August 6th, 2008

By Yeves Perez, Editor-In-Chief

The realization of the title for this article is an achievement by itself, and if you missed Green Leaders Week here in Southern California... We wished you were here! After teaming up with Green Money Journal and InvestorIdeas.com in the Green media department, the "hands-on" series of events from July 21st through the 25th registered of 1000+ people and boasted of 5,000+ in newsletter and website readership!

GLW speakers and panelists included: David Andresen of Yorkville Advisors and Board member of Cleantech San Diego, Jay S. Potter, CEO of Greencore Capital, and David Gottfried, Founder of the US Green Building Council and CEO of Regenerative Ventures, among many others. See more photos towards the end of this article.

Click "Read more" below for more in-depth commentary and photos from what attendees called the "Best Night" of Green Leaders Week, Envision Solar's open house!

"Eco Investment Club and Envision Solar Invites San Diego Locals To Share Concerns, Hopes for Future of Clean Tech With Distinguished Panel"

_{Eco Investment Club and Envision Solar Invites San Diego Locals To Share Concerns, Hopes for Future of Clean Tech With Distinguished Panel}

A Commissioner from the California PUC, a former environmental Associate Fellow at Oxford University, and an architect with a master’s degree from Harvard University Discuss and Debate at Offices of Envision Solar

La Jolla -- Two panel discussions on July 22, co-hosted by Envision Solar International, the Eco Investment Club, and Greencore Investment brought together Commissioner John Bohn of the California Public Utilities Commission, entrepreneur and former Oxford Associate Fellow Paul Hannam, and sustainable building Architect Robert Noble to offer perspective on the questions of many in San Diego about how the economy and the environment must come together for a sustainable future.

Noble, who is founder and CEO of Envision Solar and is well known for his design of the Kyocera Solar Grove™ and its famous Solar Trees™, remarked “when more than sixty people come and sit in our offices for four hours to discuss and debate the issues with thought leaders, it’s a sign that the discussion topic really hits home.” Hannam agreed: “though we are addressing a variety of issues here, what we are all really talking about is that at this point in history we must re-evaluate what it means to be human in relation to the environment and the economy.”

The three panelists led two discussions, with the first focusing on residential sustainability along with Blair Reynolds of Sequoia Solar; and the second panel, which included Jay Potter, CEO of Greencore Capital Investment, addressed more general business issues with respect to what Noble called “the energy revolution.”

The group focused on concerns about dependence on foreign oil, the impact it has on the present and future economy, and how renewable energy and other clean tech industries offer hope for a sustainable future for the economy as well as the environment. Signs of a caring and aware citizenry in San Diego are visible in the form of solar panels on homes and businesses, in recycling containers at curbsides, and in hybrid automobiles on the roads.

The level of concern was also apparent among the more than sixty attendees at a panel discussion at the La Jolla offices of Envision Solar International.

Commissioner Bohn acknowledged public awareness among Californians of the efficacy of an aware citizenry, remarking on the surprise of the California Independent Service Operations (Cal ISO) at the level of participation in demand response requests during the 2007 fires in San Diego. “When people learned that demand had to be curtailed, they did it. “

Attendees engaged the panelists, focusing on Commissioner Bohn, trying to gain perspective on why the utilities have not been under greater pressure to pursue distributed generation of renewable energy. Paul-Michael Dekker, IT Director for the Global Energy Network Institute, was surprised to hear from both Bohn that there are laws that protect the returns of investors in public utilities. “It’s very frustrating to hear about how deeply entrenched coal-based, centralized power generation is in our political and economic infrastructure.” Jim Shea, Director of Constituent Relations at UCSD, confirmed the “taking” clause of the Constitution, the part of the Fifth Amendment that states “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

Josh Brock, Environmental Specialist with the City of San Diego Environmental Services, expressed pleasure with the debate, stating “I am always excited and moved by groups and individuals that speak with passion and back it with action.”

In the evening’s second panel, Paul Hannam summarized the passion behind the discussions and expressed hope that the “energy revolution” would be served by “American ingenuity”, adding “we must think of [the energy revolution] like a war, and fight to win.”

And to win the war, you must choose your battleground! So, now we must pose a more serious question.

Q: What do you get when you take Tommy Lee and Ludacris and add solar power?

A: The setting for the first episode of Battleground Earth -- airing Thursdays at 8pm Eastern on TLC -- where the two musicians battle it out to see who's greener.

In the first episode, Tommy Lee and Ludacris duke it out in the "Raise the Roof" Challenge, which pits the green rivals (and their 'ecorages') in a race to see who can successfully raise the roof on the LifePorts, developed by Envision Solar LifeSystems, which are the first fully integrated, system-built photovoltaic solar carport for residential use (they also work in many light commercial and light industrial settings). They're designed to be both sun shades for your car, and an easy way to generate renewable energy; as soon as plug-in hybrid cars and/or electric cars are more commonplace, they'll add a third function as a fueling station for those cars. The ports are in development for both grid-tied and off-grid applications and are available for purchase as do-it-yourself kits or for easy assembly by a solar pro. Or, in the case of the show, entertainingly assembled by a bunch of raucous musicians.