Potential Park Closures

There are 17 parks in San Mateo County that are slated for closure because of happenings in Sacramento. They are:

• Año Nuevo, natural reserve
• Bean Hollow, beach
• Big Basin Redwoods
• Burleigh H. Murray Ranch (park property)
• Butano
• Castle Rock
• Gray Whale Cove, beach
• Half Moon Bay, beach
• Montara, beach
• Pacifica, beach
• Pescadero, beach
• Pigeon Point Light Station, historic park
• Point Montara Light Station (park property)
• Pomponio, beach
• Portola Redwoods
• San Gregorio, beach
• Thornton, beach

Mechanical Energy aims at addressing energy availability

One of the challenges with many forms of renewable energy - especially wind and solar - is "dispatchability" - can you produce the energy when you need it. Steps like a national smart grid, which would allow dynamic routing, and energy efficiency, which can reduce peak and overall demand, can reduce the significance of this issue. A couple companies in Redwood City, Inventor Labs and Mechanical Energy, are working to address this problem.

The invention, called a mechanical electrical storage appliance, uses the energy generated by uncoiling a spring or dropping weights attached to each unit.

The appliance can store energy from wind and solar sources, which only generate intermittently throughout the day, for later use. Wind energy generated at midnight could be stored and used in the daytime with similar use for solar energy. Inventor Labs founder Glenn Reid said the storage appliance makes the economics of solar power “a little easier.”

Inventor Labs formed Mechanical Electric Inc. in April to focus on marketing the appliance. Reid said Mechanical Electric’s plan is to co-locate units on wind farms first. There are no plans to target the residential market, though the option remains open, he said.

It's an intriguing approach - in some ways obvious.

It is worth noting that some renewables such as geothermal and tidal, do not face this challenge. And other alternatives such as molten salt for concentrated solar are also being implemented

Tesla + Daimler

This is a good move which bodes well for further commercialization of Tesla's leading battery technology. The cars are fun for those who can afford them but it's the batteries that can help save the planet.

Electric car startup Tesla Motors has a new partner: German giant Daimler (DAI). On May 19, at the fashionable Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, Daimler announced it has taken a 10% stake, worth about $50 million, in the San Carlos (Calif.) auto pioneer.

The two companies had already been working together. Daimler was planning to build 1,000 all-electric versions of its small Smartcar using Tesla's battery technology. But Daimler wanted more than just a simple supplier-customer relationship, explains Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. "We are in a time of change," he says. "This industry is going through a kind of paradigm shift, and has to reinvent itself ultimately to be independent of petroleum and without CO2 emissions. We need fast technology change."

Making changes fast is hard for big companies. So more than just looking to Tesla for new technology, Daimler wants an infusion of entrepreneurial spirit. "We want to think out of the box," says Zetsche. "We want to go down new paths, and we believe the combination of such a young, very ingenious company and a very experienced, longtime successful company is a good one in order to find new approaches fast."

Alliance moves, latest ad

Alas, word is the Alliance for Climate Protection is going to move it's office to DC. No doubt to stay closer to the action. After all Cathy Zoi, the Alliance's founding Executive Director, has joined the Obama Administration as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy in the Department of Energy.

Zoi is replaced by Maggie Fox, former Deputy Executive Director for the Sierra Club.

Here's the latest from the Alliance.
As with their last ad, this is an astute Middle America message.

Governator in San Jose

Our governor may have lost some of his sheen in recent months but he is still very welcome in Silicon Valley. Not surprising given that he conveys such optimism about clean energy and solar in particular.

Calling Silicon Valley "the most innovative place in the world," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday told an audience of solar technology executives and industry representatives that "we need to find ways to reduce our use of fossil fuel and use what we have in abundance in California — the sun."

"I'm a big believer in solar technology," he told about 350 people attending a daylong "solar summit" in San Jose meant to accelerate the state's solar economy. "We want to make this state the solar state."

And he does deserve real credit. He has really moved solar in the state:

Schwarzenegger has already played a major role in pushing for solar in California. At his direction in 2006, the California Solar Initiative created a $3.3 billion, 10-year program to put solar panels on 1 million roofs in the state. The program includes state renewable energy incentives and a rebates program.

Cool new resource: SSMC's Sustainability Hub

LONGTIME COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS LAUNCH “WEBTOOL” TO ENABLE LOCALS TO MAKE EVERY DAY EARTH DAY

Sustainable San Mateo County is preparing the ground for changing society. The Sustainability Hub (www.sustainabilityhub.net) is SSMC's newest community resource for promoting a healthy economy, environment, and society in San Mateo County. This first-of-its-kind website provides San Mateo County with an easy way to share and find Sustainable Solutions and Local Resources, as well as the first and only Bay Area Green Jobs Board.

The Sustainability Hub is a one-stop toolkit tailored for San Mateo County individuals, community groups, businesses, and cities. Building upon the annual Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County Report, the Hub illustrates the connections between what is happening in the Indicators Report and how we can make improvements. “Connecting local product and service providers with the people working towards sustainability strengthens local communities and economies”, says Tina King, Outreach Director for Sustainable San Mateo County.

Plenty of solid, credible sustainability information already exists, and there’s no need for reinvention. Rather, the Hub gathers information most relevant to the local region in one place, saving people time and frustration from searching through an overwhelming sea of eco-information.

“We can’t simply arrive at a sustainable world…we have to co-create and live our way into it together. As a community tool, the Hub allows everybody to contribute to the content, thus empowering citizens to participate in helping to transform their region”, says local resident and sustainability educator Carolyn Strange.

Features of the Sustainability Hub:
Indicators: Find out how sustainable your community is in the online Indicators Report
Solution Guides: Discover and share solutions to becoming more sustainable

Resource Directory: Find and suggest local business, nonprofit, and government resources
Green Jobs Board: Hosts the only Bay Area jobs board dedicated to green and sustainability-related jobs

Local Search Engine: A customized Google-based search engine for San Mateo County to locate other sustainability websites and resources

Community Tools: Connects community members to issues they care about with event calendars, newsletters, email updates and “Wiki” tools

The Sustainability Hub webtool is designed so that “portals” can be added for communities outside San Mateo County.

Visit the Sustainability Hub at www.sustainabilityhub.net.

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ABOUT THE REPORT Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County is the longest running county-based sustainability report in the nation, now in its 13th year of uninterrupted publication. It is widely used among government officials, businesses and private citizens in assessing the health of San Mateo County’s economy, society and environment. Nearly 1,500 hours among more than 30 SSMC volunteers were devoted to compiling it.

Sustainable San Mateo County is a non-profit, public benefit corporation dedicated to the long-term improvement of our region’s economy, environment, and social equity by providing fact-based information about sustainability.