I've been passionate about environmental issues since I was 21, deeply influenced by my family’s early adoption of renewable energy. My oldest brother, living in a commune in 1972, had some of the earliest cast-off solar panels, originally 40W models from the Apollo missions. My parents followed suit, installing a Jimmy Carter-era solar hot water heater in the late 1970's. 

I started my own energy efficient all-renewable all-electric energy journey in my present house in 2005 with a new roof, a tilt-up 2850W solar electric system and a solar hot water system (still backed up by a new gas water heater that replaced a dead one. I wrongly blew old newspaper insulation into my attic without any sealing, and replaced some leaky old wooden windows.

In 2010, after learning from the mistakes of my initial retrofit, and while I was making a documentary on how to retrofit right, I got great advice from sharp architects like Kathy Bash –one of the founders of Solar Oregon---and doubled my walls, sealed my home thoroughly, and quadrupled the insulation.

My air exchanges went from 34/hr to 3.5/hour. I replaced almost all lights with LEDs, and bought energy efficient washing machines, stereos, TVs, and unplugged all of my standby electricity always. As Kathy Bash used to say, you only need one light. I installed a second solar array of 32x215W panels which brought my total power to 9730W---at the time 10,000 was the legal limit set by PGE/PUC or I would be regulated like a utility. My home became nearly net-zero, with the only remaining gas appliance being a solar hot water backup heater.

I also installed a 3000 gallon rainwater catchment system, important as over 10% of the grid just pumps water. My solar is the equivalent of just under 400 trees of yearly avoided CO2 emissions and I still have over 100 large trees on my property. I grow much of my and my neighbors food and have fairly massive sequences flowers for bees and other pollinators. I eat low on the carbon chain, up-cycle and recycle most everything and make things last so my consumption is low. I fly a lot less. 

I have gotten bids for a heat pump hot water heater from Solar Energy Solutions and the replacement and doubling the power output of my original 2010 32 panel solar electric array with a 13,300W REC array to be installed by A&R Solar. I also found an electrician who could find the right materials to use and expand my old 200W Electric Panel so I could get a 30Amp circuit for the HPHWHeater and also run a 50Amp line to the garage for an EV charge.This should make this house truly Net Zero.

Currently, I’m working on "Deep Green Redux," a video and animation project showing in 30 second commercials how each of us can take the tax credits and rebates of the Inflation Reduction Act by shifting to all renewable electricity power at home, work, and in transportation. We are all on this bus.