Posts Tagged ‘Community’

GIH Event Makes the Papers!
by Robert on February 17th, 2012 No Comments »

Eric Michael Stitt, a journalist for The Beach Reporter, very kindly featured our house tours event in the Hermosa Beach section of the paper this week:  http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2012/02/16/hermosa_beach_news/news09.prt
We also wanted to make sure the other key sponsors of the event, the U.S. Green Building Council/South Bay Branch and Energy Upgrade California,
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Tours Sold Out Fast!
by Robert on February 9th, 2012 6 Comments »

We would like everyone to know that all four tours (of 35 people ea) on Saturday have sold out!  You are still welcome to come and see the energy upgrade displays and get your name on the stand-by list for the tours.
If there are no openings on Saturday’s tours and
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Green Idea House Speaks out on behalf of Electric Vehicles Today
by Robert on February 7th, 2012 No Comments »

We had a great experience during our four month trial of a 100% electric Local Use Vehicle (LUV) loaned to us by the South Bay Cities Council of Governments.  We are honored that they have asked us to say a few words at an event this morning at 11am.
You are
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Register for FREE today while there are still spots available!
by Robert on February 2nd, 2012 No Comments »

The U.S. Green Building Council, Energy Upgrade CA and Leadership Hermosa Beach have asked us to give a series of construction tours on February 11th.  The tours will showcase the innovative technologies that make the Green Idea House net zero energy, zero carbon and responsive to the environment in terms
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The Green Idea House Unwrapped from its Scaffolding
by Robert on January 29th, 2012 No Comments »

It is not nearly done; but what do you think?

Big day – The Scaffolding is Coming Down!
by Robert on January 26th, 2012 No Comments »

It is like the unwrapping of a present.  We can’t wait!
We are also very clear that it is a present from all of you that are supporting us – from our contractors and suppliers to our friends Ruby and John who watched Carter the other day when we had to
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Save the Date for a USGBC Construction Tour the GIH!
by Robert on January 23rd, 2012 No Comments »

The U.S. Green Building Council, Energy Upgrade CA and Leadership Hermosa Beach have asked us to give a series of construction tours on February 11th.  The tours will start at noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm and will be followed by a networking/ green networking event at one of the local
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Nothing More Sustainable than Peace
by Robert on November 17th, 2011 No Comments »

As part of his regular day job, Robert is honored to be invited to Japan next week to work with the Rotary Peace Fellows on leadership and strategy for their master’s level studies.  It will be hard to be away from the GIH project for the week; but versus war,
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GIH Featured in Merlex Blog Spot
by Robert on November 16th, 2011 No Comments »

GIH Featured in Merlex Blog Spot
We are fortunate to have many bright, talented people supporting our project.  Interestingly, they tend to know one another.  Wes Harding from Harding Construction recently, introduced us to Nick Brown, the President of Merlex Stucco.
Nick came for a tour, instantly got the project and wanted
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SolarWorld Sends Ogilvy Advertising Pros for a Video Shoot!
by Robert on November 4th, 2011 No Comments »

On Wednesday, a video production crew from Ogilvy Advertising came to interview us re our choice to use SolarWorld PV panels on the GIH.  Their Marketing Manager, Minnie Dimesa and the Ogilvy team made the whole thing fun.  We look forward to seeing what they make of it!

Robert Gets a Round of Applause for NOT Speaking on Tuesday night!
by Robert on October 14th, 2011 No Comments »

The City Council meeting was packed on Tuesday night as Robert looked forward to giving the GIH update.  He was second presentation on the agenda – but the first presentation went much longer than expected.
 
Sensing the vibe in the room Robert got up to the podium and, out of respect
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Patch Article Today and Presentation to City Council Tomorrow
by Robert on October 10th, 2011 No Comments »

AOL’s Patch Press service published an article on the Green Idea House this morning: http://hermosabeach.patch.com/articles/hermosas-greenest-house-of-them-all Eric Farrell, the Hermosa Beach Patch reporter, did a very nice job summarizing the conversation we had last week.
 
On a related note, we will be giving one of our periodic construction updates to City Council
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Denmark: Inspiration for the Perspiration
by Robert on September 28th, 2011 No Comments »

Robert just returned from a week of lecturing at the international innovation school in Denmark, Kaos Pilot.  The students and faculty there know of his interest in all things sustainable and Denmark is a haven for all things sustainable.  Therefore, every time he goes to visit they take him on
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Talkin’ Trash to City Council
by Robert on September 13th, 2011 No Comments »

We just sent the following letter to City Council and Staff to encourage them to vote for an item on tonight’s agenda that will support more waste diversion from the landfill.
Mr. Mayor City Council Members and Staff,
Thank you all for your continued support of our Green Idea
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You are invited to a Block Party on September 15th that could save you $8K, make your home more comfortable and energy efficient!
by Robert on September 9th, 2011 No Comments »

Our friends Ken and Dorothy have very generously opened their home to the community for an Energy Upgrade California demonstration.  See the attached notice from the city for further details.  The program just announced that they have increased the potential rebate amount to $8,000.  There may never be a better
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Boardom on Labor Day Weekend
by Robert on September 5th, 2011 No Comments »

This weekend we took the redwood ship lap we got on our journey to The Reuse People Store and started the install.  Monica and Carter fit the pieces on the roof like a puzzle and what we found was incredible.  We thought it would look nice – what we didn’t
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Setting the Record Straight on Solar Panel Height
by Robert on August 27th, 2011 No Comments »

As we look forward to the start of our solar panel installation this week, we would like to set the record straight re a couple of articles in our local papers on the height of our solar panels.  Here are the facts:
Our uphill neighbors would have lost their first story
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Get a Free Test Loaner and Clear the Air re Electric Vehicles
by Robert on August 25th, 2011 1 Comment »

Some of you may have noticed us driving a funny little car lately (see photo).  It is a fully electric local use vehicle (LUV) and was lent to us by one of our partners, the South Bay Environmental Services Center.  You can find out more about the benefits of these
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Lumbering Along
by Robert on August 20th, 2011 1 Comment »

Picked up a huge load of scrap lumber from The Reuse People store in Pacoima yesterday.  Our friends Arthur, Shannon and Louis hooked us up with some redwood shiplap that will replace pine roofing that was destroyed by termites.
Matt Megill, a student from LACCD joined us on the adventure
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YouthBuild Students on the GIH Tour
by Robert on July 29th, 2011 No Comments »

The latest crop of students from the Youthbuild program came for a tour last week.  YouthBuild is an excellent program that gives at-risk inner city kids the opportunity to finish school and learn a trade at the same time.  Graduates of the program have worked on the GIH and have
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Southern California Edison Tour Yields an Article in the Daily Breeze!
by Robert on July 12th, 2011 No Comments »

Yesterday about 20 Southern California Edison Energy Efficiency Interns came to the GIH for a construction site tour.  They were very interested and asked great questions.  Doug Morino and Robert Casillas from the Daily Breeze also joined the group and got their piece published in today’s paper: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_18457632

Dwelling on William McDonough and Ed Begley Jr’s Keynotes
by Robert on June 25th, 2011 No Comments »

Watching Bill McDonough’s expanded version of his TED talk at the Dwell conference Friday night was extraordinary.  He is one of the key sources of inspiration for the Green Idea House.
Ed took the stage Sunday afternoon with a vigor and clarity that was masked in the nature of his “living
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Create your own Green Idea House with a $6K boost from Uncle Sam
by Robert on June 5th, 2011 No Comments »

Read about it in Eric Michael Stitt’s Beach Reporter article published this week.

Expo and House Tours Great Fun on Saturday!
by Robert on May 24th, 2011 2 Comments »

We really appreciated the opportunity to be in the Water and Energy Expo in the morning and on the EPN Green and Solar house tour circuit in the afternoon.
We were impressed by the interested and engaged group that showed up.  Thanks to all our friends (old and new) that
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Join us on Saturday the 21st for Two Big Events!
by Robert on May 16th, 2011 No Comments »

We have been invited to talk about the Green Idea House during two events on Saturday the 21st:
1. Our partners West Basin Water District and So Cal Edison are putting on a Water and Energy Smart Expo. They have set up a booth for us to explain the Green Idea
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The Reuse People – Youth Build Connection Yields $1,000 Donation and a Commitment to the Community
by Robert on May 11th, 2011 No Comments »

Arthur Renauld, Regional Manager for The Reuse People visited the Green Idea House a couple of months ago and saw the Youthbuild crew hard at work.  Arthur was so impressed that he connected them with the ReUse Haus project for AltBuild.  As a result our friend Wes Harding hired
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Hermosa Beach wins Wyland Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation!
by Robert on May 3rd, 2011 No Comments »

Congratulations, Hermosa Beach
You are Southern California’s Greenest City this Earth Month!
Hermosa Beach, led by Mayor Peter Tucker, has won the title of Southern California’s greenest city for Earth Month. Hermosa Beach fended off strong challenges from Redondo Beach, Gardena, Long Beach, Villa Park, Agoura
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New Video! How we diverted 97.5% of our demo waste from the landfill
by Robert on April 30th, 2011 No Comments »

The video clip is taken from the April 26th Hermosa Beach City Council meeting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sswh242BWTQ
Also, We’ve attached (SBESC Letter) a very kind letter from Jacki and Marilyn at the South bay Environmental Savings Center thanking us for speaking at the South Bay Cities Council of Governments meeting on
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How did we divert 97.5% of our demo waste from the landfill??
by Robert on April 26th, 2011 No Comments »

We will be briefing the Hermosa Beach City Council at their meeting at 7pm tonight!

Speaking at South Bay Cities Green Task Force Meeting Apr 21
by Robert on April 10th, 2011 No Comments »

The South Bay Environmental Services Center asked us to speak at the quarterly South Bay Cities Green Task Force Meeting to share information about our 97.5% landfill diversion milestone.  We will be complementing Lisa Coppedge’s presentation on Grades of Green’s incredible efforts to reduce trash and how that translates into
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