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Entries Tagged as 'solar panels'

The Best Part Of The Day

July 28th, 2013 · 4 Comments · energy, global warming and climate change

“What was the best part of your day?” my husband asked me last night in bed. I was cuddled up with my head on his shoulder. Sometimes in this nightly ritual of ours I think for a bit, reflecting back over the day, before I answer. But last night my words sprang like a racehorse from [...]

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What’s Better Than A Benefit Concert?

December 13th, 2012 · 2 Comments · energy, global warming and climate change

I love that rock artists like Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi raised money for victims of Hurricane Sandy in the benefit concert last night. What I’d love more, though, is for the victims, and all of us, to become more disaster-resilient. The U.S. poles and wires electricity system that broke apart in the Northeast like matchsticks last month is

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Divesting From Fossil Fuels: Yes

November 29th, 2012 · No Comments · energy, global warming and climate change

I received an excellent email today. To me, a good email raises my energy level (and I got several good emails today) — but an excellent email gives me something to do that raises my energy level even more.                            The email was from 350.org, which I wrote about two weeks ago 

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Simpler Times: An I.O.U. in Mapleton, Oregon

July 20th, 2012 · 4 Comments · books

It’s summertime, and sun, light and food are abundant. Abundance makes the world feel more safe and expansive. I love this about summer: it can send us back to simpler times, when the extension of trust was more common. I had trust extended to me yesterday, and it made me smile from my face down to my toes. Yesterday morning I was driving back from [...]

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From Gardening To The Grand Canyon

April 9th, 2012 · No Comments · community, energy, global warming and climate change, home & garden

We planted our pathway garden over the  gloriously sunny Easter weekend with our friend Scott Schreiner. He’s a former housemate, the second of  three good people in our lives who have worked for rent. Scott drove his truck across the Cascade range from Bend, where he lives, first finding a carpool partner from Craigslist who [...]

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We’re Getting Solar!

February 17th, 2012 · 3 Comments · energy

We’d thought we couldn’t, since we live at the base of Mt. Tabor — but it turns out we can. Maybe you had thought we couldn’t, since Portland is so rainy — but it turns out that rain is not a problem. Our solar panels are going up onto the roof of our house this [...]

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Living Out The Triple Bottom Line

November 23rd, 2008 · No Comments · energy, sustainability

This is a guest post by Thor Hinckley, manager of Portland General Electric’s renewable energy program. The project he’s describing below embodies sustainability’s triple bottom line of economy, environment and equity (social justice — in this case, jobs for all). ‘Beyond limitations’ is an apt description for John Murphy, President of the Portland Habilitation Center [...]

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Oregon’s New Solar Highway

August 8th, 2008 · 8 Comments · energy, transportation

Oregon’s new ‘solar highway’ project officially kicked off yesterday at the I-5/I205 interchange — yet another intersection between energy and transportation as the fields work toward sustainability (see Electric Vehicles). Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is partnering with Portland General Electric to install solar panels that will produce 104 kilowatts of energy — equivalent to [...]

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Off The Grid In The Ancient Forest

May 18th, 2008 · No Comments · nature, sustainability

I’m here at Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center for the weekend, off the electricity grid, yet wi-fied onto the Internet grid. A huge snowdrift (it was a hard winter) blocks half my view out the window of the lodge. But it and pretty much all the snow in Oregon is melting fast with the sudden [...]

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Heat Wave: Slow Down

May 16th, 2008 · 3 Comments · simplicity, sustainability

Here in Portland, Oregon we’re expecting 95 degrees today, which for our mild climate is a major heat wave. How to cope with it? I suggest we do what people did for the 99.9% of human history prior to the invention of air conditioners. They slowed their pace down so they wouldn’t overheat themselves. And [...]

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