You may remember when we featured Katie D. and her family on our blog back in December in “A personal struggle with climate change.” She talked about how her family was able to power their home and their car with their rooftop solar panels. Back then, she said, “I never go to gas stations anymore. I’ve stopped giving oil companies my money. I feel a bit like a junkie who’s finally starting to kick her addiction.” We’re proud of Katie and her family – they are the perfect example of Santa Barbarans who are powering the clean energy movement.

During CEC’s Earth Day Festival, we asked festival goers to make an “Earth Day Resolution” – like a New Year’s Resolution, but focused on how to make a difference for the environment. Katie has already done so much to lessen her environmental impact, so we were curious what her resolution could be. This year, she said “My Earth Day Resolution is to share my story about how it is possible to actually save money and be carbon neutral at the same time. You can always do more, and we all have to do that because it’s not up to one person.”

She decided the best way for her to share her story was through video. She created the video below to share her calculations for the payoff of an electric vehicle powered by solar panels. Over a 10 year period, her family will save $15,125! That’s not to mention the environmental benefit. Fueling her car will emit 0 pounds of carbon dioxide, whereas a fossil fuel car would emit 114,500 pounds over 10 years.

Watch her video

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In the last month, we have seen social media help change the course of the Keystone XL pipeline and SOPA/PIPA legislation in Congress.

No matter how you feel about these issues, the power of social media influence is undeniable. Together, we’re capable making a significant difference by leveraging our networks. Imagine what could happen if we applied that energy to local environment issues.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see a huge out-pouring of support at CEC’s Earth Day Festival in Santa Barbara? Nearly 40,000 people came to the festival last year. If only half of those people made a resolution to do something for the Earth - like bike to work once a week, shop locally for produce, or carry a reusable water bottle – that’s 20,000 people collectively powering the clean energy movement. That’s the type of action we need to move our region off fossil fuels.

We know that CEC’s Earth Day Festival can change the course of our energy future, especially with the help of social media. YOU can be a part of that.

In preparation for Earth Day, CEC wants to help give you the tools to magnify your impact on social media. Attend our Social Media Bootcamp to learn all the ins and outs of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Bring your questions and learn from our coaches. 

Social Media Bootcamp

Friday, February 24, 2012
Drop in between 10am – 4pm

Community Environmental Council
26 W. Anapamu, 2nd floor
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Your social media coaches

• Michelle Kitson (CEC’s Online Marketing Coordinator)
• Jordan benShea (Owner of Skyview Projects and CEC Boardmember)

While this is a drop-in event, we’d appreciate hearing if you plan to attend. RSVP to Michelle Kitson: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Feel free to forward preliminary questions before the event.

Michel Saint-Sulpice is a gentle soul who takes his responsibility for the planet seriously, and always has. Growing up in France, his family was careful with resources, and he has carried forth that strong environmental ethic into his adult life as a Santa Barbara architect.

Michel aspires to be fossil fuel free by the end of 2012, and he’s well on his way. Solar panels provide his home with electricity, and he’s been driving a Toyota Prius since the second generation first hit the market. He completely removed his lawn to make room for a beautiful drought tolerant landscape. Greywater and collected rain water (with back-up well water) will soon irrigate a “food forest.” On the drawing board is a geothermal system that will heat the entire house (with cooling option), all his domestic water and his swimming pool year round. Since Michel produces all his electricity, his carbon footprint will be zero, and he will not be paying electric and gas bills any longer. He has taken these measures to express his deep appreciation for nature and beauty.

Recently, however, Michel took his environmental commitment to a new level, after attending a screening of “Revenge of the Electric Car,” co-sponsored by CEC in October. He was so inspired by the film and the subsequent panel of speakers (the director, two of the film’s stars, a Chevy Volt owner and a Nissan Leaf owner) that he went out and bought an all-electric Nissan Leaf the next day!

Before seeing the film, Michel had done his homework and knew he wanted to take advantage of the current government incentives to promote electric vehicles. But that night, he knew the time was right.

The added bonus for Michel is that when he plugs in his new electric vehicle at home, he has enough solar panels (63 of them!) on his roof to power his home and the car. In fact, Michel is part of a growing group of “early adopters” who are driving around town in cars powered by sunshine instead of oil.

One hour’s worth of the sun’s rays hitting earth could supply all of earth’s electricity needs for a year. Only if it could be captured, that is. Michel captures as much of that sunlight as he can, to power his life and energize his spirit. He envisions a future where all households are run efficiently and powered by the sun. Part of his life’s pleasure is working towards achieving this himself, and extending his grace (and extra energy) towards others.

Steve Lange works here in Santa Barbara at Magellan’s Travel Supplies as the Web Production Manager. He used to commute to Camarillo, which would take 45 minutes to 1 hour each way. Sitting in his car in all the traffic for such a long commute was stressful and boring at the same time.

He knew he could do better.

When Steve started his current job in Santa Barbara he started biking for every day travel. During the work week, he hops on his Xtracycle – a longtail bike with extra room for cargo and/or his two sons. When he bikes to work, he drops the eldest boy off at elementary school and then bikes in to the office.

Not only does Steve’s family reduce carbon emissions with their bike commute, but they also avoid stressful morning traffic and enjoy the fresh morning air before the day begins.

Biking on the weekends has also become a part of their family’s activities. They love to load up their Xtracycle with camping gear on weekends or bike out to Ellwood for a beach day.

After he made the switch to a bike, he was reminded of the inconvenient aspects of driving his car that he had grown accustomed to. The process of finding the closest parking lot, then waiting in line to park, then finding a spot, and then worrying about how long the car can stay in the lot... It’s nuts.

Like most people, it took a mental leap for Steve to transition out of his drive-everywhere-for-everything mentality. Today he uses whatever mode of transportation is most appropriate for the task. If the trip is under 3-5 miles, he finds it is usually faster to bike than to drive, as bikes can roll right up to a destination without the hassle of parking. While he still uses a car from time to time, he advises “don’t get stuck in one way of thinking. There are many ways to get around – just pick the one that makes the most sense.”

Everything clicked for Steve once he made the switch to an alternative commute: he dropped 40 pounds, he doesn’t have to deal with a car for short trips, and he enjoys Santa Barbara more. He feels like he’s getting away with something, like he’s leading a better life than most people because he bikes for transportation.

Who knew it could be so simple?

If you picked up the Independent recently, you’ll remember a cover story they did on the ultra-sustainable Victoria Garden Mews Development. They dove head first into all the “green” features of the building including the rainwater harvesting system, drought tolerant landscaping, creative parking solutions, and more.

We were also glad to see an impressive solar array on the rooftop as well as energy efficient LED lighting throughout the property. When homes generate the energy they need, our community takes a step closer to a future that relies on renewable energy instead of fossil fuels.

All together, these features earned the building platinum LEED certification. The LEED score was the highest score ever given to a residential project. Now the development stands as an inspiring model for future green building projects. Read the full article >

We’re proud to congratulate the builder of the project and CEC’s board president, Dennis Allen. He was recently recognized by the City of Santa Barbara as a “Water Hero” for his work on Victoria Garden Mews – which also happens to be his new home. The building conserves the water it uses with dual flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, and faucet aerators. Beyond those measures, Allen raised the bar on water conservation by designing the building to collect rain water for watering the garden.

Read more about his recent recognition on Noozhawk and Edhat.

Almost every product and service we rely on today is manufactured with or transported by some amount of fossil fuels. Of course, the most important thing we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to use less. However, when you do make a purchase, we encourage you to shop for energy-smart products that use less energy.

Here at CEC, we're all about energy-smart products that help us move towards a fossil-free lifestyle and a fossil-free future for Santa Barbara.

Last time, you heard about Sigrid's favorite water bottle and today, we're hearing from Michelle Kitson, CEC's Online Marketing Coordinator. We hope you'll find an idea to inspire you.

Favorite eco-product: Chico Bag - It’s a reusable bag that stuffs into a 3”x 4” pouch.
Price: $5.99 each
Owned it for: 3 years

I love my Chico Bags.

I bought my first Chico Bag with the intention of using it for grocery shopping. I was frustrated with the amount of plastic bags I would carry home from the store every week and wanted to make a change. Before the Chico Bag, I was using ~720 plastic bags every year. Here's the math:

Grocery Bags = 6 bags/week (double-bagged) = 12 bags/week
                          + Miscellaneous Bags = 3 bags/week                       

Total of 15 bags/week, 60 bags/month, 720 bags/year. Yowza!

Although I knew reusable bags would displace much of my plastic bag use, I dreaded having to remember my bags. What if I forgot them and what if I didn’t have enough? As it turns out, all the benefits outweighed my worries. Making that small change was way better than I thought.

• You can carry a ton of groceries (25 pound capacity!) in just one bag. I live in an upstairs apartment so I used to get everything double bagged to prevent a torn bag disaster. Now I just need one bag and it’s not plastic.
• The polyester fabric handles are much more comfortable than plastic bag handles cutting into your fingers.
• They are super compact so I can carry them everywhere.
• I ended up using them for everything. Grocery stores aren’t the only places that give you plastic bags. I use them for clothes shopping, the drug store, the copy shop, carrying my yarn to craft night… everything.

I’m definitely a reusable bag convert.

You can get a Chico Bag of your own or a different type of reusable bag at CEC’s Amazon Store in the Reusable Bag section. If you find something you like, a percentage of your purchase comes back to CEC.

Stay tuned to hear from our next CEC staffer, Michael Chiacos, about his favorite light bulb.

We’re half way through May, which means we’re half way through National Bike Month! It also means we’re well into CycleMAYnia – a month-long celebration of bicycling events in our community. Check out the CycleMAYnia event page for the events going on through the end of the month.

CEC is celebrating by participating in Traffic Solutions’ Bike Challenge -- a friendly competition with five-member teams making round-trips by bike instead of by car. Team members log the days they bike on their online Commute Calendar. Each team must have two “converts” to qualify for prizes (a convert is someone who doesn’t normally bike for transportation). Each team gets a chance to win prizes and the highly sought-after title of Bike Challenge Champs.

This sort of thing is right up CEC’s alley. We gathered 5 CEC staffers to form an unstoppable team – the Clean Energy Crusaders. We’ve got:

• Megan “cute cruiser” Birney [Advocate]
• Michael “I do this for a living” Chiacos [Advocate]
• Eileen “lifelong biker” Daley [Advocate]
• Christa “mighty Mom” Backson [Convert]
• Michelle “I’m new here” Kitson [Convert]

Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with. At the close of week 1, we logged over 100 miles of bike commutes!

If you’re bike commuting to celebrate Bike Month too, check out CEC’s Amazon Store. We’ve packed it full of the type of bike accessories that we love. Plus, if you see something you like and you buy it through CEC’s Amazon site, a percentage of your purchase will come back to CEC – quite an earth friendly purchase.

We’ll see you out in the bike lanes!

During Earth Day this year we launched a text donation campaign to raise money for the Earth Day Festival. Each person who texted a donation was entered into a drawing for a stylin' beach cruiser. In fact, if you were one of the 38,000 people who had a blast at the festival this year you can still text a donation to support it for next year - text "Earth" to 50555 to make a $10 donation.

Now that the Earth Day dust has settled, we randomly drew our lucky winner. Congratulations to Kelly Cote from Montecito! Not only did he support CEC with a text donation but Kelly was also one of our hard-working volunteers at Earth Day this year.

Plus, he is a student at Santa Barbara High School and loves to refill his reusable water bottle at the refilling stations there. Those refilling stations are part of a CEC project called "Rethink the Drink" which aims to reduce consumption of plastic water bottles by 75% during this school year.

Kelly is certainly doing his part - keep it up and enjoy your new cruiser!

Many thanks go out to Isla Vista Bike Boutique who generously donated a bike from their shop.

And most of all, many many thanks go out to all of you who texted a donation this year. The Earth Day Festival would certainly not be possible year after year without your support - Powered by the People!