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Dear Karen Kallen,
As I sit to write you during this holiday
season, I pause to reflect on what we have to
be thankful for.
Only ten years ago, the Solar Living Center
was just a dream. What is now a flourishing
oasis and renewable energy demonstration site
of unimagined possibility in Hopland was a
dump site adjacent to a noisy highway.
Ten years later, the non-profit Solar Living
Institute is a growing, thriving organization
reaching thousands of people across the
country. In 2007 alone, we shared the
inspiration of our site with over 200,000
visitors; educated over 2,000 workshop
students; trained over 300 solar installers;
and inspired 25 interns. We have impacted all
of these people's lives, sharing with them
the possibility of a sustainable future.
As the world turns to its trusted
institutions to provide guidance in a time
fraught with uncertainties about the effects
of peak oil and climate change, we should all
be doubly thankful that there exists an
organization where young and old can learn
how to make changes that can alter their
lives and impact on the planet in a positive way.
As we approach the end of the year, I hope
all of you will join me in expressing thanks
for this wonderful organization. One way to
do that and help insure that the Solar Living
Institute and its programs will be here for
many future generations is to make a monetary
gift. I promise we will use it wisely to
continue to make improvements, and educate
the youth of today, who tomorrow will be
charged with the safekeeping of this planet.
That can be done on our website
or by sending a donation in the envelope
that our supporters just received in the mail.
Please accept my best wishes for warm and
fulfilling holidays.
For the Earth,
Lindsay Dailey
Managing Director
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SLI Workshop Program Expands |
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The Solar Living Institute is proud to
announce that the 2007 workshop season broke
all records, in number of workshops, topics
covered, and students in attendance.
Over 2000 students participated in our
workshops in the past year, a growth rate of
over 60%! It is clear from the increasingly
high demand for the SLI's educational
services that the knowledge and skills we
teach are moving firmly into the mainstream.
From the growing popularity of our "Solar
Bootcamps", to our newest innovative classes
like "Old World Survival Skills," the SLI
2007 workshop program offered something for
everyone seeking practical ways to make their
lives greener and more sustainable.
If you participated in our workshop program
in 2007 we thank you, and hope you will
return for more dynamic hands-on education in
2008. If you have not yet had the chance to
enhance your green knowledge and skills, now
is the time to begin planning. The first
2008 workshops are already posted on the web,
and spots are filling up. Stay tuned for the
release of our 2008 workshop catalog, which
will arrive in home in late January. We
hope to see you
at our workshops next year.
Visit
www.solarliving.org for a more information
on 2008 workshops.
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Give the Gift of Knowledge! |
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At the annual season of media-driven
overconsumption bears down on us, many of us
are thinking about ways we can celebrate the
season without purchasing useless plastic
imports. We all want to demonstrate our love
and appreciation for family, loved ones,
friends and coworkers. Surely there must be
a better way than simply filling their
garages and closets with more stuff?
This year, we hope you will consider giving
the gift of knowledge. The Solar Living
institute offers gift certificates good for
purchases
of books and DVDs on sustainable living from
our online bookstore.
For the hands-on people on your list, you can
even purchase workshops.
Wouldn't Uncle Joe rather learn how to build
a strawbale house,
or install a solar system, than receive more
closet clutter?
Whoever you are shopping for, the SLI offers
many choices for sustainable gift-giving.
This holiday season, remember: Think Green!
Purchase
an SLI Gift Certificate
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Renewable Energy to be Required in Germany |
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All new homes built in Germany from January
1st 2009 will be required to install
renewable energy heating systems under a new
law called the Renewable Energies Heating Law.
The government is allocating 350 million
Euros [US $517 million] each year in grants
for homeowners to install renewable energy
systems such as solar panels, wood pellet
stoves, boilers and heat pumps.
Homeowners will have to use renewable energy
sources to meet 14% of a household's total
energy consumption for heating and domestic
hot water.
This law demonstrates the massive impact that
national governments can have in pushing
green technologies, and represents a model
other nations can follow.
Read More:
German
Renewable Energy
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US at bottom of Climate Protectors List |
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Saudi Arabia and the United States do the
least to protect the climate while Sweden
does the most, according to a recent report
published on Friday.
Germanwatch's Climate Change Performance
Index (CCPI) evaluates and compares the
climate protection performance of the 56
countries that are responsible for 90 percent
of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.
Saudi Arabia retained its last place finish
from last year in the rankings, but the
United States fell two places to second from
the bottom.
As last year, Sweden is the country doing
most to protect the climate, followed by
Germany which on Wednesday unveiled a package
of laws and regulations to help it meet its
target of a 40 percent cut in greenhouse
gases by 2020.
The report was published as 190 nations meet
on the Indonesian island of Bali to create a
framework for a post-2012 treaty to replace
the Kyoto Protocol.
Read
the entire article
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CleanPowerFinance.com |
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The Solar Living Institute is proud to
support our sponsor, Clean Power Finance.com.
Clean Power Finance is dedicated to bringing
solar
(both solar electric and thermal), wind, small
hydroelectric, energy efficiency upgrades and
other
types of renewable energy to the mass market.
Based in San Francisco, Clean Power Finance has
partnered with renewable energy experts to
help you
purchase your home or small business'
alternative
energy system. Their team includes experts in
renewable energy, consumer finance, and consumer
online services. Clean Power Finance also
provides
their solar installation partners with tools
to help them
grow their business and reduce costs. The
Solar Pro
Tools service provides a complete system
configuration, pricing, and financing
platform for a low
monthly fee per user. For more information,
go to
http://www.cleanpowerfinance.com, or call
(877) 9-
SOLAR-9
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Green Career Conference Packs the House |
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For the second year in a row, the Solar
Living Institute hosted its Green Career
Conference in November. In 2006 over 100 people
attended, but in 2007 the demand for this
event, as with all our programs, exploded.
We relocated the event to the UC Berkeley
Student Union, and over 200 people participated.
Attendees learned about the phenomenal growth
in all areas of the emerging green economy,
and had opportunities to hear a stirring
keynote from Kevin Danaher of Global Exchange
and the Green Festival, panel
discussions on renewable energy, alternative
transportation and green building, as
well as participate in their choice of
intimate breakout sessions.
The day concluded with a high energy
networking session, and it was clear to all
that many new green careers were launched,
and others steered in new and inspiring
directions.
Planning is already underway for 2008's Green
Career Conference. Stay tuned for details!
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The Village View |
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Welcome to The
Village View-
bringing you regular updates about the
exciting
happenings of our mighty interns and progress
on the
construction of our beautiful intern village!
2007's intern program has wrapped up, with
the last of our hard-working interns leaving
for greener pastures. Thank you Mason,
Lauren, Barrett, Paul, Jai and Allison. You
all helped continue a tradition of highly
motivated inspirational individuals, 135 in
total, who have graduated from our internship
program.
After a winter break, the Solar Living
Institute internship program will restart in
February 15th with a six-month internship
session (with focus areas on site
maintenance, landscape, garden and food
production, workshop, SolFest, and non-profit
administration/children's education) and
mentorship development. Interns will work
predominately within their focus area, and
also have the opportunity to explore other
areas of interest via workshop participation
and personal project development programs.
As usual, interns will participate in the
on-site community.
In 2008, we will be placing increased
emphasis on community-building exercises,
place-making experiences, staff mentoring,
and community recreation events. Interns
will also be highly involved in exciting
infrastructure developments within the intern
village itself - specifically including
naturally built housing units, a chicken
coop, a kitchen garden, and other food and
shade arbors. There will be two six-month
sessions available: February 15th - August
22nd and August 1st - February 8th; there
will also be one special, three-month
"SolFest" session available: May 31st -
August 31st.
For those interested in applying for the
internship
program, please visit the intern
page on our website
and submit an
application. The deadline for 2008 Session
One internships (February 15th - August 22nd)
is December 14th, 2007.
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GoodShop - with a Heart! |
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Did you know you can make a donation to
the SLI
every time you buy products online?
You may already be using the exciting new
Internet
search engine called GoodSearch. If you do,
every
time you search the Internet, the Solar
Living institute
or other non-profit, school or charity of
your choice
earns a penny. The SLI has already earned
hundreds
of dollars through this innovative cost-free
method of
fundraising. If you are not already using
GoodSearch,
just go to
www.GoodSearch.com to find out how.
And now you can also use GoodShop.com, a new
online shopping mall which donates a
percentage of
each purchase to your favorite cause.
Although here at
the SLI we don't recommend shopping as
therapy or
entertainment, we all need things from time
to time,
and often online shopping is more ecological
than a
trip to the store. So the next time you need
something
online, look for it first through the
GoodShop.com mall.
More than 100 great stores, including SolFest
sponsor Gaiam, offer travel, clothing,
electronics and
more through GoodShop, so that every time you
place
an order, you'll be supporting us. Target,
Macy's,
Travelocity, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Staples and
over
one hundred other retailers will donate a
percentage
of each purchase you make to the Solar Living
Institute!
Just go to
www.goodsearch.com and be
sure to enter the Solar
Living Institute as the charity you
want to
support.
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New Source Book Sale - A Perfect Holiday Gift! |
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Real Goods Solar Living
Sourcebook - Special 30th Anniversary
Edition: The
Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies
and Sustainable Living by John Schaeffer
(2007)
Regularly priced at $35, the Institute is
offering this
great book at a special sale price of $25 for
a limited
time.
Concerns over dwindling resources and
environmental degradation are driving many to
seek
alternatives to our wasteful, polluting
lifestyle. Clean
technologies such as solar power, wind power and
biodiesel fuel are soaring in popularity.
The Real Goods Solar
Living
Sourcebook - Special 30th Anniversary
Edition
is the ultimate guide to renewable energy,
sustainable
living, green building, homesteading,
off-the-grid
living, and alternative transportation,
written by experts
with decades of experience and a passion for
sharing
their knowledge. This fully-updated edition
includes
brand new sections on Peak Oil, Climate Change,
Relocalization, Natural Burial, Biodynamics and
Permaculture. It also boasts the latest
product listings
and completely rewritten and expanded
chapters on:
- Land & Shelter
- Natural Building
- Passive Solar
- Biofuels
- Sustainable Transportation
- Grid-tied Photovoltaics
- Solar Hot Water Systems
-- plus over 150 pages of maps, wiring diagrams,
formulae, charts, solar sizing worksheets and
much
more
Whether you're a layperson or a professional,
novice
or longtime aficionado, the new Sourcebook
puts the
latest research and products at your
fingertips -- all
the information you need to make sustainable
living a
reality.
What could make a greener or more sustainable
gift than the ultimate sustainable living
resource guide?
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Eco-Power to the People |
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The Solar Living Institute is proud to be a
part of an innovative new program in the city
of Richmond California. The program
is spearheaded by the non-profit group Solar
Richmond, in
collaboration with the Ella Baker Center and
its visionary leader Van Jones, Grid
Alternatives and the Solar Living Institute.
The project trains young members of the
Richmond community, historically one of the
poorest and most polluted cities in
California, in the skills they need to be
part of the emerging solar economy. This
project will continue in 2008, and represents
a national model for creating "green collar"
jobs in the areas that most need them.
Read
the recent article in Time magazine about
solar training in Richmond.
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Be Part of the Solution - Support the Institute! |
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Despite our phenomenal growth in the past
year, there is still much work to be done.
Our plans include bringing more of our
education on the road, and offering workshops
and educational programs in new locations.
We also want to keep upgrading our 12-acre
demonstration site with a state-of-the-art
solar classroom and many new displays and
signage. You can be a part of all this by
becoming a partner or donor to the Solar
Living Institute.
Partners, who support us
through annual dues and our growing continuous-giving
program, are essential to funding the
Solar Living
Institute. The annual financial support of
folks like you, which
can range from as little as $35 a year to
$2,500 or
$10,000, helps us continue to grow and thrive.
Your
contributions are critical to help us to
continue to grow
since 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.
As we approach the end of the year, some of
you may be considering an end-of-year
donation to the SLI. We are a tax-deductible
non-profit, so please consider us during the
giving season.
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Holiday Sale: 20% off all Sustainable Living Books |
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In our bookstore we have an area that lists the latest titles that we have
added.
Our latest editions include the following: A Handmade Life, Build Your Own Solar
Heating System,
Building a Straw Bale
House, Down to Earth
Cookbook, Genetic Roulette, Green Roof Plants,
Growing Green, How to Grow More
Vegetables (7th Ed.), Natural
Beekeeping, Natural Timber Frame
Homes, New Sustainable
Homes, Solar Living
Sourcebook, Solar Revolution,
Terra Madre, The Green House, The Homeowner's Guide to
Energy Independence, The House That Jill
Built, and To Be of Use: The Seven
Seeds of Meaningful Work.
We provide FREE shipping on book and DVD orders
totaling $100 or more. Plus, take advantage
of our special holiday sale, with 20% off
all book titles until January 1! Order by
December 15th for guaranteed Christmas delivery.
To receive your 20% discount, simply type
HOLIDAY into the coupon box on your order
form.
Be sure to check out our books in the following
categories:
Shop with the Solar Living Institute, and
help support our valuable work!
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Jobs at the Institute |
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We have two job openings at the Solar Institute.
Please follow the links below for more
information on
the positions and how to apply:
For energy and environmental positions
throughout
the world, the following are some good
websites for
your review:
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