that GREEN blog

From: Home Energy Free

Did you know that by making your home more energy efficient using a solar power grant that you will be eligible for a 30% federal tax credit? The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the Stimulus Act of 2009 has expanded the benefits to homeowners by allowing a credit of up to 30% of all costs for energy efficient homes. Most people are starting to understand how geo thermal heating is becoming more popular every day for many different reasons. It is now important for you to understand this.

By using solar power in your home, not only will you be able to save more money on your energy bill each month, but you will also be helping save the environment because this energy source is definitely much easier on the planet.

It is always a smart idea for anyone that is thinking about using solar power for your home, to do your own research. Not only about solar power, but also the many tax advantages there are to having a home that uses solar power. This will give you a much better idea of what the tax advantages are for you and your home.

It is also important to know how the average homeowner will be able to qualify and start using these tax incentives to your advantage. Here is what you need to know.

1. According to the current guidelines, the residence that is going to use solar power must be owned by you, the taxpayer that will be claiming the credit. The residence doesn’t have to be your primary place to live, a vacation home or second home will be eligible also. Plus, the home must be located in the U.S.

2. Your solar power system has to be certified by a Solar Rating Certification Corporation or a qualified agent.

3. For anyone that will be installing a solar water heating system to your home, in order to qualify, at least one half of the hot water must be heated by this new system.

4. When installing a solar system, it has to be installed after January 1, 2009 in order to be able to claim the maximum allowable credit. Always double check with research to make sure you understand the qualifications for this according to the new stimulus act.

5. Don’t apply for tax credits until the system has been completed and is operational because you won’t get it. The system has to be completed and working in order to get the tax credit.

Now that you know more about how you can get a 30% federal tax credit and how to qualify for it, it is important to take time for your own research so you can be sure you understand it completely. Just remember that for anyone thinking of checking into a solar power grant for geo thermal heating in your home will definitely have good tax advantages and this makes it worth the time and money spent.

Wise Power Systems, Inc. is a full service supplier of consumer-sized wind and solar power installations. We are located in Wilmington, Delaware and serve customers in the Mid-Atlantic region. For more information, go to http://wisepowersystems.com or all Bill Rawheiser at (302) – 351 – 4613 or e-mail at williamr@wiseps.com.

Join Robert Redford in blocking the Bush Administration’s midnight raid on a crown jewel of our natural heritage.

Send your message of protest now to call off the December 19 auction.

No one voted on Election Day to hand over Utah’s Redrock wilderness to oil companies.

But the Bush Administration cynically chose that very day to advance an outrageous plan that will sell off leases for some 300,000 acres of spectacular Utah canyonlands to oil and gas speculators.

While America was voting for Barack Obama and his vision of a clean energy future, Bush and Cheney’s underlings were conspiring to plunder one of the crown jewels of our natural heritage for their fossil fuel cronies.

Please register your own opposition right now.

The auction of Redrock country will take place on December 19. At stake are world-renowned vistas near Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, as well as near Dinosaur National Monument. The highest bidders will earn the right to turn vast tracts of pristine wilderness into industrial wastelands.

It’s bad enough that Bush officials went behind the backs of the American people with this disastrous scheme. But what’s worse, they didn’t even tell their own National Park Service until after the fact.

In my mind, this theft of our heritage goes beyond the cynical — it’s criminal. What will be left to give to our children and their children if we allow this administration, in a parting shot, to destroy our legacy of public lands for short-term gain?

I hope you’re as angry as I am about this blatant land grab, because we’ve got to stop it — and we have to act fast. The NRDC Action Fund is mobilizing more than one million Americans in an outpouring of protest over the coming days.

Send your own message of opposition immediately. Tell the Bush Administration that you will not allow it to destroy one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

We’ll automatically send copies of your message to your two senators, your representative and to the Obama transition team, which has signaled their opposition to this disastrous attack on our Redrock heritage.

The Bush Administration is racing to complete the auction of our lands before Inauguration Day, which will make sales difficult to reverse.

We must fend off this land grab now — before the oil and gas companies can lay claim to the spoils.

Those spoils include stretches of Desolation Canyon, which has been proposed for national park status. Bush’s own Interior Department describes the canyon as “a place where a visitor can experience true solitude — where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape.”

The very idea of oil and gas operations invading these remote sanctuaries — which have remained untouched for millennia — is deeply upsetting. Once the dirty deed is done, our wilderness can never be restored. That’s why I’m asking you to help us sound the alarm and organize now.

Tell the Bush Administration to cancel the Redrock auction. Remind them that we the people are the rightful owners of this majestic wilderness and that we won’t stand for its destruction.

And thank you for joining with me and the NRDC Action Fund to save these beautiful wildlands for all future generations.

Sincerely,

Robert Redford
NRDC Action Fund

P.S. After you send your own message of protest, I’ll let you know of an easy way to spread the word to your friends and family. With only 10 days to mobilize one million Americans, I’m counting on you to rally everyone you know to speak out and save this precious wilderness from destruction.

Giving a helping hand at educating the public with “Guides to Green” our friends are members of Coop America a great source of all things green. You’ve heard us say it over and over, we know. At this website practical tips for everyday green living are fun, easy and save you money!

They have a great list of 20 Quick Tips on How to “GREEN” Your Business and a Billion Bag Bottle and Bulb Challenge! You should read and check out. Join the fun!

Greg Wrote:

A little post election humor and a request for support for our friends at Your Guide to Green…

Can we put environmentally safe and healthy drinking bottles in the hands of more people?

…YES WE CAN !!!

Can we stop filling our landfills with harmful plastic which will not decompose in our lifetime?

…YES WE CAN !!!

Can we reach out and make these bottles more accessible to all who want them?

…YES WE CAN !!!

In Tandem with the latest “economic stimulus plan” and for a limited time only, the retail price of their best selling stainless steel water bottles has been slashed to an unheard of $14.99 for TWO.  They also have a wide variety of other great green lifestyle products at incredible prices for your holiday gift giving.

Greg Peterson’s personal mission is to

“Inspire people into their own greenness” with the work that I do with the Urban Farm and YourGuideToGreen.com.”

This is what he says you can do to help.

Please take this opportunity to patronize Your Guide To Green’s store for your holiday gift giving or visit with me at our annual sidewalk sale this Friday.  By shopping with us you will be supporting our local business and the great green work that we do in the world.  And as an added bonus for you we have crafted some extraordinary deals on our products plus we are offering local pickup and affordable shipping rates.  As always I really appreciate your support.

So go buy some great GREEN stuff from this great GREEN store already!

Ecuadorians Follow Lead of U.S. Communities, California charges ahead

Today, the people of Ecuador voted to recognize the
inalienable rights belonging to ecosystems in their new constitution. A
set of groundbreaking articles that transform the status of nature from
mere property to a rights-bearing entity are now incorporated into the
national charter. Ecuador, one of the world’s most biodiverse places,
has set a precedent for other nations who have struggled against
multinational corporations’ exploitation, which has turned ecosystems
and whole communities into sacrifice zones. The world watches as Ecuador
takes its first step into what many people believe is the legal unknown.

The inspiration for today’s remarkable achievement comes from
municipalities across the United States where rural communities have
already developed and adopted Rights of Nature ordinances, first
developed by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF).
Ecuador’s Constitutional Assembly asked CELDF to suggest Rights of
Nature language for their draft constitution, based on the
municipalities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New Hampshire that have
taken the lead nationally and globally.

Global Exchange rights-based organizer, Shannon Biggs, who partners with
CELDF to assist communities in passing these new laws, is blazing new
ground in California: “Ecuador and U.S. communities=97from Santa Cruz,
California to rural Pennsylvania=97are passing laws that assert the rights
of nature to be wild, and boldly changing the way we protect the
environment.” Biggs is organizing with Monterey, Nevada City and Santa
Cruz, which are among the first California communities working to pass
local laws to change not only nature’s legal status nature, but also its
culture.

Local Nevada City, California concerned resident Debra Weistar: “For 150
years, the entire Sierra Nevada mountain range has been exploited for
profit. There is still a “gold rush” mentality here that implies that
there are riches in these hills for the taking. Ecuador is leading the
way on a national level, and it has created momentum that may evolve
into a movement. I can follow and emulate that model to help my own
community.”

Local Monterey organizer Elsa Dooling: “In our community on the Central
Coast of California we have enormous, highly valuable natural resources
that are supposedly being protected under current regulations. The
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary says our coastal waters are
protected, yet not only are large commercial farms pouring hundreds of
millions of pounds of toxic pesticides into our air, water and soil, but
so are our cities and counties. If our community was able to stand up
and say the natural habitat of the Bay has rights=97true and recognized
rights=97we’d be able to legally go after the polluters for violations and
stop the assault that is killing our fragile coastal ecosystem.”

States Biggs: “Slaves were once also considered property under the law.
We needed to write new law in order to change the cultural
understanding, the cultural climate. This is the kind of change
represented by these local efforts, and now Ecuador. We need many more
communities to stand up for the environment in the places where they
live.” Across the U.S., communities are making demands for a new system
that prioritizes environmental health over corporate profits.

For more information visit: Rights-based Organizing

Sorry for the long delay between posting… been so busy doing green stuff, LOL

My 19 year old daughter, Hannah, recently moved to the Oregon Coast. The photo is what she did on Peace Day there. It was raining, but she was egged on by many a passerby. She went to work with wet hair, but she said “everyone understood”.

Believe it or not, she actually got flipped off… just walking around downtown in Lincoln City, go figure. But most of the honking was positive. She said “Some people drive by again and again hanging out the window of their cars with big ‘thumbs up’s” It was a wonderful experience and a great way to get involved in her new community.