 people to volunteer to assist our staff and our promotional team to make SolFest the nation’s best and most comprehensive renewable energy and sustainable living festival of its kind. We're still recruiting volunteers for this year's event, so please sign up to volunteer today!

If you would like to volunteer, we still need people for afternoon and evening shifts. Please let us know your interest as soon as possible. Shifts are filling up.

Your volunteer support of SolFest will help us continue to bring valuable information to thousands. With your support, we can continue to grow and ensure our continued success.

SolFest is the largest celebration of renewable energy and sustainable living on the West Coast. To honor our 11th annual SolFest and our mission to promote sustainable living through inspirational environmental education, we are pleased to announce a SolFest Workshop Sale, and a huge discount on many of our fabulous fall workshops!

Congratulations to the graduates of the Solar Living Institute’s first series of PV boot camps! We trained two full classes of students, from beginners to engineers and contractors, on how to design and install a PV system.

Here’s what students had to say:

“This was the best class I’ve taken in a long time. Doug did a tremendous job!” -- Corey Shalanski from New York, NY

“This course suited my needs perfectly. I will use what I’ve learned in the field and I intend to take more courses with SLI in the future.” -- William Shirley, contractor from Beckworth, CA

“The course was extremely worthwhile, worth the money, and Doug is an excellent instructor.” -- Chris Leone and Stephanie Schipper, electricians from Felton, CA

In response to the great feedback from these workshops, we’ve added two more boot camps to the fall schedule: PV Boot Camp for Beginners (Sept. 20-24) and PV Boot Camp for Electricians (Oct. 4-8). Be sure to sign up early, as these workshops will sell out again!

We are pleased to announce our partnership with the Solar Power 2006 Conference coming this October in San Jose, CA. The Solar Living Institute will be presenting the following workshops as part of the conference:

• Oct. 13 - PV 103: Grid-Tied PV for Professionals (San Jose)
• Oct. 14 - PV 111: Find Your Dream Job in Solar (San Jose)
• Oct. 15 - PV 112: How to Make the Financial Case for PV (San Jose)
• Oct. 20 - PV 311: Breakthrough Solar Sales and Marketing (San Jose)

Sign up now to ensure your seats in these workshops!

If you’ve been thinking about finding your niche in the emerging green economy, you won’t want to miss our special Green Careers Day on Nov. 18 in San Francisco. This event will feature leading green entrepreneurs and green career experts who will present the full range of career opportunities in green business. You'll come away with ideas, strategies, resources and contacts to help you find your dream green job. To sign up, call us at 707.744.2017 or sign up online.

Register by Sept. 5 for the early bird discount price of $150 -- a savings of $25!

We’re excited to offer three new workshops in Los Angeles this coming September! Whether you are thinking of getting into the lucrative and rapidly expanding solar market, or already have a solar business established, one of these courses will fit your needs. Follow any of the links below for more information.

• Sept. 22 -- PV 311: Breakthrough Solar Sales and Marketing (LA)
• Sept. 23 -- PV 112: How to Make the Financial Case for Solar (LA)
• Sept. 24 -- PV 111: Find Your Dream Job in Solar (LA)

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream (DVD or VHS)

NOW AT NEW LOWER PRICES!

ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH: El Fin del Sueño Americano

WE OFFER THE BEST PRICE ON THE INTERNET AT $16.25 -- previously $19.50 -- FOR THIS DVD IN ITS STANDARD CASE AND AT $13.95 -- previously $15.95 -- FOR THIS DVD IN ITS NEW CARDBOARD CASE OR IN VHS.

Order from us (standard case at $16.25 or cardboard case at $13.95), and help support our work.

The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era and as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now some scientists and policy makers argue in this documentary. The consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. What does Oil Peak mean for North America? As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, how will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream? Are today's suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? And what can be done NOW, individually and collectively, to avoid The End of Suburbia?

This DVD, or VHS, is an excellent introduction to the issue of oil and natural gas depletion coming soon to a neighborhood near you. If you haven't picked up a copy of this riveting documentary, do so today! You won't want to miss it!

The bad news from a study published this week in Science is that, by comparing satellite data from 2002-2005 to earlier data, researchers have determined that Greenland's ice sheet is melting about three times faster than it was five years ago. That means about 57 cubic miles of ice melts there each year, enough to cause an annual 0.02 inch sea- level rise. Meanwhile, between 2002 and 2005, at least 36 cubic miles of Antarctic ice melted annually. Computer projections had suggested that warmer temperatures in the region would lead to greater precipitation, compensating for the melt. But another study in this week's Science determined that in the past 50 years, there's been no real increase in Antarctica's precipitation.

For more information:

• The Washington Post, Aug. 11, 2006
• National Geographic News, Aug. 10, 2006
• BBC News, Aug. 11, 2006
• San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 11, 2006

Here's the much awaited new book by Richard Heinberg! You absolutely won't want to miss this very important book! Timely and critically important, The Oil Depletion Protocol is a must-read for policy makers and for all who seek to avert a Peak Oil collapse.

Since oil is the primary fuel of global industrial civilization, its imminent depletion is a problem that will have profound impact on every aspect of modern life. Without international agreement on how to manage the decline of this vital resource, the world faces unprecedented risk of conflict and collapse.

The Oil Depletion Protocol describes a unique accord whereby nations would voluntarily reduce their oil production and oil imports according to a consistent, sensible formula. This would enable the task of energy transition to be planned and supported over the long term, providing a context of stable energy prices and peaceful cooperation. The Protocol will be presented at international gatherings, initiating the process of country-by-country negotiation and adoption, and mobilizing public support. To this end, this book:

• provides an overview of the data concerning Peak Oil and its timing
• briefly explains the protocol and its implications for the reader and for decision makers in government and industry around the world
• deals with frequently asked questions and objections, and
• looks forward to how the protocol can be adopted and how municipalities and ordinary citizens can facilitate the process.

Richard Heinberg, from Santa Rosa, CA, has been writing about energy resources issues and the dynamics of cultural change for many years. A member of the core faculty at New College of California, he is an award-winning author of three previous books. His Museletter was nominated for its "Best Alternative Newsletter" award by Utne Reader in 1993.

The miracle of the Green Revolution was made possible by cheap fossil fuels to supply crops with artificial fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. Estimates of the net energy balance of agriculture in the US show that ten calories of hydrocarbon energy are required to produce one calorie of food. Such an imbalance cannot continue in a world of diminishing hydrocarbon resources.

Eating Fossil Fuels examines the interlinked crises of energy and agriculture and highlights some startling findings:

• The world-wide expansion of agriculture has appropriated fully 40% of the photosynthetic capability of this planet.
• The Green Revolution provided abundant food sources for many, resulting in a population explosion well in excess of the planet's carrying capacity.
• Studies suggest that without fossil fuel based agriculture, the US could only sustain about two thirds of its present population. For the planet as a whole, the sustainable number is estimated to be about two billion.

Concluding that the effect of energy depletion will be disastrous without a transition to a sustainable, relocalized agriculture, the book draws on the experiences of North Korea and Cuba to demonstrate stories of failure and success in the transition to non- hydrocarbon-based agriculture. It urges strong grassroots activism for sustainable, localized agriculture and a natural shrinking of the world's population.

Dale Allen Pfeiffer is a novelist, freelance journalist and geologist who has been writing about energy depletion for a decade. The author of The End of the Oil Age, he is also widely known for his web project: www.survivingpeakoil.com.

Over the coming years we will need to move from a global culture addicted to cheap, abundant petroleum to a culture of compelled conservation, whether through government directive or market forces. The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook provides useful practical advice for preparing your family and community to make the transition.

This book takes a positive, upbeat, and optimistic view of "the Great Change," promoting the idea that it can be an opportunity to redeem our essential interconnectedness with nature and with each other. The many rifts that have grown up since oil became the world's prime commodity can be mended: between cities and their food sources; the design of the suburban built environment and its car-oriented sprawl; runaway greenhouse warming, clearing of forests and toxification of rivers, oceans, and land. Topics covered include:

• Rebuilding civilization
• Changing your needs
• Water and waste disposal
• Energy and transportation
• Equipment and Tools
• Food storage and First Aid

Also including light-hearted, playful recipes -- some using basic, wholesome foods, some illustrating food growing or preservation, and all emphasizing organic, flavorful and locally grown produce that readily substitute one for another -- this book is about having your catastrophe and eating it too.

Albert Bates has been Director of the Global Village Institute for Appropriate Technology since 1984 and the Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm in Tennessee since 1994, where he has taught sustainable design, natural building, permaculture and restoration ecology to students from more than 50 nations.

Straw-bale construction has slowly been catching on in the green-building set, but its positive performance in recent fire, durability, and eco- friendliness tests could take it to the next level. The latest was an independent fire-resistance test, which proved that the material lives up to industry standards when it's covered with fire-resistant plaster in its use as a building insulator. The test "opens the doors to every realm of construction" for straw bales, said funder Bruce King. As the material proves itself, insurers are more and more likely to insure buildings made with it, and bankers more likely to fund construction with it, allowing schools, businesses, and other structures across the country to insulate with dried grasses instead of typical foam or fiberglass.

So far, a 1980s revival of straw-bale construction -- which originated in the 1890s on the arid plains of Nebraska where the ground was too dry for settlers to build from sod -- has been limited to survivalists and high-end, eco-oriented homeowners. There aren't any official measures of the number of straw- bale buildings, but advocates estimate there are several thousand in the U.S., most of them single- family homes. But now, responding to the demand for more green buildings, architects and builders are starting to use dried rice and wheat stalks in larger, more public facilities such as schools, churches, wineries and transit facilities.

There are some really excellent books coming out this summer, and you can get them right here at our web store. For a short period of time, we are offering a special pre-order discount of 20% on three important upcoming titles: Oil Depletion Protocol by Richard Heinberg, Eating Fossil Fuels by Dale Allen Pfeiffer, and The Post-Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook by Albert K. Bates. I assure you that this editor will be avidly devouring each of these books as soon as they are available. You won't want to miss them, and at 20% off the regular retail price, this is the best price you will get for these important books. Don't miss these great prices!

Additional new and recent titles added to our web store that you will want to be sure and read include the following: Biodiesel America by Josh Tickell, Towers of Deception by Barrie Zwicker (this promises to be an extraordinary expose on media coverage of 9/11 by the narrator of The End of Suburbia DVD many of you have seen), Armed Madhouse by Greg Palast (five autographed copies are still available), Energy Switch by Craig Morris, Solar Water Heating by Bob Ramlow with Benjamin Nusz, Your Green Home by Alex Wilson, Cutting Your Car Use by Randall Ghent with Anna Semlyen, Biodiesel Basics and Beyond by William H. Kemp, Ecocities by Richard Register, and the film Ecological Design now in DVD format.

Be sure to check out our other titles in the following categories:

• Ecological Design and Planning
• Energy and Appropriate Technology
• Environment and Economy
• Natural and Green Building
• Oil and Natural Gas Depletion
• Progressive Leadership
• Sustainable Living
• Food and Permaculture

We encourage you to shop with us. Our online bookstore is growing rapidly. We are adding titles weekly to bring you some of the best reads on sustainable living available. Shop with the Solar Living Institute, and help support our valuable work!

The near-meltdown of one of Sweden's 10 nuclear reactors has resulted in the closure of three additional reactors over safety concerns. It's also fueled a raging debate in the country over the future of nuclear power. After a short-circuit of the national grid kept power from reaching a reactor at the Forsmark plant 125 miles north of Stockholm, only two of the four diesel generators meant to provide backup power for a safe shutdown came online -- barely enough to contain a disaster, critics said. Analysts say that without power, if none or even just one of the generators had come on, a meltdown was possible in some 90 minutes. "It's a bit like a lottery," said nuclear engineer and consultant Lars-Olov Hoglund.

We're hiring here at the Solar Living Institute. We have three position openings: Workshop Coordinator, Administrative Assistant, and Site Manager.

Workshop Coordinator: Our fabulous interim workshop coordinator (and former Institute intern) is returning to UC-Davis to finish her master’s degree, and we are looking to replace her toward the end of September. This position reports to our Workshop Director and is a great opportunity to become part of the fastest growing area of the Institute’s programs. Review the ad for the Workshop Coordinator position and send your cover letter and resume to our Workshop Director, Lindsay Dailey, at lindsay.dailey@solarliving.org by Sept. 5.

Administrative Assistant: Our excellent Administrative Assistant has also decided to go back to school, and we are looking to replace her also as soon as possible. This position reports to our Operations Manager. Review the job description for the Administrative Assistant position and send your cover letter and resume to our Executive Director, Bob Gragson, at bob.gragson@solarliving.org by Aug. 25.

Site Manager: During the summer while we were continuing to recover from our New Year's Eve flood and prepare the site for SolFest, a former site manager here worked part-time throughout the summer in this position. Immediately after SolFest on Sept. 21, we will be resuming our search for a full- time site manager. If you haven't already applied, review the job description for the Site Manager position and send your cover letter and resume to our Executive Director, Bob Gragson, at bob.gragson@solarliving.org by Aug. 25.

For other energy and environmental positions throughout the world, you might also check out these websites:

• Green Dream Jobs
• Environmental Jobs & Careers