Sale on all 2007 Workshops until March 1! Only 2 days left to receive 10% off all workshop registrations. Plan ahead and sign up for courses now to take advantage of this special offer!

Join us for a PV Design & Installation Boot Camp for Beginners in San Francisco this March!

The Solar Living Institute is pleased to bring its educational programs to the Bay Area. Join us this March 19-23 as we spend 3 days in the classroom learning the basics of PV, and then put on your tool belt and get on a roof for two days as we install a PV system from start to finish on a low-income home in San Francisco! For more information or to register for this workshop that is sure to sell out, see the workshop description.

With over 200 workshops offered in 2007, our program has grown substantially. We are offering a variety of workshops in Southern California in both Los Angeles and San Diego, and we have started to expand to the East Coast where new incentives are making solar an attractive investment.

Hurry and sign up today to take advantage of the 10% discount and ensure your seat in our popular workshops. Workshops will sell out early. Our first seven workshops of the year (through March 4) have already sold out!

Select a topic below for a listing of workshops in an area of interest to you:

• Basic Building Skills
• Biofuels & Alternative Transportation
• Green & Natural Building
• Green Careers & Business
• Local Sustainability
• Permaculture & Organic Food
• Solar & Renewable Energy
• Sustainability for Educators
• Water Security
• Women's Learning Series

The Solar Living Institute is happy to welcome over 500 new partners who joined in supporting our work during our end-of-year fundraising drive. Partners, who support us through annual dues and our growing continuous-giving program, are essential to funding the Solar Living Institute. The financial support of folks like you, which can range from as little as $35 a year to $2500 or $10,000 a year, helps us continue to grow and thrive.

With over $40,000 coming in during the last few weeks of 2006, the Institute is in a strong financial condition, but our work is far from over! If you have never been an Institute partner, or if your partnership has lapsed, won't you please join us in inspiring and educating people about sustainable living? Even the smallest contribution can help.

Find out more about our partnerships, and some of the many thank-you gifts you can receive for your support.

Now you can give money to the Institute without paying out any money!

We would like to introduce you to a new online search tool that raises money for the Solar Living Institute at no cost to you. It's called GoodSearch, and it is an online search engine that will donate one cent to the charity of your choice (such as the Solar Living Institute) for every search you perform.

GoodSearch is partnered with Yahoo, so your searches are as good as any other. Using GoodSearch is simple - just go to this page and you will automatically be contributing to the Solar Living Institute. Make it your homepage, one of your home tabs, add it to your Favorites, or download it for your toolbar, and it will be even easier to support our programs.

If everyone who reads our newsletter used GoodSearch for their online search needs, it will mean thousands of dollars per year for the Solar Living Institute. Thanks for your support!

In our bookstore we have an area that lists the latest titles that we have added. Be sure to check out these new additions.

We provide FREE shipping on book and DVD orders totaling $100 or more.

Be sure to check out our books in the following categories:

• Biofuels
• Climate Change
• Ecological Design and Planning
• Ecovillages
• Environment and Economy
• Food and Permaculture
• Fossil Fuel Depletion
• Natural and Green Building
• Progressive Leadership
• Renewable Energy
• Sustainable Living
• Waste Composting
• Water, Water Collection, Greywater Systems, and Ponds

Shop with the Solar Living Institute, and help support our valuable work!

We're hiring here at the Solar Living Institute. We have two position openings:

Workshop Coordinator: This position reports to our Workshop Director. Review the job description for the Workshop Coordinator position and send your cover letter and resume to our Workshop Director, Lindsay Dailey, at lindsay.dailey@solarliving.org. The position is open until filled.

Administrative Assistant: This position reports to our Executive Director. 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. The position is open until filled.

You might also want to check out the Program Manager, Climate Solutions Campaign position with our friends at Ecology Action in Santa Cruz. For additional energy and environmental positions throughout the world, the following are some good websites for your review:

• Green Dream Jobs
• Environmental Jobs & Careers
• Environmental Career Opportunities (EcoJobs)
• EcoEmploy.com
• Idealist.org
• Orion Grassroots Network
• EnvironmentalCareer.com
• Green Energy Jobs

Special Event: Investing for a Green Economy
San Francisco, March 17

Massive investments are required to address the issues of global warming and peak oil, which presents enormous opportunities for both investors and socially-conscious individuals alike. How can we redirect millions of investment dollars towards building a green economy?

Increasing your understanding of the socially responsible financial markets is the first step toward making informed, responsible and effective investments that stimulate positive change. With that knowledge both large and small investors can proactively select investments that build a green economy while meeting and often far surpassing financial goals.

Join cutting edge financial professionals and visionaries in an interactive day that will educate and empower you to re-direct your investment dollars into building a green economy in a financially responsible manner.

This incredible information-packed workshop includes the following presentations:

• How Financial Markets Work
  Rupert Ayton, CEO of the Center for the Development of Social Finance
• Investing in the Private Markets: Venture Capital
  Phil Kranenburg, President of Kranenburg Capital Management
• Green Banking
  Peter Liu, President of New Resource Bank
• Innovations in Social Finance
  Esther Park, Director of Lending Programs at the Rudolf Steiner Foundation
• Local Investment Initiatives
  Don Shafer, Director of Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
• Socially Responsible Stocks & Mutual Funds
  Eric Leenson, Progressive Asset Management

This workshop is suitable for experienced and non-experienced investors, small and large investors, financial professionals, and those wanting more information on responsible investing. Sign up online today for Investing for a Green Economy or call 707-744-2017 and register before March 1 to receive 10% off of the registration price.

We are already in full swing in preparation for SolFest XII to be held Aug. 18-19, 2007. Alice Walker, Bruce Cockburn, and others will appear this year on the SolFest main stage.

For those of you who want to exhibit at the event this year, we anticipate brisk booth sales and encourage you to line up your booth early.

For more information on being an exhibitor at this year's event, continue to check the Exhibitor page on our website. This year's exhibitor map is already downloadable, and it will soon be followed by this year's exhibitor brochure.

Sign up for two or more of the following three courses by March 15th and receive $25 off the full price of both workshops.

• Find Your Dream Job in Biodiesel on March 11, San Francisco
• Find Your Dream Job in Solar on April 15, Sacramento
• Find Your Dream Job in Green Building on March 25, San Francisco

Call us at 707-744-2017 to register today and get started on finding a satisfying job in the green economy!

The green building industry is expected to grow to a booming $20.5 billion market by 2010. In the meantime, professionals across the country are preparing themselves to take advantage of this growth and learn the skills necessary to participate in the green building movement.

In March, you can take advantage of the Solar Living Institute’s 3-day green building training on March 23-25. Courses include:

• March 23 - Intro to LEED & Commercial Green Building
• March 24 - Intro to Green Renovations
• March 25 - Find Your Dream Job in Green Building

Sign up for all three classes by March 10 for a savings of $60. Call our office today at 707-744-2017 to sign up and take advantage of this great offer.

Most people are unaware that environmental problems such as climate change can be easily avoided, at a profit, through the intelligent application of appropriate technology. The Carbon Buster's Handbook describes how to achieve this goal in the residential field.

The first book in North America to provide a detailed carbon accounting of a family's carbon emissions and how to reduce them, it systematically analyzes energy costs and evaluates which measures yield the highest returns for the environment and the pocketbook. It provides answers to questions such as:

• Which measure is more effective: putting solar panels on your roof, or buying a hybrid car?
• Where do I need to invest first: in high-efficiency shower-heads, or solar tubes?
• Is a $500 fridge that uses 800 kWh of power per year a good buy?

The book allows individuals to quickly and accurately assess which products are a good deal and which aren't. It systematically analyzes residential carbon emissions and energy costs and prioritizes solutions based on highest carbon reductions and monetary returns, yielding results that are often surprising. The book enables readers to dramatically reduce their carbon emissions - far below the levels targeted under the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time, readers implementing the recommendations will save an average of US$15,000 in energy costs over the next five years.

Crude Impact is a powerful and timely story that deftly explores the interconnection between human domination of the planet and the discovery and use of oil. This documentary film on DVD exposes our deep-rooted dependency on the availability of fossil fuel energy and examines the future implications of peak oil -- the point in time when the amount of petroleum available worldwide begins a steady, inexorable decline.

In 1956, M. King Hubbert, a geologist at Shell Research Labs, shocked the oil industry by predicting that United States oil production, the largest in the world at that time, would peak in the early 1970s and then continuously and irreversibly diminish. His prediction was vilified and largely ignored -- until it came true. In Crude Impact, modern day disciples of Hubbert presage how quickly global peak oil will become a reality and its many serious implications for our way of life and our world.

Journeying from the West African Delta region to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early humankind to the unknown future, Crude Impact chronicles the collision of our insatiable appetite for oil with the rights and livelihoods of indigenous cultures, other species and the planet itself. With great depth and insight, the film highlights the underlying myths and beliefs that are propelling us toward what many experts believe will be a cataclysmic period for humanity.

This timely, eye-opening investigation parallels the high-powered drama of Syriana but brings it to a level of accessibility, awareness and action for citizens on all points of the economic-cultural-political spectrum. A story filled with discovery, sorrow, outrage, humor and ultimately, hope. Crude Impact uncovers the complex entanglement of the fate of humankind with its fierce dependence on petroleum, while providing a vital inspiration for change.

Crude Impact was awarded the Best Environmental Feature Film at the 3rd Annual Artivist Film Festival in Los Angeles. It was also awarded the Social Justice Award at the 22nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Crude Impact uncovers some harsh realities about our world and our relationship to fossil fuels. Yet as discussed in the film, there is cause for hope. Crude Impact is meant to inspire us to take action, because as Dr. William Rees says in this film, "this new knowledge gives us the possibility of creating a brilliant future for all of us."

As ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons were banned in Europe and began to be phased out in the U.S., the ozone hole seemed to be closing. But now demand for air conditioning in India and southern China is slowing the healing process. The main offending gas is refrigerant HCFC-22, which developing countries are allowed to continue using through 2040. Estimates have HCFC-22 output in developing countries rising 20% to 35% each year. Ozone producing air conditioners are, of course, much cheaper than cleaner modern ones, and chemical companies dole out HCFC-22 readily to repair shops.

Industrial countries currently must phase out production of HCFC-22 by 2020 and are ahead of schedule, with the U.S. banning domestic production in 2010. The Environmental Protection Agency is studying whether to ban imports of the gas and the sale of new products using the gas by then as well.

By contrast, the Montreal Protocol, which governs the phaseout of ozone- depleting chemicals, allows developing countries to continue using HCFC-22 through 2040.

China in particular is stepping up exports to the United States of air conditioners using the chemical, often labeled as R22, especially after the European Union finished phasing out the production and import of such air conditioners in 2004.

Pound for pound, HCFC-22 is only 5% as harmful to the ozone layer as the chlorofluorocarbons it replaced. But it still inflicts damage, especially when emitted in enormous quantities by China, now the world's dominant producer of window air conditioners, and by India, a fast-growing market and manufacturer.

The Urban Environment Report, put out by the Washington, D.C.-based Earth Day Network, ranks 72 U.S. cities on their greenness and contains a "vulnerable population index" that takes into account the segment of a city's population that is most susceptible to environmental changes including the unemployed and uninsured. "This study is the first of its kind, not only because of the sheer quantity of environmental data analyzed, but also because it redefines the term 'environmental' to include public health, poverty, education, and other quality-of-life issues," said Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers. Other factors studied include climate-change action, air quality, transportation, toxics, and human health. Topping the list of green go-getters is Fargo, ND, with Burlington, VT, Portland, OR, and Colorado Springs, CO, close behind. Languishing at the bottom: El Paso, Cleveland, Miami, and Detroit.

For more information:

• The Earth Day Network's Urban Environment Report
• "City Mixed in Environment Report: Air Poor, Climate Better," El Paso Times, Feb. 23, 2007
• Special Series on "Poverty and the Environment", Grist, Feb. 13, 2006

Many people worry about the sustainability of the ethanol and biodiesel industries. As more land and food resources are used to fuel our trucks and cars, what will be the future environmental, economic and social consequences?

Meghan Murphy, President of Ithaca Biodiesel, says that the industry needs to act to ensure that fuel is coming from sustainable farming practices in the U.S. and abroad. However, there is still no easy way for consumers to know if they are getting ecologically friendly biodiesel.

The new Renewable Energy Standard that passed the Minnesota House on February 20, will require 25% of Minnesota's electricity to come from renewable sources -- such as wind and solar -- by the year 2025. Currently, Minnesota imports more electricity from outside sources than any other state.

Minnesota's numerical goal trails targets in place for Maine and New York, but those states had been getting a significant amount of electricity from large-scale hydropower facilities before their standards were adopted, according to data from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"As a percentage of where all their electricity will come from, Minnesota is now in the lead with this policy in terms of supporting new renewable energy development," said Jeff Deyette, an analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

More than 20 states have some type of renewable requirement or good-faith objective. Colorado is moving toward a standard of 20% by 2020, and Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire challenged lawmakers last week to adopt a 25% requirement by 2025.

For more information:

• Renewable Energy Standard Passes Minnesota House,
  RenewableEnergyAccess.com, Feb. 22, 2007
• Minnesota Law Sets Requirements on Renewable Energy for Utilities,
  The Boston Globe, Feb. 23, 2007

The economic localization movement in Sonoma and Mendocino County is gaining momentum and setting an example for communities across the country. We're proud to support the efforts of innovative groups that are developing local responses to resource depletion, including the Greater Ukiah Localization Project (GULP), Willits Economic Localization (WELL), and Sonoma County Outpost.

To show our support for local sustainability efforts, the Solar Living Institute is offering a $25 discount off the regular price of all spring workshops for residents of Mendocino and Sonoma County. To take advantage of this special offer, call us at 707-744- 2017.

Also, don’t miss our upcoming workshops with Richard Heinberg, who will be addressing The Great Energy Transition, and Dr. Jason Bradford and Brian Weller of WELL as they teach Organizing Sustainable Communities this spring in San Francisco.

Workshop students, share your stories!

We are excited to be adding a new feature on our website that highlights the stories of our workshop graduates, and how their experience with the Solar Living Institute has helped them achieve their goals.

If you would like to submit your story, please answer the following questions

• Your name
• What Solar Living Institute courses you have taken?
• What are you doing now?
• How has the knowledge you gained with the Solar Living Institute helped you reach your goals?
  

Then send them along with a digital photo (optional) to lindsay.da iley@solarliving.org

We look forward to hearing from you!